Students from Sisler High School’s CREATE program will study Classical Animation, Game Design, and Animation Concept Art at VFS in 2021
Announcement Highlights:
- Scholarship funding was provided in collaboration with Winnipeg’s Schroeder Foundation.
- Approximately $500,000 in scholarship funding was awarded to deserving students.
- In total, 70 students from Sisler have received scholarships to study at VFS in the past five years.
(VANCOUVER, B.C.) March 1, 2021 – Vancouver Film School is proud to announce that 15 students from Winnipeg’s Sisler High School have received full scholarships to study Classical Animation, Game Design, and Animation Concept Art at VFS in 2021.
The students from Sisler’s CREATE post-graduate program will begin their studies via remote learning. VFS is covering 40 percent of each scholarship, while the remaining 60 percent is covered by The Schroeder Foundation. In total, approximately $500,000 in scholarship funding was offered.
“Thanks to the incredible generosity of The Schroeder Foundation and VFS, these talented students have a bright future ahead of them,” said Jamie Leduc, CREATE department head. "It was initially going to be 10 scholarships, but when VFS and foundation heard we had 15 students interested and qualified, they just made it happen."
Including these 15 students, a total of 70 Sisler CREATE students have received scholarships to study at VFS in the past five years.
"VFS is very proud of its long-standing and growing relationship with Sisler CREATE,” said Colin Giles, Head of the School of Animation & VFX at VFS. “What Jamie Leduc and the staff at Sisler High School have created is a progressive and special program. The students that arrive in Vancouver from Sisler are special people filled with passion, wonder, and drive – instilled by the amazing program there.”
The Schroeder Foundation has supported Sisler’s CREATE program since 2019, providing nearly $500,000 in scholarships and $900,000 in equipment. The foundation also funds an industry liaison and communications manager to help provide education pathways and job opportunities for students. Part of the foundation’s mandate is to support youth empowerment and Indigenous Reconciliation in Canada.
"We are thrilled to invest in these talented students and help them achieve their full potential," said Walter Schroeder, co-founder of The Schroeder Foundation. "These hardworking young animators, many of them new Canadians or first generation, deserve the opportunity to pursue their dreams."
Registration is now open for the 2021/2022 Sisler CREATE post-graduate program. More information can be found at www.sislercreate.com.
About Vancouver Film School
In 1987, Vancouver Film School introduced the world’s first true immersion film program. Today, VFS is Canada’s premier entertainment-arts centre, offering an immersive curriculum in film, animation, video game production, VR/AR development, motion and interactive design, programming, art/production foundation, and other related programs. VFS is known for providing high-quality education in accelerated timeframes. VFS alumni are consistently credited on the most successful products in the entertainment economies.
About Sisler High School CREATE
Sisler’s CREATE program is a new entertainment arts training program located at Sisler High School of the Winnipeg School Division. Founded in 2019, the CREATE program provides high school and post-high students with an educational pathway to creative industries worldwide. Starting in Grade 9, students in the CREATE program build foundational skills with hardware and software while using a wide range of creative toolsets. As students progress through the program, they specialize in a chosen creative field and apply their skills in project-based courses. The program culminates in post-high by providing portfolio development, studio training, and certification.
About The Schroeder Foundation
The Walter & Maria Schroeder Foundation has devoted huge resources to improving health services for all Canadians. In recent years they have also invested heavily in the arts in Newfoundland & Labrador, creating a theatre company to build a new musical celebrating the arts and culture of the province’s people. Some of their most personal efforts, however, have been in their hometown of Winnipeg, where they have created scholarships and other programs that support students in some of the city’s most deprived and struggling high schools.
For more information, or to schedule interviews, please contact:
Evan Biswanger
Creative Director & Head of Marketing
Vancouver Film School
ebiswanger@vfs.com
vfs.edu
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