memorandum - toronto catholic district school board · after children are aware of the situation,...

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Adult Education Program

Memorandum To: Adult Education Program Staff From: Hanna Cabaj (Coordinator) and Jaime Puentes (Admin Assistant) Continuing Education Department

Vol. 2017/2018 No.252 September (2) 2017

In This Issue

Upcoming Events/Dates

Thanksgiving Long Weekend 1

TESL Ontario 45th Annual

Conference 1

Conferences and Webinars 1

New/Important Information

Declining Enrolment Trends 2

Outreach Report 3

AE Nursery Program 5-6

Employee Related News 6

Inserts included this month

1) September Substitute Lists

2) LDATD—Programs and Services

Upcoming Events/Dates

Thanksgiving Long Weekend, October 7-9, 2017 —no Adult Education

programs/classes are running.

TESL Ontario 45th Annual Conference, November 2-3, 2017 The annual TESL Ontario Conference will be held at the Toronto Marriott Downtown Eaton Centre Hotel. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Success”, be it the success of our learners, refugees, implementation of PBLA or a new way of doing things.

Adult Education ESL/LINC instructors may take one day off to participate in the conference and will be compensated for their usual number of hours for that day. Please make arrangements for a supply and indicate clearly on the sign-in-sheet your participation in the conference.

Upcoming webinars (free):

For the webinars below, register on Tutela. Webinars with a star (*) are only for TESL Ontario members, who also join the TESL Ontario group on Tutela.

Tue Sep 26, 7-8 pm: Increase Learner Engagement with Kahoot! (Nancy Van Dorp)

*Sun. Oct. 29, 7-8 pm: Small Talk with a Purpose: Utilizing the Ford Method (Katina Deichsel)

Thurs. Oct 26, 6-7 pm: Designing Curriculum for an Online and Blended World, Part 1 (Sarah Sampara)

For the webinars below, register online at https://centre.bowvalleycollege.ca/workshops

Tue. Oct 3, 6-7 pm: The Influence of Trauma in the Classroom, Part 1

Tue Oct 17, 6-7 pm: The Influence of Trauma in the Classroom, Part 2

https://centre.bowvalleycollege.ca/workshops

https://centre.bowvalleycollege.ca/workshops


Declining enrolment and attendance trends continue As communicated in the orientation meeting for instructors-in-charge, the declining trend in learner enrolment and participation continues both in our ESL and LINC program, as outlined in the charts below. The Adult Education Program management and union steering committee will continue its meetings in the new school year and we hope to have a good discussion on how to stem the trend.

ESL PROGRAM (data compares to year previous)

LINC PROGRAM (data compares to year previous)

School year

Participation

Rate & Decline

Enrolled ESL clients

in HARTs

Enrolment

Rate & Decline

2013-2014 92% (8% decline) 12,187 102% (2% increase)

2014-2015 93% (7% decline) 11,184 92% (8% decline)

2015-2016 88% (12% decline) 10,478 94% (6% decline)

2016-2017

86% (14% decline)

9,100

87% (13% decline)

Site Average attendance Attendance Decline

Apr-Jul 2016 Apr-Jul 2017

Site 1 83.8% 82.3% -1.5%

Site 2 76.7% 70.9% -5.8%

Site 3 78.1% 78.4% 0.3%

Site 4 70.9% 69.9% -0.9%

Site 5 79.2% 74.7% -4.5%

LINC average decline-All sites -3%

To: Adult Education Program Staff

From: Hanna Cabaj, Continuing Education Department


Outreach Report for September, 2017 Memo Community Engagement:

1. Meet and Chat’ meetings took place on August 24 and 25, 2017 with assessors of Scarborough YMCA and Downtown YMCA respectively. Updates on our programming and questions and suggestions from the assessors were discussed at these meetings.

2. Itinerant services at Chesswood Employment and Social Services were provided on Monday, September 11, 2017. This service aims to assist clients of this office with language training needs.

Program Promotion:

Below are segments of our latest Instagram and Twitter postings. We need more people following us on these platforms. Please encourage your learners to follow our social media platforms.

(Instagram) (Twitter)

User Names: FACEBOOK: @TorontoAdultEducation Instagram: TorontoAdultEducation Twitter: @AdulteducationToronto LinkedIn: Toronto Catholic District School Board Adult Education In order to strengthen our presence in the social media platforms, more videos and pictures are needed. Please send them to [email protected]. Please ensure that everyone in the photo(s) has signed a photo release consent form BEFORE sending the photo(s) to facilitate speedier posting.

Please continue local program promotion with our learners through Social Media and local flyers. Program flyers can be obtained from Jaime ([email protected]) or Kay ([email protected])

Upcoming Events: Continuous efforts are made to identify ethnic organizations and community agencies through which

we can promote our program. Please inform Kay when you learn of any ethnic or community events from your learners.

(416-397-6551 or [email protected])



mailto:[email protected]


Tips for Classroom Instructors Featured Resources of the Month Submitted by Justine June, Resources Consultant ([email protected]; 416-397-6071) Theme: Team or Community Building Activities Title: Classroom Community Builders; Activities for the First Day & Beyond Published: August, 2017 (Alphabet Publishing; written by Walton Burns) Available: e-book, paperback ISBN: 978-0-9977628 (e-book), 978-0-9977628-7-7 (paperback) Would you like to try different icebreakers, pair/group activities to help learners build a sense of community as a class, foster a sense of belonging and collaborate with classmates at the beginning of the term? If so, this recently published book may be a great choice for you. It comes with reproducible handouts (both in the book and online). Each activity is offered with time limits, material requirements and language focus. It is an easy to follow but, and is unique in the following aspects:

The goal of all activities is to build a community where learners feel safe, comfortable and welcome. The activities include are inclusive of all learners, and the procedures make the content clear to the group and assist them in playing a role as part of the class. Maximum learner participation is the benefit of using these activities.

Multiple variations are suggested. Experienced instructors may have used similar activities, but there are a plenty of opportunities to learn new tactics and tips using the activities from this book as I did.

A “Set Your Expectations” section sets the classroom and instructor expectations, which is great. ‘Getting to Know You” activities build a sense of belonging, and a ‘Get to Know Your Teacher’ activities introduces the instructor in an amicable manner.

A ‘Working Together’ section includes a variety of team building activities.

TCDSB Volunteer Program (LINC/ESL/LBS) A group of qualified volunteers are waiting for the opportunities to volunteer in class. Please email Justine Jun (Volunteer Coordinator) to inform of your class needs and arrangement details: [email protected].





AE Nursery Program

HELPING KIDS UNDERSTAND & EXPRESS THEIR FEELINGS Submitted by Naomi Paramananantham, Nursery Program Consultant

Preschoolers certainly wear their emotions for all to see! As caregivers, teaching emotional intelligence is especially important during these highly developmental ages: 3 and 4 years old. Many parents ask how to help your child express their feelings appropriately. You can find activities to help children express their feelings in a positive and productive way in the powerful book from veteran teacher Dr. Susan A. Miller: Emotional Development of Three- and Four-Year-Olds. Emotional learning is a key element in social emotional learning activities that we teach in early childhood settings. From Emotional Development of Three- and Four-Year-Olds, here are some tips for what you, the teacher or caregiver, can do: What You Can Do

Involve children in "Oh, no! What can we do?" stories. Make up short stories for the children to finish, asking them to tell how they might help the character. For example: "Rosa is squeezing glue on her collage paper, then the glue bottle top comes off and glue goes all over. Rosa starts crying. Oh, no! What can we do?"

Mentor caring behavior. Help young children become aware of when others need assistance. You might ask, "Why do you think Maggie is frowning? How can you help her?" After children are aware of the situation, analyze and try solutions with them.

Display posters that promote a climate of kindness. Take photos of children in the classroom involved in kind acts--giving a friend a doll to hold or helping another put their coat on. Blow up the pictures and prominently display them as an inspiration to be kind.

Develop a kindness list. Brainstorm and list ways to make your classroom environment kinder. When a kind act is performed, check off the item and write down the names of the empathetic children and their fortunate recipients. Add happy-face stickers!

Participate in an altruistic project. Encourage the children to think how they might bring happiness into others' lives. For example, provide art supplies for the children to decorate tray favors for a hospital or nursing home to cheer up patients during holiday time.

Other Aspects to Consider--Alerts

Recognize that saying sorry is an ineffective strategy. You need to focus on a young child's personal feelings first as a jumping-off place for relating to others' feelings. If a child is forced to say "I'm sorry" to another child but doesn't understand why, the request may backfire. The insincerity of this coerced request may send a message to a preschooler that his feelings don't really matter at all.



https://www.gryphonhouse.com/books/details/emotional-development-of-three-and-four-year-olds





Be aware of don'ts. To foster a kind environment, put a positive spin on your requests. If you find yourself saying "Don't hit" to the preschoolers, change your negative wording to let the children know what you want them to do instead. For instance, you might say, "Use your words. Tell Jared what you want. Say, 'I want the ball now!'"

Involve young children in the affective process. Instead of dictating solutions that you think are best, assist preschoolers in exploring how others are feeling and what they could do to make them feel better. Ask, "Why do you think Henry looks angry?" This helps preschoolers learn to be empathetic and practice responding with kindness.

Excerpts taken from Emotional Development of Three- and Four-Year-Old by Dr. Susan A. Miller.

Employee Related News Maggie Au, who has decided to retire this fall, was working tirelessly with the Adult Education Program for over 20

years, instructing basic and intermediate level adult learners in Scarborough. Judging by the sizes of classes Maggie managed over the years, she has helped thousands of adult newcomer on their way to language learning and successful settlement. On behalf of those learners and all of us in the Adult Education Program we wish Maggie a restful retirement – well deserved Maggie! Enjoy!

It was a big surprise for me to hear that Maggie Au was retiring this year. Knowing Maggie and the energy she has for the program made me think that she will not retire soon.

I got to know Maggie when I was her program consultant for many years. She and the students were always welcoming when I visited the program. I was always impressed with her teaching and the visuals she created to facilitate learning English for beginners. She was always ready with her lesson plans and with effective activities that encouraged learners to speak the language. Her students loved her despite the fact that she was demanding, in a humorous way, when it was time to produce what they have learnt. As an Instructor- in – Charge, Maggie was responsible for the classes at the Goldhawk Community Centre and the Library. She did an excellent job supporting the ESL program there.

I wish Maggie many wonderful experiences and happy years during her retirement journey. She will be greatly missed.-Julia Chemali

NEW/Important Information Please take note of the insert regarding the settlement programs and services offered by the Learning Disabilities Association for newcomers who may have Learning Disabilities or ADHD.

Submission to:

Jaime Puentes

Adult Education Program

80 Sheppard Avenue E.

416-222-8282 Ext. 2513

Fax: 416-512-4992

Email:

[email protected]

memorandum - toronto catholic district school board · after children are aware of the situation,...

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