Penguin Tutoring Blog

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of specialist academic tutors in the country. Our professional management and extensive tutor database will ensure that your children get everything they need and more out of their extra lessons.

Contrary to popular belief, Penguins can actually fly! Provided of course they have been loaded onto an aircraft, clipped into their seat-belts and given the run down on the safety procedures…..

Fifteen African Penguins flew from uShaka Marine World,  Durban, to their new home at Orlando Sea World in Florida, USA where they will form part of a breeding programme. Sea World has 14 different species of Penguins from around the world, but these are the first African penguins, previously known as Jackass Penguins, because of the braying sound they make.

Experts are alarmed at the decline in the numbers of Penguins in the wild - in 1956 there were 141 000 pairs but this  dwindled to 36 000 by the end of 2006. It is predicted that the conservation status of the African Penguin will soon be elevated to “endangered”. The dramatic decline in numbers is being attributed to the lack of fish, and conservationists are developing a new strategy to prevent their extinction.

Penguin Tutoring Co is aware of their plight and actively supports SANCCOB by adopting rescued birds. To date Percival, Petal, Petunia and Patrick - who is our Facebook guru, have joined our Penguin family. The delightful Wendipiks cards make their way into the homes of our clients and tutors in a further effort to support these special and unique birds.

Recent research has shown that the African Penguin population along the coast of South Africa is 19% higher today than it would have been in the absence of SANCCOB‘S efforts in rehabilitation.

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of specialist academic tutors in the country. Our professional management and extensive tutor database will ensure that your children get everything they need and more out of their extra lessons.

After reading an article in the local Rosebank Gazette about the amazing success achieved by Mandla Nhlengthwa, a former street child, Penguin Tutoring Co was inspired to reach out and assist this impressive young man to realise his dreams of obtaining a BEd degree at Wits university.

Eight years ago, Mandla drifted onto the streets of Johannesburg from KwaZulu Natal. Life was difficult and dangerous, and after two years on the street,  he joined Twilight Children in Hillbrow. Here he met Father Laszlo Karpati , head of the Yithuba Lami Street Children ministry

Yithuba Lami means ” It is my chance“.  The programme  focuses on the rehabilitation of street children, unemployed youth on the street and sexually exploited children. The activities of the project are organized around the following modules:  Street Outreach, Drop-in Centre, Centre for the protection of Human Rights of the child, Bridging School and  the Dinaledi House  Shelter, which is home to the children and young adults  in Rossmore.

Yithuba Lami applies as a methodology the “pedagogy of presence”. They  are on the street, in squatter camps, in juvenile prisons and places of safety. They maintain strong contact with the children’s  families and if possible extend the rehabilitation program to the family too.

Mandla’s courage and determination are an inspiration to all around him. He was elected President in his Matric year and has been appointed  a House Father at the shelter, looking after the younger residents over the weekends. He believes “You can certainly turn things around. Many people use their bad backgrounds to run away from a better life. Show your courage, it is there inside you”

Penguin Tutoring Co believes strongly in giving back to the community, and has set up a fund for “Learners in Need” as part of their Corporate social responsibility project.  Unused lessons from clients are held in a trust for a worthy cause such as this.  We have appointed one of our Maths tutors and Mandla gets specialised one-on-one tuition every week. We look forward to hearing more of his success!

We are proud to announce the arrival of the brand new Penguin! After weeks of being ‘on ice’ and eagerly but nervously anticipated, the new baby is here.

After intense consultations with our Marketing team, the new face of Penguin was launched at the beginning of the year to reflect the ethos of our Company. Forward thinking, crisp, professional, clean and slick.

Following on this, the next phase in the re-branding exercise was to pay attention to all your suggestions and requests for a smoother, easier system. We listened to you, our tutors, clients and administrators and we hope we have managed to get to all your great ideas.

We moved onto the new Penguin system early this morning and we hope you like it. As with all new things, there will be some glitches and minor mishaps but we would like to assure you that they will be ironed out as quickly as we can get to them. Please assist us in making the transition as smooth as possible and log all your comments in an email to  2010@penguintutoring.co.za

We’re still expecting a few sleepless nights with the new baby, but see a happy future ahead for all of us.

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of specialist academic tutors in the country. Our professional management and extensive tutor database will ensure that your children get everything they need and more out of their extra lessons.

With the long summer holiday behind us and memories of  family fun fading into the distant past,  parents are looking forward to a return to normality on Wednesday 13th January when the new school year begins.

For the little people about to enter Grade 1 for the first time, this will be an exciting, overwhelming and memorable day. New school uniforms hang in the cupboard, shiny shoes are placed in eager readiness on the floor and a smart new school suitcase awaits the freshly packed lunch box in the morning.

Parents can help make the transition as smooth and painless as ­possible with a little preparation. We’ve put together a few tips:

• Have a dress rehearsal with the uniform so that they are comfortable with how it all works - buttons, zips, laces.
• Get an early start on the first day and go to bed early the night before.
• Prepare a good breakfast and pack a healthy lunch. An interesting lunchbox goes a long way to brightening up the first day.
• Drop them off or walk them to school for the first few days.  Go hand in hand and don’t linger after you’ve said “Goodbye”.
• Help break the ice by introducing yourself to another parent outside the class. This way, the children have an instant ally at break-time.
• Make sure your child knows their full name, surname and ­address; home telephone number and parents’ full names and surnames.
• Encourage them to talk about what they have learned when they come back from school. Listen to their stories, but don’t take them too seriously, unless the same complaints still surface a week later.
• Keep your emotions under control! Floods of tears from their parents, may convey the message that school is a really fearful place.
• Don’t go on a stationery spending spree.  Basics like a pen, pencil, eraser, ruler, sharpener and some coloured pencils should be enough for the first day.
• Alert the school and the teacher if your child has any medical conditions such as diabetes, asthma or if they have problems with hearing or sight.
• Make your child blend in.  Don’t make your child stand out in any way initially.
• Prepare for the book-covering exercise. Buy enough paper, plastic and sticky tape.

Good luck! You are about to embark on an exciting,  challenging and enormously fulfilling journey with your child. Enjoy every day of it.

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of specialist academic tutors in the country. Our professional management and extensive tutor database will ensure that your children get everything they need and more out of their extra lessons.
Today sees the release of the Matric results for 620 000 candidates who wrote the 2009 National Senior Certificate examination across the country. For most of these young people, this marks the beginning of a new exciting future as they get ready to start their Tertiary education. For those who have not achieved their goal - its never too late to try again.

Nelson Mandela once said; “It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mine-worker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farm-workers can become president of a country.”

We congratulate every one of these bright, wonderful, talented young people. We wish them success in their endeavours. “The future lies ahead of you.  Live your dreams and make the most of what you have.”

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of private tuition in South Africa. Our tutors are specialised, screened and trained to give your child the best possible academic support in the comfort of your own home.

Due to some of the learning difficulties being experienced under Outcomes Based Education, Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga announced yesterday that next year would see yet more changes to the national curriculum.

According to The Star newspaper, those changes are designed to improve the application of OBE, in schools throughout South Africa.

Some of the changes include:

• Giving teachers less administrative work to allow for at least 7 hours a day in the classroom
• Introducing English earlier than Grade 3
• Giving fewer subjects to learners in Grades 4-6, allowing for greater depth of understanding
• Reducing the number of projects produced by pupils during the school year and stopping matric portfolios altogether, which accounted for a percentage of the overall matric mark.

The result of these changes will mean a shift in focus back onto exams and the pressure on learners to “perform during exams or else” will inevitably return.

These changes are due to come into effect at the beginning of the 2010 school year in January.

So, if you battle with exam preparation or technique, be responsible about your education and take steps to deal with those issues, so that your matric does not fall victim to government policy changes.

One way to cope is to get a tutor early on, so that you can dedicate the necessary time to improving your exam technique and slowly building your confidence.

If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact Penguin Tutoring at any stage during the year. Once we know what your specific needs are, we can allocate the perfect tutor for you, who will provide you with the school support you need to achieve consistent academic success, regardless of the turbulence surrounding you.

Visit www.penguintutoring.co.za for more information.

It's madness out there! Make sense of it all with Penguin Tutoring!

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of inspirational extra lessons in South Africa. Our specialised tutors are carefully screened and trained to provide your child with the highest quality private tuition in the comfort of your own home.

We are looking for an area manager to join our dynamic team and assist in our client services and operations division for Penguin Tutoring in Johannesburg.  The position is ideally suited to a mother or recent graduate, with a background in HR, customer care, education or a person with PA experience.

The typical roles of the position would involve:

• Liaison with new and existing customers
• Personalised placement of tutors with new clients
• Management of tutor database
• Interviewing and training of new tutor recruits
• Reporting to the operations manager

The role can be performed from home, with the flexibility of manageable hours. Two days per week would involve tutor liaison from our Parktown head office. Salary will vary depending on experience, but will range from R7000 to R10000 plus cell allowance and performance bonuses.

Interested candidates are to please email their CV and a motivation to team@penguintutoring.co.za before 30 November 2009.

To see who else works in our team, have a look here.

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of inspirational extra lessons in South Africa. Our specialised tutors are carefully screened and trained to provide your child with the highest quality private tuition in the comfort of your own home.

Penguin Tutoring would like to wish every single one of South Africa’s matric candidates the very best of luck as they write their final exams! We are especially holding thumbs for all of our own matrics across the country who benefitted from the knowledge and guidance of our extra lessons. Please don’t forget to let your tutor know how the exam went when it’s over and also how your results improved when you find out how you did!

Some of our best tutors are the ones who know first hand, how important good extra lessons can be, so if you’re heading off to university next year and are thinking about getting a student job, why don’t you consider becoming a Penguin Tutor yourself? Go to www.penguintutoring.co.za/tutors/apply to fill out an application!

Good Luck Class of 2009!

Matric 2009: You're Never Alone with Penguin Tutoring!