Beaumont Middle School

High school students in PPS, including these at Franklin, have finals starting Wednesday, Jan. 22. (Photo be Beth Conyers)

High school students in PPS, including these at Franklin, have finals starting Wednesday, Jan. 22. (Photo be Beth Conyers)

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If you’re the parent or guardian of a high school student, you surely know what’s coming next week: final exams. It can be a stressful time for students, but there are ways you can help. Here are some tips on ways to assist your student during finals week, courtesy of Portland Public Schools’ Student Success and Health Department: 

Encourage (and make it easy) for students to get adequate sleep
8-10 hours of sleep can have a positive impact on teens’ ability to concentrate and reduces the amount of stress hormone in the brain.

If possible, provide some relief from additional responsibilities
Allowing your student extra time to study, relax a bit, and get adequate sleep may mean other family members help out with other responsibilities during finals week and the week leading up to it.

Model healthy stress management
It’s important to model the behavior you want to see in your kids. Everyone has stress -- how you manage your stress guides your teen’s behavior, attitudes and beliefs about stress over the long term.  

Taking a walk, listening to music, connecting with friends can be healthy ways for all of us to decrease stress.

Just listen, don’t try to fix
Being a supportive listener can help relieve stress. It can be hard to not “fix“ your teen’s stress,  but sometimes just listening and reflecting back can be powerful support.

Find time to connect and have fun as a family
It is important to find fun ways to connect, whether it’s laughter, exercise, playing a game, or taking a couple deep breaths together as you travel to school, to the store, or walk the dog.