AGM & Program

LPQ held its annual general meeting on Wednesday, October 30, 2002 in the boardroom of Tembec in Montreal.

At that time, we presented a report on activities of the past year and an audited financial statement. We also said good-bye to Margaret Wildman, a very special member of LPQ.

Margaret has served the maximum consecutive three terms as a member of the board of LPQ, and it was with sincere regret that we saw her leave the board.

We know, however, that although no longer a member of the board, Margaret will remain very close to LPQ and will continue to work with us on many projects.

Board Governance for Non Profit Organizations

Following the AGM, LPQ invited its members to participate in a 3-hr. training session in Board Governance for Non-Profit Organizations.

The session was given by Monique Dansereau, a partner of OSBL plus. The session covered topics such as:

• A global approach to Governance
• The functions of a Board of Directors
• The Roles of the Members of a Board
• Practices of an Efficient Board of Directors

The presentation generated a number of thoughtful questions from participants, and seemed to provide them with a very new way of looking a the role of a Board of Directos.

Raise a Reader a Huge Success

Raise-a-Reader was launched on October 3 across the country and for the first time in Montreal. The initiative was an unqualified success in every way. The Gazette and CanWest/Global did a spectacular job of introducing this event in Montreal, and on behalf of children's literacy in Quebec we thank them so much for all that they have done.

The final tally was $75,00.00 which will be divided equally among the three beneficiaries: LPQ, The Canadian Institute for the Blind and La fondation québecoise pour l'alphabétisation.

LPQ's portion of the proceeds will be passed on to our current members who are involved in children's reading programs and/or Family Literacy. We will be sending our members details of how to apply for a Raise-a-Reader grant soon.

Come Read With Me — A Joint Project at LPQ

In partnership with the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages and the Quebec Federation of Home and School Associations, LPQ will carry out a very exciting project called, Come Read With Me.

Impetus for this project is based on the fact that language is an integral part of one's identity. Use and pride in one's language are essential to community survival and good literacy skills are fundamental to good language skills. As a result, literacy and the love of reading, writing and the spoken word are a priority for Quebec's English-speaking community and its school system. come read with me! will focus on this audience.

Presented as a classroom activity, students will have the opportunity to participate in a writing contest. Teachers will introduce their classes to the works of several living authors that will include biographical information about these authors. During this time when authors are being introduced, the students will be read or they will read themselves stories or books (depending on age and level).

Students will then be asked to choose their favourite author, book or story and create an expression of their own which was prompted by the experience of having read or heard the work of one of the specific authors introduced by this activity. Students will then be invited to submit their final product to the contest. A panel of judges will decide on a winner in each Cycle of participating schools. At the end of the school year, winners will be announced.

Initial information has been sent to English schools and administrators in the province, and the contest will be launched officially on January 27, 2003, Family Literacy Day. Visit the come read with me! website at www.nald.ca/lpq/read.htm.