Don’t Waste Summer Break

Summer Break is some (most) students’ favorite time of the year. Relaxation, sleeping, and traveling; a time to forget about school. But, as we get older and school becomes more important for our futures, it is important that we, as productive members of society, don’t waste this time mindlessly. It can be used wisely to improve ourselves in some aspect or at the least, maintain your current level. I know that countless students participate in academic camps, but this article is more targetted for those students who don’t have specific plans, academic or otherwise, and simply do nothing.

If you don’t plan on doing SAT/ACT or any other ‘academic’ focused camp, there are still many ways for students to stay academically active during the summer, as painful as it may seem. This is especially important for 10th and 11th graders going into the 11th and 12th grade, respectively.

For 10th graders, this may take the form of picking out a few books to read during the summer. It could also include reviewing some of the math skills you have learned over this year. However, a possibility for students who want to get a head start on the IB syllabus is investing in some IB textbooks and start learning, or at least looking over, the content. This could be especially helpful for your math, science and social studies classes.

For 11th graders, not losing momentum and maybe even working on your EE may be helpful and will save you work once you get back in August. There is no doubt that this time should be used wisely.

As for 9th graders, maintaining the knowledge you gained this year will definitely help as you enter 10th grade. Be sure to complete the summer reading assignment too because you will have to do it eventually 🙂

Obviously, these recommendations are not intended to be overwhelming and sucking out of the fun of summer. They’re meant to supplement your plans during the summer and relaxing.

One way you can make sure you don’t completely waste your time during the summer is by setting a goal to help you do this. This goal could be as simple as reading 3 books over the summer, to as demanding as finishing your EE.

However, there is no requirement for this goal during the summer to be academically based. In the end, it is more important that you actually DO something over the summer. You could work on your fitness to get ready for season 1 sports, or maybe focus on more creative talents. The premise of this article is to make sure you have a productive summer, even though this can include catching up on sleep, relaxation, having fun and eating!

In essence, regardless of what you do decide to do during the summer, make sure you relax and have a good time because that is truly the purpose of summer 🙂