Resources for Students
Believe it or not, we’ve been back in school for two months now! And, although certain parts of our routine feel the same, there are also a number of things that feel very different. So, I just wanted to take a few minutes to remind us all what Academic Counseling has to offer, in the way of help, and to also talk about a few new topics, too.
New Habits and Strategies
If you want to do better in school (of course you do!), it often comes down to examining your habits and making some changes. As teens, the tiny decisions that you make daily (Do I get my Spanish done now or put it off until after practice?) are often impacting your future more than the giant ones that you are excited to make (“Where will I apply to college? What will I choose to study?”). If you often forget your materials at home, here are some tips to help with that. To take a deep dive into your habits, use something like a Free Time Planner or a daily calendar to map out how you use your time. What can you do to make a new habit (for example, getting my Membean practice sessions in) easier, more visible and more attractive (for example, I will do my Membean while eating my delicious bowl of cereal every morning, and to remind myself I will always charge my iPad next to the cereal box with a Post-It on it that says “MEMBEAN!”). Another resource, Click Here for a great reminder on Tips and Strategies for Building Good Study Habits.
New Tech
Introducing My TampaPrep/ Blackbaud! You can see your schedule. You can see your grades in detail. You can see your assignments on an integrated calendar. Play around with your “Assignment Center” and your “Calendar” view. Add tasks to your Assignment Center by clicking on the +AddTask button. This is a great way to use the site like a planner and add your own “to do’s,” like “study 20 minutes for the __ quiz.” You can look at your assignments in the “List” view or “Grid” view. You can filter by class. You can turn your assignments “green” by clicking “Completed” or use the orange “In Progress” to remind you to finish something. Your goal is to turn the week green as you go! Click Here to watch a quick video tutorial on how to use your Assignment Center in MyTampaPrep as a planner!
Please visit Ms. Greseth or Ms. Lassacher for help making MyTampaPrep work well for you! Also, please give your teachers specific feedback AND kindness - they are also just learning this brand new system for posting assignments, grades, and feedback.
New Friends
Last year was a weird one socially. Never were we more connected and never were we more isolated. It is strange that we live in a world where both of these feelings can be true. This is a great school year to get to know different people. Start a conversation with someone you don’t know. Offer to help someone in class. Join a new club, or at least go to a couple of meetings. You never know the new connections you might make or how you might impact someone else’s day. You don’t have to be friends with everyone, but you can be friendly with everyone. If you’re struggling with friendships, consider talking with an adult you trust or Ms. Cole, our school counselor (mcole@tampaprep.org).
New Goals and a New Outlook
We are two months into this school year, which is a great time to really think about: What do you want to accomplish this year? How do you want to meet the next challenge? What are you grateful for? How do you want to spend your time this year? How did the adversity you faced last year help you grow? Answering big questions like this can help us define our values and goals, which helps us take action and make better decisions. Most importantly, if you get stuck, remember there are people here at Tampa Prep who are always willing to help you!
