With the Portage High School Natural Helpers program, one of the projects our group takes on each year is a Freshman Mentor Program. The program has become increasingly successful over the years.
We realize a large school like PHS can sometimes be intimidating to incoming freshmen. Each year we identify a group of freshmen who could use the helping hand of a great senior. We have 12 Seniors who work with the program throughout the year; each is put in charge of a small group of 4-5 Freshmen.
Every 3 weeks we meet to develop relationships between the Freshmen and the Seniors. The small groups were to create a piece of artwork that incorporated all their names and something each of them likes.
This is a great activity that continues to improve the climate of the school and to bridge the gap between 9th Graders and 12th Graders.