Heading back to school can be an anxiety-ridden experience for kids, especially if they have trouble adjusting to change, or social situations. Six weeks’ holiday is a wonderful break from the norm for most children, but for those who settle best with routine and structure, the transition from school to holidays and back again can be difficult.
Bertie Poshkza is one of those kids who sometimes struggles in certain social situations, so he has provided the following advice for students who might have had a tricky first day back, and some survival tips for getting through the rest of the year:
- Make sure your new teacher knows your needs and is equipped to help you. If you have any, give the teacher some tips or resources to make it easier for you.
- Ask your parents to have a meeting with your new teacher so you can all talk about the best way for you to get through the year together.
- Find out what assistance there is at the school, which can help you to have a great time. Use that assistance, because it’s there for you and can make every day a whole lot easier.
- If you have other teachers, like sport, music or drama teachers at school, ask your teacher to communicate your individual needs to them, so you can enjoy all of your classes.
- Set some goals you can achieve. They might be simple ones, like tying your own shoes in the morning or eating almost all your lunch; or they might be bigger goals like finishing all your work before the bell or joining in a game at break time. If you don’t get to accomplish them, that’s ok, but give them a try.
- Ask if you can be in charge of an important job in the classroom. That might be collecting the lunches, being a class representative or cleaning the whiteboard. Whatever it is, make sure you do it the best you can!
- Ask your teacher to help you think of a cue to help you if you need to leave the classroom if it gets noisy or a bit too much for you. It might be a word, a hand signal or a coloured card you give to your teacher that will let him/her know you need some time out. Make sure you and your teacher agree on a place that you can stay until you feel better. It’s not good to go where they can’t find you. Stay close by, but just in your own space.
- Don’t feel rushed or stressed if you can’t finish your work on time. Your teacher understands you might work differently to other students, so just do your best.
- Try to make some new friends, or spend time with existing friends. Friends are great fun and will be a really valuable part of your life.
- Lastly, and this one is really, really important: If anyone is making you feel uncomfortable or giving you a hard time, tell a teacher or a trusted adult immediately. You have the right to feel safe at all times, so talk to someone and then ask them to tell you what they will do about it.
