Junior Mentors Support Kindness Week, High School Transition

At Boyce, the mentors’ visit served as a culminating activity for the school’s Kindness Week celebration. Working in coordination with Amy Antonio, Boyce school counselor, a group of senior “super” mentors – Grant Casciato, Emma Hollingsworth, Gigi Spina and Nic Volpatt – designed an activity aligned with the Olympic-inspired theme, “Passing the Torch of Kindness.”

Junior mentors visited fifth- and sixth-grade classrooms, where they led middle school students in an activity to award one another “gold medals of kindness” recognizing positive traits and actions. Each student received a medal and wore it proudly throughout the day.

The same day, mentors traveled to Fort Couch to meet with current eighth graders during Panther Time. Students received peer-to-peer advice about the high school scheduling process and what to expect as freshmen.

The visit followed recent presentations by ninth-grade counselors Tom Marquis and Courtney Wregget, who outlined the class selection process for incoming students. Together, the counselor presentations and mentor discussions are designed to support students academically and socially as they prepare for the transition to high school.

“This dual approach helps to address the whole child and provides as much information and guidance as possible before scheduling,” Dr. Michael Funfar, a Junior Mentor coordinator and math teacher, said.

The annual middle school visits are a highlight of the Junior Mentor Program’s spring activities. The program centers on the mission of building relationships, fostering genuine concern and promoting student success.

Established in 2009, the Junior Mentor Program is coordinated through the Upper St. Clair High School counseling department and serves as a key component of the district’s transition programming. The program is overseen by four faculty members – Mr. Marquis; Dr. Funfar; Amanda Haas, math teacher; and Maureen Chermak, applied learning strategies teacher.