Mentoring scheme to help students soar

Every fortnight, Pacific Island students of all levels, gather at Northcote College to learn, study and get ahead.

The Laulotaha Mentoring Programme sees school students meet with mentors for one-on-one help. It was founded by Valeti Finau in Wellington in 2008 and she brought it to Northcote in 2012.

Laulotaha is Tongan for excellence and Finau says that is the benchmark.

‘‘It’s a total approach to ensure the kids are on the same page as the kids in the rest of the class, and even ahead of the class,’’ Finau says.

‘‘It’s not the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, we want to empower and help our kids to fly off the top of the mountain as everybody else does, not provide an ambulance to pick them up.’’

Finau says the ultimate goal is for Pacific Island students to achieve NCEA with excellence and go on to achieve in their chosen field as role models.

This is year 13 student Shawn Lomu’s second year in the programme and she has been both a mentor and mentee.

Lomu says it is rewarding ‘‘seeing the progress that the kids make over time and knowing that you helped them’’.

‘‘It’s also extra time to study. There are people out there who are willing to support you and take time out of their lives to help you succeed.’’

The Northcote resident wants to go on a church mission after leaving school then return to be a navy paramedic.

She says the programme has helped her figure out what she needs to do to achieve that.

Finau says there are about 30 students from more than 10 schools participating and she hopes to roll the programme out to the rest of the country.

While students study, the parents who brought them to the programme split off into groups which discuss related topics like health and goals - one for mothers and one for fathers.

Finau says, while mentors are volunteers, they are of a high calibre with university and high school students, as well as the principal and other teachers volunteering. During the programme, primary school students focus on literacy and numeracy, years 7 to 10 focus on science, maths and English, and NCEA students can focus on their areas of need.

The programme is held on the first and third Friday of the month, from 6pm till 8pm during term. See laulotaha.org.nz.

PHOTO: ZIZI SPARKS/FAIRFAX NZ Shawn Lomu is a mentor and mentee in the Laulotaha Mentoring Programme and says both are rewarding.