Mentor Program
Silkwood School offers a unique learning environment where every student has a personalised learning plan with the opportunity to complete explorations and projects connected to their interests and passions. We are always looking for mentors to support our students with these endeavours.
As a mentor, you can provide guidance and share knowledge in various ways to positively impact a young person on their learning journey.
From delivering talks about your career, innovations and life journey, offering workplace experience, advice on project work or an academic critique of a student's Senior Thesis Project, being a mentor is a rewarding way to connect with emerging learners and help them achieve their education goals.
Mentoring Snapshot
What is a mentor? A mentor is someone experienced, passionate and skilled in areas linked to a mentee's interest and lines of inquiry. They can impart knowledge, skills, ideas, feedback, and critique to help mentees progress and achieve their learning goals.
What is a mentee? A mentee is someone keen to learn from a person in the field who has experience, passion, and skills in an interest area they're exploring. They can learn in different ways, take on feedback and ideas effectively, and be confident engaging with someone able to help them progress their learning goals.
Mentoring relationship skills: listening, observing, questioning, demonstrating, showing mutual respect, sharing ideas, using effective communication, being organised, setting and reflecting on learning goals, using creative and critical thinking, problem-solving, leadership development, working in partnership, linking to community, showing gratitude. These are the skills we see as invaluable to the relationship dynamic between a mentor and mentee.
All Ages Mentoring
Below is an outline of how interest exploration and project work develop across a student's schooling years and the potential roles mentors can offer at each stage. It is a general guide that can be adapted based on the student and mentor's individual needs.
Primary Years: Prep to Year 5
Short activities and one-off experiences that engage students with a range of topics and ideas.
Mentor Role: run classroom activities (e.g. 30-minute drawing class), provide 1:1 advice to students about their personal interest project work.
Middle School: Years 6 to 9
Students typically spend one to two hours per week on personal interest projects, excursions, guest speakers, and work units covering a range of topics.
Mentor Role: deliver talks about their career, innovation and life journey, provide 1:1 advice to students about their personal interest project work.
Senior School: Years 10 to 12
Students increase the time spent on their personal interest projects, workplace internships and when in Year 12, their Senior Thesis Project.
Mentor Role: offer workplace experience, provide 1:1 advice to students about their personal interest project work, conduct an academic critique of a student's Senior Thesis Project.
Silkwood provides insurance for workplace visits. In some cases, you may require a blue card for working with young people; however, for one-off and periodic guest appearances or working with students in staff and parents' presence, blue cards are not required.
What Our Mentors Say
Mentoring is a rewarding experience that can positively impact the student, the organisation, its employees, and the wider community.
Through genuine relationships, mentors teach work ethic and model what it means to be an adult member of our community.
Angela Derks, Founder CEO of the Australasian Sustainable Wellness Academy, wellness thought-leader and business owner reflects on her experience as a Silkwood mentor below:
“We all have the potential to contribute to positive and healthy impacts in our lives, careers and businesses. Having a mentor helps us develop the capabilities needed to fast-track the process with confidence. My intention in my role as a mentor is to help others achieve their personal and professional goals without compromising their mental health and wellbeing in the process,”
“I am humbled when I see the immense potential that lays within our youth to drive much-needed positive change for people and the planet. In addition to sharing career or business tips and techniques to boost the student’s professional trajectory, sharing what I have learnt from the mistakes I’ve made, challenges we’ve had and how we navigated through them, supports their personal and professional success. I’ve been where students are now, I get it, and I am happy to meet them where they’re at and support them in the way they need to grow and thrive by guiding them towards career roles and business opportunities that I see within the industries I work with where they will be valued and supported to continue to thrive.
It also works the other way; I am inspired and grow from my experience with mentees such as Connor, whose quest to continue to better himself to contribute to the world around him is nothing short of incredible and inspirational. My life is enriched by Connor’s gifts of positivity and his passion for optimising life, sports and human performance. I also gain the opportunity to hear a different perspective on living and working in today’s ever-changing world.”
What Our Students Say
Year 12 student Connor reflects on his mentor relationship with Angela Derks, CEO of the Australian Sustainable Wellness Academy (ASWA) below.
Through my mentorship with Angela Derks, she has helped me with many aspects of my project I haven't even considered. She has constantly reminded me of the purpose of the project whenever I have forgotten which path should be the next to take. Her knowledge in the wellness industry is second to none, and she has offered me an abundance of resources to use at my disposal.
Despite all of this, I think it's her patience, empathy, and passion to help others improve their wellness that has helped me above all else. Whenever we meet or communicate, all her attention is solely on listening to what I have to say and assisting me in any way possible. This is something I am so grateful for; the opportunity to meet people who are dedicated to making other's dreams come true.
Become a Mentor
If you are interested in becoming a mentor at Silkwood School, please complete the enquiry form via the button below and our Real-World Learning Coordinator will get in touch.
Real-World Learning Coordinator
Silkwood has a dedicated Real-World Learning Coordinator who helps students make connections by developing and maintaining a database of available mentors, exploring opportunities for new mentors, and helping students develop the skills they need to find their own mentors.
They also oversee the important paperwork needed to ensure our students are kept safe, and the school's compliance measures are being met by mentors.
To discuss mentoring in further detail, please contact Tai Hood via email rwlc@silkwood.qld.edu.au.
