Last year presented our students with challenges that they had never faced before: learning remotely, isolation from friends and family, loss of extracurricular activities, and living in a constant state of uncertainty. At years 7 to 9, our Learning Mentor program has been adapted to respond to these challenges and has focused on teaching our students about:

Resilience: What it is and the importance of perseverance when faced with setbacks, hardship or adversity.
Growth mindset: Recognising and accepting that failures and setbacks are part of any learning experience and provide us with the most opportunity for development and growth.
Problem solving: A step-by-step framework for finding solutions to everyday problems which was created by our school psychologist Shannon Thompson.
Wellbeing: It’s importance, prioritising it, and strategies to enhance it.

This semester, our Year 7-9 Learning Mentor Program will continue to focus on student wellbeing, bullying and cyber safety and will promote intercultural understanding where students learn about recognising, understanding, respecting and celebrating cultural differences.

In addition to resilience, growth mindset and wellbeing, our Year 10 to 12 Learning Mentor program has focused on developing our students’ abilities to cope with and manage stress, creating positive study habits, equipping students with effective study skills and the importance of being an upstander.

Our senior students have also participated in Respectful Relationships days throughout the year which focus on a variety of topics including: the gendered nature of violence, the media’s influence in how we see the world, consent, identifying red flags in relationships, coercive control and supporting your friends. Since piloting the state-mandated Respectful Relationships program in 2018, we have developed a strong reputation as a leading school in delivering this program and the overwhelming consensus from our students is that we need more of these days because the issues discussed and the skills taught in these sessions are directly relevant and applicable to their lives.

A huge thank you to our dedicated Learning Mentors who have continued to provide the high level of holistic support for our students and taught them the skills above and so much more, to our Team Leaders for their ongoing support, our students for their feedback and to Sharon Eppingstall for her incredible work creating so many of the amazing resources that are used in Learning Mentor every week.

James Warke

Learning Mentor Learning Specialist

Ballarat High School Newsletter

Issue 12 · 06 Aug 2021

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