Welcome back to another Around the Grounds update!
We hope you’ve all had a fantastic month and made the most of the extra Leap Day – whether you spent it studying, presenting, or taking a well-earned break from both.
Legend has it that Leap Years are supposed to bring luck and good fortune, and we’ve certainly seen some great results across February. But we know that Elevaters make their own luck when it comes to their seminar and presenting performance, so let’s get to celebrating your awesome work over the past four weeks!
Team Australia
It’s been one of the busiest times of the year in Aus, and the team have been working flat out to ensure all seminars are delivered on time and to the Elevate standard our schools expect. Collectively, the team delivered almost 3000 sessions and helped 128,000 kids, which is quite the achievement. So, before we get stuck into celebrating those who have really excelled in February, we wanted to say a huge well done to the whole team (including our fantastic office staff) for charging hard this month.
Aus Presenter of the Month
Zephyr
And leading from the front this month is a presenter who delivered 48 of those 3000 sems, stacking up 98.7% stats and a 9.6 teacher score. Congrats, Zephyr from team WA, you’re our Australian presenter of the month for February!
To cram in that many sems across February is amazing – even with the extra day this year. We asked Zephyr how he approaches his workshops to get these results:
‘When I enter the classroom I present for the students. My goal is to persuade each and every student that they can and should achieve more than they are right now - then to candidly show them how. If I can be funny, I do so. Otherwise, caring is enough.’
Standout Presenter Feedback
Velentina
‘Velentina was a popular presenter amongst students. She had excellent energy and positive vibes across a big day of presenting.’
Jasmine
‘Our presenter, Jas, did really well. Agile, engaging, well prepared and maintained energy levels across 2 big days.’
Nelson
‘Nelson was an excellent presenter - engaging, warm, entertaining while telling stories. Explained material clearly in an interesting manner. Managed banter with students well.’
Oscar
‘Oscar did a great job. He read the crowd really well and had the vast majority of the students working really well with him on a hot evening, after a very busy day for the students.’
Jade
‘Jade did a great job with a significantly larger crowd than anticipated.’
Aus Coach of the Month
Felix
Our Aus Coach of the Month for February, Felix, has only been delivering sessions since December, but he’s already had a real impact on students and the coaching team as a whole.
Check out some awesome feedback Felix received from a parent last month:
‘I think it's going really well. Really happy with Felix. From what I've heard Sam’s really enjoying the note taking stuff and looking forward to the memory modules. Felix and I chat after the session and he's been great. I rate it very highly.’
Alongside his average score of 9.42 on overall student feedback, Felix has had an absolutely fantastic start to the year! We asked Felix what he enjoys most about the role, and how he ensures he delivers quality coaching sessions to students:
‘I have greatly enjoyed working at Elevate, it has given me the chance to make meaningful contributions to my clients’ learning; something I hope they will utilise not only in school but in everyday life. Before sessions, I like to prepare for the module that I am undertaking; either via litmos education training or reviewing the coaching handout booklet. I also like to write out the goals I aim to achieve in this session and make sure these goals align with both student and parent expectations. After the session, I will do a post-session review of my performance; analysing what I did well, what skills the student connected with, and what I need to further improve on. I like to look over these from time to time to make sure that I’m continuing to provide the best services for my students. Overall, I find coaching a very rewarding experience. I look forward to continuing this journey and contributing to the success and growth of my clients both in and beyond the classroom.’
Standout Coach Feedback
Kiera
‘Kiera was a delight. Kaitlin felt like she really liked her and learned a lot from her.’
Sarah
‘All doing really well. Sarah is delightful and has a really wonderful manner.’
Olivia
‘She seems to have connected really well with Olivia. I could hear her laughing so that was unexpected but great.’
Slack Channel Highlights
After last month’s slim pickings on the Aus Slack Channels, the Aus team came back with a vengeance in Feb. We’ve had to be very selective with the posts we chose to include in this month’s update, as there were so many fantastic photos across the board –particularly from our wonderful new presenters! Check these out below.
Team VIC
We have a LOAD of first-sem posts shared by the VIC team – thank you to all those who posted, and a huge well done to the following presenters who smashed their very first workshops in Feb!: David, Amaya, Molly, Adam, Noa, Avantiika, Eliza, Luka, Lara, Charlotte, Trygve and Mac.
Team NSW
Team NSW also shared a ton of great first-sem pics, all of which we can’t share in the update today so make sure you’ve checked out the Random channel for yourself! Huge congrats to the following NSW presenters on their debuts last month: Elyse, Vic, Zoe, Bek, Moneli, Bodie, Emilie, Sophia, Andy, Ella and Cindy.
And of course, we couldn’t help but include Amy’s incredible Elevate-themed Valentine’s cards.
Team QLD
Some more great first sem pics here, celebrating the following presenters’ first workshops: Isaac, Victor and Simeon.
And a couple of class team pics from Ethan and Alana, including some snaps from a Team QLD social. Thanks for sharing guys!
Team WA
Team WA came through with some real post variety this month – we've got some great team snaps shared by Ben and Tara, and some more first-sem pics for Sanjay, Jaime and Nandita. The channel also shared a couple of gorgeous photos of some unreal presenting destinations our team visited last month, including a picture-perfect beach in Bunbury from Jake and a serene poolside scene in Broome posted by Bhakti. We’ve got a great photo from Jade, sharing the love for Valentine’s Day Elevate-style, and a pic of Team WA’s second induction dinner from Bhakti – welcome Taniya, Joey, Antigone, Mimi and Isheanesu!
Team SA
Some great photos from Team SA this month – a fab carpool pic from Kab, a scenic snap from Hannah in Riverton, a post to celebrate Jake’s first sem (congrats Jake!), some memoirs from a QLD trip from Britt along with two more awesome team snaps. Thanks for posting team, we love seeing what you get up to!
Team South Africa
The South African team were back in full swing in February, welcoming a host of new presenters on board and delivering 750 workshops across the country, helping 33,000 students in the process. Let’s take a look at who’s been leading from the front this month!
South African Presenter of the Month
Nolwazi
Nolwazi has done an absolutely incredible job this month on her presenting; she’s bagged 99.68% average stats and a teacher score of 10 across 20 sems, alongside running our fortnightly webinars for over 5,000 parents. Great work there, Nolwazi!
We asked Nolwazi how she gets her head in the game before seminars, and this was her advice:
‘I go into schools with the mindset of #Helpingthekids. I understand that the situation is not about me and that I am merely a vessel used to communicate information that could potentially change someone's life. Other than being engaged and having a lot of energy, some of my strengths as a presenter are relatability and adaptability. I've encountered different types of learners, from different walks of life and I'm always able to find common ground. I believe that this is a major contributing factor to seminars going well. Meeting learners where they are (in terms of jokes, approaching engagements, and examples) also plays a key role in keeping learners engaged.’
Standout Presenter Feedback
Zoe
‘Zoe was a great presenter. The students enjoyed her positive energy.’
Logan
‘Logan, the presenter, was absolutely fantastic with the kids. If at all possible, could he be assigned to do all our sessions?’
Candice
‘Candice is wonderful at building rapport with the parents. She is informative and speaks in an easy, comfortable way.’
South African Coach of the Month
Muhluri
Our South African Coach of the Month, Muhluri, has been a real standout performer across Feb – not only was he in the top 10% of number of sessions run, but he’s also been consistently stepping up to support the team when needed. Muhluri’s feedback from parents has also been fantastic, getting comments like:
'My son has really been applying the skills that Muhluri has taught in the first 2 sessions and I can see a change in his study habits. Muhluri has been exceptionally patient with my son which is just what he needs, thank you for pairing him with an excellent coach.’
Sounds like Muhluri has got a very exciting year of coaching ahead. We asked him what he’s most looking forward to over the next few months:
‘I am really looking forward to helping kids not only improve their marks, but help them gain a sense of confidence and pride in their work.’
Team Photos
We’ve got some great photos from the South African team this month, with presenters both old and new! Check them out below along with some great snaps of the large group sem ran by Sebongile, Yadia, Sibahle, Wandile, Elizabeth, Sasa, Samkelo, Asante, Nkosana, and Skuumbuzo.
Team UK
Some killer stats from the UK team in Feb, with 903 workshops delivered and 40,000 kids trained up in essential study skills. But that’s not the only exciting update from last month – we’ve got some great pics from Nigham who flew out to Spain to present and an awesome photo of the North West team all glammed up for a ball...
UK Presenter of the Month
Duke
Absolutely amazing work from our UK presenter of the month Duke – he's delivered 30 sems, with stats of 99.5% and a teacher feedback score of 9.2. What a win.
We asked Duke what he loves most about presenting, and here’s what he had to say:
‘I love the combination of the people I've had the chance to meet - connecting with kids from all sorts of schools has been so fun. It’s been a privilege to have had all sorts of conversations with kids about their development path and to speak with contacts about how helpful the Elevate program has been for their students’ general development; they often say that we’ve given them so much that will be useful across the next few years – far more than just study skills.’
Standout Presenter Feedback
Nicholas
‘It was great. The presenter was excellent and managed the students really well. Thank you.’
Evie
‘Evie was absolutely brilliant. She really connected with the students and hit absolutely the right tone.’
Joseph
‘The presenter was fantastic at motivating the students, I couldn't have asked for anything more. They were really flexible around the students, all students were focused, engaged, and on task and students said they felt so happy.’
UK Coach of the Month
Tiana
And our Coach of the Month for the UK team is Tiana!
Tiana has been delivering consistently fantastic sessions across February, getting feedback like:
‘I've definitely stuck to the timetable Tiana made for me and it's really helped me. We had a great time today talking about time management and procrastination.’
‘She really helped me remember things in a fun way which definitely helps my longer-term memory a lot. There were also a lot of fun techniques.’
‘Isabelle said the session was really positive and it's going really well. 10/10!’
We asked Tiana what she loves most about coaching, and here’s what she has to say:
‘Looking ahead, I'm genuinely excited about what is to come. Each student I've worked with reminds me of a part of myself and there is something incredibly fulfilling about guiding them on their journey, equipping them with essential study skills and watching them succeed.’
Standout Coach Feedback
Anushka
‘Anushka was a fantastic mentor for my daughter and I am really grateful to her for her help and support.’
Talib
‘He has introduced Cornell note taking and has thoughtfully weighed up usefulness of the different techniques and tips that Talib has discussed with him.’
Tomi
‘Elai is very happy to have already sent in referrals to his friends at school! He's created a whatsapp chat for his friends to get them on board. Thank you Tomi.’
Sara
‘A great programme which she is lucky to have had access to, Sara was fantastic!’
Team Photos
As promised, below you can find some photos from Nigham’s adventure in Spain, a shot of Jules and Carlos brandishing some A3 feedback forms (meaning more room for compliments!), and a photo of the North West team looking very glam:
Team US
With Spring blossoming in NYC, our US team have been hard at work crushing sems and collecting some awesome feedback. Even with a week out for Mid-Winter Recess, the team have still managed to get 914 workshops completed, helping 40,000 kids across the city – and further afield!
Now let’s check out our US Presenter of the Month!
US Presenter of the Month
Brittany
Brittany, our US Presenter of the Month, has well and truly earned the title for February, presenting 36 seminars with overall stats of 98.68% and a teacher feedback score of 9. Well done Brittany, that’s pretty impressive going!
We thought you guys might want to know how Brittany secures such fantastic feedback, so we asked her how she delivered great workshops time and time again:
‘I lead with love for what I do and for each student. I aim to interact with every learner, no matter the class size. Asking each for their perspective, viewpoint and interests, then incorporating their responses within the session helps everyone feel heard, seen, and valued. That connection is everything.’
Standout Presenter Feedback
Sarah
'Sarah was such a great and informative presenter. She has such great energy and connected with the students. All my students were engaged. Great work Sarah!'
Denisse and Clarismar
‘Parents loved it and found the information really helpful. They like the coaches a lot too, could we have Denisse and Clarismar again?’
Clarismar
‘The sessions have been great, the presenter knows our students, as she was one of our CUNY Interns for Mathematics. Students love her, it is a pleasure to see the section and see the interactions with the students. Great presenter. Looking forward to the rest of the sessions.’
Team Photos
Thanks to Brittany, Elias and Martina for sharing the great team pics above. And to Moses for sharing a sneak peek into the US team’s TikTok production.
And that concludes another Around the Grounds update...
While you’re here, don’t forget to check whether you’ve received a team shoutout this month and have a read of our catch-up with Head of People Operations, Adam Diprose.