FOCUS Learning Centre Napier
Hi, I’m Robin Hicks. Along with my team of passionate teachers, I run FOCUS Learning Centre on Carlyle Street. We’ve been operating for 5 years now; previously as Kip McGrath, now as FLC. We work with children to maximise their academic success. Many of the younger students we see are not achieving as well as they should be at school. There can be lots of reasons for this, but the ones we see most often are the growing dependence on IT devices, and insufficient work on basic skills; language and maths. This is borne out by a growing body of research. While computers do have a place for practice, they generally make very poor teachers; it is the personal teacher/student relationships that get results. So called “old fashioned” skills, like writing; letter formation and written language skills, spelling, along with basic maths facts are still as valid today as ever, and in fact, science tells us they are critical in the cognitive development of our children. Sadly, these are the skills we regularly see missing in students. These gaps in their learning mean students are unable to keep up, which leads to a loss of confidence, and a downward spiral. We see some remarkable turn-arounds in children in both confidence and achievement when we can fill in these gaps.
Call me to discuss how we might help your children.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?
When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.