Each year, at the CLN March Board meeting, we have two important items on our agenda; Outstanding Contribution to Community Adult Learning Award and Board Member Recruitment.

For those new to the CALP system, the Outstanding Contribution Award is an honour bestowed upon an exceptional individual or organization annually at the Literacy and Learning Symposium. Each year the CLN accepts nominations from the field so we can all recognize the incredible work that is done in our province! 

For those who have been in the CALP system for some time, you have seen many of our fellow coordinators honoured for the work they do. Perhaps you have nominated a person or organization or you may have been the recipient of the award.

If you know of an organization or individual who has:

• Shown leadership in the adult learning field
• Inspired their CALP or community to advance lifelong learning
• Increased capacity in their organization and/or community to better meet the foundational learning needs of adult Albertans

Please consider taking the time to complete a nomination form with a letter and references. Submissions for the 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Community Adult Learning Award will be accepted until June 30, 2021. Click here for nomination form. 

The next order of business is, of course, Board Member recruitment. My time on the CLN Board is coming to an end this year. I do feel that I have learned so much about our CALP system and made incredible relationships with the CLN Staff, Board Members and Advanced Education staff throughout my 6 years. 

Highlights of my time on the CLN Board:

• Learning about governance from some of the very best
• Reviewing and updating the CLN Policies and making them shareable with the CALP system
• Working with all of the CLN office and RSS staff
• The process of developing a Sustainability Plan for the CLN
• Every board meeting was positive and successful
• Stepping out of my comfort zone and being Treasurer
• Shaba’s dinner recommendations

We have three board members who will have completed their terms this year. We are looking for some bright, new, keen faces to help steer the CLN into the future. So please take a minute to consider what you would like to bring to the CLN Board and then apply!

2021 CLN Board Member position description
2021 CLN Board of Directors Application Form (Word Document)

If you are interested in nominating an individual or organization for the Outstanding Contribution to Community Adult Learning Award or for more information on applying as a CLN Board Member you can call the CLN office at 1.877.485.4926 or email board@calp.ca.

Jana Thomson, CLN Board Treasurer
Program Coordinator, Rocky Learning Centre

Announcing our Symposium 2021 Closing Keynote Presenter

We are excited to announce that we have confirmed our Closing Keynote presenter: Dr. Rumeet Billan.

Dr. Rumeet Billan is an award-winning, internationally recognized entrepreneur, learning architect, speaker, author and humanitarian. Her mission is to raise potential by designing experiences that build resilience. Dr. Billan is the President and CEO of Viewpoint Leadership and an expert on Psychological Capital. She completed her PhD at OISE, University of Toronto and has designed and facilitated programs, courses, and training sessions across industries and sectors. She led the groundbreaking national research study on Tall Poppy Syndrome which reveals the impact of the silent systemic syndrome on women in the workplace. In 2020, she co-led the Canadian Happiness at Work study, in partnership with the Canadian Mental Health Association, and was the inaugural National Ambassador for their Not Myself Today® campaign. Dr. Billan was named Canada’s Top 10 Power Women in 2020, and has been twice named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. Recently, she released her first award-winning and bestselling book, Who Do I Want To Become?, designed for children and adults who are struggling with the question of what they want to be when they grow up. She serves on the Board of Directors of CODE and for G(irls)20. For details, visit www.rumeetbillan.com.

You can also watch this short segment she did on Global Calgary recently talking about pandemic burnout. Watch clip. 

Keynote Topic: Redefining Resilience

Resilience is a powerful skill that can be developed. It is the ability to bounce back from obstacles and setbacks to achieve higher levels of performance. It requires developing positive adaptation processes to help overcome the challenges we face, and the use of positive experiences to build confidence in our strengths and abilities. It also involves interventions that support and develop self-trust, objective reasoning, perseverance and possibility thinking. Research shows that these capabilities can be learned, and this keynote focuses on how we can develop strategies to build our resilience by examining the capabilities of psychological capital, and improve the experiences that we have to navigate the change we experience to reach our full potential.

We also wanted to update you that in March we were delighted to receive 30 Call for Presenter submissions and we are now well in the midst of building our Symposium program for 2021.

Watch for more information on how to register and all the fun and exciting events planned for the Literacy & Learning Symposium (Virtual) in mid-May! 

And remember - SAVE THE DATES!

Literacy & Learning Symposium 2021 (Virtual)

September 28th - October 1st

2021 Council of the Federation Literacy Award

Alberta is now seeking nominations for the 2021 Council of the Federation Literacy Award!

This year Alberta will continue to honour the hard work and commitment of a community organization that is helping adults to acquire and build on the foundational learning skills they need to achieve their goals.

Help us celebrate and recognize the work and leadership of an organization by completing and submitting a nomination package.

We are lucky in Alberta to have so many partners involved in adult literacy and foundational learning work. To get a sense of what it would mean for your organization to be recognized by the Council of the Federation, check out this forum post.

On September 8th of each year, in celebration of International Literacy Day, all provincial and territorial award recipients are announced in a national press release.

Nominations close on May 28, 2021.

If there are any questions, please email Amanda Giang, Alberta Advanced Education at amanda.giang@gov.ab.ca.

 

In 2020 the Honourable Demetrios Nicolaides, Minister of Alberta Advanced Education presented the prestigious Council of the Federation Literacy Award to Portage College CALPs. Donald Moore, Associate Dean accepted the award. 

Upcoming CLN Trainings

Register for the following CLN Trainings that have upcoming registration deadlines!! Click on the name of the training to get to the registration page directly. If the training is full please add yourself to the wait list or look for required trainings and PFAs offered on another date. Please note if a training is not posted below, then the deadline has already passed. 

Regional Meetings

Join team CLN for three days committed to connecting and ‘Learning Forward’. Let’s collect and share the knowledge and experience of our system in Regional Meetings.

North Spring Regional Meeting Tuesday, April 20 - 9:30 am – 11:00 am

West-Central Spring Regional Meeting Tuesday, April 20 - 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm 

East-Central Spring Regional Meeting Wednesday, April 21 - 9:30 am – 11:00 am 

Central Spring Regional Meeting Wednesday, April 21 -  2:00 pm – 3:30 pm 

South Spring Regional Meeting Thursday, April 22 -  9:30 am – 11:00 am 

Spring Provincial Connections Featured Speakers

For more information on the speakers go to the In The Spotlight page. 

Innovator's Mindset with George Couros - Tuesday, April 20 - 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Holding Space with Heather Plett - Wednesday, April 21 - 11:30 am - 12:30 pm

Make It Awkward with Jesse Lipscombe - Thursday, April 22 - 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 

Trainings

Literacy Lesson Planning - April 13 - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Staff Pick - Taking Charge Program: Facilitator's Manual - April 28 - 1:00 - 2:30 pm

Tech Talk (online) - May 4, 11 & 18 - 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Introduction to Adult Foundational Learning (Online Training) May-Jun 2021 - May 5, 12, 19, 26, and June 2

Engaging with Indigenous Learners (Old Sun May 2021) - May 5-6 - 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

CALP Essentials for Family Literacy Programs May 2021 - May 13, 20, 27 - 6:00pm – 7:15 pm

Psychological First Aid (Drayton Valley May 2021) - May 17 & 18 - 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Order your Nametag Online

It may seem like awhile until we will be meeting or training in person again, but when we do be sure to have new nametags for your CALP staff ready to go! 

You can order them through CLN! You can choose between silver or gold, and have your first and last name, organization and title printed on the tag with the CALP logo. You might also choose just to have first names on your tags, like our CLN staff. There is a 3 line maximum for set-up and printing on the tags.

Each tag costs $15, including shipping, and can be ordered online through the CALP Portal.

To order your nametag(s) go to https://calp.ca/purchase.

If you have any questions before you order please contact Shaba Qureshi, CLN Program Support at office@calp.ca or call 780-485-4926.

Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award Now Open

The Canada Life Literacy Innovation Award honours innovation in the creation and delivery (or in the development, implementation and delivery) of adult literacy or adult-integrated family literacy programs delivered by a community organization in Canada. The adult-focused literacy program makes a positive contribution to the lives of the participants as well as the community and could serve as a model for other organizations to adapt.

There is one top award of $20,000 and up to four honourable mention awards in the amount of $5,000 each. The awards as granted can be invested into the program and/or applied to operating funds.

Last year Centre for Family Literacy in Edmonton received an honourable mention for their Program: The Edmonton Literacy Classroom on Wheels (the COW Bus).

For more information or to apply go to the ABC Life Literacy page. 

In The Spotlight

This month's spotlight is the 'Learning Forward' during Spring Provincial Connections.

Learning Circles

Our ‘virtual’ Learning Circles highlight this knowledge, share the learning and invite contributions from all participants. At a typical Regional Meeting we would invite staff to host these conversations in small table groups with participants from their region. In 2021, our pivot to online means that we can open these conversations up to include hosts and participants from across the province.

Each Learning Circle will be thirty minutes long and facilitated by a CALP staff from the province. There will be two rounds of discussions (2:00 pm to 2:30 p.m. and 2:45 pm to 3:15 pm). Each Learning Circle will include 15 minutes for the host to share their learning followed by 15 minutes for group discussion and questions.

We are excited to welcome CALP staff from across the province to highlight new learning, innovation, partnerships and resources (please only register for 1 session per time slot):

Sessions 2:00-2:30 pm: 

Serving learners with learning disabilities

How to attract, support and retain adult literacy learners 

Building (and rebuilding) community partnerships 

Tips and Strategies of how to use WhatsApp to deliver a reading program

The importance of good policies and procedures 

Anti-Racism Talking Circles 

Potential Best (a Skills for Learning program) 

Newcomer Connections Program 

Building Professional Pride with CALP Book Clubs

Sessions 2:45-3:15 pm:

Pivot to remote learning 

Thinking outside the literacy resource box – providing learner-centered instruction 

Facilitating Experiential Group Learning in Skills for Learning 

Skills for Learning family literacy programs 

Norquest’s new ‘Assessing Community Needs’ tool 

Out of the office - CALP in the Community 

Pounding the pavement to find and attract foundational learners 

Unity of Belonging 

Featured Speakers 

CLN is excited to feature three speakers who will address the very concept of Learning Forward: George Couros, Heather Plett and Jesse Lipscombe. To learn more about these Featured Speaker please visit the Learning Forward blog. 

Regional Meetings

Registration is also open for the Spring Regional Meetings. Join CALP staff from your region for the connecting, networking, sharing and learning that you have come to expect from this annual event. To see dates for your region or to register go to the Upcoming CLN Trainings in the newsletter or go to the Training and Events Tab on the Portal.