Dear Prince Parents:
The closing weeks of summer leading up to the start of school present opportune, non-conflict times to prepare your student for a strong start to the new school year. Consider these educator-approved tips to reduce your student’s anxiety as your family prepares for another school year:
Adjust Sleep Cycles.
Starting two weeks before school starts (July 25th), gradually back up your student’s bedtime to reduce sleep deprivation and irritability the first week of school. Also, consider using a central charging station at night away from your student’s bedroom to eliminate nighttime phone and tablet usage (teachers will tell you students granted unfettered access to cell phones at night have shorter attention spans and are more prone to fall asleep in class).
Go to Your Wolverine Welcome Event.
Make it a priority to attend one of the three Wolverine Welcome events (they are grade-level specific) on August 5th. Wolverine Welcomes provide opportunities for students to meet their teachers, see their classrooms, and refamiliarize themselves with the campus. For our youngest learners, seeing where they will be picked up or get the bus at the end of the day before the first day of school helps reduce a student’s stress.
Start Summer Reading and Coursework Now.
The last week before school starts is not the time to ask your student if he or she has completed his or her summer assignments. Take fifteen minutes now to calmly review your student’s summer assignments, write out a completion plan together, and agree upon dates for incremental assignment completion before the summer is over. A little planning and work now will reduce the likelihood of an argument on procrastination the week before school starts that only adds to the customary back-to-school stressors. Our summer reading lists are located here on our website. Please note there is a writing component to our summer reading assignments for 3rd through 12th grades.
Gear Up.
Be proactive and do your school supply shopping early with your student. Allow him or her to splurge on one or two “cool” items to make the event special and exciting. After shopping, consider getting a sweet treat together and review your student’s school supply list against your purchases to ensure accuracy and to promote student ownership of the process. Our school supplies lists are located on our back-to-school webpage located here.
Patience and Flexibility.
Once school starts, deliberately plan a few extra minutes into your student’s morning routine to deal with the unexpected (lost laptop charger, missing gym clothes, etcetera). Students often take their emotional cues from adults, and arriving on time at the bus stop or at the school if driven helps start everyone’s day on a positive note.
Let’s be realistic; no back-to-school transition is perfect, but practicing a few of the suggestions here combined with the knowledge that settling back into a school day routine traditionally takes two or three weeks will reduce back-to-school stress levels for your student (and mom and dad!). Hang in there; we’ll all be doing this together!
Warm regards and in His Service,
