As the summer winds down, students everywhere are slowly accepting that the school

year is almost upon us. Visions of freshly sharpened pencils and blank notebooks begin
to impede upon the sandy beaches and graduation parties of summer. But that's okay,
because the coming school year holds a lot of promise too. Let's take a look at 10 steps
you can take to start a great new school year!

1. Refresh Your Thinking

This is a new school year, you should treat it like one! If your last year at school was
disappointing, frustrating or negative in any way, forget about it and look forward
instead.

2. Change How You Act

If you had issues last school year, try not to blame others (like, say, your peers or
teachers). Instead, take matters into your own hands and try a new approach. Be
outgoing, have fun, and put all of your focus into your time at school. Changing the fate
of your school year starts with changing yourself.

3. Set Lofty Goals (But Not Too Lofty)

Before classes even start, try setting some educational and social goals for yourself.
Some examples are: “I want to make the honor roll” or “I will put myself our there
socially”. By setting concrete goals, you will never lose sight of what exactly you are
trying to do with this new school year. However, make sure not to set your goals too
high. If, for example, you decide you want to be Valedictorian but only have a 3.0 GPA,
you are only setting yourself up for disappointment.

4. Put Forth Effort in the Classroom

Academic success starts in the classroom. There is no better time to learn than when a
knowledgeable teacher is standing in front of you and imparting knowledge. So stop
fooling around with your classmates and start taking notes and asking questions
instead! The effort and focus you put forth here will translate into your homework, tests
and overall grades.

5. Be Open-Minded
Some students have unfulfilled social lives because they don't give everyone a chance.
They won't hang out with certain types of people because they're “uncool” or
“different”. But school is a melting pot full of opportunities to meet different sorts and
expand your mind. Of course, make sure you aren't TOO open-minded, you could end
up with the wrong crowd!

6. Study
Everyone knows that practice makes perfect, and the academic world is no exception.
So practice those math exercises, read those short stories, write those essays and rifle
through those practice notecards. There is an extreme positive correlation between
effort put in at home and grades received at school, don't forget that.