LPQ Awards Grants

LPQ designated proceeds from Golf Day 97 to be used to support projects in Family Literacy and Literacy and Technology in Quebec.

A call for proposals was put out to Regular Members of LPQ who are carrying on work in these two areas, and a committee of LPQ met to review the submissions. The result was that five grants of $1,200.00 each were awarded.

In the category of Family Literacy, recipients were:

• The Montreal Children's Library for their project, "Mother Goose Rhyme Time"
• Littoral School Board for their project, "Parents as Learning Partners -Mecatina School"
• C.S. Sault St. Louis for their project, "Learning With My Child"

In the category of Literacy and Technology, recipients were:

• McGill Students for Literacy for their project, "Computer for Literacy"
• The Fraser-Hickson Library for their project, "Job Resource Project - Literacy &Technology"

The granting process was not an easy one, as all of the submissions truly merited funding. This is very positive for the English literacy community in Quebec, for it indicates that there are many valuable programs being carried and many exciting projects to help fund.

Poster Contest Winners

To mark International Literacy Day last September 8, LPQ launched a poster contest to raise awareness about literacy. The contest, inviting participation from students of all ages, was divided into three categories-Primary/Elementary; Secondary School; Adult Education.

Judging was done in committee with the help of George Dyens, Pat Waters and Isa Helfield who met at LPQ. The three judges spent a long time considering the entries and gave the task very careful consideration. LPQ would like to thank the judges for their time and effort in helping us make the contest possible.

There are two winners at the elementary level--both are from Leonardo da Vinci Elementary School in St. Leonard. They are Jennifer Ranallo and Vanessa Di Re.

At the secondary level, the winning artist is Charlotte Fisher from Beaconsfield High.

Winning posters will be unveiled on International Literacy Day. At the same time, we hope to launch LPQ's Second Annual Literacy Poster Contest.

Local Initiative to Promote Literacy

Ardis Root, a teacher at Riverside Park Technology Centre in Lasalle held a very successful and innovative literacy activity recently.

Riverside Park Technology Centre is one of a number of centres across the province which offers a wide variety of English language vocational programs for adults and youth.

Ms. Root's activity took place on one day, but she used literacy information and posters to prepare students and teachers in advance.

To complement those materials, she put together a newsletter entitled "Learning for Life" for each student.

The main activity was a book exchange table where students could bring in old books and exchange them for others. She noted that, "As students began to visit the table, interest grew and we decided to keep the table open permanently."

Another exciting outcome was the participation of Chapters who donated a free gift certificate to each class.

Activities of this kind are exemplary, and this one serves as an excellent model for raising awareness and promoting literacy among students.