Literacy Is For EveryoneLiteracy Is For EveryoneLiteracy Is For Everyone The Newsletter ofThe Newsletter ofThe Newsletter of

The Adult Literacy Council of Greater Fort ErieThe Adult Literacy Council of Greater Fort ErieThe Adult Literacy Council of Greater Fort Erie

“I’ve been a student of the Adult Literacy Council for over 15 years. It has been a real

blessing for me, because I’ve met wonderful people. I’ve made new friends. I had 2 great tutors,

who have been my friends, mentors & dream makers. They helped me by discovering my new

talent, which is writing. I’ve composed & delivered sermons for my Church, I had my poems

published, & I enjoy having my articles in our newsletters.

One reason, that I feel being a learner of ALC has blessing is that, I’ve expanded my

world. As I work through my lessons my vocabulary & brainpower grows! I was a good student

in Fort Erie High School. I made the Dean’s List at a Business College & I hoped to be an

accountant. But, in May 1991 I had a brain aneurysm, & this caused me to have a stroke. I went

to 2 rehabs for about a year. There, they showed me the

“basics”. I couldn’t write, or recognize my own name.

It was important to me to be independent. I had hoped

to read & understand my mail & prescriptions. I knew I

needed to regain the skills to write & read. English was

like a 2nd language to me. I’d have to re-learn all my

living skills. Imagine all your information that you’ve

been working on & storing for about 20 years in one

computer, & your hard drive is damaged, so you can’t

access anything. My only caregiver was my Mother. She

contacted the ALC. A lady came to our home & talked

with me. I told her how I need their help. After testing

me, she said, ‘I’m not sure if we can help you , but

we’ll try.’

This is what I was praying for! Someone was willing to give me a chance. I felt like a

pioneer! I still take my lessons very seriously, because I’d like to show the next aneurysm student

how far we can go. Each one, teach one. I believe we can go as far as we dream. When you read

my works, I hope that you’ll know how far my journey & dreams have taken me. Thank you.”

Summer 2009

Board Chair Vice-Chair Secretary Treasurer Past President Members-at-Large Student Representative Executive Director Program Coordinator Volunteer Coordinator Bookkeeper

Kay Green Madonna Filipowicz Pauline Horton Brenda Keiwan Deanna Di Martile Jenny Marinaccio Grace Maskell Adam Joon Stephen Farkas Paul Jones Maria Salvati Keri-Lynn Lee Shannon Hummel

2009 BOARD MEMBERS & STAFF

MISSION STATEMENT The Adult Literacy Council actively fosters literate adults and a literate Greater Fort Erie for the lifelong

enrichment of the lives of individuals and of the community through individual literacy programs and community events.

Inside This Issue

Affiliated with

Laubach Literacy Ontario Registered Charity # 10668-6298

Literacy as a Foundation

♦Bingo Committee ♦Fundraising Committee ♦Newsletter Committee

♦Computer Lab ♦Gala ♦Newsletter ♦Office Support ♦Special Events ♦Tutoring ♦Family Literacy ♦Family Math ♦Bingo ♦Fundraising

FORT ERIE OFFICE

136 Gilmore Road

Fort Erie. Ontario L2A 2M1

Phone: 905-871-6626

Email: fealc@vaxxine.com

Hours: Monday to Friday

9:00am to 4:00pm

30 Years! ...................................................... Page 1 Computer Literacy ........................................ Page 2 Celebrating Family Math ............................ Page 2 Interview with Paul Jones ........................... Page 3 Summer Word Scramble .............................. Page 3 LLO Conference ............................................ Page 4 Poem by Andrea Menig ............................... Page 4 Word Scramble Answers .............................. Page 4 Newsletter Editor: Terrie Hall

Volunteer

Opportunities Active

Committees

The Adult Literacy Council of Greater Fort Erie celebrated 30 Years of Literacy at this

year's Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday April 14, 2009. The highlights of the evening

were the speeches presented by Lynda Goodridge and Andrea Menig. Lynda Goodridge has

volunteered for the ALC for 30 years and is one of the founding members of the ALC. Lynda’s

speech was inspirational and gave the audience an insight into the scope of the dedication of the

ALC volunteers. Lynda’s speech was followed by her student’s, Andrea Menig. Andrea

Menig’s speech drew tears from the audience as she described the experience of being a learner

at the ALC. An excerpt from Andrea’s speech follows:

30 Years of Literacy!

Andrea Menig and Lynda Goodridge

Jenny Marinaccio and Deanna

DiMartile at the refreshment table

Stephen and Mary Farkas

looking at memories of the ALC

Terrie Hall working at the

registration table

A United Way Member

Our newsletter has been revised.

From now on as much as possible the

newsletter will be made up of submissions

from the learners and volunteers.

If you would like to submit an article or

picture to the newsletter

please call 905-871-6626.

Summer 2009 The Adult Literacy Council of Greater Fort Erie — Literacy is for Everyone Page 2

Celebration Time! Going on a Math Walk

Celebrating Family Math Submitted by Terrie Hall

Family Math is an Adult Literacy Council program for families who would like their children to experience suc-

cess in mathematics. While many parents want to help their children with math, they simply do not know how to go

about it. In our family math program parents accompanied by their children come together once a week for several

weeks to participate in enjoyable math related activities. These activities which are carefully planned to address specific

aspects of children’s math development are presented by trained Adult Literacy Council family math leaders and teach-

ing volunteers. Under the guidance of these individuals, parents learn how to put these ideas into practice at home.

When the children and their parents are excited about attending and the biggest complaint is that it is not long

enough – obviously this is a popular program. Next year we are hoping to extend the program to 10 weeks. For more

information about volunteering and participating please contact the ALC office at 905-871-6626.

Computer Literacy Our computer literacy program is designed specifically for those who

have had very little experience operating a computer. This course combines the

computer basics with literacy in a very unique and non-threatening manner. We

begin with learning the parts of the computer and what they do and continue on

with the learner into the world of the internet. Learners with the assistance of a

one-to-one learning partner are able to progress at their own pace. This course

will help to improve literacy skills and acquire computer skills. Bill Ross, a

participant of the computer literacy workshop, stated that “the computer

workshop was very interesting and I liked that I learned skills that I would be

able to teach to someone else. I would feel comfortable now to sit down and use

a computer anywhere.” Bill Ross Computer Lab Graduate

A Summer Time Joke - A day without sunshine is like, well, night.

Summer 2009 The Adult Literacy Council of Greater Fort Erie — Literacy is for Everyone Page 3

Volunteer OpportunitiesVolunteer OpportunitiesVolunteer Opportunities Give us a call! 905-871-6626

Summer Word Scramble

Answers on page 4

ntdueArev

llaaseBb

allB

aehcB

cabalhlBe

dBsir

otaB

neiorfB

abnaaC

otegtCa

Deiv

vniigD

isnrkD

ggnuybDue

Fhis

psllpfFio

ewFrlso

uFn

amGes

Hootdgs

nrsLahiwca

ooPl

ndoxSba

remmuS

Interview with Paul Jones Wayne Daudlin, a learner of the ALC, was kind enough to

sit down with Paul Jones for a brief interview.

Paul is the Executive Director of The Adult Literacy

Council as of June 1, 2009. Prior to taking this position he was a

recent graduate of the Tutor Training Workshop held in April.

Paul has been matched with a learning partner and Wayne was

able to get some of his thoughts on the process of tutoring at the

ALC.

WD: Why did you want to be involved in adult literacy?

PJ: I was always in the background helping prior to my official

involvement in The ALC. I have been involved in the community

in many different ways. I felt that I had something to offer the

Council. I felt a connection with literacy as my father taught me

to read and he was my

inspiration.

WD: What do you enjoy about tutoring?

PJ: I enjoy tutoring a willing learner. The learning partnership

helps to fill a void in each partner’s life. I find that the learning

partners are able to establish a connection through similar

interests that may not be noticeable at their first meeting.

WD: What is your method of teaching?

PJ: I like to set goals. If a learner becomes frustrated I

immediately bring the learner back to his or her comfort zone.

The learner is my guide in goal setting. I like to help the learner

achieve whatever he or she has ambition for. I like to encourage

my learning partner that any goal is achievable with hard work

and persistence.

Ask Andrea is available to answer any questions and concerns

regarding your learning goals.

Please forward all questions to the email fealc@vaxxine.com or

drop off to the ALC mail slot at the library.

Andrea will answer your questions in the next newsletter.

Summer 2009 The Adult Literacy Council of Greater Fort Erie — Literacy is for Everyone Page 4

Please check the ALC website for upcoming events at www.literacyforterie.ca

Summer Word Scramble Answers

ntdueArev Adventure

llaaseBb Baseball

allB Ball

aehcB Beach

cabalhlBe Beachball

dBsir Birds

otaB Boat

neiorfB Bonfire

abnaaC Cabana

otegtCa Cottage

Deiv Dive

vniigD Diving

isnrkD Drinks

ggnuybDue Dunebuggy

Fhis Fish

psllpfFio Flipflops

ewFrlso Flowers

uFn Fun

amGes Games

Hootdgs Hotdogs

nrsLahiwca Lawnchairs

ooPl Pool

ndoxSba Sandbox

remmuS Summer

We went to the L.L.O. Conference 2009 in Barrie The most interesting thing about the conference was that the people were

very helpful. When we went to find the room for the class we asked where it

was and people were very helpful to us. People should go because they get a lot

out of the conference and everybody has a voice at this conference. People learn

something from all of the classes that they go to. One workshop was about how

to get a job on a website. We went on the computer to look for a job. For all of

the classes we took pictures there and the award for the people who got them.

We were asked to do questions on paper with our answers on them there were 6

of them to do.

The speakers were all very good.

Spider’s story was excellent, it got to me.

Stephen and I both ended up in tears. Spider

wrote about a book about his own story about

living on the streets and when he was in jail. He

then met his wife and she helped him to go back

to school and learn to read. Spider is writing a

second book and hopes to make a movie.

There was much lively discussion, everyone who

wanted to say something had a chance. For

more information please follow the link to the

LLO Conference of 2009: http://www.laubach-

on.ca/conf2009.html. There were about 200

people at the conference from all over Ontario.

Both Stephen and I would like to go next year.

Submitted by Stephen & Mary Farkas

A GROWING FRIENDSHIP

A Poem by Andrea Menig

We planted our special seed. Together, we tended to our seedling. We hoped the place for young friendship would be

rich, so it would have deep roots. I was glad that our budding vision would have a good anchor for us.

Together, we watered our seedling with tears of joy. One time you made me so happy, that I cried! We both felt warm,

& good when the sum beamed on that garden of our lives.

Together, we thinned out the bad weeds, who were threatening the growth of our fruitful friendship. It was difficult to

know what would be weeds or flowers, but we learned how to protect our partnership. We waited to see the strange

visitors developed. The best way for us, was listening quietly to our hearts. If both our hearts sing, we knew our guest

would be cultivating our friendship.

Together, we sheltered our friendship, when it was stormy times. Some storms were wild & scary. As our friendship

grew straight, it never split. Our union thrived. As we matured, so did our friendship. We could relax, & take comfort in

knowing that our wonderful work was strong enough on it’s own. It didn’t bend.

Together, we rejoiced when our friendship was bearing fruit! We had carefully preserved that fruit for when our spirits

were hungry. We shared our sweet treats with each other, when bad times came.

Together, we proved that you reap what you sow. It’s good to know that you can come to our friendship, & it will

protect us. My dear friend, if you are weary, just lean on what we have grown. Don’t be afraid, it’s good & straight for

you to lean on. Thank you for inspiring me to create this. Brothers & Sisters love one another.