In the current setup of the House System at Chaminade, true mentor group activity time has become quite limited. What was once a daily opportunity to connect with students outside our friend groups and in different grade levels through activities and games has now been replaced by constant, specially scheduled activities. From grade-level meetings and prayer services to Studio 216 videos and group discussions, the ability to unwind and have fun has almost vanished. These interruptions might seem trivial, but in reality, it is stripping a key social activity away from the students.
Within the past few years, the first major shift that occurred in the mentor group schedule was its relocation from the beginning of the day to after the first class. The change was made to account for students who chose to skip mentor group, as it seemed optional. The patch or “band-aid” solution is to make sure the students are already at school by having a class first, but the more permanent solution is to hold those who skip to be accountable for their actions and threaten them with consequences.
The same students who would skip were never going to participate in the mentor group anyway. However, by moving it to the middle of the day, it restricted those students who used to enjoy mentor groups to now only have fifteen to twenty minutes a day. When it was at the beginning of the day, it was still only fifteen minutes, but you would also get all the time before school depending on how early you arrived.
Even now, as we are stuck with it being only fifteen minutes, that still contributes to over an hour of games and activities a week. Most mentor groups can be found engaging in group games like board games, Spikeball, ping pong, dodgeball, basketball, etc. However, on four out of the five days of the week, there are distractions that get rid of the activity time for something else.
Mondays have become almost entirely devoted to a rotation between watching Studio 216 videos and joining in on discussions. Tuesdays, once a quarter, have become house prayer services. Wednesdays, at least in the Gray House, have been nearly weekly occurring grade-level meetings within the house that are structured more than entertaining. Then finally, Fridays have been a wide range from whole school events, to fun house competitions, to regular mass.
Now, do not mistake that some of these activities are not important. Mass is an integral part of education, and some grade level activities are just needed for planning. The problem is when these activities are being regularly scheduled on top of each other to take up valuable mentor group time. Students aren’t even able to predict what a mentor group on any day may look like.
Ultimately, if the school still finds these activities important, then they may include them, but should do so while also recognizing the importance of bonding and fun time in the mentor group itself. They should not let them just overlap with the already minimal time that is allotted to this vital participation within the House System. Instead, events like Studio 216 should be optional based on interest. Additionally, grade level meetings should be rare if included at all, but definitely not on a week where there are already other distractions. By minimizing the events that take up mentor group time, we can keep the current schedule and still allow for ample time for fun. It is a simple change with the leaders within each house to pay attention to their scheduling habits, and yet it makes a big difference when it comes to the importance of daily mentor group.
