CATS Academy Courier

By: Howard Ng

Being mediocre isn’t the type of student you should be. You know that you have potential and the aptitude to succeed academically in every subject. But, maybe some of you reading this have not yet reached your full potential. Who doesn’t want to wake up and see their Engrade filled with A’s? You should keep in mind that “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” (~Lao Tzu), thus one step follows another. If you follow these suggestions and work hard, they can help you become someone that excels.

1. Manage your time, write down your assignment

• You might think you can remember all of the assignments your teacher gives you, but don’t be surprised when you suddenly forget about all of it the next day. If you are someone that has had the experience of having no clue what the homework was, then you know that needs to change. Instead of losing points for missing the due date, which brings your grade down, simply get a planner or some kind of notebook to write down every assignment that your teacher gives. Stop wasting your time, write it down.

2. “Humility is how you get better” (Mr. O’Donnell)

• At all times, stay humble. Put yourself in a position to learn in each class you attend. Keep an open mind and always be open to new ideas and better ways of doing things. Your opinion about the way things should go may or may not be the best. Accept both accolades and correction with grace.

3. “ Cope with failure effectively”

• When your grade in a particular class drops significantly such as if you were to get a 65/100 or an equivalent grade that is very adverse, the effort that you put into the class should increase, not decrease. You shouldn’t blame your teacher for a bad grade, you should consider your mistakes and learn from them. A bad grade should not deter your personal determination to rise to the top.

4. “ Set goals, always know where you are going”

• In order to get anywhere, you must set goals. When you do, then, at all times, you will be certain of where you are headed and what you want to do in the future. By setting a goal you tell yourself to do your best to achieve it. With a goal in your head, let’s say… get an “A” average in your Algebra II class, you will keep on thinking about this goal wherever you go.  The goal will truly get into your mind. You will start functioning to do everything you can to meet it, which is a great way achieve the grade you want.

These habits can easy be adopted by every student here at CATS.  If you develop these habits and use them every day, you will be on the road to become that “A” student.

By: Howard Ng

It is not easy to do your best when you are overwhelmed, especially in school, every person has great potential to do well.  Are you simply just too reluctant to stand up in class but realize you could do it? If you want do the best that you can with the gifts that you have then you may be ready to receive some expert advice that could help you perform better and in class. Most of these tips are recommended by teachers and they may be simple or unusual, but they really work!

Mr. Angell, Head of Schoool- “Ask teachers questions, as many as you can, go ask for help”  

• Although this tip, recommended by Mr. Angell, seems simple, we may have a rather hard time trying to do these things. If you’re a timorous person, fearing that teachers or your peers will criticize you for asking the wrong question, or fear of asking a question that other students have already asked, then that idea in your mind is a total misconception. According to Mr. Angell, “Teachers love you guys to ask questions” if you don’t ask questions, you would have to spend a hefty amount of time to google it yourself and sometimes you still don’t get helpful information. If you ask questions, you can get them answered very quickly.   If you still don’t get it, don’t hesitate or be afraid to ask again until you fully understand the answer. Spend a bit of time and ask your teacher, they are very willing and enthusiastic to help you.

“Measure twice, cut once.” from Mr. Coon, Science and ESL teacher

• This idiom tells us to essentially spend more time before turning in work, to check twice before submitting a final product. This practice minimizes your chance of making mistakes. It is indeed a fundamental concept that, if we simply spend a little more time, we get better quality work and your teacher will in turn give you a jubilant smile. This could be interpreted as not waiting and spending all night on our essays the day before it is due.  That just really creates panic and anxiety and you cannot really do your best work or refine your work. By taking more time, separating your assignment into parts and making sure to “measure twice” (looking back at it)  basically doing bits of it everyday, you will be putting top quality work into everything for which you will get what you pay for.

There you go! Follow these tips and make the most of them and you will see for yourself a more confident student and, most importantly, you will demonstrate your true potential in class.