Freshmen Enter John H. Glenn HS Using the Buddy System

Juniors and seniors enrolled in Elwood-John H. Glenn High School’s Freshmen Buddies mentor program in the are out to give their new schoolmates a lift.

Many of the 112 students who signed on to serve as mentors to the school’s incoming freshmen participated in a special training workshop on Aug. 12 filled with activities to prepare them for the day their mentees arrive in September.

This year’s program theme is titled “We Rise by Lifting Others,” and each trainee received a packet that outlined their responsibilities and the do’s and don’ts of being a mentor. During the Aug. 12 session, they participated in icebreaker activities, role-playing and a unique honesty exercise called “Walk the Line.” In this exercise, the mentors lined up to face Principal Carisa Burzynski and were asked to step forward when she read aloud specific traits applicable to high school teen life, whether good or bad, that could be attributed to them individually. Role-playing scenarios included peer pressure, bullying, time management, and social and academic transition issues that are common throughout the course of a high school career. Ms. Burzynski, along with the program’s adviser and guidance counselor, Adrienne Nasser, and guidance counselor Carolyn Pollina, were on hand to lead the training exercises.

Ms. Burzynski, Ms. Nasser and Ms. Pollina also presided over group discussions about expectations for the year and preparations for Freshman Orientation on Aug. 30. Mentors will attend the orientation to lead tours, help the freshmen with their new lockers and answer questions about school life. The PTA provided special buddy T-shirts for the mentors to wear during the orientation and other future activities.

The mentors and freshmen will meet once a month throughout the year to discuss various topics and issues, including some that were covered in the role-playing exercises.

Story by Syntax, Photos courtesy of Elwood Union Free School District:

• Approximately 112 juniors and seniors at Elwood-John H. Glenn High School have volunteered to serve as mentors for the Freshmen Buddies program for the 2016-17 school year.
  
• Mentors in Elwood-John H. Glenn’s Freshmen Buddies program participated in a role playing exercise during training in mid-August.
  
• Junior and senior mentors in the Freshmen Buddies program at Elwood-John H. Glenn High School took part in a “Walk the Line” exercise during training in mid-August.