Decide that this is a fresh, brand new school semester for you. You can just leave all of your troubles, bad grades, grudges, enemies, or fights behind. Start FRESH!

Let people know by your actions that this is a fresh new you! Think about things in a positive way. Stand up straight and proud, walk tall, and feel confident! Be friendly, say hi to your friends and to new people as well. If you are new at Central High Tri-C, keep in mind that there are plenty of other new students, too. You will all make new friends this year. Having good friends will boost your confidence, and will help you to have a great time at school!

 Take notes in class and listen to the teacher. You may have heard this suggestion a lot of times before and still think classes are lame, but this is such a good idea! If you listen to the teacher and take notes, it will help you to understand what the class material is all about, and what is important to remember.     

Study. Decide right away that you will put some effort into it. If you find you have a hard time focusing when studying alone in class or at home, see if you can find a study partner, or even better, a study group (three or four people who will agree to study together). You'd be surprised at how much your study improves when you have someone else to quiz you and how much less nervous you are about tests. Which brings us to...
Do NOT panic when you hear, "There will be a test tomorrow!" If you panic, it will not help. It may just make things worse. Relax and go over your notes and textbook. Read it through one time quickly. Then read it again - you will probably actually understand it. You can also create a mental "picture" in your head of the content being tested. It's likely you will remember that picture while doing the test.

      Treat everyone equally, with respect and dignity - just like you want them to treat you. Be polite, but set your limits. Think about the nicest person you know - that person that everyone says, "Oh, she's nice, she never says anything bad about anyone." Try to be like that yourself, and remember how good you feel when someone else is nice to you for no reason at all. It makes your day - and you can pay that forward to someone else every single day. There's an old saying: "It's nice to be important. It's much more important to be nice." Being friendly to people at school (even the not-so-cool kids) is a good practice you can use for the rest of your life.

Be open to new friends and experiences. School is all about learning. Part of what you will learn is how to get along with different personalities, and that's really what life requires you to do. Don't be too upset if your old friends seem to be drifting away - they're probably making new friends, too. Growing up sometimes means that we have different interests than we did before, and the friends we used to have don't always share them - that's okay. It doesn't mean you can't still be friendly with them, it just means you're both moving on with your lives and growing in different directions.

- Adapted from WikiHow, "How to Start a Great School Year"