An End-of-Year Assessment: Helping Students Move Ahead
The end of the year is a good time for reflection and your student may be ripe for just such self-awareness. Once she's done with classes and exams, you can help her take a look at where she is now that the academic year is over and where she'd like to be when it comes to becoming her genuine self. For instance, how does she feel about herself when it comes to things such as:

• Serving others
  
• Being a learner
  
• Knowing what she values
  
• Embracing diversity
  
• Treatment of others
  
• Work ethic
  
• Being a leader
  
• Being a friend
  
• Being a sibling
  
• Being a son/daughter
  
• Being in a relationship
  
• Developing into someone interested in ____ (a hobby, interest, passion)
  
• Being an informed citizen

Add other topics that are important to your student, too. Examining these traits now allows your student to set some summer goals for the areas she'd like to focus on. Perhaps she's interested in serving others on a more regular basis by steadily volunteering for the same agency. Or maybe she wants to work on becoming a more informed citizen by reading the newspaper on a daily basis.
Whatever the case may be, taking an honest look at herself now and then setting goals can help your student work toward becoming her most genuine self this summer.

Summer Goals
Ask your student: "What two topics would you like to intentionally work on throughout the summer? How will you go about doing this? And how can I support you along the way?"