Welcome back to a new school year!

I know that the start of a new school year can be met with varying levels of enthusiasm from students and from parents. It's hard to get back into a routine that necessitates you waking up early, following a more structured schedule for 7-8 hours, and really working that brain!

It's also a great time to "try on" some new things: a growth mindset about your abilities, an openness to trying out new strategies to help you learn and perform, and new ways of interacting with teachers and other students. Below are 3 things students and parents can try in the first few weeks of school, to help them get off on the right foot. Leave a comment below to share how it goes! 

1. Introduce yourself to someone you have never met before. This could be a new student, your new teacher, or another parent. Ask him or her questions (related to school or not). See what you have in common, and how you might be able to connect! Even if it doesn't lead to a new friendship, you'll be more comfortable when you cross paths with that person in the future, and it never hurts to familiarize yourself with people who will surround you for the rest of the school year! 

2. Write out and post a plan for getting and staying organized throughout the school year. Where will backpacks, lunch boxes, and sports equipment be dumped when you get home? Who is responsible for making sure you leave with everything you need for the day? When will this be packed up, and when and where will homework be completed? Writing this out and posting it somewhere visible gets everyone on the same page, and provides some accountability for who is responsible for what.

3. Practice presence and bring joy to the mundane parts of the day. Do some slow, deep stretching as you brush your teeth in the morning. On the ride to school, visualize an upcoming part of your day, and picture everything going just as you want it to. Take the time to notice how people react when you smile and say hi to them in the hallway. If you feel awkward or overwhelmed at any point, take 5 deep, slow breaths and feel where in your body the breath travels to. At the start of each class period for a whole day, make a list of three things or people you're grateful for. Do one kind thing for someone else every day for one week. 

​Try out some of these suggestions and let us know how things go!