LUCENA STUDY CENTER

CENTER NEWS LETTER Volume 2, Issue No. 1 November, 2009 - January 2010

Education is Communication It’s The Most Wonderful Time for

Learning
Communication is defined as the imparting
or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or It's the most wonderful time of the year,
information by speech, writing, or with the kids jingle belling;
signs/symbols. Effective communication and everyone telling you "Be of good cheer,"
between two people or among a group it's the most wonderful time of the year.
is part of developing and maintaining a
harmonious relationship. More than There goes one popular song that plays in the radio during
sending and receiving the message, it this season. Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year for
is important for the receiver to be merriment and relaxation. This is a season of family
willing to listen and understand the gathering, out of town trips, vacation from school. However,
message intently and for the sender to it can still be the best time to learn – after all, learning,
especially something new, knows no holiday or vacation.
communicate the thoughts clearly. Thus,
mutual understanding should be In Kumon, we want every student to learn. In fact, Kumon
attained. gives them the privilege to learn every day. For a very little
fraction of their time, forty-five minutes a day, Kumon
In Kumon, we put great importance on communication. In worksheets develop the students’ superior basic academic
fact, we believe that education is communication. Why? In a abilities in small steps. Also, self-learning skills are
child’s center routine, instructors or center assistants developed gradually.
conduct feedback to know what the child thinks of his home
work or class work, or how the child is doing in Kumon so Daily worksheets don’t intend
far. Instructors don’t just communicate the student’s grades, students to have difficult times;
but they actually discuss with him his performance, goals, instead Kumon wants them to learn
and projections. More importantly, instructors take this as the and progress in their studies
smoothly. These worksheets were
chance to motivate the students. Hence, when instructors
designed to help students in the
communicate with the students, they are able to learn more easiest and most beneficial way to
about the child’s current study condition and find ways to learn. Once followed and practiced,
support their education. every day study then helps keep
information long-term. Similarly,
As the instructors allot valuable time for feedback, students, students will eventually practice how
in the same way should not miss the chance to tell their to balance time for everything.
instructors about their Kumon journey. Sharing with the Learning time management will then
instructors their self-assessment and reflection could help become spontaneous. Thus, they
the instructor carefully plan their Kumon study projection. will realize that every day, even
during Christmas season, is the
Communication with parents is also important. Instructors most wonderful time for everything – even learning!
reach out to parents through newsletters, e-mails, phone
You have all the reasons to celebrate this season! Still, let’s
calls, text messages, and personal meetings. always remember that it’s one of the most wonderful times of
Correspondence from parents greatly help the instructors the year to learn, to discover, and to excel!
understand the child better, especially his learning situation
at home. As such, if there is constant communication
between parents and instructors, the child’s journey in
Kumon could be much smoother.
Goal Setting:
The Key to Start
Hiroshi Kumon, the second son of our founder Toru Kumon,
remembered his learning days with his father and shared
the Year
how he values communication: “I have come to a realization After the Christmas wish list,
that what is meant by communication in the field of another to-do list welcomes
education is [for the teacher to be able to carefully gauge the 2010 – the New Year’s
child’s academic level and his or her level of interest and be resolution. New Year's resolutions
able to share his goal and dream with the child].” provide us hope to correct our bad habits and
a chance to develop better ones.
Communication is essential to a healthy relationship – one
that has to be developed and more importantly, maintained. Moreover, these resolutions need to be sensible. Sensible
goals are attainable in small steps. Young children may find
References: this difficult and even boring, but, cheer up; making
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/communication
resolutions may even serve as bonding time with your kids!
Kumon, Hiroshi. Education for a Bright Future, Harmony Printing Ltd., 2000.
The process of goal setting can start through communicating

e s !
to your kids about what they want to undertake. A week

n t i n
y Vale
before they head back to school, discuss with them what
worked last year and what didn't. By tackling this matter, you

Happ
can start discussing what goals they have for the next year.
One way to make things uncomplicated for kids is to break a
big goal into small steps. It is easier for kids to achieve. This
gives them a sense of satisfaction if they see they are
continued to next page...

1
 LUCENA STUDY CENTER
CENTER NEWS LETTER Volume 2, Issue No. 1
continued from p. 1 - : Goal Setting: The Key to Start the Year
gives them a sense of satisfaction if they see they are
getting closer to their big by achieveing the small steps even
at different times of the year..
Reaching smaller goals but more frequently is an important
to thing for you to acknowledge. It gives your child self-
assurance and the drive to keep striving. Furthermore,
recognizing and enjoying small successes is one motivator
for people who are trying to stick with a resolution. Most
importantly, spend time with your kids and talk about what is
going on with their lives, their accomplishments and also
their frustrations. This way, you make them feel that
whatever endeavour they take, you are a team.
Aside from your commitment to achieve your goals, your
effort to monitor yourself if you are advancing is important. .
Seeing that you are heading to the right direction, you are
able to set another one, or even change if needed, which
helps you take closer steps to your final goal. When all
these are in your system, goal setting becomes vital in your
life. You will feel that your life has purpose, meaning, and
direction.
Similar to Kumon study, the process of realizing your
resolution entails a lot of small and complex steps that will
eventually lead you to success. There will be an instance
where you will experience roadblocks that you may either
perceive as a failure or a challenge to develop your skills
even more. This perspective plays a significant role in the
learning process.
The concept of coping with resolutions and setting goals, no
matter how small, is a big deal. But it is not impossible. With
the right approach, anyone can definitely do it. New Year
isn't the only time to make a change for the better. In fact,
everyday can be a life-changing opportunity.
LIFE’S PRECIOUS GIFTS
What do I need with silver, with gold, and gems?
Could the most precious jewel be equal to my child?
Okura Yamanoue, The Ten Thousand Leaves
D uring the Roman Empire,
lavishly dressed ladies of high
society gathered on the
grounds of the noble Gracchus
family. As they showed off their
expensive jewels to one another,
they were more than a little
surprised to see Cornelia, the
Madam Gracchus, wearing
nothing that dazzled their eyes.
But when Cornelia’s two sons
QUICKBYTES
came out, she simply declared,
“These children are my most
precious jewels.”
Kumon knows that no worldly gifts can ever replace
the most precious thing in your life - your children.
We believe that your children are precious - so
precious that just like any other jewel, we want to let their
brilliance shine. But as founder Mr. Toru Kumon once said to
his son Hiroshi, “No jewels shine brilliantly if they are left as
is after being unearthed.”
Toru Kumon believed that parents should never
leave their children “in the same state as a rough stone.”
According to him, children should be nurtured to their full
potential that they may shine brilliantly. Thus, this became
2
November, 2009 - January 2010
our founder’s life mission. Believing that if children are polished
they will exhibit high level abilities and splendid human
qualities, he started what we now know as the Kumon Method
of Learning.
Out of Toru Kumon’s desire to see his children become
capable of individuals, he created learning materials that will
nurture his children’s skills. The worksheets Toru Kumon
developed allowed his children to study university materials
while still in grade school, and at the same time, equipped in
them life skills: compassion, perseverance, confidence, and
discipline.
He wanted his children to grow up with enriched lives,
earnestly striving to reach for their dreams. He wanted his
children to have the right skills to face life’s challenges head on
- even without him by their side.
We believe that you have the same fervent wish of
seeing your children develop strong academic skills. But above
all, you have the ultimate desire to see your children grow up
as excellent individuals - the very thing Mr. Toru Kumon
wanted for his children.
This is probably one of the reasons why you enrolled
your children in Kumon. At first, it may have been just about
nurturing your children’s academic skills, but as you go on
along the journey, you begin to see how the discipline,
confidence, and determination fostered through continuous
Kumon learning shape your children’s character. With a solid
grounding of skills and character, your children can lead better
lives.
Isn’t this a precious gift that you can give to your
children? An education for life. An education that aims them
not only with academic skills but also develops their character,
giving your children the opportunity to become excellent
students and exemplary individuals.
Our founder once said that it was the responsibility of
the parents to make certain that their children grow up with
strong academic skills and the fine character, which is much
more important than leaving them a fortune.
Would you agree?
No material things can ever replace your children; no
material things can also replace one of life’s precious gifts - the
gift of education for life.
Source:
With reprints from the December 2009 issue of the Aspire Philippines’ Official Newsletter published by the
Kumon head office.
“According to this conception, the sole function of
education was to open the way to thinking and
knowing, and the school, as the outstanding organ
for the people's education, must serve that end
exclusively.”
Albert Einstein
1879-1955, German-born American Physicist
Education: that which reveals to the wise, and
conceals from the
stupid, the vast limits
of their knowledge.
Mark Twain
1835-1910,
American
Humorist,
Writer
 LUCENA STUDY CENTER
CENTER NEWS LETTER Volume 2, Issue No. 1 November, 2009 - January 2010

NEWSLETTER FEATURE Alam Nyo Ba?

POEMS CORNER
TRIVIA CORNER
w The Philippines is home to some of the
world's most exotic birds. One of the
most endangered species is the exotic
Shine On Kalangay or the Philippine cockatoo
by Leah Houghton (Cacatua haematuropygia), which
belongs to Psittacidae or the family of
Don't look back at all those times you failed - parrots. Some cockatoos can live up to
They are in the past 50 years. They are known for mimicking
And can not be changed. human voices. Most of them measure 33
centimeters in length and weigh 0.29
Don't look back on the painful losses - kilogram.
They were not meant to be anyway. w Maria Teresa Calderon - World
champion speed reader as listed in the Guinness Book of
Don't look back and cry over lost time - World Records.
For you are just wasting more time w In the Philippines, Filipinos were introduced to the English
and contradicting yourself. language in 1762 by British invaders, not Americans.
Philippines is the world's 3rd largest English-speaking
Don't look back on everything you didn't get - nation, next to the USA and the UK.
Focus on what you have w Coconuts - the Philippines is considered to be the largest
And how blessed you are to have them. producer of coconuts
w Gemma Cruz was the first Filipina to win an international
Don't look back and regret falling in love - beauty title - Miss International 1964.
You enjoyed it while it lasted. w Dan Inosanto - from Mike Robandido - Pinoy who taught
Bruce Lee how to use arnis de mano.
Shine on and don't look back. w The second oldest Philippine printing press next to Manila
can be found in Pila Laguna. The first book printed was
named Vocabulario Delengua Tagala - the Philippines first
Filipino - Spanish dictionary that was printed in 1613, 25
years older than the first book printed in the United States.
w The Philippine Basketball Association is Asia's premier

BIRTHDAY CELEBRANTS
and the world's second oldest professional league.
w After Happy Birthday, the song
most sung in the Philippines is
Lupang Hinirang, the national
anthem.
w Emilio Aguinaldo lost to Manuel
L. Quezon in the country's first
Jerome Paulite Feb. 1 presidential elections in 1935.
Angela Araya Feb. 2 w The world's largest pearl was
discovered by a Filipino diver in
Alphonso Basbacio a giant Tridacna (mollusk) under
Ezra Chan the Palawan Sea in 1934.
Anton Delgado Feb. 4 Known as the "Pearl of Lao-Tzu", the gem weighs 14
pounds and measures 9 1/2 inches long and 5 1/2 inches in
Ingrid Ladera diameter. As of May 1984, it was valued at US$42 million. It
Gabriel Gamboa Feb. 5 is believed to be 600 years old.
w Alto Broadcasting System (ABS) Channel 3, the first
Meryll Villanueva television station in the country, went on the air in 1953.
Aedepp Consul Feb. 6 w Fernando Amorsolo, a painter, was the first national artist
Angela Caraga Feb. 7 declared by the Philippine government. The award was
conferred on Amorsolo in April 1972, several days after his
Carlos Panganiban Feb. 8 death.
Jonas Bugay Feb. 10 w The world's second deepest spot underwater is in the
Philippines. This spot, about 34,440 feet (10,497 meters)
Vivien Deza Feb. 13 below the sea level, is known as the Philippine Deep or the
Miguel Catalla Feb. 14 Mindanao Trench. The Philippine Deep is in the floor of the
Philippine Sea. The German ship Emden first plumbed the
Angelo Concepcion Feb. 17 trench in 1927. The world's deepest part of the ocean is the
Calvin Jason Tan Feb. 19 Marianas Trench, which is over 11,000 meters below the
Aimee Lou Redor Feb. 21 seal level.
w The symbolic name for the Philippines, Juan dela Cruz, is
Avelino Obispo II Feb. 27 not a Filipino invention? It was coined by R. McCulloch-Dick,
Anya Abella Feb. 27 a Scottish-born journalist working for the Manila Times in the
early 1900s, after discovering it was the most common name
in blotters.
Source:http://www.cebuonwheels.com.ph/PhilippinesTrivia.htm