Students of elementary and middle schools in Shenzhen returned to their schools from the winter holiday on Monday, embracing the shortest school term this year with only 20 weeks.

    The school term for this semester is compressed due to the late Chinese New Year according to the lunar calendar. Many students feel excited about the short term, but some younger students are reluctant to return to school, according to a report from Shenzhen Economic Daily.

    “My daughter does not want to return to school from her happy winter holiday and even cried before going to school this morning,” said the mother of a first grader surnamed Sun at the school gate of Shenzhen Caitian School.

    To help parents tackle students’ emotional problems for the new school term, Bao’an District Education Bureau invited the vice principle from Hongya Elementary School, Zhang Richun, and a head teacher, Deng Yanping, from Bao’an Middle School to interact with parents via the Internet.

    The teachers recommended a few strategies to the parents, including providing a quiet study environment, talking with their kids and encouraging them to make study plans at the beginning of the semester.

    To plan effectively for this short semester is more pressing for middle school students, as they are under more pressure to get good grades. Some schools have also made alterations to the overall schedule in terms of pedagogy by bringing forward content on certain subjects.

    The students who graduated from secondary schools last year studied most of the winter holiday, as the National College Entrance Examinations is approaching in a few months.

    “I only relaxed and joined the family gathering on New Year’s Eve and the first day of the New Year,” said a student surnamed Chen from Shenzhen Second Senior High School. He also told a reporter that many of his classmates joined tutorials during the holiday to review what they’ve learned.

    Teachers suggest that graduating students make adjustments mentally in order to keep positive attitudes towards the exam in June. (Zhang Qian)