Holiday break will soon be upon us. As most great rewards tend to go, such a relaxing time can also come with substantial risk: without proper attention, you may find yourself returning to classes behind, and this is only more of a concern if your school holds first-semester finals immediately after break. Here are four tips to ensure you stay on top of your classes during the holidays.
Compile a list of all your missing assignments and complete them, regardless of whether you can still get credit for them. Most of the time, the assignments you’ve skipped wind up being the subjects on which you require the most review, and even if there are no points to be reclaimed (often, especially if you communicate with your teacher beforehand, there will be), making them up will help you anyway.
Take note of all your lowest exam scores and re-study for those tests. Similar to the first tip, even if you won’t be able to retake any of them, reviewing for the exams on which you struggled most is a way of covering the material you are most likely to struggle with on the final.
Make Cornell notes from your textbook. They’re a way to absorb the material more deeply, and to think about the “Why” and “How” questions—i.e., to critically think—while reviewing the factual material as well. If you don’t know how to take Cornell notes, or if it’s been a while, you can review with this guide.
Reread the chapters you found the hardest to understand. Students are frequently surprised at how easily the topic comes together the second time they go through it, especially if it’s been a while since they covered it.
Hopefully you see the common theme here: if you want to be fresh and in as strong a place as possible heading into finals, you should first turn to your weak spots. Break is a great time to iron them out. Feel free to call our office anytime – we’ll be open all break helping kids get ready for their semester finals!
Are you looking for back to school Newport Beach Tutoring?
While our local Mater Dei, Sage Hill School, and other local private school students have been back in full swing for several weeks, Labor Day Weekend marks the official end of summer for our Newport-Mesa USD students. Accordingly, this has been a busy week at Study Hut for students from Corona del Mar, Newport Harbor High School, and Ensign Middle School.
As we see each and every year, the advantages of getting off to an early start are numerous. There are a lot of students that begin back to school Newport Beach Tutoring at Study Hut on day one because of the many benefits. The points earned on homework assignments, tests, and quizzes in September are worth just as much as the points earned during Final exams in December and January, so there is no reason for nonchalance. Quite to the contrary, students who put their best foot forward early and often almost always reap the benefits of being prepared.
That is why top students at Ensign, Newport Harbor, and Corona del Mar have been on the waiting list here at Study Hut Newport Beach for several weeks, and they are now all filing in for their preferred weekly times. As the semester carries on, these students will have their first-choice days and time slots permanently throughout the year, even if they need to cancel one week for one reason or another. They will also be entitled to priority booking when it comes to Finals tutoring, which is always our most in-demand time of year.
Whether your son or daughter is in need of single-subject tutoring at Newport Harbor High School in an area like biology or geometry, or he or she needs help across the board as a 7th grader at Ensign with organization, study skills, and exam preparation, we are here to help you at Study Hut Newport Beach with all of the tools and expertise that keep our students coming back year after year.
If you need help with organization, creating and following a subject specific study plan, and overall learning how to be an effective student on test day, then maybe a 1-on-1 Study Skills Workshop is right for you. Sometimes, the hardest part of school is the balancing act of it all. Middle schoolers have the bar set higher than ever before, with teachers’ expectations beginning to climb as the students prepare for high school. High schoolers face even more responsibilities, scrambling to juggle multiple AP classes with extracurriculars and applying to colleges all at once. Therefore, while students can have great academic potential, if they are unable to plan out their time properly or have poor study habits, they may fall short of their academic goals.
If you are looking for help with getting organized and improving your study habits, look no further than the Study Hut’s 1-on-1 Study Skills workshop. These workshops are one-on-one sessions with one of our 1-on-1 Study Skills Workshop tutors who have been trained to help students reach their full academic potential. We teach students how to properly schedule out their time and approach their studying so that they can stay on top of balancing everything at once without feeling overwhelmed.
The key to good study habits begins with good organizational skills, so we help students clean up their overflowing backpacks and put everything in its place. Next, we focus on study skills specific to each student, finding areas where their note taking isn’t efficient or their flashcards aren’t doing the trick. We then work to improve these strategies, providing options so that the students can find what works best for them and get the most out of their studying.
Regardless of grade level, every student has had to deal with the stresses that come with being in upwards of seven classes at once. Study Hut’s Study Skills tutoring can help students manage their packed schedules and find ways to improve their study habits so that their academic performance can reflect their true potential.
Whether it’s extra help for a really hard test the next day, some tricks on how to factor quadratics, or just the peace of mind that an algebra tutor can provide, Study Hut is the prime choice for Manhattan Beach algebra tutoring. Since opening our doors in 2006, we’ve helped hundreds of students succeed in Algebra: the subject that gives them the foundation for all future math classes at high school and later in college.
Armed with advanced degrees in math and engineering, tutors like ours at Study Hut are not only qualified, but also fully dedicated to the success of our students. Besides having extensive tutoring experience, our tutors are local. This means that they went to the same schools as their students and even had the same teachers. If you want someone to give you the inside scoop on how to succeed in “the hard teacher’s” algebra class, Study Hut can help out.
All algebra students are paired with the best tutor for the student’s needs and preferences. All sessions include study skills and organization help and a short generic academic check-up. From there, we move on to the math. Whether it’s review, answering questions on difficult topics, or studying for a test, our one-on-one sessions are always productive. We also don’t just stress doing the algebra correctly; we really want to make sure the student understands the concepts. Short review quizzes at the end of sessions are common. If we notice any kind of red flag, we immediately get in touch with parents to devise a plan of attack. Algebra, brace yourself!
At Study Hut, we know that potential new students and their parents often have questions before starting Manhattan Beach algebra tutoring. That’s why all are welcome to schedule a free consultation with an experienced Study Hut manager. In the meantime, take a second to fill out the contact form on this page. We’d love to hear from you!
Try these fun brain activities! Now that it’s winter break, it’s easy to just turn off your brain and become a blob for two weeks. While you definitely do deserve a bit of a break from school, now is not the time to shut down completely. While celebrating the holidays, you can get creative! Ditch the books, but do some mental exercises. Here are some things you can do to keep your brain active over break.
Read a good book: Put Animal Farm and Macbeth away and grab a book to read for pleasure. Cuddle up with a blanket and a hot chocolate and dive into Oprah’s latest faves.
Do Chemistry conversions through cooking: As you’re helping prepare Christmas dinner, practice converting things from grams to ounces. Don’t forget sig figs!
Write an essay analyzing on your favorite Holiday movie: Jk this is excessive.
Maintain healthy habits: While it’s tempting to stay up all night devouring Orange is the New Black, doing that every night is going to make January 4 tough. Maintain a somewhat normal sleep schedule, work out and stay active!
Color Coordinate your gift list: This is good practice for making effective finals study guides.
Do something new: Try paddle boarding, bake a new recipe, or complete a puzzle!
Brush up on life skills: Learn how to do a load of laundry (an important skill before you go to college!)
Study for finals: With finals coming up at the end of the month, putting in time now will get you in good shape. Start by reviewing old tests, making notecards, or organizing your notes into flow charts.
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!
Study Hut Tutoring is a place where students can come to reinforce math topics. All sessions with the tutor are tailored to the needs of each student. Whether they are looking to prepare for a upcoming test or if they wanted to review problems they had in the past, we will make sure that all their needs are met with the Newport Beach math tutors.
The local tutors make sure that each session goes at a comfortable pace for any student. This is especially important during one-on-one appointments because this will allow the student to absorb the material completely. Many times in a classroom setting, the teacher will either go too quickly or they will be unable to explain a concept clearly enough for everyone to grasp. Our tutors do not move on until they are sure the student has mastered the topic.
Not only do our Newport Beach math tutors help students with math concepts, but they also teach study skills that will help students in future chapters so they can be better equipped and prepared to tackle any daunting math problem. This includes formatting math problems neatly and clearly to eliminate any errors due to misreading and having a very organized planner so that homework isn’t overdue, quizzes aren’t forgotten, and tests are not ill-prepared.
Finally, our tutors put a lot of effort to ensure that Study Hut is a place where students can be both at ease and focused. We want to have a relaxing atmosphere where students love to come because they feel accomplished by the time they leave. Tutoring is effective only if the student likes to come initially, and has a level of trust with their tutor.
Contact a Newport Beach math tutor today so we can get a feel for how your student is progressing. We can work together to provide the skills necessary so they can become a successful math wizard!
Time management is an important skill that all students need to learn. Excellent time management skills will help students be more productive and less stressed. Managing their schedule will keep students from drowning in their work and activities and becoming overwhelmed.
A great first step to making time management easy is using a planner. Writing down all of their assignments will keep students from freaking out that they forgot an assignment or do not remember what day their upcoming test is on. Planners are also great for giving a visual layout of the upcoming week. This helps students see exactly what they need to get done and by when.
Setting reminders and alarms in your phone also works really well if you are forgetful. For many students simply writing something down is not enough. Set an alarm a few days before a test or quiz so you know to start studying. Or set a reminder for a certain time in the day to start working on your homework.
An important part of time management is making room for everything. Between school, projects, sports, community service, and a social life, the average teenager has a lot on their plate. If they know they have a lot of practice on certain days each week, they should plan to have that night’s homework done early. Students should not take on more obligations than they can comfortably handle. They will become too stressed out and do poorly at everything. Large amounts of stress impacts a student’s grades as well as their overall health.
An agenda book is an important tool in keeping your student on top of assignments. Not only does keeping an agenda help manage assignments, it also helps students with time allotting skills and helping them plan out their study habits. However, simply having an agenda does not instantly give a student all these benefits. They must use it correctly.
First, your student should be using their agenda book every single day they have school. Every upcoming assignment, test, or project should be written down in their agenda book. When they get home at night or get to their tutor, they know exactly what they need to get done that evening. Checking with friends can take a long time, and sometimes friends have inaccurate information.
Being able to see their upcoming week will help students with planning ahead. They will not fall into the trap of studying for tests last minute or saving big projects until the night before. Planning ahead is a valuable life skill that students should develop sooner rather than later.
Assigning designated sections for each class makes a big difference in keeping organized. If your student simply jots down what problems are assigned but does not note the class those problems are for, things can get confusing the next day when they don’t remember which set is for Physics and which is for Calculus.
Keeping an agenda will help even the most disorganized student stay on track. You can help by asking to see their planner each day and making sure that they are writing in it.
The start of a new semester is a great time to change any bad habits that were keeping you from earning the best grades you could last semester. Zoning out in class, not turning in homework, and not getting help until it was too late are all bad habits students fall in that keep them from getting amazing grades. Here are some helpful habits to start this semester that will keep you on top of your grades.
If you are in a class that is constantly giving you trouble, set up a regular weekly tutoring appointment. A tutor can make sure that you fully understand the concepts taught in class. This way, you will understand your homework and will never feel left behind when you are confused by new material. Many students avoid doing the work for a class when they do not get it, which only exacerbates the problem. The added structure of learning outside of class will help you keep up with the work.
Make sure you take amazing notes this semester! Some students do well with Cornell style notes while other students remember information better with an outline style. Figure out which format works best for you. Make sure that all of your notes are legible. There is no point taking notes only to go back and not be able to read them! While going back through your notes, write additional notes or highlight key terms and important concepts. Going over the material only while taking the notes is not enough for most students, so rereading them and marking them up will leave the concepts fresh in your mind.
Don’t forget to stay organized this semester! You cannot do well in any class if you lose the notes and cannot find the assignments you need to be turning in.
