Mentoring Program

During the summer, I often spend some time relaxing watching the Australian Open on television. On occasion, I have appreciated the chance to go and watch a few matches at Melbourne Park. Just recently, I have been following the results of the French Open, which is another Grand Slam tennis tournament. When I read about tennis, I often think about Rodger Federer, who many would argue is one of the world’s greatest ever players.

I read an article in January that highlighted the significant impact Peter Carter and Tony Roche has had on Federer’s tennis playing career. Federer said in the article that these coaches and mentors taught him many lessons. When asked about his mentors, he made reference to technique, attitude, work ethic, character and values.

This article illustrated to me another example of the powerful impact mentors can have on people and the many areas they can influence the life of a person. Many of us learn from the example of others and appreciate the wisdom of learning from someone who has already navigated a similar journey.

The Bible reminds us of the importance of surrounding ourselves with wise people like mentors. Proverbs 13:20 (NIV) reads, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

The mentoring program at Northside Christian College is a significant support structure to assist our Year 11 and 12 students throughout the academic school year. Students are matched up with a staff mentor who spends time with them each week, catching up with them on how they are going and helping them to set goals towards personal and academic success. This provides mentors with an opportunity to gain insight into a student’s areas of strength and weakness, monitor their academic progress and meet to discuss how the College can best support them individually.

It is a testament to the strength of our College Community to see the volume of staff members who have volunteered their time to work with our students in a mentoring capacity. The mentors represent all areas of our College staff, from teaching, administration and welfare departments.

The mentor program provides the College with another strategy for providing pastoral care for our students. Through it, we are seeing an increased sense of community. Staff have embraced the opportunity to further support our students in achieving their learning goals at Northside Christian College.

Students are encouraged to spend some time meeting with their mentors during the next week as they commence their Semester 2 studies. This is a good opportunity to reflect on the past semester and plan an approach together for the semester ahead.

Michael Bond, Deputy Principal / Head of Secondary School