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Holiday Schedule
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Reading Connections will be closed in observance of holidays on the following dates:
Thanksgiving
Thursday, November 26th
Friday, November 27th
Christmas
Thursday, December 24th
Friday, December 25th
New Years
Friday, January 1st
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Like us on Facebook and check out our
Tutor Tips of the Week
!
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Refer a Friend!
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Know someone who would be a great tutor? Invite them to attend our next
New Volunteer Orientation
! There is no better way to change a life than by unlocking the power of literacy.
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Reading Connections NEWSFLASH
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As we prepare for the holidays, we are especially thankful to all of you who give so much to make Reading Connections successful! We hope you enjoy our newsletter as we share our successes and keep you in the loop with the latest news and community happenings.
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Family Literacy Celebrates Halloween
Children and adults in the Family Literacy program at Hunter Elementary had a blast celebrating Halloween with costumes, crafts, and a
piñata
. Check out our
Facebook
page for more pictures of the event!
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Welcome, Sydney!
Sydney Gouani is a junior at UNCG. She is currently studying Social Work and hopes one day to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She was born in Boston, MA and grew up in Charlotte, NC, but her parents are from th
e Ivory Coast. With having immigrant parents, Adult Literacy is personal for her and she hopes to advocate for adults coming into this country looking to learn English and start a new life. She will serving at Reading Connections this year and is excited to be an AmeriCorps member.
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Teaching Inside: A Coordinator's Gratitude
By Tiffany Kallum, Detention Center Program Coordinator
While all of us are familiar with the standard Hollywood formula movie about a teacher going into a downtrodden urban high school to turn it around (think Morgan Freeman, Michelle Pfeiffer, even Jim Belushi), nowhere are dedicated teachers needed more than in the really tough schools: America's prisons and jails.
Because prisoners cannot leave the prison facility to attend classes, when instruction require professional instructors the instructors must go into prisons and jails to reach them. But qualified educators in carceral education programs are rare to nonexistent. ABE and GED courses are often taught by prison employees or those incarcerated, not qualified instructors.
To develop educational programing inside, the most proven way is for carceral institutions to partner with external institutions or organizations: such as Reading Connections. However, because most nonprofits are ran on very little funding many of the instructors come to teach as volunteers.
Click
here to continue reading about why we value our Detention Center volunteers so deeply.
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TutorFest Success!
On Saturday, October 24th, over 35 tutors made an early morning trek to South University for our 7th annual TutorFest conference. Fueled by coffee, doughnuts and other light refreshments, our volunteers had the opportunity to attend workshops that inspired great conversation and classroom ideas! Krispy Kreme of High Point donated coffee and doughnuts for the event. South University provided state-of-the-art classrooms and the school's student lounge for the gathering.
Thank you so much to all who attended, presented, and helped to
make it a great success!
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Save the Date for Holiday Potlucks
Please mark your calendar for Reading Connections' Holiday Potlucks!! All students, tutors, and supporters are invited to attend. Please bring a dish to share with everyone.
Greensboro Potluck
When:
Tuesday, December 1st from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Where: West Market Street United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall
Located on the corner of John Wesley Way and Friendly Avenue in downtown Greensboro
High Point Potluck
When:
Monday, December 7th from 4:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Where: Morgan Community Room
Located on the first floor of the High Point Library
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STAR Training at Reading Connections
Ten tutors and three staff members completed Student Achievement in Reading (STAR) certification on October 30th. During the six day workshop, participants learned how to effectively use evidence-based reading instruction in the classroom. The focus of STAR is to improve the reading achievement of intermediate-level adult learners.
Participants pictured from left to right:
Front Row: Veda Howell, Scotia Wade, Verena Ryschawy, Holly Love, Julie Davis, Tilia Vazquez, and Laura Mims.
Back Row: Ray Joye, Alfreda Poteat, Candy Lemon, John Storm, and Erik Hill.
Not pictured: Nedra Turner
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#GivingTuesday is December 1st
This year, on Tuesday, December 1st, Reading Connections is participating in #GivingTuesday, a day dedicated to supporting nonprofit fundraising. Please check your email and our
Facebook page for updates as the day approaches. Thank you for supporting Reading Connections!
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High Point ESOL Spotlight
Carolyn's ESOL group is at it again! In October, Carolyn invited Dr. Nazziola, a periodontist from Greensboro, to visit her small group. They've had guest speakers several times before and have really enjoyed the practice in conversation and the ability to ask questions and learn new vocabulary in context. Past guest speakers have included a 9-1-1 Operator, Pharmacist, Personal Banker, and a Physical Therapist.
In the future, Carolyn hopes to continue inviting guest speakers to the class that can offer new information and stimulating conversation relevant to her student's goals and instructional needs. Her next endeavor is to track down a legal representative to talk about our judicial system for civics! Carolyn says this isn't so difficult, because most of the people she invites are so excited to be a part of the service of helping students better understand their services and the infrastructure that many find difficult to navigate.
Thanks to Carolyn for reaching for the stars! And, thanks to Dr. Nazziola for serving Reading Connections in this capacity!
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Student Gets Response From Favorite Author
Marilyn Pelehach has been meeting with her two students, Barbara and Betty, since August 2013. Back in August of this year, Marilyn was teaching her students about the parts of a letter. Marilyn had the creative idea of contextualizing the assignment by having Barbara write a letter to her favorite author, Danielle Steel. Barbara penned a heartwarming letter about how watching a Danielle Steel movie inspired her to learn to read. In just two years Barbara has read 21 of Steel's books!
Marilyn emailed Barbara's letter to Steel. Steel mailed Barbara a letter back and even included a signed photograph! Barbara was very excited to receive the letter, and I think y
ou can see a sense of their accomplishment in the picture below.
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| Betty, Marilyn, and Barbara |
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Our mission is to provide and advocate for free, individualized adult literacy services to promote life changes for Guilford County residents and surrounding communities.
We always welcome your questions and feedback. Please don't hesitate to contact us to hear more about how our programs are making a difference in our community.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Gore, Executive Director
Reading Connections, Inc.
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