Greetings, Team In-home Tutoring!

It's time to report your tutoring activity for November.

Click here to go to the reporting link. As always, the unmasked link will be at the end of this message.

Newsy things

The holidays are upon us! Don't worry if you have to miss some tutoring sessions because you're traveling or spending time with family. It's fine. Just make sure your student knows what's going on.

I often get asked if it's OK to give holiday gifts to your student and family if they don't celebrate Christmas. Yes, it's OK. what I used to tell my students that it was part of my culture to share and give gifts for Christmas. Recipients don't have to observe Christmas to be included in that part of our cultural traditions.

The resettlement agencies usually host gift giveaways for their refugee clients, and those are by invitation.

New Year celebrations

Just like with Fourth of July, it's a good idea to remind your students that some people like to set off fireworks and firecrackers to celebrate the New Year holiday. The sounds can be upsetting to people who have lived in a war zone, but if they know to expect it, then that mitigates some of the anxiety.

Snow

Make sure your students know how to find out if their children's schools are closed for bad weather. It's also a good idea to go over the finer points of dressing for the weather. Afghans are fine--they come from a climate and geography that is almost identical to Colorado's, but folks from other places, especially Africa, might not yet have an appreciation for how easy it is to get frostbite. It's also worth talking about how to correctly walk in slippery conditions (look to penguins for a good example!). There are lots of great YouTube videos on this topic, and lovely public radio story, here.

Have a conversation

In case you missed it earlier, we have an online discussion forum/community. Well, that was the intent when it got set up, but so far, I think there are only five members (including me). This is a wonderful resource and a way for all of you to connect with each other. Here is a refresher of the information I sent out last month:

Our online discussion forum is open for conversations. You will need to log in whenever you want to post to a discussion or just read what everyone else is talking about.

1. Go to the website: https://moodle.emilygriffith.edu
   
2. Click on the gray "All other users" login button on the right side of the screen (under the green staff and students login button).
   
3. Your user name is your firstinitiallastname, all lowercase, and no spaces or hyphens. For example, Ferris Bueller would be fbueller. The system should recognize you from the list I used to enroll you into the discussion forum "class."
   
   
4. Your initial password is  07/04/2019, including the forward slashes.
   
   
5. You will be asked to (forced to) change your password when you first log in. The password requirements are listed directly above the fields for changing the password. Pay attention--this is a challenging set of criteria.
   
6. When you successfully change your password, you will go to the main page where you will see the In-Home Tutor Community Forum course site listed. You will need to click into the course site and the discussion forum is what comes up first.
   
7. Choose a topic by clicking on "Discuss this topic" under its description.
   
8. A Helpful Hint: I figured this out by accident. Once you open a topic, look at the area above the Social forum heading. you'll see a string showing where you are. Click on "social forum" in that location string, and all of the topics will show up on the screen. It's much easier to navigate this way.
   ​
   
   
   

If you have any trouble logging in or getting back in once you've set up your account, send an email to Tim at INTEL@emilygriffith.edu.

Please introduce yourself in the introductions topic area of the forum!

Note that you can "subscribe" to a topic, which means you will get an email every time someone posts in that discussion. That can get annoying. I believe there's a digest function that lets you get periodic updates, or you can not subscribe at all, skip the notifications, and just log in whenever it occurs to you to see if anyone has posted.

Our forums are closed format, meaning that they can't be seen or previewed by anyone outside of our group. They won't even come up in a Google search.

That's all from me for this month.

Stay warm, drive safely, and enjoy the holiday season!

Here is the unmasked reporting link:

https://forms.gle/AQwRc93JWY7pt6mA9

Reporting October hours and lots of news

Hello, everyone!

I hope this week's wintry weather isn't disrupting your life too much and you are successfully staying safe and warm.

It's almost time to report your in-home tutoring time for October. Click here to go to the survey link.

I know it can be easy to skip reporting, but it's important that you follow through with this monthly task. When I completed my year-end progress report for the state recently, we almost didn't meet our progress goal. It wasn't because students weren't learning; it was because I was missing a lot of data from tutors who didn't report their activity each month. I guess a practical way to look at it is data=dollars in the nonprofit world.

Did you know that in Colorado, each hour of volunteer time is valued as an in-kind donation of $28.02? That adds up and is often considered as a metric in figuring out the money that ends up in our grants. We are grateful for every hour you contribute to the in-home tutoring program!

In other news:

Citizenship workshop this weekend

Asian Pacific Development Center is hosting a free citizenship workshop this Saturday, November 2^nd from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm. Participants will get help with the citizenship application (N-400 form) and fee waiver (I-912), which will be reviewed by a team of immigration attorneys. See the attachment for the information and documents needed to participate. If you have any questions, please reach out to APDC Citizenship Coordinator, Alex Bisges at alexandreabisges@apdc.org or 303.617.2567.

Movie night

This event has been postponed, but will be rescheduled. Contact the organizer if you want to go and need the new date information!

Join the University of Denver for their 2nd Annual Noble Movie Night! 

"Noble" is based on the true and extraordinary story of Christina Noble, a children's rights champion, charity worker and writer, who founded the Christina Noble Children's Foundation. 

In theme with the film, a Việtnamese dinner will be provided.

There will be beautiful artwork created by children at one of many Christina Noble Children's Center for bid at the silent auction along with TONS of other incredible items.

The flyer is attached. Tickets and more information can be found below:

Eventbrite and facebook

Housing help needed

This comes from our colleagues at Lutheran Family Services. If you're in a position to help, please contact Mary.

I’m working with a husband & wife refugee couple from Sri Lanka who are past their 5 years in the US. They’re in need of housing until November 16^th when they have a new lease starting. Does anyone have a connection to a basement or a place where they could stay for 2.5 weeks?

Please let me know if you have suggestions!

Gratefully,

Mary Feeney Francis, MA

Volunteer & Community Engagement Coordinator

Refugee & Asylee Programs, Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains

1600 Downing Street #600, Denver, CO 80218

Direct: (303) 225-0199

Another volunteer opportunity

As many of you know, I oversee a side project, A Little Something Denver Refugee Crafts Collective. If you're not familiar with us, please visit our website, www.refugeecrafts.org or our Instagram, @alittlesomethingdenver . Note the contact email at the end of this section--it's not my work email!

The time from September to Christmas is crunch time for us, but we are stuck this year. We know you're busy. We get it. We are, too. So are most of our volunteers, apparently. We really need some help, though. Our very busy event season is upon us, but we have almost no volunteers available to help us out. If we don't have anyone to help at an event, we'll have to cancel our participation. We don't want to do that because this is the time of year that our refugee artists bring in 90-percent of their income from the items they create at A Little Something. If we can't sell, these women can't get paid.

If you're outgoing, friendly, and able to share information about our organization, you would be a great fit for what we need. If you can't help out, please consider sharing this information with your networks.

For almost every event listed here, we also need help with setting up the display (usually the day/evening before) and packing up at the end of the event.  If you can help for a half-day, a few hours, a full day, one event, several times...we'll take it! We especially need help with the sale in Evergreen. It's our biggest event of the year, but so far, we have no one willing to take this one on or to get our items home from Evergreen.

What you would do:
Volunteers greet customers, share our mission and product knowledge, and complete sales transactions at various craft and fair trade events around Denver metro. We are looking for volunteers who are able to volunteer for an entire day or just a shift at these events.

Duties may include:

• Transporting, setting up or breaking down the sales display
• Keeping the sales display stocked and attractively arranged
• Handling cash/check/card sales
• Sharing our story with customers.

Volunteers often work in teams at events.

Volunteers are passionate about our mission to empower Denver's refugee women through this local income generation craft project and share this knowledge of refugees and refugee participants' stories with customers. The service of our volunteers enables A Little Something to further its work to make a meaningful difference in the lives of Denver's refugee artisans.

If you can help us out or if you have questions, please send an email to refugeecrafts@gmail.com. The event list is below.

Global Gift Fair 2019
Saturday, 11/2, & Sunday, 11/3
9am-2pm each day
Atonement Lutheran Church
6281 W. Yale, Lakewood, 80227

Evergreen Alternative Gift Fair 2019
Saturday & Sunday 11/9 & 11/10
Sat 9am-4pm Sun 9am-3pm
Evergreen Lutheran Church
5980 Highway 73, Evergreen 80439

Holiday Sale 2019
Tuesday 11/12
4-7:30 pm
Bear Valley Church
10001 W Jewell Ave, Lakewood, 80232

World Gift Mart 2019
Saturday 11/23 & Sunday 11/24
Sat 9am-4pm, Sun 9am-2pm
First Universalist Church of Denver
4101 E Hampden Ave, Denver, 80222

Alternative Gift Fair 2019
Sunday 12/1
8 a.m.-12p.m.
Glory of God Lutheran Church,
12200 W 38th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033

Montview Mission & Fair Trade Christmas Market 2019
Saturday 12/7 9am-3pm
Sunday 12/8 8am-12:30pm
Montview Presbyterian Church
1980 Dahlia St., Denver, 80220

Alternative Gift Market
Sunday, 12/8
8am-12pm.
Arvada United Methodist Church
6750 Carr St, Arvada 80004

Here is the unmasked reporting link for your tutoring time.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqiykoJdkQcnie3Ux_xWx6mX9lvP6AP9gg4C2ixPntFrlmKQ/viewform

Time to report September tutoring time--plus lots of news!

And just like that...September is over!

I had kind of a rough month. I hope yours was better. I'm sorry I wasn't able to be at the in-service training on Saturday. I heard it went well, my stand-in moderator, Meg Allen, did a great job, and the presentations from  tutors and key presenter Chris Kilmer were interesting and helpful. I was there in spirit (if you went, you probably know I was texting Meg throughout). It's hard for me to hand off an event like that, especially so unexpectedly. If you have suggestions for future in-service training topics, please send them my way!

Anyway, with September drawing to a close, it's time to report your tutoring hours. Click here to go to the reporting link. As a reminder, you might want to bookmark www.cresltutors.blogspot.com in your internet browser. I cross-post this monthly email there because so many people never receive the group email I send out (so frustrating). That being said, if you forget to report your hours and it's past the 10th of the month, just wait and add those hours to the following month. Each month's reporting link is unique to that month, so if you report after the fact, I won't see your data.

I need your hours reported ASAP this month because we have a very early reporting deadline for the state and a trimester report due by the end of the week! Work with me!

Help on the Ranch

I have four students in Green Valley Ranch waiting for tutors. One of them is a young man in his 20s. I've found it to be incredibly challenging to find tutors in this area or willing to go there. If you would like to consider taking on a student in this area, please let me know.

Get ready to connect!

For years, in-home tutors have asked me if there's a way to connect with each other online to share ideas, ask questions, and support one another's teaching. We tried a listserv, we tried Facebook, we tried a closed Facebook group, all without much success. That's about to change. Coming very soon, we're going to have an online discussion board, also called online forums. You may have participated in one of these online communities. There are many on just about any topic you can think of. I've been part of quite a few online communities for a wide variety of interests and needs, including bicycling, dieting, heart health, home renovation, jewelry making, gardening, and travel, among others.

Our forum will be closed and private, which means it will only be visible to those who have login credentials. The platform we'll be using is part of the online education program used by Emily Griffith Technical College, so security and access-protection are top-notch.

When the online community forum is rolled out, you'll get an email with instructions on how to log in and access the conversations. All current in-home tutors will be enrolled by default, but you have no obligation to ever log in or use this service. More information will be coming in the next couple of weeks.

COTESOL is coming

COTESL is the annual Colorado conference for anyone involved English-language teaching. This event offers a buffet of learning opportunities, and there's something for everyone, even volunteer tutors. Most ELA professionals in the Denver area attend this event. You can go for a half-day, one day, or both days. This year's conference will be on November 8-9, and you can find more information here. The earlybird registration rates are in effect until October 13, and an "associate" rate is available for nonprofessionals.

 

2019-202 Presidential Determination on Refugee Arrivals

Last week, the White House released the annual determination for new refugee arrivals. The news is not good. The Trump administration has lowered the arrivals ceiling to 18,000 for the coming fiscal year. This is an historic low since the program's inception in 1980. At the end of the Obama administration, the ceiling was set at 80,000 refugee arrivals, and the US rarely hits the limit as it is. Resettlement agencies receive much of their federal funding based on the number of refugee arrivals, so the situation looks quite grim for the survival of the program. You can read the reaction statement by Colorado Governor Jared Polis here: https://www.colorado.gov/governor/news/gov-polis-statement-trump-proposal-limiting-refugees-admitted-us

Kindergarten prep

The Rocky Mountain Welcome Center is launching its second year of Kindergarten Preparation Classes and is seeking new enrollees.

Anyone who speaks English as a second language is welcome to attend. Activities are for parents and their children ages 3-5. Classes are Monday and Wednesday mornings, 9-11AM, and are held at The Rocky Mountain Welcome Center located at 10700 E. Evans Ave, Aurora, Co 80014  (near Havana and Iliff-- RTD routes 105 and 21).

Registration can be done from the website or in person. Please reach out to the Rocky Mountain Welcome Center for more information.  

A resource and possibly another way to volunteer

Volunteer Philip Greenberg shared this information for all of you:

The kids of many of the refugee families I’ve known hit below average in their literacy scores. One cause might be that these families do not speak English at home. While the kids are bilingual, and that’s great, they often have below average English language comprehension. A solution may lie in the Children’s Literacy Center. Although based in Colorado Springs, the center has two locations in metro Denver:

https://www.childrensliteracycenter.org/

 Perhaps some ESL tutors can spend 2 hours a week for 3 months working with young kids who need a little extra help with reading and understanding. Information to enroll students is on the website.

Halloween is coming

Halloween can be extra-spooky if you have no context for it and no idea of what's going on. I always suggest that you do a Halloween lesson with your student sooner rather than later, as decorations start going up earlier and earlier every year. From skeletons to witches to zombies, what looks like harmless fun to someone who is familiar with Halloween can look ghoulish and frightening to  someone who has never been part of the celebration. Trick-or-treat definitely needs to be explained!

There are some simple ESL Halloween resources here: https://www.elcivics.com/halloween.html. For more, just do a simple keyword Google search on ESL Halloween and you'll find worksheets, vocabulary lists, games, and activities galore.

Cooling down and heating up

We've reached the time of year when Denver's weather becomes highly changeable and unpredictable. If your student hails from a mild climate, please take some time to talk about the weather and cold-weather preparedness! Colorado Winter Weather Preparedness Week is October 13-19. You can read more about winter weather preparedness on Denver's website. The article linked here focuses on blizzards, but at the bottom there are more general tips and advice. https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/dhsem/winter-storm-blizzard

This is also a great time to talk about how to use a thermostat. Believe it or not, most of our students don't really understand how to set the thermostat in their homes. If they receive LEAP energy assistance, they likely don't see the correlation between a thermostat set at 82 degrees and a utility bill. According to the US Department of Energy, the best thermostat setting in winter is 68 degrees  during the day, and lower at night during sleep hours. Here's a helpful, easy-to-understand video with more about that: https://youtu.be/lL4U3EY1VmQ

Staying healthy

Cold, flu, and apparently norovirus season is upon us. The CDC and various state health departments have lots of educational materials about how to avoid getting sick. "Cover your cough" posters are available in many translated languages including Arabic, Farsi, French, Karen, Burmese, Spanish, Kirundi, and Somali. General wellness tips and links for the posters are at the bottom of this CDC page.

Here is the unmasked link to report your hours. Happy fall, everyone!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc-V8GSf1dkXczAUUeSRx_QLPCH2q02bgjl0d1Hy2H9QTArjg/viewform

Inservice training September 2019

This training session is for current volunteers in the Colorado Refugee ESL in-home tutoring program. We regret that we cannot accommodate attendees from outside of the organization.

Greetings, tutors!

Based on feedback from you, the topic of our next inservice training for current in-home tutors will be: Assessment.

Saturday, September 28

9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Emily Griffith Technical College

1860 Lincoln St.

Room 404

Click here to register for this training session.

This presentation will help tutors understand the different types of assessment used in adult education and with language learners. How do you know if your student is making progress? What is the difference between summative and formative assessment and how to do you apply them within your teaching? What kinds of tests tell you what it is you're trying to measure? Learn the answers to these questions while gaining insights into how to gauge your student's progress. A variety of assessment methods will be discussed and demonstrated.

About our presenter

Chris Kilmer is an instructor and instructor support specialist in the English Language Acquisition (ELS) program at Emily Griffith Technical College. Chris is the former materials specialist in the EGTC ELA department and he has extensive experience with language-learner assessment. Chris grew up in Aurora and went on to graduate from Stanford University. After spending five years setting up and running English teacher training programs in Brazil and Chile with Bridge Linguatec, Chris returned to Colorado and has been teaching English to adults of all stripes and objectives, from Somali literacy students to Germans trying to get into graduate school and everything in between.  He especially likes the contact with other cultures and the opportunity to help some amazing people.

But wait--there's more!

The first 30 minutes of the session will be a tutor mingle-meet-and-greet. Being an in-home tutor can feel like a solitary experience sometimes, so this casual activity is an opportunity for you to meet other in-home tutors and talk about your students, your experience, and whatever else comes to mind.

Following the meet-and-greet, it's your time to talk about your favorite teaching tips and tricks. We'll spend one hour hearing from all of you about what resources, activities, and strategies you've found to be most successful in working with your student. This peer-to-peer sharing has become an invaluable part of our inservice sessions, so please come prepared to talk about--and even demonstrate--the ways you've been helping your student learn. Our classroom has internet access, a computer, and that nifty Promethean board, and you're welcome to make copies of handouts to share.

Our guest presenter will be with us starting at 10:30, and we will wrap up at 12:00 noon.

Please don't forget to register ahead of time using the link above. As always, I must give a list of attendees to DPS security the night before our session. Thanks for your cooperation.

I look forward to seeing you on September 28!

Click here to register for this training session.

News, updates, and August in-home tutoring hours

Greetings, everyone!

Is August really almost over? Where did my summer go? I think I forgot to have fun. I hope you were more successful at that than I was.

Just a quick reminder that at the end of this week, it will be time to report your in-home tutoring time and activities for August.

Click here to go to the reporting link.

The unmasked link will be at the end of this message. Also, these monthly emails are cross-posted and therefore archived at www.cresltutors.blogspot.com. You might want to bookmark that site if you're among the 30 or so people who never receive my monthly reminder email with the reporting link.

I'm out of the office!

My in-laws are visiting from the East Coast, so I've been out of the office and will return on September 3. If you've been unable to reach me, that's why.

Citizenship resources

I've had numerous requests for information about preparing for the citizenship test. It's never too soon to start helping your student prepare for this test and interview, and you can work a little bit of civics and citizenship prep into every lesson. The good news is, everything you need is online and it's free. Using the provided lessons and resources, you can break down the information to focus on vocabulary, dictation/writing exercises, and speaking/listening proficiency.

The naturalization process has several components, starting with the N400 application. The citizenship interview includes questions specific to the answers that the applicant provided on the form. This form should be completed by an immigration lawyer or a trained professional. Several local organizations provide support for this, including Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, Colorado African Organization, Asia Pacific Development Center, the Denver Public Library, and Lutheran Family Services.

In addition to the many study resources on the website (including the infamous 100 Questions that must be memorized), there are several videos available that give an idea of what to expect in the interview. You can find one of those here.

For those students seeking to take a citizenship class, options abound in the Denver area. Most classes cost about $40, but some are free, including those offered by the Denver Public Library. Check the links above for more information. Classes are also offered at Community College of Aurora and several other locations.

Telling our story

Please don't forget that I'm collecting your stories to feature on our Facebook page. What I need is a photo of you and your student, along with a short story about your personal experience and what makes the program worthwhile for you. You can read two examples here and here (If you don't use Facebook, you'll see a series of pop-ups on-screen asking you to log in or sign up. Ignore those and just click on the "No thanks" option).

Instagram

Several folks have asked why we don't have an Instagram for this program. Well, most of our students don't want to be featured that way. If you enjoy Instagram, here are some accounts you might find interesting:

www.instagram.com/alittlesomethingdenver/

www.instagram.com/lfsrockymountains

www.instagram.com/theirc

www.instagram.com/refugees

www.instagram.com/projectworthmore

www.instagram.com/africancommunitycenter

www.instagram.com/unwomen

More training

I'm trying to put together an inservice training and tutor meet-and-greet for the morning of September 28. The tentative topics are reading/writing strategies and assessment. If I'm able to get my colleagues to agree to present, we'll do this. Otherwise, the session will be shorter and will include a meet-and-greet with tutors then sharing out some of their favorite or most successful teaching ideas. More on this later!

September free days in Denver

• Denver Botanic Gardens (York St.) September 3
• Denver Art Museum September 7
• Denver Museum of Nature and Science September 29

A fun fundraiser

Project Worthmore is hosting its annual Our Neighbors, Ourselves art show event on September 13 at the Hangar at Stanley in Aurora. This is a juried art gallery featuring dozens of visual artists, a silent auction, live music from Tom Hagerman of DeVotchKa and his band, Grande Orquesta Navarre, plus DJ sets by Jonny DeStefano & Christy Thacker.

Early Bird ticket sales end on August 30th and tickets will increase to $60.

If you are a visual artist or photographer who creates on themes related to refugees or the concepts of home, identity, loss, community, connection, or similar, you can submit/donate your work (it must be for sale) up until the end of August. More details on this event can be found here: https://projectworthmore.org/events/ourneighbors

 

That's all for this month. I hope you all enjoy a fun and relaxing Labor Day weekend.

Here is the full link to the reporting survey.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeWQrEyTanw1JJCzGk-ofZ7l0aAzqQZDdEcXi0u0lWXsO3NIA/viewform

July hours are due plus August updates

Happy Colorado Day, everyone! Our beautiful state has its 143rd birthday today. I hope you get to do something fun and state-specific to mark the occasion. If you're downtown or headed that way, History Colorado is having a block party today!

As the calendar page has turned and it's now August, it's time to report your tutoring time and activity for JULY. Click here to go to the reporting survey.

If ever you want to refer back to one of these monthly updates but you can't find it in your email, bookmark this site: http://cresltutors.blogspot.com/

I've been cross-posting these monthly missives there for prosperity and for access by all whose email platforms send my messages into the junk mail folder or just somewhere into the ether, never to be read.

News and Updates:

I had a program review meeting with the people from the state refugee office last week. Overall, they're quite impressed with the work all of you are doing. They really didn't understand how complex this program is--and how thorough we are in trying to support the in-home students. The state folks were especially impressed with how detailed your monthly reporting is and the level of investment we all make in each individual in-home student. Thanks for being such superstars! Your efforts really shone brightly when they were explained to our funder. Kudos!

Personal update

I'm deep in the throes of a recurrence of shingles. Please be patient as the best treatment for this is rest so my attendance at work is expected to be spotty for a couple of weeks. I have a good supply of L-lysine on medication on hand, but resting the body and nervous system are what I was primarily prescribed. And in case you didn't know--yes, shingles can come back (in my case, multiple times).

Vacation, sort of

My in-laws will be visiting the last week of this month and I'll be off from work that entire week. As a result, you will likely get the August reporting survey a day or two late, possibly as late as September 3.

Colorado Public Radio

Did you catch us on the radio last week? Our work in the English program at Emily Griffith Technical College was featured on CPR twice in July. The story was originally intended to be part of a digital, online-only series, but the material was so compelling, the editors decided to go ahead and produce an on-air story. The digital (website) story is longer and a little different than the audio version; you can access both here. To hear the audio (and me), click the orange "listen now" button at the top right of the screen.

RTD discount program

RTD has launched a new discounted fare program for low-income area residents. Click for an excellent explainer from CPR. The process to apply is complicated, though. If you feel comfortable helping your student with this, please give it a try. Refugees who qualify can also ask their case manager for help, but if they aren't receiving services anymore, they may have trouble getting in for an appointment. The staff at the Denver Public Library can also lend a hand. More information is here.

Paraprofessional pathways class

If your student is interested in working as a paraprofessional classroom aide, Spring Institute is offering a preparation class. Students will learn workplace skills, understand US school culture, prepare for the ACT WorkKeys test, build a resume,and prepare for interviews. This class is only open to those with refugee, asylee, or SIV status living in the US for five years or less. The class is free and meets for 12 weeks. See the attached flyer for more details and registration information.

English classes around town

There are many options available for students who would like to transition out of in-home tutoring and into a classroom for English instruction. Many of these options are free or almost free, and some are funded through the same channels that provide free classes at Emily Griffith. Most locations are currently enrolling adult students for the fall term. If you would like information about classes to share with your student, please let me know. It will be most helpful if you remind me what neighborhood your student lives in so I can send the most relevant information. Classes begin later in August and are offered by Spring Institute, Adams County Schools, Focus Points, Learning Source, Project Worthmore, Littleton Library, Community College of Aurora, Jeffco Adult Ed, and more.  Some are also offering citizenship preparation classes and GED prep. Emily Griffith has free English class options both in the morning and afternoon.

Lifeskills and more at Village Exchange Center

The Village Exchange Center is a shared community space serving primarily immigrants and refugees with a broad range of activities and supports. Coming up this month are free computer and financial literacy classes. VEC is located on the corner of Havana St. and 16th Ave. in Aurora. There are two flyers attached to this message with more information.

Want to sort some beads?

Shingles or not, this Saturday I'll be working on a project at the A Little Something studio. We need more volunteers to get through this overwhelming task. No special skills are required, just patience and a good eye for color. A sense of humor helps. We'll be in the basement of the Village Exchange Center. Please come and help if you have time, feel willing, and this kind of task doesn't make you crazy. Click here for all of the details.

Taste of the Middle East

If sorting beads doesn't sound like the most thrilling way to spend this Saturday, then you might want to head over to the Taste of the Middle East festival in Centennial. All of the details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/801100653624578/

(When the Facebook pop-up comes on, just click "no thanks" and it will go away.)

Taste of Ethiopia

If the Middle East isn't to your taste, well, head on out to the Taste of Ethiopia Festival. This event is also on Saturday, August 3. Did you know that more than 30,000 Ethiopians live in the Denver area? This cultural event is spectacular and well attended. More information is here: https://www.facebook.com/events/15555-e-53rd-ave-denver-co-80239/taste-of-ethiopia-festival-2019/2317738308258193/

(When the Facebook pop-up comes on, just click "no thanks" and it will go away.)

African Festival

If you're not all festivaled out, there's even more to taste. The end of August brings the Colorado Taste of Africa Festival.

​I think that's it for this month. Please don't forget to report your hours!!​

Here is the unmasked link for reporting:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScxKw23ZjdHmtY7MuwdpXwQq5TaiHKRdvFdhBk5h3pg33u5eg/viewform

June tutor updates

June is all but finished, so it's time to report your tutoring time for the month.

Click here to go to the reporting link.

Vacation

I will be out of the office all of next week, the week of July 1-5. My work cell phone will be off, and I won't be checking email or voicemail. An away-vacation is not in the budget this year, but I plan to unplug as much as I can next week while using accrued vacation time I would otherwise lose. I'll be back at work on July 8.

July 4th noise

It is a very good idea to let your students know that the week of July 4 can get quite noisy in the Denver area. Firecrackers and fireworks can sound a lot like gunshots and bombs, and this can be particularly frightening for people who are harboring war-related trauma. Explain to your student that it's a normal part of the sound landscape in the Denver area at this time of year.

Here are two articles that list places to see Fourth of July fireworks in the metro area:

5280 Fireworks List (some out-of-the-way, smaller sites)

The Know fireworks list

Here's a story about how illegal fireworks are triggering to people with trauma: https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/06/25/lakewood-fireworks-reporting-map/

Newcomers' Fourth of July

Roshni--a Performing Arts organization--and Control Group Productions are celebrating shared community with their first annual New American 4th of July: An intercultural community celebration of American Interdependence.
The celebration will take place from 11am-1pm on Thursday, July 4th, at and around The People’s Building on East Colfax in downtown Aurora. The festivities will commence with a short sidewalk parade of diversity accompanied by a live broadcast and DJed music by KETO FM.
Potluck food and refreshments will be served. Local and guest artists will perform, including
excerpts from Mountains Made for Us, Colorado’s first intercultural play, and Control Group’s soon-to-be released film, "Solace."
The New American 4th of July celebration promises inclusive, family-friendly fun, and a lovely new take on 4th of July festivities and the day’s true significance.
RSVP to the event organizers and follow event details at Facebook.com/events/2242405169174019/

Colorado Talking Book Library

There is a resource available to the public that you may not be familiar with. The Colorado Talking Book Library is a resource for all kinds of people, not just the visually impaired. Users simply need a Colorado address and to clear a very easy definition of disability, such as fatigue, stroke, MS, Parkinson's, arthritis and more. 

They have materials in 130 languages! Of course, materials in English can support the work you're doing with your student.

To learn more, check out their website:https://myctbl.cde.state.co.us/

You may also contact Barbara Jaynes directly: barbara@positively-funded.com. She's really excited to bring their resources into service for refugee communities. 

Finally, if you're working on citizenship preparation with your student, consider connecting further with them to either access the study guide audio book (currently just English & Spanish), or even to help record a study guide in the language(s) of your target participants. They welcome volunteer support to further grow their library. 

I hope some of you are able to connect with this resource!

Free conversation practice

Please see the attached flyers for information about English Conversation Circles at Eloise May, Smoky Hill, and Sheridan libraries. Conversation circles are free, run year round, and don't require registration. All are welcome!

If your in-home student lives in Denver and within the Denver Public Schools boundaries, here is some helpful information for family members 12-18 years old. Please note that cell phone is necessary to access this service.

'On MY Way' Youth Summer Transportation Program Kicks Off June 1

This summer, the On MY Way! summer pilot program will provide transit fares to youth through RTD's new Mobile Ticketing app June 1-Aug. 31. City agencies -- including the Office of Children's Affairs, Denver Parks and Recreation and the Department of Public Works -- are working together to fund the mobile ticket fares.

To participate in the On MY Way! youth summer transportation program, students must be between 12-18 years old, have a MY Denver Card and complete a short online survey. To take the survey and learn more, students can visit denvergov.org/mydenvercard and visit RTD Mobile Ticketing for additional details about the RTD Mobile Tickets app.

Click here to read the article published by Chalkbeat and learn more about the program.

Some class options in Aurora/Lowry

The Community College of Aurora offers summer U.S. Citizenship Preparation classes for students that are interested in becoming U.S. citizens. Students prepare for the exam and receive help with the application and process in general. Thanks to a grant from USCIS, these classes are available at a reduced cost of $40.00 per ten-week term (40 hours of instruction).

Advanced ESL students who are interested in future college study or workforce preparation can now prepare for their goals in a low-stress, student-centered environment. CCA is offering these classes at a reduced cost of $60.00 per ten-week term (60 hours of instruction). Information can also be found on the CCA website, at www.ccaurora.edu/esl

 

Aurora Public Schools registration

If your student has children in Aurora Public Schools, please note the new registration system being implemented. Easy-to-understand information is here: https://app.peachjar.com/flyers/767749/schools/148976

In addition, help is needed helping parents sign up their kids for school. Read on for more information!

Aurora Public School's Action Zone is seeking volunteers to help sign up limited-English speaking refugee families register for school this year. Interpretation and training for volunteers will be provided. 

Sign up to volunteer here.  Learn more at corefugeeconnect.org. 

We're going to be on Colorado Public Radio

Several of my colleagues in the English Language Acquisition department here were interviewed today by a journalist from Colorado Public Radio. the story will be about what it's like to learn English as an adult in Denver and what supports are in place to help facilitate that process. I spoke extensively about the in-home tutoring program. The story will air in the next week or two, so if you're a CPR listener, keep your ears tuned for that!

That's all for this month. Now that summer seems to have arrived for real, I hope you're able to get out and enjoy all that Colorado has to offer!

Reporting link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScnEGSHvmvBmLKTOcN0TGuYNXWnm3t24q9BBNLmbuf0dl94Mw/viewform