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.

Nickelodeon 2010 Parent's Choice Awards

The winners of the best theatre classes for kids 2010 are Drama Kids International of Las Vegas(NV), Pittsburg(PA) and San Antonio(TX). Congratulations to our owners and thank you to parents for choosing Drama Kids! To learn more about our programs and classes, visit our website in America: Drama Kids

Drama Kids of Las Vegas! Drama Kids of Pittsburg! Drama Kids of San Antonio!

Five Secrets of Business Success by Richard Branson

I received a link to a business blog where renown Richard Branson of Virgin Atlantic shared his views on his five secrets to business success. Why are we in business in the first place? Branson's view -"building a business is all about doing something to be proud of, bringing talented people together and creating something that’s going to make a real difference to other people’s lives" echoed the very foundation of what each of us franchisors and franchisees do daily in our work with parents and children, teachers and principals. We are not only part of this huge international network but proud to be an owner in this growing business. Whether we are franchisors or franchisees, we bring talented people together - our teachers, our administrators, our managers and together we are out there to make a real difference in the lives of our students, parents and the community. Was Richard Branson thinking of the Helen O'Grady network when he made that comment? Obviously not, his thoughts were centered on Virgin Atlantic. Read the full article on bnet.com

A teacher's experience in China.

I encourage teachers in our programs to share their experiences from around the world. Here is one from Lianna in Chaoyang, China. The name of the student has been modified.

In the past one year, we conducted four terms of after-school classes as well as a summer camp. The children who turn up for our different classes range from 4 to 11 years. There will always be challenges that make us occasionally drag our feet but there is also a great sense of personal satisfaction that comes with the job.

Sherry was barely 5 years old when she first joined us. Being the youngest in the cl ass (coupled with the fact that she comes from a bilingual family, as opposed to other children here who speak only English at home), she was naturally slower in her speech. Most of the time, Sherry would give a blank look and the more expressive kids would overshadow her. It was a real challenge to integrate her and focus on the needs of the other students at the same time.

It was therefore a surprise when Sherry’s mum approached me. She said Sherry really liked the drama class and that she would be reciting the lines all the time at home. She even got her little brother involved with her reenactment of class. Mum noticed that Sherry is beginning to speak with tone, pause, pitch etc and she thought Sherry had picked it up from school. She found out later that it was the influence of her time with the Helen O'Grady drama classes. She was so pleased that she even wanted to enroll her 3 ½ year old son! Never underestimate
what kids can pick up from the lessons!

This reveals what "Development through drama" can do for you and your child.