oh, it's training time again...

We are gearing up for a training on October 5 at the school. New mentors who have expressed a strong interest in the program will spend an hour going over some simple guidelines as presented by a representative from the Mentor Connector of Rutland. It is good for us to have a framework of expectations and to come together as a community of mentors as we embark on these new relationships.

If you know of a community member, who is not a parent of a current student, who would like to attend the training before making a commitment, please ask him or her to call me,Anne Gallivan, at 483-2854. I welcome all inquiries.

healthy rhythms

Who can argue the delight of unstructured summer days? I had my share of them, and love the feeling of going with the flow of mother nature. I wake up to a clear sunny day and decide to take to a hiking trail, but on another morning I wake to the rhythmic patter of rain and decide to read another chapter or two before even stirring from my bed.

But the weather is changing, and so are my needs. I suddenly crave the reintroduction of routines after all of my varied summer adventures! I think that many students feel the same way when the first day of school arrives, and they are excited to enjoy the structures of a productive school day.

Irene made this year's start even more welcome for some students who experienced the novelty of being cut off from neighboring towns and the rhythms of their lives' comings and goings from home. When they made the effort to traipse through long trails in the woods to meet a ride to school, they did so with an eagerness to join in the rituals of back-to-school routines, and were proud to have expended such effort to do so.

Mentoring thrives on rhythm as well - the predictability of a supportive relationship where an adult commits to showing up with the sole purpose of spending time with their student "match." It is the rhythm of this act that helps to make it so successful. Once a week there is a dedicated time for a special visit that focuses on friendship, and it is an amazingly powerful dynamic for both mentor and mentee. Please support Barstow mentoring when the opportunity arises, as it is an important ingredient to our healthy school community.