Happy Valentines Day!
Please take a moment to read peruse our website to learn about extraordinary AACLC students and “meet” some of our new AACLC literacy and math students as well as some tutors.
You will also want to grab your calendar and make note of several upcoming events. Our Annual Appreciation dinner will be held on April 25th and County Executive Steuart Pittman will be our keynote speaker! We have a firm cap of 200 attendees this year so tutors, students, and assessors please RSVP as soon as possible to guarantee seating.
We also have an upcoming workshop for our English Language Learner (ELL) tutors on March 20th, and our spring 2019 AACLC tutor training date has been set for March 16th. If you know of anyone who would like to be a literacy or math tutor for us, please forward this newsletter and encourage them to contact me.
Kind regards,
Lisa Vernon, Executive Director
Lisa Vernon, Executive Director
Anne Arundel County Literacy Council
301-523-6750 (cell)
The following resources can be used to add a little variety and fun to your tutoring sessions with your students this month.
Level 1:
Create a sentence in print on three-line paper using your student’s name. Duplicate the sentence, so that you can cut one into separate words to use as puzzle pieces. Include generous amounts of space between the words, and keep them in an envelope of bag for use. “Jack likes to read books to his son.” “Carol writes a list of things she needs from the grocery store.” You can make the sentences shorter or longer, and you can also print other words to modify the sentences.
Show the complete sentence to your student then let them use the puzzle pieces to put the sentence in order.
Level 2:
Ask your student about the subject and nouns, and action words in a few sentences. Have your student copy the sentences in his notebook, or create a new sentence. You can also have your student discuss or write about a picture from a magazine or book.
Level 3:
Use the skillbook story links at http://www.literacycouncilmcmd.org/tutor-resources/tutor-center/lcmc-library-resources/ to read and discuss sentences and stories on the Literacy Council of Montgomery County’s website. Discuss nouns, action words, descriptive words, and punctuation in each sentence.
Sarah Gardner
You can turn any written material into a lesson to practice writing, grammar, punctuation, and gaining vocabulary… find the lyrics to songs that your student knows; use the words from a favorite book; use the proverbs/psalms from the Bible; use the articles that come in 3 levels from the newspaper website for adults and children, too .…www.newsinlevels.com
– both the audio and written story are provided. Great website!
If you have access to a computer, you can record your student reading aloud on www.vocaroo.com . It is not necessary to sign-up to use the free recorder on the website. Vocaroo is a great tool to practice reading phrases, passages, poetry, and song lyrics orally. In fact, find and share the written words to one of your student’s favorite poems or songs and have them “read” it on Vocaroo. The website allows you to record, retry, and erase as many times as you like.
Sarah Gardner
Thanks to your support, $11,073 was raised through GivingTuesday to improve adult literacy in Anne Arundel County! Out of 547 “small” nonprofits competing nationally through MightyCause, Anne Arundel County Literacy Council ranked #8 for most donations raised on November 27th.
You are providing free books, tutoring, and assessments for interested, low-income adults. Goals achieved include GEDs, jobs, better-paying jobs, and an improved quality of life for our students and their families. You are changing lives through literacy with your donations. Thank you!
Please take a moment to “meet” students elsewhere on this website to share in their joy at achieving their reading and math goals. Also, our spring 2019 literacy tutor training date has been set for March 16th. CLICK HERE for details. If you, or someone you know, would like to take this training, please call 410-269-4419 or emaildirector@aaclc.org as soon as possible to reserve a seat.
Kind regards,
Lisa Vernon, Executive Director
Lisa Vernon, Executive Director
Anne Arundel County Literacy Council
301-523-6750 (cell)
director@aaclc.org
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#GivingTuesday gives us a chance each year to compete for prizes. Starting November 15th through November 27th, a very generous AACLC donor will also DOUBLE your donations up to $2,500 with a matching gift!
So if you have not sent in your membership donation, you can do so online through our #GivingTuesday AACLC mightycause webpage, double your donation, and save a stamp.
PLEASE NOTE: You will have the choice to opt-out of covering a 5% platform fee during your check-out process. If you elect NOT to cover the platform fee for AACLC, Mightycause WILL cover the fee so that AACLC is guaranteed to receive every penny of each donation.
Thank you Mightycause!
From left to right: tutor coordinator Jane Seiss, student coordinator JoAnn Cook, assessor coordinator Emily Clement, database assistant Patti Durst, director Lisa Vernon, tutor training coordinator Jill Mischo, and GED/math coordinator Dr. Perinaaz Gandhi. Not pictured: Database managers Bruce Phillips and Dan Milleville, Treasurer Megan Jackson, TABE coordinator Barb Colacicco, student coordinator assistant Judy Smallwood, and GED math coordinator Susann Felton.
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The Literacy Council is fortunate to have a dedicated team working behind the scenes supporting our tutors and students! They generously share their time, talents, and abilities so we can fulfill our mission and provide free reading, writing, math, and English instruction to low-income, interested Anne Arundel County adults.
Left to right: ESL tutor and class leader Joan Spring, student Marina, and ESL tutor Jane Felsentreger
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We have great news to share! Thanks to Joan Spring, an experienced ESL conversation class tutor who has joined our team, as well as requests from our community of tutors, we are launching a free Drop-In ESL Conversation Group in Crofton this fall. Matched students, as well as students on our waiting list, are invited to attend.
The next class will be he on
Wednesday evening, November 7th
at 7 pm Wegman’s Cafeteria, Crofton
– no books required –
– the teacher will use “News for You” newspapers –
and other materials as needed
– tutors do not need to attend –
(although you may want to come the first time your student attends)
Tutor Training Coordinator Jill Mischo and GED math trainer Deena Fujimoto
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Current and future GED- math tutors, you don’t want to miss this great opportunity! GED-math tutor trainer Deena Fujimoto will give an overview of the math GED test, including the use of the TI 30-XS calculator, as well as a brief introduction to the Common Core Math style which is taught in schools.
Come to our math workshop on Saturday, November 17th, from 9:00 a.m. – 12 noon at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, Room 208. (go down the stairs located on the left – hand side of the lobby. At the bottom of the stairs turn left and walk through the swinging doors. Room 208 is a large classroom on the right.)
Please RSVP to Dr. Perinaaz Gandhi at perinaaz.gandhi@gmail.com if you will be attending this training so we can have an accurate number of handouts.
UPDATE: This event was originally scheduled for Nov. 9, 2018, and has been moved to Nov. 10, 2018, same time, same place.
Tutors! Are you new to tutoring and need a little feedback? Do you have some successful strategies to share? Do you need some strategies to overcome a tutoring challenge?
Come to our Follow-On workshop Saturday morning, November 10th, 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. at Wood’s Memorial Church in Severna Park, Room 150. (go down the stairs located on the left – hand side of the lobby. At the bottom of the stairs turn right. Room 150 is the first classroom on the left.)
Share how your first sessions are going and how we can help. Learn how to incorporate writing into your lessons and how to use some graphic organizers that can help your student organize her thoughts. Learn where to find informative videos to help you tutor. Our basic tutoring simply can’t cover all the strategies and resources that will make you a successful tutor. Even experienced tutors can use a few refreshing strategies to boost their tutoring skills!
Set your calendars and RSVP to Jane Seiss at jane.seiss@gmail.com
Tutor Cindy Dommisse and Mulku
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A heartwarming testimony from Mulku’s daughter:
“Before we moved to Maryland, my mother was told she was not ready for an ESL class and needed a one-on-one tutor which the county was unable to provide. Fortunately, after moving to Annapolis, MD, we found the Anne Arundel County Literacy Council. At that time my mother was not communicating in English at all.
Luckily, the Staff was so welcoming and helpful, and quickly placed her on the list for ESL tutoring . They were absolutely professional and linked us to Ms. Cindy, who is very gifted in delivering information to my mother. Ms. Cindy is talented, compassionate, and put in successful ideas and tailored the lessons to mother’s needs. Whenever Ms. Cindy was not available, my mother worked with Ms. Susan, a very nice lady who did a great job in covering the sessions. I cannot thank them enough!
My mother, who had never understood nor written a letter in any language, has come a long way and in less than a year she can now communicate in English with very little help. And this is all because of Ms. Cindy’s dedication to what she does. I find Ms. Cindy to be the catalyst for this achievement. She answered any question or concern, and Mother is now looking forward to learning more English.
Even when we moved to a different county Ms. Cindy gave us directions that helped her to get situated in Prince George County Literacy Council, where the staff here are super helpful. Today my mother is well prepared to be in a classroom to continue her education.
Thank you Anne Arundel County Literacy Council and your committed tutors !”
