15 MORE of the Best Tutor-Approved Spanish Apps

15 MORE of the Best Tutor-Approved Spanish Apps Suzy S. Weve reviewed some of the most popular Spanish learning apps out there but theres always more to talk about! Read on as tutor Breeana D.  shares her recommendations for 15 MORE of the best Spanish learning apps to check out These days, its easier than ever to learn Spanish. When youre not getting conversation practice in with your tutor, apps are an excellent way to review things like cognates, vocab and grammar. And since Spanish learning apps  can be accessed 24/7, you can practice alone any time, and practically anywhere while having fun at the same time! If youre curious about the BEST Spanish learning apps, though, Ive compiled the list below to check out. Here are my reviews of 15 useful, affordable, and worthwhile Spanish learning apps for either Android or iOS. Android and iOS Spanish Learning Apps 1) TakeLessons Live [Android]||[iOS] TakeLessons Live offers live classes led by expert instructors in a group setting. After signing up for the free membership option, you have access to a variety of classes to choose from. Whether you want to improve your basic vocabulary or conversational skills, you can join a Spanish class right from your phone. From a tutor’s perspective: With instant feedback and guidance from an expert, this app will help you see significant progress in your skills in no time. You’ll also get to meet and interact with other students at your level, from around the world. 2) Learn Spanish Quickly by Priya Yerunkar [Android]||[iOS] This app has 33 categories, from body parts to colors to numbers! Simply click on the picture category and the words that you want to learn to hear a native speaker pronounce it in a clear voice. From a tutor’s perspective: I would definitely recommend this app to a student who wants to learn basic Spanish words quickly, due to its wide range of categories. 3) Learn Spanish by Bravolol [Android]||[iOS] Learn Spanish has 24 categories that focus on Spanish vocabulary and phrases. Nine of those categories are free, including lessons on greetings, shopping, driving, sightseeing, weather, and eating. You can access the other categories through a free trial, or you can purchase them for $4.99. Each category lists vocabulary and phrases that are said out loud when clicked. You can also repeat the phrase or word while recording your voice to make sure your pronunciation is accurate. From a tutor’s perspective: While other apps may be more colorful and exciting, this app allows you to practice your accent and Spanish pronunciation   a must for conversing with native speakers. 4) FluentU by FluentU [Android]||[iOS]   Fluent U engages you in the Spanish learning process by using interactive tools, such as music videos and the news. The videos can be played with the Spanish translations appearing underneath, and you can click on any word to read the English definition. From a tutor’s perspective: This app is great for Spanish students who enjoy popular culture. Teens will especially appreciate the social relevance of this trendy app. 5) Spanish Class by Cognitecco [Android]||[iOS] The free demo for this app includes reference material (vocabulary, verbs, grammar, and phrases) and four exercises (vocabulary, verbs, grammar, and listening). The full version can be purchased for $2.99. Each activity has multiple-choice responses that incorporate reading; there are no recordings for either questions or answer options. Each activity also has a reference page or “article” which explains the correct answer. From a tutor’s perspective: This app has no bells and whistles. It gets the job done; students who don’t mind the silence will find it useful. 6) Speak Easy by Pocketglow Inc. [Android]||[iOS] Speak Easy is an excellent app for students, especially those who travel! It teaches greetings, basic phrases, travel essentials, and more. Each Spanish word shows the English word above it, as well as the phonetic spelling below, and an audio recording. The free app has more than 100 free words and phrases to learn, and the full version (with 750 more words and phrases) can be purchased for $3.99. From a tutor’s perspective: If you are going abroad to a Spanish-speaking country, this is the app for you. It doesnt have any games, however, so keep that in mind if you need interactive activities to stay engaged. 7) Learn Spanish by Codegent Ltd [Android]||[iOS] This free app teaches more than 200 words and phrases, with audio recordings from native speakers. Students who want to practice their accent will benefit from this app. From a tutor’s perspective: This app is ad-free, which is great! Its especially helpful for travelers, because it includes traveling tips. Android Spanish Learning Apps 1) Spanish in Pictures: Food by Mind GA    [Android] This app offers a dictionary of vocabulary for the following categories: foods, drinks, spices, vegetables, fruits, meat, and seafood. After learning the Spanish vocabulary  (which includes pictures and audio), you can test your knowledge by clicking on “words to pictures” or “pictures to words.”  This is great for catering to different learning styles. (Hint: Take this learning styles quiz  to determine yours!) From a tutor’s perspective: I like this app because it has a  variety of food vocabulary and pictures; however, they do not provide the English words for any of their pictures or Spanish words. So this app may be difficult to use if you are not familiar with certain fruits, veggies, spices, drinks, and food. For instance, a picture of la alcachofa (artichoke) is listed under vegetables with no English word beside it. 2) Spanish Word of the Day by Declan Software  [Android] This free app teaches you a new Spanish word each day. You can also click on the word, which has the English word beneath, and hear a pre-recorded voice say it. From a tutor’s perspective: This app is a simple and useful tool to enhance your Spanish vocabulary and to impress your tutor! However, one precaution to keep in mind is that practicing words in isolation is not as useful as using them in context. Your tutor can help you establish an appropriate context for the word of the day. 3) Learn Spanish with SpeakTribe by Edushire  [Android] Before you begin using this app, youll be asked to choose your current level of Spanish: absolute beginner, a few words at most, can read somewhat, can follow slow speech, or can speak basic language. You’re also asked to input your age and why you would like to learn Spanish (for social reasons, academically, etc). After youve gone through the set-up, this Spanish learning app quizzes you on the basics, such as conversational Spanish and grammar. It has 29 levels, and levels one through four are free. The higher the level, the more difficult the learning; for example, Levels 15+ focus on commands, adverbs, and the imperfect and subjunctive tenses. If you want to spend more time practicing your grammar, this is the app for you! From a tutor’s perspective: The flexibility of this app makes it an attractive learning tool for students of all ability levels. Even the levels that arent free are worth the price, as the lessons are great for reviewing  important concepts! 4) Spanish for Kids by D.G.S. [Android] Spanish for Kids, or Español para Niños, is a great Spanish learning app for kids! Users can learn the Spanish alphabet, numbers one through 10, colors, animals, clothing, and much more. As you are learning the vocabulary words, you click on the pictures to hear the Spanish word. You can also play it in a game mode, which can be really fun! Overall, its a colorful and engaging app with a lot of categories. From a tutor’s perspective: While this app is kid-friendly with its colorful appearance and fun activities, beginner students of any age will benefit from this app, as it focuses on the fundamentals. iOS Spanish Learning Apps 1) Learn Spanish +  by Vidalingua [iOS] Learning Spanish + is great because it goes beyond just seeing pictures or hearing a recorded voice. The pronunciation features allows you to enable your microphone and practice speaking yourself with the voice recognition feature. There are also quizzes and games you can play within each category to make sure you really understand. From a tutor’s perspective: The voice recognition feature can be a bit tricky to use. However, the categories they include are much more helpful than your basic greetings and animal names. They include real world situations such as At the Airbnb or At the Market, although some of these categories are under the paid version. 2) Basic Spanish by Greg Vick [iOS] This app is my personal favorite. It offers several free activities that cover many different topics. Basic Spanish has 27 free categories from which to choose including directions, sports, clothing, feelings, and health. Each category includes a study list, a memory game, flashcards, a quiz, word exercises, listening activities, meaning matching, spelling, and a review list.  You can also see your score at the end of each activity. From a tutor’s perspective: With 27 free categories, youre sure to find an area that is useful to your study needs! In addition, the app provides ample activities with a great deal of depth. 3) Mirai Spanish by Mirai LLP  [iOS] Mirai Spanish has 20 chapters, each with five lessons. The lessons focus on vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Each lesson includes background information about the topic, a summary list, vocabulary list, and a quiz. Chapters one through four are free, and the other chapters can be purchased. From a tutor’s perspective: This app will be most beneficial for students who enjoy a more formal way of learning. There are no games. 4) Cat Spanish by Memrise [iOS] This free app teaches you conversational Spanish, with a focus on grammar, by using pictures of cats and an activity called, “chat practice.” In this activity, you match Spanish phrases with pictures of the cats. For instance, there may be a picture of a cat eating fish and the phrase under it will say, “es delicioso” (it’s delicious). After learning the new phrases, you can apply your skills with chat practice.   During chat practice, you “text” another cat by responding to his questions and selecting from phrases you’ve learned during the picture lesson. From a tutor’s perspective: This is a good way to practice engaging in conversational Spanish. It is also purrfect for cat lovers. 5) Lingo Cat by Lingo Cat [iOS] Lingo Cat is a free app with 10 categories, including los colores (the colors) and la hora (the time). It includes a dictionary that lists and describes all of the words included in the app, and each category includes several activities to practice Spanish vocabulary. At the end of each activity, you receive a grade based on your performance. From a tutor’s perspective: This app’s inviting and invigorating music and sounds keep users engaged, which makes it much easier to remember your daily practice! It offers lessons in several categories, and some activities as well. 6) Learn Spanish with Lingo Arcade by Alligator Apps  [iOS] This app costs $4.99 to benefit from all of their 150 levels. Levels one and two are free. Each level has a timed vocabulary game. As you play, you will hear a Spanish word and have to click the correct picture before the time runs out. From a tutor’s perspective: I like this app for practicing basic vocabulary. The voice is pretty monotone, but the pressure of the time limit offers enough positive stress to work up “brain sweat.” These 15 best Spanish learning apps are sure to assist you in your language endeavors! If these apps dont interest you, try checking with your Spanish tutor to see if he or she has more recommendations. And of course, consider your learning style and goals as you practice on your own. Good luck! Which apps do you use and recommend? Let us know by leaving a comment below!   Post Author:  Breeana D. Breeana D. teaches Spanish lessons in Abington, PA. Specializing in Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education, she is currently enrolled in Temple Universitys Elementary Education program.  Learn more about Breeana here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

The Challenges of Being a Woman in Leadership - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / The Challenges of Being a Woman in Leadership - Introvert Whisperer The Challenges of Being a Woman in Leadership The business world has long recognized the purchasing power that the female population has. As consumers, women have a lot of leverage to influence advertising, business, and product creation. In fact, some reports indicate that women make upwards of 94 percent of the purchasing decisions in their household. Clearly, women hold a lot of purchasing power in the U.S. market. In fact, one could argue that women are the market that advertisers, executives, and business people are trying to attract in order to turn a profit. But what about the other side of the equation? Who runs and leads the companies who produce items for consumption? For years, it has been men, but this trend is quickly changing. In January 2013, 21 of the Fortune 500 companies had a female CEO at the helm, and while this may seem like a small number, a number of women have also risen to the C-suite, becoming CIOs, CFOs, COOs, and entering into major management positions. Now more than ever, women are leading major portions of the companies that they work for. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that women are now leading companies and industries that have been historically male dominatedmost notably in the tech industry. IBM’s Virginia Rometty, Hewlett-Packard’s Meg Whitman, and Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer are all examples of women taking charge of major tech giants. The trend isn’t just limited to major companies, however. All over the world, female leaders are becoming a workplace trend to take note of, taking charge of mid-level companies, being hired for management positions, and establishing businesses of their ownand research has shown that this new wave of gender diversity has been wildly profitable. Released last year, a study titled “Is Gender Diversity Profitable? Evidence from a Global Survey” analyzed 21,980 firms globally and affirms the core notion that there are positive correlations between the proportion of women in corporate leadership and firm profitability. “Whether that increased profitability results from the quality of female leadership, the benefits that accrue from more diverse thinking, or other factors, isn’t clear,” Forbes author Victor Lipman writes. However, he notes, “The report emphasizes that the amount of profitability shown by the data is significant.” He’s not wrong. According to the report, “The estimated magnitudes of these correlations are not small. For profitable firms, a move from no female leaders to 30 percent representation is associated with a 15 percent increase in the net revenue margin.” Although these trends are promising, women still face a number of challenges in spaces traditionally dominated by males. For example, female business owners have traditionally struggled to attract the start-up capital necessary to assist in the growth and overall cost of their businesses.   In fact, according to business experts at QuickBooks, women entrepreneurs launch with 50 percent less capital than their male counterparts do. Acquiring a healthy work-life balance is another unfortunate stumbling block that women encounter while moving forward in their careersespecially for those who are trying to maintain a healthy family dynamic while advancing in the workplace. Women entrepreneurs also lack the necessary role models and mentors who will help them in their business endeavors. Without these solid networks and connections, many women struggle in the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey. Additionally, and perhaps most detrimentally to their success, women are more likely to lack the confidence necessary to become successful entrepreneurs or leaders. Not only does this stop them from accruing adequate funding, but it causes them to be more averse to risk and therefore less likely to innovate. This aversion to risk is one huge factor for women’s success in the workplace, Kira Makagon, executive vice president of innovation at RingCentral tells Fast Company. “To get a successful outcome, women can’t consider failure as an option,” she says. “We have fewer opportunities, so we have to take the riskier ones. But the more chances we get, the stronger we will become.” She also offers sound advice for the business leaders of tomorrow, including the importance of finding a mentor, becoming comfortable with your leadership style, and forming strong relationships with other women throughout your professional career. Women have long wielded purchasing power in the United States. But until recently, women had been a missing perspective both in the board room and in the business. Although women are more and more frequently becoming a part of the equation, they still face a number of challenges that their male co-workers simply don’t have to overcome. Still, while women may face unique challenges on their journey to overcoming the glass ceiling, the future has never looked more bright. Author: Danika is a writer and musician from the Northwest who sometimes takes a 30-minute break from feminism to enjoy a tv show. You can follow her on twitter @Sadwhitegrrl Go to top NETWORKING Bottom-line â€" I want to help you accelerate your career â€" to achieve what you want by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my 4 Building Blocks to Relationships eBookâ€" the backbone to your Networking success and fantastic work relationships.  Grab yours by visiting here right now! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

The Best Written Works for Learning Arabic

The Best Written Works for Learning Arabic Recommended Books to Learn Arabic ChaptersWhy Learn Arabic with Books?Arabic Books for Beginners, Intermediates and AdvancedWanting to learn Arabic is a great initiative, but you have to know where to start.Of course there's the possibility--and it's even recommended--to study Arabic in a foreign language class as early as high school, or study it later in college.You could also attend group classes at a language institute, have a tutor come to your home, or learn Arabic online.Learning Arabic is often not an easy process. Even learning basic Arabic in an Arabic for beginners class so that you have a conversational level can prove tricky.It is therefore imperative that when studying Arabic, whether it is an Arabic online course or in Arabic lessons, that you take advantage of all the tools for learning Arabic.The most principle of these is to always have one thing by your side to help you learn; an Arabic book.Do you know which books are essential when taking an Arabic language course?Superprof has all the answers.So me words change places, others lose a vowel, etc.If you are wondering where to learn Arabic, then use what you have. A good grammar book will help you to become aware of the differences between Arabic and your mother tongue.While doing so you will also be introduced to Arabic culture, new words, and Arabic phrases!Take Arabic lessons LondonArabic Books for Beginners, Intermediates and AdvancedThere is an incredible amount of books dedicated to learning foreign languages, and there are many different techniques and methods to learn Arabic, as well as language guides to learn to speak and read.Here is a small selection of books and e-books that you can sometimes find on the web for free, or if not on websites such as Amazon or in your favorite bookstore.Whether you are a beginner or already have an intermediate level and want to deepen your knowledge, there is something for everyone.Time to make your choice!Kallimni ‘Arabi Bishweesh: A Beginners Course in Spoken Egyptian Arabic 1Thi s is a very good book for beginners who are interested in Egypt. It also comes with an audio CD if you’d like to listen to it in your car on your way to work or the gym.It is also available for intermediate and advanced levels, so you can stick with the same author and method along your language learning adventure!Each lesson is numbered so you can easily refer back to it.'Arabi Liblib: Egyptian Colloquial Arabic for the Advanced Learner: Adjectives and DescriptionsAnother Egyptian dialect favorite, this time for advanced learners and with a very colloquial approach to vocabulary, which makes it fun to learn!The aim is to enable everyone to access modern Arabic terminology and to learn Arabic quickly.The phonetic transcriptions of Arabic words in Latin characters make this dictionary accessible to English speakers.Living Language Arabic, Complete Edition: Beginner through advanced courseThis book includes 3 coursebooks, 9 audio CDs, an Arabic script guide, and free online learning , another language book with very effective learning, and a CD to guide you through some of its most fundamental language lessonsThis book is for everyone, but perhaps especially beginners.You will learn to write each letter of the alphabet by reconciling the rules of Arabic writing with the perfect writing movement.You will also have an introduction to Arabic calligraphy.Learn to speak the Arabic of these three Egyptians!Transform your Arabic knowledge!By repeating several of the same letters, you will naturally memorize them.Arabic-English Bilingual Visual Dictionary (DK Visual Dictionaries)If you are a visual person, this book is for you.The pictures will make it easy to memorize words.This book has an excellent method for learning the Arabic language. It is aimed at young people, but also adult beginners.This method allows you to discover the standard Arabic with its vocabulary and the alphabet.Arabic for Dummies: A Beginner’s Guide to ArabicHere is a book for those students w ho would like to get a move on with their language skills.For beginners and self-taught learners, this book is very well designed.Divided into chapters and themes, it ends with a series of exercises at the end of the volume for each of the Arabic lessons.Let’s Talk Arabic: Second edition (Arabic Edition)This book has a simple and effective method to learn to read in Arabic as well as speak the language.As you will by now be aware, each country from across the Arab world has its own Arabic dialect. And each form of Arabic pronunciation is very different to the European languages such as Spanish, French, and Portuguese.Whether it is a Syrian, Iraqi or Saudi Arabian dialect, time needs to be dedicated to perfecting how to speak Arabic, with a focus on pronunciation.The study of this method begins with the identification and pronunciation of each letter on its own, which is followed by pronouncing the nouns and their different spellings according to the letter's position in the word.T hese books could be the key to mastering Arabic letters--which means speaking Arabic fluently could follow!This book also contains a short introduction to Arabic grammar to familiarize yourself with the most common notions.Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds [With DVD]This book is for everyone, and has a learning DVD that comes with it in order to deepen your knowledge.Many little playful exercises will help you to familiarize yourself with the Arabic language which can put you on the path to becoming a fluent speaker!Arabic for Nerds: 270 Questions on Arabic GrammarThis book will help you to quiz your Arabic grammar knowledge. Because its format is a fun pop quiz, you won't see it as a burden and will be happy to dig deeper into the Arabic language!More for beginners, this language teaching method is supposed to be fun all while remaining super effective.Don't wait a second longer to set off on your Arabic language adventure! Whether you start with Arabic verbs, Ara bic vocabulary, or Arabic grammar, with these books you will have no problem raising your proficiency!As has been shown in this article, they provide a very effective method of learning Arabic, and they work even better as a complement for Arabic classes in the city or online.Soon you could be speaking to people in Arab countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, or Saudi Arabia! And who knows, they could mistake you for a native speaker speaking in their mother tongue...It really depends on the number of words and phrases you have memorized!

Online algebra tutor helps the students to learn the faster

Online algebra tutor helps the students to learn the faster Children have become tech freak with passage of time. They can catch up and memorize anything that is related with the technology and gadgets. In some way it has made life easy and in some cases it has made life tough and risky as well. The kids while attending any such item needs to be under constant guidance of the parents. But these are some of the things that make our lives easy and accessible.The affordable prices make the institute even more attractive and popular among the other online tutoring services that are available. Online algebra tutor is found in TutorPace.   Internet is one such technical asset that helps in building up your lives to be easy and accessible. It makes any kind of work to get completed easily and faster. Children are very much aware of internet and its usage. They know how to use it and also know what the benefits it provides to its users. With internet you can get the facility of online teachers as well. Online teachers help in making studies simpler to you. Today with passage of time, online tutoring service has been getting great popularity and good reviews. It is being helping the students largely. Online tutoring makes the work easy and much simpler. The tough subjects also appear to be less problematic and in some cases it appears to be easy as well. The online teacher teaches in a good manner as it is said by the ones who have availed the services. Mathematics is a subject that requires lot of concentration and also such a subject that makes the child go tensed. The subject is one of the tough subjects that need proper guidance so that you can easily cope up with the subject. A good teacher can only come up with all the help that the subject needs. Mathematics has many topics that are very tough for any student to cope up with. Algebra is such a subject. Algebra is a subject that requires efficiency of a student to know and learn the subject nicely. Algebra is the accumulation of various elaborated topic such as of equations, arithmetic progression, geometric progression, permutation and combination, matrix, vector etc. each part of the topic requires having correct amount of knowledge to know what the subject is all about. Now let us talk about some of the features that will help in making the concept of online tutoring much clearer. Through these advantages you can easily get to know more facts about online tutoring. These points will guide you to make up a mind whether you want your child to get involved with these or not. Know about online tutoring more Online tutoring is conducted through the help of internet. Internet brings in all the ways through which you can get online tutoring at your fingertips. The entire process of online tutoring is conducted through the help of online chats, tele conferencing, video conferencing and emails. The process is smooth and speedy. Some features of online tutoring that makes it attractive The teachers who are appointed in the online tutoring institutes are much more advanced and experienced regarding the subject. The teachers have good grip over the subject and this is a very positive sign for any of the student. Students through such ways learn a lot and it is easy as well. The teachers can answer anything from the subject who becomes effective for any student to learn faster and smoother. The appointment of the teachers is done in a very tough way. The teachers have to pass through a very tough interview phase and then only one can get the job of a teacher. The private tutoring facility does not have this way of selecting a tutor because of the fact that the entire concept is monopoly. No one is there to judge the teacher. The online tutors provide the facility of teaching all round the clock. This is one of the best way through which students can learn as per their wish. The teachers are always available to teach the student and so it becomes easy and accessible for any student to learn the subject. Whenever you have any doubt you can easily come up with your doubts to the teacher and the teacher is present to help you out. Online tutoring service is available at your footsteps. Whenever you want to attend the classes you will get hold of the classes. The classes can be attended by the student at wherever they want. Sitting at your favourite place and attending the classes gives you a different level of comfort which enhances your learning process as well. You get to know and learn much better than you thought you could. The one on one service is available only with online tutoring facility. It is such a service that helps all the students in such ways which have never been thought before. The entire process of this service involves one student and one teacher who are indulged in teaching and the other learning. The weak students mostly get benefitted with such kind of service. In front of many students these weak students are unable to come up with their enough number of queries. So, one on one service is the best service ever. TutorPace is one of the reputed online tutoring institutes that can provide you with all the mentioned benefits or facilities. It has good teachers who are available at the dead time of the day to help the students. The students are benefitted largely. The other best advantage is that the other online tutoring services charges very high that are not possible for all the middle class family to afford it. But TutorPace charges very less and according to the charges, the services are very good. The services are up to the mark that any parent can easily make their child get such services once they admit them into TutorPace for better learning.  

Exam stress and the science behind it

Exam stress and the science behind it Most of us have, at one time or another, sat down in front of an exam paper and experienced a ‘mind blank’, sweaty palms, the panic setting in and the loud incessant ticking of the clock on the wall as the minutes begin counting down. This form of stress is called exam anxiety, and some of us are more sensitive to it than others. Stress is a natural response that evolved to protect us from danger. When we are faced with a stressor, a hormone is released which causes a few physiological changes; our heart pumps faster to supply our muscles with more oxygen; our blood pressure increases and we begin to sweat, preventing us from over-heating due to the body’s increased metabolic rate. Although this evolutionary advantage is superb at preparing the body to tackle a bear (or run from one!) it’s not the most conducive when it comes to sitting exams. According to findings by psychologist Martyn Denscombe, teens suffer exam anxiety for four reasons: The consequences associated with the outcome of the exam e.g. educational or occupational. Their self-esteem with regards to the outcomes of their grades. (Students who have higher grades are more likely to have higher self-esteem.) Family and friends judging their performance. Fear of disappointing their teachers. So, what can you do? If you are feeling the effects of exam anxiety, breathe slowly and deeply, and have a drink of water. This can help stop the stress response and rehydrate the body. Try and remember that a test is never worth the physical strain you are putting yourself through. Teachers, family and friends sometimes forget the effect of saying; “You need to get ‘x’ in this exam, otherwise it will be difficult to ‘xyz’.” These kinds of statements and advice can increase the pressure on a student. It may be helpful to sit down with your friends, family or teachers to discuss the realistic outcomes of your upcoming exams to alleviate the pressure you may be feeling. Why does our mind blank? How can we prevent it? When we are under excessive stress or experiencing exam anxiety, our body releases a stress hormone called cortisol. As part of our evolutionary response, it helps us adapt in ‘fight or flight’ situations. Studies have shown that cortisol impairs the speed of our memory recall, causing that mind blank before or during an exam. Research has shown that there is 50% more cortisol in the blood stream if we only manage to have 6 hours of sleep, instead of 8 hours. So,  it is vitally important to head to bed earlier during revision and the night before the exam. A healthy nutritional diet, regular meals and plenty of water can also help keep your cortisol hormone at a natural level and help you to concentrate during revision and on the day of the exam. Exam anxiety before the exam As humans, we learn from past experiences. Those who endured an incredibly stressful test in the past can build up expectations of how they expect future exams to be, causing lots of stress during the lead up. This more chronic form of exam anxiety can cause high blood pressure, and weaken your immune system, leaving you to feel very run down. If you feel as though you are more susceptible to exam stress, it is useful to identify this early on (easier said than done!). With the help of your family, teachers, friends and tutors, identify your stressors (areas that are difficult and cause you stress) and make a plan for your final weeks of revision. We wish the best of luck to all students with exams coming up!

March 14th Pi Day Hangouts - Heart Math Tutoring

March 14th Pi Day Hangouts - Heart Math Tutoring March 14th Pi Day Hangouts March 14th Pi Day Hangouts March 3, 2019 March 14th is Pi Day (3/14), and representatives from Heart Tutoring will be hitting the town for informal/optional gatherings all day with any tutors, donors, friends, and staff who want to meet. Check out who, when, and where below. 8 9AM coffee at Panera on Fairview (w/ Sally) 8 9AM coffee at Amelie’s on College Street (w/ Emily) 9:30 10:30AM coffee at Dunkin Donuts on Independence (Linda + Alexis) 11:30AM 12:30PM lunch at Panera in the University Area (Alexis) 12 1PM lunch at Zoe’s in South Park (Sally) 12 1PM lunch at Seventh Street Market (Emily + Sarah) 6-7PM Legion Brewing in South Park (Sally + Cydney) 5:30 6:30PM Unknown Brewing Company (Emily) Anyone is invited for this casual time to hang out with others involved in the cause. See you there! Heres a throwback to Pi Day 2017 when Wilsons World came to Montclaire Elementary!

Grace Garden International Kindergarten and Nursery

Grace Garden International Kindergarten and Nursery Grace Garden International Kindergarten and Nursery Grace Garden International Kindergarten and Nursery is committed to providing high quality education that develops each childs intellectual, social, emotional and physical needs. Through our structured curricula and dedicated personnel, we aim to inspire young people to be open-minded, balanced and reflective life-long learners. Our goal is to expand a childs intercultural understanding to encourage them to be respectful and considerate internationally-minded citizens. We understand the importance of early childhood education. This is the time when children build and develop a foundation for all later academic disciplines. Therefore, we believe in providing our students with: - A safe and caring environment that encourages and motivates them to develop as individuals. - An engaging and stimulating curriculum that fosters creativity and encourages them to explore, learn, and thus fulfil their potential. It additionally addresses students social, emotional, and physical well-being, whilst stimulating their cognitive development. - A positive atmosphere that ensures they develop into compassionate contributors who are respectful and show moral values in the community.

Al Ruya Bilingual School

Al Ruya Bilingual School Al Ruya Bilingual School Al-Ruya Bilingual School was founded in 1996, and received accreditation from the CIS in July 2008. Students learn within an environment grounded in Islamic and Arab culture to hold onto our heritage and traditions, though we are preparing our student to be apart of the the knowledge base economy by using Arabic and English as teaching languages. The subjects that are taught in English are the English Language Art, Math, Science, Information Technology and ArtsCrafts. The subjects that are taught in Arabic are the Arabic Language, Islamic Studies, Social Studies and the specially designed Al Ruya Pastoral Program. The academic program leads to the High School Diploma and focuses on preparing students for the colleges and the universities of Kuwait, the Arab world, the USA and Europe. Al-Ru-ya Bilingual School have more than 1700 students enrolled in grades 1 to 12 with male and female students learning in two separate buildings. We currently have 91 classrooms and specialized science laboratories and there is also gymnasiums, media centers and excellent sporting facilities to support your child in receiving the best education.