As we move into 2021 and a new semester at Carroll High School, it’s important to get off to a strong start.  Students who start strong find that the final exam at the end of the semester doesn’t worry them as much because they have built a strong foundation for success.  Here are a few tips:

Write your goals

Think about each course and determine what you’d like your grade to be at the end of the semester.  You can think about your experiences in the course or a similar course, but your experience does not necessarily dictate present performance.  Vividly describing your goals in written form is strongly associated with goal success, and people who very vividly describe or picture their goals are more likely to successfully accomplish their goals than people who don’t (Forbes 2018).

Use your planner

This is closely associated with number one.  Writing things down makes them more memorable, and writing your assignments in your planner will make it more likely you will remember to complete them.  If there’s no assignment, write that down also and then spend a few minutes reviewing what you learned that day in that course.  

Turn in your assignments

Sounds easy, right?  But, time and time again, students find themselves in grade difficulty because they have missing work.  Sometimes this is due to the fact that the student didn’t submit the work properly especially in the electronic world or the student was absent and didn’t turn in the work when he returned to school.

Ask questions and get clarification when necessary

If you don’t understand something, ask a question.  It is highly likely that someone else has the exact same question.  In the end, the education you receive is yours.  If you don’t understand something, ask!

Get started as soon as possible

Starting is one of the hardest things to do.  There are many distractions taking attention away from school.  Rather than putting off starting on homework, get started as soon as you can after school.

Put away distractions

Speaking of distractions, put down your controller, put your phone on silent, turn off the television, and ignore social media.  These things make completing work difficult.  Students sometimes say they spent three hours on homework when in reality, they spent half of that time chatting with a friend, posting on social media, or channel surfing.  Get work finished and then enjoy some entertainment.

I hope the third quarter is extremely productive and that your productivity will continue through the fourth quarter and final exams.  Remember, each quarter is 40% of your final grade, so getting off to a great start in the third quarter of the semester will set you up for success the rest of the semester.