In Principio v17 no4 (2006)

STUDENT SPORTING ACHIEVEMENTS AUSTRALIAN un1versrtysport Western Spirit Award Notre Dame's Fremantle Campus has been awarded the annual WESTERN SPIRIT AWARD for 2005. The award is presented to the university that excels in sportsmanship, presentation, enthusiasm and attitude. Votes are awarded by the umpires and Australian University Sport staff at each Australian University sport event during the yea~ Basketball Success For the first time in the sporting history of Notre Dame both the Wqmen's and Men's Basketball teams have qualified for the Australian University Gameswhich are being held in Adelaide in September this year. Manager of the Fremantle Campus Student Life Office, David McLean said, "this has been a great achievement for our students. We took great pride in making the finals against Edith Cowan University in the Women's and Curtin University in the Men's. "This is the second successive year that our Men's team has won the grand final." A David Mclean with captain of the men's t eam, Chris Zielinski. m STUDENT I SERVICES NEW MENTORING PROGRAM FOR THE FREMANTLE CAMPUS A mentoring program for new students was piloted in Semester 2 2005 with a small cohort of students. It proved to be very successful and this year it has been introduced to all new students. The program aims to connect groups of new students with a current student who is studying in the same School to assist in the transition to university. Mentors meet with students once a week during the beginning of the semester. These are valuable meetings as mentors are able to share information about the University and its services and to generally be a supportive friendly face on campus. The role of the mentor extends beyond these meetings by providing support on a day-to– day basis when required by the new student. A very effective way of providing such support has evolved through the small email networks that are formed within groups, allowing quick responses to questions and the exchange of information. The mentor groups also provide a great opportunity for new students to meet socially other new students from their Schools, kick-starting their peer networks. A New students at the picnic lunch. Staff in the Student Life Office help to prepare the mentors for their role and to ensure that they are well-informed. Feedback sessions will be held to ensure that the new students are receiving the support they feel is relevant. This year the mentor program has students from all Schools participating; these include international students and mature-age students. Whilst a number of mentors had the opportunity to meet with their 'mentees' during orientation week, all were able to connect at a picnic lunch which was held on the Esplanade in the beginning of March. Mentor, Elisha Caulfield, a fourth year student studying Health and Physical Education, summed up the value of the mentor program through memories of her own introduction to university life: "I remember how hard it was at the beginning of uni to find my way around and get used to the new environment, so I wanted to help someone else out to make it easier for them. I participated in the first mentor program last year and had a great time meeting new students so I have volunteered again this year."