Being True Men for Others

Our Senior Mentor Team (SMT) play a pivotal role in guiding the Year 7 transition process and throughout their first years of secondary school. The Year 11 mentors offer unconditional support to the students in their care and will continue to be active and present in their mentee’s lives. Whether it be helping their Year 7 mentees find their locker or support them through a devastating loss on the handball court, their mentors will be there for it all.

But don’t just take our word for it... let’s hear from some of our mentors and mentees on what this programme has truly meant to them over the past year.

JOSEPH DI CIANO (7.8)

WHAT WERE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT WHEN COMING TO YEAR 7 @ TC?

I was most excited about the selection of sports. I ended up taking rowing and soccer and I have thoroughly enjoyed rowing with my mates and winning the league in the 7A soccer team. I was also excited about making many new friends as I was the only boy who came from my primary school. I have made lots of good friends that I believe will be life-long friends.

DID YOU HAVE ANY FEARS, WORRIES OR CONCERNS STARTING YEAR 7 SUCH AS MAKING FRIENDS, FINDING YOUR CLASS, LOCKER?

At the start of the year I had trouble trying to find my classes but my peer mentors were a great help and guided me to the right class. Also, I had trouble with opening my locker, such as forgetting the code, having trouble unlocking the lock. I knew nobody coming to Trinity and nothing about the school.

HOW DID HAVING A SENIOR MENTOR OVERCOME ANY CHALLENGES OR FEARS YOU HAD?

My senior mentor has helped me throughout the whole year with all school-related stuff and has made my first year of Trinity College a very memorable one.

WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORIES OF YOUR SENIOR MENTOR?

My favourite memory of my senior mentor was when I flipped a single scull and he was in the dinghy helping me get back in the boat. It was quite embarrassing at the time but then grew as a funny memory.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FINAL WORDS FOR YOUR SENIOR MENTOR?

Thank you for being a great support and guide through my time in Year 7. It has been a memorable year for me and all the Year 7s. I wish you all the best for your last year of high school.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS/FEELINGS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH HAVING A SENIOR MENTOR?

I think that it was an intelligent idea to introduce senior mentors so that they can help new Year 7s who may not know anybody at the school (like me) and kids who had trouble transitioning from primary school through to high school.

JEREMIAH SANTELLI (7.6)

WHAT WERE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT WHEN COMING TO YEAR 7 @ TC?

I was so excited for all the opportunities that Trinity had to offer us throughout the whole year, meeting new people joining the school and being able to talk to more boys. The sport at Trinity College was a massive thing I was looking forward to since Orientation Day, finding out that each Friday we would compete against a PSA school with a chosen sport of our own.

DID YOU HAVE ANY FEARS, WORRIES OR CONCERNS STARTING YEAR 7 SUCH AS MAKING FRIENDS, FINDING YOUR CLASS, LOCKER?

The transition from Junior School to Secondary School wasn’t too bad as I knew many of the boys continuing from the Trinity Junior School, but one thing that was quite difficult was finding each class for the first couple of weeks in Term 1 but not long after that, I could easily get to each of my classes on time.

HOW DID HAVING A SENIOR MENTOR OVERCOME ANY CHALLENGES OR FEARS YOU HAD?

At the start of the year when we first met our senior mentors, I didn’t think they would be around us and helping us transition from Junior School to Secondary School but they helped me and my peers so much throughout the whole year. Each morning when we got to school we would go to our lockers and get ready for the day, our senior mentors had their lockers next to us so they would always help us when we needed a hand with something. My senior mentors were always there for me and always looked out for all of us. They were very committed to being with us the whole year and I thought that was an amazing thing for them to do for us.

WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVOURITE MEMORIES OF YOUR SENIOR MENTOR?

There were so many memories that I shared with my senior mentors but the one time that had a massive effect on me was early in Term 1 when we had our Year 7 camp but it got cancelled because of COVID-19 so instead of going to Camp Kelly we did mini activities in our Pastoral Care Group. On the second day of the small camp, we went on a walk around Heirisson Island to explore the history. On the walk to the island we got to talk to all our friends, but it wasn’t just our friends who we did all the activities with, our senior mentors came along to support us and get to know us more as we had only met them a few weeks earlier. On the way, I remember talking to Luke Perlini (11.3) who I hadn’t known that much but we bonded well as we both loved watching the footy each weekend and supported the same team. When we got to Heirisson Island we explored the island and got to know each other more. We decided to play a massive soccer game which our PCG teacher, Mr Jesson, allowed us to do. It was Year 11s vs Year 7s and everyone was excited. As the soccer game went on, I could see that everyone was enjoying the time and that we would have lots more fun times with our senior mentors.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FINAL WORDS FOR YOUR SENIOR MENTOR?

Thank you for putting in the effort and commitment to make our year so much better. It was such a great opportunity and experience to have a role model at the school like you guys. Thanks for always being there for us whenever we needed it.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS/FEELINGS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH HAVING A SENIOR MENTOR?

My mentors did an awesome job and have been massive role models to me and my peers the whole year. I would like to give back to Trinity and, hopefully, become a senior mentor myself when I get to Year 11.

Senior School Winter Sport Wrap