Santa Paula High School Academic Volunteer Mentor Program “Mentor of the Month”

March 24, 2000
Santa Paula High School
Bill Weinerth is the Santa Paula High School (SPHS) Academic Volunteer Mentor of the Month. He has been mentoring students two to three times a week this school year. Mr. Weinerth has had a lifetime of being involved with helping people. He is a retired pastor and worked in that capacity for 30 years. The last four and a half years of his career he worked for the County of Ventura as a counselor for the Homeless Alcohol and Drug Addicts. Currently you will find Mr. Weinerth with students either on campus or in the orchard with bees. He is a bee manager and loves to teach students this art. Mr. Weinerth says, “I enjoy the process of seeing students change from being nervous when they first walk up to the bee hives to becoming comfortable around the bees.” According the Weinerth, “We will have aggressive bees but the basic precaution is not to stir up the bees.... The main thing I want people to know is our need to value bees.” He is a gifted, patient and committed mentor to SPHS students. Mr. Weinerth has a positive influence on a student’s attitude and enables them to feel confident. He feels passionate about educating students and wants to pass on his knowledge to our youth. Bees are responsible for contributing to 30% of our food chain. The great majority of plants need insect pollination before the plant produces such delightful foods like peaches, almonds, seeds and melons.The students love to be mentored by Mr. Weinerth: “Learning about bees is interesting, Mr. Weinerth has made us aware of their importance to our food chain.” “Getting honey from the colonies is awesome.” “I never knew that pollen was sold as a health food.” These are a few of the quotes from SPHS students who have been mentored by Mr. Weinerth. Mr. Weinerth educates students on local, state and global marketing of honey and pollen. He enjoys training students and says, “There is a real need for young people to get involved in bee management.”In addition to mentoring students off campus, Mr. Weinerth mentors students on campus. He instructs students on tobacco education. He spends time every week on campus educating students on the dangers of smoking. He works with students who are trying to quit smoking by working in groups with them, counseling and educating them on the effect of smoking and how to quit. Some of the high school students he trains in tobacco education go to the middle schools to speak to students about the dangers of smoking.
Mr. Weinerth says, “It makes me feel good to work with kids, it is fun and I enjoy it.” The students enjoy the mentoring he gives them and they feel fortunate to have Mr. Weinerth who is a caring and kind mentor. The faculty and staff at Santa Paula High School feel fortunate to have Mr. Weinerth working with students to enrich their education. It is heart-warming to have people who care and commit their time and energy to make this a better world by acting locally as Mr. Weinerth does with students at SPHS.



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