You’ve made it to the end of Term 2 — congratulations! Winter is here, and we all know what that means.
Switching off from all topics about school. Blinker-focus on friends, games or all things ‘not school’. Or if they’re in the senior school… the tension between chilling and getting ahead.
It has been an exhausting term for a lot of families. Naturally, your child is going to want to switch off after the hectic exams and just relax.
But the thing about the holidays is that time moves crazy fast. Before you know it or your child has even thought about preparing for the next term, they’re already back at school. And when it comes to motivation, the picture doesn’t get much better. Traditionally, student attitude toward school and learning motivation will drop to it’s typical annual low in Term 3.
It’s not because of the cold Winter days, it’s made worse by natural entropy and lack of catalytic activity that typically triggers students to focus or put in more effort. For many parents, it can be challenging to get their child to think about and prepare for the next term. They’re just going to be resistant to anything that feels like too much work.
But for proactive parents, this changes nothing. The missing remains the same but students may need an extra injection of pre-planning or a boost to their motivation levels if they’re to improve marks in Term 3 by hitting the ground running. Either way, it is critical for parents to help their children fight the urge to do nothing and then expect things to suddenly improve in Term 3. Because if you don’t do it and set the tone, that means they’ll be walking into Term 3 with no plan — which is something you and your child just can’t afford.
In this article, we’ll look at ways on how you can take advantage of the July school holidays and switch your child’s disposition to improve their focus, motivation and Term 3 results.
How Mimi Changed for Academic Success
Like a lot of teenagers, Mimi loved going out with friends. But she got stressed out when she ran out of time to complete things. She was easily distracted and kept pushing her work to the last minute.
Because she constantly started too late, Mimi wasn’t able to prepare for assessments as well as she should have. Despite having two tutors, Mimi’s marks were far below what she needed to get into her choice of university course. She was losing her confidence fast, and when her school asked her to drop to a lower level of English and Math in Year 11, she was crushed.
Her mum, Dana, knew that her daughter needed help outside school for a more strategic approach. She reached out to us, and we worked with her to build a supportive plan to help Mimi improve her marks so she could achieve the ATAR she needed.
To help Mimi break down and organise her tasks, as well as monitor her progress, we implemented an assessment battle plan. We also put in a study system to help Mimi stay focused and productive around distractions and prioritise target areas to make the biggest impact to her marks.
In less than 10 weeks, Mimi climbed from bottom ranks in English, Math and Biology to Top 3. She got her first ever 20/20 in Advanced English and her response was held up as an exemplar Band 6 response.
For her HSC Trials, Mimi’s achieved Top 3 results across all subjects including a 97% where the cohort average was 67%. Mimi received an offer into her first preference of university course at UNSW before sitting her final exams, and later received a 95+ ATAR.
Take Advantage of July Tipping Points for Term 3
The proactive step Dana took made all the difference to her daughter’s results. She didn’t wait for Mimi to get better; she made sure she did everything so Mimi could achieve her 95+ ATAR and improve her marks across subjects.
The July holidays have the highest concentration of ‘tipping points’ in the school year, and it’s the most significant tipping point to improve quickly in Term 3. Especially if your child is in Years 10, 11 or 12.
Tipping points are simple. They’re specific instances that tip things in your child’s favour, so they’ll be more motivated and focused to get higher marks. And there’s a lot you can do to take advantage of those tipping points and be proactive about your child’s Semester 2 before the next term starts.
#1. Review your child’s reports.
Your child’s reports should be available by now. So, if you haven’t seen those reports, make sure you chase them up. They’re an absolute gold mine of information, and there are so many activities that can spring directly from it.
Once you’ve got your child’s reports, ask your child about them. Do they know what’s in their report? Engage and ensure they understand their reports because it can be frustrating for your child when they don’t know where the gaps are. It’s a good starting point for improvement, and it’s something parents shouldn’t be shielding their kids from.
If your child’s report is vague or very generic, make sure to reach out to their teachers too. The more you understand what’s in your child’s reports and what is expected of them, that prevents us from setting up unrealistic expectations for your child.
#2. Re-energise your child for Term 3.
It’s important that your child takes the time to recharge and re-energise their batteries for Term 3. They need to decompress, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Ask your child how they would like to spend their holidays. Some parents skip having this conversation and just go on about the break. But it’s best to talk about this early so you can plan for your family’s activities and make sure your child can recharge in the best way.
Otherwise, your child is just going to roll into Term 3 unprepared and just drawing from whatever momentum they already have. And that is not the ideal way to start a new term.
#3. Re-strategise and build a plan.
Now that you know how your child did last term and what they need for the next one, ask yourself: ‘Which areas should my child focus on to make the biggest impact and improvement?’
Based on experience, there are three common learning areas you can focus on to help your child unlock their best results:
- Being organised and proactive.
- Sustaining motivation and fuel.
- Excellent results and marks.
The weight of each learning area depends on each teenager and their learning experiences. If you need more guidance on simplifying and pinpointing the key learning area your child needs to improve on, we got a free tool for that.
Working with thousands of students, we saw that any child can focus all their efforts and attention to only 20% so they can get an 80% boost in impact — the 80-20 rule. The holiday break is the best time for parents to figure out where this 20% can be found, so your child can create the most impactful, positive changes when they get back to school.
If you need some guidance on finding that 20% for your child, our team of education strategists can help you. All you need to do is take that first proactive step and reach out to us. We can guide you in strategizing for your child’s Term 3, and make sure they’re well supported as they progress and achieve higher results by the end of the school year.
Click here to get started.
