Tag Archives: school

Tips for the School Year!

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Staying active, productive, and attentive in school can be a challenge. Whether you’re in high school, college, or middle school, there’s something that we all need to do to be successful in school: maintaining balanced lifestyle! Here are some tips that can help you survive your school year:

  • Set your priorities on a list. What’s important to you while you’re in school is your grades. Although it doesn’t define your intelligence or who you are as a person, it does reflect on your commitment to academic achievement. List everything that you will be busy this year/semester. Is it your homework that you need to focus on? Or being able to take better notes? Or is doing a sport/club activity also important to you? See if you can determine what will impact you the most and what you have to focus on first.
  • Balance your time on a calendar or using a reminder! Timing in school is very important; deadlines, due dates, & scheduled meetings. If you know you have a lot of things to do, make sure you set at least a week or a couple days to finish. The length of time will vary depending on how much work you need to do, whether it’s a solo or group project, and the type of project.
  • Need help on homework? Don’t fear because you aren’t alone in this. You may be struggling in math or writing or reading but there are many experts and resources out there to help you. You can rely on your family members to tutor you, if not, there are tutor programs, and you can always turn to your peers/teachers/friends for extra help. Don’t feel like you have to take everything on your own because there are resources and people around you who are willing to help.
  • Make a year end goal! What’s your goal by the end of the school year? What is it that you want to achieve or maintain? It doesn’t have to be a academic goal, it can be anything. Set a goal for yourself that you can achieve; joining a photography club, getting a internship, going to the gym/working out more during the school year, or volunteering for pet shelters. The main goal is to keep you motivated towards something positive throughout the year and to have something that you want to do.

Walk to School Day, Oct 7th!

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“International Walk to School Day is a global event that involves communities from more than 40 countries walking and biking to school on the same day. It began in 1997 as a one-day event. Over time, this event has become part of a movement for year-round safe routes to school and a celebration – with record breaking participation – each October. Today, thousands of schools across America – from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico – participate every October.” – http://walkbiketoschool.org/

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www.walkbiketoschool.org

This event occurs each year and serves to remind everyone to live a healthier life. Walking can be exercise too if you do it enough! “Walking briskly for 2 hours and 30 minutes each week— easily broken up into 5, 30-minute walks—helps you meet the Physical Activity Guidelines and gain health benefits.” (http://www.cdc.gov/). If you don’t enjoy running or intense exercise, this is another option. Encourage your community to start walking more often by:

  • Walking with friends and family! It is a great way to spend time and exercise together.
  • Walking outside allows you to be part of the community because you are interacting with environment and people around you. The more people that are outside, the more it will encourage other people to come out.
  • Try to walk to your destinations as often as possible. If it’s close enough, take your time to walk there. Not only will it help you exercise, but help you save transportation money.

Stay Motivated in School

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Many students return to school with new motivation, but it is quite hard to maintain it! Sometimes, you just want to give up because many things can affect you. But don’t worry, you’re not alone as many other students are going through the same problems. These tips will help you get through the year!

  1. To feel good and energized, you need at least 8 hours of sleep! If your body is on a stable sleeping cycle, you will fall asleep much quicker. You’ll find that you will feel better the next morning as you won’t wake up exhausted.
  2. Eat a balance meal with healthy snacks. It’s normal for students of all ages to feel constantly feel hunger throughout the day. Chances are you may be tired, didn’t get to eat a proper meal, or too busy to worry about eating right. But you can try to avoid unhealthy snacks and meals. Try to bring healthy alternatives to satisfy your cravings!
  3. Along with eating well, try to live a balance life. That means make time for your education, family, friends, exercising, and free time. It will assure you more freedom to do what you need and want. So having a planner and being organized helps out a lot!
  4. Ask questions in class! You probably don’t want to stand out or feel less smart than other students in class, but chances are other students are wondering the same. It’s all about trying to educate yourself without worrying what others may think of you.
  5. Build positive relationships with peers and teachers! The closer you are with the people around you, you all can help and educate each other. Also, they provide new perspectives and knowledge that you may not know or have.
  6. Take effective notes! Everyone has their own styles when it comes to note taking. But don’t relentlessly write down notes without proper organization . You won’t be able to find things easily when you need them to study. A popular note taking style is Cornell notes.

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New School Year = Fresh Start

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It’s that time of the year where students are returning to school. Everyone wants to have a new start at school and have a positive experience. But it will be different for everyone. Are you worried about your schedule, making friends, joining sports, and such? Here are some tips to help you out:

  • Don’t be shy to ask for help whether it’s for something small or big. School nurses, staffs, and counselors are there to help students out.
  • Finding your classes can be easy or challenging. The best thing to do is ask the school staffs who can help guide you to the right classroom.
  • Want to a join a sport/club? Meet up with the staffs at the athletic/club office. They can help you with the paperwork and fees that may apply.
  • Having problem with or wanting to change your schedule? You are able to change it if you set up an appointment and meet up with your assigned counselor. Just know that people who are grade above you will be in consideration first.
  • Trying to make new friends? Often time, you just need to reach out first (volunteer or partner work, speak first, invite others, etc.). It could be in the classroom, club, or sport team setting. You have more opportunities to make friends with people who share more similarities.
  • Stray away from drama, peer pressure, and negativity. Focus on important things such as your homework, grades, and friends. Don’t get too hung over school drama or with unwanted peer pressure because those things won’t do you much good.

Focus on School Adjustment Problems

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Focus on School Adjustment Problems:
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Some students experience difficulties adjusting to new classes (content and standards), new schools, new teachers, new classmates, etc. It is particularly poignant to see a student who is trying hard, but is disorganized and can’t keep up.
Over the first few weeks, teachers realize quickly who has and hasn’t made a good adjustment to their classroom and to the school. This is the time to address the problem before it gets worse. If adjustment problems are not addressed, student motivation for school dwindles, and behavior problems increase. Misbehavior often arises in reaction to learning difficulties.
The first month is the time to be proactive. This is the time for staff development to focus on the type of strategies that enable good student adjustment, as well as identifying and addressing problems as soon as they arise. This is the time for student support staff to work with teachers in their classrooms to intervene before problems become severe and pervasive and require referrals for out-of-class interventions.
While some schools already have a proactive approach to student adjustment problems, many do not. These are the type of concerns that are regularly addressed by a transformed system of student and learning supports.*
Making it Happen
(1) To facilitate a strong focus on school adjustment, use a staff development session to encourage structured staff discussions about what teachers can do and what other staff (e.g., student support staff, resource teachers, etc.) can do to team with teachers in their classrooms to enhance school adjustment. Also clarify ways to use aides, volunteers, peer tutors/coaches, mentors, those in the home, etc. to help with additional strategies designed to enhance social, emotional, and cognitive engagement.
(2) Establish September as “Addressing School Adjustment Month – Getting the School Year Off to a Good Start” (see Is the School Year Off to a Good Start? — http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/goodstart.pdf )
(3) Let staff know about the following free and easily accessed Center resources:
• Supports for Transitions – Chapter 4 in Transforming Student and Learning Supports: Developing a Unified,
           Comprehensive, and Equitable System–  http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/book/book.pdf
            • Addressing School Adjustment Problems — http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/adjustmentproblems.pdf
• What Schools Can Do to Welcome and Meet the Needs of All Students and Families –
• Welcoming Strategies for Newly Arrived Students and Their Families –
• Welcoming and Involving New Students and Families – http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/welcome/welcome.pdf
• Learning Supports: Enabling Learning in the Classroom — http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/rtipract.pdf   
For more, use the Online Clearinghouse Quick Finds to link to other Center resources and to online resources across the country. For example, see:
>Transition Programs/Grade Articulation/Welcoming – http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/p2101_01.htm
>Classroom Focused Enabling – http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/classenable.htm
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Go Back to School Tobacco-free!‏

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Let’s go back to school with a positive mindset on living healthy! One thing to encourage your peers and friends is to be tobacco-free. Although statistics shows that tobacco use is gradually decreasing, many are still at risk.

Use some of these tips to support this cause:

  • Set yourself or others to be a good role model. It can help change people’s perspective that tobacco usage is not cool or good for your body.
  • Say no to tobacco! Don’t let peer pressure get to you or to your friends! Only do what you want to and not what others say to you.
  • Quitting it sooner is better than never! If you are currently using tobacco or know someone who is, try to convince yourself/them to stop. Extensive research has show that by using tobacco it can cause diseases like lung cancer, breathing problems, stroke, and more.

Here are some quick facts to help you learn more about being tobacco:

  • From 2011 to 2014, current cigarette smoking declined among middle and high school students.4,5
  • Nearly 3 of every 100 middle school students (2.5%) reported in 2014 that they smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days—a decrease from 4.3% in 2011.
  • In 2014, more than 12 of every 100 high school students (12.7%) and approximately 3 of every 100 middle school students (3.1%) reported use of two or more tobacco products in the past 30 days.4
  • In 2014, nearly 25 of every 100 high school students (24.6%) and nearly 8 of every 100 middle school students (7.7%) used some type of tobacco product.4

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Credits to www.cdc.gov

Sparking a Generation of Drug-Free Youth‏

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There are many things we can do to make the world a better place. One of them is to prevent youths from drug use and substance abuse. It is a parent’s concern as well as society’s problem because it does affect everyone.

According to www.cdc.gov, in the U.S. 66.2% of teens has had at least one drink of alcohol in their life. It is not surprising because teens are influenced by peer pressures and social expectations. About 40.7% of teens had use marijuana once or more during their life. This statistic could be so high due to the fact that many people perceived marijuana as ‘safe’ to use. Also, 22.1% of teens has been offered, sold, or given illegal drugs on school property. Drug and substance use for many people and teens are easy way out of situations like dealing with stress, making a reputation, developing their image, trying to find their place in life, etc.

pastyearvariousdrugshttp://www.drugabuse.gov

Most of the time drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc., are not sought out by teens, but they receive or are introduced to them through a friend or a family member. It is those connections that we can’t stop because it is up to the individuals to accept or decline the offer. It is not about whether what is safer to use and what are the ‘acceptable’ risks. What we want is to prevent any possible harm that come onto the user’s health and others as well.