Student-Tutor Recognition Brunch

A gala brunch was held at the Lawrenceville Library in recognition of the wonderful work by our students and tutors during this past year.  International foods, student presentations, and awards and gifts were enjoyed by the 93 folks in attendance – an all-time record.  We have enclosed some photos of the event for your enjoyment.  The first distribution of our 2008 student anthology was included in the celebration, with 27 student entries.  We thank ETS for printing the booklets for us and Loretta Casalaina for her work in compiling and editing.  If you would like a copy, please contact the office.  We congratulate our award winners – Tutor of the Year: Alice Harper ; Student of the Year: Xia Zhang; Donor of the Year: General Electric Trading & Licensing; and special certificates of appreciation to Zhenhou (Joe) Zhou, George Vogel, and Environmental Connections.  Some of the brunch participants left items at the event.  If you are missing some of the materials you brought with you, please call the office to see if we have them.

Computer Lab Class Has Space

Our Tuesday afternoon, 2-4p.m. computer class still has space available.  If your student(s) would like to participate, please call the office for further information.  Students can work on software for phonics, reading, English, typing, financial literacy, or on general computer skills.

New Citizenship Test Preparation Materials

As some of you may already be aware, the U.S. citizenship test has undergone major revisions.  To that end I have ordered materials to prepare students for this updated version.  They will be shipped to our office in September, 2008.

Tutor Continuing Education Workshops

LV-MC sponsored a Learning Disabilities Workshop in March, facilitated by Elaine Phillips , in conjunction with the Princeton and Trenton YWCAs and Mercer Street Friends.  The Pronunciation Workshop, led by Karen McGregor , was held on April 26.  The next workshop on May 31  on Learning Styles/Going From One to Some with presenter Catherine Mitch is full with a waiting list.  The first fall workshop, from 10a.m. to 1p.m. Saturday, September 20, 2008, will be held at our office on Quakerbridge Road .  The presenter will be Jessica Tompkins, field services director for LVNJ, assisted by our tutor Jean Nitzberg , on the subject of Tutoring with Technology.  Tutors will explore ways to help students with basic computer skills, and use computer technology to enhance literacy instruction.  You will view free resources for online learning and lesson planning.  Tutors will receive a copy of LVNJ’s resource manual, Tutoring with Technology: Log on and Learn.   On Saturday, October 18 we will hold another Tutor Talk workshop led by tutor trainer, Liz Wilk, from 10a.m. to 1p.m. at our office, for ESL and ABE tutors.  Tutors will share ideas and problems, and receive updates on recent tutoring techniques.  The second half of the program will break tutors into two groups, to target their specific tutoring subject.  The last workshop will be a repeat of our Pronunciation workshop, to be held from 10a.m.-1p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, at our office. Registration is open for all these events. All of these workshops combine tutors from the four organizations and are funded through the grant support of The Bunbury Company.  We thank them for their generous donation for this project.

Thank you for Your Support

Thank you to all who responded to our Stay-At-Home Tea mailing.  We greatly appreciate all of your donations.  We appreciate the donation of two bookcases and a desk from the law firm of Szaferman, Lakind, Blumstein, Blader & Lehmann, P.C.  We thank Mercer Community Foundation for their award of $7,000 to provide a daytime tutor training course in the Robbinsville Library.  This course began in April and will finish in late May.  We hope some of you joined us at the Villeroy & Boch event on April 12 at the Princeton Market Fair.  The branch sent out special coupons to many of our members and will receive a portion of the sales proceeds from the store’s revenues that day.

Tutor Training Course Graduates

Here are the newest tutors to join the ranks of LV-MC.  They are the recent graduates of our winter, 2008 tutor training courses, taught by Phyllis Frakt and Brandy Frank . The new members are Usha Awsare, Dee Beach, Meghan Blair, Season Bonner, Karen Dandurand, Donna DiNatale, Barbara Evans, Rodrigo Fernandez, Mary Finnerty-Nachbar, Simon Hallett , Dodie Hamblen, Laura Higgins, Cordelia Hill, Maria Hunsicker, Michelle Hunt, Elizabeth Keevey, Laura Lee, Robyn Lipton, Carole Matson,

Carol McCollough, Mary McDonald, Kim McGinnis, Jean Nitzber, Vera Puglia, Sheila Schnell, Sandra Simpson, Holly Slepman, Joan Stolpen, Rita Strmensky, Ana Traversa, and Carey Younger.  Welcome to you all.

New Books Available to Borrow

We thank Anita Berson for her generous contribution of teaching books through Cambridge University Press and Oxford Publishing.  Here is a list of them that are now available for our tutors to borrow.  Many of them have multiple copies, as well as a teacher’s manual, and all are for intermediate to advanced level students.

Academic Writing

Passages (Reading Comprehension, grammar, & assorted exercises) on 2 levels

Reading Activities,

Business English,

Vocabulary Building ,

Word Games,

Grammar

Books for Sale

Thanks to several organizations, we have some lovely donated books in our office, however many of them are not appropriate for our students.    Therefore, we are holding a book sale in our office. 

There are still some brand new children’s books available for very minimal costs, and many used adult books for whatever donation you might care to make. Please visit our office to browse our collection and help our finances at the same time.

Fall Tutor Training Courses

We hope to offer both a daytime and evening tutor training course beginning in mid September, 2008.  The evening course will be held at ETS.  The daytime course will be held at our office on Friday mornings from 10a.m. – 1p.m. on September 12, 19, 26, October 3, 17, 24, and 31.  Please note that there is no class on October 10.  Further details will be available in the August newsletter.  Please encourage those you meet to join our branch.  A happy tutor is our best advertisement.

Why Do We Need Quarterly Reports?

Aside from the fact that the quarterly report serves as a back up for your tutoring hours, and that it notifies staff of problems with which we may be able to help, quarterly reports are necessary for our organization’s financial well being.  Our government grant, which helps to allow us to continue providing free services, requires a certain percentage of our enrolled students to achieve important goals in order to maintain our funding.  If we don’t know that your student has become a citizen, obtained a job, retained employment, etc., etc., we cannot report these facts.  This makes our program look less effective than it is, and reduces the possibility of continuing to receive this vital grant.  Please help us to maintain accurate reporting records, and give you and your student credit for the wonderful and important work you do by returning the quarterly report each time you receive one.  If you would prefer receiving your copy of the report via e-mail, perhaps making it easier for you to return it, please let the office know, and we will make arrangements to send it to you via this method.  Be sure that we have your current correct e-mail on record if you choose this method.  Thanks for your help.

President’s Message

At the Annual Members Meeting on April 7, LV-MC board officers were elected for the new year.  I will serve another annual term as Board President, with Valerie Abramchuk serving as Treasurer and Vicki Lawler as Secretary.  We always seem to be looking for new candidates to fill openings on the board, particularly for candidates with private sector business experience or public relations expertise.  If any of our tutors have such background, or have friends who do, and feel they might wish to serve on the board, please let us know and we will be pleased to consider their candidacy.  Under law, the board exercises legal and financial fiduciary responsibilities, including establishing employment and other policies, making budgetary and other financial determinations and assuring legal compliance with regulatory requirements and with state and national ProLiteracy certification requirements.  In addition, the board engages in efforts to raise funds for the organization and to increase public awareness of the program.

This past year has been a most successful year for LV-MC.  Our financial position has greatly improved due largely to the excellent efforts of June Vogel in pursuing grants and donations, and the efforts of the Board Fundraising Committee in raising moneys through personal solicitations and the Stay-At-Home Tea.  We have a new more spacious office suite for use as the LV-MC administrative headquarters and for various training functions, including an expanded computer training lab.  Staff support for the Executive Director continues to improve with the addition of skilled assistants.  During my short tenure as an LV-MC board member, it has been most gratifying to see the progress that LV-MC has made through the determined efforts of the board and the Executive Director working together.

Glenn Moore III, Board President

Many Students Waiting for Help

Our student waiting list continues to grow and presently stands at 150 people.  If you are able to add a student to your present roster or are willing to take on another match, please let us know.  We are quite sure we will have someone available when and where you are who would welcome your expertise. 

Award for Tutor Excellence

LV-MC is proud to announce that our wonderful tutor/board member, Victoria Lawler, will be presented with the Award for Tutor Excellence at the LVNJ conference on May 3, 2008.  Vicki wears many hats in our branch, but I’m sure her favorite is that of tutoring her eleven students!  She has provided contacts that help support our branch financially as well as with goods in kind, and has contributed many donations herself.  We thank Vicki for all her efforts on our behalf and congratulate her on her many accomplishments for the cause of literacy.

Does Your Student Ride a Bicycle?

Many students ride bicycles, sometimes for work, sometimes for fun.  Busy NJ roads mean it’s important to follow the rules and ride safely to avoid an accident.  NJ law says that any bicyclist under 17 years old must wear a helmet.  But adults should too.  You only have one brain!  Wearing a helmet can prevent up to 75% of cycling deaths.  Bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities on the road as motorists.  That means riding with traffic – not on the wrong side of the road.  Use your hands to signal when you want to turn.  Stay off sidewalks – they are for walkers.  Make sure motorists can see you at night.  Have a white front light and a red rear light.  Wear clothes that reflect light.  It’s hard to see someone wearing black at night.  The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance will give a talk on bicycle safety in both English and Spanish at 7p.m. June 10 at the Twin Rivers Library.  All Literacy Volunteer tutors and students are welcome.  Some bicycle safety equipment will be given away.  Please help our tutors, students, and friends stay safe by sharing this information and help increase public awareness of the program in Mercer County .

Can You Manage 2 Hours a Week?

Our government grant requires students to have a minimum of 2 hours of instruction per week.  In order to maintain this important financial support, we ask for your cooperation, if at all possible, of providing this amount of tutoring time with your student(s).  This would make more of our students eligible to be included in our funding program.  Thanks so much for your help.

            Saturday Computer Class                            

We are looking for a tutor to run another Saturday computer class for our students any time after 11a.m.  Please call the office if you would consider this assignment.

Students/Tutors at Tutor Training Course

Our branch regularly hosts ABE and ESL students and their tutors to speak at one of training sessions.  If you and your student(s) would like to present at one of these sessions, please let the office staff know, and we will make note of your interest.  Sessions are available both day and evening.

Web Teaching Resources

There are some materials for teaching students about banking available online at projectmoney.org.  This includes practice with writing checks and balancing a checkbook.

Thinkfinity Literacy Network is supported by Verizon and offers free online courses, lesson plans, activities, interactive guides, and professional development opportunities.  You can access this material at http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/TLN/

Meet Brandy Frank

Brandy’s many qualifications include a B.S. degree in Art and M.S. in Guidance Counseling and Student Personnel.  Brandy has worked as an art teacher, HR Coordinator, substitute teacher, Counselor, and financial aid group leader at ETS.

She lives in Princeton Junction, is married to husband Lionel, and has 3 very active children.  Brandy has been part of our branch since her training in the spring of 2006, as a tutor and tutor trainer.  She also teaches ESL for the Princeton YWCA and the Princeton library.  Other charitable activities have included sending boxes of books and supplies to an Indian reservation in South Dakota , Uganda , and Sri Lanka .  Outside of her literacy and family activities, Brandy enjoys scuba diving, flying, gardening, and the theater.  Here she is, complete with her beatific smile.

Information Gap Activities

Continued from the February, 2008 newsletter - Johari Windows

1. Divide the group into pairs. One is A & one is B.
2. Create a “Johari Window: on piece of paper.  Make 1 copy for each pair.
3. Partners must work together to complete the window grid with these instructions:

1.      In the top left-hand box write 3 things you can both do.

2.      In the top right-hand box write 3 things A can do but B cannot do.

3.      In the bottom left-hand box write 3 things B can do but A cannot do.

4.      In the bottom right-hand box write 3 things neither of you can do.

d. Tell students how much time they have to complete the activity.

e. When finished, write the following on the board: I was surprised to learn that…

f. Call on a few of the students to complete the preceding sentence.

7. Ask students to tell what they learned about their partners.
8. In a 1-to-1 match, include yourself in the activity as one of the partners.
9. This activity is an effective conversation starter.
10. Vary the activity by using different sentence beginnings such as:

I have/don’t have…

I like/don’t like…

I am/am not…

I have/have never…

Wednesday Evening Computer Class

We also need a new tutor for our Wednesday evening computer class which presently runs from 6:30-8p.m. in our office.  If this assignment interests you, please let us know.  Students can work on a variety of software learning programs, learn to type, or learn basic computer skills.

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