Our Story
Chance or luck?
Life is a funny thing, it throws a lot at you, and you can either dismiss it, swerve it, or run with it.
In the year 2000, a young 23-year-old teacher with all the enthusiasm in the world, started her very own classroom of New Entrant/Year 1.
Laden with a million laminated images of alphabets, poems, yellow daffodils class borders, and all sorts of games and resources, Julie began her teaching career at Red Beach School with the goal of making a difference and being the best, she could be.
With having one day a week where she could look at other teacher’s teaching methods, plan for the coming week and assess her students, she needed a side kick who could take over every Friday and run the class seamlessly, like that of the other 4 days… keeping the kids settled and on the same learning path. That’s where I come into the picture!
In Julie’s second year of teaching (being the learning geek she is) and having learned the new Maths curriculum at teachers College only a year before, she was asked by the head honcho of Maths in NZ to join The Numeracy Project team. This meant becoming being one of the facilitators responsible for teaching the new maths approach to other teachers across Auckland.
Imagine a 24-year-old, 2nd year teacher, visiting schools in her local area and beyond, introducing the Numeracy Project to entire staffs at their after-school meetings and providing individual feedback to teachers in their 30’s, 40’s and 50’s?!
Well, Julie was amazing at it and had Principals, Deputy Principals and teachers eating out of her hands. She was a natural presenter who knew her stuff, made them laugh, and, more importantly, had the gift of remembering every teacher’s name, and instilling confidence in them to deliver this new curriculum to their classes.
The benefits of being in a small community…
A few local parents caught wind of Julie’s new role and asked, “Could you work with my son after-school? He’s lost his confidence in Maths”.
And that is how Thinking Caps began.
Chance or luck?
The important thing in life is to click, whether with a friend, a colleague, or a business partner. Sharing the same outlook, goals, and ambition is key. But having different strengths is the secret power that can turn a simple idea into something special.
At that time, I was only a relieving teacher and had a one-day permanent day at Red Beach School in Julie’s class, as my daughter Jess was still in pre-school. It was the perfect balance, and I loved living by the beach where I had spent holidays at as a child with my family.
Nek Minut…
Parents started asking me if I would have time to help their child in Maths. Of course, I did, but was I any good?
I hadn’t undergone the Numeracy training as I was only a reliever, and anything new always shook my confidence about my own learning. But as I spent more time working at the school, I became more aware of how this Maths was being taught and could see the benefits. It was even changing the way I had always solved problems, and I liked it!
They kept coming, more and more parents asked… “You wouldn’t tutor my kid?”
And that was the beginning of our tutoring business journey.
I was able to start a day at Red Beach school tutoring 20 kids during the school day, while Julie tutored some students after-school during her school week.
With the help of Julie’s Dad, who gifted us his printing business name ‘Thinking Caps’, we gradually transitioned from 5 days of teaching to 4 days and 1 day of tutoring, then to 3 days of teaching and 2 days of tutoring, until eventually, we were both tutoring full time in our local schools. All of this was made possible to Red Beach School, who gave us the leverage to approach other local schools and replicate what we were doing there and do the same at their schools.
Taking a risk .....
Every business reaches a point where it must step out of the founders comfort zone and take a risk to grow.
My simple calculations amounted to, “Julie, we only need 13 kids a week to cover the cost of this cool office space I’ve found in Stanmore Bay, and it’s perfect. I think we should go for it!”
So, we expanded our in-school tutoring to also offering parents an after-school tutoring option, extending our age level to Year 3 – Year 13 students and looking at helping our teens from our local colleges.
This is where two people with different skill sets shine!
Julie saw another income stream, and we asked our local colleges for capable Year 12 and 13 students to help us tutor younger teens from our local area. The ‘Study Buddy’ programme has become a great option for parents, using older teens who have been there and done that to help us expand our numbers! A no-brainer!
This part of the business is incredibly rewarding as these teens are so capable, empathetic, and natural teachers who care about those they tutor. They have become mentors, and you can see the shift in confidence and attitude in those they tutor. It’s like one big family!
Today, thanks to the need to pivot quickly in the face of Covid 19 lockdowns, we now offer virtual tutoring as well. We use our Uni students to tutor one-on-one from their dorms in Wellington and Otago and our local teens tutor online from our premises in Stanmore Bay.
It’s a win, win!
Today, we continue to do what we do best – supporting our local kids and teens, building confidence, reassuring parents, everything will be alright, and making a difference.
We have been doing this since 2005 and have been part of so many different families and worked alongside our awesome local schools.
Luck? Yes, but you must be good to get noticed.
Chance? Yes, but you must grab it with both hands and take the risks to have an impact!