News & Views May June 2006

News and Views

www.nald.ca/thelearningexchange

Issue 32

Editor/Layout Designer Darlene Brown

May/June 2006

HOW TO CONTACT US

The Learning Exchange Celebration Event 2006

Darlene Brown Executive Director

JOIN US ON WEDNESDAY MAY 10TH

Karen Mockler Administrative Assistant Jacklyn Freedman-Spector Communications Director

Come help us celebrate our students’ achievements and our volunteers’ committment to literacy!!

3200 Souvenir Blvd. room D-110 Chomedey Laval, Quebec. H7V 1W9

Social Committee

Place: Time: What: Cost:

Phone: 450-688-2933 ext. 3126 Fax: 450-688-8125 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.nald.ca/thelearningexchange

La Sirène, 480 Boul. St-Martin Ouest 6:00 p.m. Dinner celebration (includes soup, salad, dessert and coffee) $15 per person (meal/tax/tip included)

Excellence in Literacy

All TLE partners, students, volunteers, tutors, family and friends are invited to join us for our Annual Celebration Event!!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

* Please note the $15 MUST be paid in advance by the May 5th deadline to reserve your spot!

President’s Message

2

From the E.D.’s Desk

2

Karen’s Korner

2

Tutor Training Continues Thank You Volunteers! Welcome to TLE! Book Sales Book Club News

3 3 3 3 3

News from NALD

4

Literacy Links

4

Gift of Reading

4

May Calendar

5

June Calendar

6

Summer is Almost Here!! Darlene Brown Executive Director

We are asking students and volunteers to kindly return all books and resources (except for workbooks) before June 15th unless you’re planning to meet with your student/ tutor during the summer. This year, TLE will be closing for the summer on June 15th and TLE will not be accessible to members

in the summer for tutorials because we are changing rooms over the summer for the fall. We encourage anyone interested in continuing over the holidays to meet at the local library. Please inform Karen if you plan to be tutoring over the summer holidays. Thanks!

TLE Literacy Sponsors: •

MERCK FROSST EMPLOYEES’ CHARITY TRUST FUND

•

LAVAL ROTARY CLUB

•

CANADA POST

•

DOMTAR

President’s Message Donna Adrian President

On Valentine’s Day, my Achilles tendon tore, and I fell down several stairs in the Metro. I was fortunate to have some very caring people who helped me, called the ambulance, and looked after me in the hospital. I spent eight weeks in bed, and last week, when the doctor changed my heavy plaster cast for a lighter weight fibreglass-walking cast, I was thrilled, I would be able to do things again – help prepare meals, go outside, live my life again, But, when the doctor told me to stand, I was terrified. My good leg hadn’t been used in eight weeks, the muscles were weak, and the pain in my leg was dreadful. I began to think about the challenges that lay ahead, the fear of the unknown, the effort that physiotherapy would require, and my self-confidence faded. As I write this, I have been walking with a cast and using a walker for one week. I am facing at least two months of physiotherapy, and a year wearing a brace before I will walk again with ease. As I think about the challenges I have to face, I think about the challenges that our students have faced – in admitting their difficulty to read and write, in seeking help, and in facing their fears. My challenges are nothing, compared to theirs, and I am in awe of their strength of character. I am also proud of our caring volunteers, who, weekly, challenge themselves to prepare interesting lessons, which encourage their students to succeed.

From the Executive Director’s Desk Darlene Brown Executive Director

I was fortunate to have been one of the seventy-one participants attending LIfIA’s Third PanAmerican ePortfolio Forum in Vancouver, back in April. There were speakers and presenters from all around the world, including most parts of North America, Mexico, The Netherlands, Australia, The UK, and Venezuela. I had the opportunity to learn about e-portfolios and their use in many educational and business environments, as well as to make interesting new contacts with colleagues from other parts of the world. It was truly a one-of-a-kind working forum for all involved!

Page 2

I’d also like to say thanks to Nancy at Literacy BC for taking me on a tour of their large office space in downtown Vancouver!

TLE Board of •

Donna Adrian

President

•

Mona Arsenault

Past President

•

Beverly Beauchamp

Vice-President

•

Beth Green

Secretary

•

Christiane Dabbagh

Treasurer

•

Stephen Shore

Director

TLE Staff: •

Darlene Brown

Executive Director

•

Karen Mockler

Administrative Assistant

•

Jacklyn Freedman-Spector

Communications Director

•

Diane Richard

Financial Officer

Karen’s Korner

Karen Mockler Administrative Assistant

Thank you to everyone for making this another great year for me at The Learning Exchange. A reminder to our Volunteers to hand in their volunteer hour worksheets. Also let’s not forget our Celebration Evening on May 10th at La Sirène on St. Martin Boulevard. I hope you all have a great summer and look forward to seeing you again in September! NEWS AND VI EWS

ISSUE 32

Tutor Training Continues at The Learning Exchange

Page 3

Alan J. Powell Volunteer

Over the past three months an enthusiastic group of new and recycled trainee tutors has been together for five sessions with Darlene Brown and Jacklyn Freedman-Spector to absorb the benefits of their years of experience in literacy training. The sessions ranged from literacy statistics, reading, writing and learning styles to video illustrations of the difficulties faced by learning disabled students. It was easy to relate to some of these difficulties after three months of tutoring to secondary I to III adult education students in Jackie’s math classes. The students in these classes seem to be making good progress, after some initial reluctance to “hit the books.” The final session of the tutor training, reviewed the learning styles discussed in the first four sessions, together with some new graphics materials for assembling topics in essays of different types. The last hour of the course was spent in the computer lab, familiarizing the class with a website devoted to literacy and associated topics. The class was presented with graduation certificates and an ode to volunteers written by Jackie to celebrate the course completion. Our thanks are due to Darlene and Jackie for the extra load that they carry in this leadership role in TLE.

Thank you Volunteers!

Welcome to TLE

Darlene Brown Executive Director

Darlene Brown Executive Director

I’d like to welcome our latest group of graduating volunteer tutors to The Learning Exchange family! Congratulations!

TLE Volunteers are “BEARY” special!! Special “Thanks” was sent out to all of our volunteers, in the form of a little stuffed bear and hand-stamped note, in recognition of our volunteers during Volunteer Appreciation Week in April. We couldn’t do it without you!!

New volunteers: from left to right: Back: Josée, Alan, Sonya, , Anthoula, Rigoula Front: Nancy, Mary, Cynthia, Efterpi

Small to large boxes are needed for June packing. Please contact Karen if you can get boxes for us. We need good, solid boxes with lids or ones we can close. Boxes should not be too big!!

Book Sales Beverly Beauvais Volunteer

Our May book sale will take place on Wednesday, May 3rd 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. near the cafeteria. Our last sale for the year will be Tuesday, June 6th. At this sale our hardcover books will be priced at $0.50 each as a special year-end bonus!! Come by and see our varied titles. Thank you to all those who have donated books and to those who have stopped by to purchase books this year. Happy Summer reading!!

Book Club News Beverly Beauvais Volunteer

The Reading Circle will meet on Tuesday, May 2nd at 7:30 p.m. in room D103 to discuss Miriam Toews' SWING LOW. Our animator will be Davy-Belle McMorran. Our final meeting for this year will be Tuesday, June 6th. Our discussion leader will be Carol Ann Collingwood and our book selection is ICY SPARKS by Gwyn Hyman Rubio.

News from NALD

NEWS AND VIEWS

National Adult Literacy Database NALD

We’re on the web! www.nald.ca/thelearningexchange

Time to Pack!! Packing Volunteers Wanted TLE will be changing rooms for the fall. This means we need to pack in June! We are asking for volunteers, students, family or friends to help pack room D110 on the following dates: June 16, 19, 20. Call Karen if you are interested to help out!

Literacy Links is Here!! Check this out: www.recitfga.qc.ca/english/activities/ sitsat-2006/Darlene-Borwn

Through the World Wide Web, the National Adult Literacy Database (NALD) provides high quality, comprehensive resources for literacy, numeracy and workplace essential skills training to learners and those who teach them. NALD’s online resources are available to anyone, at no cost, in both French and English. NALD is establishing a Document Conversion Lab to expand its very modest capacity to convert materials and post them to the web. The Lab will feature 12 workstations where staff can digitize material, convert it to HTML and PDF, and post it to the Internet in a manner that meets international standards. It will give more developers of materials a means to get their work to the people who need it. Last year, there were more than 2.8 million downloads of documents in PDF format from the NALD site, by more than 5.9 million users and 22 million pages were viewed in HTML format. NALD’s partners can play many roles in launching the Document Conversion Lab, by providing equipment, facilities and other in-kind support, as well as by providing financial support. To contact NALD : 1-800-720-6253 Email : [email protected] Website : www.nald.ca

Give the Gift of Reading Yes! I want to help support TLE’s literacy efforts. I’m enclosing my donation of: $10

$15

$20

Name & address of donor:

$25

Other $ ——— *Receipt

Excellence in Literacy 2005/2006 Campaign Name & address for gift/donation notice:

*Receipt If you would like to make a gift of literacy in someone’s name or memory please include his/her name and address with this reply card and we will send them a gift/donation notice.

Please return this reply card along with your donation to The Learning Exchange. TLE’s charitable number is 89335 1767 RR 0001. Make cheque payable to The Learning Exchange. *Please indicate with a checkmark which name and address for the receipt.