Peer Counseling
Peer counselors are trained students dedicated to The Hill School community and fellow classmates. In its fourth successful year, the peer counseling program at The Hill is designed to:
Enhance the well being of its students and allow students to foster positive feelings toward themselves as a person, their peers, and toward their teachers.
It provides a vehicle for students to express themselves and their concerns.
It is a link between those who can help and those who need help.
It is intended to help students to learn to deal with everyday problems constructively and realistically.
It enables students to participate in supportive, growth-oriented peer group experiences at The Hill School.
The program allows students the opportunity to meet students who have difficulty relating to adults.
The mission statement of the Peer Counseling Group reads: The goal of the peer counseling group is to inform new students, support returning students, and maintain a safe and healthy community.
Peer counselors receive training at the start of the school year. Throughout the year they must commit to two monthly meetings, taking place after dinner. Peer counselor training includes the following activities and topics of concern:
Group exercises: Trust Ball, People Search, paraphrasing exercises, trust and encouragement exercises, peer pressure refusal exercises.
Topics covered: Identifying poor listening styles; identifying good listening characteristics; understanding nonverbal behavior, feelings, and emotions; learning refusal skills.
As a group, peer counselors brainstorm about issues that affect the community. "We are a group that tries to keep current on changing needs," says Rebecca Smith, director of counseling.
Along with the help of peer counselors, The Caron Foundation visits Hill residences to talk about sources of support and signs / symptoms of substance abuse.
Peer Tutoring
As an important element of the peer counseling group, peer tutors offer Hill students an alternative to receiving academic support from faculty.
Supported by the peer counseling program, peer tutors are peer counselors who have achieved an average grade of a B or higher in the subject matter they wish to tutor. The peer tutoring program serves as an academic support system for students by offering one-on-one assistance with a tutor who specializes in a subject.
Peer tutors are available by appointment in the library every night of the week for students seeking additional assistance from his or her peers. To maintain confidentiality, appointments are made through the student head of the program.
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