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Senior Mentor Program at Wolcott Technical a Huge Success
Under the direction of Norton, staff members Ray Tanguay and Danielle Stebbins began the program in 2005. It has grown to the extent that, this year, 43 seniors volunteered to come in a day early to spend time mentoring over 200 freshman. Joining the team to assist with the volume of students are the entire guidance department, plus teachers Ray Royals, Terri Bambakidou, Matt Keen, Amanda Kiszka-Curtis, and Mark Eucalitto. During the first day of school, the seniors met their new friends in groups of 5-6, toured the school with them, took part in teambuilding exercises, discussed Title IX issues, and generally helped the Freshman feel accepted and more familiar with their new school. They also met with their individual guidance counselors and administrators. New activities for this year included a scavenger hunt designed to create a tour of the school, tug-of-war contests, and a visit from the Army National Guard which organized a push-up contest and demonstrated a humvee. Lunchtime included games of volleyball, soccer, and frisbee on the school athletic field. At the end of the day, the Seniors even helped the newcomers to their appropriate busses.
The program begins at the end of the previous school year, when, as Juniors, the students who volunteer must solicit recommendations from the staff to be accepted into the program. Only students in good standing are accepted. There are a few training and orientation meetings before the big day- that being the first day of school the following year, as described above. During the long academic and shop year, there are occasional group mentoring sessions that occur during the school’s activity period. Naturally, in such a comprehensive program, the Senior mentors make themselves available to their freshman mentees for friendly advice and help whenever it is needed. Said Senior mentor Karen Buckley of the Graphics shop, “I had a great time being a mentor and I felt I connected with the students. It was fun because I met lots of people. The Freshman were good and weren’t afraid to interact with us. Karen thought the most important thing about the program for Freshman was, “They met people they can recognize in the hall which makes it easier for them to ask us for advice and information.” Jerry Gryguc
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For the past three years, Senior students at
Oliver Wolcott have been volunteering in a mentor program at
the school whose goals are to help Freshman students adapt, acclimate,
and succeed comfortably at school. “The program
has been very well received by the students and is a valuable
resource to the entire school.” explained
Assistant Principal Kate Norton. “The Seniors have been wonderful
at making our incoming students feel at home.”
Regarding the mentor program, Freshman
Camille Murphy had this to say. “It took away the
awkwardness of being in a big place like this that you’ve
never been in before. It
felt nice. They compared us to a family and it felt like
that.”
