Today I tutored a third grade boy who goes to Hermosa Valley School. He is on Spring Break but his mom brought him in to work on multiplication and division problems for math. Usually we work on his homework but he was caught up on his homework for the following week so we concentrated all on math.
We did not have any division flashcards in the office, but we did have multiplication ones so we worked on multiplication first. I let my student study the flashcards for 15 minutes and then I quizzed him on the answers for 15 minutes and re did the ones he was not sure about. I wrote down the ones he got wrong so he could study them at home. 8 x 7 = 56 was the hardest one for him to remember.
He knew most of the answers, the easiest being the 1’s times tables – 5 times tables. He knew all the tricks like using your hands for the 9s times tables.
When he didn’t know any answer or did not want to figure it out, he would just guess, even though I knew that he knew the answer. I then made him fill out a worksheet of multiplication tables that he got to take home and look over after his session. The ones he really struggled with were the 12s times tables, which are difficult for any 3rd grader.
Then we moved on to division. I printed out worksheets since we did not have division flashcards, so we went over different worksheets. He struggled more with division, but he said he enjoyed division more than multiplication.
I let him have 15 minutes to fill out the division worksheet and then we went over it for 15 minutes. It was perfect timing. It took him a little longer on the division since you have to think backwards in a sense. He was in great spirits and knows that if he thinks about it, he can get the answer right.
It’s Spring Break and another great trip students are taking this week are to visit college campuses around the United States! Whether it’s a private school, UC schools, State Schools, or Junior Colleges… Spring Break is a great way to start your college journey!!
Here are things to pay attention to when you are visiting a college campus:
1. The location: Is your college in a college town?
2. The dorm/living situation. Do they have nice accomodations? Do you have to share a room or can you ask for a single room? How many roommates?
3. Is there school spirit? Does the school have sports teams and games to watch on campus?
4. Can you get involved? Do they have clubs and organizations you can participate in?
5. Are you surrounded by a big city or fun city events? If you are in or near a city like LA or San Francisco there are always fun events to attend.. i.e.: concerts, museums, amusement parks, beaches, and fun outdoor activities like hiking, mountain biking, and exercising in general – just to name a few!!
6. Do you know anyone who has gone there before or any family members that live nearby the campus?
7. Is it close or near to home? Some kids like to be closer to home and others like to expand their wings and travel to other parts of the country.
There are just a few criteria that you can go through when choosing a college.
You will get many different opinions when choosing the best schools, but according to the National University Rankings – the top 10 schools are:
Have any fun plans for Spring Break? Well, some students from the South Bay are going on a trip of a lifetime to Loreto, Baja California Sur Mexico tomorrow, which is not only educational but a life changing experience.
Tomorrow, 14 students from the South Bay will be going to Loreto, Baja California Sur for the week for a Student Exchange Program that was started in 1967.
Loreto was the first Spanish settlement on the Baja California Peninsula. It served as the capital of Las Californias from 1697 to 1777. The city of 14,724 people (2010 census) is located on the coast of the Sea of Cortez, about 350 km (220 mi) north of the state capital, La Paz.
The town was founded in 1697 by Jesuit missionaries, who found a steady spring of fresh water on this site, as the Mision Nuestra Senora De Loreto. The town served as the capital of the province of Las Californias from its founding until the capital was moved to Monterey on February 3, 1777. The town then became the headquarters for the Lieutenant Governor of California Viejo (later the province of Baja California).
The city is now a tourist resort, catering mostly to U.S. travelers, with daily flights from California to the Loreto International Airport (LTO). Many American tourists enjoy fishing in “pangas” for “dorado”. Local restaurants will willingly prepare the daily catch of the tourists. Loreto has a museum that coexists alongside the historic, but still active, parish. Loreto has active sister city relationships with Hermosa Beach and Cerritos California, USA.
There are 9 girls and 5 boys going. The students are from Manhattan Beach Middle School, Paris Middle School, and Adams Middle School – Manhattan and Redondo schools.
Join the fun and excitement of a lifetime in our delightful sister city Loreto , Mexico ! For over 30 years, the Hermosa Beach Sister City Association has sponsored Hermosa Valley School 7th & 8th grade students as well as students from Manhattan and Redondo in the past few years – in a cultural exchange program between Loreto, Baja California Sur, Mexico and the Beach Cities of Hermosa, Manhattan and Redondo.
Students will live with a Loreto 7th or 8th grader and his/her family for 7 days and build a lifetime of memories with chaperoned daily activities and organized field trips. After all the fun, Beach Cities students will host their Loreto 7th or 8th grader for one week in July and show them our way of life here.
Loreto , Mexico is a safe and beautiful town on the Sea of Cortez. Chaperones will escort students to and from Mexico , match students to host families, and participate in the organized activities.
The students from Loreto will come to the South Bay during the week of July 12 – 19, 2013 and experience what life is like in the South Bay. The students will go to different cultural places, including museums, aquariums, theme parks, just to name a few.
The great thing about the Loreto program is that both Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach both have sister cities in Baja California Sur Mexico. Manhattan’s sister city is Santa Rosalia and Redondo Beach’s sister city has 2: La Paz and Ensenada. Both Mira Costa High School and Redondo Union High School have Baja Clubs and the high school students spend the week in Santa Rosalia or La Paz/Ensenada during the February Break or Spring Break. Therefore, the Hermosa Beach program prepares the 7th and 8th grade students incase they want to continue with the exchange programs in High School.
The HBSCA Cultural Exchange Program was certified by the United States Congress, and entered into the congressional record of the 110th congress session.
Two words people love to hear! For our Redondo location – most of their students had off this past week for Spring Break – and for our Manhattan Beach location, most of our students have Spring Break coming up this week!! Most people usually go away for Spring Break or hang out at the beach – if the weather is nice – and others hang out at home and enjoying the relaxing week off!!
For us here at the Study Hut, we feel that Spring Break is the best time for test prep, AP tests, and quarter exam prep!!
We are offering a free SAT diagnostic test on Monday at 9 a.m. for students who are preparing for the May SAT test. We also have 2 dates in April on the 13th and the 27th to prepare as well.
Though, many of our students have cancelled their appointments next week, we are still open all week and offering tutoring to help get ahead or catch up on school things!!
This week was also Honor Roll week at MBMS before Spring Break.. so congrats to all the 6th, 7th, and 8th grader that made the honor roll! Way to go!!
We hope everyone has a safe and fun Spring Break, but make sure to study during the break so you are not behind!!
