The First Two Weeks of School: A Valuable Transition

Have you ever had that Sunday morning church experience where you’re rushing to get the kids out the door? Everybody fed, check! Everybody dressed, check! Kids to their Sunday school rooms. Quick restroom stop. When you finally sit down in the pew, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Even though you are a few minutes late, you’re here and it’s time to settle in. As the music begins you take a deep breath and calm your mind by moving through the mental checklist: Yes, you turned the stove off at home. Yes, you packed the diaper bag, yes you locked your car in the parking lot… and you begin to mentally transition to focusing on this time with the Lord ahead of you.

This reality of transition is one that we acknowledge and accommodate for at the start of every school year. It’s our “two-week alternative schedule” where we acclimate, assess and settle the students in for the new year of learning.

Maybe you’ve heard your student say something like, “Well, we haven’t started our real schedule yet…” They’re not wrong! But although they have not begun their academic schedules, they have most definitely begun their school year. 

High school students begin the school year meeting new classmates with opportunities to reflect on their summer where many of them participated in national and international mission opportunities.

Acclimation, assessment and “settling in”. Developed by Founder Gregg Garner, this is the simple way to understand what happens during our first 2 weeks of the school year. 

During their first few days back on campus, students are acclimated back into the school setting by reconnecting with peers, getting to know their teachers, and reviewing school routines and behavior expectations. At the elementary level this looks like remembering how to line up, how to move through meal service times, when they can use the restrooms, and what activities are appropriate for indoor recess. Before we begin administering any demerits or incentives, students simply get these few days to adjust into being back at school. 

Assessments come next, which do include academic assessments but also social and emotional. Through review exercises and games, teachers gauge how much their students remember, while also evaluating the demographics and personality of their new class. Is it a 2:1 ratio of girls to boys? Might need to adjust the sport through which Jr. High students will learn Game Strategies. Is it a class full of kinesthetic learners? Need to buy some more manipulatives for math class. Does this group of developing readers need to be on their feet for Language Arts courses? How about a readers’ theatre? Assessments provide teachers the data they need to teach students, not just classes. 

Finally, during the last few days of our alternative schedule, students settle in for the upcoming year. For 7th graders this looks like the reminder that, although they will now be receiving a number grade on every assignment, they are not their grade. They are more than a number. And school is the safest place to be wrong, to make mistakes and to grow. For our Juniors and Seniors, this looks like several blocks of research, reflection and discussion with teachers to decide on senior projects, internship placements and directed studies. 

So next time your student mentions that they haven’t started ‘regular school yet’, you’ll know what they mean! And you can follow up with questions like, “Tell me about your new teacher!” “What’s something you’re excited for/nervous about in this upcoming year?” Or even, “Remember to get to bed early tonight because your body is adjusting to the school year.” Here’s to being ready for a wonderful year of learning!

Elementary students use team-building exercises and games to develop their class dynamic and healthy interactions with one another.