Make It a Happy New Year
“A goal properly set is halfway reached.” —Zig Ziglar
The new calendar year has begun and along with it many of us have vowed to change some habits, start something new or stop something all together. As adults we go through this exercise almost every January. Hopefully we will be able to sustain what it is we have set our sights on.
The new year begins for us on the first day students return in August. From that day forward we help guide the students through the goal setting process. The students formalize their academic and social goals and then share them with you during conferences. Our teachers then revisit these with the students throughout the year.
Often we have a difficult time maintaining our “New Year’s Resolution(s)” mainly because we don’t have a clear path to reach them. We try to avoid this for our students through creating “SMART” goals. Goals stated in this way are S-specific, M-measurable, A-achievable, R-realistic and T-timely. The success rate for SMART goals has proven to be very high. “The great thing about SMART goals is that this method can be used for any type of goal setting, ranging from something like aiming to read a certain amount of books as a child, to more difficult tasks like paying off debt as an adult – and everything in between,” (Children’s Treatment Center).
Now that the new calendar year has begun and we are in the middle of our second trimester we will be revisiting those goals with our students. Please take some time to discuss the goals with your child to help reinforce what we are doing here at school. Together we can help them succeed while at the same time teaching them lifelong skills.
Check out the resources below. Mr. Jacobsen will be using this information to reach his goal of being stronger, faster and smarter. While Mrs. Adams has created smaller SMART goals for herself to reach her overall goals.
Maybe you will find this article useful to make your resolution one that sticks.
Happy New Year!
Citing and Resources
“SMART Goals Method Teaches Kids About Goal Setting.” The Children’s Center for Psychiatry, Psychology, & Related Services, 09 Feb. 2018,
http://childrenstreatmentcenter.com/smart-goals-teach-kids-goal-setting/ Accessed 4 Jan 2019.