The Rappahannock County High School (RCHS) Peer-Mentor reveal is coming this week and there is much excitement from mentors and mentees. The Peer-Mentor Program is a program where upperclassmen (11th and 12th-grade students) can volunteer to be a mentor to the eighth-grade class.
Eighth graders are placed with a group of upperclassmen who will act as their mentors throughout the year. The reveal is where mentees find out who their peer mentors will be.
The transition from middle school to high school can be a very difficult time for students. To help with this difficult time period, RCHS Guidance Counselor Dani Pond and Profile of a Graduate Coordinator Jenny Kapsa came up with the Peer-Mentor Program.
“Junior and senior mentors are the foundation of the program,” said Ms. Kapsa. “Eighth graders gain confidence and a sense of belonging, and peer mentors become strong leaders through this important program.”
The program has helped many new students at RCHS learn to become more
comfortable with their environment and develop positive relationships with their peers. The upperclassmen must apply to become peer mentors, and if selected, go through training and situational scenarios.
This training ensures that every mentor is prepared for their new companions.
The mentors and their mentees get together once a month during school to play games, eat food, and socialize with each other. However, mentors also do weekly check-ins with their mentees to make sure they are doing okay and help if needed.
There are also activities that take place outside of school. Past mentors and mentees have gone bowling, swimming, and even participated in an overnight stay at the 4-H Center together.
When asked what she was most excited about for the peer-mentor reveal, senior Natalya White answered, “I am looking forward to showing my mentees the wonders of high school just like my mentor in eighth grade showed me.”
Eighth-grader Mason Comer was also very vocal about his excitement for the peer-mentor reveal.
In his own words, “I am very excited to find out who my mentors are and what they have in common with me, along with learning about what they know about high school.”
This is the mindset of many of the current eighth graders about the program.
RCHS was unable to have a big peer-mentor program and reveal due to COVID last year, however, everyone is more than excited to get things back on track this year.
There will be games, activities, drawings, and of course, food. The reveal will be held in the high school gym on Wednesday.
Rappahannock County non-profit Headwaters Foundation will sponsor two Rappahannock County High School journalism interns during the school year. Seniors Luke Ellis and Ava Genho will each write two articles every month, alternating their articles between the Rappahannock News and The MadRapp Recorder.
According to Headwaters Executive Director Brittany Dwyer, MSW, the goal of the intern program will be to promote student-written articles that highlight positive stories involving the Rappahannock County Public Schools and to share them with the public through stories in local media sources.
Stories will focus on all aspects of the school community including – but not limited to – the following: academics, alumni, community collaborations, community service and new projects and initiatives.
You can read the full story on MadRapp Recorder at: https://madrapp.com/rchs-peermentor-reveal-scheduled-for-today-p2223-211.htm