merry christmas”€¦ · “merry christmas” to everyone in the department! may god bestow his...

“MERRY CHRISTMAS” TO EVERYONE IN THE DEPARTMENT!

MAY GOD BESTOW HIS MANY BLESSINGS ON YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

AND MAY THE WARMTH OF THIS JOYOUS SEASON FILL YOUR HEART WITH PEACE AND HAPPINESS

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR!

MEMORANDUM TO: Adult Education Program Staff FROM: Hanna Cabaj, Coordinator Shirley Hynes, Administrator Continuing Education Department

Vol. 2007/2008 No.135 December 2007

IN THIS ISSUE: Important Reminders

LINC 5-7 Curriculum —Did you receive? 2

Policies/New Information Records of Employment................ 2 New Director of Education Appointed 2 Family Day—Monday, February 18, 2008 3

Employee Related Information New Hires—Nursery Program ......... 3

Professional Development January 24th In-Service Workshop.. 3 TESL Ontario Conference ............. 3 November 29th Workshop Acknowledged 3 21st Annual P.D. Conference ......... 4

Tips for Classroom Instructors Adult ESL Spelling Competition ....... 4 ESL Week—Scadding Court Community Ctr. 4 2007 ESL Spelling Competition ....... 5 Pumpkin Carving Competition .......... 5 Feature Resources of the Month ..... 6

AE Nursery Program CMAS Website for LINC Childminders 7

On a Lighter Note .............. 7

Visit our Web Site: www.tcdsb.org/adulted

Important Upcoming Events

• MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2008 - ALL CLASSES RESUME • IN-SERVICE WORKSHOP - “PREP MADE EASY FOR THE

MULTILEVEL CLASSROOM - A PUBLISHERS WORK-SHOP”- FOR CLB PRE-BENCHMARK, BENCHMARKS 1 & 2 - THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2008 AT MARY WARD LINC & ESL CENTRE

• A N N U A L P R O F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T CONFERENCE—FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST - AT BISHOP MAROCCO/THOMAS MERTON SECONDARY SCHOOL

• FAMILY DAY - MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2008 –STATUTORY HOLIDAY

To: Adult Education Program Staff

TORONTO CATHOLIC DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD APPOINTS NEW

DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION The Toronto Catholic District School Board has appointed Les Nemes as its new Director of Education. Mr. Nemes replaces Kevin Kobus, who will retire July 31, 2008. Les Nemes has spent the past 40 years in Catholic education, all of which was spent with the Metropolitan Separate School Board and TCDSB. Most recently he has served as Deputy Director of Academic Affairs, following terms as Superintendent of Education and Assistant Superintendent of Education, and earlier as a teacher and principal at various schools in the system. “I am honoured to have been selected to lead the Toronto Catholic District School Board,” says Les Nemes of his appointment. “I look forward to working in close partnership with the Board of Trustees, our staff, parents and parishes for the betterment of Catholic education.” Some of the most recent highlights in his career so far have been spearheading the year-round schooling initiative, which was approved by the Board for implementation in 2009-2010, as well as former Lieutenant Governor James Bartleman’s twinning initiative between TCDSB schools and northern communities. Catherine LeBlanc-Miller, TCDSB’s Chair-Elect, welcomes Mr. Nemes to his new position. “We are confident that Mr. Nemes has the experience and the commitment to serve as our new Director of Education,” she says. “The times ahead will be challenging but I know that we will work in close partnership and much will be accomplished.” “With his lengthy career in Catholic education, we are certain that Mr. Nemes has gained valuable insight into the workings of our own school board, as well as education throughout the province. This experience will be invaluable in the days ahead,” says outgoing Chair Oliver Carroll. The TCDSB also wishes Mr. Kobus the best in his future endeavours.

From: Hanna Cabaj and Shirley Hynes, Continuing Education Department

DID YOU RECEIVE YOUR COPY OF LINC 5-7 CURRICULUM GUIDELINES? (REPEAT) submitted by Sharon Rajabi, Program Consultant- Budget & Operations The LINC 5-7 Curriculum Guidelines went into produc-tion in October! Congratulations to Anne-Marie Kaskens, Margaret Stasiak and Anne Hajer for such an outstanding job! We hope that by now you have re-ceived copies of the LINC 5-7 Curriculum Guidelines that were shipped in October to all LINC & ESL classes in Ontario. These guidelines target CLB 5-8 and offer a modular as well as a thematic approach to planning. Every site will receive copies of the curriculum for every class they offer (whether LINC or ESL) in CLB 5-8 range. For example, if your site offers a LINC 5 class in the daytime, a LINC 6/7 class in the evenings and a LINC 6/7 class on the weekends, you will receive 3 copies of the curriculum. If your site offers a blended LINC/ESL program, you will receive copies for both LINC & ESL classes. Please let us know if you did not receive enough copies for your CLB 5-8 classes at your centre. You can reach Sharon Rajabi at 416 222-8282 ext. 2549 or by email at [email protected] to ask for additional copies.

RECORDS OF EMPLOYMENT (REPEAT) For those employees intending to file for Employment Insurance Benefits please note that effective September 1, 2007 Records of Employment will be submitted di-rectly to Service Canada via WEB ROE. You may apply in person or on-line immediately upon your last day worked. A copy of the ROE submitted to Service Canada will be sent to the employee. Note that Service Canada does not require a copy of the ROE as they will be in receipt of an electronic copy. Please refer to Service Canada Bulletins about applying on-line at www.servicecanada.gc.ca.

Important Reminders

Policies/New Information


JANUARY 24TH IN-SERVICE WORKSHOP On Thursday, January 24, 2008 Publisher, Thane Ladner, Canadian Resources for ESL will be presenting an in-service workshop entitled “Prep Made Easy for the Multilevel Classroom- CLB Pre-Benchmark, Benchmarks 1 & 2” at Mary Ward LINC & ESL Centre (44 Kelvinway Drive- Finch & Pharmacy) from 4:00- 6:00 p.m. The workshop will feature two new legally repro-ducible Canadian ESL workbooks that deal with prepara-tion problems for a multilevel class at the CLB levels, pre-benchmark and benchmarks 1 & 2. The books are Food, Supermarket & Cooking and Education & Commu-nity, written by Maria Crapsi and Agnes Kucharska. The authors are instructors from Hamilton and they had a beginner class that included pre-benchmark, benchmarks one and two. They created material for all three levels based on LINC themes. Be sure to join us on the 24th to see how these resources can be used in a (low level) multi-level class. Certificates of Participation will be provided. See enclosed flyer for full details. TESL ONTARIO CONFERENCE Our thanks go out to the Adult Education workshop pre-senters for the excellent job they did representing our Board at the TESL Ontario Conference. The workshops were all very informative, professional and well received. The Department also extends thanks and recognition for a job well done to Program Consultant Sharon Rajabi for her dual roles as President of TESL Ontario and the ‘Technology Fair’ Chair and to Program Consult-ant Joanne Hincks, for her work as the Volunteer Co-ordinator of the Conference. Last but not least, we would like to acknowledge the fol-lowing individuals for their role in managing the Pub-lisher’s Display table: Support Staff Linda Cocker-ham; Materials Distributor Baldev Sikhana; Cleri-cal Assistant Jill Cuento and Administative Assis-tant David Zhang. NOVEMBER 29TH IN-SERVICE WORKSHOP ACKNOWLEDGED Our thanks go out to Public Health Nurse, Sharon Bain for presenting the in-service workshop on Novem-ber 29th, 2007 at Mary Ward LINC & ESL Centre entitled “Heart Health ESL Curriculum Resource”. The workshop provided information on heart health and familiarized instructors with the lesson plans and activities developed for both low and high levels that are included in the re-source. A free copy of the resource was given out to all participants. It was a very worthwhile presentation and everyone enjoyed the delicious, healthy snacks!


FAMILY DAY- MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2008 submitted by the Communications Department of the TCDSB The Provincial Government announced an additional statutory holiday starting in 2008. This holiday will be scheduled on the 3rd Monday in February of each year and will be known as “Family Day”. For 2008, it will be held on Monday, February 18th. Based on the information received from the Ministry, we will not need to make any adjustments to our TCDSB school year calendar except to add Monday, February 18th as a statutory holiday. This means that Monday, February 18, 2008 is not an instructional day in Adult Education ESL, LINC, LBS, SLT and Citizenship Preparation Classes. Please note that Saturday, Feb. 16 and Sunday, Feb 17, 2008 continue to be regular instructional days.

NEW HIRES We are pleased to welcome to the Nursery Program: Jessica Lin and Afsaneh Saber-Sarvestani. They are both available to supply and are included in the December nursery supply list.

Employee Related Information

Professional Development

Inserts included in this memo December 2007

• Christmas Greetings from Admin • Photo Montage—6th annual LINC

Childminding Conference • In-Service Workshop January 24th • January 2008 Supply List

The second one was for CLB 5-6 learners. The competitors represented various ESL schools in Toronto such as: the Bickford Centre, the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture and George Brown College. I am proud to say that the students from St. William School and the Lakeshore LINC Centre did a fine job representing the TCDSB Adult Education Program. It was a wonderful experience and we look forward to participating in this event again next year. Our thanks go out to Channah Cohen and Anne MacGregor-O’Neill for all their hard work in organizing this competition. ESL WEEK CELEBRATION AT SCADDING COURT COMMUNITY CENTRE submitted by Maria Jones-Imhotep, ESL Instructor-in-Charge On Friday, November 9th , the ESL day class at Scadding Court Community Centre, had the opportunity to meet with volunteer presenters from the Dominion Institute’s Passages to Canada program. The presentation gave the students a chance to listen to Richard Mwangi from Kenya and Alberto Ralli from Argentina, tell their stories as newcomers to Toronto. The students prepared questions and practiced telling their own stories in groups. The highlight of the event was the visit of our Member of Parliament from Trinity-Spadina and former Councillor, Olivia Chow. As a young immigrant of thirteen, Olivia had to struggle to learn English and adapt to her new school environment when she arrived from Hong Kong with her family. In her early career Olivia taught ESL before entering politics, first as a school Trustee and then as Councillor for Trinity-Spadina. She is an inspiration to all newcomers, especially to women. Hats off to all our students past, present and future in celebration of ESL week!!! Our heart felt thanks also go to the Dominion Institute’s coordinator Eliana Busheikim, M.P. Olivia Chow and Richard Mwangi and Alberto Lalli for their time with us. Also we want to thank Scadding Court’s Executive Director Kevin Lee and Director of programs Herman Ellis Jr. for their kind words of welcome. 2007 ESL SPELLING COMPETITION submitted by Maria Jones- Imhotep, ESL Instructor-in-Charge Great news from the ESL day program at Scadding Court Community Centre. Three contestants entered the 2007 ESL Spelling Competition: Li Feng Zhou, Ting Liu, and Cindy Gian.



21st ANNUAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE submitted by Joanne Hincks, Conference Co-ordinator Please mark your calendar for our annual conference to be held on Friday, February 1st, 2008 at Bishop Marrocco / Thomas Merton Secondary School (1515 Bloor St. West). This year’s conference theme is “From Reflection to Practice”. The day will include a plenary address from Dr. Thomas Farrell, Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University; two sets of workshops; a publishers’ display and a complimentary pizza lunch. All instructors will receive an information package in a separate mailing in the new year. Be sure to review this package for information on workshop options, registration and parking and bring it with you to the conference as it contains vital information that you will need. TO REPORT ATTENDANCE FOR THE FEBRUARY 1st P.D. CONFERENCE, please indicate the attendance from Thursday, January 31st on your Friday, February 1st registers for English as a Second Language and Citizenship Preparation classes. If you have not notified your co-sponsoring agency program coordinator and your students about your absence on the day of the conference, please do so as soon as you receive this memo. Cancellation of classes may affect their plans. We look forward to seeing you there!

ADULT ESL SPELLING COMPETITION submitted by Elizabeth Kielbasinska, Instructor-in-Charge at the Lakeshore LINC Centre In October, the Lakeshore LINC Centre received a package detailing the Adult ESL Spelling Competition organized by Channah Cohen and a group of devoted volunteers that included Anne MacGregor-O’Neill from St. Williams School. The competition was sponsored by the Toronto Star and supported by TESL Ontario. Not only was it an opportunity to test students’ spelling skills and to win some prizes in the process but it was also a chance for groups of students to coach their class representatives and prepare them for the real competition. Thus, students expanded their knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar, and of course improved their spelling. The competition was held in two rounds. The first one was for CLB 2-4, and

Tips for Classroom Instructors

PUMPKIN CARVING CONTEST submitted by Helen Kaluzhsky, Instructor-in-Charge at Malvern Library This year the Malvern Library ESL class organized a Pumpkin Carving contest on Halloween day and invited the Blessed Mother Teresa ESL class to join the fun. Together the students carved seven pumpkins. They were so funny that the whole library came to see them and take pictures. Their pumpkins also appeared in the internal memo of the Toronto Public Library. Everyone enjoyed the day!

Malvern Library ESL class Pumpkin Carvers!



The Second Prize went Cindy Gian! Congratulations to all three for representing the program with great enthusiasm and courage. Their love for learning the language came shining through the entire event on the evening of November 15th. We are all very proud of you. Keep up the good work!!!

Li Feng Zhou, Ting Liu, and Cindy Gian

Dominion Institute’s Passages to Canada

based competencies are identified at the beginning of every lesson for quick reference. Test Yourself, at the end of every lesson, provides learners with ongoing self-assessment. Step Forward Canada is a real asset to ESL teachers. It is referenced to Canadian Language Benchmarks and thoroughly incorporates the four language skills with pronunciation, grammar, group work activities, and above all, it reflects Canadian values and culture. Thanks to Sharon Rajabi, Program Consultant - Budget & Operations, for making this happen. 2 ) IMPORTANT WEBSITE:

HANDS ON! A COLLECTION OF ESL LITERACY ACTIVITIES

HANDS ON! is a collection of ESL literacy activities, developed for instructors working with adult ESL learners by HILC (Halifax Immigration Learning Centre) and MISA (Metropolitan Immigration Settlement Association, 284 pages) . Although the primary focus of this resource is to provide thematic based approach to learning reading and writing, the activities included serve as catalysts to practise speaking and listening. Chapters 1 – 5 are in sequential order for learners at a very basic level. They provide ample practice in ESL literacy (also the mechanical skills needed to write the alphabet) and numeracy. Each of these chapters builds on the previous one. Chapters 6 – 14 have no particular order, teachers can select themes according to learners’ needs and interests. Most of the chapters have accompanying picture flash cards, Bingo Games (Number Bingo, Word Bingo, Picture Bingo, Time Board Game etc.) The resource also provides lots of opportunities for vocabulary development and acquisition. To select activities from this valuable resource, please visit http://www.misa.ns.ca/ go to Resources (at the bottom of the page) then go to Teaching and Learning Resources.



FEATURE RESOURCES OF THE MONTH submitted by Julia Chemali, Materials Consultant 1) Title: Step Forward Canada 2 Language for Everyday Life (CLB 3 - 5)

Author: Sharon Rajabi Publisher: Oxford ISBN: 978-0-19-542631-1

Step Forward Canada 2 is an exciting Canadian resource for Teaching English as a Second Language that is referenced to Canadian Language Benchmarks (also available Step Forward Canada 1 (CLB 1 – 3). It teaches the four language skills by bringing together the Canadian Language Benchmarks, communicative competence, critical thinking and employability skills through a variety of tasks and activities. In spite of the fact that ESL and LINC curricula offer guidance and suggestions on how to apply the benchmarks, it is still time consuming for teachers to develop activities and tasks that are appropriately benchmarked for their level. Step Forward Canada 2 provides theme-based units and benchmarked lessons that are easy to incorporate in lesson planning. Some of those units include: Looking for Work; On the Job; Moving Out; Pick up the Phone; Stay Safe and Well; Money Matters; Steps for Citizenship; Deal with Difficulties; etc. The Table of Contents states the speaking, listening, reading and writing CLB competencies that students will learn in each unit as well as the vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, communicative competence, employability skills, math concepts and critical thinking. This is followed by the Can Do Checklist which provides learners with goal setting tools and the opportunity to monitor their own progress. Each unit consists of five lessons: The Vocabulary lesson teaches key words and phrases relevant to the unit and topic, and provides conversation practice using the target vocabulary. The Life Stories lesson expands on vocabulary learned in lesson 1 and expands learners’ understanding through reading and writing about the life skills topic. The Grammar lesson provides clear presentation of target structure followed by thorough, meaningful practice of it. The Everyday Conversation lesson provides learners with fluent, authentic conversations to increase familiarity with natural English. The Real-Life Reading lesson develops essential reading skills and offers both life skill and pre-academic reading materials. The Review and Expand section at the end of every unit provides additional gram-mar practice and communicative group tasks to ensure learners’ progress. Contextualized Language Benchmark

CHRISTMAS HUMOUR

What did Adam say on Christmas night? “It’s Christmas, Eve”. What did Santa say to Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve? Looks like rain, dear. What nationality is Santa Claus? North Polish. What do elves learn in school? The Elf-abet! What do you get if you deep fry Santa Claus? Crisp Cringle. Just before Christmas, there was an honest politician, a kind lawyer and Santa travelling in the elevator of a very posh hotel. Just before the doors opened they all noticed a 20 dollar bill lying on the floor. Which one picked it up?? Santa of course, the other two don’t exist! What do you call a cat on the beach at Christmastime? Sandy Claus! How do sheep in Mexico say Merry Christmas? Fleece Navidad! What do snowmen eat for breakfast? Snowflakes. How come you never hear anything about the 10th reindeer, “Olive”? Olive? Yeah, you know, “Olive the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names”.



CMAS WEBSITE FOR LINC CHILDMINDERS submitted by Cris Stathopoulos & Naomi Paramanantham, Nursery Program Consultants Childminding Monitoring Advisory & Support (C.M.A.S) has launched a new website: www.cmascanada.ca . This website is a resource for those working with newcomer families in LINC Childminding Programs. It gives access to information about current events, such as the annual LINC conference that took place on the 22nd and 23rd of November, as well as essential CMAS documents that can be obtained through e-mail, and downloadable applications for the T.O.P program which allows LINC Childminders to request funding to help pay for their Early Childhood Education diploma or post diploma programs. We urge Nursery Instructors to view this new website for further information.

AE Nursery Program On a Lighter Note

Shirley Hynes St. William School 43 Jones Avenue

Toronto, ON M4J 3G4

416-222-8282 ext.6576

416-397-6414 Email: [email protected]

merry christmas”€¦ · “merry christmas” to everyone in the department! may god bestow his...

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