CSLI Cares
The Tsunami disaster in Asia brought a strong response from the CSLI community. Most noticeably, CSLI co-owner Lawrence Keenan flew to Sri Lanka to devote himself full-time to helping this country in need. He was featured on CNN and Global TV News, and has returned to Canada to work with government officials in ensuring that proper help gets to those in need. CSLI will be helping an orphanage in Kalmunai, Sri Lanka, while continuing to assist communities to rebuild by connecting them with Canadian businesses and charities. We have also held some charity events at the school – our favourite Japanese celebrity Harumi Kurihara prepared an evening event to raise money for the victims, and our in-house culinary experts Cynthia and Joy prepared a delicious chili lunch to help raise funds. All the members of the CSLI family send their thoughts and prayers to the communities affected by the tsunami.
http://www.unitingtheworld.org/

A Special Guest Returns
Harumi Kurihara, the popular Japanese TV cooking and home design guru, returned to CSLI to further improve her English. In her first break from work in ten years, she came back to CSLI because of her great experience last March, her goal being to improve her English so she can promote her English language book. While here, she taught students how to make the popular California Roll sushi, met Canadian chef Frederic Couton at the filming of the Vicki Gabereau TV show (they exchanged their cooking books with each other!), and also hosted a gala fundraising event, well attended by local dignitaries and international media. We were delighted to have Harumi back and to see her improvement in her English. We look forward to welcoming you to CSLI yet again, Harumi!
http://www.csli.com/

Winter Grad
Our January Graduation party was our Winter Skating Party! CSLI had a skating rink for ourselves and held a potluck lunch of the students’ own making. We said goodbye to our graduating students before giving the prizes for the best students in each class and then the Student of the Month award. This month’s winner was Seok-Gyu Kwon from Korea. He wins a one-month scholarship for full-time study at CSLI! Congratulations! Everyone had a great time skating around and experiencing this popular Canadian sport.
http://www.csli.com/brochawards.htm

Guest Speakers and Tours
CSLI believes that it is important to meet native speakers and to learn outside of class. January was a busy month for guest speakers at the school: we had a speaker from the University of Toronto Scarborough give a presentation to the whole school about education in Canada. The Chinese Community Police Station came to give a presentation about safety tips for ESL students. Students also went to the Culinary Art Institute to learn about food preparation, and to the Choices supermarket to learn about environmentally friendly products available in Canada. More guest speakers and outings are planned for February, including a guest from the SPCA.
http://www.csli.com/programs/index.html

Free Friday Activities
CSLI’s unique Free Friday Activities continue to be a very popular part of our curriculum. This month’s academic activities included Listening Class, Interview Skills, Telephone Skills, and Public Speaking (to help with next month’s Speech Contest). Other activities included Whistler Trip, Sushi Making, African Drumming, and Movies. February’s activities will include Yoga, UBC Anthropology Museum Tour, Movie Studio Tour, Brewery Tour, Curling, and Salsa Dancing Class.
http://www.csli.com/brochfree.htm

Viva Las Vegas!
The entire staff of CSLI was treated to a first-class weekend in Las Vegas, courtesy of Lori-Ann and Lawrence. The luxurious Mandalay Bay hotel and casino served as the backdrop for this fabulous trip, which was a reward for everyone’s hard work last year. A phenomenal time was had by all as the weather was sunny and hot, and the staff enjoyed shopping, gambling, and an assortment of shows, in addition to two scrumptious dinners with our gracious host! The teachers and front desk staff would like to thank the Keenans for their generosity!
http://www.csli.com/calendar.htm

Best wishes from your friends at CSLI,

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..."uniting the world with English!"
E-mail: info@csli.com
Tel: (604) 683-2754
Fax: (604) 683-8667
Mail: CSLI
188 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6B 6J8

CSLI is a proud partner in the CanadaWide English Network
www.canadawide-english.com