Study Space

• It is important to have uninterrupted study time. You may have to hang a DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door or take the phone off the hook.
• Research shows that most students study best in a quiet environment. If you find that playing a stereo or TV improves your mood, keep the volume low.
• Be sure your Study Place includes reference sources and supplies such as pens and pencils, paper, ruler, calculator, and whatever else you might need. If you use a computer for your schoolwork, it should be in your Study Place.
• While working on an assignment or studying for a test, use a desk or table that is large enough to hold everything you need. Allow enough room for writing and try to avoid clutter.
• A chair that is not comfortable can cause discomfort or pain that will interfere with your studying. A chair that is too comfortable might make you sleepy. Select a chair in which you can sit for long periods while maintaining your attention.

• The amount of light you need depends on what you are doing. The important thing is that you can clearly see what you need to see without any strain or discomfort.
• If your Study Place is too warm, you might become sleepy. If it is too cold, your thinking may slow down and become unclear. Select a temperature at which your mind and body function best.

  

Concentration 

Many students have difficulty concentrating while studying. Being able to concentrate while you are studying is essential to doing well in class and on tests.

Here are some suggestions for improving your study concentration:

• Study in a quiet place that is free from distractions and interruptions.
• Make a study schedule that shows what tasks you need to accomplish.
• Try to study at the time of day you work best. Some people work well early in the morning, others late at night.
• Don't try to do two tasks at the same time. You won't be able to concentrate on either one very well. Concentration means focusing on one thing to the exclusion of all else.
• Break large tasks into a series of smaller tasks that you can complete one at a time.
• Relax. It's hard to concentrate when you're tense. It's important to relax when working on a task that requires concentration. Meditation and prayer are helpful to many students.
• Take breaks whenever you feel fatigued.

Acronyms and Acronymic Sentences

Forming an acronym is a good strategy to use to remember information in any order. An acronym is a word that is formed from the first letter of each fact to be remembered. It can be a real word or a nonsense word you are able to pronounce.  Here is how to form an acronym.

• Write the facts you need to remember.
• Underline the first letter of each fact. If there is more than one word in a fact, underline the first letter of only the first word in the fact.
• Arrange the underlined letters to form an acronym that is a real word or a nonsense word you can pronounce

"HOMES" is an example of an acronym that is a real word you can use to remember the names of the five Great Lakes: Michigan, Erie, Superior, Ontario, Huron: In HOMES, H is the first letter of Huron and helps you remember that name; O is the first letter of Ontario, and so on.

Creating an acronymic sentence is a good strategy to use when you have to remember information in a certain order. An acronymic sentence is a sentence that is created using the first letter of each piece of information to be remembered.

Here is how to create an acronymic sentence.

• Write each piece of information you have to remember.
• Underline the first letter of each piece of information. If there is more than one word in a piece of information, underline the first letter of the most important word.
• Write a sentence using words that begin with the underlined letters.

"My (Mercury) very (Venus) earthy (Earth) mother (Mars) just (Jupiter) served (Saturn) us (Uranus) nine (Neptune) pizzas (Pluto)" is an acronymic sentence that students through the years have used to remember the order of planets around our sun, from closest to farthest. If you accept recent evidence that Pluto is not a planet, you can use "My very earthy mother just served us noodles."

Here are the five most populous cities in Indiana shown in order from highest to lowest: Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Evansville, South Bend, Gary. Here is an acronymic sentence you can use to remember these cities in the order shown.

"Insects from everywhere seem gross."

Try to form an acronymic sentence that is funny or has a personal meaning for you. You will find the sentence easier to remember if you do this. When you remember the acronymic sentence you create, each word in the sentence will help you remember the piece of information it represents (for example, "Insects" represents "Indianapolis").

Creating acronymic sentences is an effective and fun way to remember information.

Tips for Remembering

Date of departure: Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Points of contact: Julie Rosebrock and Elizabeth Cox at BEHS

Summer Service Trip to Peru

Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors are invited to spend 12 days in Machu Picchu and the Amazon.  This is a service trip and students will be paired up with host families in a village in the Sacred Valley.  Like the Spain opportunity, this experience will look great on college and job applications.

Date of departure:  July 10, 2014

Points of contact:  Jill Tarkany and Sally Herbert

                        

Nancy Thorp Poetry Contest - For SOPHOMORE & JUNIOR GIRLS only

Best Buy Scholarship

SCRUBS "U"

&

SCRUBS

Mentoring Program

                   Roper St. Francis Hospital               

Scrubs Healthcare Mentoring Program

 http://www.ropersaintfrancis.com/HomePage/Careers/Mentoring_Programs/ScrubsMentoring.aspx