What Is Effective Communication?
On holiday over summer, I found myself staring blankly at a sign in my hotel’s lobby. This sign said; “you are looking at our top priority”. For some strange reason I actually stopped walking through on my way to the lift and stared at this bit of wording. What had caught my eye? They had placed the words on a mirror. The “top priority” was me.
Effective Communication with MagiKats
As I made connections between the visual wording and the sound of me reading it inside my head, my eyes engaged with the mirror. I felt so important, for just a moment. Of course, this reminded me of how at MagiKats we make our students feel special, and how we practise effective communication with our students.
The MagiKats Golden Minute
When students arrive at the centre, there’s a warm greeting and a “golden minute”. Our “top priority” customers soon get down to business. They have a chat with the MagiKats Principal about homework tasks and what their parents have said on their tracking sheets. They get congratulated for good work at home and in previous sessions.
MagiKats Workshops Communication
Over to their MagiKats Mentors, students address gaps in learning through corrections and ways to improve. Once onto workshop tasks, individual attention by mentors covers any Mathematics and English challenges. Students engage in group and individual work, progressing through MagiKats’ stages of learning. Stages are designed to suit ability, (not curriculum level), as MagiKats is a programme the students own and manage. At the end of a session everybody provides an emoticon feedback ‘face’ and mentors write comments geared towards progress. We also award stamps and prizes.
At Every Point, There Is Communication
After workshops, mentors note special achievements too, and the students receive congratulations and prizes for good work from the Principal. They may even be invited to go public with their name on the good work board. From start to finish, the student is at the centre of all communication. As our “top priority”, we practise effective communication skills, encouraging them to enjoy learning without limits.
Special Moments with the MagiKats Community
MagiKats is a multi-centre Maths and English franchise operation and there’s nothing more exciting than being awarded a prize at our bi-annual award ceremonies. We invite mentors, principals and parents, even school teachers, to celebrate the achievements of our students. We usually make the local paper too!
Our MagiKats parents are in touch with us by email, phone or in person at regular parent meetings. We also invite everyone to our annual Open Day, and we make appearances at our local community carnivals and fairs in the summertime. Our open approach to effective communication makes us a bit like a large family and everyone feels a special part of it, and of course, our students are the centre of everything we do!
By the team at MagiKats HQ