Langley School Foundation is the most recent non-profit organization to get into the business of selling second-hand items – or so it would seem.
Their logo is emblazened on the sign of a new thrift store that opened Wednesday, Feb. 3, in downtown Langley – in what some of us old-timers might remember as Betty Brite Cleaners, at the corner of Douglas Crescent and 203rd Street.
• Stay tuned to the Langley Advance for some more on this and the recent arrival of a Meals on Wheels thrift store up the street (across from Home Hardware) at Douglas – just east of 204th Street – again, for us old-timers (next to the former post office).
We're sending reporter Heather Colpitts is going undercover as a second-hand shopper (hehe) and will bring you some more on these two new operations.
Cool name for math tutors
In the meantime, let me tell you a little about a new math learning centre – Mathnasium – in Walnut Grove that is hosting an open house (or what they're calling a math festival) on Family Day.
First of all, I'll give the franchise creators an A+ letter grade for coming up with an innovative name – Mathasium. It's kind of fun to say, and since I'm dyslexic with number, I can willfully admit I'm not a fan of math or anything to do with bean counting.
All that said, it's a neat way of marking the opening of this new, after-school math centre – which is located at the corner of 86th Avenue and 200th Street. The open house runs 1 to 4 p.m., with Township Mayor Jack Froese officially cutting the ceremonial ribbon at 1:30 p.m.
"We're excited about this opportunity to introduce ourselves to the Langley community and demonstrate to area residents how Mathnasium forges a positive attitude toward math among kids," said owner and centre director Dr. Sylvia McLellan.
"We've had great success in boosting students' math skills and their understanding of mathematical concepts. Math can be intimidating to both students and parents, so we hope the grand opening celebration will show some of how the Mathnasium Method? makes it interesting and fun," McLellan added.
Mathnasium offers kids from Kindergarten to Grade 12 after-school math programs.
Its sole focus is math, and its method combines mental, verbal, visual, tactile, and written techniques to maximize success, McLellan said. Programs are tailored to each child's individual needs and are designed to make math make sense to each and every child, build confidence, and enable independent problem-solving.
Mathnasium specializes in teaching kids math in a way that makes sense to them. Students go to Mathnasium year-round to catch up, keep up, and get ahead in math. The proprietary Mathnasium method is, I'm told, the result of 40+ years of hands-on instruction and research.
Franchising since 2003, Mathnasium has become one of the fastest-growing educational franchises, with a new center opening each week somewhere in North America. There are almost 600 in the U.S. and abroad, and 20 Mathnasium franchises across Canada - including four in the Lower Mainland. For more information on Mathnasium of Langley, people can go online to: www.mathnasium.ca/langleybc
Stay tuned for more
Also in north Langley – Walnut Grove to be specific – the secondary school is partnering with the business association to host the third annual Millionaire Mindset Meet Up on Wednesday, Feb. 10.
It will feature Hunky Haulers founder Anthony Jones, a Dragon’s Den recipient who will speak on his entrepreneurial journey to earning his first billion.
Again, stay tuned to the Langley Advance. We are working with the WGBA to bring you more on this event running 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in the school library.