Hello February! The month of “love”.

When you think about February, what do you think about?

My first thought is Valentine’s Day. I think about making handmade cards, fluttering cupids with their arrows, cinnamon hearts that burn your tongue when you eat too many, the scent of beautiful flowers, chocolates wrapped in shiny red foil and love.

When I reflect on what love truly means to me, it is all about relationships. The relationships with my family, friends, work colleagues, clients, professional networks and community. Each of these relationships are unique, however they have commonalities. Whether a personal or professional relationship; to be healthy and effective they must have trust, honesty, shared expectations, no judgements, boundaries, open communication, respect, compromises and accountability. The CLN Board is mindful of our role to be relationship weavers for the CALP System. Identifying and establishing new relationships as well as growing and strengthening existing relationships.

This is the perfect opportunity to remind everyone that the CLN Board will be hosting a 1-hour discussion on Tuesday, February 9th at 10 am all about, you guessed it…… “relationships.” For more information, please see Board Chair, Colleen Thiessen’s, January 8th portal post, CLN Board Meets with Advanced Education Minister: Call for CALP Staff Input. I am looking forward to the valuable conversation.

Stay well, be kind and take care of one another. 

It’s all about Relationships!

Doray Veno
Director CLN Board

Advanced Education Connections

In anticipation of the upcoming CALP Application Form, Ben Hartt and Amanda Giang, Advanced Education CALP Grant Managers, look forward to connecting with CALP staff in February.

CALP Guidelines 101

Join CALP Grant Manager, Ben Hartt and CLN Staff, Lori St. Cyr and Emily Robinson Leclair for an introduction to the CALP Guidelines.

This workshop demystifies the CALP Guidelines to give you clear information about CALP programming, operational and financial requirements. With a strong understanding of the CALP Guidelines and requirements, your CALP will be well positioned to make the greatest impact in the lives of adult learners in your community. CALP Guidelines 101 is an introductory workshop for new CALP staff, board members and staff looking for a refresher in the CALP Guidelines.

Tuesday, February 16, 2021 - 1:00 - 2:30 pm

Ask AE Anything About the CALP Application Form

Join CALP Grant Managers, Ben Hartt and Amanda Giang, as they review the 2021-2024 Grant Application. They will walk through the application form, provide clarification when needed and highlight changes and additions. There will be time dedicated to questions and answers.

Please note: This session is offered twice to accommodate a variety of schedules. There is no need to register in more than one session.

Wednesday, February 24 - 10:00 – 11:30 am

Thursday, February 25 - 1:00 – 2:30 pm

Watch the CALP Portal for the new application form!

Literacy & Learning Symposium 2021 (Virtual)

SAVE THE DATE

Community Learning Network will be hosting our second Virtual Symposium from Tuesday, September 28th to Friday, October 1st, 2021. Please mark your calendars!

THEME

Our theme for 2021 is: “Let’s roll with it!”

A little more whimsical than in past years. We’re looking for keynote presentations that can bring us light and uplifting messages, hope for the future, help us to build on our CALP community and our resilience and move us forward in our lives and work.

As a CALP system we’ve proved that together we are ready for anything so…“Let’s roll with it!”.

CALL FOR PRESENTERS

We are planning to open our Symposium 2021 Call for Presenters in mid-February.

Are you or do you know an expert in our field who would like to contribute to the future of the CALP system?

We will be actively seeking individuals to present on a variety of topics. Below, please find a sample list of topics requested by you at our 2020 Symposium. We also welcome your suggestions for topics that are not on this list.

EXAMPLES:

• Online & Remote Learning
  • Developing online learning programs
• Skills for Learning
  • Practical learning strategies methods and resources - How to
• Diversity & Inclusion
  • More training on diversity, inclusion and racism
• Tech PD
  • Tech-related PD specifically for CALP Staff
• Retaining Learners
  • More information and tools for retaining learners, returning learners and working with learners
• Adult Literacy Learning
  • Build more programs based on working philosophies of adult Learning
     

For further information or suggestions of presenters or topics you would like to see at Symposium 2021 please contact Pat Halewich, CLN PD & Events Specialist, at pdevents@calp.ca

REGISTRATION

This year’s online registration is set to open in May.

Stay tuned to the CLN monthly CALP Connections for more information as our Virtual Symposium 2021 plans unfold!

Spring Regional and Provincial Connections Week - Save the Dates

The CLN Regional Support Staff are busy planning for an upcoming spring Regional Connections and Provincial Connections Week!

Join us Tuesday, April 20th – Thursday, April 22nd for the connecting, networking, sharing and learning that you have come to expect from your Spring Regional Meeting.

While the objectives remain the same, the format has changed. We will be gathering online for Regional Meetings. New this year we are excited to have added Featured Speakers and Learning Circles to our agenda. These new additions will be open to the CALP staff across the province. We look forward to ‘seeing’ you online!

If you have any questions about your regional meeting, please contact your RSS. 

New Trainings Coming to CLN!

CLN is excited to offer you some new trainings coming this spring! They are all open for registration, just click on the title to go to the registration page.

Holding Safer Spaces

March 12 – May 28, 2021 (11 Fridays) at 1:00-2:30pm

Trainers: Val Rathjen, Corrie Rhyasen Erdman from CLN and Brenda Barritt from the Centre for Holding Space

Holding Space, as defined by Heather Plett, is “Being willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they are on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome.” In our work in CALP, we do this daily with the adults who come to us to explore and take next steps in their own learning and life journeys; and we do it for each other as we learn and grow in our own roles and organizations.  

This 11-week online course includes self-study, reflection, and online peer dialogue to support exploration, integration and application of the approaches and practices for holding space. Topics that will be covered include:

• ‘qualities’ of the space we hold;
• boundaries and membranes;
• holding space for ourselves while we hold space for others;
• holding spaces that are safe and brave;
• becoming trauma informed;
• privilege, oppression, intersectionality;
• power, status, and rank;
• implicit bias;
• and more

Lunch and Learn Series

• Finance 101 – Tuesday, March 16, 2021
• Keeping Your NonProfit Healthy – Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Finance 101

Tuesday, March 16, 2021 at 12:00-1:00 pm

Are you comfortable reading and understanding your financial statements? Are you confident that your financial management policies including internal controls are strong? This workshop is a great opportunity to help define roles and responsibilities in financial management at your organization and make sure you are compliant with CRA requirements.

In this session, Betty Thompson, from IntegralOrg will walk CALP staff and board members through these key areas:

• What is financial management?
• Roles and responsibilities related to finance at the staff and board levels
• How to read financial statements
• Efficient budgeting
• Internal controls
• Contractor versus employee            

Keeping Your Nonprofit Healthy

Wednesday, April 7, 2021 at 12:00-1:00 pm

Is your organization a nonprofit or society operating in Alberta? Do you have questions about your objects, or issues around financial or legal compliance? This workshop will help you understand the requirements your organization must meet under legislation. This session is of interest to board members, management, staff, and volunteers.

In this session, Yvonne Chenier from IntegralOrg will walk CALP staff and board members through these key areas:

• Governance responsibilities
• Nonprofit legal compliance
• CRA compliance (reporting, receipting, other CRA policies)
• GST compliance

Gathering to Learn

March 8, 15, 22, 29 at 11:00 am-12:30 pm

Trainers: Corinne Zimmerman and Shauna Pivarnyik of Carya

How we gather matters. The purpose of these workshops is to share, reflect and equip CALP staff with helpful ways to enhance the learning experience for Adult Foundational Learners, from that first initial contact to being an involved witness to a learner’s successful completion of a goal or dream.

CALP Staff will gain understanding of what it takes for a learner to find a learning opportunity, walk in the door, stay, and continue on their learning pathway. This understanding will come from the rich stories and data that our CALP communities across Alberta (both learners and staff) shared with us during a CLN funded research project called “Gathering to Learn”. We will be using the Gathering to Learn field guide as our resource. Each session will focus on one section of the field guide covering strategies to find, attract, engage and retain learners in CALP programs.

Tech Talk - Back by Popular Demand!

Due to the popularity of Tech Talk, it will be offered twice online with each session consisting of 3 consecutive weeks and it is required to attend all 3 sessions. This training includes much of the content offered by Tech Talk's one-day in-person training. 

This online training will provide opportunities for CALP staff to gain the understanding they need to be flexible and adaptable when training others in technology. Three interactive sessions will provide tools that CALP staff can use to encourage learners to identify common concepts, structures and navigational methods, rather than a “step-by-step, how-to approach”.

Participants will:

• Gain an understanding of common concepts, structures and navigation methods present across the many different technology tools found in work, play and community that include but are not limited to tablets, phones and computers
• Be able to transfer this knowledge to enhance existing classes or design new ones that better address the rapid changes occurring in the world of technology                                                                                                             

The upcoming sessions will be:

• Thursdays - March 4, 11 & 18, 2021 - 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
• Tuesdays -  May 4, 11 & 18, 2021 10:00 am - 12:00 pm

February Trainings and Connections Cafés

Register for the following upcoming Trainings and Connections Cafés in February!! 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. 

Regional Connection Cafés

Grab a coffee, bring a question, share a success or challenge, stay for five minutes or settle in for all ninety. These monthly Connections Cafés are an opportunity for you to connect with CALP staff in your region.

February 18 at 10:00 am - East Connections Café

February 18 at 1:00 pm - West Connections Café

February 18 at 1:00 pm - North Connections Café

February 18 at 1:00 pm - Central Connections Café

February 18 at 10:00 am - South Connections Café

Trainings

February 9 at 12:00 pm - Introduction to Strategic Planning

February 11 at 10:00 am - Instructional Strategies for Adult Literacy Programs

February 16 at 1:00-2:30 pm - CALP Guidelines 101

February 22-23 - Psychological First Aid Killam

February 23 at 1:00 pm - Staff Pick – Creating Learning Partners Course Pack

February 24-25 - Psychological First Aid Jasper

February 24 at 10:00-11:30 am - Ask AE Anything about the CALP Application Form

February 25 at 1:00-2:30 pm - Ask AE Anything about the CALP Application Form

This Month's Spotlight

This month's spotlight is Mentorship with Terri Peters.

*NEW* this year!

CLN understands that CALP staff, like the learners we support, have their own learning preferences.

We are pleased to introduce a unique mentorship opportunity to CALP staff who prefer to access learning one-on-one or in a small group. Terri Peters brings her considerable knowledge and expertise as an Adult Learning Specialist to the CALP system. Topics covered by mentorship with Terri are Creating Instructional Materials Using Plain Language, Instructional Strategies for Adult Literacy Programs and Learning Portfolios.

To begin, Terri Peters delivered an information packed workshop on Creating Instructional Materials Using Plain Language in January. You can now access the recording on the CALP Portal, attend Ask Terri Anything about Creating Instructional Materials Using Plain Language (registration deadline was February 1st) and/or access one-on-one or small group mentorship with Terri.

Other topics that Terri will cover this year include instructional strategies and learner portfolios. Each topic will follow the same format. Registration for the Instructional Strategies for Adult Literacy Programs are now open:

Instructional Strategies for Adult Literacy Programs: Reading February 11, 2021 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Instructional Strategies for Adult Literacy Programs: Writing March 3, 2021 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Following these workshops CALP staff will be able to access mentorship opportunities in each of these topics. Stay tuned to the CALP Portal for details.

*This Month's Spotlight is a new feature in CALP Connections highlighting monthly news, interesting facts or timely happenings in the world of adult literacy from Alberta or around the world. If you have something to submit, please send an email to office@calp.ca with the subject header This Month's Spotlight.