HRA’s school counselors are ready for summer—but they have one last assignment for students and their families as they prepare for their break

Is it summer yet? How many days until summer vacation? I can’t wait for summer!

These exclamations begin May 1 in the halls of HRA. Looking ahead to summer vacation and all of the possibilities that only summer vacation can bring are often the tonic that gets students (and faculty) through the last month of school.

While it is tempting to look forward, it is also important to pause, breathe, and reflect. Reflection is a powerful exercise in self-growth. Socrates’ famous assertion that the unexamined life is not worth living still holds today. Increasing self awareness, learning from mistakes, and honing belief systems are important aspects of development.

Encourage your child to spend some time reflecting on the past school year. What words would they use to describe themself on the first day of school? On the last day of school? What challenges did they overcome during the school year? What goals were met or modified? What have they learned about themselves over the course of this school year?

Summer offers the perfect time for this important reflection and growth to take place. Engaging in self-reflection allows for recognition of patterns of success or challenge, increases emotional well-being, and builds resilience. Reflection is a time for slowing down and recharging after a long school year, allowing students to return in August ready to learn.

So, while you and your family enjoy all that the months ahead will bring, make this summer assignment a priority. Your child’s future self will thank you.

Students lean into good habits this spring to finish the year strong

Spring has sprung! This time of year always brings fresh energy and excitement and is a time for renewal and awakening after the long, cold winter. Springtime not only means nicer weather, but also that our school year is rapidly approaching the finish line. Expectations for students rise, just as motivation seems to dip. So how can students renew their motivation from the start of the year and finish strong? We recommend that they make healthy habits a priority and resume the routines that may have fallen off during the winter. 

Where to start:

1. Be deliberate about sleep hygiene:

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children ages 6-12 get between 9 and 12 hours of sleep and children ages 13-18 get between 8 and 10 hours each night. This is often harder for older teens because of their brain activity, but ideally, they will begin their sleep routine by 11:00 PM.
• Plug in any and all devices outside of the bedroom to charge overnight and put them on the charger an hour before bedtime. The blue light emitted from the screens disrupts sleep.

2. Monitor social media use:

• Set limits for screen use and stick to them! 
• Pay attention to why you are scrolling. Is there something you should be doing instead, like homework, studying, or getting organized for the next school day? Parents can set limits on access to social media. 
• Reflect on how you feel after doom scrolling. Odds are you’ve drained your energy rather than increased it, and you have lost time that you cannot get back.

3. Move your body:

• Exercise for 30 minutes each day. It could be a simple walk or participating in a sport, but studies show regular movement benefits both your body and your brain. 

4. Make a schedule … and stick to it:

• The end of the school year means projects and deadlines and testing … oh my! Create a study schedule and follow it.
• When it’s time to get work done, “lock in” for 20 minutes and then take a five-minute stretch break. Set timers for both to keep you accountable. No phones either! Rinse and repeat and you’ll be amazed at how quickly your to-do list gets done!

Does this sound familiar?

Parent: How was your day?

Child: Fine.

Parent: What did you do at school today?

Child: Nothing.

As parents, we want to connect with our children and hear about their lives. We have precious little time with them each day, and darn it, we want to make it count! Unfortunately, we often leave moments like the one referenced above feeling less than satisfied. Less than connected …

This got us thinking about Cupid—it is February after all! Cupid didn’t ask his victims, Do you love him? Or, Is she your true love? He struck his victims with an arrow—POW!—and they fell madly in love. Maybe as parents, we aren’t using the right arrow when we are asking our children about their lives. We know that the answer to a yes/no question is typically yes or no, so why are we still pulling the same arrow out of our quivers?  

Believe it or not, our children want us to be interested in their lives. They want to know that what they do matters to us. They want to know that they are a priority. If we shoot with the same arrow every day when they jump in the car after school or roll in after sports practices or play rehearsals, they will respond with the same yes, no, nothing responses.  

Let’s shake things up a bit: What if you asked your child to tell you the best thing about their day? The worst thing about their day? 

Some refer to this as Roses and Thorns. How powerful it would be for your child to share a thorn with you, so that you can follow-up with Well, how did you handle it? What did you do to make yourself feel better, calmer, more in control? These questions make our children think, give us an opportunity to celebrate the roses, and build our children’s resiliency when they share the thorns. Or you can ask questions like What would you have students read if you had control of your English class? What made you laugh today? What challenged you today? What would your perfect day look like?

Cupid may have had it right all along. Go for the POW! when it comes to asking your child questions about their life. Your connection with your child will deepen. Plus, it’s fun to keep our little darlings on their toes!

Be the cheerleader: at HRA, student success starts with families who celebrate their children’s efforts to trend toward their goals

Happy New Year! We are excited to bring you the first installment in our new blog series, From the Counselors’ Office: Strengthening the Bridge between School and Home. As counselors at HRA, we have the incredible opportunity to spend a lot of time with your children, and it is from this unique perspective that we will be writing each month.

January is a time that many of us associate with resolutions. The word resolution implies that we are resolved to making a change in our behaviors. Does the word set us up for disappointment? 

Perhaps trend is a better word choice. If we are trending in the desired direction, we can see the results of our hard work while giving ourselves grace if we have a momentary slip (for those of you who have a sweet tooth, you know what we mean …). 

If you have set goals for 2026, are you trending in the desired direction? Has your child set goals for 2026, such as getting better grades, spending less time on devices, or feeling less anxious? How can your child trend toward these goals? What concrete steps can be taken to begin and continue an upward trend?  

Neuroscience tells us that learning a new behavior and repeating it leads to changes in neural connections. If the goal is to achieve better grades, trending in an upward direction through repetition of learning strategies improves learning potential and helps students see that their efforts pay off. If the goal is to feel less anxious, repetition of a 4-7-8 breathing technique lowers stress levels and reactivity in the brain.  

Whatever goals you and your child identify for 2026, we encourage you to celebrate positive trending. Be the cheerleader, give pats on the back, and remember that sometimes, it’s OK to eat a few extra Oreos.