Below are some important pieces of information you need to know prior to taking Mentorship:
1. An informational meeting about the course will be held in the Chap Room during BOTH LUNCHES on two separate dates - April 24th at 8:15 and 11:40, and May 1st at 8:15, 11:40, and 12:40. Announcements will be made about this and you will receive a note from me including this information as well. You are highly encouraged to attend one of these meetings - no need to attend more than one - the same information will be presented.
2. SOME CHANGES ARE COMING TO THE MENTORSHIP COURSE IN THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR. We will address these changes at the meeting. The course and our goals will remain the same, but structurally we have shifted things a bit. One significant change is that students are NO LONGER required to secure mentors prior to the start of the school year. This will now be done during the fall semester. We will begin working with mentors in the fall, but after we have secured them, of course.
3. Finding and securing a mentor is YOUR responsibility. The process itself and the conversations that occur between you and potential mentors are huge confidence building and networking experiences. Additionally, mentors see you as a highly motivated and an especially dedicated individual when you take the initiative to reach out. As a result, they are much more willing to take you on when you are the one taking control of your destiny. As stated in #2 above, Mentorships will be secured during the fall semester beginning in the 2019-2020 school year. On a side note, students may not mentor with a relative or at their current place of employment.
4. Our class is only held one day a week. Technically, Mentorship is an independent study course. We meet every Tuesday and go through various lessons (workplace ethics, resume building, etc.). During non-class days, you are expected to meet with your mentor and/or complete work for the class. We are fortunate that Mrs. Stokes also teaches Mentorship - her classes are held on Wednesdays.
5. The course requires 5 hours of work per week, minimum. You spend 1 hour in class on Tuesday's, 2 hours with your mentor (dates/time are determined based on both of your schedules), and 2 hours completing work for the class.
6. You can break up the 2 hour weekly mentor meeting requirement as you choose - one hour one day, another hour another day, and so on.
7. You can use our class period on non-class days to meet with your mentor, but you may NOT miss another class on your schedule. As an example, a student who has 1st period Mentorship could attend his/her placement on a Wednesday from 7:15am - 9:15am. That gets the student the weekly 2 hour requirement and allows the student to have enough time to get to Westlake prior to the start of 2nd period (assuming the mentor's location is relatively close).
8. Taking Mentorship does NOT guarantee you a parking spot. It is also your own responsibility to provide transportation to and from your placement.
9. Mentorship is a yearlong course. You may have different mentors throughout the spring semester or you can choose to stick with the same mentor. I strongly discourage students from keeping the same mentor. Even if you have the time of your life with your first mentor and learn more than you ever thought possible, there are very few exceptions in which it makes sense to stick with the same mentor (wedding planner - maybe you get to see a spring wedding that you helped plan in the fall, etc.). In almost all cases, students who choose to stay with the same mentor have a less than engaging experience during the second session. In all honesty, your mentor runs out of things for you to do/see and you end up really bored for multiple weeks.
10. Mentorship classes (at this point) are scheduled to be 1st period, 2nd period, 6th period, 7th period, and 8th period. Take this into consideration when determining whether the mentor you find will be able to work with you during the time you have set aside for the course. Do you have to use your class period on non-class days to meet with your mentor? No. It definitely makes it easier if you can, however.
2. SOME CHANGES ARE COMING TO THE MENTORSHIP COURSE IN THE 2019-2020 SCHOOL YEAR. We will address these changes at the meeting. The course and our goals will remain the same, but structurally we have shifted things a bit. One significant change is that students are NO LONGER required to secure mentors prior to the start of the school year. This will now be done during the fall semester. We will begin working with mentors in the fall, but after we have secured them, of course.
3. Finding and securing a mentor is YOUR responsibility. The process itself and the conversations that occur between you and potential mentors are huge confidence building and networking experiences. Additionally, mentors see you as a highly motivated and an especially dedicated individual when you take the initiative to reach out. As a result, they are much more willing to take you on when you are the one taking control of your destiny. As stated in #2 above, Mentorships will be secured during the fall semester beginning in the 2019-2020 school year. On a side note, students may not mentor with a relative or at their current place of employment.
4. Our class is only held one day a week. Technically, Mentorship is an independent study course. We meet every Tuesday and go through various lessons (workplace ethics, resume building, etc.). During non-class days, you are expected to meet with your mentor and/or complete work for the class. We are fortunate that Mrs. Stokes also teaches Mentorship - her classes are held on Wednesdays.
5. The course requires 5 hours of work per week, minimum. You spend 1 hour in class on Tuesday's, 2 hours with your mentor (dates/time are determined based on both of your schedules), and 2 hours completing work for the class.
6. You can break up the 2 hour weekly mentor meeting requirement as you choose - one hour one day, another hour another day, and so on.
7. You can use our class period on non-class days to meet with your mentor, but you may NOT miss another class on your schedule. As an example, a student who has 1st period Mentorship could attend his/her placement on a Wednesday from 7:15am - 9:15am. That gets the student the weekly 2 hour requirement and allows the student to have enough time to get to Westlake prior to the start of 2nd period (assuming the mentor's location is relatively close).
8. Taking Mentorship does NOT guarantee you a parking spot. It is also your own responsibility to provide transportation to and from your placement.
9. Mentorship is a yearlong course. You may have different mentors throughout the spring semester or you can choose to stick with the same mentor. I strongly discourage students from keeping the same mentor. Even if you have the time of your life with your first mentor and learn more than you ever thought possible, there are very few exceptions in which it makes sense to stick with the same mentor (wedding planner - maybe you get to see a spring wedding that you helped plan in the fall, etc.). In almost all cases, students who choose to stay with the same mentor have a less than engaging experience during the second session. In all honesty, your mentor runs out of things for you to do/see and you end up really bored for multiple weeks.
10. Mentorship classes (at this point) are scheduled to be 1st period, 2nd period, 6th period, 7th period, and 8th period. Take this into consideration when determining whether the mentor you find will be able to work with you during the time you have set aside for the course. Do you have to use your class period on non-class days to meet with your mentor? No. It definitely makes it easier if you can, however.