Contact Information
| New Students: | (902) 422-READ |
| Current Families: | (902) 425-2223 |
| Fax: | (902) 492-2223 |
| Monday: | 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM |
| Tuesday: | 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM |
| Wednesday: | 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM |
| Thursday: | 9:00 AM - 8:00 PM |
| Friday: | 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| Saturday: | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
| Sunday: | Closed |
News
Sylvan's tutors teach skills that last a lifetime. We help students learn how to become self-motivated and achieve independence; above all else, we enable them to approach school — and life — with confidence.
We also maintain Sylvan tutoring special offers and seasonal promotions that make getting your child on the road to success easier.
Elementary Students and Math
Some elementary school students in Nova Scotia still don't get math so the province will change the curriculum in 2011, the Education Department announced today.
The department released results from its first Elementary Mathematical Literacy exam today...
Learning Styles
To understand a child's learning style and lay the foundation for a better school year, here is a FREE Learning Style quiz.
Take the quiz.Math the sum of its parts: attitude, skills and timing.
The recent report on high school math results has garnered considerable attention, and that is a good thing. If we are to be a province of innovators and skilled workers, as columnist Rachel Brighton described, we need to pay more attention to what is going on in our schools. We all depend on them.
Read entire articleRegular Practice Creates Better Writers - Summer is a Hot Time to Practice Writing Skills
With summer just around the corner, children are enjoying the warm weather, fun activities with friends and vacation time - but summer can also be an enjoyable learning experience. The summer break provides many memorable moments, and writing about them is a good way to record those memories and practice writing skills at the same time.
“Parents tend to focus on their children's reading and math skills, sometimes overlooking that writing is an education fundamental,” says Louisa Horne, Executive Director of the Sylvan Learning Centres in Halifax and Bedford. “It's fast becoming the forgotten ‘R’. This is unfortunate, because writing is a very important part of every facet of education, not just in Language Arts or English classes. Writing proficiency can have a major impact on other subject areas. The summer break provides an excellent opportunity for children to explore their creative writing skills.”
The following tips can help parents encourage their children to write over the summer:
Pick an Engaging Topic
Encourage your child to write over the summer break by helping him or her to identify fun, engaging and timely topics. For example, Canada Day on July 1st is a good opportunity for your children to explore their own patriotism. What is patriotism, and what does it mean to them? Encourage your children by helping them conduct research about Canada, its history, people and places.
Give Story Starters
Sometimes the most difficult part of writing can be getting started. Help your children write their patriotic essays by giving them topic ideas, such as:
· I am proud to be Canadian because….
· On July 1st, my family and I usually…
· If someone asked me what my country means to me, I would say…
Sylvan Tips on Writing
· Good writing takes time. Spend time organizing your ideas and thinking about what you really want to say in your essay.
· Use the Internet or library to research your topic.
· Prepare an outline before you begin to write.
· Use transition words – such as “after,” “although,” “before,” “however” and “therefore” to help your ideas flow together.
· Be willing to revise. Change your sentences and paragraphs around, add material that lends to your writing and delete material that doesn’t work.
· Avoid clichés and jargon.
· Always keep a dictionary handy to help with spelling.
· Use a thesaurus to help you think of a new way to say something.
· Ask someone else to edit your work.
· Proofread everything. Make sure grammar, spelling and punctuation are perfect before you declare anything “finished.”
· Don’t rely on a computer’s spellchecker to ensure proper spelling.
Sylvan Writing Journal
To help elementary school students practice their writing skills during the summer break, Sylvan Learning is offering a free and fun writing journal complete with decorative pages and suggested summertime writing topics.
Sylvan Learning posts new journal pages featuring suggested writing topics on their Web site at http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/learning-activities/writing-journal.cfm. Parents and children can go to the site, print out new journals and start writing. At the end of the summer, children could have 13 unique stories about their summer breaks, and Sylvan posts new journal covers for children to personalize and decorate.
Want to improve your child’s writing skills before the beginning of the new school year? The Sylvan Academic Writing program is designed to help students understand many writing formats and styles, including narrative and descriptive essays, comparative passages, persuasive writing, expository writing, summaries and outlines. Students in the program also complete exercises in grammar, spelling, vocabulary, paragraph structure and essay development. In addition, Sylvan can help high school students prepare for university and the workplace with its new College Prep Writing program. College Prep Writing is a 36-hour program providing a solid foundation in upper-level writing, including “how-to” help with essays, refining research skills and understanding source documentation. Visit http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com/writing-tutor/index.cfm to learn more.
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We are committed to the protection of your personal information. We will use this information only for the purpose of contacting you regarding our services and otherwise for the purposes outlined in our Privacy Policy. For a copy of our Privacy Policy please email our Director of Education at educationhfx@ns.aliantzinc.ca.
Community Support
We are a longtime sponsor of the Learning Disabilities Conference. http://ldans.nsnet.org/.
Family Expo - we sponsored a presentation by well known author Barbara Colloroso.
We supported Symphony Nova Scotia through sponsorship of a Musical Chair for violinist Janet Dunsworth.
Tutoring fills gaps
Having difficulty with a subject
in school has a ripple
effect on other aspects of a
student’s life. It can spill over
into stress around the dinner
table, and create a feeling that it’s
cooler to not do any work than to
admit that you need help. It can
even lead to dropping out of high
school, a disastrous life decision.
These are familiar scenarios
for Louisa Horne, the executive
director of Sylvan Learning Centres
in HRM.
