lara mentorship

Thursday, September 8 2016

Lara Naim

Hello Miss. DiTullio,

My name is Lara Naim and I am a grade eleven student here at St. Pius X High School. I have been at St. Pius for the past three years and every year gets better than the previous one. I have been looking forward to being a part of the mentorship program all summer long. When I was told that I had the chance to chose the class I would be in, I immediately knew that I would chose your ESL class. English is my favourite subject, but it has never been the easiest for me. I grew up in a home where English was not our first language as I grew up speaking Arabic and didn't actually start learning English until I began junior kindergarten. I was never an ESL student, but I understand how hard it can be to adapt to a new language. I want to be able to bring my skills that I have acquired through experience into the classroom and help to make your students enjoy the english language and enjoy learning it.

I have not been as involved in the school as I would like to be, but last year I was a peer helper which served as a great experience for me. I thoroughly enjoyed helping the new students and showing them around the school, mainly because I knew what it was like to be in grade 9 and be new to a school. I have been to five different schools in my life, so I understand what it’s like to be new somewhere and it isn't always the most comfortable situation to be in. I recently got a job at a restaurant named Colonnade Pizza. It is a family run business and is owned by my uncle. I have been there for five months now and it has served as a helpful learning experience for me. My dad and my uncle are opening another branch of Colonnade Pizza and I will be working there when it opens. My experience at my uncle's restaurant has taught me a great deal of lessons and has prepared me for what is to come next for my family. One of my biggest academic accomplishments took place last year. Grade nine was a tough year for me academically. I finished with a final average of 79.5 and I was very disappointed with the outcome of my effort. My sole goal for grade ten was to make the honour roll and redeem myself from my grade 9 year. I worked tirelessly all year and ended up surprising myself, my parents and even my teachers with the extent that my marks had progressed. I ended the year with an average of 86.5 and have never been more proud of myself. I plan to do the same in my last two years of high school and work hard in anything and everything I do, because nothing has payed off more for me in my life. Something I also thought I should touch on is that I love to travel. My favourite place to travel to is Lebanon. Lebanon is by far my favourite place to be simply because of the friendly, loving atmosphere that comes with vacationing there. A few other places that I have been to are Halifax, Toronto, Kingston, Montreal and Ohio. With each place that I’ve visited came endless memories and stories that I’ll always have with me to tell. The next place on my travel bucket list is New York City. There’s something about the reputation that New York holds that sparks a certain wanderlust in me that I just can’t shake. In the future, I aspire to be studying in a university, although I’m not sure which universities I’m interested in yet. I am not quite certain what profession I would like to take on in the future. With that being said, I do know that I love to help people and that my strongest and favourite subject in high school is English. Hopefully after school I will be able to travel a lot more.

Finally, I would like to touch on the skills that I can bring into the classroom while being a part of the mentorship program. I am very good with people. I always try my best to be as attentive as possible and to provide as much help as I can to those who need it. I am very patient with others, I am open to many new ideas and I am able to stay calm in stressful situations. Although, I do know that this mentorship experience will allow me to broaden my range of skills and expand my abilities that I have already acquired.

So far, I am having an incredible time in your class and am getting along with all of the students. I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn, to interact with others, to be creative in a classroom environment that is not my own and to make some new friends in the process.