Have an Awesome Last Day of School
The last day of the school year is finally here, but what do you do? It may seem like the end of the day can't come soon enough, but there are lots of fun things you can do to pass the time while waiting for the clock to tick down to 3:00 PM. Whether you're sad because you're going to miss your friends or begging for summer to start, anyone can turn the last day of school into one of the most memorable days of the year.
Contents
Steps
Enjoying the Last Day
- Dress in light and athletic clothes that you don't mind getting dirty. All schools are different, but the chances of a spontaneous water balloon fight, free-time outside, and general desire to run around and see everyone is extra high on the final day. Wear clothes you don't mind moving around in, comfortable shoes, and something with pockets to hold your yearbook pen, camera, phone, etc.
- Empty out your backpack of anything unnecessary -- you'll need the space to bring everything else home.
- If you think there is any chance of getting wet, bring a swim suit. You'd be better safe than sorry.
- Work with the student government in advance to suggest all-school activities. The last day of school often brings out the best in teachers and students, and it can be a great time to celebrate the year with a party, event, or game that everyone can enjoy. Talk to your teachers and student council about putting together some last day of school shenanigan that everyone will remember. While the possibilities are endless, you can't go wrong with:
- Teachers vs. students trivia contest, baseball game, dance off, etc.
- Class picnic, ice cream social, bake sale, etc.
- Movies on the school projectors or in the auditorium.
- Group mural or art project.
- A party for all of the summer birthdays you wouldn't celebrate otherwise.
- Pass your yearbook around to get signatures. This time-honored tradition is better the more people you get involved. Ask anyone you can to sign, including people you don't normally interact with. The sense of community and goodwill is at its highest at the end of they year, and even just showing someone you think about them is a great way to raise everyone's spirits. Ask your friends and acquaintances to write goodbye messages in the margins of your book and do the same for them.
- If you didn't buy a yearbook, you can still sign your friends'. This is also a good opportunity to do a good deed by signing the yearbooks of people who don't have many other people writing in theirs.
- If you didn't buy a yearbook but still want signatures, bring around a notebook, picture collage, or old t-shirt and ask people to sign that instead. The fun is getting everyone to sign, not just owning a yearbook.
- Take pictures. Document the final day of school with your friends and teachers. Ask them "How they want to be remembered in one photo," and see what they come up with. You can then put the shots together into a slideshow or electronic yearbook to share with others.
- Share your favorite memories from the year. As you spend time with your friends and family, take the opportunity to talk about the things that mattered to you in the past year. You can talk about the fun you had, the friends you made, your crushes, and more. These sorts of conversations are great for sleepovers and hangout sessions after the day's celebrations.
- One fun game involves getting your friends to make predictions about each other for the following year. Write your predictions down and keep them in a safe place. In a year's time, revisit them, seeing which came true and which were way off.
- List your high and low moments from the year. What are your goals for next year?
- Respect the teacher's decisions for the end of the year classes. Chances are good your teachers will put on a movie or let you play games instead of giving you work to do. If they do, you need to respect this newfound freedom by following their rules and suggestions without complaint -- don't give them a reason to give you work instead. If the teachers give you work to do, the best you can do is show a grin and bear it. You're still in school, and you are supposed to be learning for all 180 days. It'll all be over soon, and you'll have the full joy of summer vacation before you know it, so just get it done.
- Talk to and thank your teachers for their hard work. You might not know this, but your teachers liked your presence and enjoyed the short memories that they shared with you. Even if they weren't the nicest, a simple "thanks for a good year" is a kind gesture that acknowledges just how hard teaching is. It will not only make their day, it may make their entire year.
- If you want to give an inexpensive gift or card to a particularly amazing teacher, now is the time.
- Plan an after-school get together with your friends, The end of the school year is a great occasion for a party. Try organizing a sleepover with your closest friends or inviting more people over for a larger party with refreshments and games in the evening. You can even suggest that everyone meet at a restaurant, movie theater, or park downtown to have a more informal celebration that everyone can attend.
- This is a good opportunity to include students who may not normally get included in the fun. They may not be your absolute favorite people to hang out with, but it's a big show of kindness to involve them. Everyone loves the end of school, and will be more likely to get along.
Preparing for Summer
- Trade summer contact information with all of your friends. Make sure you know how to get in touch with everyone once you're out of school. Once you've stopped seeing someone every day, it is easy to lose contact with them when you don't have their phone numbers and email address. Make a point of putting the numbers in your phone, or dedicate a small section of a notebook or yearbook to getting email addresses.
- Be sure to pay special attention to any friends who are moving next year. They will be in the whirlwind of packing, making it hard to get in touch later if you don't get numbers now.
- Brainstorm some summer plans with your buddies. As you wait for your classes to end, talk to your friends about what you have planned for the summer. You can bring up your summer job, fun activities you're looking forward to, and any vacation plans you have. Even if you don't get to everything, making plans now makes it more likely that you'll hang out together later in the summer.
- Check in with any teachers who may give summer work. Summer work is a drag, and you don't need to (and shouldn't) think about starting it until after you're rested and recovered from the year. That said, it is much easier to double-check now than to try and get in touch with teachers over the summer, so quickly clarify any work you need to do now. It will save you peace of mind later in the summer.
- If you think you'll have trouble with some of the summer work, or you haven't decided if you are taking the class or not, ask your teacher for their email and see if they'd be okay with you contacting them once over the holiday.
- Clean out your desk, locker, and gym area before you go. Make sure you don't forget any of your stuff at school, as it can be a pain to get it back during the summer. Frequently, anything you've forgotten will be thrown out by cleaners as they prepare for next year, so come prepared to get everything home.
- If your school doesn't already offer them, bring a sturdy garbage bag. You can stuff in a lot of papers and/or gym clothes that you need to carry home.
- Stay respectful, kind and considerate towards your teachers and classmates. The last day of school may seem like a good time to settle old scores with teachers or other students that you hate. This is almost always a bad idea, especially if you're coming back next year. Bad behavior can still get you in trouble on the last day of school, so control your worst impulses unless you like the idea of detention during the first week of summer.
- Remember that you will see most of these people again the following year, and any will you create now will not just disappear over the vacation.
- Even if you're graduating, it's best not to rock the boat too hard. Until you have your diploma, your school still has leverage over you. In extremely rare cases, students have even been prevented from graduating because of their end-of-year shenanigans.
Tips
- Don't get so swept up in the excitement that you forget to finish important end-of-year assignments! Remember that your report card isn't set in stone until after your last day.
- Don't burn your books &n'dash; you can often sell them back to the school for money. Or, if you borrowed them, you should return them to the distributor.
- Keep a box full of memories of that school and look back occasionally. Don't be afraid to let out all of your feelings through crying. Enjoy every last moment. Say goodbye to the people you want to remember. You want to look back on your last day as a happy event, so don't have arguments with anyone.
- If you're moving, get a yearbook and when your friends sign it get them to write their numbers in it.
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