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Take 'Not' Out of Your Life Campaign: Coming soon!
What would your life be like without the word "not?" There would be no more "I'm NOT good enough," "I'm NOT smart enough," "I'm NOT the right person for the job."
That's the idea behind a new public service campaign developed by the Piedmont Triad Partnership and sponsored by Reading Connections, Fairway Outdoor Advertising, and WFMY News 2.
  
The "Take Not Out of Your Life" campaign was developed to motivate and inspire adults who may have given up on their education to take action and develop the skills they need. Using headlines like "You're just right for college," "You're smart enough," or "You can change your future," billboards, posters, fliers, and newspaper ads promote a positive attitude toward education. Reading Connections and Fairway Outdoor Advertising will be posting billboards in 8 of the 12 Piedmont Triad counties.
At the same time, WFMY News 2 will be airing thirty-second ads featuring success stories of adults who have gone back to school and advanced their careers.
Look for these ads and billboards over the next few weeks, and think about where you can take "not" out of your own life!
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Ask Your Way to Good Health
Going to the doctor can be a stressful experience for many people. It can be even more overwhelming when the doctor's diagnosis is confusing or poorly understood, especially for an adult struggling with low literacy skills. The solution to this problem is simple if people know what to say. Reading Connections has conducted health literacy courses for the past several years and seen first-hand the effect of low literacy on individuals' health. Many people, feeling uncomfortable and not knowing what to ask, leave the doctor's office frustrated and without the information and knowledge they need.
Through their partnership partnership with the Humana Foundation, the National Center for Family Literacy helped create a health literacy video to address this very important issue. Check it out at http://www.wellzone.org/LiteracyVideo.aspx.
This is a simple and effective approach that can bring peace of mind to any doctor's patient regardless of literacy skills! Please feel free to share this video with others!
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Downtown Space Needed
 If you've ever tried to schedule class or meeting space at Reading Connections' Greensboro office, you know it can be a challenge! As we are expanding to meet growing demand for basic literacy classes, we are looking for convenient space in the downtown Greensboro area to accommodate our growing list of small group classes. If you know of space we could use (preferably at no cost) in a church, office building, or other downtown location, please let us know!
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Student and Tutor Chosen as State Finalists
Victoria Harrison and Kathy Dunn, both highly active members of the Reading Connections community, have been chosen as finalists for the 2010 Angela Moore Trogdon Awards, which are sponsored by the NC Community Colleges System in Raleigh. The Angela Moore Trogdon Awards honor
deserving people for outstanding accomplishments and providing
instruction in Basic Skills programs across North Carolina.The awards include a trophy and cash bonus and are given in honor of
Angela Moore Trogdon, who served as Basic Skills/HRD Director at
Randolph Community College, then Guilford Technical Community College.
Angela lost her fight with breast cancer in November 1999.
Victoria, nominated for Student of the Year, has been a student with us since 2009 and is active in our student council. Kathy, nominated for Tutor of the Year, is known as our instructor extraordinaire and teaches Civics and Reading Fundamentals in addition to mentoring other RC tutors. We would like to congratulate them for this accomplishment and look
forward to hearing the final results. Well done and good luck, Victoria and Kathy!
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Tutor Training Dates
Training will happen at the Self Help building in downtown Greensboro:
| Orientation: |
Please call to schedule
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Session 1:
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Monday, May 17th |
5:30 - 8:30 pm |
| Session 2: |
Thursday, May 20th |
5:30 - 8:30 pm |
If you are interested in attending a training session, please contact Rhiannon Kelly (rkelly@readingconnections.org) to attend. If you know someone who'd make a great tutor, please pass along these dates!
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Online Training for Tutors
Teaching an adult to read or speak English when it is not their first language can be challenging! If you are an ESOL instructor or tutor, you can take advantage of several FREE online training resources to help you teach your students English as well as information about their new home:
EL/Civics Online (http://www.elcivicsonline.org/) has 5 courses for instructors:
- ESL Foundations: Fundamental principles of language instruction (this is a prerequisite for all other courses on this site)
- US History:
Learn to integrate good ESL practices with the foundations of teaching history so that your students will improve their English and learn more about this country's past.
- US Government: Help your students improve their English while learning about the U.S. Government and its impact on their lives.
- Civic Engagement:
Improve your students' English skills and help them become knowledgeable and productive community members of the United States.
- The Naturalization Process: If your student wishes to become a US Citizen, this course will help you guide him or her through the naturalization process and the information they will need to pass their citizenship test.
Simply register on the site and complete the courses on your own time and at your own pace! The site also provides tutorials on lesson planning and adapting materials to fit your student's level and needs.
The Verizon Thinkfinity Literacy Network (http://literacynetwork.verizon.org/TLN/courses) has a variety of courses for instructors working with Adult Basic Education and ESOL students. Some course offerings include:
Be sure to check out these FREE resources, and let us know if you find any particularly helpful.
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Time for Student Assessments
 June 30 will mark the end of our fiscal year, and Reading Connections is busy getting our students post-assessed. This happens when a student has completed at least 30 or 40 hours (depending on the type of test they have taken in the past) of instruction, or when their tutor or instructor feels they have made sufficient progress to warrant a post-instruction assessment.
Tutors, please let us know if your student is ready for a post-assessment. If you're not sure how many hours your student has acquired in the last year, give us a call at (336) 230-2223.
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Staff Changes
Our dedicated intern, Faith Baldwin, will move into the administrative assistant position at the Greensboro RC office upon her graduation from A&T University this month. Congratulations, Faith!
That means our current admin, Laura DeMaria, will become the new Student Services Coordinator. Next time you're in the office, be sure to take a moment to meet Faith and Laura. They both look forward to transitioning into these new roles and helping further serve the Reading Connections community.
High Point also has a staff change: for the past two years, Nick Foley has been an invaluable AmeriCorps member at Reading Connections. He will enter a new Coordinator position starting this summer. We are very happy to keep Nick on once his AmeriCorps work is complete!
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Monthly Tutor Reports: High Point Change
Attention all High Point tutors! In the past, we've asked you to send in your monthly tutoring reports to info@readingconnections.org. However, in the future, please send them directly to Kyri in the High Point office at kmurdough@readingconnections.org. This ensures you and your student's hours get tracked more quickly. Thanks!
Just a reminder: If you are an active tutor, please remember to turn in your Monthly Tutoring Report, which is due on the 5th of each month. If you have done so already, thank you! You can submit these hours by email, mail, fax, or phone. Call the office if you have questions about reporting your tutoring hours.
Remember that Reading Connections' state funding depends on being able to demonstrate success. That includes the number of instructional hours per student. If we don't get your tutor reports, we can't record student hours and are likely to get reduced state funding. Please be sure to turn these in monthly!
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Office Closed Memorial Day
 Reading Connections' offices will be closed on Monday, May 31 in observance of the Memorial Day Holiday.
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We are always interested in your feedback. Do you have questions or concerns? Please contact the office.
Sincerely,
Reading Connections Staff
Greensboro Office
122 N. Elm St., Ste. 520
Greensboro, NC 27401
info@readingconnections.org
Phone: (336)230-2223
Fax: (336) 230-2203
High Point Office 
901 N. Main Street
High Point, NC 27262
P.O. Box 2530
High Point, NC 27261
info@readingconnections.org
Phone (336) 883-3664 (new!)
Fax (336) 883-3636
If you think you've received this email in error or would like to be removed from the list, send an email with UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line to info@readingconnections.org
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