UB Chronicle

The Upward Bound Programs at Morehead State University

January 2025 Volume 4 Issue 5

4 Ways to Get Back into the Swing of High School After Winter Break

Taken from College Vine

The holidays can provide a much needed break from classes, school work, extracurriculars and more. While some students can switch from baking cookies to producing papers with no problem, others might have a difficult time focusing or getting back into the swing of their academic routines after a 3 or 4 week break.

If the end of the school year feels like it’s lightyears away, or if visions of sugar plums are still dancing in your head, don’t panic. Keep reading for tips and tricks that can help you transition back into the school year after a long winter break!

Plan ahead

Have you ever jumped into a hot bath only to jump right back out because you discovered the water was unbearably hot? If this has ever happened to you, then you probably know that the best way to get yourself adjusted to a hot bath is to heat the water up gradually, starting it off at a comfortable warm temperature and adding more hot water as you see fit.

You should try to approach your return to school this way—if you try to jump right in, you might get burned, but if you make gradual adjustments, you’ll find yourself comfortable and doing well! Transitioning from a relatively easy schedule to a busy one is hard for everyone, and you can make things much easier on yourself by planning ahead!

It would be very hard, for example, if you had to go from sleeping in until noon everyday to suddenly waking up at the crack of dawn 5 days per week. To avoid this kind of shock to your system, try to go to bed and wake up one hour earlier each day the week before you need to be back at school.

The same thing goes with doing schoolwork—it’s very hard to go from doing no work at all to reading 100+ pages per week. If you don’t have any homework due over your break, then try picking up a book at least a week before school starts to get back in the habit of reading! The book can be anything, maybe you decide to re-read your favorite novel or maybe you want to pick up the book that you received as a holiday gift. If you’re feeling particularly ambitious, you could even get started reading the book that you know you’ll be tackling in school throughout the break!

If you do have homework over winter break, try making a schedule so that you can finish it one or 2 weeks before school starts rather than cramming it all in at the last minute and then having to go back to school immediately—talk about a buzzkill!

Set goals

The New Year is a great time to think about how your year went—what was successful for you? What would you like to do differently?

Maybe you want to finally get rid of your pesky procrastination habit, or maybe you want to make the honor roll. Perhaps you want to join that extracurricular you’ve been thinking about joining, or maybe you’ve resolved to finally ask out your crush!

Whatever your aspirations are, setting goals is a wonderful way to motivate yourself and keep your own promises. So, when the new year strikes, think about what goals you’d like to set, both long and short term, and think about how you’d like to achieve these goals! These could be New Year’s Resolutions or just general goals in school. Once you know what you’re aspiring to, it will be a lot easier to make a plan and reach the goals that you’re setting for yourself.

Set a schedule

If you know that school is going to be brutal once winter break is finished, try setting a schedule to help you get more done. This could be a weekly schedule, a monthly calendar or a daily to do-list, whatever works best for you. A lot of people benefit greatly from having a visual representation of the amount of time in the day compared to how much work they need to do. You might also consider trying out different scheduling methods to see which one ends up being the most productive!

When you are making your schedule, be sure to leave in time for your obligations, school and otherwise, your SAT/ACT prep, your extracurriculars, and volunteering that you might do, exercise, time with your friends, and all the other little activities that make you who you are!

Be Patient

Finally, be sure not to be too hard on yourself. Transitioning is never easy, especially if you’ve had a very big change of pace during winter break. Everyone struggles with adjustments like this, you might even notice that your parents have a hard time going back to work after a few days of holiday break.

If you can, try to plan in some extra breaks and downtime during the first week that you are back at school. You might even consider doing something extra nice for yourself at the end of the first week, that way you can have something to look forward to. Maybe this will mean taking a nice long bath, buying yourself a new book or a new journal, or even starting on that new season of your favorite show that you’ve been waiting to binge-watch.

Keep in mind that even if you plan ahead, you might not be able to jump back into the swing of things right away—and that’s okay! Just as long as you’re patient with yourself and learn not to criticize yourself too harshly, we’re sure that you’ll be back to your old school-year self in no time. And no matter what happens, there are only 6 months left until summer break!

Final Thoughts

Getting back into the swing of things after a long break won’t be easy, but with some thoughtful planning, it can be made significantly easier. If you feel yourself starting to panic, just stick to the plan—plan ahead, set goals, set a schedule, and be kind to yourself! With a little patience, you’d be surprised at how far you can go.

It is important to check your UB email at least 2-3 per week to ensure you don't miss out on any important information, sign-ups, etc. If you need your password reset, please contact your UB Counselor for assistance.

We're Recruiting!!

The Upward Bound Programs at Morehead State University are currently accepting new student applications.

9th, 10th, or 11th grade students at the following high schools: Bath, Bracken, Boyd, East Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Harrison, Johnson Central, Lawrence, Lewis, Magoffin, Mason, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Nicholas, Paul Blazer, Robertson, Rowan, and West Carter High Schools, are eligible to apply.

Students can submit the Online Application through our recruitment site at join.moreheadub.org or students can obtain a paper application by visiting our website or their high school guidance counselor for assistance.

UB/UBMS Eligibility Requirements

Submit the online and/or paper application with required documentation

a. Guidance Recommendation Form

b. Two Teacher Recommendation Forms

c. 2023 Taxable Income Information (IRS 1040)

Have at least a 2.5 GPA
Be first-generation, meet federal income requirements, and/or academic risk
Be College Bound
Students accepted into Upward Bound Math Science (UBMS) must show a strong interest in obtaining a STEM related college degree.

Understanding the Value in Education

Taken from: Grand Canyon University

1. Stability

Obtaining a college degree, will allow you to increase your overall sense of stability. Learning both inside and outside of the classroom can enrich your life, as well as helping you increase your income. It may even lead you to new career opportunities or directions.

2. Financial Security

Financial security is a significant contributor to the importance of education. People with a college degree make more money than high school graduates. In our society, a formal education tends to lead to work that pays better. Here is a look at the median weekly wages for 2021 by education level, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:1

High school diploma – $809
Bachelor’s degree – $1,334
Master’s degree – $1,574
Doctoral degree – $1,909

Furthermore, a higher education environment imparts not only academics but also soft skills that are important in the workplace, such as the following:

Communication skills
Budgeting and money management
Time management
Problem solving
Critical thinking
Taking constructive criticism

3. Independence

With an education, you can build a career that gives you financial independence. When your education qualifies you for work that pays well enough to cover a place to live and other necessities, you become independent. You are no longer tethered financially to your parents or guardians.

The financial independence that comes from your education can also give you the freedom to experience the continuing benefits of learning and growing your skills throughout your life. Further education may prepare you professionally for more interesting or financially rewarding career options.

4. Goal Attainment

Although higher education is not always possible for everyone, it is a goal people often set for themselves or their children. They see the benefits of earning a college degree, and they want those benefits for themselves or their children. By persisting in your educational journey, you can reach the goals you have set for a more stable and secure life.

This practice of setting goals, such as educational attainment, can lead to a lifetime of setting and fulfilling high expectations for yourself. You will continue to establish and reach difficult goals because you have acquired the skills, habits and expectations involved in doing so.

5. Global Connection

When we learn about history and various cultures, we become connected to the world beyond ourselves and our own communities. When we better understand where other people are coming from or what they have been through, we are more likely to seek and find peaceful resolutions to conflict.

6. Self-Confidence

Your education can result in new interests in your personal life and promotions in your career. Working to achieve your educational goals builds self-confidence. When you work hard, you strengthen your sense of self. When you believe that you can do a certain job or reach a certain goal, you feel freer to speak your mind, share your experience and help others along the way.

7. Economic Growth

Pursuing higher education improves the national economic situation. This outcome was likely not your primary goal in going to college, but it does have significant implications for you. Countries with higher literacy rates generally experience the following benefits:

Better economic projections
More readily available employment opportunities
Higher-paying employment opportunities

8. Awareness

A satisfying job and a comfortable life are not the only benefits of an education. An education can also offer the following advantages:

You may have a better understanding of your legal obligations when signing documents/contracts.
You may be less likely to fall for scams or conspiracy theories.
You might enjoy better health literacy, which improves your ability to discuss your medical issues with your providers.

In short, a high-quality education gives you access to more information that can help you stay healthy and safe.

9. Appreciation

Education exposes you to ideas and cultures beyond what you are already familiar with. Growing up, you may know about only certain types of music, art or literature. A higher education exposes you to a wide variety of topics and cultural expressions, heightening your appreciation of global contributions.

The process of scientific discovery may be new to you. You may hear new types of music or see works of art by people you did not even know existed. An education helps you appreciate the beauty in life, and to see and hear things not everyone has a chance to experience.

10. Productivity

Employers are looking for people who can complete tasks efficiently. The faster and more precisely you work, the more you are appreciated on the job. Getting an education enhances your productivity.

You learn how to juggle multiple projects for your classes while still maintaining the quality of your work. This skill is transferable to the workplace, where you may have many tasks to complete at any given time.

11. Personal Growth

You need never stop learning, and one major benefit of education is learning how to learn. Having completed your formal education, you will know even better how to find the information you want, and how to read and study effectively to become more knowledgeable about the world around you.

Education thus helps you continue to grow as an individual throughout your life. The questions that you ask about the world, now or later, can be explored and answered through your study. The more questions you ask, the more you get to know what is important to you and the world around you. Understanding the importance of education fuels your personal growth.

12. Information Access

Through education, you learn research skills and how to question what you read and hear. Higher education helps you evaluate the information you receive and determine whether the sources are likely to be reliable and impartial.

Needing to contact your UB Counselor?

Ashley Cooper (Associate Director UB Central)

Schools Served: Elliott, Morgan, and Magoffin

Brandon Isaac (Associate Director UBMS North)

Schools Served: Mason, Menifee, and Rowan

Gabby Johnson (Associate Director UBMS South)

Schools Served: Boyd, Paul Blazer, and Robertson

Gabe Markwell (Associate Director UB East)

Schools Served: Bracken, Lawrence, and Johnson

Trey Napier (Academic Bridge Coordinator)

Schools Served: Fleming, Lewis, East Carter, West Carter

Cheyenne Wilson (Academic Coordinator)

Schools Served: Bath, Harrison, Montgomery and Nicholas

Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math & Science are 100% federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education and sponsored by Morehead State University.

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