End-Of-School Year Conversation Tips

Jun 03, 2021 • Report Cards, Summer

The end of the school year is almost here! This past school year was challenging for everyone. On top of managing the regular school stresses, students also dealt with the challenges of online learning. Even though this school year was different than other years, it still matters! Talking about the highs and lows of the school year is an important milestone for students to bookend the year.

End-of-school-year conversations help students reflect on the previous one. This year, it’s more important than ever for parents and students to discuss the online learning experience and academic challenges of this past year.

Reflection & Discussion Points for End-of-Year Conversations

While the pandemic created a strange learning environment, not all students struggled with it. Some students thrived with self-regulated learning whereas other students floundered without a traditional, in-person learning experience. Regardless of how the school year affected your family, talking, sharing, discussing, and learning from these experiences allows students to reflect on their growth.

Changes caused by the pandemic may have affected students’ mental health, stress levels, and motivation to learn. Before you have this important end-of-school-year conversation with students, focus on the following skills:

Consider these discussion points for your family’s end-of-year conversation:

1. Acknowledge the Challenges. Acknowledging the challenges that children faced in school validates their experiences, boosts their self-esteem, and encourages them to raise their hand and voice more in class. Expressing interest in the daily learning activities creates a positive bond that can combat stress and insecurity. Talking about learning experiences with your child may surprise you! Some students may express positive reflections at the end of the school year. Negative or positive, student experiences are valid and should always be reflected upon.
2. Set Goals for the Future. Educators and parents aim is to help students work towards growth and self-confidence. Students of all ages need to have two goals: recognizing where they currently are while setting goals for the future! Parents can help students learn to think toward the future by reviewing the report card and identifying two separate goal sets: one set for the summer and another set for summer the next school year.
3. Focus on the Positive! Practise reframing negative thoughts about this year’s learning experiences. Parents can model how to do this for their children. Reinforcing positive events highlights children’s individual strengths, creating an opportunity to connect, communicate, and ultimately empower them to be more of themselves.

Ready to talk? Try these student-focused questions:

• What was the most memorable part of your school year (before and during COVID-19)?
• When you think about the school year, what emotions do you feel?
• What is something you wish you had the chance to try this year?
• Now that it is the end of school year, what final thoughts do you have?
• What tips would you give other students when entering the grade you just completed?
• How was it getting support from other students, tutors, or teachers when you were having a difficult time?
• When do you remember putting more effort into your work than before? How did it turn out?
• What would you like to work on this summer?

Keep Learning This Summer

Oxford Learning’s Summer Learning programs ensure learning continues from the end of the school year into the fall! Each student can benefit from summer tutoring programs to combat summer learning loss and maintain learning momentum. Oxford Learning summer programs address academic challenges from the previous year, build learning skills, and set students up for next year’s success.