It's a New Horizon on Tuesday July 14!

Today we’re not going to talk about parenting, or testing, or school. Today we're going to talk about PLUTO! You know, the tiny non-planet that travels the outer edge of our solar system? I Can Barely Contain My Excitement!  Today is a milestone in America’s aerospace history as NASA completes the last step in the quest to explore each of the planets in our solar system, starting with Venus in 1962. 

The New Horizons spacecraft, about the size of a baby grand piano, has traveled three billion – that's THREE BILLION - miles over the past 9½ years.  Traveling at an astounding pace of 36,000 miles per hour, it’s the fastest spacecraft ever launched, and it carries the most powerful suite of science instruments ever sent on a scouting and reconnaissance mission of a new, unfamiliar world.

New Horizons’ scientific instruments will be going full force as it arrives at its closest point to Pluto, just over 7,700 miles away, at 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday.  Just fourteen minutes later it will pass Pluto’s jumbo moon, Charon. Because the spacecraft will be busy collecting data most of the day, scientists won’t be assured of the mission’s success until Tuesday night when New Horizons “phones home”.  

This is a once-in-a-lifetime exploratory opportunity for NASA scientists, who expect to see craters and possible volcanic remnants on a very active and dynamic world.  Pluto has a jumbo moon named Charon, and four known ‘baby’ moons called Styx, Nix, Hydra and Kerberos.  New Horizons will be on the lookout for others, and will collect extensive data about Pluto and each moon.  Scientists believe a liquid ocean and a rocky core may lie beneath the icy shell that covers Pluto.

NASA’s New Horizons team is hoping its mission will be extended indefinitely as the spacecraft moves toward the edge of the solar system, behind NASA’s Voyagers 1 and 2, and Pioneers 10 and 11.  They look hopefully at Voyager 1 as its example. Originally launched in 1977, the same year "Star Wars" was released, it was originally designed for a four-year mission to Saturn.  Now, 36 years later, the spacecraft is nearly 12 billion miles from Earth, still hurtling away from Earth and deeper into interstellar space. After months of analysis, scientists determined that the spacecraft exited the Milky Way solar system on August 25, 2012.  Data collection continues to this day.

It will likely be Wednesday before New Horizon's close-up photos of Pluto will be released, and late in 2016 before all the data is transmitted to Earth.  It all promises to be very exciting. 

You can click on the link to NASA's web site, below, to learn more. 

NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto

 Be patient, my fellow Earthlings. 

Observe, learn, and be amazed.

Is Your Child Overstimulated?

Not likely. The biggest problem most of our children have during the summer break is a lack of stimulation.  Here are some ways you can help your children stay at the top of their game through the summer. 

Read   Reading is one of the best ways for students to expand their vocabulary and stretch their imagination. The most important thing is to make sure they’re reading something.  So whether it’s a book, a magazine, the newspaper, or a comic book – reading is worthwhile!

Community Service   Spending time helping others is a great way to feel more connected and meet new friends. 

Build a Portfolio   Have your student create a portfolio of projects they have worked on and include a narrative that provides context and explains what they are.  When presented to colleges and potential employers, it creates a compelling case for acceptance. Portfolios should be updated each year.

Learn A Useful Life Skill   If your student will be heading to college, make sure they know the key self-sufficiency skills.  Cooking – doing the laundry – cleaning the bathroom – balancing the checkbook . . . so much to know!

Learn A New, Fun Skill  Have your child learn something like a new sport, drawing, or cooking - and get really good at it.  This builds self-confidence that will carry over to the other many new experiences coming their way.  

Internship   If your child believes they know their desired career path, this is a perfect time for an internship with a local business in that industry. This valuable experience can help them confirm their interest in that field or decide to look elsewhere. 

Test Preparation  If college is in the future, SAT/ACT test preparation may be worthwhile.  Strong test scores can result in recurring annual scholarships worth tens of thousands of dollars.  And remember - we can help!  

Only 2 SAT dates left before the end of the School Year!

There are only 2 SAT dates remaining before the end of the school year.  Tutoring Club of Jacksonville has a proven SAT Prep class that can help students improve their scores by up to 200 points!



The attached article helps emphasize the impact a higher score can have on admissions, scholarships, and other items that are important to college selection.  A small investment of time, effort and dollars can make a huge impact on your student's college career! Call us at 268-8556 for more information and to sign up before the end of the school year!  #tutoringclubjax


http://www.princetonreview.com/college-advice/good-sat-score-act-score

$50 off SAT Prep Class when you mention the code in this article!

The Tutoring Club of Jacksonville is accepting students for our next SAT Prep class.  Call us at 268-8556 to register.  The code to give us is BLOG0920.  This will save you $50 off the cost of the class!

Our next pre-test will be given on Saturday, September 20th from 8:30-12:30.  Sign up now so your child is well-prepared to take the SAT in November!

We are taking sign-ups for our next SAT Prep class

At the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville, we are taking sign-ups now for our next SAT Prep class that begins on 9/29/14.  Spaces fill up fast, so if your student is planning to take the test on November 8th, this is the class to join!  Call us at 904-268-8556.

Here is a link to an article that highlights the importance of the SAT results for college admissions as a predictor for success in college.  It also discusses the application of the test score as a predictor for success in life after college!  Interesting information!

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2014/04/what_do_sat_and_iq_tests_measure_general_intelligence_predicts_school_and.html

The importance of SAT scores for College

At the Tutoring Club of Jacksonville, we are getting ready to accept enrollment for our next SAT Prep class. If you have a student who is beginning/in the weeds of the process of looking at colleges, taking tests, monitoring their GPA, fulfilling their volunteer hours, etc., you may be facing a myriad of questions and wondering just how important the SAT score is to this whole process!

We found an article that actually addresses this question and a couple of other pieces of the college admissions process.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevecohen/2012/09/29/the-three-biggest-lies-in-college-admission/

We believe SAT scores are VERY important.  Our SAT Prep class can improve scores dramatically.  The diagnostic test allows us to individualize your student's program to maximize his or her time with us.  Our special software system allows us to target specific test and study strategies to the items missed on practice tests.  The result is that students only study what they need to study.  We give them instruction and practice taking these exams.  We build on their strengths and fill in gaps and teach them how to strategically approach these tests.

Mandarin High School Marching Band

The Tutoring Club of Jacksonville is delighted to give a community shout-out of support to the Mandarin High School Marching Band.  Many of the Marching Mustangs have been students of ours for Tutor Up learning (for advanced subjects) and SAT Prep.  We admire this talented bunch of students!

If you live in the area or are out and about and near Mandarin High School, you can hear the Band playing in the Courtyard from 8:30-9:00 pm, Tuesday and Wednesday night this week, practicing the music they are learning for the amazing halftime show for this season!

At the Tutoring Club, we say "Hail to the Band"!!