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Summer Tutoring Boost in Manhattan Beach

August 1st, 2011

Summer splashing and the sun rays is a great way to attain your vitamin D during the summer. So what
can be done after the sunburns start to ache and the beach seems to get mediocre? One incredible
way to continue amplifying your kid’s mental and scholastic ability is through summer tutoring at Study
Hut. Our summer hours are flexible and very tangible for any parent schedule. A combination of both
outdoor activities paired with some summer tutoring is a great way to not only attain great school
grades but it also relieves future stress on the student. While many students in September are in class
chugging away, pulling hair and pondering and trying to recall the Pythagorean Theorem, your student
will be cruising and mastering skills above their pupils. Study show that we only use about 3% of our
mind capability, so why not fill that brain matter with useful information for your student? One simple
hour of reinforcing previous unlearned or misunderstood material can cement information and ingrain
it thoroughly in the brain of student. This not only provides a solid foundation of information, but will be
used as a base for your student’s scholastic future.

We tutor in many subjects including Biology, English, Reading Comprehension, Math and much more. So
in addition to a fun summer swim in the gorgeous California beach, add a study hut tutoring hour before
or after. The student will be hyped on endorphins and will perform better scholastically. We are happy
covering any material your student is scared to confront and will give your student not only confidence
in their skills, but learn the material too. Our tutors are more than happy to help your student conquer
their scholastic fear and return to their classroom in September more confident and better prepared.

Avoid the Last Minute Summer Reading Cramming

July 29th, 2011

I remember when I was a Mira Costa high School student, summer just starting, tried to forget about school as much as I could.  This behavior is quite common among high school student.  This ultimately would result with most of my friends and I spending the last weeks of summer reading non-stop all of our assigned summer reading books.  As my family usually chooses to go on our family summer vacation during those weeks, my memory of those vacations is marred with memories of: If Beagle Street Could Talk, The Crucible, An Affair to Remember, One Flew Over the Cookoo’s Nest, and the other books our teachers said we needed to read.

Looking back I wished I started reading those books earlier in the summer.  There was no real need to wait so long.  I have heard kids make the excuse that if they start reading early in the summer they won’t remember the details and promptly fail the “rigorous” summer reading tests.  While that line of reasoning seems quite logical, it’s also been accounted for by the Mira Costa English teachers.  The summer reading tests are very simple short multiple choice exams, asking easy basic plot questions; the point is to just make sure that the taker simply had read the book.   Over the first few weeks class time is spent reviewing the summer reading books preparing the students for a more involved analytical essay.   So there is no advantage of cramming all the reading in the last weeks of summer.  Instead, start those books right now.  Read when you can.  Find your-self with a spare hour or two at home with no plans?  Spend some of that time on your summer reading.  By reading a few hours at a time throughout the whole summer you can easily avoid cramming them all at the end.  And in my case, I could have enjoyed my summer vacations much more.

Palos Verdes Summer School

July 27th, 2011

Whether you are retaking last semester’s toughest class or getting ahead for next year, all of you Palos Verdes High School students should be seeing the light at the end of the summer school tunnel. Finals are coming up, and it’s important to keep your eyes on the prize despite the classic Southern California summer weather outside.

Hopefully you’ve been keeping up with your summer studies by taking notes and staying organized, but we understand that, between all of the summer athletics and activities, it can be hard to scrape out some study time. In any case, the Hut tutors are armed with the test taking skills and subject knowledge that get you smoothly through Finals time. So if you are feeling overwhelmed or just want a quick review, make sure to stop by. We look forward to seeing you!

Thoughts on the SAT

July 17th, 2011

The biggest misconception about the SAT is that it directly measures intelligence. Many students choose not to study for it because they believe their intellectual capacity is enough to earn the score they want. In reality, the SAT is a better indicator of how well the students have prepared than how smart they are. Getting a high score requires both mastery of the material and knowledge of the test taking strategies.

There is a wide range of material students have to know. The math section deals with many topics including, numbers and operations, algebra I and II, geometry, data analysis, statistics, and probability. The critical reading section requires students to be fast and active readers and have good comprehension and an extensive vocabulary. The writing section is graded on a very specific rubric. Students can learn exactly what is needed to satisfy each requirement on the rubric and earn a high score without being particularly good writers. Needles to say, a fair amount of studying is necessary to become proficient in all this material.

The SAT is a unique test and therefore demands unique test taking strategies. The score on each section of the test can be maximized using certain tricks and strategies. Knowing when and when not to guess, for instance, is a very important skill. As with the material, the test taking strategies are very teachable.

Finals Prep will help with Summer School classes too!

July 6th, 2011

When it comes to studying for finals, organization is key. More likely than not, you’re going to be studying for multiple exams, and will have to devote time to all of them. So, set up a schedule. This schedule should be made AT LEAST 3 weeks in advance (you should have some idea of what will be on the test by then. And once you make that schedule, stick to it! Make sure that you’ve penciled in ample time for each subject, reserving more time for the subjects that need it. Let’s face it, you’ll need to study more for that class you have a C in than the one you’re acing.

Now that you’ve got you’re time scheduled, the question is “How do I study for this?” Going through the text, and reading your notes helps a LOT, but one of the most importance study resources is going to be something you probably won’t want to revisit: OLD TESTS! Remember, the people writing these finals are the same people who wrote those tests. They are excellent guides for what to expect on the final. Look through them. What did you get wrong? What did you get right? Review the questions (some of them may even be repeated on the final), and try to get a feel for what might appear on the final exam. But remember, the tests can’t be your only resource; you DO have to review your notes and reading assignments.

And finally, get yourself in the right state of mind. Get a good night sleep the night before. 15 minutes before the tests, stop all studying and relax. If you don’t know it by then, you don’t know it. What’s important is to be calm, collected, and focused. You can’t do that if you’re using the last bit of time to memorize 3 weeks worth of notes. So, schedule, review, relax, and good luck!

AVID working through summer

July 6th, 2011

SP here. I am really looking forward to my lunch meeting today with all of the rad teachers from the Palos Verdes High School AVID program. Each year during the summer, these awesome teachers (Egan, Whalen, Morales) get together to reflect on the past year. They ask questions like:

What went right?

What could we have done better?

What activities to we need to make more room for?

Which activities and ideas could be eliminated all together?

Certainly the questions and ideas that get bounced around go
much more in depth than these “Level 1” questions (some students are snickering at this), but in actuality, sometimes it is just this casual approach that gets us to the gems.

We are all working together to make sure that the AVID experience is excellent for all students at all levels. We need to make sure that we are meeting the statewide expectations for the program and the curriculum, and we also need to make sure that the goals we set for the students are achieved, and that the activities we decide on and the curriculum we endorse has a direct, positive impact on those goals. Most importantly, we are all looking forward to another amazing AVID year come Fall.

Tutor team bonding means better tutoring

June 16th, 2011

I’ve been a member of the Study Hut team for many years and we do many exciting events, get-
togethers and soirees that help to enhance the overall experience at the Hut. Over the years I remember
several different bonding experiences that aid in the development of relationships at the Hut which
in turn increases students and faculty overall moral. Tie day, Hat day, Ugly sweatshirt parties, Cinco
de Mayo extravaganzas and Cancer walks are just some of the things we do at the Hut to increase the
dynamics and overall flow in the Study Hut community.

All of this interaction allows us to develop the appropriate environment we wish to have at
the Study Hut. We attempt to make the environment at our locations loquacious and positive thus
inundating the students with the vibes necessary for an appropriate learning environment. I happen
to also work at the Sylvan Learning Center once or twice a week and they lack in this area because
the environment at the location I work at is monotonous and mundane which makes learning less
appetizing for all students. They claim that Sylvan is boring and students dislike attending their tutoring
appointments which is far different from the reactions we get at the Hut. We feel that allowing the
tutors and students the chance to interact inside and outside the tutoring environment helps to
separate us from the other corporate tutoring centers.

Study Hut tutors and students tend to get along really well and all of the activities and fun things
we do really help to solidify these relationships. I have become friends with some of the students I’ve
tutored over the years and one in particular I can think of I’ve been tutoring for over four years and
helped him recently get into The University of Arizona and we’re stoked about his accomplishments!

Study Hut Algebra 2 Prep Classes

June 15th, 2011

This Summer, Study Hut will be offering an Algebra 2 Prep class from 8/1 to 8/25 for those students who need to strengthen their required math skills. The Classes will be 2 hours long, 2 times a week and are designed to prepare students for success at the next level. The first section will be a review of Algebra I, followed by a complete overview of Algebra 2.

This course will make Algebra 2 a manageable subject for all who attend. Algebra 2 continues students’ study of advanced algebraic concepts including functions, polynomials, rational expressions, systems of functions and inequalities, and matrices. Students will be expected to describe and translate among graphic, algebraic, numeric, tabular, and verbal representations of relations and use those representations to solve problems.

Research shows that students who earn a C or better in Algebra 2 perform better on college entrance exams, are less likely to need remedial college courses, and are more likely to earn a four-year college degree.

Leave high school prepared for college and career success, prepare to take and do well in college-level classes, unlock your full mathematical potential.

If you are interested in enrolling in one of these sessions contact us by phone at 310-540-5888 or by email justin@studyhut.com.

Study Hut Tutoring on Campus at West and Redondo Union High

June 14th, 2011

Last weekend Study Hut held its 2nd free tutoring seminar at West High and Redondo Union High School.   For two hours after school last Friday, and for three hours on Saturday, Study Hut was on campus for free group tutoring coordinated with school administrators.  Over one hundred students from West and over 50 from Redondo came to receive free tutoring with highly specialized tutors.   The students were separated into group by school subjects, ranging the whole high school academic spectrum from geometry to U.S. History; where one to two Study Hut Tutors prepared them for the upcoming finals.   Last time was such a success that teachers at West High rewarded students with extra credit for attending both days.   The best part of the whole event was the great attitude of all the students who came.  They were all eager to receive the help and get the most they could before the all important finals.  We at The Hut would like to thank the helpful staff of both West High and RUHS, our great tutors for their effort, and the all students who came down to make this another great experience.

Sports and tutoring are Similar

June 14th, 2011

When I’m not tutoring at Study Hut in Manhattan Beach, I like to volunteer my time as a baseball coach at Westchester Babe Ruth. I see a lot of similarities to coaching and tutoring. One of the most important aspects to both is being able to relate to players and students. I was never very receptive to the old, over the hill baseball coaches because it’s hard to relate to them. Besides baseball, there’s not too much we have in common and it’s very hard to build a rapport with them. I feel the same can be said with tutoring, because I’m not too far removed from high school its a lot easier for the other tutors and me to relate to the students. When you are in a comfortable environment, it just provides a solid learning experience. Another very interesting relationship is the amount of work both students and baseball players put into their respective fields. No one is born an All Star or brainiac, it takes a lot of effort and hard work. The best players on the field and the best students in the classroom share a common characteristic and that’s work ethic. The ones that put the extra effort in more often than not are the ones who excel in sports or school. One thing I try to stress to my students from Mira Costa and Manhattan Beach Middles School is that they should never sacrifice their schoolwork for sports. A few of my high school students think that just because they play sports they can just cruise through high school. This is most definitely not the case. If they have ambitions to play collegiate they first must have the grades to get in college, and they will also need strong study skills. Road games in college drag student athletes out of classes for days if not weeks. If they haven’t established strong study skills in high school, they are doomed in college. Luckily the student athletes have a resource like Study Hut at their finger tips, and can learn the skills to succeed in the classroom.