Jimmy Tham, new owner of Sylvan Learning in Delta, recently awarded a $1,000 bursary to be used for educational pursuits to an elementary student enrolled in the Delta school district.
"I'm excited to be working with the students in our district through Sylvan and wanted to give something back to the community," Tham said about the bursary.
The first recipient of the bursary was Leah Quetsch-Haward, a Grade 5 student at Delta Christian School, who was selected by the school's principal, Tony Bylenga.
The bursary cheque was presented to the student and her parents, Bradley and Teresa Quetsch-Haward, last month by Bob Dhudwal and Diana Kan of Sylvan Learning.
"This family is blessed to receive such a scholarship. Thank you so much for doing this for the Quetsch-Hawards," Bylenga said to the Sylvan representatives.
Bradley and Teresa Quetsch-Haward plan on using the money to gain insight into their daughter's academic abilities and specific needs in the classroom and at home.
Dhudwal and Kan also conducted a "Lunch and Learn" workshop at the Ladner independent school to explain Book Adventure to the teaching staff.
Book Adventure is a reading-motivation website created by Sylvan and is a free online program for grades K-8 that allows kids to search for book titles appropriate for their age and interests. Once they've read the book, students take a quiz to earn prizes such as playbooks, CDs and children's magazine subscriptions.
Tham said he is also launching three scholarships worth $6,000 in the Richmond, New Westminster and Delta school districts. The scholarships are open to all students, not just those enrolled at Sylvan Learning.
For more information, visit http://local.sylvanlearning.info/ca/Britishcolumbia/Richmond-bc.
