And just like that, summer is winding down and school starts in three weeks!
Some things to keep in mind as you are making your last minute trips to the store and checking off the School Supply List items you will need. Some advice: Get plenty of pencils, paper, folders, and erasers now while they are cheap.
1. Pencils get broken. Paper gets used up. Pens run out of ink. Folders wear out. Erasers get lost. Everything gets lost.
Buy extras now while it's on sale. As a classroom teacher, I saw all of my eager students in August come to class with everything they need. By October, I was lending out pencils, colored pencils, erasers, paper, folders, everything, because kids had used up or lost their supplies. Keep your extra supplies at home so that when January comes around you can restock your binders and backpacks with fresh supplies. Pencil cases are a must. The bottom of the backpack makes them crushed, broken, and hard to find.
2. Make sure you have an organizational planner or agenda.
Sometimes schools pass these out on Day 1. Other schools expect you to get your own. These are critical to staying on top of your assignments and keeping track of your learning. I teach my students to use their planners for more than just homework and due dates. I tell them to write down whatever they did in each class each day. This helps them process what they learned and they can go back and look up when they learned what. It's also a great way for parents to keep track of what their children are learning each day or each week in school.
3. Make a great first impression.
On those first few days and weeks teachers are forming their impressions of what kind of learners are in their classes. By the end of the first week it's usually pretty easy to tell who will be engaged and on task, and who will be the "reluctant learner". You want your teachers to put you in the motivated/hard worker category from the beginning. Even if you don't consider yourself to be a hard worker, you definitely want to start off that way and show your teachers that you are one of the kids who is going to try his/her best. Teachers will do everything in their power to help a hard worker succeed. It's in their DNA--that's why they are teachers.
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Those are my top pieces of advice to start off a new school year.
You have a clean slate and everything is new and exciting. Stay on top of your subjects, and if you start to feel you are slipping or feeling overwhelmed get help from someone right away. There are lots of resources available to you, and the sooner you get the help, the better off you will be. This school year is already far better than the last one and we aren't even to day one yet. Have a fantastic first day / week / month of school!
FOURTH QUARTER PEP TALK
The craziest school year in U.S. history is in its home stretch! Coming back from Spring Break is not always easy, call it Back-from-Break Blues, or call it Spring Fever, but as the weather warms and the beautiful days outside beckon sometimes school becomes low priority. April and May are critical times of year because everyone, from parents, to students, to teachers, or feeling the pressure of finishing the year successfully. Students have projects and tests coming due. Teachers are gearing their kids up for those standardized tests, and everyone is hoping that what needed to be learned this year was learned.
However, it is still only April, and several weeks remain before this school year is over. Most schools in AZ are back to in-person learning, and as we venture back into the classroom with live teachers and students you might be feeling like you are not where you need to be academically. Take heart! Don't write off the year 2020-2021 just yet! There is still a lot to be learned this year, and plenty of opportunities and resources if you need help. Find those resources (tutors, classroom teachers, relatives, peers) and ask for assistance. Do not wait. You can take positive steps now to get back on track and finish strong.
I was a classroom teacher for nearly two decades, and I know how difficult it can be to stay focused during the fourth quarter. Hang in there, keep your eyes on the goal, do what you need to do to help yourself, and engage that self-discipline to see you through to the end of May.
We are now well into the third quarter of the 2020-2021 school year. Districts have been slowy opening back up to in-person learning after our January COVID spike. Hopefully, students will find engaging in the classes, amongst other students, and face to face with teachers, is providing a more "normal" educational experience. This has been such an unusual year that many are finding themselves falling behind and probaby frustrated. Remember, everyone is in the same boat. As you adjust to whatever is your "normal" for the moment, my best advice is to stay on top of things. If you allow yourself to fall behind the workload begins to feel overwhelming. There are lots of resources available for students. The best resource is your teachers and other classmates. The role of the teacher is more than just presenting information, it is facilitating learning by various means. Ask for help if you need it. Teachers are there to help, so arrange to meet before or after school for clarification or extra tutoring. Show them that you are sincere in your desire to be successful and you are willing to do your part. Other ways to get clarification on assignments could be sending your teachers an email with your questions. If teachers are not available to meet outside of school hours, you can also ask classmates for clarification. Just make sure that whoever you are asking is someone reliable. Study sessions with other students is an invaluable way to learn from each other.
A lot of students have missed classtime due to positive COVID testing and quarantine situations. If that is you, don't treat those times as time off from school. Check the teacher/school websites daily and continue to do school, completing assignments, and checking in with teachers--even if it is from home.
My tutoring schedule has been filling up over the last few weeks. However, there are still time slots available, if you click on the link "Available Time Slots" you can see if there are any times that work for your schedule. I am here if you need the help, and it's what I love to do, so feel free to fill out an information form and I will contact you.
In these final weeks of the third quarter, stay focused, stay engaged, stay healthy, ask for help, and good luck.
Happy Thanksgiving! Welcome to December!!
As we approach the end of the semester, projects come due, final exams approach, and students start to feel the pressure that comes with the end of the grading period. Add that to the current events surrounding us, and it's understandable that we might be feeling a little stressed.
The best way to handle the projects is by creating a plan, and taking it one step at a time. Checklists are helpful. As you accomplish each task on the checklist take a moment to congratulate yourself on its completion and move on to the next task. Ask for assistance if you need it. That may mean asking the teacher for guidance and clarifications when needed (its their job to help with that), and asking reliable adults for assistance on acquiring materials or information when appropriate. Try not to let yourself feel overwhelmed.
Final exams are good practice for pressures of real life. The key is to know what to expect, and start preparing early. In math, do practice problems, and have an answer key so you can check your answers. Ask for help now if you are getting the practice problems wrong. In other subjects, create your own study guide based on whatever information you have been told will be on the exam. (Secret: Often, the very act of creating the study guide will get the information into your brain. You will know it SO well once it's done, you hardly even have to study it.). If the teacher provides you with a study guide, DO IT! Fill it out! It's almost like seeing the test before exam day. Those kind teachers who create study guides for you deserve special holiday cards and treats, by the way!
The week of finals, eat healthy, get plenty of sleep, and do not pull any all-nighters---they don't help. Falling asleep during exams is not going to help anyone. Fuzzy-headed, sleepy test-takers don't usually perform well on important tests.
OCTOBER 2020
It's been a great start for my fledgling tutoring service.
With school finally getting back in session many families may find that they need a little extra support for their kids. Let's face it, never before in history has school been out for five months in a row. There is a lot of catching up to do.
My October promo is winding down and spots are quickly filling up in the after school time slots. I still have some room later in the day, like after 5:00 or 6:00 on some days.
If you are interested in learning more than what is on this website feel free to email me or submit the student info form and I will be contacting you. Have a great rest of your week!
October tips:
1. Do not wait until you are completely drowning to start trying to swim. If you need help, ask for it.
2. Teachers love to see their students be independent and responsible. As a teacher, if my student asked me for help on their own or sent me an email I was always quick to respond and eager to help.
3. Do not ask a teacher for extra credit until you have done the regular assignments. Once you've done everything expected of you and turned it in, that is the time to ask for extra credit opportunities. (and they may say no, and that's okay too)
4. Report cards are not the be all end all. They are just a progress report and a chance for you to turn things around if you need to.
Welcome to our new web site