Get ready for the new school year |11 January 2016

Students get ready to say goodbye to the lazy days as it's time to turn your attention to the new school year which is a refreshing time, when you get to start anew.

The 2016 school year will start on Monday January 18 – exactly a week from today – and it is best you start planning out and resetting your daily schedules so as to make the often harsh transition a lot easier if you want to start the school year off on the right foot.

In order to be ready for school students are being encouraged this week to slowly move bedtimes and wakeup times back to what they should be during the school year and to also reset meal times or other regular routines if they had been changed.

It is important for parents to help their children block out the school schedules – holidays, test days, etc. – as well as after school activities, times for studying, exercise, and other essentials on a calendar and put it in a prominent place for all to see.

Don’t wait until the last two days prior to the start of the school year to stock up on the supplies you need, including exercise books, pens, file folders etc.

Another way of preparing for the new school term is to review your previous academic achievements which can not only energise you for the new school year, but can help you identify areas you might want to work on more this year.

One of the most important things all students should do is set goals for themselves for this school year. Setting goals and sticking with them is an important skill students of all ages can learn and please do not set vague goals like ‘get good grades’. Instead come up with smart ones like ‘I will do my homework at a specific time after school hours and turn in my homework to my teacher the next day. I will revise this goal after receiving my first result’.

Also try to get to school early, talk to your teachers and make a checklist of what’s needed to be done.

Try doing some of these things and we are sure they will help you get a good start on the school year.

According to the general academic calendar for state primary and second schools produced by the Ministry of Education, all three terms will comprise 13 weeks.

The first term will comprise 62 days and it will end on Friday April 15. The mid-term is scheduled for Friday February 26 and Monday February 29.

Following a three-week vacation, students will resume school on Monday May 9 for the second term which will end on Friday August 5.

Mid-term is on Friday June 17 but students will be away from school for four days -- on Thursday May 26 (Corpus Christi), Monday June 6 (Liberation Day which falls on Sunday June 5), Constitution Day (June 18) and Independence Day (June 29).

Exactly a month (four weeks) later the students will be back at school for the third and final term of the year which will come to an end on Friday December 2. Other than mid-term which is on Monday October 31, students will only benefit from one public holiday on November 1 (All Saints Day).

Remember as students you need to display a high level of discipline in class, in the school compound and everywhere you go as discipline is the key to success.

The following is the academic calendar for the year.

Ministry of Education

2016 General Academic Calendar for State Primary and Secondary Schools