Monrovia Library - Monrovia Volunteer Dedicated to Literacy

Monrovia Volunteer Dedicated to Literacy
Joan Sinsheimer has been a longtime volunteer for literacy in Monrovia.
Monrovia.Patch.com: 10.21.2011 by Alison Roeske

Artist, tutor, and fitness buff Joan Sinsheimer has traveled the world, but nowadays, she spends much of her free time at the library teaching people how to read.

She has dedicated many hours over the years to tutoring adults enrolled in Monrovia Public Library’s Literacy Services program and children in the Monrovia school district. Sinsheimer first began volunteering at Monroe Elementary because of a friend she met at her gym, Movement Unlimited.

“One of the reading specialists asked me if I wanted to be a volunteer,” said Sinsheimer. “I just wanted to contribute to the community.”

At first, Sinsheimer volunteered with Monroe Elementary’s Language Arts program, where she helped students focus on reading texts, improving their reading comprehension, and increasing their vocabulary.

Sinsheimer began working with Literacy Services when the old Monrovia Public Library building was still standing. She appreciates the new library, which she said is larger and has more access to technology. She has tutored numerous adults through Literacy Service’s program over the years.

“I like the flexibility of it. I can meet whenever it’s convenient with my student,” she said. “My student reads to me a lot. I pick words that are unfamiliar to her and she writes sentences from the new words.”

Currently, Sinsheimer works with a cosmetology student who emigrated from Mexico.

“I’ve always liked libraries, I’ve always liked schools, and I’ve always liked fitness. Those are things I seek wherever I go,” she said. READ MORE !

Newport Beach Library - Castles made of sand

Castles made of sand
Commodore Club's annual contest draws artists, spectators to Big Corona on Sunday.
Daily Pilot: 10.03.2011 by Amy Senk

CORONA DEL MAR — There were mermaids reading books, a whale, a pyramid — even a crime scene where a sand kid who smashed a sand castle was being pursued by a sand detective — that were all part of the Corona del Mar Sandcastle Contest at Big Corona beach on Sunday.

"That's funny," said Mark Philipp of Aliso Viejo as he surveyed the "Castle Smashing Investigation" sculpture.

"It's amazing," his wife, Beth Philipp, said. "I just am amazed at all the creativity. There's a lot of hard work."

The teams set up before lunch in their assigned plots, using buckets to tote seawater to create slurries of sand. They worked from drawings and plans, forming their creations and then using brushes and other tools to get the details just right.

"They said, 'Make scales,' and the next thing you know, you're a professional scaler," said Danny Sullivan, who worked on the mermaids that formed the logo for the Newport-Mesa ProLiteracy entry. READ MORE !

Health Literacy Month - October 2011

Health Literacy Month
October

Health Literacy: Choose Your Poison
Play: Pills or Candy Game

California Poison Control System
Medications can easily be mistaken for candy.Out of more than 4 million poisonings reported each year to poison control centers across the country, it is estimated that over 90% of them occur in the home.

The majority of non-fatal poisonings occur in children under the age of 6.The CPCS provides California residents with the most up-to-date information and 24-hour help in case of poison exposure. Pharmacists, nurses, physician-toxicologists and poison information providers are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year:

1 . 800 . 222 . 1222

Text Messaging (SMS)
TIPS to 69866
in Spanish - PUNTOS to 69866

Free “Ask An Expert” on Facebook

Follow CPCS on Twitter

Professional Development Day: November 10

SCLLN Professional Development Day
November 10, 2011
@ California Library Association Conference7:00 am - 4:30 pm
Hilton Pasadena
168 South Los Robles Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101

Join SCLLN for an info-packed day of workshops on leading your literacy program into the future and maximizing your impact with your stake holders:

Morning Sessions: 9am-11:15am [ choice of 1 ]
Sense & Sensibility
~ sensibly creating boundaries in literacy programs
Panel Discussion

Connecting With Your Community
~ building relationships
Cathay Reta, Literacy Coordinator
Azusa City Library

Afternoon Sessions: 1:45pm-4pm [ choice of 1 ]
Making the Most of Your VolunteerMatch Account
~ using new tools & features
Jennifer Bennett, Senior Manager Education & Training
VolunteerMatch

21st Century Skills & Digital Literacy
~ what do learners & tutors need to know
Marian Thacher, Director
OTAN

Registration: $175.00
Includes: Continental Breakfast and Lunch

Space is limited, please register as early as possible !

CA & National Literacy Calendar: October 2011

California Literacy Calendar: October 2011
Health Literacy Month
National Book Month

SCLLN

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences
- local, California and National -

visit the

Southern California Library Literacy Network

for more information

Info about local Tutor Training Workshops is always Scrolling in the Right Frame.

Southern California Literacy Events: October 2011
Oct 1: Sensory Friendly Film – DOLPHIN TALE @ local AMC Theaters
Oct 2: Children’s Book Festival – Costa Mesa
Oct 6: Read For The Record – LLAMA LLAMA RED PAJAMA
Oct 8+ Latino Book & Family Festival – CSULA
Oct 15: CATESOL Regional – S Diego
Oct 16: Dictionary Day
Oct 16+ Teen Read Week
Oct 21: Help Group Summit, Autism LD ADHA – Skirball LA
Oct 22: CATESOL Regional – Cypress College
Oct 22: Different Learners – Glendora Library @ 10am

California Literacy Events: October 2011
Oct 1: Sensory Friendly Film – DOLPHIN TALE @ local AMC Theaters
Oct 6: Read For The Record – LLAMA LLAMA RED PAJAMAOct 7+ LitQuake – S Francisco
Oct 16: Dictionary Day
Oct 16+ Teen Read Week
Oct 17+ Internet Librarian – Monterey

National & International Literacy Events: October 2011Oct 1: Sensory Friendly Film – DOLPHIN TALE @ local AMC Theaters
Oct 6: Read For The Record – LLAMA LLAMA RED PAJAMA
Oct 7+ Natl Storytelling Festival – Jonesborough TN
Oct 9+ Natl Adult Learner Leadership Inst – Sacramento
Oct 11+ Closing the Gap ConF – Bloomington MN
Oct 12+ Ohio Health Literacy Conf – Cleveland
Oct 13+ Comicon – NY NY
Oct 14+ Conf of the Book – U of Toronto
Oct 16: Dictionary DayOct 16+ Teen Read WeekOct 17+ Alliance for Children & Families Conf – DC
Oct 17+ Health Literacy Research Conf – Northwestern Univ
Oct 22+ Natl Literacy Coalition Conf – Houston TX
Oct 22+ Natl Co Workforce Education – St Louis MO
Oct 27+ Conf on Learning Disabilities – Austin TX
Oct 30+ AAACE Conf – Indianapolis IN

CyberspaceOct 24+ Orton Gillingham OverviewOct 24+ What is Dyslexia – In Depth Look

Literacy Library Job: Tulare County

Tulare County Library
Full Time Job
Library Program and Literacy Specialist
Closing Date/Time: Tuesday. Oct. 11, 2911 @ 11:59 PM Pacific Time

Coordinate a number of Library Literacy Service Programs with Tulare County:
-identify, implement, and evaluate methods to increase the literacy rate in the community
-recruit, train, monitor and evaluate literacy volunteer tutors
-enhance the public relations campaigns to increase public awareness and attract tutors and participants
-collaborate with other literacy programs throughout the County
-select and purchase books and materials for tutor training, learner use, resource collections, and public awareness
-arrange and coordinate tutor training classes and support meetings
-make presentations at various public meetings and forums to explain literacy programs and services available through the library system
-coordinate fund raising efforts for literacy programs
-monitor program goals, objectives, services and budget

Coordinate and train facilitators for the English Speakers of Other Languages Conversation Circle services throughout Tulare County; coordinate all Family Literacy programs offered through the Literacy Center, and track and report all successes, challenges, and other relevant data to management.

Oceanside Library - Literacy program rewarding for tutors, learners

Literacy program rewarding for tutors, learners
North County Times: 9.20.2011 by Lola Sherman

About 1,200 people have been helped by Oceanside Reads literacy center since it opened 14 years ago.

On a recent day at the center, tutor Mary Lou Elliott and learner Mei Tran discussed the grammatical differences between "who" and "whom," while tutor Robin Ferencz-Kotfica helped Arturo Lopez put information into an email file and send it.

English isn't the first language for Tran, who is from Siem Reap, Cambodia, and Arturo, who hails from Oaxaca, Mexico, but the program is not necessarily geared to non-native speakers.

Learners have to be able to communicate in English. About half of them over the years have been native English speakers, according to Corrie Miles, the program's director. They simply never learned to read and write in their own language.

Elliott recalled a learner who had been in prison for a long time and came out wanting to learn to read.

She also remembers the thrill that a learner expressed when he called to say how excited he was when he went into a public bathroom and realized he could read the words "wet floor" on a sign and knew what they meant.

Miles said many students have high-school diplomas, having been "socially promoted" through the school system perhaps 20 to 30 years earlier.

Elliott has been a tutor for nine years and Ferencz-Kotfica for three, including two years in New York where she learned how much she liked it.

Generally, Miles said, tutoring sessions run for 90 minutes twice a week when the center is open: from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fridays.

As with all other library programs, hours have been cut due to budget constraints. READ MORE !