August 2022
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Serving the Memorial area since 2010.
Unrivaled. Unequaled. Charlotte Charlton Naomi Konuma
Caleb Xu
Stratford
Matthew Seiler Lane Vandervoort Caden Wang
Stratford Memorial Stratford
Awty SBS
Apolline Brossard Alex Citardi James Lowell Moss
Memorial 4USBLF +FTVJU Stratford
Chase Goodwin Alex Storms
Memorial Memorial
ive a man a crossword puzzle in college and he’ll end up teaching SAT prep for life. At least, that’s how it went — and how it’s still going — for Noel Tolentino and his locally famous 800 Club, an SAT tutoring/teaching business in the Memorial/Spring Branch area. Noel recalls when he was at York University in Canada, studying for his degree in business administration. A professor showed a video in class of a convent in Switzerland where the nuns were surprisingly lucid despite their older physical appearances. He asked the students to guess how old the nuns were, and resoundingly, the class surmised that the nuns must be in their 60s and 70s. Wrong. The nuns were in their 90s and by all cognitive measures, were off the charts. The professor then showed the class a second video of another Swiss convent, with no measurable changes in diet, physical activity, or access to resources; however, these nuns were frail and feeble. How old did the students think this particular group was?
Without question, the students chimed in with ages ranging in the 90s. Wrong again. These nuns were much younger. Why the stark contrast? Noel was shocked to learn that it was as simple as a daily crossword puzzle for the first group of nuns, and he vowed to follow their example by doing one on his own every day to keep his mind sharp. From there, even though he had already taken the SAT in high school, he remembered how challenging the SAT games were and decided to try his hand at getting a perfect score for fun — he didn’t want to “lose” — so he spent his time challenging his brain on practice SAT questions. Fast forward just a few years to when Noel married Angelica, the regional practice administrator for Village Medical in charge of operations for their Memorial and Park Ten locations. They had two incredibly successful and well-rounded children. Jia, now 33, scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT during her junior year at Second Baptist, entered the University of Virginia as a Jefferson Scholar, served in the
Peace Corps, and went on to become the youngest staff writer ever hired at The New Yorker (at the time). Then there’s Martin, 28, a senior analyst for United Healthcare who graduated from Memorial High School in 2012 and went on to attend Yale University, scoring in the 99th percentile on his SAT. Noel remembers Jia’s score opening multiple doors for her in high school, gaining acceptances into seven schools with full rides. When Martin, a few years younger and a rising junior, saw his sister’s awe-inspiring success, he asked his dad to tutor him and several friends on SAT prep. Both kids had grown up watching their dad play around with SAT questions and using strategies to perfect his score. Noel agreed, and the first unofficial iteration of the 800 Club was born in the summer of 2010. He impressed upon the other parents how important it was that the kids commit to being tutored every weekend between that summer and the SAT administration in October, and it was a smashing success. The students blew the test out of the water, and several of Noel’s protégés got the highest scores in their schools. Those stellar performances meant that word spread quickly. The parents at Memorial began chatting, and every time “Martin’s dad” came up in conversation concurrent with SAT scores, people were intrigued to learn that he tutored. Noel’s main focus was games and strategy at the time; 13 years later, he still uses those same teaching methods. Simply put, they work. And they worked for Martin — during his senior year, Martin’s SAT score (2290 out of 2400) combined with his athleticism and phenomenal GPA had Ivy League schools clamoring for his attention. Noel’s success continues over a decade later. His is the only SAT tutoring service that operates with multiple, simultaneous groups of ten kids at a time, spread out over different schools, resulting in over 300 students taught per year. Word of mouth is his best (and only) form of advertising, and he tutors an assemblage of students each year from
Stratford, Memorial, Second Baptist, Kinkaid, St. John’s, St. Agnes, Strake Jesuit, Duchesne, St. Thomas, and Houston Christian. For Noel’s rising seniors, the 2021 test administration was wildly successful. He had one Stratford student score a 1600 — the first perfect score in the 47-year history of the school — while 13 other students in the group scored 1500+. In addition, nine of them scored a perfect 800 on the math section. Typically, there are only around seven high schoolers in the state of Texas each year who ace the test. If the 800 Club were a high school, the average SAT score of its students would surpass the average score of any high school in Houston, public or private. Given the impressive schools in our city, this is no small feat. Why call it the 800 Club? Noel keeps a “hall of fame” list of students throughout his years of tutoring who have received perfect scores on one of the SAT sections. As an incentive, he awards $200 if a student gets a perfect 800 on one section or a whopping $3,000 if they get a 1600. His students’ enthusiasm and success is what keeps him going, and it’s obvious when you talk to him and hear the passion in his voice seeping through each word. He warmly noted, “I don’t just have a front row seat [to these kids’ lives and successes]; I have my face pressed to the glass.” To find out more about the 800 Club, please reach out to Noel via email at noel.t@att.net or phone at 713.302.8547.
Pictured from left to right Josef Klam, Chris Gonzalez, Lisa Alpe, Minda Caesar, Chris Earnest, Caroline Bennett and John Perez
Meet Your Spring Branch ISD
BOARD of TRUSTEES You may have heard about the recent school board of trustees election in Spring Branch ISD in May, where three positions were up for reelection — hopefully, you voted in those elections! However, you still may be wondering what a school board actually does, and you’re not alone in asking that question.
Spring Branch Memorial Board Certified Family Lawyer
10190 Katy Freeway, Suite 440 Houston,Texas 77043 Tel: 713-227-0050 • Fax: 713-227-0039 www.HerringtonLawFirm.com Catherine “Cathy” Herrington Hale Divorce & Family Law
Donaled & Shawn Bowers
Luxury that touches your heart.
You have an intimate appreciation of luxury, and you’ll recognize it in every corner of The Buckingham. What may surprise and delight you is an entirely different kind of luxury you’ll savor here, the luxury of real relationships. Relationships that will touch your heart, inspire ɯȌɐȲ ǿǞȁƮ ƊȁƮ ȲƊǞȺƵ ɯȌɐȲ ȺȯǞȲǞɈ خRƵȲƵ ةɯȌɐٚǶǶ ˛ȁƮ that our elegant enclave is actually something more uncommon — a community that feels like home. Come see how our recent enhancements have changed things you can see, while preserving the invisible qualities that will never change.
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8580 Woodway | Houston, TX 77063 (713) 597-3489 | BuckinghamHouston.com
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