How will you create an ending for the academic year?
A few weeks ago I wrote about Bridges Transition Model. This model highlights that before a new shiny beginning, we need to deal with an ending.
“A well-rounded ending is defined as one marked by a sense of closure.”
(Good Endings Promote Better Beginnings, Psychology Today, 2019)
One strategy that Bridges recommends is to review your relationship with endings.
How have you behaved through endings in your past?
Do you view the close of the academic year as an end?
Do you acknowledge this with any rituals beyond the school assemblies and gatherings that often take place?
I know for myself that I often neglected the ending phase of the school year. The latter stages of the summer term were hectic - reports, shuffle up, leavers assemblies, class moves to name a few of the demands.
In the holidays, I did my best to switch off and when I was ready to think about school again, it was often future-focused not past.
We have already discussed the part that forgiveness and gratitude play in endings (see here) and this week I am sharing some coaching questions to help you bring a full stop to the end of the year.
If this year was a song or book title what would it be?
Which moments from the year have brought you the most joy?
What is your biggest learning/takeaway?
What would you like to celebrate? And what else? And what else?
Which relationships/connections have energised and supported you?
What supported your well-being this year?
What do you need to pack away in a box for now, ready to return to after the holidays should you need to?
What might you lose/let go of this year?
What will help you to close the school year and enjoy the holidays?
If your ending is more significant this year and you are moving into a new school leadership position, then join me for a free webinar which explores the psychology that will help you thrive through the change in roles.
Good Endings Promote Better Beginnings | Psychology Today. (n.d.). Retrieved June 28, 2024, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/between-the-lines/201905/good-endings-promote-better-beginnings
Bridges, W., & Bridges, S. (2017). Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
