By Gerry D'Mello
Daijiworld Media Network - Canada      

Canada, Jul 8: Riana Mendonca, a Mangalorean lady succeeded in showcasing her brain-power by launching a unique Abacus & Brain Gym program in Calgary, Canada.  It's indeed an outstanding achievement by yet another Mangalorean. 

SIP Academy's office, located at 139, 26th Ave, 52nd St. NE, Calgary, Alberta   was blessed on June 18th 2010 by Rev Fr. John Pinto, parish priest of St. Thomas Moore. SIP Academy Canada had their Grand Opening the following day, June 19th, 2010, along  with the Village Fair held at the Village Square Mall & Leisure Centre.  The promoters received an overwhelming response at the presentation with a live demo by Rebecca Mendonca 5th grade student and daughter of Riana and Hubert Mendonca, followed by testimonies by student/parent community.

The Whole Brain Development phenomenon that is sweeping Asia, the Middle East, and now North America, was introduced for the first time in Calgary, Canada by Riana Mendonca. Riana was born and raised in Mangalore and immigrated to Canada along with her family in 2007, from Sharjah, UAE.  Riana had a personal positive experience when her 2nd daughter Rebecca was introduced to Abacus learning system in Sharjah. Upon landing in Canada she felt the need to introduce this unique learning opportunity for the student community in Canada.  Riana shared this unique concept with two of her friends, Mrs. Ratna Legahri and Mrs. Helen Bhatia, both of Indian origin, the 3 of them came together to launch SIP Academy Canada INC.

Mathematics has always been a tough subject to crack for many. Solving [(156-75+53) / 67 * 46] within seconds may not be child's play. But what if it is? ...Yes, it is a simple task for children trained to use the Abacus techniques, enhanced with Brain Gym exercises.

SIP Academy Canada Inc. is headquartered in Calgary, Canada, conducting programs in developing mental skills of young children. The different levels of training offered by SIP Academy were launched were after years of research & testing and are of international standard.

At SIP Canada, we realize each child is unique with her/his potential to be a winner. SIP's credo has always been to develop programs 'Keeping the Child in Mind' and hence follow the fun learning methodology. This fun learning methodology achieves the objective of making the child achieve excellence not only in academics but also in other walks of life. This requires constant communication between three parties - the Parent, the Teacher and the Child to ensure best results.

Accelerated Mental Learning uses multiple senses of the children to develop and balance their mental, physical, social interaction, emotional, personality and self-confidence. It also helps children to overcome ‘Numeric Phobia’ and enhance their confidence in their academic excellence.

The SIP Abacus & Brain Gym program is truly a whole brain development program combining the Eastern method of learning - the Abacus system and the Western science of Brain Gym (see braingym.org). Developed by the founder of SIP Academy Mr. Kelvin Tham in 1997, this program has significantly advanced Abacus Training in Malaysia. The current version of this program uses Abacus and Brain Gym techniques to enhance the interaction between the left and the right brain.

SIP Academy is a member of Asia Abacus & Mental Arithmetic Research and Development Affiliation (AAMARDA). SIP Abacus and Brain Gym program is currently available in 16 countries. More than 300,000 children have benefited from this program from over 1000 learning centers spread across these countries. In Canada, this program was initiated in Sept 2009.

“The ideal age group for the current program is between 6 and 13 years. We’ll be shortly introducing Junior program for 5 year olds. Now for this summer we have remodeled it for the benefits of teens too” says Riana.

The knowledge of numbers from 0-9 is all that is required at the beginning. "The harder I practice, the luckier I get" is the mantra for this skill based program.   As Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget, Teach me and I remember, Involve me and I learn.”

This is a great opportunity for the daijiworld readers to know how their community could benefit much at SIP Academy in Calgary, Canada and world wide.

For more information the readers are encouraged to visit www.sipacademy.ca  or contact riana@sipacademy.ca to enroll students or for franchisee opportunities.