Last Day of School Checklist

The last day of school is coming up! To help you stay organized and end the year smoothly, here is a to-do list of things to do when the school year is over.

Organize all the papers

Chances are, you probably have a folder (or multiple) stuffed full with papers. Now is a great time to clear all those papers out. Look through them and recycle the ones you don’t need anymore. Sometimes I have papers that I want to keep, such as an essay or a test that I got a good grade on. For those papers, I put them in a box of keepsakes and memorabilia from my high school years. 

School supplies

School supplies are another thing you should organize. Empty out your backpack or whatever bag you use for all your school things, and sort through all the supplies. I usually save most of my school supplies because lots of them can be used for the next year. Make sure you test all the markers/highlighters/pens to make sure they all still work. For your notebooks, if they still have most of the paper still in them, tear out the used sheets and save the rest of the notebook for next year. You can save so much money by saving school supplies from previous years.

Declutter your email

Nothing makes me feel more organized than going through my inbox and deleting all my emails that I no longer need. For those of you who have thousands of unread emails, this may seem like quite a chore. But if you stay on top of your emails, you’ll feel a lot more organized. Delete all those emails that you don’t need anymore. If there are ones you want to save, consider creating some labeled folders in your email and move things around a bit. Folders are your best friends.

Declutter your Google Drive

The same goes for your Drive; stay on top of organizing documents and putting them into folders, and you’ll feel so much more organized. I create a new folder for every single school year, so if you want to add a new one ahead of time to prepare for the next school year, go for it! If there’s anything in your drive that you don’t care about, move it to the trash. For graduating seniors, remember that your school Google accounts will be deactivated on January 1st, 2025, so if there’s anything on your Google Drive that you really want to keep for the future, consider transferring it to a more permanent Google Drive associated with a personal Google account. That way, you won’t be devastated when you lose a ton of stuff on January 1st.

Declutter your phone

I use my phone for a LOT of school stuff, but now is just a great time in general to declutter everything and empty your phone’s storage. One thing to do is go through your camera roll and delete all those photos and videos you don’t need anymore. Or, delete text conversations you don’t need anymore (a LOT of my storage is filled by text messages). Another thing to do is clear out all those notes on the notes app. I write stuff in my notes app all the time, and there are so many notes that I don’t need anymore. Go through all your apps as well and see which ones you don’t use/need anymore. For graduating seniors, go ahead and delete all those school apps, because you won’t need them anymore! There is something truly satisfying about deleting the Canvas app or Infinite Campus. I can’t explain it.

Check all your grades

Ugh, I know. You’re probably dreading looking at your class grades after the grades for finals were put in. But it’s good to know how you ended the school year. Personally, I keep a document with all my ending class grades for every single semester in high school, and I update them after all final grades have been put in. That way, I can see which classes I did well in, and which I struggled with. 

Make plans for summer!

If you want to have a memorable summer, start thinking about what you actually want to do to make it memorable. Maybe hang out with some friends on the last day of school for a little celebratory get-together. I’ve seen people make cute summer bucket lists; that would be a fun thing to do. Or create a vision board of all the things you want to accomplish/experience over the summer. If you plan on getting a summer job, start doing some research about jobs in the area and apply for some interviews. If you’re finishing up your sophomore or junior year, this summer is a great time to plan some college visits and start figuring out where you want to attend college (or any other post high school planning). Planning things to do over the summer prevents you from being lazy and having nothing to look forward to for the next 2(ish) months.

SENIORS

I also have a shorter to-do list of things specifically for the graduating seniors (which also includes all the things above).

Start shopping 

If you’re going off to college or moving out of your parents’ house, start shopping now for things for your dorm, apartment, or wherever you’re going to live. 

Apply for jobs

Don’t waste your summer - get a job to help save up for college or whatever post high school plans you have. Since (almost) all of you are 18 now, that opens up a lot of opportunities for jobs in the area. 

Start preparing for college

If you’re going to college, start signing up for classes and doing some research on your future professors. But not only that, also try connecting with your roommate if you already have one, figure out what clubs and activities you want to try in college, get familiar with your school, and attend an orientation if your school has one. If you haven’t already visited your campus, the summer is a great time to start touring it.

Enjoy your last few days at home

For those of you who will be leaving your parents’ home in the fall, just enjoy the little time you have left with your family in your home. Think about some meaningful things you want to do with your family before you leave, and decide on how you want to spend your last summer at home. 

Congratulations on your graduation, and have a great summer!