Here is a comprehensive list of programs to help your student stay ahead this fall.
– SAT and ACT classes both one-on-one and group courses. Our group course for SAT’s and ACT’s start after the July 4th weekend.
– Spanish 1/2 and Spanish 3/4 Workshops
– Elementary to Middle School and Middle School to High School Transition Sessions
– Algebra 1, Geometry, and Alg 2 Prep Classes which will start at the end of July. Joey will be teaching some of the courses in the Manhattan Beach Location.
– General Summer School Help
We are open Monday-Friday and you can contact our managers to book appointments for summer. Manhattan Beach Location: Kristen@studyhut.com – (310)546-2408, Redondo Beach Location: Justin@studyhut.com – (310)540-5888, and our El Segundo Location: Alex@studyhut.com (310)648-8526
1. Start Early! – This is the most important one. The internet provides plenty of ways to waste your study time, but you’ll be happy you stayed away from Netflix and Reddit when the final finally comes.
2. Study in Chunks – Your brain works best in 50 minute intervals. You may feel studious after your 6 hour study marathon, but a tired brain doesn’t absorb information like a fresh one. Take 5-10 minutes breaks every hour to make sure you’re making the most of your study time.
3. A Clean, Well-Lighted Place – Studying in bed may sound like a good idea, but once you’re in bed, so will a nap. Find a place that works for you. It should be somewhere where you can focus, spread out your notes, and get in a studying groove. And if you get sick of one place, switch it up!
4. Know Your Teacher – Ask questions, take notes, review old worksheets. Figure out what your teacher thinks is important because that’s what will show up on the final.
5. Study Alone – Start with what you don’t know. Review your old tests, quizzes, and homeworks, and take notes on what you missed. Then spend some time on your own with each of these topics. Write down any questions you have because the next step is…
6. Study in Groups – Once you’ve figured out your own strengths and weaknesses in each subject, form a study group. Here you can ask questions you had on your own and answer some of your study buddies’. Explaining concepts and hearing them explained in new ways will strengthen your understanding of the material.
7. Exercise – Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, and you may need all the brain blood you can get for finals week. It’s also a great way to take a break from book to soak up some sun.
8. Sleep – It may be tempting to cram all night, but
it may not help as much as you think. Give your brain a rest! When the night before the test comes around, be confident in the studying you’ve been doing all week and get some extra sleep.
Do you have any friends who seem to breeze through their finals? While your friends are chilling out, are you stressing out?
How do they do it!?!
They know something you don’t know.
Don’t tell anybody, but I am about to let you in on a big secret. This secret will quite literally change your life- it can make you healthier, less stressed out, and happier.
Here’s the secret to properly preparing for finals: stop cramming.
That’s right, to ace your finals and to be less stressed out about them you need to stop cramming. Cramming up to the last minute pulling marathon all nighters is an inefficient and unhealthy way to study.
Instead of cramming, you need to spread out the work. Starting now, you should take a bit of time (not too little but also not too much) to begin reviewing old notes, problem sets, and exams. The key is for this to be a regimented and manageable review process. If you stick with it and do a little bit each day you will not have to do a lot the weekend before your exams.
The bottom line is that you are going pay now or pay later in terms of preparation.
You can coast now and “pay later” with caffeine-fueled evenings reviewing a semester’s worth of materials in a few days. This is the “drinking from a fire hose” approach. Not fun.
Or you can “pay now” by doing a little bit of preparation each night and spreading out the workload into something more manageable. Being well rested and healthy indisputably helps you perform better exams, this approach of spreading out the work means you will be able to cover more material in a smart way.
An additional benefit of being ahead of the curve when it comes to preparation is if you come across any questions you can ask friends or instructor for extra help and advice.
As Mark Twain (or maybe Agatha Christie) once said, “the secret to getting ahead is getting started.” There is no time to wait, start this process now without the unhealthy late-night heroics, and your mind, body, and report card will thank you.
These past few weeks excitement waas in the air as Scholar Quiz took place! Both the Mira Costa High School study body and the Manhattan Beach Middle School student body, both competed in what we like the call, “The Scholar Quiz.”
Teams of 4 compete in different rounds of Lightning Rounds and Bonus Rounds. During the bonus rounds, you can score up to 20 points. Scholar Quiz’s premise is the same as that of the popular game ‘Jeopardy’. Each team includes four students. The the game consists of two teams of four students each, a Reader, Judge, and a Scorer.
Other schools put on their own Scholar Quiz as well. The idea started at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach. Mr. Cooper, former PV High Econ teacher and Football coach, and Barton, PV High teacher, took the idea from Costa. Both teachers attended and taught at Mira Costa High School. Cooper approached Barton, and PV High’s Scholar Quiz began in 2005.
There are three types of questions asked in the Scholar Quiz- Toss Up, Bonus, and Lightning Round questions. A toss up question is one that either team can answer. The first team raising a placard is given the first opportunity to answer. If they answer incorrectly, the second team has a chance to answer the same question. A toss up question may lead to a Bonus Round. The Bonus Round includes a specific topic with four questions. This round is where teammates work together to come up with the final answer. Only the team that wins the Toss Up can benefit from the Bonus Round. A Lightning Round question is one where ten questions are given in quick succession to the teams, with each team being allowed to answer only once. If a team answers a Lightning Round question incorrectly, they are penalized with a loss of points.
Pictured below are the winners from the MCHS Scholar Quiz
Pictured below are the winners from the MBMS Scholar Quiz
As the year comes to an end, and the holidays are just around the corner, students and tutors alike spend more and more time wishing for the holidays and less and less time burrowing into books and texts. Unfortunately, Mira Costa’s finals are set just after the winter break. The combination of a prolonged break and the holiday festivities predictably will result in temporary “senioritis” in all grade levels. This manifests itself in last minute cram sessions in the days, hours, and minute’s right before finals. Not only that, many teachers will assign lengthy projects to be done over the break. And, just like studying for finals get crammed in at the last minute. This can be avoided with good time management and staying on top of your kids class work. Be aware that finals are coming up and what projects will be assigned for the break.
To accommodate this relaxed state of being carried over from Thanksgiving and the upcoming winter, Study Hut is now brimming with a plethora of new tutors, all ready to make sure our students stay on top of their academics, even through the winter season. We will make sure that your kids are still working and finishing those pesky winter break projects and upcoming finals. Come in and check out our magnificent Douglas fir and our vibrantly crimson poinsettias, the festive Christmas decorations and lights, and the array of stockings representing each and every tutor in the Hut. Study and still enjoy the holiday spirit!
The best way to meet a long term goal, whether it be school related or not, is to set bench marks and short term goals along the way. It was Arnold Schwarzenegger who said, “Set an impossible goal and achieve it.” He’s pretty much owned that quote through showing the world that an immigrant body builder can become the world’s most famous movie star and be elected Governor of California.
At Study Hut Tutoring in Manhattan Beach, students from all the schools in the area (Mira Costa High School, Loyola High School, Redondo Union High School, Chadwick High School, Vista Mar High School, Manhattan Beach Middle School, Grandview Elementary School, Pacific Elementary School, Pennykamp Elementary School, Meadows Elementary School, and Robinson Elementary School) set goals using their daily planner. The first step is to make an appropriate and attainable short term goal that fits within your larger goal. If one desires to “earn a 4.0 GPA,” then setting a monthly goal of missing zero assignments is a great first step. At that point it comes down to writing everything down, and crossing everything off, each and every day, every time a task is completed. When there are tasks left wide open, and laziness was not a factor, then some closer time allocation and planning is required.
Study Hut Tutoring students dig in with their daily planners each and every hour they are here. It’s a major component in staying in the game and achieving goals.
Elementary school tutors show students some simple first steps in the planning process, laying the groundwork for future success. Students from Mira Costa High School are rewarded with positive grades and feedback when goals are set, and intermediate goals are completed each and every week.
It’s wonderful to see students dominate using the planner.
