1. Turn in any late work, make up any quizzes, get your act together before winter break. As you probably know, the last few days of first semester are not good ones to miss.

2. Clean out your binders. Stash away anything you won’t need, but don’t throw anything away. Most teachers wouldn’t want you to do that, and some finals are accumulative!

3. Clean out your lockers. Turn in accumulated old books to your English teacher. Throw away things you won’t need. It’s liberating.

4. Is your schedule changing? Are you signed up for the classes you want to be taking? Figure this stuff out now so you can make any schedule changes if necessary.

5. Re-stock on school supplies. Your colored gels pens have probably run out by now. Get new lead, mini-staplers; try to stop borrowing loose-leaf paper from your neighbor.

6. Start (or keep) writing down your homework, and then do it: all of it. Near the end of first semester it’s easy to get caught behind, but find your planner, start writing it all down again.

7. Figure out what sports, clubs or activities you are interested in doing and find out the schedules. Write times and dates down and put them on your fridge.

8. Look at your grades and make realistic goals for second semester. Chances are there’s room for improvement.

9. Get a lot of sleep over winter break, though this rule goes for any time of the year: sleep as much as you can, cause spring break isn’t for a while, and chances are you won’t get to catch up until then.

10. If there’s anything you can get done over winter break, do it. If you are assigned, for example, to start reading a book, don’t put it off to January. It’s only going to make getting back into school-mood that much worse.