How to Make the Most of The First Week of the School Term

One of the things I remember in the first week back to school, at the start on any term, was it’s pretty chilled out.

Everyone’s warming up again, getting back into the rhythm of school, and not a lot is going on.

Now, while that might be where you’d like the school term to stay, the truth is you get into Week 2, 3 and 4 and then you get hit with a bunch of work, assessments and studying you can’t ignore! This is the worst possible way to start off a new school term.

In this article, we’re going to share with you how you can use the first week back to school to your advantage and to set you up for success throughout the term and the rest of the school year.

But first, find out why the first term of Year 12 is critical for the HSC in our guide here!

Step 1: Start Writing Study Notes

Step 2: Plan for Assessments

Step 3: Start Your Study Routine

Step 1: Start Writing Study Notes

The first thing you can do starting in Week 1 back to school is to start writing your study notes!

Don’t wait to start writing notes and don’t fall into the trap of excuses that you don’t have your textbook, you don’t know where you’re up to in the syllabus, and the teacher hasn’t covered the content in class yet.

Forget about all that, what you need to do in Week 1 back to school is to pull out your syllabus and start writing your study notes for each subject, and ideally you’ll get yourself one to two weeks ahead of your class in writing your study notes.

This is really important because this way when you get an assessment or exam notification in Week 6, you’re not going to be writing your notes up until the week of the exam, you’re going to be spending that time actually studying and revising your notes.

For a step-by-step guide to writing kickass study notes, check out our article, here! 

Step 2: Plan For Assessments

Another critical thing you can do in the first week back to school is to find out when your assessments are going to be happening throughout the term and plan for them!

P.S. If you want to know what’s coming in the first term of Year 12, we’ve got you covered.

This is important because it takes you away from the passive, reactive way of dealing with assessments, a.k.a “OMG there’s an exam next week and I totally forgot about it!”.

What’s so much more effective is to be proactive about your assessments, and this means actually going to your teacher in the first week of school about the assessments that are coming up and what you can do in preparation.

Your school and your teacher will already know what assessments are coming up, because they need to know from a planning point of view across faculties when assessments are going to be.

So, in your first week back to school, you need to go to your teacher and be proactive about the assessments that are upcoming in the term, so you can plan and prepare what needs to be done up until then, and it won’t be a surprise when you get the assessment notification!

For more tips on managing your time effectively to help you ace the HSC, click here!

Step 3: Start Your Study Routine

The last thing you can do in Week 1 back to school of the term is to actually start your study routine.

So often students get into Week 1 back to school and tell themselves there’s actually nothing to study and that they’ll start their study routine in Week 2.

And the real challenge is that if you’re saying that in Week 1, you’re probably going to say the exact same thing in Week 2, and Week 3, and so on…

So what you need to do in your first week of school is to identify what your study routine is going to look like from Week 1. Start thinking about how you’re going to study, on what days and at what times, and actually starting doing it from Day 1, Week 1 (yes, even if there’s not much work to do at all!).

P.S. If you don’t have much work or study to do in your study routine in Week 1, get started on those study notes!

It’s important to start Day 1, Week 1 because…

How you start the term is how you’re going to end the term.

So you want to start with a positive habit by jumping into your study routine in your first week back at school.

Start right by checking out our week by week ultimate guide to the first term of Year 12 here!

Looking for a mentor to support you in your preparation and study for the upcoming HSC?

We pride ourselves on our inspirational mentors and tutors who can help support you during the HSC.

With small groups classes, or personalised lessons conducted one-on-one in your home or at our state of the art campus in Hornsby, we can help you regardless of where you live! Take a look at the comprehensive tutoring we provide in Bankstown for all K-12 subjects! 

To find out more and get started with an inspirational tutor and mentor get in touch today! 

Give us a ring on 1300 267 888, email us at [email protected] or check us out on Facebook!

Isabella Hanley loves science. She loves science so much she’s making it her career. While completing her Bachelor of Medical Science she is also a Coach and Digital Content Manager at Art of Smart. She is super passionate about sharing her knowledge on surviving the HSC since completing the HSC herself in 2014. In her downtime she enjoys Netflix binging like a pro, singing in the shower and hanging out with her awesome rescue dog, Ruby.