At Study Hut, we believe that developing a strong mathematical prowess begins in middle school math, which is why we strive to provide junior high students with a strong foundation in Algebra and Geometry. Since opening in 2006, we have helped hundreds of middle school students find success in the complex and intricate subject of mathematics. Study Hut regularly tutors students from the surrounding middle schools every week, and math is often the first priority and focus of the sessions. With one-on-one tutoring, students who come to any of our Study Hut locations find a friendly, focused environment where they are free to ask questions and complete their work. The Study Hut approach to tutoring middle school math involves breaking down the material into its simplest parts and then constructing the larger concepts using those “building blocks”. Before a student even starts their homework or test review, we believe he/she must first firmly grasp the reasoning behind the new material. Through the application of logic and “common sense”, we encourage the student to begin thinking proactively, and the results are always positive. In fact, it’s not unusual to see a student’s math grade increase by one letter grade in just one month at Study Hut.
At Study Hut, we pride ourselves in our unparalleled service to both the students we tutor and the parents of those students, and it’s part of the reason we received the South Bay Small Business of the Year Award in 2016. Our work is tailored specifically to the student, focusing on exact areas of their individual struggles. We take pride in our middle school student’s achievements. We all know very well how challenging middle school can be, socially and academically. We help students with the transition of middle school classes by being there for them, especially in the mathematics department.
No matter how brilliant and talented a student is, it is always difficult to juggle school obligations with extracurricular activities. It becomes even more difficult when that activity takes up your entire weekend and every day after school. However, when you are passionate about something it is completely worth it. Grace plays soccer on one of the best teams in the nation, so sometimes it is difficult to keep up with homework and school projects. She spends a lot of time at practice, at games, and traveling to and from tournaments.
Grace had been working really hard to get all her grades up so that she had straight A’s. When soccer season picked up, she began traveling every weekend and missing a lot of school so she could make it to her games. She is the star goalie for her team, so she puts in a lot of work. Due to all her traveling, she had fallen behind in math. She wanted to bring her grade back up because she knew the content was easy, she just had not been able to be in class so she could learn it.
Grace worked with her tutor Charlsey to catch up on all the concepts that she had missed. They worked through all of Grace’s homework. Charlsey gave her extra practice problems to ensure that Grace fully grasped her new material and would be able to do well on her upcoming test. They even worked ahead, just in case Grace’s team advanced to the finals and she needed to take more time off of school. Grace got an A on both of her most recent tests and brought her grade back up!
Cooper started coming a few weeks ago to work on his general study skills. He did well in class last semester, but his grades were beginning to slip this semester due to a lack of interest and effort. He worked on study skills and social studies with his tutor Sara.
Sara worked with Cooper on pre- and post-reading strategies to help his retention. A big factor in helping him remember key terms was folding his paper in half at the beginning of his lesson. He wrote key terms on the left side and then their definitions and any other relevant information on the right side. He could easily hide either side and quiz himself on the topics. After this, he would put the large concepts within the section into a concept map. Sara would have him explain to her why each bubble was connected and how they related. At the end of a chapter, Sara would also have him summarize and compare the different time periods so he would not get similar periods confused. He would also go over what the key accomplishments in each time period were, why they were important, and how they came about.
After working together for two weeks, Cooper told Sara that he had gotten a one hundred percent on his most recent quiz! He thought the quiz was only going to cover the most recent lesson, but it was actually on the entire time period. All the ways he had been studying with Sara helped him remember all the important information that he needed to succeed!
Many students come in to Study Hut for regular, weekly appointments. Some students come one day, others two days, and a few students come five days a week! Seeing a tutor regularly is one of the best ways to keep on top of and stay ahead in challenging courses. Students can work on one subject or multiple subjects with their tutors. Every session can be tailored to meet individual student needs. Having these regular appointments with the same tutors helps students stay organized with their classes, even when they have many of other extracurricular activities outside of school.
One Study Hut regular, Grace, comes in for tutoring twice a week with her tutor Charlsey. They work on all of Grace’s classes, but mostly focus on math, science, and history. Grace brought her grade up in math, and now understands the concepts. Her teacher was not explaining the material very thoroughly, so she worked with Charlsey on each of her homework problems to make sure she was getting them right. Grace also gets a lot of homework for her history class. After she finishes her math, she studies for her tests and works on her homework. Grace and Charlsey go over key terms and work on concept maps. Concept maps help students remember the material by linking key terms to other events that they are learning about. This helps them remember the information in context and strengthens their knowledge on the subject. For the first time since starting middle school, Grace received all A’s on her progress report!
Kyle comes in to Study Hut for tutoring with his tutor Richard every week. They work on English and math. In math, Kyle was having a lot of trouble with graphing. Kyle and Richard would go through the homework together and make sure that Kyle understood how to get the right answer. They went over homework every week to make sure that Kyle knew exactly what was going on in class. Kyle went into his final confident that he would ace it. He got a one hundred percent and had the highest score in his entire grade!
Richard and Kyle also work on English together. Vocabulary was challenging for Kyle. Richard taught him ways to remember the words, like using the word in context to fully understand the definition, and how not to mix up similar looking words on the test. Richard and Kyle have also been working on improving Kyle’s essay skills. Going from ideas to a strong, well-thought-out paper was incredibly difficult. Richard helped Kyle work on his entire essay writing process. They started with brainstorming. A lot of students skip this step and just jump right into writing their essay, but this leads to them missing out on potentially better topics. Structure was another important factor they worked on. Kyle had great ideas, but was not conveying his message as clearly as he could have in his paper. Thanks to Richard, Kyle got a one hundred percent on his English final and received the second highest grade in his class!
Keeping your binders or binders organized is important for a few reasons. You will know where everything is, which means: no missing assignments that you totally did, no missing notes to search for while you are studying for a test, and everything no shuffling through every paper trying to find a worksheet from class. You will spend less time trying to find things. An organized binder will also keep you from getting stressed out or frustrated because you will always have your things and be able to find them. Luckily, keeping your binder organized is super easy to do.
First, be diligent about keeping up your binder. If you let it pile up until there are papers falling out everywhere and all the pockets are tearing, you are not really keeping your binder organized.
Use dividers to separate different classes and sections. Some students like to separate notes and homework, while others like to just divide it by classes. Do whichever way works best for you.
If you do not have time to put a worksheet or handout in its proper place when you get it in class, put it in a front pocket. Then every day when you get home, put all your pocket papers in the right place before you get started on your homework. It will only take a few seconds but it will make a world of difference.
With your organized binder, you will find that you have fewer missing assignments in class, better access to your notes, and overall a better grade!
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. During the school day, teachers’ attention is spread among many students. A tutor can create a targeted plan for your child’s specific needs.
2. Today, kids have increased access to technology, busy parents, and have extremely busy schedules, all of which can potentially distract them from their studies. Time with a tutor gives them the time to focus only on homework or studying.
3. Tutors have the time to explain a concept in several different ways, instead of having to move class along at a certain pace.
4. Tutoring can also teach study skills, which can then be applied to what’s going on in school.
5. Even for students who are doing well in school, tutoring can provide a competitive edge to do even better.
6. Summer tutoring can prepare students for upcoming difficult subjects, such as algebra, or reinforce what was already learned that year so September isn’t spent playing catch-up.
7. For high school students, individual or small group tutoring can be essential for APs and SAT subject tests.
8. For younger kids, tutoring can help boost standardized test scores.
9. A tutor can be a useful sounding board for an upcoming project, paper, or exam, and can help prevent the stress and frustration of leaving an assignment for the night before.
10. Whether it’s third grade math, high school chemistry, or middle school history, tutors have expertise in their subject and can make it more engaging and maybe even fun.
It’s Science Fair season once again! We are excited to return as judges to Parras Middle School in Redondo Beach on Wednesday May 14th. The students have been hard at work hypothesizing and experimenting and we cannot wait to see what they have come up with this year! As we saw last year, there is no limit to a child’s imagination. The most talked about and memorable experiment amongst our tutors was titled “Fat Cats: Is your cat overweight?” in which a student “interviewed” several cats of various weights and tested their mental abilities. He theorized a high correlation between heavier weights and lower mental ability. In conclusion, he found significant evidence that proved his hypothesis to be true.
To prepare for this year’s science fair, we are currently working closely with the Parras science teachers to create a unique grading rubric for each student’s project and presentation that will correspond with the project guidelines that have been provided to the students. Last year, each student took his or her turn presenting their project to a pair of judges. After they completed their presentations, the judges asked them a series of questions about their experiments and findings.
It was a great experience last to year to see some of our regular students in action at their school, presenting projects some of us tutors even helped them create! We are looking forward to this year’s science fair and hoping we can help make it a fun and memorable experience for the teachers, students, and their families. It is our greatest pleasure to give back to a community that continues to give us its infinite support.
THE MANHATTAN BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE WAS LAST NIGHT: April 23 2013
It’s a busy night! Here’s the evening at a glance.
MBMS, 4:45 – 7:30 pm
4:45 Book Fair will be open, Staff Lunch Room behind MPR
5:25 PTA Meeting, all welcome! MPR
6:00 Classroom visits
Study Hut Office Manager Sam and Co-Owner SP attended the Open House and passed out fliers and talked about the Study Hut and upcoming summer enrichment programs that we offer.
The students at Manhattan Beach Middle School got out early from school yesterday so that the teachers could prepare and set up for open house.
At open houses, parents can talk to the teachers about how the year is going and see what projects and work the students have done throughout the year.
For Redondo Beach schoools, Paris Middle School is having their open house tomorrow on April 25th.
The Activities for the open house at Paris Middle School:
Scholastic Book Fair in the Library
5:30p.m. – 6:30p.m. Hot Dog BBQ for
Incoming Parents and Students
Enjoy listening to our Jazz Band
5:30p.m. – 7:30p.m. PTSA
Opportunity Drawing – Gym
6:30p.m. – 8:00p.m. Visit Classrooms
For Adams Middle School Open House (here’s what it says on their website)
Adams Middle School Open House Night
Please join us for Open House on Thursday, April 25, 2013 from 6pm to 8pm. Open House is a great way to see all the amazing things going on in your child’s classroom, other teachers’ rooms, and to connect with Adams families. Dismissal will be at 12:29 p.m. on this day.
