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THE HOLISTIC PATH TO STRAIGHT A'S
In This Issue:
Healthy Eating Contributing To High Grades
Study Tip: Creating A Health & Wellness Calendar
Coach of the Month: Matt Westerman
Quick Links

 
Academic Success Partner 
of the Month
It's with great pleasure that we bring you another person doing excellent work in the education field in Southern California, Jim Hahn. Jim (along with his wife Elizabeth) is the founder of Areté Preparatory Academy, located in the heart of West LA. "Aréte" is an ancient Greek word meaning "excellence" or "virtue", and those qualities certainly applies to Jim's school. Aréte prides itself on the quality of its teachers (over 70% have a Master's degree) and a personalized education, with an average class size of just five students. Centered around a core curriculum called Great Ideas, students are encouraged to develop critical thinking skills through argumentation and creative problem-solving. Jim believes that the education process is a collaboration between teacher and student, exploring all facets of the learning experience including critical reading and writing, performance, the arts and of course new media. Aréte Prep focuses on developing a genuine academic passion, that will give students entering higher education the skills to succeed both academically and personally. For more information, visit the website, email 
or call 310.478.9900. 
Looking For A Student 
Community Service Opportunity?
Meet Rickey Smith, social entrepreneur and owner of the sustainable food business Urban Green. He's started a community education venture called the Urban Green Kids Row program, creating opportunities for kids from diverse backgrounds to participate in many activities related to food sustainability, from planting seeds  to learning about how organic food is grown and harvested. For more info on a terrific
community service and volunteering opportunity for kids, email Rickey, 

or call (800) 200 3320.

Check out Our  YouTube Video!
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Academic Success is very proud of the two-minute video we recently produced to give you a feel for who we are, our philosophy and the way we approach our work
How Academic Success Can Support You
At Academic Success we take great pride in finding the right coach to support the unique needs of each student we help.  Please check out the areas where we work on our  web site and let us know how we can support you.

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Looking for a College Counselor or Ed Therapist?
We work and partner with excellent Educational Therapists and College Counselors throughout the L.A. area.  Give us a call and we can recommend the right fit for your child.

310-823-4398
What Is The Holistic Approach 
To Achieving Academic Success?
As a new year dawns, the academic arena has never been more competitive for our students. As a result, the demands for consistently high grades begin almost as soon as kids pull on their first backpack. Yet educators and parents are now becoming more conscious of the phenomenon that is student burnout. The key question is: How can students continue to maintain a high study workload without crashing? 
The answer may lie in adopting a more holistic approach to academic life. We know that rest, good diet, a life outside school and positive personal relationships can result in better grades. In this month's issue, we'll take it further and illustrate how the Holistic Approach to study is actually a critical factor in taking students to the next level of achievement. 
We'll expand on how this multi-faceted approach to attaining high grades works, with advice and guidance from both educators and experts in the fields of mental and physical health.
At Academic Success, we know that living well-rounded, diverse and healthy lives can propel our students to their personal academic summit.  
 
Please call with any questions at (310) 823 4398 or

 

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All the best,

 

The Academic Success Team

 

"I have a holistic need to work and to have huge ties of love in my life. I can't imagine eschewing one for the other."" 

                                                           - Meryl Streep

Education News 

Healthy Eating Contributing To High Grades
 
We've long known that a nutritious, healthy diet is essential for physical health. Thankfully for our students, there is a growing awareness around the importance of diet to maintain mental health as well. This informative article from The Atlantic focuses on the power of food to improve cognitive ability and overall brain function.

  

Sleeping Might Be 
Just As Important As Studying

 

While it's almost a cliché to say a good night's rest does us the world of good, new research is now proving that sleep does a lot more than improve our mood and revitalize a tired body. This exciting article details the amazing improvements in brain function that occur when our kids prioritize sleep as part of their academic routine.

 
An "Elixir" Of Health 
For Good Grades

   

No amount of sleep and/or good nutrition is complete without physical activity. For many of our kids, it can seem impossible amidst heavy study workloads to fit in the time for regular exercise; however, as this important NPR story suggests, exercise has the potential to create a spike in both physical and mental fitness. 

Having A Hobby 
Could Make The Difference
 
Recent studies suggest that while it's essential for kids to focus much of their daily attention on their schoolwork, having interests completely independent of their school life could actually make a difference inside the classroom. This illuminating piece offers great insight and suggestions that may result in some good news at exam time. 

Building Support Systems Is 
Vital


No matter how successful or hard-working a student may be, no person is an island. In times of stress or anxiety, having a supportive group of peers around us is crucial to overcome challenges. Just as important is to build healthy mentor relationships. This helpful article offers timely wisdom on the many advantages that come from forming healthy student-teacher relationships.  

Study Tips 

Creating A 
Health and Wellness Calendar

Having a work calendar on your computer, tablet and smartphone has become critical for students to stay on top of their heavy schedules. That said, other equally important activities crucial for academic and personal success can sometimes get lost in the shuffle.
One way to combat this problem is to have a Health & Wellness calendar on your wall that is completely independent of your study work. 
Students can have fun finding the perfect calendar for themselves that is enjoyable to look at and, more importantly, to use.
Parents can assist in planning a week or month of holistic activities. Even fifteen minutes a day set aside for health and wellness can make a world of difference to a student's outlook, brain function and energy levels. 
By seeing the planned activities on the wall without anything else written on the calendar, students can learn to prioritize them: on certain days, kids could fit in study time around their health and wellness activity, instead of the other way round.
It's easy to let our health fall by the wayside and tell ourselves we'll deal with it tomorrow. A calendar devoted to the holistic approach can remind us to take care of our minds and bodies now, and reap the rewards in the future. 

Coach Profile 

 
Meet Matt Westerman,
  Coach Profile of The Month  

 

This month we'd like to catch up with one of the veterans on our team, Matt Westerman. Having earned his BA in psychology from UC Santa Barbara, Matt is very familiar with many of the mental and emotional challenges that students face in their quest for high grades. Matt excels in bringing insight and compassion to his coaching. Knowing that enthusiasm is infectious, he is relentlessly optimistic and encouraging when working with his students, motivating them to push themselves farther then they normally would. Matt's tutoring philosophy mirrors that of our entire team: that everyone learns differently, and he revels in discovering the best ways in which his students learn and then applying that method. One of the pleasures of tutoring for Matt is seeing his students begin to believe in themselves and realize how much they're capable of.

Matt enjoys playing basketball with his friends in his spare time and is also a talented singer/songwriter who plays frequently in the LA area.

 :   
We consider it a privilege and an honor to support students and their families throughout the Los Angeles area.  Please call us at any time; we welcome your thoughts and input.  We are available at 310-823-4398.

Sincerely,
 
Jamie Altshule
Academic Success, Inc.