With so many distractions and priorities in our students’ lives today, it can be tough to stay on track. Thankfully, there are many free resources to help students sharpen their study skills.

To support organization, Google Keep is a resource that allows students to easily save articles, images, and videos during the research or study process, while adding a quick note to remember the importance of the resource for later use.

Interested in helping students stay away from distractions on their Chromebook during homework time? StayFocusd is a Chrome extension that makes it easy to set temporary website blocks (social media, YouTube, etc.) during study time. 

While study skills are incredibly valuable, even the most organized and focused students may stumble in the wake of social and emotional challenges.

Practicing mindfulness is one way to help students build their emotional resilience. A comfortable, private way for students to practice mindfulness is by adding mindfulness apps such as Aura or Stop, Breathe, Think to a cell phone or personal device. 

As the district's high school juniors and seniors begin looking at post-secondary plans, it is helpful to consider what skills are in demand in the job market and what the future holds for different career paths. 

The World Economic Forum places complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, and coordinating with others as the top five skills needed to thrive in the job markets of the future. Based on an article from CNBC (2018), many of the current top occupations in the U.S. are jobs that deal directly with working with people, technology, and data. The skills needed for these types of careers are ones that are cultivated and practiced in many courses offered at Yorkville High School including Child Development, Computer Graphics, Project Lead the Way, Dual Credit English 101, AP Statistics, and Bio-Med. 

When students choose to take advantage of these courses, as well as opportunities like the Field Experience program, they are building the necessary skills to be ready in college and beyond. According to an article published by Forbes (2018), learning how to learn, being able to analyze information, using strong communication skills, and having cultural awareness are some of the key skills students and adults entering the job force will need by 2020, and are all focus skills in many of the courses in high school. Supporting students as they develop the skills and knowledge for their future is at the heart of the district's Portrait of a Learner, and will continue to be an area of focus throughout the year.