Penguin Tutoring Blog

Phakama School is tucked away in a forgotten corner of the Kwena basin valley in Mpumalanga. This little school accommodates 130 primary school children from the surrounding farms. Just a year ago, Penguin Tutoring Co became aware of the constant struggle the teachers faced to deliver quality education to the children in their care. For many of the children, their only meal is provided by the school “kitchen “. Here, a big black three-legged pot is placed over a wood fire in the open area next to the school building. At break, the children line up in anticipation, and the cook ladles out steaming porridge.

Student teachers from the Wits school of education are assigned here for their practical experience bloc, and are given a taste of the plight of the rural school child and their gallant teachers. Penguin Tutoring Co has partnered with Wits and Phakama through our Corporate social initiative project (CSI)  in an effort to “give something back “  Through our sponsorship, the Wits students were able to present the school with sets of readers for every Grade, in both English and Sepedi.

Just a few short years ago, Phakama School had no roof and the ablution facilities were an open pit in the ground. Many of the children had never seen the written words in a book. But, with the vision, energy and continuous effort by many dedicated and passionate people, this is slowly changing. Today, after handing over the books, the children sang their songs of thanks, and filed into the gaily decorated classrooms, protected from the harsh sun by a sturdy roof! The youngest class lined up outside the neat ablution block before being served their porridge. The middle class concentrated hard on the sums written on the board while the “Most hardworking”, “Best in reading” and “Best in counting” proudly wore their crowns for the day.

Penguin Tutoring Co is proud to be part of that change and we will continue to channel resources into education projects aimed at improving the future of our country’s children.

Parents of Matrics are going to need some extra help and guidance over the next few weeks.The Prelims have been postponed by the Gauteng Department of Education due to the ongoing educators strike. Exams were scheduled to start on the 3rd September, but will now take place during the week of 20th September. The papers will be written in the afternoons and catch-up sessions will take place in the mornings.

The Department of Education has been distributing Study Guides to affected schools and parents and learners are urged to download past papers from these websites;
www.thutong.doe.gov.za Click on “Support for Matrics “  or  www.education.gpg.gov.za Click on “Matric exam material ”
The DoE will also put up self explanatory guidelines on how to study, and set up study groups. Lessons will be broadcast through radio and television through the Department of Basic Education.

We at Penguin Tutoring Co are concerned about the strike and its far reaching negative impact on the future of these young people. We have tutors available in all areas to assist you. Log onto our website www.penguintutoring.co.za and ask for help now.

Penguins, lets LEAD South Africa and volunteer to help out at schools in crisis.

Just a few weeks ago, we watched with pride and excitement as we hosted the most successful sporting event in the World. We wore our Bafana shirts, waved our flags, and felt proud to be South Africans. On Saturday 94 000 (and thirteen) of us swarmed to the FNB stadium in Soweto to cheer on our rugby boys. We are a very special nation of amazing people. We have pride and commitment and belief that we can achieve the impossible.

But we are also strongly aware of a crisis that is currently unfolding in the hospitals and schools. South Africa’s education is in a state of crisis as members of one Teachers union, SADTU, embark on violent strikes and prevent learners and teachers from attending school. If Government has not responded to their demands, members of Naptosa will join their colleagues.

We sympathise with their cause and strongly believe that they should be well paid for work well done. After all, the future of our nation is in their hands. But, we can’t sit by and watch as learners miss out on essential teaching, not now, only weeks before their final exams.

We at Penguin Tutoring Co would like to assist these bewildered young people where we can and we appeal to you to come forward if you are able to volunteer your time. You had the benefit of a good education and are now able to follow your dream as a student at a tertiary institution. Thousands of Matrics may have to delay writing their exams until next year, because of the disruption to their education

We will be offering to help out at schools and in communities to prepare the Matrics for their final exams. Do the right thing - sign up with us and help LEAD SA.

This week saw 1 million government employees on strike. Their demands are for better pay, better working conditions and better housing allowances. Some schools advised parents to keep their children at home as they couldn’t guarantee their safety. As parents, our first concern will be for our own children  - their safety if they do go to school, or their disadvantage if they miss out on valuable learning time by not being at school.

At Penguin Tutoring Co, we strongly believe in the value of a quality education for all the children of our country. We believe that this can only be delivered by top class, committed and dedicated educators. If the teaching profession cannot attract the very best people to their ranks, our children have little chance of being educated to world class standards.

We empathise with these teachers, and agree that they should be paid an excellent salary - for work well done, with measurable results. After all, the future of our children, and this country, is in their hands.

While Education is in crisis , we will continue to offer our supplementary tutoring service to all learners throughout the country, who are worried about their preparation for pending examinations. Matriculants have their Prelims looming, and with this in mind, we have recruited additional qualified tutors. We have a Saturday School project  “on ice”, waiting for a suitable partner school.

If you are concerned about your child’s performance and the increasing pressure on them to get on top of their work in the short time left before the end of this academic year, call us.

We will be able to help.

June 2010, Johannesburg - Penguin Tutoring and the I am Changing the World Trust (iACTw) have teamed up again to provide personalised extra lessons to previously disadvantaged learners from Grades 10, 11 and 12 in Maths, Accounting and Life Skills.

The week-long program conducted from 21 to 25 June in Sandton was dedicated to improving the understanding and capacity of the learners as well as providing them with the guidance to realise their individual potential.

‘The end goal of this program is for learners to consider their futures more seriously and how it is possible to become successful by harnessing the power of education’, says Murray Legg, Marketing Manager at Penguin Tutoring.

Penguin Tutoring is a national company that offers the highest quality one-on-one tutoring in all school subjects and has enjoyed a 100% success rate of assisting its learners to improve their individual marks - during its four year lifespan. Penguin teamed up with I am Changing the World in 2009 to extend this service to those in need.

There is no doubt that an alarmingly high percentage of learners around the country are suffering from poor quality education. It is not the desire within the learners that is lacking, but rather access to qualified material and teachers, suggests Sonia Berisford-Murray, founder iACTw.

Together, Penguin and iACTw hope to make available the opportunity for all learners, from all backgrounds, to excel in their chosen subjects and fields so that they are equipped with the best tools to make a success of their lives, and South Africa as a whole.

‘Success for us is about promoting and enabling the positive difference every individual can make in preserving our environment, society and wildlife. Education is the basic platform required for the advancement of all citizens – both in South Africa, and globally, concludes Berisford-Murray.

If you are interested in doing a project with us, please contact us at 2010@penguintutoring.co.za.

Excitement is mounting as the famed Cape Argus Cycle Tour draws closer. A contingent of Penguins from Johannesburg will be tackling the gruelling race on Sunday March 14th, together with35 000 other cyclists tackling the 109km route around Cape Town.

Traditionally staged on the second Sunday of March, this is the biggest one day sporting event in the country and fast becoming a major international draw card – Lance Armstrong joins the starting line up this year.  Foreign entries topped 2 000,  and increase every year, a boon for business and tourism in the Western Cape.

Charities are also big winners at the Cycle Tour. Over R3-million was donated to the race’s two official charities, the Pedal Power Association and the Rotary Club of Claremont in Cape Town.

Last years’ windy conditions made the race the toughest in 20 years. This year conditions did not look too promising, with a feisty south-easter expected to blow at between 40km and 50km/h. Highs of about 25 C are expected in the city, dropping to about 22 C around Slangkop and 19 C at Cape Point.

Good luck to all the brave souls out there - have fun, wear yellow and support Lance’s Livestrong Campaign.

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.