Reading Week is upon us and this mid-semester break happened in part thanks to SAMRU’s advocacy (see “Did you know?” below)! This time is a chance for students to catch up on assignments and complete projects, but also to dedicate time to prioritize their well-being and access supports – both academic and non-academic. 

For many students, this break also provides dedicated time to study for upcoming midterms. Ahead of reading week, we asked the campus community for their best study tips – here’s what your peers had to say!

“Study in public! It holds you accountable and it kind of pressures you to work around other productive people – at the very least, do a time-lapse to prevent using your phone” 

“Apply the 5-minute rule – when needing to complete an important task, such as studying for school or completing an assignment, force yourself to do it for five minutes only, and by the end of the 5 minutes, you’ll be hooked on your task. You will end up doing it for a longer period of time.”

“I think rewriting your notes, looking through your lecture notes, and creating Quizlets really helps with studying. Also, making study games and using Quizlet you can make your own exams. Looking through your reading notes as well as whatever you’re studying helps you memorize better, and you’re pretty much studying the entire time by making your own exam questions”

As we can see, Reading Week provides students with the opportunity to study, but also to rest and re-focus — finding a balance between academics, work, and social life is key. Here at SAMRU, we want to reassure you that SAMRU supports are still available – all of our Centres will be open regular hours through the duration of Reading Week. 

Whether you use this time to learn study strategies, access counselling, catch up on your work, or just hang out with family and friends, we wish you a refreshing and productive break!

DID YOU KNOW?

SAMRU’s student representatives advocated for a reading break as far back as 2009. Back then, MRU agreed to pilot a “reading day” in November, attached to Remembrance Day.

Then, in a 2013 survey, over half the students responding reported that stress was negatively impacting their academic performance (which is what SAMRU was saying to MRU). Because of this and other reasons, MRU’s President’s Taskforce on Mental Health recommended a fall reading break for a full week in October, noting that an earlier break (and earlier opportunities to receive support) would be more conducive to student success.

At the time, MRU was Calgary’s first post-secondary institution to grant a week-long break to students in the fall semester!