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The new school year has indeed started! Starting the New Year can be both exciting and daunting , with new students, friends and challenges. So to redress any feelings of back to school fear, I thought of 10 simple tips to help make school great this year and to get your year off to a good start. Be ready, the bell is about to ring!

1. Prepare yourself: be prepared psychlogically to the new school year. Think of all the things you love about school, your friends, teaching and learning new things. Prepare your lesson plans resource books, textbooks, educational applications …
2. Timetable: organize your week according to the teaching timetable. The more your time is organized, the clearer you are about what you have to do.
3. Have an instructional programme set from the start: a year plan with deadlines for the delivery of lessons , the assignement of tests, correction and remedial work.
4. Set goals: try to focus on something you would like to achieve or improve. Clear defintions of educational and personal goals would give you a reason to strive on for better achivements.
5. Set rules: remember you are the leader of your class. Students expect from you to know what the dos and the don’ts are. Be clear about what you expect from them both at the disciplinary level and at the educational level.
6. Learn the names of each student as quickly as possible and use the student’s name in class: as simple as it might be, learning the names of your students helps bridge the gap between you and your students, building a relationship grounded on mutual respect.( see tips on how to build a good relationship with your students)
7. Know your students: be ready to spot difficult students, high ability students, low ability students and students with special needs. This information will flow naturally as you proceed in your teaching. But, some diagnostic tests might help a lot to get this information.
8. Collaborate with other teachers: get in touch with other teachers to exchange information about students curricula and to fine tune any interdesciplinary integration of teaching points.
9. Leave a time for yourself: remember teaching is a stressful profession. So leave room for relaxation! Spending an evening listening to quiet music or watching a funny movie would make you ready for a fresh start the following working day.
10. Plan ahead your holidays: schedule in some fun activities for the coming holidays. This way you have something exciting to look forward to and work towards.