2016 Duval County Principal of the Year

It is quite an accomplishment to be recognized as the Principal of the Year, especially in a school district as large and diverse as Duval County. This year's winner is Dr. Donna Richardson of Mandarin High School.

Dr. Richardson, we at the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville would like to offer our congratulations to you!  Keep up the fine work you are doing!

Reward Dinner for Students!

Last night, students and tutors from the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville celebrated much deserved success for 4th quarter mid-term achievements.

These students were issued a challenge after 3rd quarter report cards to finish the school year strong! They were incented to have all grades at a C or above by mid term and if they did, they would be treated to a celebration dinner at the Red Elephant!  These students rose to the challenge and worked hard to have their assignments in and their grades up to par!  They checked Grade Portal regularly, learned how to ask their teachers to get their grades posted in a timely fashion, and made sure to have their planners filled in so they could keep up with assignments.

We are confident these students will continue these practices for the next couple of weeks and come home with a great report card when school is out! This dinner was a great celebration of their efforts and we congratulate each and every one of them!  #tutoringclubjax  #redelephant

UF Shands Science Fair Competition

It's a very proud day for us at The Tutoring Club of Jacksonville! One of our students, Cassidy M., is headed to the UF Shands - Learning Resource Center for participation in the UF Office of Educational Affairs/Jacksonville Advances in Medicine Education Event and SIM Wars Competition today! She is a vibrant, smart, and energetic middle-schooler who is on an exciting trajectory! Cassidy did a project on the "Effect of Anti-Coagulants on Coagulation". Goooo Cassidy! #tutoringclubjax

MHS Band earns high scores at Districts!

The Arts programs are a great way for students to pursue their creative and artistic side! They aren't "just electives" either!  Recently, the Mandarin High School Band Students and Auxiliary went to District Solo and Ensemble and had amazing results!  They walked away with 17 Superior with Distinction, 21 Superior, and 24 Excellent ratings! This band is also attending State competition in April.  Go Mustangs! Tutoring Club of Jacksonville thinks you're awesome! #tutoringclubjax #mandarinband

Loretto Elementary Wisdom Warriors participater in FLL and advance to State!

The Tutoring Club of Jacksonville is thrilled to read about a group of 4th and 5th graders from Loretto Elementary called the Wisdom Warriors!

 

Have you heard of FLL? It's the First Lego League.
What is STEM? The disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.


What happens when you combine these things?  You get a group of amazing students who accept the challenge of a robot game, a project, and FLL core values, and design a STEM solution to help people to learn to write cursive! They actually created a concept and 3D prototype of a pen that provides positive verbal feedback and encouragement to let you know if your cursive pen strokes are proper or not.


Unbelievable! Wisdom Warriors, Tutoring Club of Jacksonville applauds you!  Great way to challenge yourselves and represent your school! #tutoringclubjax

Help for Hungry Students in Jacksonville

It breaks our heart to know that kids go hungry.  It makes it even more painful when hunger has a negative impact on a student's education. At Tutoring Club of Jacksonville, we know how devastating this problem can be and we are helping to raise your awareness by familiarizing you with Heart Glu and their plans to help Jacksonville students.


A new, local non-profit, Heart Glu, put out this reminder today:


Today we kick-off National School Breakfast Week!! We wish all of our students who are testing, good luck! A nutritional breakfast exponentially boosts academic performance. 30% of Jacksonville Public School students will NOT get breakfast this week. We will change that!


Consider who you might be feeding.... a future leader, a Dr. who cures cancer..? Food for thought.

#tutoringclubjax #heartglu

Preparing for Winter Break

Just 5 more school days until Winter Break! Parents, students, and all of us here at the Tutoring Club are looking forward to some time off and enjoying our families and friends!

While that is VERY exciting, take these last few days at school to make sure all of your assignments are caught up! It's a great time to log on to the Grade Portal and make sure anything that is "missing" makes it to school.

Also, if you can use your time over the break to do a project, make sure you have all the criteria before next Thursday! Take the rubric home and work just a little bit on a few days to complete your project.  That way, when you get back in January, you aren't scrambling to do the research, or get the materials, etc.  It makes for a GREAT start to the New Year!

#tutoringclubjax

Clothes Closet for Students in Need

DID YOU KNOW?

With the simple cutting of a ribbon, Duval County Public Schools and Dignity U Wear hope to reduce the number of students in need of clothing. The district serves nearly 700 homeless students and thousands more who are considered low-income. Unfortunately, these numbers grow everyday. Thanks to an expanded partnership between Duval County Public Schools and Dignity U Wear, there is now a better way to serve local school children in need. After many years of providing clothing for low-income children in the school system on a case-by-case basis, Dignity U Wear, in cooperation with Duval County Public Schools, has established a district-wide, centrally-located “New Clothes Closet” that will be exclusively accessible to educators, school social workers and guidance counselors, to provide brand new clothing to underserved, at-risk school children. Social workers will have direct access to pants, shirts, uniforms, jeans, socks, underwear and other school-appropriate clothing for children.

What an awesome service for our students in need!

Business Partner with Greenland Pines Elementary

Tutoring Club of Jacksonville is so thrilled to be an official Business Partner with Greenland Pines Elementary! We are looking forward to all the ways we can interact with teachers, parents, and students to help make sure this school year is an excellent learning experience for all!

It is gratifying to partner with this school and support the families in our community.  We are excited about this partnership and we just know it's going to be a great year!

Good News in School - November Edition from DCPS

The DCPS website contains a lot of excellent information on many topics, but the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville really likes this segment!  Watch this video to see a couple of good things happening at a few schools around Jacksonville!  

Published on Nov 7, 2014

Welcome to the November Edition of Duval County Public Schools' "Good News in Schools!" This brief, but fun video includes feature stories from Arlington Heights Elementary, Chaffee Trail Elementary, the DCPS Administration Building, North Shore Elementary, and Kirby-Smith Middle School

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OzcMgWKAvQ&list=UUM-rcmJbUQuIlzrGU4wpdZA

Local winners of Mayor's Essay Contest!

We found some local recognition for 9 students here in Jacksonville, and wanted to share this excellent news! Tutoring Club Jax congratulates EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU for recognizing the importance of education and for writing a winning essay!

In support of Jacksonville Goes to College Week, Mayor Alvin Brown issued a call for K-12 students to submit essays explaining the importance of education. Three students from each school level - elementary, middle, and high - were selected to win either a 16GB iPad with Retina Display, 16GB iPad Mini, or $100 gift card for first, second, and third, respectively. The nine winners were announced during the NBA exhibition game at the Veterans Memorial Arena on Oct.8. The winners are as follows:

Elementary
1st: Taylor Richardson, Chets Creek
2nd: Kevin Williams, Jr., Biscayne
3rd: Trinity Cobham, West Riverside

Middle
1st: Tkairahm Waters, Lavilla SOTA
2nd: Babatunde Shofolu, James Weldon Johnson
3rd: Sydney Hamrick, Darnell-Cookman

High
1st: Jacob Osachy, Paxon SAS
2nd: Gabrielle Gibson, First Coast
3rd: Tyler Stocklin, Mandarin

Being a Parent Volunteer at School

There are a variety of ways to volunteer at your child's school.  There are opportunities for parents/grandparents who do not work AND opportunities for those who do work outside the home.  You can volunteer to help in the classroom, plan to chaperone field trips, and help with special events like Play Day or Orientation.  You simply need to ask the teacher what you can do to help!

However, in preparation for these opportunities, parents definitely need to get clearance through the school system in advance.  For Duval County, the link to the process is here:

http://www.duvalschools.org/Page/7416

Just know that your child will remember your participation in their school events.  It really does mean something to have you around!

A Personal Reflection on Starting School

As this weekend approaches and the first day of school for DCPS is right around the corner, my heart is full of pride and hope for the students at the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville.  This summer, these students have attended regularly, worked hard, and have had the best attitudes!  They have made new friends, shared vacation experiences (some have been very educational), and have sharpened their skills to be ready for the new school year!

Parents, you have been great!  Thank you for investing in your child and helping them be all they can be! 

I am thinking of each of them this weekend and envisioning them starting their day on Monday with a smile on their face and with the confidence and assurance that they are ready for the new school year!

Be a Parent who is involved in your child's education

Research overwhelmingly shows that parent involvement in their children's learning is directly and positively related to achievement. Unquestionably.  At the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville we also are involved in your child's learning, and we are your partner in their education achievements!

The Duval County Public Schools website has excellent resources for parents.  It also reinforces the premise above with words and tools.  Read the excerpt below from www.duvalschools.org:

There is nothing more important than your child and contributing to their achievements. Become a player.

Make time each day to be a part of your child's educational and social activities. Help your child study. Make sure they complete and understand their homework. Review the work they are doing. Play a game, watch television or read a book together. Know your child's friends. Learn what motivates your child, in and out of school. Help your child set goals and measure their progress. Praise achievement. Talk with your child every day. Talk to your child's teachers about any teacher conference concerns before they become a problem.

School Orientation Schedules

Schools in Jacksonville are preparing for opening day!  Parents of middle school and high school students, take the time to look at your child's school website to get the Orientation schedule.  If you can work it out, try to attend this important session with your child.  The main benefit of Orientation is to avoid stress the first day of school.  By attending Orientation, students are able to get their schedule, apply for parking, obtain a locker, get their ID photo taken, see a few friends, and walk around the campus.  This is particularly important if your child is attending a new school! The first day of school can be crowded and hectic and it helps to know your way around in advance!

Schedules are probably the most important takeaway from Orientation.  Students like to immediately see which of their friends may be in the same class with them!  More practically, it should be an early indicator for you and your child to determine the workload and effort required to make good grades for the upcoming school year.

If your child's schedule appears daunting, take heart!  We are your support and the best choice for tutoring in Jacksonville!  We have highly educated and skilled tutors at the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville.  We can help with advanced math, science, and English classes.  We offer a Study Skills curriculum that includes goal setting, essay writing , research methods, note-taking techniques, and test-preparation strategies.  Skills that will help train your student how to be organized and how to focus on achievement.

Call us at 904-268-8556 to see how we can be an amazing resource for your child this year!

3 weeks until school starts!

The start of the new school year is on the final countdown...3 weeks from today our students will be in their new classrooms!  

Begin to gather the necessary school supplies.  Many of the retail stores have Elementary School supply lists available, by grade.  Middle and High School students may need to wait for the first day of school or you may try to access a teacher's website to look for the requested supplies.  We do recommend that you pick up some basics now though - like paper, pens, pencils, composition books, 3-prong folders, etc.

NOTE:  If you can pick up a few extra supplies to donate to children in need that would be amazing!  It will give your child a great feeling to help children who have to struggle!

And we will be reiterating this point over the next few weeks about getting back into some semblance of a school schedule.  Summer break is awesome, but it might be a good idea to insert some reading time where a good homework schedule will be.  And work on getting your children to bed a little earlier, and waking up a little earlier too.  It's so much easier to start now and avoid chaos the morning of the first day of school!

Back to School Fest

Back to school is a hectic time for most of us.  We have to buy school supplies, fill out forms, attend orientation, etc!  We found this page in Family! magazine and wanted to pass it along.  There will be a back to School Fest held on 8/2/14 from 9-noon at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds.  Information on this event can be found at:

http://www.jacksonvillefair.com/expo/events.php

The event includes: FREE backpacks and school supplies, entertainment, Walmart Fashion Show, and health and vision screenings.  FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL: 904/-443-0750

School Grades

School grades are in and the great news is there are more A schools in Duval County.  The bad news is there are more F schools in Duval County too.  Do you know your school's grade? 


For the complete listing, please visit the following link:




http://www.duvalschools.org/domain/5682






We would love to have your thoughts on your school's grade and what you believe can make a positive difference in bringing up that grade!