As much as it pains us to say it, summer has reached its peak. If you go to Redondo, PVHS, Peninsula, West or South, it is time to start thinking about the fall semester and the classes you’ll be taking. Right now is the best time to review for that tricky class from last semester or get a head start on a class that you might be dreading.

A lot of you might also have assigned projects that, until now, had been pushed aside for more leisurely activities. Whether it is a book report or a history paper, the best thing to do is let your sun-soaked brain ease back into thinking critically—Do not leave it until the week before school.

And if you do find that you need a little push to get back into the groove, don’t forget that the tutors at Study Hut are here to help get you back in gear for school.

Of all of the summers I have been tutoring, this year’s crop is by far my most energetic, enthusiastic, and eager to learn and get ahead for next year.

While there are always those students that need to play a little catch up and fill in some of the holes that were created due to poor teaching or a lack of attention during school last year, this year, more than ever, I have been tutoring students who just want to get ahead. Even cooler is that most of these students are self-driven, meaning that they are signing up themselves and getting appointments adjusted on their own, rather than having mom force them to come in for some summer enrichment.

The result is that these students are getting far more out of each session than the average student. While some of these young achievers come here for tutoring from West Los Angeles schools like St. Bernard’s, Corpus Christi, Loyola High School, Notre Dame Academy, and Westchester Lutheran, more of our summer tutoring students are from El Segundo High School and El Segundo Middle School.

We have been tutoring El Segundo students in all sorts of subjects, but I have been doing mostly math tutoring, critical reading tutoring, and writing tutoring. It is definitely going to pay off for these guys come Fall.

School starts in a month! It’s time to dust the cobwebs off the mind and start easing back into school mode. Summer vacation provides more than enough time to forget last year’s math and science, and when class begins in September, things get hectic fast. New material, homework assignments, and projects are given immediately, so it is best to hit the ground running. Any student would greatly benefit from spending time reviewing old material and getting a head start on new stuff before the school year begins.

Even after two months off, teachers expect their students to remember what they learned the year before and continue building and expanding on it this year. For instance, it is assumed that Algebra 2 students are proficient at simplifying radical expressions, factoring, and solving two-step equations from day one of class. These are all skills learned in Algebra 1, but they can easily get rusty after an extended break. Summer is a perfect time for a refresher before everything kicks into high gear.

Summer is also a good opportunity for a brief introduction to next year’s material. Student’s who have had previous exposure tend to perform exponentially better. Although it is impossible to touch on every topic for the upcoming year, it’s often enough to get the mind jogging with an abbreviated preview.