Back to School Tips: How to Manage Your Time and Prioritize

Start your new school year off right with a plan to stay organized and manage your time. Most girls we know in middle or high school are juggling school work, activities, home, sports, and sometimes work too! Especially if you are going to get involved with lots of activities at school or in your community you’ll want a plan for how to get it all done. What are the secrets to prioritizing and managing your time? Find out what our teens think and let us know if you have any other great ideas!

Back to School Tips: How To Use a Planner to Stay Organized

Staying organized is very important especially with the scho0l year starting up. Obviously each of us has our own amount of work load since many of us are different ages. But it all boils down to one thing,to stay sane during the school year, you’re going to need some sort of organization skill. Ever since middle school I have used a planner, it really helps me remember things and stay sane.

Most might just think this is for you to write your homework down but that is where you are wrong. I use mine almost as much as I use a computer or my phone. I keep track of homework, my work schedule, meetings, doctor appointments and anything else that comes up. I also write down little things I need to do (such as the dishes and vacuum) to keep from getting in trouble from my parents. I highly suggest you use a planner and if you choose to do so, make sure to keep up on it every day and look at it.

I promise it will help you stay sane and keep from saying the words in your head, “I forgot to do __.” When you are picking up your school supplies grab yourself a cute planner too.

Back to School Blitz: How to Stay Organized with Google

Meetings, classes, sports practice, exams… We all know that when the school year comes around, everyone’s schedule gets twice as busy. You might be struggling to keep up with your school work, but staying organized will ensure that you do well.

Using a planner, calendars, and post-its are a great way to keep things straight. My school days get packed: meeting in the morning, hard classes, meeting after school, then work. The easiest way for me to stay organized is to use google docs!

If you have a gmail account, you can use Google Docs as a word processor. You can write your essays in program (which is built into your e-mail), edit it right there, and attach it to send in an e-mail to your teacher/friend/etc.

You can insert tables & presentations (like powerpoint).

You can create forms like excel. Google Docs gives you the opportunity to draw, write, and organize them into your own personal folders.

Check it out for a way to make your life simpler and more organized.

How to Find Great School Supplies

We wanted to give you everything you need to have a great back to school week and awesome year! Having fun school supplies is one of the ways to get set up for a great year. Find out what our teens had to say in this video.

How to Make a Great First Impression the First Day of School

Are you nervous about making a great first impression the first day back to school?  Have you been thinking about how to make new friends this school year?  Our team got together to talk about how to make your back to school week with friends go smoothly. 

Learn a New Language

One of the greatest things I’ve done during my high school career is studied Spanish. I progressed up to Spanish 4, and I wish I could have pursued the language even more. I’m fortunate enough to be Vietnamese, so I get the cultural experience in my daily life at home. I believe knowing Vietnamese and English helped me learn Spanish quickly.

I think it’s fun to learn a language, especially Spanish, French, or Italian. They’re romantic and it’s incredible to say that you can speak more than one language. When you get the chance, you can study abroad and learn more about the culture. You can practice your speaking skills!

A new language is something you can carry with you throughout your entire life, and it’s an impressive skill to have in the job industry.

If you want to start learning a new language, research which languages your school offers. You can check out books from the library, or complete tutorials online. Maybe you have a bilingual friend who can teach you a couple of words a day. I teach one of my friends one Vietnamese word a day, and it’s fun to hear him repeat the words later when I least expect it.

Broaden your horizons! A new language is a new opportunity.

What will you remember after High School?

With the school year winding down, I will be graduating and moving on with my future outside of high school. The other night I was sitting there thinking about the past four years of High School. I began to realize how lucky I was, because I have enjoyed High School so much. Every day I hear people complain about how they are sick of school and so on, but did they ever really give it a chance? There are 3 reasons I enjoyed high school so much.

1. Because I did the best I could in my classes and tried really hard.

2. Because I wanted to have friends so I was outgoing and tried to talk to a lot of people.

3. Because I got involved.

Trying hard, making best friends and getting involved is what helped me to enjoy high school so much. And when I look back I am going to miss high school because of the friends I met and the groups I got involved with. Becoming a part of newspaper at my school introduced me to new people and now I will remember my friends for the rest of my life. I learned so much out of high school and had so much fun because I got involved. If you aren’t involved in your school I would highly recommend it before your time is up and you regret it. Have fun and enjoy your time as a high school student.

How to Deal With Bad Grades

We all get them. It just is unavoidable. But how do we tell our parents, who will no doubt be disappointed in us? How do we bring the grade up? These questions always run through my head when I get a bad grade.

A bad grade is different in everyones opinion. Some people think getting a C- is the worst thing in the world. OThers are excited when they see that C- on the top of their test, because it means they didnt fail it.

Telling my parents I got a bad grade is usually hard for me. Sometimes, what I do is I tell them that grade first, then I tell them I got a good grade on something else, like in a differnt class. Othertimes, I just come right out and say it, because I know that if I tell my parents, they’re going to trust me more in the future. They’ve also seen me studying and working hard, so they know that I’m doing the best I can. That usually lessens or takes away completely any punishment they would have given me if they had foudn out on their own through infinite campus.

Also, if you’re worried about how badly it affects your grade, you can ask your teacher for ways you could bring your grade up, like extra credit or out-of-school tutoring. Teachers are going to be happy to see that you’re making an effort to try to bring your grade up, and they’re going to try to help you too.

Stress Less on Tests and Finals at School

With final exams and tests right around the corner, we thought it would be helpful to share a few tips on how to take tests and have less stress.  Watch Girls With Dreams TV talk here. 

A few other suggestions to think about:

• Plan ahead:  Map out the weeks leading up to finals and build in time for fun and time to study.
• What’s your learning style?  Do you do better making flash cards?  Studying with a friend?  Highlighting and taking notes?  Figure out your style and use it to study.  For extra study tips, don’t be afraid to ask your friends or even your teacher.
• Try to eat and sleep well.  This is always hard during crunch time, but do the best you can!
• Exercise and Relax.  Getting exercise helps deal with stress in your body.  Take down time to to relax and don’t forget to take those deep breaths.  Deep breathing is a great way to calm yourself down especially during the test!
• Have Confidence!  You’re going to to be great.  Head into your tests and finals with confidence (even if you’re scared).  Attitude makes a big difference.   Using these tips you are going to do awesome!!!!
• Celebrate when you’re done!  Figure out a fun way to celebrate whether it’s getting a movie, having a treat, dancing to your favorite music, or maybe just hanging out with friends. 

How to Make Your Homecoming Week Stress Free

Homecoming Week is an exciting time in any high school but it can also be stressful!  If you want to have a great Homecoming Week, here are a few tips to keep you stress free!

1. Plan ahead.  Take 5 minutes to write down all of the extra activities you plan to attend as well as any extra work that will be involved.  For example, do you need to find a dress?  Do you need to buy the supplies for the school float? 
2. Next prioritize which events are most important to you and also map out when you can find time to shop for your dress and any other things on your list.
3. Ooops.  Don’t forget about your homework.  You want to plan ahead for this too.  Some schools let you get your homework ahead of time.  You might want to consider this.  If that’s not an option, try to work ahead as best as you can and also schedule windows of time you know you won’t be tired or busy.
4. Have Fun!  Homecoming week is meant to be a time of celebration, unity, and hanging out with friends.
5. For more great tips, check out what our team says on Girls With Dreams TV.

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