The end of the school year presents its own brand of challenges for educators. To help, we’ve rounded up a list of some common year-end difficulties. Along with each one, we offer some encouraging reminders, plus links to Pause Breathe Smile to support you in the final stretch of 2025!
Exhaustion and “running on empty”
You’ve been giving all year: emotionally, mentally, and physically. You’re tired but you still must deliver lessons, manage behaviour, and maintain enthusiasm.
Reminder: You don’t need to bring your “A game” every day to make a difference. Showing up with kindness and presence is already enough.
Pause Breathe Smile in Practice: Try a 60-second pause before class: put your hand on your heart or your belly, take a few mindful breaths, and reconnect to your own calm before guiding students to notice their breathing. Or simply press play on one of our dozens of mindful breathing recordings on the free Pause Breathe Smile app or the Members Resources Pātaka.
Administrative load and heaps of reports
Reports, data entry, parent communications, emails, and final assessments pile up, which can create overwhelm.
Reminder: Progress is not just in numbers. Every small gain, such as a student regulating their emotions or a moment of laughter, counts as real growth too.
Pause Breathe Smile in Practice: Choose one small “done list” win to celebrate at the end of each day instead of only focusing on what’s still not completed. That’s the heart of gratitude. You can also revisit Lesson 2 and the lovely “I’m Thankful for My Hands and Feet” practice (and a reminder about how powerful it is for adults as well as tamariki).
Student restlessness and disengagement
What’s happening: Students sense the end of the year approaching. Their attention wanes, behaviour shifts, and energy spikes. Throw in the various challenges ākonga face at home, and the result can be dysregulated children in your classroom.
Reminder: The end of the year can be messy, and that’s normal. Meeting that chaos with calm curiosity is a gift to your learners.
Pause Breathe Smile in Practice: Invite a “one-minute reset” between lessons. Lead a mindful movement; take three mindful breaths; let one of the tamariki sound the mindfulness bell while everyone listens; or shake the mind jar and watch it settle—revisit Lesson 5 in the Educator Handbook for a refresh on how the mind jar illustrates Pause Breathe Smile principles.
Pressure to end the year on a high note
What’s happening: There’s often pressure for perfect classroom displays, polished projects, and upbeat closure, even when everyone’s tired and ready for a rest.
Reminder: Finishing well doesn’t mean finishing perfectly. It means finishing with presence and heart.
Pause Breathe Smile in Practice: “Good enough” is more than enough at this stage. The quote “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good” comes to mind. Catch those unreasonable expectation thoughts and replace them with something more helpful, because remember that thoughts are just thoughts, not facts from Lesson 5.
We appreciate every one of you for the work you do with and for this next generation of New Zealand tamariki.