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PV AVID Finals tutoring

January 11th, 2012

Study Hut tutors could not be more excited for the big Finals push. We have students from AVID coming in for private tutoring all week, but we also have a huge event scheduled for Saturday. As in years past, we will be hosting an all day tutoring and study session on campus at Palos Verdes High School. We will have access to multiple different classrooms, and tutors will get to go into different rooms and help students with the specific subjects they need most help with.

This year, there will undoubtedly be math tutoring, science tutoring (including biology tutoring and chemistry tutoring), history tutoring, from World History and EHAP to U.S. History, Government, and Economics tutoring. Math tutoring will include algebra tutoring, geometry tutoring, algebra 2 tutoring, pre-calculus tutoring, trigonometry tutoring, and maybe even some calculus and FTS tutoring.

We will also, of course, have English tutoring, writing tutoring for students with an upcoming final paper, Spanish tutoring (all levels), and probably a few other subjects as well.

The event is free (and required!) for all AVID students, and speaking from past experience, it is an extremely productive event for all students involved. The teachers always come to support, supervise, and offer their knowledge as well.

And best of all, we are getting El Taco Man ordered, so he will be showing up with his cart, and all the tacos any young man or woman can eat. Does it get any better than this? I think not. See you on Saturday.

PV AVID back in action in 2012

January 6th, 2012

I hope everyone had a relaxing break and come in fresh for a 2 week push before finals (in the 3rd week back). I look forward to continuing to work with you to meet your academic goals/potential. This is a critical stretch we enter here in 2012. By this time next year you will be knee (or thigh or waist) deep in junior year, on the cusp of taking your SAT and ACT and a semester away from college applications (started in AVID class in spring of junior year). Your preparation now will prepare you for these not too distant academic challenges.

I encourage you as we enter the 2nd semester and then into the summer to create a plan for SAT/ACT study. I think weekend mornings are particularly good right now (30-60 minutes on each weekend day would be outstanding). Then, in the summer, you should ramp up your time commitment to SAT/ACT prep and some of you may even consider doing a prep class. We will commit to SAT prep on a weekly basis next year but an hour or two in AVID class should be a great supplement to additional spent at home (or even with an outside SAT prep class or tutor).

And while I am on the subject of the summer, plan to visit some universities this summer as part of a already planned summer vacation or as a college visit specific trip. There is no need to go crazy on this front but it’s really great to have a few visits under your belt so that by fall of senior year you have a nice idea of your likes and dislikes, and perhaps you’ll even see some schools that you’re excited to apply to!

Again, happy new year! This is a very exciting time of your life. I also know it can be stressful and so I am here to help you work through problems and I hope AVID helps to (sometimes) alleviate some of the stress that comes with being a high school student. Naturally, the biggest thing you can do to alleviate stress is to continue to plug away at the homework and be as proactive as possible with your studies. Let me know if you have any questions or if I can be of any assistance to you.

PVHS AVID 10 update

December 1st, 2011

AVID 10,
Bagels tomorrow! Yay! Thank you bagel families!

Grade POs due. EC to write a letter to last guest speakers: Michelle and Laura.

Room 306 is ours thanks to Ms. Sheridan who wanted to keep the room but realized it was perfect for our AVID class and gave it up for us. A big thank you to Ms. Sheridan who comes back from maternity leave this coming Monday!

Thanks to all who RSVPed (Yes or No). I attended the AVID 12 dinner tonight and it was a great time. I doubly look forward to ours on Wednesday!

Tomorrow we will spend half the class on our essay. Tuesday will be the same and notes are due Tuesday as well.

We had a great lesson from Studyhut’s SP and Rob Stone on Wednesday where we learned that for difficult problems with “easy” answers, it’s a great opportunity to “work backwards” and plug in the answer choices into the problem to find your answer (starting with the middle number). Thanks Rob and SP! HW for practice on this lesson is out of the book and is due our next Wednesday A day in 2 weeks.

Wow! December already…

All the best to all you beautiful people

Palos Verdes AVID car wash

November 2nd, 2011

We did it! Wow! Another great PV AVID car wash. Standing Ovation!

Cars Washed: 260

Teachers in attendance: Ms. Huber, Mr. Kuykendall, Ms. Parkinson, Mr. Heffernan, Dr. Stephany and more……

Teachers who sold car wash tickets: Ms. Damon, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Cormier, Ms. Kuhn, Mr. Chudy, Ms. Parkinson, Mr. Broughton, Ms. Reichert, Mr. Morales and again, probably other sellers.

The grand total of sales is yet to be determined. We will get back to you on that, but rest assured, it was well into the thousands. After all, most of you bought $50 in tickets as part of your AVID dues in the beginning of the year and then there were additional sales (a couple to a few thousand dollars worth in the past two weeks alone by the aforementioned teachers).

Where does the money go: By far, AVID’s biggest expense (and worth every penny) is to our fabulous tutors. While they individually do not make a lot, they collectively are expensive since they’re here 2 or 3 days a week from 8AM to 2PM.

The money is also used to for teacher tutors in January and June. In addition, it is used for classroom supplies and to defer some costs so that it either does not get passed down to you (after all you already paid for it with your dues and car wash) or so that AVID can pick up some of the cost to make something more affordable for everyone. Some expenses include Taco Man lunch in January, chaperone gift cards to thank teachers who spend their day on an AVID trip, site team lunches, AVID T-shirt (coming next week I believe), teacher conference fees and more.

Bottom line is all of the money goes back to the program! And we teachers really appreciate not having to worry about money the entire year and we can do the things we want to do with the students in and out of the classroom. So, THANK YOU ALL!

Thank you tutors Niccole, Brittany, MJ, Justin, and Study Hut for your help and presence.

Also a special shout out Live for 205 for covering and promoting the AVID Car Wash.

Helping AVID Tutorials

October 11th, 2011

Tutoring AVID at high schools in Palos Verdes is such a fulfilling job. I work with students who are eager to learn and enjoy working together to solve problems. We break into small groups and focus on specific topics that the AVID students are having trouble with. During the tutorials in AVID classes I encourage students to help each other work through problems and they often find that they are not the only one struggling with that topic. Each tutor works with one group and provokes discussion about the problem. Step by step we work through each question on a white board, leaving no question unanswered.
I believe that students can excel through collaboration with their classmates in a way that they can’t in a conventional school environment with 30 kids learning from one teacher. From my experience as a student, I have found that the best way to truly understand a concept is when you can thoroughly explain it to others. Students find pride and confidence in helping their classmates understand tough topics in school and that is why AVID programs and tutorials play such a key role in preparing students for higher education.
Most schools in the area have a really good AVID program, including Redondo Union, Palos Verdes, Peninsula, South Torrance, West Torrance, San Pedro, and Mira Costa. A few middle schools (such as PVIS and MBMS) also have programs that help students adjust to the rigors of school at the next level. No matter the school, students must apply, interview, and be accepted in order to take the class, ensuring that all of the kids are committed to their academic success. Having an environment full of dedicated students that you see every day goes a long way to improving the general attitude of all high school students.