For teachers, the toughest day of the school year is the day after Christmas break. No one wants to rise before the sun’s up, in the beginning of winter when it’s often dark and dreary. Early January in the Northeast is cold with frost on car and bus windows, the sun not appearing until after school starts. Students and staff have gotten used to getting up late after ten days of no alarm clocks and lots of good food and drink with family and friends. But there are ways to make this first day productive while waiting for everyone to readjust to the routine of waking up early and starting work at 7:30 a.m–and it doesn’t teachers showing teens a movie or allowing them unlimited access to their cell phones.

Today, on January 2, I started by requiring students to ask and answer a question about the unit they’re studying. French 4 students asked whether they liked camping or not, and why or why not. French 3 students talked about what type and brands of cars they liked. To help them along, I shared my opinion on these topics. They enjoyed hearing about their peers’ preferences in cars and camping–and smiled and murmured their opinion on Ferraris, Hondas, and BMWs. A few groups enthusiastically exchanged information in English about the best cars and why camping wasn’t great—and I urged them to say everything in French. But on the plus side, they were happy to be back in school, learning about something they found relevant to their lives.

We moved on to a few online games–Blooket and Gimkits–to master vocabulary of the car. They never tired of playing games, which still had holiday themes and songs given I had posted them before Christmas. I couldn’t ignore many of us had just celebrated Christmas and New Years. I reminded them that they knew the rules of completing assignments posted on Google Classroom using their Chromebooks by the day they were due. That day, I gave them points for speaking in class, which I’m sure some students later noticed.

Unfortunately, I’m still getting over a cold, so I sounded congested and wasn’t as energetic as I normally am. I was relieved I didn’t sneeze or cough much, and I tried to maintain some distance between me and students so as not to infect them. It wasn’t worth it to call in sick. My district has a rule that it will dock pay for a day taken off just before or after a holiday.

It’s always great to see colleagues—and I’m fortunate to have a few close friends at school. It makes going to work more fun. And this morning, before class, I got up with them.

I hope students appreciate how at school, they can make friends with so many people–whether it’s in the classroom or in after-school activities. Sometimes, students are negative about school, saying it’s boring and lots of work. But they must remember that the positive of being around more than 1,500 young people every day, doing the same thing they are, as they prepare for a future that will bring them the most satisfaction.

Here’s to a January that will be filled with fun, educational activities in my classes. Kudos to those who smiled and laughed today in class, making this day brighter for all. Tomorrow is bound to be easier for everyone. We’ve already gone through the first day back after break.