Monday, May 27 marked the day for LPQ's golf day for literacy. For the third consecutive year, Dennis Trudeau of CBC Newswatch was our emcee and CBC our major sponsor.
Dennis was joined by a host of other CBC personalities who golfed with the rest of our guests. Caroline Corey, Paul Graef, Dave Bronstetter and Ray Fichaud were on hand to take on the course.
The day was an overwhelming success with even the elements cooperating to bring us a mild, sunny day - perfect golfing weather!
The tournament was held at Cedarbrook Golf, an elegant private club just north of Montreal. The day began with brunch, followed by a shot-gun start. After a full day of golf, guests relaxed and surveyed the Silent Auction table during h'or d'oeuvres and the unforgettable jazz of Charlie Biddle and his trio.
After dinner, Dennis did the honours and presented doorprizes and golfers' prizes. The day was, by all accounts, a perfect one.
Although a final audit has not been completed, we can estimate this year's net profit to be approximately $5 000.00, which LPQ will use for research into literacy issues.
LPQ would like to thank the many people at CBC who have worked closely with us to make this event such a success. Their commitment to literacy and their good humour make our jobs so much easier.
A special thanks goes to Dennis Trudeau for his energy, enthusiasm and increasing involvement in our activities.
Finally, we would like to thank all our golfers, sponsors, donors and volunteers who made Golf Day for Literacy '96 possible.
We have already confirmed plans for Golf Day for literacy '97. Next year, we will be back at Cedarbrook for another great day.
For the past three years, LPQ has been providing opportunities for professional development, primarily outside the Montreal area. Based on a needs assessment conducted earlier this year, the community identified Thinking Skills as an area of interest.
Presenter Bea Fisher of Prince Albert Saskatchewan has teaching experience at the elementary level as well as in Adult education and in a correctional setting. She has, for some time, been investigating alternate methods of instructional delivery to target both cognitive and affective change.
During the one-day workshops, Ms. Fisher examined all aspects of the role of the teacher as leader, mediator and facilitator and illustrated how to assist students in making connections between what they are learning and what they experience in the real world of work, home and friends.
Host sites were Montreal, the Eastern Townships and Quebec City on April 24, 25 and 26 respectively, with approximately 20 participants attending each session. Response was unanimously positive.
Participants indicated that they learnt techniques they would be able to use in their classrooms immediately to make the learning process more successful and relevant to their students.
LPQ was invited by the MEQ to attend sessions on May 9 and 10. The meetings brought individuals representing groups who receive funding from Iinitiatives fédérales-provinciales conjointes en matière d'alphabétisation (IFPCA). Although LPQ does not receive funding IFPCA funding, we were invited to attend as the Provincial English-language literacy coalition.
The purpose of the two-day meeting was to discuss plans to create a model of a Strategy and communication Plan which would be generic and useful for all organizations represented around the table.
These were preliminary meetings, and a working committee has been established to continue the discussion. Ann Gauvin of the Eastern Quebec Regional School Board will be the anglophone representative on the committee. The project is expected to be completed by November, 1996.
A new manual entitled Making Connections: Literacy and ESL Materials Developed from a Feminist Perspective has been developed by CCLOW.
The manual, a production of the Women's Literacy Curriculum Project will be launched on September 8, International Literacy Day. Details of time and place will be announced in August.
STAPLEtm '96, developed in Alberta, is Canada's first multimedia training program for adult literacy educators.
The training program on CD-ROM is accompanied by a handbook and consists of five modules:
STAPLEtm '96 is available for purchase at a cost of $110.21 (includes CD-ROM, handbook, shipping & handling, plus GST.) STAPLEtm '96 can be previewed at The Centre for Literacy.
For more information or to order, contact Literacy Coordinators of Alberta, Room 211 RMP, Alberta Vocational College, 332-6th Ave. SE, Calgary, AB T2G 4S6, Canada.
The National Adult Literacy Database has established a page on the Internet's World Wide Web exclusively for the showcasing of students' own stories.
The page, called "Stories of the Week," will feature a new story each week written by an adult learner. NALD is inviting teachers and tutors to have their students send in their stories along with permission to electronically publish them.
The authors, preferably, should be current or recent participants in an adult education program. Stories submitted or published electronically would not be employed for any purpose other than the recognition accorded to adult learners.
For more information or to submit stories, contact Charles Ramsey at NALD on the Internet at http://www.nald.ca or by phone at (506) 457-6900.