The first week back after winter break doesn’t need more content — it needs a reset.

This week, we’re looking at two small shifts that help classrooms (and teachers) regain calm and energy fast: one tool that quietly resets the room and one study that suggests when you reach for coffee may matter more than how much you drink.

If this week feels louder, messier, or more exhausting than usual, you’re not imagining it — and you’re not alone.

You’re about to become an even better teacher in the next 7 minutes.

🚀 Noteworthy News

👉️ Alarming: Young people are among the unhappiest generations — what’s driving it.

👉️ Thought-provoking: People are now getting news from AI — and it’s reshaping what they believe.

👉️ Future-of-Ed: AI is entering schools — here’s how teachers and students are using it.

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And now back to making you an even better teacher 👇️ 

TECH TOOL

Resetting the Room

The first week back after winter break is always… loud. Kids are sugared up, routines are rusty, and our patience is still in vacation mode. 

Before diving back into content, we need calm.

The Solution: ClassroomZen

Classroom Zen is a free, browser-based collection of interactive tools for noise management, morning warm-ups, typing practice, and spelling and vocab. 

The real standouts for most classrooms are the noise and warm-up tools, especially early in the day - each having their own set of unique activities.

Sleepy Mio, for example, turns quiet into a game. The longer the class stays calm, the longer Mio (the monster) naps. Get loud, Mio wakes up, and the class loses. It’s simple, visual, and shockingly effective. 

Everything works best on a smartboard or projector so the whole class plays together, but individual devices work too. No downloads. No logins. No cost.

Is This For YOUR Classroom?

If your room thrives on whole-class routines and visual cues, this is a win. If you teach mostly silent, independent work with minimal screen use, it may feel less essential.

Strategies That Work:

1. Morning Reset: Start the day with a Zen warm-up to shift brains from holiday mode to school mode.

2. Noise Stamina Challenge: Use Sleepy Mio (or their other games) to build longer stretches of focused quiet.

3. Brain Break Rotation: Switch tools daily to keep novelty high while routines settle in.

ClassroomZen doesn’t demand calm. It invites it. And after winter break, that’s a gift we’ll take..

BRAINY BIT

The Coffee Timing Question

That second (or third!) cup this week back may feel necessary. But does when we drink it matter more than how much we drink?

TLDR: A large new study found that people who drank coffee in the morning only had lower risks of death, especially from heart disease. Drinking coffee throughout the day showed no such benefit. Same caffeine. Different timing. Very different outcomes.

The Study: Coffee-drinking and mortality

Researchers analyzed health and diet data from over 40,000 U.S. adults followed for nearly 20 years. Instead of focusing on how much coffee people drank, they looked at when it was consumed: morning only, spread throughout the day, or not at all.

They then tracked long-term outcomes, including overall deaths and deaths from cardiovascular disease, while accounting for sleep, diet quality, smoking, and total caffeine intake.

The Results:

Morning-only coffee drinkers had about a 16% lower risk of death overall and a 31% lower risk of heart-related death compared to non-coffee drinkers.

People who drank coffee all day long saw no meaningful benefit, even when drinking the same amount.

The key insight here is that late-day coffee may interfere with sleep and circadian rhythms, quietly undoing those benefits.

In YOUR Classroom:

It’s the first week back, routines are fragile, and many of us are leaning harder than usual on caffeine just to stay sharp.

Here’s how this study might impact how work this week:

Strategies That Work:

1. Front-load caffeine. Enjoy that extra cup if needed, but aim to finish by late morning.

2. Protect sleep on school nights. Alert today isn’t worth exhausted tomorrow.

3. Name energy, not guilt. Talk with students about timing, rest, and recovery (especially high school teachers who may have students cracking open extra energy drinks this week).

Keep in mind - this is just one large study, not a rulebook, and we’re not medical experts either here at The PEN Weekly. 

Bodies differ, coffee hits everyone differently, and sleep still matters more than any brew. 

And when in doubt, always, always consult with your own medical professionals.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We would LOVE to hear from you!

Reply to this email, or send us a message on Instagram! We’re here to walk with you in these crazy times!

Part of what makes The PEN Weekly community so special is the fact that our readers are teachers from around the world! We’re not going to lie, we think that’s pretty darn cool!

We’ll see you again on Monday 🍎

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