Literacy Ambassadors: Successful Fundraising Efforts

Reading Connections depends on the generosity of community members, our Literacy Ambassadors, who donate time, talent and resources every year to make free adult literacy services possible throughout Guilford County. These Literacy Ambassadors served as table captains at our first annual High Point Literacy Leadership Breakfast at the String and Splinter and at our fourth annual Literacy Leadership Breakfast in Greensboro at Starmount Forest Country Club. Al Furlow, Heseuk Coble, Tanyetta Ollison, and Brandy Matthews did a fantastic job courageously sharing their personal literacy stories. Bee Rule and Frank McCain kept our guests focused on our mission as our emcees. LeBauer Health Care, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina and Wachovia Bank, ensured our success by sponsoring a portion of each event. At these two events, a combined total of 200 guests pledged over $40,000 to support literacy in Guilford County.

We want to thank our table captains for these two spectacular events. Our appreciation goes out to Sylvia Samet who led the table captains at our first annual High Point breakfast including Carol Andrews, Barbara Coughlin, Kem Ellis, and Johnny Slate. Our Greensboro breakfast table captains (led by Stan Park) included Gary and Linda Anderson, Gail Bretan, Rudy Clark, Donna Fairfield, Shirley Frye, Bob Goldstein, Sheila Helms, Nancy Hoffmann, Judi Howle, Debra LeWinter, Jean Pudlo, Dan Ray, Margaret Rowlett, Mack Scott, and Kaye Ward.

If you would like to become a Literacy Ambassador and serve as a Table Captain at one of these events next spring, please contact Marcy Ray at mray@readingconnections.org. It is a rewarding experience!

 

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Student Council Expands Horizons

On Thursday, May 26, Reading Connections Student Council held a potluck dinner attended by over 30 students. Everyone brought a dish to share, and conversation lasted several hours as those in attendance attempted to put a dent into the enormous amount of food - dishes from South America, Africa and the Middle East mingled on plates with fresh strawberries from the farmer's market, fried chicken and fresh-baked bread. Learners also brainstormed future Student Council events, including visiting the International Civil Rights Museum, going to a Greensboro Grasshoppers game, and visiting the Natural Science Center. Membership in the Student Council is open to every Reading Connections student and is a great opportunity to socialize outside of the classroom or tutoring experience.

The next Student Council event will be Wednesday, June 15. We will be attending Triad Stage's production of "Masquerade," a hilarious look at the confusions of young love. This is a "pay what you can" performance. We will be meeting at Triad Stage on Elm St. at 6:00 pm to get in line for tickets. If you're interested in attending or have any questions regarding how your student can take advantage of these opportunities, please contact Andrew Trump at atrump@readingconnections.org.

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Family Literacy Parents Graduate!

On May 31, we celebrated the graduation of 24 parents and 58 children from our Family Literacy Academy of Greensboro located at Hunter Elementary. We had a lot to celebrate! All of their hard work and dedication paid off with 54% of the parents advancing a literacy level and over 75% of the children showing literacy gains!

Reading Connections offers free family literacy classes in Greensboro and High Point that combine adult literacy, parenting, and children's literacy instruction to help parents improve their literacy skills and help ensure that their children are ready for school. In each session parents and children come for a meal before class, and then meet in small group classes before having Parent and Child Together time. Each class focuses on a children's book which the families keep to create a home library. During class, parents explore the adult themes in these books, such as communication, sibling rivalry, and family dynamics. While parents are in class, their children receive age-appropriate literacy instruction.  Each class provides the following for participating families:

·         a book each week

·         a meal before each class

·         childcare with age-appropriate literacy activities

·         craft supplies for home activities

Please contact Kim Taylor at ktaylor@readingconnections.org for information on locations and start dates of our next courses to begin in the fall! 

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Literacy Saves the Day: A Student Success Story

We love hearing success stories from our tutors and instructors! One tutor shared this particularly uplifting story with us in his recent Monthly Tutoring Report, about his student, Henry. Henry has been working with a tutor and in a class at Reading Connections since November 2010.

Late on a recent Friday afternoon at work at a textile company, Henry saw that fabric passing through the principal edging machine was bunching up in mid-process, instead of entering the finishing rollers as expected. The rest of the crew, including Henry, could not go home for the weekend until this machine was fixed and the order ready. Though initially hesitant, Henry remembered the self-confidence he has earned while working with his tutor and felt comfortable enough to check the machine's manual. Henry concluded that a sensing diode on the final roller assembly had become improperly focused. Together with his supervisor, Henry adjusted the sensing diode and the fabric bunching immediately ceased. On Monday morning, the maintenance supervisor praised Henry's work to his boss, confirming that Henry had adjusted the correct sensing diode well enough to save the job.

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Training Opportunities

New Tutor Training

Please pass these dates along to friends and colleagues you think might be interested in becoming a tutor.

High Point:

All sessions will take place in the 2nd floor Board Room of the Wachovia building in downtown High Point at 200 N. Main St.

Orientation: Thursday, June 16 - 9:00 -11:00 am
Session 1: Tuesday, June 21 - 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Session 2: Thursday, June 23 - 9:00 am - 12:00 noon

Greensboro:

All sessions will take place in the 8th floor conference room in the Self Help building at 122 N. Elm Street in Greensboro

Orientation: Tuesday, July 19 - 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Session 1: Tuesday, July 26 - 5:30 - 8:30 pm
Session 2: Thursday, July 28 - 5:30 - 8:30 pm

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Tutor Tip for Level 3 or 4 Students

Need a creative way to work on fluency, comprehension and vocabulary (aside from using your Toolkit, of course)? Check out a new list of popular young adult novels between a 4th and 8th grade reading level. The list contains titles like Canyons by Gary Paulsen, Letters from Rifka by Karen Hesse, and many others. You can check these books out of the Reading Connections library or find them at the public library or Edward McKay's.

To access the list on the Reading Connections website, click on the Tutor Login at www.readingconnections.org and simply enter the user id and password when prompted. If you cannot access the list online, please email Laura at ldemaria@readingconnections.org for the password or to be emailed a copy of the list.

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Volunteer Instructors Needed!

Short-term Instructor Needed – July Only!

Would you like a short-term, temporary instructor assignment? We need an instructor for an established Level 2 class in the Greensboro office, just for the month of July. The class meets every Monday and Wednesday from 5:00-7:00pm with a group of 2-5 students, and works on various topics from the Level 2 Toolkit. If you are interested in taking over this group temporarily, please let us know so you attend a session before the current instructor takes a summer break. If you would like more information, please contact Laura DeMaria at ldemaria@readingconnections.org or (336) 230-2223.

Morning Instructor Needed – Students Waiting!

The High Point Office is looking for an instructor to teach a intermediate reading class two days a week based on the Level 3 and 4 Literacy Toolkits. To complement our existing classes, we're looking to start a morning class.  This is our biggest need, and several students are now waiting to join a class on this level.  Please contact Kyri Murdough at kmurdough@readingconnections.org or call (336) 884-7323 if you're interested.

English as a Second Language Instructor Needed – Saturdays Only!

The High Point Office is looking for an instructor to teach an Intermediate ESOL class. The class takes place at the High Point Museum on Saturdays from 12pm-2pm. Please contact Kyri Murdough at kmurdough@readingconnections.org or call (336) 884-7323 if you're interested.

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We are always interested in your feedback. Do you have questions or concerns? Please contact the office.

Sincerely,
Reading Connections Staff

Greensboro Office
122 N. Elm St., Ste. 520
Greensboro, NC 27401
info@readingconnections.org
Phone: (336)230-2223
Fax: (336) 230-2203

High Point Office
901 N. Main Street
High Point, NC 27262

P.O. Box 2530
High Point, NC 27261

info@readingconnections.org
Phone (336) 884-7323
Fax (336) 883-3636

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