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Find the Funny in February!
February is here and let’s hope it brings more daylight and some warmer temperatures our way!
My name is Melanie Patenaude and I am currently the Executive Director for the County of Lethbridge Community Learning Council where I have held numerous positions over the past decade.
I am one of the new directors on the CLN board this year and I have already learned so much. I wanted to serve as a director to give back to an organization that has helped me learn and grow in my various positions over the past ten years. The CLN board and staff have always been there with support, training and a friendly ear when you are facing an issue or have a question.
As we enter this month that is usually the shortest but can feel like the longest, I encourage you to try to make a point of finding something funny each day. Let’s call it “Find the Funny in February!” Whether it be reading a joke or sharing a funny or embarrassing story with a friend or co-worker. I’ll get us started:
Me: This show is so boring.
Boss: Again, this is a Zoom meeting.
Two goats were munching on a movie script.
Goat 1: Mmm, this is good.
Goat 2: The book was better.
What do you say when you are comforting a grammar expert? There, their, they’re…
Feel free to join me on the Portal to "Find the Funny in February" and let's share some laughs together!
Melanie Patenaude, CLN Board Director
Executive Director for the County of Lethbridge Community Learning Council
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Update from the Symposium Planning Committee
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The Literacy and Learning Symposium Planning Committee is excited to let you know that we are re-thinking our planning for the next Symposium. Over the last two years, we have learned a lot about how to shift and to create an engaging virtual Symposium. We’ve also had the opportunity to hear from you about what you have enjoyed in the virtual format, and about what you have missed from the in-person event.
After many conversations with the CLN team, previous feedback from CALP staff, and ongoing discussions about the sustainability of this event within our PD Delivery Grant with Alberta Advanced Education, we have made the decision to schedule the next Literacy and Learning Symposium in the spring of 2023 rather than this coming September.
There are two reasons for switching to a spring 2023 Symposium.
The main reason is that we have been in close discussion with Advanced Education, as CLN prepares to submit our next two-year grant application, and we are paying close consideration and being accountable to re-aligning the costs associated with planning this large-scale event within our same contract year. Therefore, by switching the Symposium to the spring, it will enable us to both plan and host the event in the same contract year (between July 1st and June 30th).
The other reason for this change is that we have heard over the last several years that September can be a difficult time for many CALP staff to fully participate in the Symposium. We know that it is a very busy time for CALPs, as most organizations are re-opening offices after the summer break, reconnecting with learners, and promoting and launching fall programs.
With this extra time added to our Symposium 2023 planning cycle, we are delighted to be able to think beyond the box, to explore, re-invent and re-design new ways to deliver a high quality, accessible and affordable professional development and networking provincial event.
So, as we plan for the next Symposium, and other CLN-led events, your input will be critical! We’d like to open the conversation by asking for your thoughts about CLN events, at this point in time, through a quick survey. The survey asks about events in general, about regional meetings and gatherings, about the Symposium, and about your priorities and what you hope to gain from taking part or attending.
This survey is just a snapshot in time, to let us know what your thoughts and feelings are today.
This will not be the end of the conversation – we plan to keep in touch with another “pulse check” survey later in the year.
Please share this survey with your colleagues, including CALP staff, Board members and volunteers! The survey will be open until February 11th.
In the meantime, if you would like to share additional thoughts, or have any questions, please contact Lisa Dickner at ed@calp.ca or 780-485-4926 ext. 1.
Thank you in advance for your input and feedback!
Symposium Planning Committee
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Celebrating CLN’s 35th Anniversary
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Time sure flies when you are having fun! February 9th, 2022, marks CLN’s 35th anniversary and we want to celebrate with you. Please see details below:
(click on inivite to open separately)
Background:
In 1986, a group of Further Education Council coordinators came up with the idea to form a support network for coordinators across the province. Further Education Councils in towns and cities throughout the province were working hard to make adult and further education more accessible to all Albertans. On February 9th, 1987, Company of Coordinators – an Association for Further Education, was officially incorporated under the Societies Act of Alberta.
Company of Coordinators Logo
Then in 1994 The Further Education Program was renamed Community Adult Learning Program (CALP) and the Company of Coordinators changed their name to Community Learning Network, an Alberta Association of Leaders in Lifelong Learning (CLN).
To learn more about fun facts and the history of CLN drop by to celebrate with us!
Link to event: https://calp.zoom.us/j/86920199752?pwd=czNLaDlwclNkcFR1NU1SMjBtV2Fzdz09
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New and Upcoming Training Events and Connections Cafés
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New April Trainings:
Tuesdays, April 12th & 19th - Serving Adults with Learning Disabilities – Join author, Karen Plourde, for an exclusive introduction to her upcoming, “Serving Adults with Learning Disabilities: In a CALP Setting” manual. In this session you will gain a deeper understanding of adults with learning disabilities and how to adapt instruction to support literacy and numeracy learning using the manual. Transform your CALP with inclusive program design and delivery.
April 13th - Staff Picks - Facilitating Adult Literacy Learning e-Learnings – Join Rebecca Still to get acquainted with the new e-learnings on the CALP Portal to help you with preparing lessons for reading and writing.
Upcoming Trainings:
Check out and register now for the PD that is coming in February and March! Don’t wait too long. Registration closes as early as February 3 for some upcoming events!
February 10th - Staff Picks – In-Home Family Literacy Units - Come learn about this collection of family literacy program activities that provide explicit instruction and language to demonstrate how facilitators can work with families to intentionally build adult foundational skills.
February 11th - Holding Safer Spaces - 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.” Discover approaches and practices for holding space for your own personal and professional growth.
February 16th - Engaging with Indigenous Learners (Maskwacis Cultural College) Learn about local, regional, and national issues of relevance to adult Indigenous learners to help you create a supportive and welcoming learning experience for Indigenous learners in your community. Connect with and build relationships with community members from your local First Nations Colleges/University.
March 8th – Reading Strategies – learn the core components of reading and explore different instructional strategies to support learners in building their readings skills.
March 9th – CALP Essentials for Family Literacy Programs - In this participatory training, CALP-funded staff will learn what family literacy programming is, how well suited it is to the needs of adult foundational learners and their families, and which practices support effective CALP-funded family literacy programs. This is a CALP required training.
March 10th – Staff Picks – Serving Adult with Learning Disabilities in a CALP Setting - Come and join Cheryl Lovstrom to learn about this new interactive online guide for CALP staff. It is designed to help you understand learning disabilities, how they impact adult learners, universal program design and instructional strategies for both reading and math.
March 24th - Introduction to Adult Foundational Learning - This CALP required training aligns with the Government of Alberta Community Adult Learning Program (CALP) Guidelines and is intended to give CALP-funded practitioners fundamental knowledge for supporting adult foundational learners in communities across Alberta.
March 30th – New CALP Staff Webinar - If you are new in your role in CALP, and still looking to get the lay of the land, please join us to connect with your colleagues from across the province.
“Let’s Roll With It! – Take TWO”
A new session - Meet-the-Author – Timothy Caulfield - has been added to the already amazing line up of of our top-rated Symposium presenters. If you missed these sessions at Symposium 2021, here’s a chance to learn from them in 2022.
Register for free now:
Regional Connections Cafés
Grab a coffee, bring a question, share a success or challenge, stay for five minutes or settle in for all sixty. These monthly Connections Cafés are an opportunity for you to connect with CALP staff in your region.
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Literacy in Action
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I am excited to announce that three new e-Learnings have been added to the Portal.
Last spring Terri Peters, long time facilitator for adult literacy and former CLN staff member, presented a series of workshops. There was so much great information learned in the workshops that we decided to make them into e-Learnings, which you can go back and visit as often as you want. A fourth e-Learning from the workshops, Foundational Learning Lesson Planning, was also posted this past fall.
You will notice this series of e-Learnings are presented through a series of videos or podcasts and handouts, which gives a new way to experience learning on the Portal. Throughout the e-learning videos, Terri breaks down the learning into small bites that are easy to follow while keeping one engaged.
Each e-Learning includes information that is relevant to new or seasoned CALP staff or tutors. There is no order to the videos, just chose the ones that are most relevant for you and the learners in your programs.
Instructional Strategies for Reading has information about the basic components of reading and how to combine meaning and decoding. Three different reading strategies are shared.
Instructional Strategies for Writing includes the writing process and how to effectively teach writing. There are two writing activities you can use for practice with learners.
Creating Instructional Materials using Plain Language focuses on how to create your own instructional materials using plain language. Through a series of videos you are guided through the process to rewrite text for use in reading lessons.
Foundational Learning Lesson Planning covers the seven steps you can use to create effective lesson plans.
If you work with adult literacy learners you will want to check out these e-Learnings!
Rebecca Still, Literacy Specialist
Community Learning Network
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This Month's Spotlight
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This month's spotlight is World Day of Social Justice - February 20th, 2022.
The theme of World Day of Social Justice 2022 is, “A Call for Social Justice in the Digital Economy”.
The Covid-19 Pandemic prompted many to to find new ways to engage online, in life, learning, work and accessing services and supports. However, the pandemic has also highlighted the inequities of access, both here at home, and in the global community.
This year's commemoration supports efforts by the international community to search for solutions to achieve sustainable development, poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, universal social protection, gender equality and access to social well-being and justice for all.
The theme of this year’s World Day of Social Justice aims to address the causes and the impacts of the “Digital Divide”.
On November 26th, 2007, the UN General Assembly declared that, February 20th will be celebrated annually as the World Day of Social Justice The World Day of Social Justice is observed to encourage people to look at how social justice affects poverty eradication. It also focuses on the goal of achieving full employment and support for social integration. An underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations is defined as Social Justice according to the official website of the United Nations Organization. The principles of Social Justice are upheld to promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous people and migrants.
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"In music, in poetry, and in life, the rest, the pause, the slow movements are essential to comprehending the whole."
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– Maryanne Wolf
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| Contact Us |
Community Learning Network
c/o University of Alberta - SCSC - South Campus
2-211, 11610 – 65 AVE NW Edmonton, AB T6G 2E1
P: 1-877-485-4926
E: news@calp.ca
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