Tui Learning Initiatives

Good morning, parents and guardians,

Now that the mid-term exams are over, and all the analyses of right and wrong answers gone through, we are now settling back into our usual routine of strengthening areas of weakness that showed up in this last round of testing.
In general nearly all students scored well, some remarkably so especially among our weaker children. I'd like at this point to commend the parents and guardians who continued throughout to pay close attention to their children's classes especially helping out with homework which we appreciate very much as a significant part of the learning process. I'd also like to commend parents and guardians who made sure that their children came to classes regularly so that there was continuity in what was taught from week to week. We have to remember that students get only one or two hours each week per subject so when classes are missed especially by those struggling to keep up at school, this is a big learning gap.
For those students who did not do so well, on analysis, we have found that this was mainly due to carelessness - not reading the instructions carefully, misspelling, missed punctuation, illegible handwriting, spending too much time on one question ... so for these students the stress will be on being careful!
I would now like to emphasise the importance of regular attendance from here onwards. Term 3 is only 9 weeks long, and exams are likely to happen round about Week 6-7. This means we have just the remaining 4 weeks of this term, and another 6 weeks at most to prepare for annual/public exams. This term there has been rather more than usual absenteeism, not all of which have been genuine for example some of the children indicated to us that they missed classes because their parents took them home instead! Reminder that absences must be reported and be for a good reason to warrant catchup. A related reminder is that children be available for catchup, once it is assigned and agreed and this goes for high school students in particular.
Finally, please finalise your fees for the term. Thank you to those who have completed payments, and those who are regular with their payment plans. Once more, please don't wait for me to send you individual reminders which I have always considered a waste of time better spent on preparing learning resources for the students.
On that note, take care everyone and have a blessed week ahead.
Eileen and team

Good morning!
I wonder if, like me, you have been waiting for the rain... and waiting... and wondering. Feels like our lockdown situation when one hopeful day just follows another and pretty soon you're asking "what day is it today?"
At mass this morning the Archbishop shared a Chinese saying with us: Every moment of crisis is an opportunity for growth. Which made me wonder, have I been growing this past half year or just passing the time waiting. Then I thought about our kids- what kind of learning opportunities have they been having and how much growth. And I am not really thinking about things learned in the classroom. This lockdown is a marvelous opportunity for life skills - housekeeping, gardening, babysitting, music and the list goes on. I hope that we haven't spent the time stressing too much about classroom opportunities lost; and seized instead learning in many other equally important things in life.
At one of our classes last week my granddaughter and I were coloring and I remarked "shouldn't your water melon be red?" To which she replied "See grandma, all the colors are here and you can pick whatever you like!" Out of the mouths of babes- who said water melons have to be red and learning only happens in the classroom!
And on that note, have a blessed and growth-filled day everyone!

This post is written under a new Minister for Education, Premila Kumar. Many, many years ago, just fresh out of University, I was posted to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial High School, where I had the pleasure of teaching Premila in 6th Form English/Literature. Needless to say I am proud of her achievement and look forward to some good educational initiatives coming out of the Ministry under her watch!
Students continue to work at their Home Study packages prepared and delivered by their respective teachers, and I trust that this is the case for all schools. Some schools also offer zoom classes where the exercises in the packages are marked by the teachers and errors explained. This is a great initiative and these schools and teachers are to be commended. That is not to be critical about schools that don't have the resources to do this. But it does mean, however, that when students return to school, some will need more help than others in order to catch up with their syllabi.
The main reason for the current thinking by Minister Kumar to divide next year into 4 terms is so that term 1 can be used to bring students who are behind up to speed.
And it is my fervent wish that they remain forever under the 4-term system of 10 learning weeks each term. It has been our experience at the TuiLearning Centre that children are burnt out by week 10 especially those who struggle with the English language (and that's a lot of students!). So the remaining 4 weeks in the term can be painful. This is also when most term exams happen so I often wonder whether the results that they show are indeed indicators of learning and not of high levels of end-of-term stress!
I'm not sure how you feel as parents/guardians about the planned vaccination of children 12 years and over. At this point, with all of the uncertainties about the COVID-19 delta variant, the frightening fact that the longer the virus hangs around the greater the chances of further mutations, I place my trust in the medical and professional fraternity who are at the forefront of knowledge and information about what is happening.
On that note, have a safe and productive time to when we finally can return to school. Please post on our page - your views as parents are valuable (vital!) to the advancement of education in our nation.
God bless

It has been a while since my last post and what a while it has been since we closed in the 13th week of school. Since then the nation and especially our containment areas have been stricken by the delta strain of the Corona virus bringing us to a very challenging and frightening place. I trust that we have all been observing protocols set by our Health Ministry to assist in containing the virus, especially minimising our movements and staying in our family/household bubbles while our frontliners, bless them, do battle with the virus. I trust too, that parents and guardians, and students 18 and over are being or have been vaccinated. I HAVE!
It has been 14 weeks since we last went to school as we knew it, but I trust that all children are able to access some form of learning delivered through various communication media, and doing the exercises set by the Ministry of Education. These can of course be supplemented y initiatives at home - my granddaughter and I are learning numbers by counting vegetables and fruits in my garden. That way she gets some outdoors, she 'sees' her numbers and she sees nature at work. After that she sat down in her 'classroom' and drew what she saw, coloured her drawing (fine motor skills), and sounded out the beginning letters of the fruits and vegies for some phonics. Here she is below!
Please fill free to post your comments and questions on our page and I'll respond as best I can. In the meantime, take care, please continue to observe anti-covid protocols and stay in your home/bubbles.
Blessings always
Eileen

Following our call for enrollments last week for Term 1, 2020, we have confirmed 41 students. Places are filling fast . We have started taking in new students in place of those who are not returning and the deadline for returning students is Wednesday 18/12.. After this, all remaining places will be available on a first come, first served basis.
As I am going abroad for holidays on Friday 20/12, I take the opportunity, on behalf of the tutoring team, to wish all our students, families and friends, and those who have helped us maintain the services at the Centre in various ways, a blessed and happy Christmas, and a new year of peace, good health and achievement . May the celebration of the birth of Christ continue to bring all of us hope and light in our lives.

Tui Learning Initiatives welcomes and invites all who are interested in enrolling your child(ren) for tutoring in Term 1, 2020, to do so now. Tutoring is offered for Primary and Secondary school students in Maths and English, and also in learning skills, in after-school hourly sessions from 3-4pm and 4-5pm. Deadline for registration is Wednesday 18 December, so send us an email now.

Our last day of tutoring for 2019 today, and what a year it has been! We've had an average of 80 students each term this year ranging from years 1 to 13. A point to note is that simply by word of mouth, a number of new students came to join us in each term and I have had to persuade some parents to hold their enrollments till 2020 as we did not have space when their requests came. Hopefully, through our page as well we will be able to reach more students in need of literacy and numeracy development and strengthening.
For now, this week has been a hugely rewarding one for us as we receive feedback on Year 8, and annual school exam results. So far the achievements have been remarkable😃😃 particularly among children who came with low levels of literacy and numeracy and who are now able not only to read their test papers but to also answer the questions and attain good marks, leaping ahead several places in their school placement ranking! We congratulate these students and every one who attended Tui Learning this year especially for learning how to pay attention, stop being careless, think, achieve and become better more confident students!
I'm sure parents and guardians will join me in thanking our dedicated, caring and skillful tutors for their commitment to enabling these results. In return we thank our parents and guardians for seeking additional help for their children, for entrusting your children to our care and for your cooperation in making their development and progress happen.
Next year, God willing, we will use our page better and more frequently with pictures as well as some more creative posts.
Until then, from all of us at the Centre, enjoy your time with your children in the coming holidays, have a blessed Christmas, and stay safe. God bless!

Good morning, everyone; trust you all had a good, positive and restful weekend! Finally this week we wish our Year 7 and Year 9 students all the very best as they enter their respective public exam week. Praying that exam jitters are totally manageable and that you're all confident, as we are at the Centre, that you have done some great preparations for this week. Now, go and do your best! And we continue also to send positive vibes to our Year 12 students entering week 2 of exams followed by a well-earned break!
For the rest of our Tui Learning students, 2 more weeks to go before we complete our term 3 programme and then everyone goes on holidays.

Today we wish all Year 12 students the very best as they begin their public exams. They join Year 11 students who are now in their second week of exams. May you all do as well as you are capable of in mind and intellect and spirit. This exam is critical in deciding how you go forward in preparation for tertiary studies and we ask parents, guardians friends and well-wishes for a prayer as you go about your daily work. Blessings, students, for the next two weeks.

A beautiful day today to wish all our Year 10 students the very best in their Fiji Junior examinations. At Tui Learning we are all confident that the results will show how hard they worked during the year and how committed they all are to achieving the highest possible grades. God's blessings - stay calm and do the best you can.

We have just come to the end of the first week of Term 3, 2019 and so we launch into the busiest term of the year! More than 60 students have either returned or joined us for the first time to prepare for both public and school exams which will earn them certificates and placements in their next level of schooling. We welcome especially those who have come to develop their competence in English literacy and to improve their grasp of numbers and the magical things they can do with them! Primary school leavers are vying for places in the top high schools of the country, and pre-tertiary students are looking to obtain scholarships and places in their tertiary institution of choice. We wish them all well as we work together, with parents and school teachers, to help them achieve these goals.