The Mentor system in our High School is an important vehicle for fostering School ruach (spirit) and ensuring that the pastoral care needs of our students are met on a daily basis. The School is divided into four Houses, each named after important cities and towns in Israel: Be鈥檈r Sheva, Teveria, Yerushalayim and Zfat. Within each house, there are three Mentor groups. Mentor teachers are matched with students and their families when they join the School. This relationship plays a significant role throughout each student's High School career. Siblings are kept together in the Mentor system and this enables Mentor teachers to build a strong bond with our Carmel families.

The purpose of the Mentor system is to ensure that each student can identify and actively work with their strengths and weaknesses. We place heavy emphasis on ensuring that our students are equipped with the necessary social and emotional intelligence to be successful. We run a range of ongoing programs each year to support students and their families on this journey. These range from Peer Support programs run by trained Carmel students, to guest speakers and incursions and excursions.

Our Mentor groups are structured vertically for Years 9 - 12 so that students from across听these years听work together. This is particularly significant in building the leadership capacity of our students.听Role modelling becomes inherent in the Mentor system and older members of mentor group support younger members socially and academically. This structure also ensures that there are consistent connections for each student as they progress through to Year 12.

For students in Years 7 - 8, we听have dedicated Mentor groups (one per House). In their Mentor groups, the 7s and 8s will be explicitly taught how to successfully navigate their High School lives. There is a focus on organisation skills; planning skills; study techniques; note-taking skills; effective use of the homework diary; and, pastoral care issues explicit to the younger years. As well as some fun too of course!

Our Mentor teachers work closely with听our Dean of Students to monitor the academic, social and emotional journey of all our students.

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School Ruach:

There are a number of competitions throughout the school year that Mentor groups participate in as part of the larger House system:

• House Cultural Competition: 听Students compete weekly in a range of activities such as Debating, Chess, Engineering and Film making.
• Sporting Competitions: Swimming Carnival, Athletics Carnival and the Lightning Beach Carnival.

Students earn points towards their House for participation. At the end of the year, one House takes home the House shield based on the results across the range of competitions and Academic Merit.