S 5 EP 6: Top 5 Essential Tips For Wrapping Up The Year and Preparing For January

[00:00:00] I'll go ahead and let staff know that once they come back from that winter break, we'll sit down and have one-on-one so I can go ahead and share their feedback with them.

[00:00:07] The reason why I choose to wait is because I don't want to ruin anyone's holiday. When we come back, we're fresh, we can go ahead and have a constructive conversation about some of the things that were observed.

[00:00:17] I have time to really celebrate and dig into what you are doing well, but also I could share some of the areas of improvement.

[00:00:27] Hello, hello everyone. Welcome to School After Hours podcast where we talk about all things related to our school time program and education.

[00:00:34] I am your host, J. Lee, and as we get closer to the holiday season and the end of the semester going into winter break, there are a few household things that we need to take care of within our program.

[00:00:47] So, in this episode, I'll be giving you five things that you should focus on as you wrap up the end of this part of the year.

[00:00:56] So, stick around, get a pin in the pad, and let's go ahead and jump into it.

[00:01:08] Okay. So, as you wrap up the semester or the first half of the school year, there's a couple of things that you want to keep in mind to make sure that you are ending the semester well,

[00:01:18] but you're also prepping for what's to come when the new year happens.

[00:01:22] One of the top priorities for wrapping up this semester is to pull your data and start preparing your end of the semester presentation.

[00:01:31] A good number of programs around this time of year do a semester or end of a quarter report just to share with stakeholders the gains that they've had, the impact, but also the level of interest in the program.

[00:01:50] In your presentation, there's a few things that you want to include.

[00:01:54] One of those things is the number of young people that were enrolled in your program that showed interest, but also you want to share the number of students that attended the program,

[00:02:07] the students that continuously showed up and actually participated, which is your retention number.

[00:02:12] Then in your presentation or your report, whichever is due, you want to share the collaborations that you've had during this part of the year.

[00:02:21] So maybe you've partnered with a community-based organization and you did maybe a fundraising together, or since it was Thanksgiving or it's the holiday season,

[00:02:33] maybe you collaborated with another program or maybe school counselors to do a coat drive or a clothes drive or adopt a family for the holidays to show collaboration, but also impact the students that participate in your program.

[00:02:51] Another thing that you want to include is your success stories, right?

[00:02:54] Because that is how you know that you are making the actual positive impact, not just on the kids participate, but also the families that you serve.

[00:03:02] So you want to think about the students that have been most impacted by your program and include their story in your presentation, as well as getting family feedback and include that in your presentation.

[00:03:15] Maybe one or two testimonials.

[00:03:16] If you could turn those into videos to show so people are not just looking at a screen and reading a bunch of words, videos are definitely supported in this part of your presentation.

[00:03:27] And then last but not least, in your presentation, you want to include your goals and your future plans.

[00:03:32] What are you doing moving forward to improve the program, but also what is your big dream for the program and where do you want it to go?

[00:03:42] And have you accomplished some of your goals thus far within the year?

[00:03:45] Go ahead and mention those things.

[00:03:47] So that's what you want to present or include in your presentation or end of the semester report.

[00:03:53] Once you pull your data and prepare your semester presentation, the next thing that you want to do is go ahead and finish staff evaluations.

[00:04:01] Staff evaluations, I try to start mid-November or even the beginning of November because it gives me enough time to get through each classroom or each grade level, depending on how the program is structured.

[00:04:15] So I have time to sit, observe, but also give feedback before the next break that comes in December.

[00:04:23] Now, if it happens that I'm not able to finish staff evaluations before, let's say, the second week of December, I'll go ahead and let staff know that once they come back from that winter break, we'll sit down and have one-on-one so I can go ahead and share their feedback with them.

[00:04:41] The reason why I choose to wait is because I don't want to ruin anyone's holiday.

[00:04:45] So I prefer the wait.

[00:04:47] Then when we come back, we're fresh.

[00:04:49] We can go ahead and have a constructive conversation about some of the things that were observed.

[00:04:54] I have time to really celebrate and dig into what you were doing well, but also I could share some of the areas of improvement.

[00:05:00] Then from there, we can develop a plan that'll help you in those needed areas of improvement.

[00:05:06] Also, around this time of year, it's good to do a temperature check and get feedback from parents, students, and community members.

[00:05:14] Those three groups will let you know how you're doing, but also where are some areas that you can improve.

[00:05:19] It's also an opportunity to see how you can collaborate with each other.

[00:05:23] Maybe a parent wants to do a workshop.

[00:05:25] Maybe there's a community member that has a service that could be good to incorporate in your program.

[00:05:30] So it also gives you space to see what other resources are available to you as a program.

[00:05:37] After that's done, that next step would be handing out cards and appreciation gifts to not only staff, but also partners that helped in the process of creating this great semester.

[00:05:47] When I was a site director, I would always get small mementos.

[00:05:53] Maybe the key change that's ordered in bulk or maybe nice pens that have motivational inscriptions on them or even the mini cards that kids could sign.

[00:06:07] So I could hand them out to not only staff, but also if I was in the school to hand it out to the school leadership and teachers that helped with our school program to let them know that we are thankful for all that they do for us.

[00:06:22] Also, it gives the children an opportunity to show gratitude as well.

[00:06:27] And last but not least, you'd go ahead and take the time to prepare for the end of the semester celebrations and prepare for January activities.

[00:06:38] So what does that entail?

[00:06:40] Throwing a holiday party or taking this opportunity to celebrate students and their accomplishments for this grade marking period.

[00:06:49] Also, it's a good opportunity to celebrate staff, to give them kudos for all the work that they've been doing.

[00:06:55] Maybe around this time of the year, you'll go ahead and put on a community event.

[00:06:58] Invite parents and the community to come into your center or to your site and do maybe like a movie and a hot chocolate night.

[00:07:06] Or do a Christmas-themed indoor festival.

[00:07:12] Something along those lines to celebrate the end of the year.

[00:07:16] And like I said, prepare for January.

[00:07:18] So you at least want to get your first two weeks of January planned out before you go on break.

[00:07:24] When you come back, you already have activities planned to jump into programming and not have any worries or trouble.

[00:07:33] Okay everyone, those are my five tips to help you wrap up the end of the year and jump into the new year of 2025.

[00:07:44] For this time period, I'm going to take a little break just to refresh and renew myself from doing videos consistently throughout this whole year.

[00:07:53] I'm a little tired, so I want to take a break just to respect my body, respect my mind, and give myself time to rest.

[00:08:03] But also prepare for the second half of this season that we are about to go into.

[00:08:08] I might do a bonus video during the winter break and that's just going to be a goals video.

[00:08:16] Catch you up on some of the things that I have accomplished for the year, but that's a might.

[00:08:19] If I do not get a chance to put it out by December, I'll definitely do a then and now goal video for you all.

[00:08:27] That being said, I'm going to go ahead and wrap up and catch up with y'all soon.

[00:08:33] Well everyone, that brings us to the end of our show.

[00:08:35] If you like what you heard and you enjoyed our conversation, make sure that you're following us on YouTube, but also hit that like button so we know what you are enjoying.

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[00:09:05] Well, that's all I have for today.

[00:09:07] In the words of Mr. Arthur Ashe, start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.

[00:09:12] Until next time y'all, bye-bye.