3 Ways to Meaningfully Celebrate the End of the School Year

If you’re like me, you’re exhausted by now. You’ve given your best effort for 165 days or so (not that every day was your best, but every day was your best effort for that day), and with a couple weeks left, you’re just trying to get it all done. I’m there.

I also, however, feel proud. The end of the year feels like a real accomplishment. The students who began with me in September have grown in many ways. Of course they improved in reading and writing; what I’m most astonished by, though, is their personal growth, their evolution as human beings. I am proud to have witnessed it, and hopefully to have somehow, in some small way, created a space for some of it to happen.

I love having my students do some sort of reflection activity at the end of the year (see my post about it here). It helps them see how far they’ve come; it helps them “lock in” what they’ve learned, not just as students, but as people. And, since each year is a learning experience for me as well, I like to give myself a reflection activity—not the forced reflection of state-mandated teacher evaluations, but genuine, heartfelt reflection that will cement this year as a joyful one in my memory. This doesn’t mean the year was perfect or without moments of intense struggle. It means that I accept the year as part of my career’s (and life’s) journey, and I am grateful for it.

Here are three things you can do for yourself to end on a positive note. Even doing just one will help you bring a peaceful closure to the year.

1. Write a list of 50 things you are grateful for that happened this year. Yes, 50. If 50 things come to you quickly, make it 100. Dig around in your memory. There may be large events, like getting a grant or finishing a course or surviving a student (or class) you didn’t think you could. But there are always smaller events, moments that were quickly overlooked, and these are perhaps even more important: a coworker made you laugh in the hall between classes, a traffic moderator waved to you every morning as you pulled in the lot, a student held the door for you last week. These moments happen every single day, and we often only note them for a split-second before we are distracted with the next crisis. Write these down on a piece of paper, or better yet, start a notebook. But get to 50 at least. By the end, you will feel renewed.
2. Write three thank-you notes to people that helped you this year. This idea is an extension of the last, and just as transformative. Think of three people who somehow, at some time, helped you. Again, this could be big or small—the person may not even remember the thing you are grateful for; that is irrelevant. Get some paper (or even, stationary!) and write it out by hand. It is important that the notes be on paper, and hand-written. The act of writing and giving the notes will generate positive, joyful energy, and help release layers of negativity that may have built up during the year.
3. Write a letter to yourself, congratulating, praising, and encouraging yourself for five real achievements this year. Ultimately, we are your own bosses; we are the directors of our lives. Our own personal growth is not only our responsibility but our purpose. It may feel difficult or weird at first, but try it: Write a letter to yourself, congratulating yourself on five things you know you did well. Once again, these could be as big as passing a class you didn’t think you would, or as small as creating a single activity that really worked. Maybe you graded papers mostly on time this year. Maybe you brought healthy lunches most days. Maybe you encouraged a newer teacher and took time to really listen to him. Maybe you called a parent to say how well their child was doing. Try to write at least a paragraph for each accomplishment, describing it in detail, mining every strong act or decision you made as a part of it. Whatever you write, no one ever need see this letter. Do not hold back. Do not be humble. Do not be embarrassed. And do not, as you may be tempted to, slip into the pitfall of criticism. So often, we cannot acknowledge our strengths unless we also acknowledge our shortcomings. Do not do that in this letter! There will be time for constructive criticism and goal-setting later; the purpose of this letter is to celebrate. As an ending, write about about the qualities you have embodied to make these five things happen—Persistence? Dedication? Compassion? Intelligence? Creativity? Wisdom? Write about how you used these. You possess them.

I realize these activities take time, the one element we lack even until the last minute of the 180^th day. But if you can carve out a half hour somewhere to try one, you will be rewarded. I have often asserted that we don’t fully know what we’re thinking until we write about it–writing is an extension of thought. In doing these exercises, you may actually bring to light moments of gratitude or accomplishment that you hadn’t known existed. Find the time, and celebrate your year.