Hot tips to get you through the last days of school

How are you feeling today? Exhausted? Sad? Relieved? Stressed? Excited? With only a few days (for those lucky ones) or a week or so until the end of the school year, you may feel like you’re limping along to the summer holiday finish line. Me too.

Here’s what has been helping me get through the last week:

• Making a list of what needs to be done at school and home each day, and for the week, then blocking out time in my calendar for each according to importance.
• Setting reminders in the calendar on my phone to buzz during break times reminding me to call a student’s parent, or order the Christmas ham, or buy the book online for my auntie’s present.
• Going for a 30-minute walk most days before school, or after my kids go to bed, while listening to podcasts.
• Winding down by watching a favourite TV show after dinner or reading a great novel. In the last week, I’ve tuned into The Fall,The Affair, The Crown and am reading the collection of short stories, Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke.

To help you get through to the end of the year we thought we’d bring you a collection of articles we have previously written. Click on the links below to read:

Activities to do with your students in the classroom:

• Keeping students engaged in the last few weeks of term
• Reflect on the year – write a letter

How to care for yourself when you are feeling exhausted at the end of the year:

• Finish the year on a calm note
• Teachers: Looking after yourself

How to get ready for next year now:

• Preparing for next year now

All the best for the summer break and remember to keep hydrated and put your feet up.

Zoe Ganim

Psych4Schools School Psychologist