Make a good start
30 Jan 2012

Are you looking forward to starting a new year at school? Or do you feel a bit nervous?

Starting a new year, even if you already know lots of people at the school, can still be a bit of a challenge. Most of us enjoy holidays and find ourselves 'grumping' a bit about starting work again.

You can give yourself a great start to the year by:

• organising your school bag – check out our topic on Backpacks-carrying your life around with you
• planning and trying out some interesting lunches and snacks
• getting your school uniform ready
• checking your pencil case and maths equipment
• setting yourself some goals to achieve
• getting in touch with friends who you haven't seen during the holidays and trying to get together for a movie or something before you go back to school.

While you are catching up with friends, find out what sports, clubs abd after-school activities everyone is doing, then ask if you can join as well. It's important to get in quickly at the start of the year when everyone else is just a beginner too.

If you didn't have such a great year last year, then think about why. There are many topics in the Your school section of this site that may help you.

• No friends? Look at topics like Friendship, Making friends, Social skills.
• Being bullied? Look at Bullying or Dealing with bullies.
• Always in trouble? Look at Problems at school or Problems with the teacher.
•  Not keeping up with work? Try Getting clever or Homework - get into the habit.

Start the year right by being determined to work on any problem areas in your life.

If you were unhappy last year get mum or dad to make an early appointment with your teacher to talk about any issues and make sure that you are going to get any extra support that you need.

Remember that a new year gives you a chance to start again. It's up to you to make the most of it. Happy new year!

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