With the number of homeroom and specialty subjects, clubs, sports teams, field trips, in-house presentations, and special events we have here at Mentor College, it is difficult to describe a typical day in the life of a Mentor College Intermediate Division student. Each day is a different day. Students are always busy, always moving, and always learning something new.
With the first bell, our students go to their lockers located outside of their homeroom classroom and get organized for the day. After socializing with their friends and getting their books and belongings, they are expected to be in their homeroom classroom ready to learn by 8:45 AM, when the second bell rings.
We begin each day with the national anthem sung live by one of our students – just one of the many ways we encourage the arts here at Mentor College. After the anthem, members of our student parliament are responsible for reading the morning announcements, informing our student body about upcoming school events and about the times and locations of the many extracurricular activities we offer.
The formal instruction time of our day begins. Each class or period is 50 minutes in length and there are six classes or periods each day. Students spend the day with their homeroom teachers and their subject specialist teachers. Our students are never left unattended; our homeroom teachers escort their students to and from each specialty class.
Many teachers begin each class reviewing the previous day’s homework assignment to ensure their students are ready to begin the next lesson. A variety of effective teaching and assessment strategies, including the use of technology where appropriate, is used to help students learn and to measure their understanding. Homework is assigned near the end of each class and designed to give students the opportunity to practice and to apply independently at home the skills taught at school.
Our Intermediate Division follows a balanced school day schedule, meaning that students enjoy two nutrition/recreation breaks throughout the day. Our Grade 5 and 6 students share a recess time, and our Grade 7 and 8 students have recess together. Our first break occurs in the morning, and the second occurs in the afternoon. Students enjoy nutritional breaks with their classmates, supervised by their homeroom teacher. Students are outside during our supervised recesses, or they may participate in a club or attend extra help sessions offered by their teachers.
Prior to the final bell, students tidy up their work area, put away their belongings, and to pack their backpacks. Homeroom teachers initial each student’s agenda to ensure that the assigned homework has been recorded correctly. Homework assignments and expectations are also posted to Edsby, our school online learning platform.
The final bell rings at 3:15pm to indicate the end of another school day. Students going home right away meet their parents at their pre-arranged location or make their way to the waiting school buses. Those staying later might be found in HeadStart (our after-school study hall programme), participating in one of the many extra-curricular activities offered at Mentor, or socializing with their friends on the front lawn until their parents pick them up.
