It’s that time of year again, it’s back to school week for students from kindergarten to post-secondary!
K-12 Students
Whether parents recognize it or not, they are their children’s barometer. How children react to potentially stressful situations, like the first day back at school, depends on a parent’s actions and reactions leading up to the event. By reminding children of their value and building up their self-esteem, parents can help set the foundation for their children’s self-confidence and success.
Here are a few tips for starting the school year off on the right foot, from Canadian educator and blogger Joanne Sallay.
- School year survival cookbooks: Healthy eating is a goal for many families for the school year. For some yummy meal ideas and advice for the school year, check out The Mix-and-Match Lunchbox, The School Year Survival Cookbook, and It All Begins with Food.
- Waste-free lunches: Eco-friendly lunches continue to be a big trend for the classroom, teachers’ lounge, and the workplace. Fans of this movement can carry their lunches in waste-free totes, pack their food in bento boxes, and bring beverages in stainless steel insulated water bottles. Many advocates for a waste-free lunch feel that it’s not only great for the environment and wallet, but it also encourages healthy eating habits with families more likely to pack healthy items.
- Food safety labels and stickers: While labels are great for organization and helping find lost items, they can also be an important safety item. Mabel’s Labels offers customizable allergy alert labels and allergy stickers that specify common allergies on kids’ belongings such as lunch bags and food and drink containers. They are especially important because they help communicate your child’s allergy to their peers, teachers, and lunch supervisors.
Post-Secondary Students
Beginning or returning to university can bring up many of the same feelings of anxiety and stress that befall younger children returning to school. There are few things more comforting than coming home to your own place after a long day at school, that’s why Hollyburn strives to maintain a safe, comfortable and relaxing environment at all of our residential buildings. Student services at all of Canada’s major universities, such as the University of British Columbia, the University of Calgary, Carleton and the University of Toronto, are excellent and help ensure a successful school year.
Here are a few tips on how to manage the transition back to school like a pro.
- Know your campus: Find out about your school’s orientation and transition programs to become familiar with campus life. Tools like campus navigation get you to your next class on time and twitter feeds (like @UBCcampus, @UCalgary, @Carleton_U, and @UofTNews) will keep you in the know for all campus/community related events.
- Plan for success: There’s nothing more valuable than your daily planner/ planner apps for keeping life organized during the academic year. This will help you set and track goals. It’s also helpful to create a strategy for experiences outside the classroom to complement your coursework and reach out for support when you need it.
- Live well to learn well: Exercise, sleep and proper nutrition are key. Not much has changed from what your parents taught you. Now it’s your responsibility to find the appropriate live-work balance. Take care of your mental and physical health so that you can do your best while in school.
Above all, don’t forget to have fun while you explore, learn and make new friends this year!