El Segundo High School Finals tutoring is hot on everyone’s mind. In what seems like a blur, the holidays are gone and the new year is off and running, straight into the finish line of semester one for our El Segundo School District students. High schoolers and middle schoolers will complete their final exams, papers, and projects this week, sealing their grades for the first half of the academic year 2017-2018. Here at Study Hut, we have been working hard to help our students prepare to perform their best on their final exams, and are keeping the pedal down through the home stretch!
In addition to signing up our students for El Segundo High School finals tutoring at Study Hut Tutoring, we had the opportunity last week to get onto the El Segundo High School campus to provide complimentary final exam tutoring for those students who chose to take advantage of the opportunity. We worked with about 100 students in subjects ranging from Algebra 1 & 2 , Geometry, Statistics, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, to Spanish, English, Psychology, and History. We had a strong team of tutors on hand for four hours on Friday, eagerly answering questions, providing detailed conceptual breakdowns, evaluating practice problems, and otherwise supporting the ambitious students as they worked to gain academic momentum during their approach to final exams. What a pleasure it is to be welcomed onto the campus to provide this service, and to engage with students as they look to confidently enter final exams.
We will be busy this week working with our students until 10pm nightly. Final exams can be daunting to downright overwhelming, and Study Hut tutors are here to make this mountain into a molehill. With an appropriate and strategic approach, high-performing students know that final exams offer a time not only to be challenged, but to showcase the hard work and preparation that has defined the days and weeks leading to now.
For help with final exams, or to get a jump on success for semester two, please reach out to Alex, at alex@studyhut.com
Finals, for some of you, are in just over a week! Hopefully your reaction to that isn’t to start crying or throwing your books across the room. Hopefully you’ve been diligent all year, you’ve turned in all of your homework, you’ve stayed organized, and you’ve started your finals preparation weeks in advance.
If somehow, this isn’t you-you still don’t need to go all Britney Spears 2007 on us.
We are here to help! Here are some steps to success!
Prioritize
At this point, it’s too late to thoroughly prepare for all of your classes. Take stock of what needs the most triage. Which class is teetering right between grades? Where is there the most chance for affecting change?
Missing Work/Low Test Scores
Do you have homeworks missing? These are zeros that are so easily remedy-it’s the first place to check. If your teacher accepts late work, make a list of homework zeros and bust them out.
Does your teacher have a retake option? If so, find your lowest test score, and schedule a make up time to take that test. The time you put in for this make up test will also be productive towards a cumulative final.
Set aside SPECIFIED time to study
Sitting around, complaining about how much you need to study doesn’t count. Write into your schedule when and where you will be studying. If you tend to blow this off, get someone (Mom, sister, brother, friend) on board to help hold you accountable. It’s crunch time now-there’s no more excuses.
Focus on the biggest holes
So you’ve picked the 2-3 classes that you’re going to spend the most time on. This narrows the field, but still leave a lot of material to cover in one week. When you sit down to study, you should spend less time on the chapters you did well on in the past, and more time on chapters with which you struggled. It is NOT a good idea to throw the struggle-chapters aside as a hopeless after thought.
COME TO STUDY HUT
Our experienced tutors will help you zero in on what’s most important, and will help you master the material quickly. We’ve got tons of resources, and because our sessions are one-on-one we can tailor it to whatever you need: an hour on adding fractions-that’s fine! 45 minutes devoted to factoring quadratics-let’s do it.
Fill out the contact form on the right side of this page to start using your time most efficiently for finals preparation!
Ok the weather is pretty nice…blue skies for days…Ahhhh. Winter Break! A time to relax, eat, hang out with family, and celebrate. You should definitely do all of those things… (here comes a but)…(drumroll please)…
BUT
You should ALSO use your break wisely! Open that backpack and do some studying over Winter Break. It’s been a long, hard semester, and you do not want to spoil all that you have put into it by slacking right before finals. With the biggest test of the semester right around the corner, many of you already have a study guide or an idea of what your final will look like. Use that!
You can start making flashcards for vocab. That’s something you can do with Mariah Carey belting out “All I Want for Christmas…is an A!” and it’s been proven that listening to music while studying can improve your performance on the test!
You should make a detailed outline with flow charts, timelines and pretty colors. This will refresh your memory of the topics and provide a beautiful study guide you can use once finals week arrives.
Grab your old tests or practice tests, and retake them, checking your answers as you go. This will help you decide where you need to allocate the most time for studying, and where you can skim a bit because you already have a good handle on the material.
DO NOT simply run your eyes over every single chapter in the book, or every single page of notes you’ve written. This is a waste of your time. Rereading is a passive activity, plus it is much too general. With so much material to cover, you are better off zeroing in on what’s important (hint: what’s on the study guide or what was on old tests). Have fun over break, but spending the entire two weeks binge-watching Parks and Rec for the 3rd time will come back to haunt you when finals week arrives! Put in a few hours over break and I promise you’ll thank yourself later!
For some students, their fall semester finals do not happen until after they return from winter break. This is frustrating because a lot of information can be lost over the two weeks that school is not in session. If you are a student at one of these high schools, here are some ways you can make sure that you do not forget any material over the break.
Make sure you at least glance over material you have learned every day. Do a few review problems for math and go through your vocabulary flashcards for foreign languages or English. This does not have to take very long and is very effective at keeping the material fresh in your head.
If you have homework assigned over the break, do not save it until right before you go back to school. Either try and get it done in the beginning, or before you even go on break, or work on a little bit every day. If you do not look at it at all until the Sunday before school starts again, the concepts will likely be fuzzy and you will be really stressed trying to finish it up the night before.
Create a study plan if you know which classes will have the more difficult finals. This way you can start your studying, and know exactly what to do. It will make it easier to do your studying when you have a clear end goal in sight, and starting your studying early will make those A’s even easier to reach!
Winter break is also a great time to go over any concepts you never really got the grasp of but skimmed over because the class kept moving. Review them with a tutor who can help teach you and make the connection that you are missing. This way you will fully understand before you get to your final!
It’s that time of the year again… that cliche statement.. “the most wonderful time of the year”… Ok, not really… but it is FINALS SEASON.
This month will be one of the busiest weeks for our offices!! PV takes finals this week, followed by Torrance and Manhattan Beach and then Redondo Beach!
We are in communication with RUEF about doing preparation for finals week so e-mail the principal with your support!
This weekend we will be going to both West (Friday 3 to 6pm) and West (Saturday 9am to 12noon) for free Finals Tutoring.
We hope our 7th grade students are having fun at science camp this week.
We were at Peninsula High and at Palos Verdes High for about 5 hours! This past weekend the Study Hut went to both Peninsula High and Palos Verdes High to work with their AVID programs. We had about 10 tutors that volunteered to help out and tutor in all different subjects.
The Study Hut will be open on Monday January 20st – Martin Luther King Jr Day – since schools have off that day.
Please contact the correct branch to schedule appointments with us. Redondo Beach (310)540-5888, Manhattan Beach (310)546-2408, El Segundo, and Newport Beach.
All our students have worked very hard this semester and we are anxious to know how everyone does on finals!
Once finals are over the students in Manhattan can start to prepare for Ski Week the 2nd week of February!
The four weeks between Thanksgiving and the winter holiday break can be the toughest lap of the academic race for many students. Everyone loves to buckle down and cram for the “last lap” before Finals in January, but this “second-to-last lap” in December is brutal. With tons of distractions, from family coming into town, holiday shopping, and making sure to enjoy the holiday spirit, it comes as no surprise that many students have a tough time focusing on their tests and assignments.
But this is not the time to be distracted. In fact, this is the most crucial season of all. These four weeks are a perfect time for teachers to play catch up. Oftentimes, teachers will try to cram in two full chapters or units during this brief period, and the effects on students’ grades can be tremendously impactful. Some students will be distracted and choose to focus time and energy on interests other than school. These students will pay the price come January, and many grades will be far too low going into the break to be brought up. Other students will realize the incredible opportunity in front of them. They will buckle down, hit the books, and earn excellent grades on the tests, quizzes, and assignments offered.
For math classes, including geometry, algebra, trigonometry, and calculus, the methods and concepts discussed this month will probably be the toughest content you will see on your first semester Final Exam. Keep this in mind, even if you are feeling overwhelmed by the material. If you can master these tough concepts now by studying in advance and working with your tutor, your holiday break will be significantly less stressful, and your Finals preparation in January will be a much easier process. This holds true for other classes too, including history, Spanish, English, biology, chemistry, physics, and even your elective classes.
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.
Finals are around the corner and to best aide in tackling these challenges is to know your test taking strategies and to be well prepared. Make sure you study the material, get help if you need it (a Study Hut Tutor can save you from stress!), and follow these steps to approaching your exams.
Know how to approach essay questions. Carefully read each essay prompt and start with the easiest one. This will help build your confidence and get you to start relating your ideas to the topic. Once you have a starting point, brainstorm keywords and topic sentences. Next formulate a plan or rough outline and start writing. Use complete and clear sentences, and make sure you follow the standard essay format by introducing your topic, present supporting ideas with facts and examples, and summarize the main points.
Improve your math score. When studying math in Homework sets or performing on test make sure you are clear, complete, and thorough. Always write down the equation you need for the problem before you start the problem. Always label your vertices, axis, variables, and answers clearly. When studying for the final go back through the chapters in the book and study the examples at the beginning of each chapter taking notes on key points. Always draw a picture or diagram when you can and always show all of your work when writing the solution to a problem.
Always check your answers. Even if you know the answer is correct double check. All it takes is a incorrect sign on the front of a number to be the factor between an A and a B on a test. You may have read the question wrong or made a careless mistake.
Go over all returned tests. If teachers are courteous enough to return your previously graded tests they can be a great opportunity to acknowledge and correct your previous mistakes. Go over the questions you missed, write down the correct answer, and study related material. You never know if you’ll see the same question again on a midterm or final exam.
Mark your calendars! Study Hut Tutoring and West Torrance High School will once again be partnering to offer FREE tutoring to all students prior to Final exams. The sessions will be coordinated again by West High Librarian Ms. Mary Lou Cordaro, and with the blessing of Principal Egan.
Finals prep tutoring will be provided in small group format based on the subject area of need. Translation: If your student is struggling in geometry class, he or she will be asked to work in an area with other students whom are similarly struggling with geometry, and with a tutor who is very knowledgeable and strong with geometry.
Both Finals preparation sessions will be held in the school library, and students MUST sign up in advance at the library with Ms. Cordaro. Space is extremely limited, and spots will be offered on a first come, first served basis. We had over 100 students each day during first semester Finals in January. The dates and times of the Finals prep sessions are as follows:
Friday, June 10th: 3-5 p.m.
Saturday, June 11th: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
For those of you who are not familiar with Study Hut Tutoring, we are a team of young, local tutors, fresh out of college. We have offices in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and El Segundo, and we have served families and students throughout the South Bay for over five years.
What began as a modest, experimental finals-season gesture became one of the busiest and most auspicious events that the Study Hut has ever participated in. Early in January, the Hut got in touch with Mary Lou Cordaro, who works with the library at West High School. The Hut volunteered its services for any West students ambitious enough to sign up for extra tutoring on the Friday and Saturday (January 21 and 22) before exams. A few tutors from each of the Hut’s branches signed up to work at “stations” according to subject, which students could move among during the three hours per day that we would be there. We expected a slight crowd, an atmosphere perhaps even casual (or as casual as possible with finals looming ahead). But Mary Lou, one of the most enthusiastic educators we have ever had the privilege to work with, tirelessly promoted the event until the roster had racked up the names of over one hundred students eager for all the help they could get their hands on.
Suddenly, it was all hands on deck. Subject stations were set up throughout the library’s spacious first floor. Textbooks were handed out. The library doors opened like floodgates, and the place was teeming with students. All grades were represented, and for three hours each day the students moved among the tables and classrooms to garner whatever study tips they could. To those students who stayed long, paid attention, and were reluctant to leave even at the two-minute warning, tutors passed out vouchers for free hours of final exam tutoring. Thanks to the students, tutors, and of course, Mary Lou, those were two of the most fruitful days in Hut history. After it was over, many students redeemed their vouchers before their exams, and several of them have begun to stay on for regular help.
Before January 21, while we had been looking forward to the event, we had not expected such bewildering success. It was a great educational experience, not only for the students, but also for the tutors, many of whom had never worked with such large groups before. And it was fun, to boot! As the Hut plans for its future, we are looking forward to many more tutoring opportunities like it. Thank you to the Mary Lou, the tutors, and the students who made this first one so great!
