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Delivery 604-942-3081 • Saturday, September 25, 2010
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Your source for local sports, news, weather and entertainment! >> www.burnabynow.com Burnaby boy gets a ‘really cool’ treat
SCHOOLS
Helping hand for Tamil kids Burnaby school district offers programs for children of migrants in detention Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
The local school district is starting English language classes and a StrongStart program this week for the children of Tamil migrants being held in the Burnaby youth prison. “The more we can give them a head start if they are settling in our country, the better off they will be,” said Elliott Grieve, associate superintendent of schools. Grieve said the provincial Education Ministry and the Ministry of Children and Family Development were working together to provide the children some schooling while in prison, and the district was asked to deliver the programs. The district already runs a high school program for kids in custody, but schooling for the Tamil children will be separate. Grieve couldn’t say how many kids would be involved as staff need to assess their English levels first. There are 20 women and 33 children at the Burnaby prison. “It’s a temporary program. As they are processed, … some of the migrants will be leaving, so our program is there as long as our students will be there,” he said. The StrongStart program is for preschool-aged children and uses playbased learning, where the parents or caregivers participate. There will be two, possibly three teachers to work with the kids, including one specialized Tamils Page 8
Carmen Alatorre/burnaby now
Suite view: Mario Gil sits beside his soccer coach, Joe Giovinazzo, while enjoying a pre-season Canucks home game against the Calgary Flames from Metropolis at Metrotown’s suite at Rogers Arena.
Mario’s big night out Burnaby boy and loved ones given a night in the box Andrew Fleming staff reporter
They say every cloud has a silver lining. Mario Gil, a Grade 1 student at Holy Cross Elementary School, is living with a particularly dark cloud hanging over him, although you certainly wouldn’t know it when you meet the energetic, bright-eyed
boy. Mario has been diagnosed with Langerhans cell histiocytosis, a rare and incurable cancer-like condition where excess white blood cells build up and attack parts of the body. The brave little boy, who is also diabetic, has just completed a year of chemotherapy, and although the prognosis is good, his family recently found out he will have to return for another year of the painful treatment once every three weeks. There have at least been a few small
perks for him along the way. Mario, the son of local mechanic George Gil, is an absolute car fanatic and last spring got taken out for a spin in a Lamborghini after a Vancouver car dealership heard about his plight. On Wednesday night, he, his family and some team members from Cliff Avenue United Football Club also got to spend an evening in a fully catered suite at Rogers Arena, watching a pre-season Canucks tilt against the Calgary Flames thanks to Metropolis at Metrotown. Mario Page 9
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