This year, a new Academic Mentoring Program has been initiated to ensure that our students have an opportunity to learn from those who have already effectively navigated their way through the Senior School.
Graduates who completed Year 12 at Melbourne Grammar School in 2019, 2020 and 2021 were approached to gauge their interest in fulfilling the role of academic mentor for our current students. The response was overwhelming; many Old Melburnians recognised that this is exactly what students in Years 9, 10, 11 and 12 need.
Mentoring is quite different from tutoring. Outstanding athletes have coaches because there is something extra that comes from having an informed observer to provide guidance from the sidelines. The mentors have embraced the commitments associated with sports, House activities, plays, musical recitals, debating, public speaking, camps, community service and much more, and they still found a way to achieve success in their academic studies. We provided them with some training, and they are helping us co-design the program this year.
Twice each week the mentors are available in the Nigel Peck Centre for Learning and Leadership to speak with current students. To benefit from this program our current students only need to do two simple things: be there and have a chat! The students who approach the mentors will learn about organisational skills, how to prioritise when the expectations seem overwhelming, effective strategies for preparing for assessment tasks, embedding learning and revising, what to do the night before an exam, and what to do during that exam.
The Academic Mentoring Program adds to the many resources that Melbourne Grammar School students can access when seeking to clarify their knowledge and understanding. Teachers, peers, textbooks and the detailed curriculum related materials and infrastructure we provide are all helpful in ensuring that students will be able to find information and support when they need it.
We are very pleased with the initial discussions between our students and mentors and look forward to further academic collaboration with our alumni.
Bryan Wood
Head of Curriculum, Senior School
