For many of us, this time of year means another school year is coming to a close. We often spend this time looking backward, reflecting on the things that went well and what we wish could have gone differently. We also look forward, beginning to anticipate the next school year (and, of course, summer vacation) with excitement. The beginning of summer is also the perfect time to take a deep breath and look inward, celebrating our personal successes and making space to think, feel, and embrace where we are on our reading, writing, and personal journeys.

Looking Backward

This year has been a time of many celebrations for the TWT Blog and TWT Podcast teams. In case you have time to catch up or revisit this learning this summer, here are some of our 24-25 highlights:

• We teamed up to create two blog series, the TWT Help Desk in the fall and Modernizing Mentor Texts in the winter.
• Stacey and Melanie, partnering with several TWT co-authors and guests, produced the third season of the TWT Podcast. Catching up on episodes is the perfect way to stay engaged during a summer road trip or a hot afternoon decluttering around the house.
• Several members of the TWT team presented together at NCTE 2024 in Boston, sharing current research around impactful practices in teaching writing.
• The 18th Annual March Slice of Life Story Challenge brought together returning slicers and new ones, all engaged in growing together as a community of writers for the entire month of March.

Looking Ahead

Even though we’re headed into a much-needed break, planning has already begun for the year ahead:

• We welcome Ana Valentina Patton to our Contributing Writers team! She will join writer Shawnda Fukano and, later this summer, Jenna Komarin.
• We will kick off the school year with both a new blog series and new episodes of the #TWTPod!
• Tuesday Slice of Life continues throughout the summer. Make sure to join us with a story to share!
• Please follow and check our social media platforms–Facebook and Instagram–this summer.

Looking Inward

Summer is also the perfect time to slow down and reflect. It’s a time to connect with friends, establish new habits, and catch up on reading, writing, and other habits that too often get pushed to the back burner during the school year.

To close out this year of writing, learning, sharing, and growing, here are some of the ways our team will be spending the summer looking inward and reconnecting:

On behalf of everyone at the Two Writing Teachers Blog, I wish everyone a safe, fun, and fulfilling summer. We can’t wait to bring you new content in August!