GISU Psychological Counselling and Guidance Department follows and supports students’ physical, emotional, academic and social development.
The department aims to raise healthy, happy, self-confident, self-sufficient, responsible and sensible students who are at peace with themselves.
Some other characteristics and skills that the department works with students to instill are:
- self sufficiency
- decison making skills
- technological proficiency and awareness
- self expression
- conflict management
- respectful of diversity
The department makes use of individual meetings, class and group activities, seminars, and inventory tests to provide custom guidance for each student’s unique needs.
MENTORING AT A GLANCE
Strong mentorship programs will help Intellectual Schools students develop the confidence, self-esteem, and skills they need to be successful in school and life.
- Role of Mentors
- To facilitate an understanding of the purposes of the relationship;
- To explore the motivations, skills, thought processes to be used;
- To discuss the processes of observation, listening, and asking questions;
- To support goal setting and assessment;
- To support solutions-oriented approaches to teaching, learning
- To support the development of a commitment to action
- To ensure a planned approach to the improvement of personal skills and abilities
- To contribute to a whole school approach to improvement
- Duties of Mentors
- Monitoring student progress and behaviour
- Liaising between the parents and the school
- Running morning and afternoon meetings
- Character Education
- Enforcing school policies and decisions
- Parents Involvement
- Parents must be informed about the purpose of the program, the anticipated outcomes, and their children’s progress.
- They must be provided with the opportunity to discuss and participate in the children’s mentoring program with the supervisor.
- Their consent must be obtained before a student is included in the program.
Benefits of Mentoring
Research supports that school-based mentoring impacts positive outcomes for children and youth, the school and community at large including:
- For Schools
- Promotes healthy and positive relationships between mentees and mentors, which in turn build community capacity.
- Activities promote literacy skills, self-esteem, confidence, and social appropriateness.
- Supports strength-based practices that build resiliency.
- Encourages leadership skills and independent thinking.
- And above all, make a difference while having fun.
- For Students
- Increased high school completion rates;
- Improved attitudes about staying in school;
- Enhanced academic motivation and achievement;
- Improved social skills and behavior;
- Improved resiliency;
- Strengthened peer, school and family relationships;
- Reduced risk of involvement with drugs;
- Increased sense of belonging in the school community.
- The Whole Community
- Consultation with the broader school community is also essential.
- It is important that key school community groups, including parent groups, are made aware of the rationale for mentoring and informed of how the program will be implemented in the school.
- Commitment to any program depends on the demonstrated outcomes of the program.
- Providing the school community with evidence that mentoring produces positive results and responding to concerns they may have about the nature of mentoring will assist in ensuring support for the program.
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