The local school system has new requirements for teachers and students every week. Your personal routines have been upended and remade more than once. The testing agencies are not giving you anywhere near as much clarity as you would like. On the state and national levels, officials give us a new set of directives with […]
Transitions are tricky. If you are staring down the last few months of 8th grade, you probably feel a mix of excitement and nervous energy, perhaps along with some love of your school and even just plain annoyance at the people around you. Transitions like this one usually come with deeply mixed emotions for everyone, […]
Congratulations on making it through the middle school testing season! You can finally file, recycle, or burn all of your study materials. Hopefully, the experience turned out to be more pleasant or productive than you originally expected. At the least, you can say that it’s behind you. As you return to your regularly scheduled school […]
My kid loves Minecraft. The t-shirts, the wallpapers, watching videos on YouTube. On days they’re free to do nothing on purpose, it’s their go-to game. As an outsider, watching the lead-up to Minecraft is like watching someone prepare for an outdoor excursion. There’s a bowl of something: cereal, popcorn, sunflower seed shells, juice, a pillow, […]
Sometimes, learning how to write effective academic essays can feel overwhelming. You need to worry about your argument, your examples, your overall structure, and on and on. But there are a few simple steps you can take to improve the clarity and effectiveness of your writing. In today’s blog post, we’ll focus on some easy […]
“Did you do your homework yet?” “Mom! I’ll do it. Stop bugging me about it!” …. “Is it done yet?” “AAAAAAARRGGGHH!” Sound familiar to you? I hope it doesn’t, but it just might. Fights over homework are all too common but avoidable. So why are they happening? Read on to learn some reasons they might […]
Recently, one of our most experienced SSAT tutors, Kate Kula, sat down with Katy Dunn, Director of Educational Planning, to discuss the most common questions they hear about private high school testing. Here’s the highlights of their conversation, with Kate interviewing Katy: 1. Should I submit the highest overall SSAT percentile score or the highest […]
The SSAT & ISEE Differ From Schoolwork When working with families on the SSAT and the ISEE, I make a clear distinction between academic success generally and success on standardized tests. There are several reasons for this. Nobody, especially not 11-to-14-year-olds, should feel that their value is measured by bubbling in the correct circles on […]
Originally published January 21, 2020 For years now, you have been looking at the older students in your elementary and middle schools and thinking about what it will feel like to be an 8th grader — a leader of the school, the highest-known echelon of middle school achievement. And now that you’ve made it, high […]
Even in a typical year, the private school admissions process is a daunting one. And like with everything else in 2020, it feels even more confusing this year. As you look forward to the spring of 2021 and think about how to get started on this journey, here is a quick round-up of what we […]