Five top study tips from the professional tutors at Kip McGrath Whitianga

Pauline Curtain knew she wanted to be a teacher at age 11, and it’s clear that teaching is undoubtedly her lifelong passion. She thrives in supporting students to build confidence and to get ahead in their learning.

Kip McGrath is about giving an individual child the opportunities to improve and extend their learning. So, when they go back into the classroom, they can cope, and feel comfortable with what the teachers are trying to teach them.

– Pauline Curtain, owner and professional tutor Kip McGrath Whitianga

Five top study tips from Kip McGrath Whitianga

Pauline has taught in primary school classrooms with large numbers of students, and as a private one to one tutor. She estimates that she has taught 1,000 children over her three decades as a professional teacher.
 
She understands that establishing a good homework routine is an excellent way to reinforce classroom learning and to build a student’s confidence in their subject knowledge.
 
Her top study tips for learning schoolwork at home are:

• Set a time every day to do a little bit of homework – for juniors at least 10 minutes at a time and building to 30 minutes for more senior students
   
• Get into a good routine– whether its two or three nights a week or more. The key is to just establish a good homework routine
   
• Just do it! – and be comfortable with it. Don’t introduce new things all the time, repeat the learning. When ready, extend the learning
   
• Practice is perfect – homework should be at a level of practice, so we’re learning off by hat to try and get it into the brain – and keep it there!
   
• Don’t be afraid to ask – my parents and students can always ask if they need to clarify the learning problem. And if they are uncertain, we’ll go back again to it the next week. We never want the student to get anxious about their learning.

Kip McGrath Whitianga Professional Tutor Services

Pauline and her team offer face to face and online tutor services for students Year 2-13 in English and Mathematics.
 
Professional private tuition is available for students who struggle to learn and for students who want to extend their learning.  The learning centre offers tuition during term time and school holidays (excluding public holidays).

The key to the Kip McGrath learning program is that it’s personalised so that it works at the level that your child can do and extending them from there. During the learning process we carefully assess and measure how each child is learning and what is needed. And, it really is about the relationship our professional tutors have with our students, so each student is comfortable with their learning. It’s my upmost goal to help each individual child to enable them to progress and achieve.

– Pauline Curtain

What Kip McGrath tutoring services offer:

• Initial free assessment tool – to help establish how tutors can best assist the student
• Encouragement and confidence building
• Face to face lessons
• On screen and in-centre tuition – for students unable to attend in person
• Establishment of excellent learning habits
• Varied activities offered as part of the learning programme
• Individual programmes – supporting the NZ curriculum and tailored to each student
• Qualified teachers – professional tutors using a proven programme
• A consistent programme – Pauline has personally trained each tutor in her business.  

Onscreen learning option

Kip McGrath has invested heavily into their own onscreen programme to enable students that need to connect online can. Pauline found being able to offer this service during Covid was a blessing. For some students this service is very popular. She has several students who use onscreen on a permanent basis because they live out of town.
 
Pauline explains that the onscreen service is conducted like a Skype meeting but using a whiteboard. Tutors and students can write on the whiteboard so the experience provides the same attention for students as they would have in the classroom.

11 Quick Fire Questions with Pauline Curtain 

All About Whitianga: What book are you currently reading?
Pauline Curtain: I actually haven’t read a book for a while. Most of my spare time is spent knitting for my new grandson! However, when I do have spare time to read, I tend to pick up a magazine, and just love reading articles and magazines.
 
Tell me about the worst teacher you ever had
I think the worst one would have been an older lady who tapped me across the knuckles, when I didn't read the word correctly! As you can imagine it didn't instill confidence in me!
 
How would your teachers describe you as a student?
All would have said she was this very quiet person who just did what she was asked to do. But lacking confidence, I think all my reports said that.
 
If you weren't a teacher, what would you be?
It would be something involving caring for somebody and being involved as a community person. I've previously been involved heavily in Scouts and became a Scout Leader and used to train, adults to be scout leaders.
 
What do you do in your spare time?
Crafting. Especially cross stitch. It's quite a different way of using the brain that I enjoy.
 
What accomplishments are you proud of this year?
I was the Kip McGrath New Zealand franchise that was acknowledged by Head Office earlier this year for excellent performance. I'm one of the smaller centres so that was lovely, and I was proud about it, they honored me by it.
 
And over time when I see students in the community and reported in news articles about the things they are doing and achieving is a really nice thing. Seeing them doing the things that they love to do, and knowing they've been able to build up confidence and keep learning is really cool.
 
In which other teachers’ class, would you enroll in, even if it was just for a day, and why?
I would really like to build on my existing knowledge, so finding out more research on dyslexia, and certainly more about transformative learning.
 
If you could pass on any wisdom to your students, what would you share?
I think the main theme of it is to be a good citizen in our community, to love life, do the things that you are strong at, try your best at the things that you're not (and keep trying), and be kind to each other.
 
Do you have a first memory from school?
I don't know whether it's a memory or just something that someone's told me. As a nine-year-old I do remember being part of a Cinderella play, and my best friend was Cinderella and my other friend, and I were the ugly stepsisters. I can remember getting quite a bit of good acknowledgement from my family for being on stage and doing a play. And funnily enough us three of girls are still close friends and still see each other after all these years!
 
Who has your favourite teacher in life been so far?
Well, it was this lovely young teacher, just right out of teacher’s college. He came and taught me when I was in form one at primary school. And he settled me into deciding to become a teacher. He was teaching me all these science things like photosynthesis, and biology and math’s and he really connected my curiosity and love of learning.

Contact Kip McGrath Whitianga

Pauline owns the Kip McGrath franchise on the Eastern side of the Coromandel including Whitianga to Coromandel town, and through to Whangamata. Families outside of these areas can also connect with Pauline via on screen tutoring services.
 
For any questions about your child’s learning or to book a free assessment  use the related link below to contact Pauline Curtain.