This morning, MLA was filled with the sounds of happy students, clinking cutlery, and the smell of fresh pancakes! The Peer Mentor Program officially kicked off with the first Pancake Breakfast. Senior students could be seen helping their younger buddies cut pancakes and pour maple syrup, while also getting an opportunity to spend some quality time with their buddies! It goes without saying that our junior students were more than thrilled to spend time with their mentors for the first time this year.
MLA’s unique peer mentoring program pairs senior students with a junior student buddy in a safe and encouraging environment. The program serves to bring students of different ages, needs, and abilities together while simultaneously fostering positive peer interaction and mutual learning.
Senior students have the opportunity to develop crucial leadership skills, give back to the school community, earn community service hours, and develop a better understanding of both their own and other people’s unique ways of experiencing the world. Of course, the younger students look forward to the time they spend socializing with their older buddies! In the process, both junior and senior students gain self-confidence and a greater sense of self-esteem.
The program nurtures a greater sense of community within the school, encourages students to learn from and accept one another, and promotes an interdependent school community that strives to meet the social and emotional needs of all kinds of learners.
We look forward to a wonderful semester of mutual learning and will keep you apprised of the progress and successes of our students.
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