Start the School Year Fresh in 2025

The big, shiny, crystal ball drops, people are hugging and kissing one another, and you can hear the tune of Auld Lang Syne– it is the start of yet another new year. Allow me to officially wish you and yours a very happy and healthy 2025! This is a time to reflect on last year, cherish the lessons that we have learned, and look ahead to our future. In the classroom, this can be a valuable opportunity for students and educators to reset and make the most of the rest of the school year, which is quickly coming to an end.

Here are some ways to start the 2025 school year with a bang!

Send a positive email to each student’s parent in your class. I tried this for the last few years and it was a tremendous success.  In the email, I wrote specific praises about their child. I made sure to not include anything else in the email, no pick up change, no reminder about an upcoming event etc. I just included the wonderful things that their child is doing.  You can even share a cute or funny story that highlights the student or explains the progress that the child has made so far. Parents love this type of communication. Unfortunately, not every parent receives positive and uplifting emails from school. Doing this helps encourage parents and students to foster a good relationship between educators and parents, it can also reinforce good behavior.  Doing this can help make those potentially upcoming difficult conversations easier when the behavior does go a bit south. 

Set Goals and Expectations for the School Year 

Reflect back on those goals that you set for yourself or your students at the beginning of the year. Were they achieved? Yes– set a new goal. No- get curious with yourself and ask why not?  Reflect on the goal and ask yourself if it was too broad, or does the student need additional scaffolding and or support? If that is the case, perhaps you should set a new goal or a smaller one that is more attainable.  This will help you and your students stay on track for success for the remainder of the school year! Setting the right goal can be very helpful for success in the classroom. 

Talk about what to Look Forward to

What are you and your students looking forward to in 2025?  You can model this for your students by sharing what you hope 2025 brings you. This is a great conversation for you to have with your class.  This will help them to focus on the year ahead and to see it in a positive light.  Sometimes, students can be afraid of the future, this will help them not to give in to those fears.  

Take Time to Reflect on the lessons of 2024

What was 2024 like for you as a teacher? What lessons did you learn? Take a minute to reflect and show gratitude for your past experiences.  Some lessons were difficult, I am sure! Take time to cherish even those difficult lessons– you have added some new tools to your toolbox thanks to those experiences!  You are growing as an educator with life as your classroom. Take a minute to absorb all you have learned over the past year. 

Reset with that Difficult Person

Let us just be honest, some people are just difficult for us to get along with. They get under our skin, annoy us, and drain our energy battery. This can be a student or a coworker. Take some time to think about some positive attributes that this person has. I know that this may be a burdensome task, but with some concentrated effort, I am sure that you can think of something positive. This will help you get along better with that person and make that relationship smoother for you.  You will not waste unnecessary energy on getting frustrated and upset over something you cannot control.  

I hope that you have a wonderful 2025! Just think that we are all closer to summer than we were at the beginning of the school year! 

The author

Fran Turuta

Fran Turuta is an elementary teacher that loves to work with students. She is a wife and a mother and enjoys a good book and baking. She currently resides on the south shore of Long Island.