Helping Kids Become Good People

Helen O’Grady Singapore was privileged to invite Helen O’Grady, founder of the international Helen O’Grady Drama Academy to its year-end celebration cum Seminar on Dec 16, 2011.  The teachers who were present found Helen O’Grady’s training and her energy very inspiring and motivating.  Helen O’Grady presented on “Vitality in curriculum implementation” infusing her energy into her motivating talk as well as demonstrated how to give the lift in Speech for Youth.  Her closing speech on “Helping Kids become Good People” reminds everyone that we are more than just a drama teacher.  “As a Helen O’Grady drama teacher, you are a special person who Helps Kids become Good People.”

Helen O'Grady with Helen O'Grady Asia management team

and Helen O'Grady Singapore Principal, Jean Chan and her

team of teachers - Jaime, Elaine, Tanya,Nur, Francine, Beatrice,

Kim, Nicole, Chin Fern and Margaret.

Dec 16, 2011

Helen O'Grady with Eastern Asia team -

(from left) Lynette Chiu, Helen O'Grady, Nancy Soon,

Lynette Teo and Margaret Ow.

(from left) Singapore Principal Jean Chan, Helen O'Grady and Nancy Soon

Wishing Everyone Happy Holidays!

Classes commence in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Cities

Vietnam launches their first Helen O'Grady Drama classes this week in Hanoi on Wednesday evening October 19th and Ho Chi Minh begins on Saturday October 22nd.  After several discovery classes held at the beginning of this month, parents are now enrolling their children for English drama classes with the aim of improving their communication skills in the language. 

Classes are conducted at:

Lotte Mart Saigon South

2nd Floor, 469 Nguyen Huu Tho Str,
Tan Hung Ward, Dist 7, HCMC, Vietnam
Tel: (08) 3775 5008

Vincom Tower 2

7th Floor, 114 Mai Hac De Str,
Le Dai Hanh Ward, Hai Ba Trung Dist,
Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (04) 2220 6848

and

Golden Westlake

160 Hoang Hoa Tham Str, Thuy Khue Ward,
Tay Ho Dist, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (04) 3728 2528

The Emperor and the Nightingale

Students elaborately costumed for their first English performance of "The Emperor and the Nightingale" on October 3rd at Shi Jia Elementary School in Chaoyang.  The students won 2nd place in the competition held from October 3rd to the 5th in Beijing. 

Classes are conducted at  卓美教育 Xihuan Plaza, Xizhmen 10C1 on Saturday and Sundays as well as various elementary and preschools during the weekdays in Beijing and on both weekdays and weekends at Jilin(Changyi district). For class enrolments, please call +86 010-5830 1872 for Beijing and 0432 6242 7026 for Jilin branch.

Public Demo at Drama-In-Education Conference

At the Drama-In-Education Conference held in Beijing from October 3-5th, more than 150 students from the audience participated in two public Helen O'Grady class workshops on stage. Many of these non-English speaking children from ages 5 up to 12 were eager to learn and participate on stage in front of perhaps 400 - 500 pairs of eyes.

Lead teacher Rebecca Shatford with her larger than life personality was a great entertainer and trainer.  Leading Chinese expert in Drama and Film, Ji Shi Loong commented, "She has drama not only in her voice but also throughout her body.  It was entertaining to watch her teach these students who had no prior training with her." 

The Conference was organized by Dreamaker Theater jointly with China Youth Development Center and Shanghai Theatre Academy.

The Emperor's New Clothes - first drama performance by Beijing Dreamaker Organization

October 3rd - 5th marked the first school performances and Drama-In-Education forum in Beijing. This public event attended by more than 1000 families was hosted by Beijing Dreamaker Organization in collaboration with China Youth Development Center and Shanghai Theatre Academy.  Experts from Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore were present as panelists to judge the many participating schools and centers. Included in the performances were groups from the Aspergus Association and Weston High School from Boston, Massachusetts.

This platform raised the profile of the need for Drama in China schools.  Children with the confidence to perform demonstrated their abilities to think on their feet, co-operate and work together as a team.  According to one of the judges Ji Shi Loong who is reputed in Beijing film industry and a Drama instructor, "A great performance is one enjoyed both by the audience and the actors. It is also one that is lovely to look at."  This was evident in the first English performance, "The Emperor's New Clothes", scripted and directed by Rebecca Shatford and performed by children from 7-10 years old from the Helen O'Grady Drama Academy of Beijing.  The children enjoyed their public performance and worked very well as a team. 

New Location and classes for Singapore

In partnership with Jelly Beans Art Studio, Helen O'Grady Drama Singapore announces classes in September on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Our new trainers in Vietnam

A warm welcome to our 2 Principals in Vietnam - Helen Cruickshank-Cowie and Ruth Mortimer who completed their initial trainings in Ho Chi Minh from 02/09/2011 – 07/09/2011.  Both Helen and Ruth lived in Hanoi for 3.5 years and have taught English to Vietnamese kids, directed and performed plays in Hanoi.  Helen from Scotland is not only a great English teacher, she is also a fabulous dancer.  A treat for us during the training breaks as she waltzes, rumbas and swings! Ruth hails from London and was creative advisor and coach for a TV talent show in Hanoi "Lets Get Loud".  Effective from September 2011, Helen takes charge of the drama program for the whole of Vietnam while Ruth oversees Hanoi. See the pair in action as they co-teach a demo class of 12 Vietnamese and 5 Korean children in "Spider Island".

Training Seminar in Singapore

After the Conference in KL, it was invigorating to spend time with a group of vivacious Singapore teachers. Term 4 productions are just round the corner for them. Besides acting up as Pirates, Old Woman, Housekeeper and her many children, the teachers took on new roles in the new play “The Emperor and the Nightingale” finishing off with a goofy enhanced Mime-to-Music piece “The Octopus”.

CitySmart Vietnam appointed Area Developer

                                                 

  Principal Robert Wilson, CSV Director -Dr. Thomas Chan,

Helen O'Grady Asia Director- Nancy Soon and General Manager, Margaret Goh.

                                         

Helen O’Grady Asia is pleased to announce the appointment of CitySmart Vietnam(CSV) headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City as Franchisor for the country of Vietnam.  Established since September 2004, CSV under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Chan has 3 Maple Bear Kindergartens in Ho Chi Minh City and 3 in Hanoi. CSV is also the franchisor for Harmony Music and FasTracKids for Vietnam. We welcome Dr. Thomas Chan and his team to Helen O’Grady network bringing the total number of countries we operate in to 28.

Jean Chan - Executive Principal Helen O'Grady Drama Academy Singapore

Jean Chan with Licensor, Nigel Le Page

Helen O’Grady Drama Academy Singapore welcomes its new Executive Principal/Director, Jean Chan of Cerebral Pte Ltd who took over as the new franchisee of the well-established fourteen- year old company from outgoing Director, Ho Lye Sum on June 1^st 2011.  Jean had the privilege upon joining the Helen O’Grady Drama Academy to meet with other franchisees and franchisors in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and India at the 2nd Asian Conference last week. We thank Lye Sum for his past five years of contribution in building the Drama Academy here in Singapore and look forward to work closely with Jean and the rest of the directors to take Singapore to a new global achievement.   

Grady Bear arrives in Asia!

On June 9^th- 10^th, trainers, franchisees and franchisors from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore gathered at The Garden Hotel for two wonderful days of camaraderie and professional development.  It was an honor for us that Nigel Le Page, the Licensor was able to take time out from his busy schedule to spend 4 days in KL with us.  Ann Kwan, franchisor for South Asia was awarded the Grady Bear, a travelling mascot for Helen O Grady Drama Academy, who will make its trips around Asia and share stories about its adventures in future.  

Reflection from a former student.

I am so proud to receive this testimonial from a former student I trained almost ten years ago. 

"I cannot speak more highly of my experience with Helen O'Grady Children's Drama Academy. I attended Helen O'Grady when I was 15. The practice of dramatic arts greatly enhanced my public speaking and presentation skills. Through fun interactions with the teachers and fellow students, I overcame fear of speaking up in the English language and built a solid sense of ease and confidence when using the language expressively. Till this day, I continue to find my experience with Helen O'Grady making a positive impact on my life as I graduated from Beishida Shiyan High School, went to Beida Law School for college and now on to Notre Dame Law School for my Juris Doctor degree in the United States. I sincerely appreciate having had the opportunity to learn and grow at Helen O'Grady Drama Academy." Fang Yi.

我非常怀念在Helen O’Grady儿童戏剧学校学习的美好经历。我15岁时参加了Helen O’Grady的培训。研习戏剧艺术极大地提高了我的公共演讲及自我表现能力。在与老师、同学轻松有趣的互动中，我不但摆脱了使用英语口语的羞怯，还建立了用英语表达自己的充分自信和舒适感。直至今日，我从北师大实验中学毕业后，在北京大学法学院读本科，以及现在在美国圣母大学法学院攻读法律博士期间，在Helen O’Grady学习戏剧的经历仍然让我不断受益。我非常感谢Helen O’Grady戏剧学校给了我锻炼和成长的宝贵机会。 Fang Yi.

Teacher Laura with a composite class from ages 6 to 10 in Beijing. 

Launch of Beijing Helen O'Grady Drama Academy

What a gorgeous start to the Lunar New Year! On February 10th, fourteen children from ages 6 to 10 participated in a Spring Holiday Drama Camp organized by the company 北京卓美教育有限公司 who represents Helen O' Grady Drama Academy in China. Their slogan - "走进美妙的戏剧花园" welcomes parents and students to explore with the teachers in their drama garden and discover the many characters that come to live in it.

I was delighted to be a part of the Lunar New Year celebration (Yuan Xiao Jie) filled with the booming sound of firecrackers in the air and the brilliant fireworks display in the skies. To top it all - seeing happy students enjoy their classes "Drama Rocks" with their teachers.

Today marks the entry of the Year of the Rabbit. All around the world, the Chinese celebrate their reunion with their families wishing one and all prosperity, good health, longevity, success and many more blessings.

Having stayed in America for four years now, I miss the special Chinese salad dish most, a symbolic occasion where everyone gets an opportunity to toss the colorful salad representing hopes, dreams and success for the coming year.

Many wishes to all of you, a fun dramatic successful year for both students, parents and teachers.