Annual Christmas Party & Award Banquet

We appreciate everyone who attended the Project Read Annual Christmas Party and Award Banquet. The evening was lovely, the food delicious, the entertainment beautiful, and of course it was wonderful to spend the evening with friends and recognize the hard work and contributions of Project Read tutors and students. We appreciate those board members who attended, and we look forward to an even better year in 2009.

We especially appreciate our sponsors, Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse who provided the pork & potatoes for the meal. In addition, Costa Vida, Bajio, Magleby's, Los 3 Amigos, Macaroni Grill, Chik-Fil-A, Nicolitalia Pizza, Fazoli's, & Honey Baked Ham donated gift certificates for the awards to tutors & students.

Project Read Director Shauna K. Brown recognized Toni Johnson as the Tutor of the Year:

Other outstanding tutors and students were also recognized:

Project Read Program Coordinator Bryan Bennett and some of his friends (Michelle Parker, Anneli Hansen, Julie Chatfield, Mandi Alexander, Charla Aranda, Taylor Ralston, and Scott Richards; Jamie Williams on the piano and Elizabeth Zenger on the violin) provided beautiful entertainment including several choral numbers and a violin/piano duet:

The food (provided by Lon's Cookin' Shack & Outback Steakhouse) was delicious and everyone had an enjoyable evening:

A visit from Santa Claus (with gift bags) was the highlight for the many children in attendance:

Free Online English Classes

Office of Vocational and Adult Education Launches Online English Portal

Starting today, immigrants and other adults who want to learn or improve their English skills can log on to a new free Online English Portal called USALearns. The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education, through its Division of Adult Education and Literacy, oversaw the design of USALearns.org.

Launch of the site completes a goal set by President Bush in his August 10, 2007 announcement of initiatives to address border security and immigration challenges in the United States--a plan to have the U.S. Department of Education develop and launch a free, web-based portal to help immigrants learn English, expand their opportunities, and make effective contributions to American society."

To access or learn more about the new Portal, visit http://www.usalearns.org/ or view a fact sheet at http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/publications/pdf/USALearnsFactSheet08.pdf.

FedEx Kinko's Pitches In

Many organizations and individuals played key roles in making the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee possible. FedEx Kinko’s really stood out among this group. When asked why his store chose to donate more than $1,000 in-kind in printed spelling bee flyers and brochures, Justin, an assistant manager from the FedEx Kinko’s store, responded, “Looking at the cause and recognizing the importance of adult literacy, I wanted to get involved. I want to be clear that I am not in this just for the business. I want to be a part of making the community better.” Justin has recently been promoted to store manager. We congratulate him and thank him for his help! Well, g2g. Thanks for helping us “change lives through literacy.”

New Student Policy

Beginning this month, Project Read now needs new students to show proof of Utah residency before they can begin our program. This can be done by showing one of the following:

• Utah Driver's license

• Utah State ID

• Utah fishing or hunting license

• Utah library card

• Utility, house, or phone bill in the student's name and uses a street address (not a PO box)

• Current car registration

• Utah high school or college report card

• Official letter from employer stating the job of the student

• Utah voter registration

~OR~

• Registration of the student's child in a Utah school

Once a student shows one of these documents (an original that Project Read can photocopy and keep in the file) and meets other Project Read requirements , the student can begin studying at Project Read.

***This new policy does not apply to those students already in our program.***

Getting Writing Samples from Your Students

Somewhere along the way we've dropped the ball asking you, the tutor, to have your students offer writing samples. We have a writing contest for the summer party and we collect holiday memories for the holiday party. At these times, we ask students and tutors to enter a short story (or long if they want), we give them a topic ideas, and the tutor and student take it from there. We don't edit these entries; we publish them "as is" in a booklet we hand out at those two events.

We don't need a summer or Christmas party to encourage our students to write. What we need is for you, the tutor, to prompt them -- give them some topic to write about and let them go. Tell your student the "essay" can be as long or short as they wish. It can be a personal story, a made up story, about feelings, or anything else they want to write about. Our director provides a new writing prompt in each monthly newsletter--this is a great starting point!

The following is a wonderful story submitted by one of our students at the prompting of her tutor. It's a perfect example of a writing sample and in this case, we learn something about another culture as well.

Read on!

Korean Thanksgiving (unedited)

By: Wonsook Lee

In September we have a big holiday in Korea. It's like our Memorial Day and Thanksgiving holiday put together. We make food and have a ceremony for our ancestors. Then we go to the cemetery.We have a big table with food. My deceased mother's and father's pictures are on the table. There is also a letter picture with symbols of memories of them that we give to them. We open every window and door and imagine that my mother and father come in. All the brothers bow to them one by one. A daughter does not bow traditionally, because she is not part of that family. She becomes part of her husband's family. After bowing, we talk to our parents silently about our wishes. I talked to my mother about my wish to have a health family. My mother died a few years ago and I was not able to go to her funeral. I wanted to go for this holiday to worship my parents. After the talking to our parents, we eat special foods. I was able to talk to my brothers over dinner and they talked to each other. They aren't able to get together very often.This celebration happens early in the morning. After we finish eating, we go to the cemetery. When we do to the cemetery, we cultivate the lawn around the tomb. We also take flowers. Some families bring the food to the cemetery, when they don't worship at home. They perform the ceremony there. Our family does it at home. On New year's Day, by the lunar calendar, we have a similar holiday to honor our ancestors, but we don't go to the cemetery on that day. Before the September holiday our family went to my big brother's house to help make the food. Usually a sister does not go to her big brother's house, because she would go with her husband's family. Since I was visiting from America, I went. My brother's house was so clean. Everything was put away so we could have room to make the food. They even put away the couch and table. My little brother lives far away, so he went to my big brother's house two days before the holiday and stayed there. Many things have changed in my country for this holiday. So many people are traveling before and after the holiday, that the traffic is terrible. Some people don't go to the cemetery. They stay at the oldest brother's house. They want to avoid the traffic. If some of the brothers don't want to go to the cemetery, the others take care of the gravesite. When the brothers don't have time to go to the oldest brother's house, they just send money or call and say they can't come. Traditional the oldest brother has the responsibility to take care of the parents. The reason is that the oldest brother inherits 50% of the parents' property. The other brothers divide up the other 50% of the property.

Please, take a minute and help your student create a writing sample to share. You can post on this blog to share and you can also use the blog to ask questions of each other, tutor to tutor, student to student, student to tutor.

Let the ‘blogging’ begin!

Sue

2008 Spelling Bee

I have been neglecting our blog for other seemingly more important matters at Project Read (think Spelling Bee, grants, etc.). Anyway, my new brilliant (yes, brilliant) idea is to have each of my staff members make a post each week. Of course, I'm first. :) So watch for a post from Sue next week, followed by Krista and then Bryan. We'll try to keep you up to date with what's going on at Project Read, any news from the state or national literacy front, and then give general tips and ideas for tutoring. Since it's been awhile, I'd thought I'd back up and give a few highlights from our 2008 Spelling Bee:

Contestants, spectators, and Provo City Mayor Lewis Billings converged at the second annual Project Read Spelling Bee, held Saturday, 27 September 2008 in the ballroom of the Provo City Library, to enjoy a little friendly competition while helping Project Read raise funds and awareness in support of its non-profit adult literacy program. Teams of three huddled around whiteboards as they tried to out-spell their opponents. From team spelling and emergency lifelines to costume contests and concessions, this was no average spelling bee. The golden touch of the event may very well have been the Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson busily buzzing around the event all afternoon in a giant bumble bee costume.

The atmosphere was one of philanthropy more than rivalry. With the help of a dozen volunteers and the excited involvement of the friends and family of the competitors, the event was a great success. Hale Center Theater Orem, Carraba’s, Goodwood, Magleby’s, Magleby’s Fresh, and Fat Cats donated gift certificates and prizes for the winners of various competitions. Premier Auto Brokers supported the event as a corporate sponsor, and FedEx Kinko’s Office Center donated a large portion of the printing costs for the materials promoting the bee. Thirteen teams competed to become the 2008 Spelling Bee champions and take home the beautiful winner’s crescent award, donated by Mullett-Hoover Inc.

Competing for best costume, teams came dressed as robots, nerds, and more. No Joke, a team sponsored by United Way, took the title of best team costume. But no team name could come close to the creativity of the “Super Calloused Fragile Mystics Hexed with Halitosis,” a team sponsored by the BYU Linguistics Department.

The Project Read Annual Spelling Bee is certainly a way to take another shot at the glory of becoming spelling bee champs, but without too much pressure. “I didn’t want it to be serious or scary like the National Spelling Bee you see on TV,” said Shauna K. Brown, executive director of Project Read. “It’s more fun when the audience gets involved and there’s not so much pressure to perform.”

The "Dream Team Deleyne" (featured in the photos below in bright blue shirts) took home the grand prize (season tickets to the Hale Center Theater) and of course, the opportunity to be known as the 2008 Project Read Spelling Bee Champs. Way to go!

Check out some of our great photos from the event:

Our mascots are always a highlight.

Connor Brown & Provo City Library Director Gene Nelson "strut their stuff."

Neither looks incredibly happy about his role . . .

Enjoying The Secret Life of Bees

Mayor Lewis Billings, Tad Walch of the Deseret Morning News, and Dr. Wendy Baker of the
BYU Linguistics Department served as judges for the event.

Dana Robinson was our illustrious MC.

Lee Bartlett once again served as the "pronouncer."

Contestants signed in at the registration table.

The Nelson Nerds were once again ready for battle (rulers, protractors, and pencil protectors at the ready).

Using the Fall Elections for Instruction

It seems like the 2008 Presidential campaign has been underway for months, but the heaviest campaigning is yet to come. Once the conventions are held and Labor Day passes, the newspapers and radio and television airways will be jam-packed with information for voters.
The election coverage offers lots of opportunities for those working with adult learners.

ProLiteracy has compiled this extensive list of resources that may help you use the elections as a learning tool:

Elections and Voting in Utah

Nonprofit Vote is an online, state-specific voter participation resource for nonprofits who want to engage clients in voting and democracy. Scroll down to Elections and Voting in Utah: http://nonprofitvote.org/

A Nonprofit's Guide to Hosting a Candidate Forum is a step-by-step manual to planning, publicizing and hosting a nonpartisan candidate forum. A candidate event is a great way to engage adult learners in a local election, build clout for the adult literacy issue, and learn more about the candidates. Invite the general public to your forum to increase public understanding of adult literacy and the democratic process. hosting-a-candidate.pdf

A Nonprofit's Guide to Voter Registration This guide covers voter registration forms, the benefits of registering voters, registering voters in your office, and in the community. And it discusses the importance of being nonpartisan. Includes handy checklist. voter-registration.pdf

The League of Women Voters is well known for providing factual, nonpartisan information on candidates and ballot issues, and for hosting citizen educational forums on public policy issues. When you go to the Website, click on Projects, then Voter Information to find: Election Basics - What is a Primary? ; What is a Caucus?; State information ; The Electoral College System; Electing the President: A Guide to the Election Process ; Voter registration; Polling place locator; voter information in Spanish. http://www.lwv.org

• Vote411.org, a project of the League of Women Voters, is a "one-stop-shop" for election-related, nonpartisan information on the following aspects of the election process:
  Absentee ballots
  Ballot measure information (where applicable)
  Early voting options (where applicable)
  Election dates
  Factual data on candidates in various federal, state and local races
  General information on such topics as how to watch debates with a critical eye
  ID requirements
  Polling place locations
  Registration deadlines
  Voter qualifications
  Voter registration forms
  Voting machines
  Go to http://www.vote411.org/
• Project Vote Smart Classroom includes lessons, suggestions for teachers, Project Vote Smart Vocabulary, Introduction to the U.S. Government. votesmart.org
• Young Voters Resource from Project Vote Smart, 18in08 is a nonpartisan documentary film and movement targeting 17 to 24-year-olds. 18 in 08: The Film features interviews with influential politicians, figures from popular culture, political activists, media commentators, student leaders, and young people. 18in08.com
• Easy Voter Guide [California only] is a quick guide to state elections, including elected offices, propositions, political parties and voting issues, and offers education tools about elections and voting in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese. It is available for downloading in these five languages, plus Japanese, Tagalog, and Armenian. easyvoter.org