Teaching mentorships are a two-way street
When Mrs Alanna Hulstone was approached to be a mentor for Trinity’s 2025 cohort of Interns, she didn’t have to think it over.
“I jumped at the opportunity,” she says. “It was something that I personally haven’t done before, so I was really interested to try the experience out.”
At the beginning of her own career, Mrs Hulstone was mentored by a supervising teacher during one of her placements and she says that the experience was what set the tone for the rest of her career, as well as giving her a friend in the profession, for life.
“We just clicked instantly and she was so insightful, so helpful, and really passionate about not only her teaching practice, but inspiring me and helping me to grow mine.
“I ended up getting a job at that school after I finished uni and we ended up being grade partners. It was a nice full circle moment, and we’ve stayed friends ever since.”
“Having that relationship with an experienced classroom teacher in my uni days, it made me keen to have that same relationship with a person I was mentoring.”
Being the beneficiary of such a memorable and career-shaping mentorship meant that Mrs Hulstone was interested in creating a similar environment for her own mentee, Ms Grace Napoleone.
From day one, she has focused on good communication, regular check-ins, and an organic approach so that both parties of the mentorship feel comfortable to reflect and grow. But she also knew that Ms Napoleone wasn’t just here to learn from her; she made sure that there were opportunities to observe other teachers at work, so she could learn different approaches.
“It was really important for me to make sure Grace knew the Trinity environment really well, building connections with other staff too, so that she could feel comfortable going to anyone and asking them different questions.”
Teachers at Trinity are busy but Mrs Hulstone says that being a mentor didn’t add any extra weight onto her workload.
“If anything, it’s made me reflect on my practice a lot more as a teacher,” she says. “One thing that surprised me is how much I’ve learnt about myself from the process. I feel like it’s made me reflect on my practices as a teacher, as a leader, as a communicator.”
“We are teachers but we’re also learners.”
She hopes to continue mentoring in some capacity as she moves forward and she encourages her colleagues to consider it for their own growth.
“It’s a really great opportunity to facilitate young teachers who are coming up and give them this amazing experience, because Trinity is an amazing place and it’s a very busy place.
“I feel like if [the Interns] can succeed and flourish here, they’ll be able to achieve great things in their career.”
