Dear Abby has some advice for you!

This is from the 10-29-2007 Dear Abby column. Some of you have asked me about this very thing, so here's advice from a pro:

DEAR ABBY: How do you stop someone from serving food you don't like? A woman I tutor was nice enough to make me a dish native to her country, and when she asked me if I liked it, I gave her a rave review (to spare her feelings). I really hated it, but now she thinks I love it, and she keeps making it for me.
How can I refuse without hurting her feelings? I don't want to continue to just accept it and have to throw it away. -- WASTING FOOD IN VIRGINIA

DEAR WASTING FOOD: Try this: "You were so kind to make it, and I thank you. But as much as I like it, it doesn't like ME -- so I cannot accept it."
It's as close to the truth as you can get without being offensive, and should successfully discourage her from making it in the future.

Click here to read this on the Dear Abby Website.

Newspaper coverage galore!

The Burmese Karen have been in the news a lot this week. There's a lot to learn and a lot to know about this population. Click on these links to read articles from the Associated Press, Rocky Mountain News, and more.

Photo by Javier Manzano, RMN

This article is from Rochester, NY, but could easily be about any community that is currently accepting refugees for resettlement. Very nice read. Click here.

It's time for the COTESOL conference!

The Colorado chapter of Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages hosts a conference every fall. You don't need to be a professional ESL teacher to attend. In fact, you can get a reduced rate on the cost of registration if you're a volunteer or student!

This year's conference will be on Friday and Saturday, November 2 & 3, at the Rennaissance Denver Hotel and Conference Center, 3801 Quebec St., in the Stapleton area of Denver.

Click here for conference information, schedules, and registration forms.

Earlybird registration ends on October 14, but if you call Larry Fisher and ask nicely, you can probably get an extension.

See you there!

Sad news from the ESL Department

Some of you knew and had a chance to work with my colleague, Marlene Dallas. It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Marlene, who passed away on September 29. Marlene died peacefully, in her sleep.

In 2000, Marlene took over my job as the volunteer coordinator for the classroom side of our program. She worked hard to provide support to both the teachers and the volunteers. She kept us staffed with the extra help we always needed in our classrooms. Marlene also coordinated the translated workshops for our refugee students, and she hired the guest speakers and translators for these sessions. She always took time out from her limited work hours to say hello to anyone who stopped by her desk.

She will be missed.

Refugee Admissions Numbers Announced

For the 2008 fiscal year (October 1, 2007-September 30, 2008), the President has allotted 80,000 potential refugee admissions. The allocations have been divided this way:

• Africa . . . . . . . . . . .16,000
• East Asia . . . . . . . . . 20,000
• Europe and Central Asia . . 3,000
• Latin America/Caribbean . . 3,000
• Near East/South Asia . . . .28,000
• Unallocated Reserve . . . . 10,000

To read the entire Presidential Determination and see information about some specific countries affected by the determination, click on the link: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/10/20071002-2.html

Refugees on screen

UNHCR, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, has a new feature on the UNHCR Website.

There is an ever-growing collection of short videos about current refugee issues. You can also watch the videos on YouTube. To see a list and descriptions of the videos, go to http://www.unhcr.org/static/home/webvideos_pre.htm and http://www.unhcr.org/static/home/webvideos.htm

We Are Inundated!!! Help!

Buried in Referrals!!
The latest update from Home Tutoring Central finds your volunteer coordinator buried under a teetering stack of new refugee referrals. Yikes! Thirty-something this month (so far) with more coming every day.

If you are currently between students or have taken a break from tutoring, please consider working with someone new. The bulk of the new arrivals live at 13th and Yosemite, S. Quebec at Yale, and in Glendale (Mississippi and Colorado). There are others randomly scattered throughout the metro area.

The new arrivals are coming mostly from Burma, as well as Somalia, Ethiopia, and Iran (Baha'i Faith). Iraqis are due to arrive soon. All levels of education/literacy and economic background are represented. There are also many referrals for clients who are senior citizens or who have a variety of physical disabilities from deafness and partial blindness to limited mobility. These refugees are perhaps the most isolated of all.

Let me know if you can take on another student (fingers crossed). Thank you!

Iraqi Refugees are Finally Arriving

In case you missed it, the local media heavily covered the arrival of the first Iraqi family of many scheduled to arrive in Denver. Click on the links to read the articles.
Denver Post: Click here
Channel 4: Click here
Rocky Mountain News: Click here
Channel 9: Click here

Photo © Denver Post/Brian Brainerd

I have one Iraqi student in my class at this time. She has told me again and again that the refugees who are coming here are very frightened and they worry that Americans will dislike anyone from Iraq. I asked what we should do to show that's not true, and she said, "Smile. Say hello. Be kind. Welcome." --SM

Brush up on your skills!!

The best inservice training ever!

Back to Basics: Techniques for Every Tutor

Saturday, September 29, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

EGOS 1250 Welton St., downtown Denver -- Room 146

You asked for it, and your requests have been heard! Join us for an in-service training and brush up on your teaching skills. Three top-notch ESL professionals are coming to share what they know. Don’t miss this excellent opportunity to learn from the pros! Everyone who attends will receive a canvas tote bag!

· Literacy fundamentals: Working with the low-level learner

Katie Collins, MA
Katie has taught ESL at all levels and currently works with literacy-level refugee students. She is also an instructional specialist in the Work Intensive Skills Program

·Speaking and listening activities with authentic applications

Kim Hosp, MA
Kim currently teaches an intermediate refugee ESL class and
is also a specialist in the Work Intensive Skills Camp Program at EGOS

·Integrating grammar into everyday lessons

Dana Harper, MA
Dana’s teaching background includes teaching ESL at the
university level. She currently teaches a number of advanced-level refugee and regular ESL classes at EGOS

The day will be broken up into two parts: The same three sessions will be presented twice so you'll be able to attend two classes in one day. Each class is 75 minutes long. We’ll start with a 15-minute introduction and there will be one 15-minute break between sessions.

ï Please RSVP before Thursday, September 27 ð

Movie night September 13!!

You are invited to a special screening of the award-winning PBS documentary:

Rain in a Dry Land
Thursday, September 13
Emily Griffith Opportunity School, Room 123
6:30 p.m. gather and introduction
6:45 p.m. Movie starts

For a refugee, the distance between an African village and an American city is measured in much more than miles. It is a journey of enormous cultural, physical, personal and emotional adjustment. Rain in a Dry Land chronicles two years of that journey for two Somali Bantu families.

Resettlement brings surprises and challenges as the newcomers confront racism, urban poverty, and major 21st-century culture shock. The film captures every step of this process as parents struggle to create a stable, safe haven for their war-torn families, and children struggle to navigate the social and academic challenges of school.

Each person’s unique experience provides an outstanding opportunity for Americans to learn about refugees in the U.S. and to see ourselves and our culture through new eyes. This film is compelling, emotionally moving, and very thought-provoking.

For more information about the film, visit http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2007/raininadryland/

EGOS is located at 1250 Welton St., Denver, CO 80204

Check out our sister site!

Exciting things are happening! We recently embarked on a new adventure with the Saturday Ladies' Group at Grace Apartments. This project didn't take off, it blasted off!

Check out our little blog at http://refugeecrafts.blogspot.com

Help Hajia, support peace

Come support PeaceJammers!

BOOK FAIR!

• What: Barnes and Noble Book Fair benefiting the Omega Women's Conference PeaceJam Team
• Where: Barnes and Noble at 960 S. Colorado Blvd. (Just north of Mississippi Ave.)
• Time: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Sept. 7-8-9.

Please come and show your support! Click this link to pull up a printable version of the PeaceJam Barnes and Noble Voucher: http://www.peacejam.org/mailing/BarnesandNobleVouchers.doc ,or stop by the PeaceJam table to pick one up. You must have a voucher for your purchase to count toward the fundraiser.

Why should you do this?
PeaceJam has an incredible opportunity to send student representatives to the Omega Women's Conference in New York! This conference features over 600 women leaders including all of the women who have won the Nobel Peace Prize!

Hajia Muya, a Somali Bantu refugee living in Denver, is among the 10 amazing young women who were awarded a scholarship to attend the conference. Entrance fees, meals and hotels are paid for through this scholarship, but funds are still needed for airfare.

If you need to buy books for school or fun, or perhaps a CD or a gift, buy it at the Barnes & Noble on S. Colorado Blvd. this weekend so that your purchase will benefit these young women!

We take it for granted

The next time you stand in your kitchen and turn on the faucet, think for a moment what it would be like if nothing came out. Access to clean water is one of the most serious crises facing people around the world. In Somalia, a reporter gives his account of a seemingly simple problem that is incredibly complicated to fix. This article from Slate is worth five minutes of your time--it's valuable food for thought.

August Hours are DUE!!!

It's time to report your tutoring hours for August.

Please don't forget.

Please report your hours no later than Friday, September 7. You can just send the information via email.

Also, don't forget to RSVP for the inservice trainings!!! Session descriptions are on the upper right side of this screen. So far, I'm the only one signed up. For both.

Have a fabulous Labor Day weekend! --SM

More jobs

Just passing this along. There are some ESL/Literacy jobs available here: http://coloradoliteracy.org/ecomm/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=8

Free clothes!

Safari Seconds Thrift Store is holding a clothing giveaway. It is open to the public and all are invited to come and shop for dresses, pants, shirts and much more. Everything outside the store will be free; items in the store are for sale.

When: Friday, Aug 31, 11:00am-1:00pm and the last Friday of every month!!
Where: Safari Seconds Thrift Store, 410 Broadway, Denver, CO, 80203

Safari Seconds Thrift Store is a program of the African Community Center, a refugee resettlement agency in Denver, Colorado. All proceeds from the store go to support the cause.
For more information call Emily, Thrift Store Manager, at 303-722-4500.

Artists build cultural bridges

Here is an interesting article about a group of musicians collaborating across countires, oceans, and the Internet. Very cool! http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2007-08-11-musical-diplomacy_N.htm?csp=34&POE=click-refer

Evaluating the program

Last week, I met with someone from the State Refugee Office regarding, well, everything about this program. She asked me if the volunteers evaluated the program upon leaving their tutoring positions. I told her that we had never done that, as most people were pretty good about giving feedback as they went along. It looks like I'll have to put a more formal system in place, but I would like your input as I create the evaluation tool. Please consider:

Which areas do you think you would like to comment on? I figured you would want to say something about:

• training
• communication with the coordinator
• technical support
• inservice trainings (but maybe not this year--it was a bad year!)
• student matching process
• Why you volunteered and whether or not you got what you wanted from the program
• What you wanted but didn't get within the program
• suggestions

Now, I am not asking you to tell me your opinions at this time; I want to know if there is something else about the program that bears consideration but that I haven't thought of. Is there something I should add to the list that you, as a tutor, feel you would like to rate or comment on when you leave us?

Let me know your thoughts at sharon_mccreary@dpsk12.org. Thanks!

ESL Job Opportunities

I am just passing this along for those of you who are interested in a paid position:
Focus Points Family Resource Center is looking for qualified ESL Instructors!
Please email Jolene Goerend, Adult Education Director at joleneg@focuspoints.org, if interested.
Thanks!
The available classes are:

Ford Elementary
14500 Maxwell Place
Denver, CO 80239

Level 1
Mon/Wed 5 - 7:30 pm
$15/hour
5 hrs teaching, 8 hours paid weekly
starts Sept 10th

Oakland Elementary
4580 Dearborn Street
Denver, CO 80239

Mixed Level
Tues/Wed/Thurs 9 - 11 am
$15/hour
6 hrs teaching, 9 hours paid weekly
starts Sept 11th

Culturally Connecting

Girl Power!

Last week, one of our volunteers, Anna Hebbert, bravely volunteered to take a group of Somali young ladies to a Rapids Soccer game. Honestly, it often seems like when it comes to refugee kids and sports, the boys usually get all of the attention and have all of the fun. Kudos to Anna for giving these girls some much-needed special attention and a very cool excursion!

Pre-game hanging out

The girls at the game