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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News

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Early Literacy Tips for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers BY: MAGGIE HODGE-KWAN, VICE-PRESIDENT, LITERACY ALBERNI SOCIETY It is never too early to encourage literacy in children – even babies!

Children’s brains are sponges, soaking up all of the opportunities for learning that you offer.

Here are a few tips to promote literacy in young children. Practicing early literacy every day should help your child to become a lifelong learner, and can make learning to read easier when school begins.

Babies Read with your baby.

Pick a time when you and your baby are in good moods, and then snuggle up to share a story. Babies will not follow along with the story, but they are interested in the pictures on the page and love to be cuddled up with a parent or caregiver.

Pick books that babies enjoy. Board books, which have thick and sturdy pages, are great for enthusiastic hands.

Good board books for babies have few words, bright, clear pictures, and are small in size.

Sing nursery rhymes.

There are so many nursery rhymes to choose from, and singing them helps teach your child language, rhythm, rhyme, and repetition. YouTube has lots of videos that you can sing along to.

Use descriptive language.

Children with large vocabularies have an

easier time learning to read than children with small vocabularies. As you go through your day together, describe to your child the clothing that he or she is wearing, the food that you are eating, etc. This is a great way to include early literacy skills in your everyday life!

Toddlers Make books available.

Toddlers are on the move, so make books available at home, in the car, and in the stroller. At this age, don’t expect children to sit and read with you for long periods of time.

Instead, give them lots of opportunities throughout the day to browse a book.

Make your own book.

Upload your pictures to the internet and print out a book of your child’s family, favorite toys, daycare friends, etc. You can make a book without technology, too – your child can draw pictures which you can caption and bind together.

Explore writing.

Older toddlers are developing the motor skills necessary to hold a piece of sidewalk chalk, crayon, or marker. Create opportunities to write.

A page full of scribbles might not look like much to you, but to a toddler, it’s demonstrates how the brain and the body work together.

Play.

Imaginative play is so important for children. It helps them to learn about the world around them, and teaches important pre-literacy skills like storytelling, problem

solving, and empathy.

Preschoolers Play I Spy. “I spy, with my little eye, something that is red.”

This game is always a hit with children. Feel free to move beyond colors. For example: “I spy with my little eye something that begins with an S. S sounds like sssss.”

Choose books that

your child can “read” along with you.

Many children love to read the same books over and over again. When a child becomes familiar enough with a book, they can read it along with you.

What a confidence booster! Great choices include Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, by Bill Martin, or Brown Bear,

Brown Bear, What Do You See?, by Bill Martin. Jr. Help your child write his or her name.

Many preschoolers have developed the motor skills to hold a crayon or marker and write letters. Have your child write his or her name on artwork, greeting cards, and stories.

Explore the library.

The library is familyfriendly and your child is welcome to get a library card as soon as he or she would like.

In Port Alberni, our library offers free early literacy programs for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. There are also thousands of great books to read in the library or take home.

No skill is more crucial to the future of a child

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News

Raise-A-Reader - History in the Valley

RAISE-A-READER AND PORT ALBERNI BY: CHARMEAD SCHELLA Literacy Alberni is an integral cog in the wheel that moves Port Alberni ever forward. Literacy Alberni exists as an organization that helps to address illiteracy woes in the Valley due to the support, commitment,

and generosity of Port Alberni.

Literacy Alberni’s largest fundraising effort of the year is Raise-aReader and, this year, is being executed in close partnership with the Alberni Valley News and the AV Times. The funds generated from Raise-aReader enable literacy programming to continue

and grow in the Alberni community all year long.

Since Literacy Alberni’s first Raise-a-Reader initiative in September 2006, the Port Alberni community has embraced the event. Local media (Alberni Valley News, AV Times, and 93.3 the Peak radio station) have annually engaged with the fundraiser through

EXPLORE, LEARN, GROW

Literacy opens a world of possibility.

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Maybe you want to complete your Grade 12. Maybe you want to begin a career. Maybe you want to read more comfortably.

NIC’s math and English upgrading courses can help you reach your goals. They are flexible, and start several times a year. And, you can learn at the level that is best for you. Plus, NIC Educational Advisors are here to help you, every step of the way.

Want to explore your options?

Call an Educational Advisor at 1-800-715-0914

generous sponsorship, donations, and enthusiastic volunteerism.

Social service clubs have also become essential supporters of Raise-aReader in the Alberni Valley. Over the past four years, Rotary Club of Port Alberni, Rotary Club of Port Alberni (Arrowsmith), Kinsmen Club, Kiwanis Club, Lions Club, and Port Alberni Toy Run have all contributed generously to the effort. These contributions from social service clubs, along with a $16,000 contribution from Literacy Alberni, have allowed us to fund and support a Parents as Literacy Supporters (PALS) family literacy program in the Alberni Valley in partnership with School District 70.

Raise-a-Reader monies work hard all year long to fund Literacy Alberni’s ongoing literacy

programming, assisting some of the 41 percent illiterate that populate our community. Raise-aReader funds stretch to contribute to the ongoing reading and writing, numeracy, family literacy, nutritional literacy, computer literacy, adult literacy, ESL, literacy camps, and other special programming that make up our year in the Valley.

Literacy Alberni is grateful for the tireless and committed efforts of the community, partners, and visionaries that all contribute to make our Raise-a-Reader one of the most successful in the country. It is with humility and profound gratitude that we say ‘thank you’ to the Port Alberni community for its support.

Alberni Valley News Sept. 23, 2015

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Literacy Alberni And Its Importance in the Alberni Valley BY: CHARMEAD SCHELLA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, LITERACY ALBERNI

Port Alberni faces many challenges as a community and, at the fore of the list, is a high illiteracy rate (41 percent, just slightly higher than the provincial average).

As such, Literacy Alberni Society is a necessary foundational block in the town’s efforts to build a healthier and stronger community.

Literacy Alberni is a notfor-profit organization, located at 5100 Tebo Avenue, in the former Klitsa School. It is open from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, Monday to Friday, and offers free programming in all aspects of literacy.

Although the core programs are the Community Adult Literacy Program (CALP) and the Literacy Alberni Settlement Assistance Program (LASAP) for newcomers to Canada, the centre also offers a host of other classes and tutorials to give everyone a literacy leg-up.

Beyond reading, writing, and numeracy, Literacy Alberni also offers many, many diverse and engaging literacy classes to the community – most of them free of charge.

Nutritional literacy cooking classes are becoming increasingly popular in their efforts to teach healthier eating habits and grocery shopping on limited budgets. Computer literacy classes are the

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RAISE-A-READER

Reading is FUN BY: MAGGIE HODGE-KWAN

centre’s most populated classes, offering group classes in both Windows 7 and Windows 8 – soon to be Windows 10, effective this fall.

Computer classes are available in level 1 for absolute beginners, and level 2 for those who are a bit more computersavvy.

English as a Second Language learners benefit from both oneon-one tutorials with a volunteer tutor, and from organized themed group classes, with topics such as pronunciation, grammar, conversation, and reading and writing.

Settlement assistance for newcomers to Canada offers a speaker’s series, workshops, and field trips to local and Island destinations, with the goal of helping new immigrants adjust more easily to their new lives in Canada.

Literacy Alberni also offers direction in family literacy, sponsoring PALS (Parents as Literacy Supporters) sessions at local schools, daycares, and service organizations with the goal of assisting primary caregivers to parent with embedded literacy in the home and in everyday life.

Literacy Alberni partners with many organizations and service agencies in the Valley and beyond to offer as comprehensive and engaging programming as it possibly can. It knows that it would be very little without the help of its friends.

SD70, SD93, NIC, ACAWS, Bread of Life, VIHA, IHN, PAACL, Tseshaht First Nation, Hupacasath First Nation, Huu-ayaht First Nation, NTC, Us-maa Child and Family Services, NETP, Make Children First Network, Read and Feed Program, Vancouver Island Regional Library, City of Port Alberni, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Decoda Literacy Solutions, Province of British Columbia, First Book Canada, ICE Books, Rotary, Lions Club, and the Port Alberni Toy Run.

When local students were asked how often they read for fun, 21% of Grade 4 students reported reading for more than an hour everyday, according to the Middle Years Development Instrument Report. Responses from Grade 7 students were similar, with 22% reporting reading for sixty minutes or more each day.

22% of Grade 4 students read for fun for 30 minutes to an hour, as do 19% of Grade 7 students.

Here’s where the news gets less encouraging: 37% of Grade 4 students report reading for fun for less than thirty minutes, and another 20% say that they do not read for fun at all. More dramatically, 24% of Grade 7 students report reading for fun for 30 minutes or less, and a whopping 35% report not reading for fun at all.

Reading is an essential skill. Aside from ensuring future academic and

professional success, reading promotes empathy, boosts communication skills, and strengthens the brain. Did you know that scientists have discovered that recreational reading increases cognitive function? Cognitive function is associated with reasoning, perception, thinking, idea generation, and memory.

How can parents encourage their kids to read regularly?

1. Try a book to film adaptation. Read a book and then watch the movie. What was different? What was the same? Which version did your child prefer?

Many movies were books first. Although the final movie in the Hunger Games series arrives in theaters this fall, there are other options as well.

Suggested titles for Grade 4 students include the How to Train Your Dragon Series, by Cressida Cowell, or Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh. Grade 7 students

may be interested in the Divergent series, by Veronica Roth, or The Giver, by Lois Lowry.

2. Start a family book club. Grab a few copies of a book and ask everyone in your family to read the book. Even better, ask parents and kids from your neighbourhood to join. Then, talk about it! Take turns asking questions, and enjoy hearing everyone’s perspective. Books that would be great for a family book club include Matilda, by Roald Dahl, A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle, and The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman.

3. Read aloud as a family. Many children’s books are begging to be read aloud. The Harry Potter series, for example, would be great to pass from person to person.

Take turns reading a page each and enjoy making up voices for the characters, exploring a different world, and getting to know new characters.

Reading doesn’t have to be a solitary activity.

Make it a family affair and see how fun it can be!

Lastly, Literacy Alberni, despite ardent funding cuts to the sector over the past few years, thrives because of the dedication and commitment of its volunteers, staff, and board.

Literacy is integral to a healthy and progressive, community because literacy is life.

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Alberni Valley News Sept. 23, 2015

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Is Reading Comprehension A Struggle?

BY ALANA BODNAR Have you ever been to another country and seen a road sign that is in a language that you do not know? You sort of know what it means, but really don’t know what it says?

That’s the best way to describe what it was like

could compensate for my reading difficulty.

Comprehension just was not there. My brain needed to decode the word. It took so much effort to decode the word - if it was the correct word - that the context was lost.

I became great at reading people and their

eyes were focused and these clues helped me to narrow my search for the word.

Coping strategies to manage were something I developed. Life was a struggle.

I am nowhere near perfect now, but I am worlds away from where

photo courtesy Alana Bodnar

for me, learning to drive.

Reading comprehension was something I have always struggled with. I still do.

At 16, after I miraculously received my driver’s license.

Filling up at the gas station was confusing.

I consistently got the litres and dollar amount mixed up; even though I knew I did, I was extra aware. I still couldn’t get it straight.

I eventually realized what those road signs said. My brain made the words match the meaning, but they we not the right words. It took someone saying them at the right time – I was in the car, looking at the sign when it was said and it clicked.

The words on the sign no longer said what I thought they said, they now said something different, what the actually said.

Confusing? Yes. That is what it’s like when you can’t read.

My skill set was such that I

cues. After an incident in Grade 4 – the class was actually reading during school time, not just turning the pages, like me. I realized that when I heard them giggle (they read a swear word) how different I was.

Eventually the buzz of the class got around to the page number that the word was on, and I flipped to it and searched, just like everyone else.

I could see how they held their books, where

I was.

My reading strategies have improved, so has my comprehension. I am still not the best reader, but at least now I can say that I can read.

Having a difficult time reading is something that I did not want a lot of people to know. I have not even told some of my closest friends my story – though they have figured it out. It is embarrassing to me.

I have realized that if I speak out about my story, maybe people will see it and read it to a friend they know who cannot read; inspiring hope, and a step in the right direction to a solution.

Literacy Alberni Society and other literacy organizations out there are there for people who have difficulty with all forms of literacy.

There is always hope. Literacy Alberni offers photo courtesy Alana Bodnar that.

lberni Toy A t r o P R e un Th is a proud sponsor of

Thanks to all Toy Run sponsors, riders, and the people of Port Alberni for your support of the 31st Annual Toy Run

www.portalbernitoyrun.ca

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Tech Buddies Program

The Tech Buddies Program is a dynamic, new program that is a sign of the times because computer literacy is proving to be one of the most important emerging literacies today across all age and cultural divisions.

A partnership between Literacy Alberni, School District 70, and Vancouver Island Regional Library in Port Alberni, Tech Buddies is a program that runs over a three-month period. Grade three and four students partner with local senior citizens on a bi-weekly basis to explore educational applications on iPads. This program helps to bridge the digital divide for seniors in the Alberni Valley, and also offers important learning opportunities for school-aged participants.

Reading is the key to lifelong learning Proud to support Literacy Alberni

There are many skills learned throughout the program, most notably: Hard Skills: Students – They obtain a better understanding of technology and of specific software/apps related to curriculum.

Seniors – They obtain a better understanding of mobile technology and how to use it in everyday life.

Soft Skills: Students – Leadership, empathy, social responsibility, communication skills Seniors – Mentorship, communication skills

Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News A

photos courtesy Alana Bodnar

Alberni Valley News Sept. 23, 2015

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The RBC Royal Bank has been an ‘A’ Level Sponsor for Raise-A-Reader every year.

The Royal Bank oversees the recording of all the funds raised through sponsorships and Raise-A-Reader Day ‘hawking’ activities. The Royal Bank also sponsors the ‘Reading Counts’ Program for Literacy Alberni’s summer program.

Building a better community starts with the right foundation.

Mena Rai reads to her niece Isha.

Creating a vital, healthy community is a group effort. And at the heart of it, you’ll find local organizations, fueled by committed people who are passionate about building a better future for us all. That’s why RBC® celebrates community-based organizations through the contribution of our resources, time and talents. Together we can build the right foundation for our community.

To find out more, go to www.rbc.com/responsibility.

We are proud to support Black Press Raise A Reader helping Literacy programs in the Alberni Valley

C R E AT E

A BETTER FUTURE

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News A

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Children First Network Group

BY JULIE RUSHTON

Alberni Children First Network is a group of dedicated community service providers from across the community that are passionate about supporting Early Childhood Development in the Alberni Valley. We envision all young children in the Alberni Valley living in a community that values, nourishes, protects and loves them and that works together to provide them with everything they need for optimal development.

Our group comes together to network and plan for how we can support the healthy development of children in the Alberni Valley. One way we do this is to review community research, called Early Years Developmental Indicators (EDI) done by the Human Early Learning Partnership, at the University o f BC. This research is done every second year in our community and provides us with early years data in terms of our children’s development in five domains; Social Competence, Emotional Maturity, Physical Health and Well Being, Language and Cognitive abilities and Communication skills.

We have also spent time exploring Heart Mind

IS A PROUD SPONSOR OF

Learning with the Dalai Lama Centre for Peace and Education. Several years ago the Dalai Lama posed the thought, “We are working so hard to educate our children’s minds, but what about their heart?� This resonated with our Network and we began to work with the Centre to integrate their community based data and resources into our planning.

The Network has been exploring the Middle Childhood research being done in our community by the Human Early Learning Partnership. This research asks middle childhood children how they are doing in several domains and provides summaries for community planning.

Using this data, service provider and family voices, we build a plan on how we can better support Early Childhood Development in our community. A piece of this plan includes building resources for parents (and all who are involved in a child’s life) to use with their children. We hope you have seen and interacted with our resources throughout the community. If you have been to Blair, Williamson or Gyro Park you have likely seen the fun action words painted on the walkways.

These are words that hopefully inspire families to

move and play together. Our Network partnered with Literacy Alberni to offer Parents as Literacy Supporters (PALS) to nearly 1200 parents, grandparents and children with a target age of 2-6 years within our community. This was a very successful program that helped to build literacy skills within families and we look forward to reviewing the language and cognitive skill data in next year’s EDI research summary for our community to see how this program may have increased our children’s literacy skills.

Watch for several exciting new resources for families to be created this year by the Alberni Children First Network. Up and coming resources include, Books for Babies, currently being planned in partnership with Island Health and provides new families a book for their newborn child. In addition, we are creating Family Action cards that will offer families tips on how to increase their child’s healthy development in fun ways.

For more information or to access community resources available to families please visit our website. www.albernichildrenfirst.ca.

Julie Rushton is the Alberni Children First Facilitator.

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Long-Time Volunteer Tutor, Hugh Anderson, Leaves a Literacy Legacy literacy support in our community and in our country.

Hugh featured prominently with 2014's Decoda Literacy provincial media campaign for his incredible literacy work with Steven Mulvey.

Hugh brought Steven from a grade three reading level to the point where Steven obtained his welding ticket and then became gainfully employed. He did this in just under three and half years.

BY: CHARMEAD SCHELLA On April 22 of this year, Literacy Alberni lost a literacy giant.

Hugh Anderson began his volunteerism with LAS the year before I started in my current position, which was four and a half years ago. He took up his volunteerism

here in respect to his deceased wife, Doreen, who had been a longtime volunteer with us before her passing.

He was picking up the slack by taking on her volunteer commitments.

Hugh was also an annual contributor to our Raise-a-Reader fundraising efforts. He believed strongly in the need for ardent

Hugh tutored four days per week with us, assisting learners in their aspirations of obtaining Canadian citizenship, and achieving functional literacy. He was tireless and selfless with his time.

Hugh often brought his dog, Beck, with him to the sessions - a beautiful and gentle herding dog who was his best friend and a learning centre favourite.

Hugh left behind him the legacy of municipal politician (Liberal MP, city councilman, Port Authority, regional district board of directors), national politician (having served as minister of several departments under Pierre Trudeau in the 70s), entrepreneur (he founded the former Thunderbird Insurance, which is now Westland Insurance), farmer, husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather, uncle, boss, mentor, and friend.

Hugh was communityminded in a manner that is of a dying breed.

He was always chipper, happy, and optimistic – ‘bad days’ were not his style. He loved his llamas, his dog, and his cars.

great-children in to the learning centre to show whomever would look – he was so proud of his clan. He loved life and spread that all around, to everyone.

He is so sorely missed at Literacy Alberni.

I feel very fortunate to have walked some of his road with him through the lens of literacy, and am indebted for the contribution he made to the lives of those people he touched at Literacy Alberni. We are all better people for having known Hugh Anderson.

Hugh loved his family with the breath. He often brought new photos of his many grandchildren and

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News A

Parents important literacy supporters

BY SUSAN QUINN This article originally appeared in the Alberni Valley News as part of the 2014 Peter Gzowski Adult Literacy Fellowship series and has been condensed for Raise-A-Reader.

The cycle of illiteracy in a community can be tough to break.

One provincially based program running in Port Alberni is bucking that trend by signing up parents as literacy supporters.

“The legacy is illiteracy,” says Charmead Schella, executive director for Literacy Alberni. “You have parents in the house that don’t read, then it’s a cycle.”

three different contexts: school, community at large and home.

The program always includes a food component, parents are given support documents so they can all practice at home and there is a book list explaining what books will be ideal for reading together at home. The program comes in two parts—family literacy and family literacy with an aboriginal focus—and is always conducted with two co-facilitators.

“Everybody learns in different ways,” says Michael Villette, a Kindergarten teacher with School District 70

and a PALS facilitator.

“When kids are ready to learn to read, try all those ways and find one that works.”

Villette pairs with Dani McLane as his co-facilitator, and each has defined roles: while Villette deals with students McLane is tasked to work with parents.

“I took the training because it was highly recommended as a literacy program for kids,” says Villette.

“We later learned it was a great way to make connections with the families—that’s one

of the real benefits, is to help bridge the gap between parent and classroom.”

In Villette and McLane’s sessions kids learn anything from letters of the alphabet to a Valentine’s Day craft.

One popular activity sees Villette spread shaving cream on a surface and have the kids do “foaming art” demos.

“On 100 Days they find out where 100 steps will take them and will put a sticker on the wall.”

They work with grids and fruit as a numeracy exercise too.

Including parents as literacy supporters is important if we are to break that cycle, she said, for literacy “is not just reading. It’s all scopes of literacy. It is often how literacy is embedded in everyday life.

“I just want to give kids as many different kinds of exposure to literacy as I can.”

Parents are the key part of the PALS program, Villette said. “The whole point is to get parents involved. I know I have some parents who have poor literacy. What (PALS) does is remove the shame about it a little bit. It teaches them they can come into the school and no one’s going to judge

Maggie Hodge Kwan is a PALS facilitator and former librarian with the Port Alberni chapter of the Vancouver Island Regional Library. She is now working with Alberni Children First.

The PALS training is there as much for adults as it is for the kids, she adds. “Literacy means having the necessary building blocks in place through reading and writing that allow you to build on those and navigate our increasingly complex world.”

Hodge Kwan said she has seen first hand how the PALS program crosses the generation gap. At the end of a PALS session she was giving away free books courtesy of Literacy Alberni when a family of four came up to her.

The kids picked out books and the father was looking at one “and said it was cool. I said if you’d like the book you’re welcome to take it.

He said that would be wonderful. My wife is tutoring my reading skills; I never learned to read beyond a basic level,” Hodge Kwan said.

“You don’t have to be sitting in your child’s room at night reading to your child…it’s the idea of embedding (literacy) everywhere in your home.”

Dr. Jim Anderson and Fiona Morrison developed the Parents as Literacy Supporters program as part of the 2010 Legacies Now project.

PALS approaches children’s literacy development from

them on their literacy.”

“The whole point of all of this is it doesn’t look like what people think literacy looks like,” he said.

“He was finding it difficult to find books to read to his daughter and he didn’t want to read a kids’ book. “This was a beautiful moment.”

photo courtesy Michael Villette

École des Grands-cèdres, SD93, welcomes new students to its public, fully Francophone school in its new Port Alberni location at 5100 Tebo Ave. in the former Klitsa School (now, with WINDOWS!).

Small class sizes, excellent teacherstudent ratio, FREE busing, laptop and iPad learning - call to enroll today.

250-723-5614 (school) or 250-730-0748 (principal).

L'école des Grands-cèdres, école publique francophone du SD93, est prête à accueillir de nouveaux étudiants à son nouvel emplacement sur la rue Tebo dans l'ancienne école Klitsa (maintenant, avec des fenêtres). Excellent ratio enseignants-élèves avec un petit nombre d'élèves par classe, transport scolaire GRATUIT, iPads et ordinateurs portables pour chaque élève.

Inscrivez votre enfant dès aujourd'hui au 250-723-5614(école) ou au 250-730-0748 (directrice).

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This week when you spend $1.00 on a delicious chocolate chunk Smile Cookie,, Tim Hortons will donate the entire proceeds to Raise a Reader.

To find out more visit timhortons.com

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News A

Free Tutoring Programs for Adults Drop In: Mon.~Fri. 9 am - 3 pm Call 250.723.READ

5100 Tebo Ave.

t 3&"%*/( t 83*5*/( t &4- t $0.165&34 t ."5) t $00,*/( $-"44&4 Charmead Schella Executive Director

Literacy Alberni Society 5100 Tebo Avenue 250.723.7323 charmead@literacyalberni.ca www.literacyalberni.ca

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Serving the Alberni Valley since 2011 The more you read, the more things you will know.

The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss Tutoring for school-aged children seeking academic help in all core subject areas, French, homework and exam prep.

Please see our website for more information

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778-421-0031 now We’re here to help.

Open: Monday ~ Friday 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm 5100 TEBO AVENUE (LITERACY ALBERNI)

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News A

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photo courtesy Alana Bodnar

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Friends of Literacy Port Alberni

Port Alberni

Ucluelet Ucluelet

James Lunney

Michelle Westars

Pat & Jerry Hickey

Hugh Anderson

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Beaver Creek Community Club

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Encouraging the Alberni Valley to support Literacy programs 3945B Johnston Rd, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 5N4 Phone: (250) 720-4515 | Fax: (250) 720-4511 E-mail: Scott.Fraser.MLA@leg.bc.ca

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Literacy on the West Coast BY JULIET VAN VLIET

Have you ever wondered what the beaches on the west coast were called before English came here? I did!

My friend Tsimka Martin, a Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations citizen and Tofino business owner taught me in simple syllables “shaw-ha-ees” or spelled correctly saahayiis is Cox Bay. This directly translates to something like “noise from the surf” or “rough landing” (in a canoe). Makes sense, it’s a rough landing on a surfboard too!

Currently there are few opportunities for visitors and residents of the west coast to improve our literacy in Nuucaanuł (Nuu-chah-nulth). But look out for new signage and place names in Nuucaanuł as part of the District of Tofino’s

A treasure trove for book lovers

Wayfinding Signage project.

Working with Tsimka, Tla-o-qui-aht language keepers, the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, the Coastal Family Resource Coalition and the Evergreen We are Cities Grant, you may also see a new Nuucaanuł sign in the centre of town.

In partnership, we hope to support literacy in English and Nuucaanuł.

Keep your eye out for videos showing how to pronounce the place names on the signs. Writing and reading Nuucaanuł can be a bit daunting because some of the sounds are different from English – and the letters that represent those

sounds look different – but there are only really a few sounds to practice before it starts to read easier.

This project was not all about the signs though. The process of getting regional partners together to talk about language, place names, spelling in Nuucaanuł and how to support this literacy on the west coast was an exercise itself in

photo courtesy Alana Bodnar

who make it to the end of the Trans Canada Highway.

political literacy.

The District of Tofino, the Tla-o-qui-aht Chief and Council, the Nuucaanuł language keepers and the various funding organizations all have processes to follow, forms to fill out and reports to complete.

This project has begun a longer term process for relationship building and inter-organizational literacy.

Literacy is the focus of important not-for-profit work across BC and all over the world. According to UNCESCO: “Literacy is the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society.”

This project supports literacy on several levels: reading and writing in Nuucaanuł (for youth, project partners and general public), directional literacy (how to use signs

and symbols to tell us how to get around) and decoding (supporting understanding of the sounds represented by Nuucaanuł symbols).

Literacy is a term representing broad abilities to communicate and decode symbols – for example cultural literacy and technology literacy (computers, etc.) are all included under this umbrella.

The Raise-a-Reader program is another partnership supporting literacy on the west coast. Funding from this program this year will go to support community literacy projects within the schools, preschool programs and other partner programs.

If you have a literacy project you would like to partner on please contact Juliet@ coastalcoalition.ca.

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LAS Profile: Lesley Wright, Klitsa Tutoring BY: CHARMEAD SCHELLA, LITERACY ALBERNI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Program Supervisor Lesley Wright is just as unique, knowledgeable, and essential to the success of Klitsa Tutoring as the program has proven to be itself.

Four years ago, Klitsa Tutoring, Literacy Alberni’s second social enterprise, opened wide its doors to the Alberni Valley and has been growing like a fever ever since. The fee-for-services tutoring effort offers educational assistance to schoolaged students from grade one through secondary school.

From core subjects to French to study skills, Klitsa Tutoring helps all. Learning disabilities and obstacles are also addressed and assisted.

“Klitsa Tutoring is so important because parents and teachers cannot do it all,” says

Wright. “They simply can’t be expected to.

The community helps raise the child and everyone must be positively involved in the lives of the children of their community.”

Klitsa Tutoring focuses on the individual needs of each learner, Wright explains. Time restraints in the classroom sometimes disallow learning needs and deficits of some learners to be fully addressed.

This can lead to learners becoming frustrated, discouraged, and disengaged.

“Since its inception,” Wright says. “Klitsa Tutoring has worked hard to establish educational connections between organizations in the community that support kids outside of the school district.”

relationships as the keystones to learner success via Klitsa Tutoring.

“The kids can only benefit from everyone providing help and support where students need it on an individual basis,” says Wright.

Klitsa Tutoring provides a comfortable, relaxed, and discreet atmosphere in which students can learn and study at their own pace with the guidance of mentors who truly care about their success.

‘Klitsa Tutoring teachers have a passion for learning and passing that on,” Wright says.

“The luxury for us is that we can take that extra step that might be difficult in a classroom setting with many learners with many varied needs.”

Wright says that Klitsa Tutoring was established to enhance and support the established school systems and boards already in place in the Alberni Valley.

“Klitsa Tutoring brings another member of the supportive family to the table for learners in the Valley,” she says. “We aim to advocate for the learner, the parent, the teacher, and, in doing so, the future.”

Wright cites the strength of these

Learn.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Grow.

~ Dr. Seuss, “I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!”

Congratulations

Succeed.

Everyday

READ

from a book

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Vancouver Island Regional Library: Engaging Kids in Literacy Your local library offers a variety of fun and entertaining ways to engage your children, tweens and teens in literacy, and we’re not just talking about the books! From Family Storytime to Tween and Teen Clubs, plus special events each month, we’ve got activities to keep you coming back… and you can pick up your books while you’re at it!

Literacy and Little Ones Engage your children in early literacy development before they head off to school by spending time with them at the library.

Early literacy is what your child knows about reading and writing before they can actually read and write.

We have sturdy books for babies to hold and explore, developing their interest in books and print. We also have a wonderful

selection of picture books to choose from, to read to your child and have your child read to you; choose from our rotating themed and seasonal book displays or spend the afternoon exploring our shelves.

Come to Family Storytime at the Port Alberni branch each Friday morning from 10:30 am to 11:00 am.

We’ll be singing songs, learning silly rhymes and reading stories together.

It’s a great opportunity to learn and discover new books while connecting with other families.

Contact the Ucluelet and Tofino branches for local Family Storytime and Lego Challenge dates and times.

Tween Writers and Readers We’ve got a whole roster of wacky, wild and roaring

good fun activities focused on writing and reading for our Tween Club this fall, but the fun doesn’t stop there. We loved the Summer Reading Club Build It theme and our Tween Club participants can expect creative challenges that will get them building as well.

If your child is between the ages of 8 and 12 and would like to meet new friends, enjoy a snack and have fun at the library, we invite them to attend. The Tween Club meets on the last Wednesday of the month.

Join us from 3:30 – 4:30 pm beginning September 30.

Calling All Creative Teens!

Do you have a teen who is an emerging writer or artist in your house? Is there an avid comic book reader at your breakfast table?

If yes, then we’re looking for your teen! The Teen Advisory Group is seeking new members: 12 to 16 year olds who are interested in developing their creative skills, and making new friends while working on individual and collaborative projects together. If your creative teen is looking for a new way to get inspired, create new work and enjoy snacks with their peers, let them know that the Teen Advisory Group meets on the last Thursday of every month, from 3:30 – 4:30 pm beginning September 24. Pizza and juice will be served.

Special Events All Fall Long The fall months are full of fun special events for your whole family. From science and tech themed activities to seasonal parties and crafts, there are lots of

opportunities for your children to participate.

All programs are free. Some programs require advanced registration; please contact your local library for details.

PORT ALBERNI: 250.724.5717 | TOFINO: 250.725.2345 | UCLUELET: 250.726.7445 | QUALICUM: 250.752.1412

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The Huu-ay-aht First Nations provides programming to our citizens in many educational areas including Early Childhood Education, ancestral language programs, K-12 programs, post-secondary, and trades. These programs honour our tag line - Ancient Spirit, Modern Mind - with programming that blends traditional teachings and understanding with the best Western knowledge has to offer.

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R. Anderson & Associates cares about what we do and how it impacts our community and we believe very passionately in giving back to the area in which we live and work.

R. Anderson & Associates (formerly Duncan Sabine Collyer Partners LLP) first opened its doors in 1939 and the former managing partner, Mr. Robert Duncan, joined Mr. George Dunbar and Mrs. Dot Sandison as a partner in 1978. When they retired in 1981, Mr. Don Jones, joined the firm as the audit partner.

The practice is a long term Central Vancouver Island firm with the main office in Port Alberni and has a very well established and loyal client base as well as long serving employees. The firm services Central Vancouver Island from our main office in Port Alberni, as well as the West Coast of the island with part-time offices in Ucluelet and Tofino.

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the

original social network Rotary International ROTARY INTERNATIONAL IS A WORLDWIDE NETWORK OF INSPIRED INDIVIDUALS WHO TRANSLATE THEIR PASSIONS INTO RELEVANT SOCIAL CAUSES TO CHANGE LIVES IN COMMUNITIES. EST. 1905

Rotary Club of Port Alberni Thursdays ~ 12:15 pm Best Western Barclay Find us on

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News A

Little Libraries BY: CHARMEAD SCHELLA

I saw my first Little Library while waiting for a bus in Amsterdam. The bus stop was the Little Library. The bench had been made into a big book shelf with a crudelydesigned roof to protect the books from rain. I was mesmerized by the idea that someone had thought to put free books at such a clever place on the street. I took and book (an English one, by grand luck) and started reading.

Little Libraries started popping into my life with rapid frequency after that first chance meeting in Holland. They came is all shapes, sizes, colours, and descriptions.

From fancy-pants models like the fish-shaped box in Bangor, Maine, to more rudimentary models like the disused industrial

fridge in Paraparaumu Beach, New Zealand – Little Libraries were taking over the literacy scene in mass numbers.

Port Alberni welcomes its own fleet of Little Libraries to the city and the coast this month – Literacy Month - courtesy of Literacy Alberni and a host of motivated and determined volunteers who spent the summer constructing them.

By the month’s end,

there will be 23 Little Libraries locally, and two on the west coast of Vancouver Island (one in Ucluelet and one in Tofino), offering a free venue for people of all ages, all literacy levels, and varied points of interest to take a book or leave a book – or both.

Little Libraries are the easiest, boots-on-theground form of guerrilla literacy, with the sole aim of empowering the community through free and unlimited access to books.

Look for a Little Library near you today: there promises to be something for everyone.

Little Libraries were made possible through the generous and visionary support of: Alberni Valley Community Forest Legacy Fund, RBC Royal Bank, Rotary International, Jericho Road Church, and Ladybird Engraving.

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Literacy helps learner find better job

BY SUSAN QUINN This article originally appeared in the Alberni Valley News as part of the 2014 Peter Gzowski Adult Literacy Fellowship series and has been condensed for Raise A Reader.

Learning to read has led Steven Mulvey of Port Alberni on a tumultuous journey, but by no means is his story unique to adult learners.

Mulvey was diagnosed with dyslexia—meaning he has difficulty reading, writing, spelling and decoding language— when he was in elementary school.

Dyslexia is said to run in families, and Mulvey’s grandmother and uncle both dealt with similar learning disabilities.

While he may have difficulty reading, Mulvey became an expert at memorization—which kept his teachers and his mother from discovering his learning disability.

“They didn’t figure out I’m dyslexic because all my spelling tests I would memorize the night before,” he said. “I passed right underneath the radar because of my memory.

“Because I couldn’t read I found ways around it so my comprehension and problem solving were as above average as my reading was below.”

He was held back in Grade 2 and Grade 6.

His mother, who worked alternately as a waitress, construction flagger and at Home Hardware, helped him where she could, even acting as his scribe in History 12. “She enjoyed it because she learned history,” he said.

Where Mulvey differs from some adults who are illiterate, though, is he sought a solution.

He turned to Literacy Alberni at the urging of his mother, who he says is responsible for him even graduating from high school.

Once he graduated, Mulvey discovered there weren’t any programs available at the time where he could continue with his learning. “When school ended there was no more help,” he said.

“I wanted to work with my hands and I wanted to make a lot more money.

I put them together and found a job I wanted (welding). I had to upgrade my reading for blueprints and whatnot.”

At Literacy Alberni Mulvey was paired with volunteer tutor Hugh Anderson, a former Member of Parliament who also spent more than a decade with the Port Alberni Port Authority and who openly admitted he started tutoring at Literacy Alberni to carry on where his late wife left off.

“He didn’t push,” Mulvey says of Anderson.

“Everybody’s doing that nowadays. He didn’t push me to do anything, which gave me more

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motivation. It felt like I was making all the decisions.”

Tutoring sessions weren’t cookie cutter— Anderson was learning along with Mulvey. They both had a love of cars, and that common bond helped them get to know each other better.

“The best part of reading things with him… it wasn’t ‘read this’. It was read this, and if I didn’t understand something he knew about it and told me more about it. Reading is pointless unless you have a purpose for reading.”Mulvey and Anderson worked together for nearly three years until this past April, when Anderson died of a stroke.

“Hugh began his volunteerism with Literacy Alberni Society (LAS) the year before I started in my current position,” executive director Charmead Schella said. “Hugh tutored four days per week with us, assisting learners in their aspirations of obtaining Canadian citizenship and achieving functional literacy. He was tireless.

“Hugh brought Steven

from a Grade 3 reading level to the point where Steven obtained his welding ticket and is now gainfully employed…

“Hugh leaves behind him the legacy of municipal politician… national politician… entrepreneur, farmer, husband, father, grandfather, greatgrandfather, mentor and friend,” Schella said.

Opportunities have opened for Mulvey since he upgraded with tutoring at Literacy Alberni. He obtained his welding and forklift tickets, and is presently working as a labourer for Bowerman Excavating.

“I have been called

by Seaspan for an apprenticeship, so I might be getting into the shipyard in Victoria (as a welder),” he says.

If he is not called to go to Victoria, he will move to Nanaimo so he can be more central to other welding positions. “I might do some business courses in my time off. If I’m in Nanaimo, I’ll have the university there,” he said.

Mulvey said the structure of going to

Literacy Alberni at least once a week was good for him. “I would go there once a week then go to INEO and make appointments for that day,” he said. “It helped me organize my life around the frequency of going once a week.”

After Anderson’s death, Mulvey decided to take a break from his tutoring sessions at Literacy Alberni, but continues with some of the activities he learned from Anderson. Mulvey still reads the newspaper for current events, keeps up with politics “like Hugh would do” and is reading a series of 14 audiobooks by the late Robert Jordan called the Wheel of Time.

He has a piece of advice for people thinking of volunteering with Literacy Alberni, as Anderson did: “To be a volunteer for literacy you don’t have to be the best or the brightest. Even with learning how to read with Hugh, we learned a lot of things talking to each other because we had different perspectives on what we did read,” he said.

Alberni Valley News Sept. 23, 2015

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The Gzowski Fellowship and Port Alberni

Celebrating Children’s Literacy Milestones 3 to 5 Years Old - Enjoy being read to. Picture books are a particular favorite for preschoolers.

- Try to read and write.

- Identify letters (such as the first letter in their name) and make letter sounds.

- Identify familiar signs (e.g. Stop signs) - Understand that books are read leftto-right and top-to-bottom.

BY: MAGGIE HODGE-KWAN Do you remember what it was like when you learned how to read? I do.

It felt like all of the sudden I was able to understand every sign my family drove by and the back of every cereal box. Then, I was reading books from start to end, almost as if by magic! A lot of emphasis is placed on learning to read. But book reading isn’t the only literacy milestone. Here are some skills to encourage and celebrate in the prereading years.

Susie Quinn interviews a young member of the community for a story BY: CHARMEAD SCHELLA Susie Quinn is not just the skilled, ethical, and engaged editor of the Alberni Valley News newspaper in Port Alberni she is also one of only a handful of Canadians to receive the esteemed annual Peter Gzowski Fellowship from ABC Life Literacy Canada with which she published a series of article on adult literacy in the Port Alberni area, underlining the effects government cuts to core funding is having at the grassroots level.

“This was the biggest honour of my career so far,” Quinn says. “I learned so much about

literacy even though I’ve covered literacy issues over the years. There’s so much that I didn’t know.”

Quinn says that one of the things that most impressed her through researching and interviewing for the article series was how hard people are working at the grassroots level to keep literacy in the forefront.

“Especially with all the constant cuts to funding,” Quinn says.

“Organizations like Literacy Alberni are forced to be creative with their funding in order to keep their programs going.

I don’t feel as though people are taking adult literacy seriously enough because it is now clear

that workers on the ground are taking it very seriously.”

Quinn has been a community news journalist for 28 years: 11 of those working as an editor, and nine as an assistant editor.

She writes and edits on sports, news, business, and arts. She is now the editor of the Alberni Valley News and has been since its inception in 2006.

Note: ABC Life Literacy has truncated the Peter Gzowski Literacy Fellowship effective September 2015 due to funding cuts.

Susie Quinn’s article series was the last to be published under the Peter Gzowski Literacy Fellowship in Canada.

Kindergarten Students

Birth to 2 Years Old - Look at adults when they’re talking.

Babies learn to speak in part by observing how adult’s mouths move when they talk.

- Make cooing or babbling sounds to entertain themselves or others.

- Handle board books, alphabet blocks, and other text-rich toys when they play.

- Identify some objects in a book, such as animals, colors, or toys.

- Recognize favorite books by their covers.

2 to 3 Years Old - Ask an adult to write the child’s name.

The child may try to trace it or write it freehand.

- Ask adults to read or write with them.

- Pretend to read books.

- Learn and participate in rhymes.

- Tell and retell simple stories.

- Begin to write the alphabet.

- Predict what will happen next when listening to a story.

- Sight-read familiar words.

- Read some things aloud.

The Port Alberni branch of the

Vancouver Island Regional Library is proud to support literacy on

Raise-a-Reader Day and on every day of the year! www.virl.bc.ca The Library is full of great books but is also the home of many children’s programs. Participating in children’s programs helps families to foster early literacy and language development.

LEGO CLUB

photo courtesy Alana Bodnar

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Sept. 23, Oct. 21 Nov. 18, Dec. 9 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm

FAMILY STORY-TIME

RAISE-AREADER DAY

Sept. 11 to Dec. 11, 10:30 am - 11:00 am

Puppet Extravaganza

Kids of all ages are welcome to our exciting Lego Club for an hour of building and challenges

Bring the whole family and join us for stories, songs, rhymes and fun.

For ages 0-5 and their caregivers

In celebration of Raise-A-Reader Day and Dad’s Night Out, we’re having a Puppet Extravaganza.

Join the party for a puppet show, puppet craft, and make a play with our puppet collection

All programs are FREE. No registration required.

Questions? Drop by the library or call 250-723-0511

Wed. Sept. 23 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News A

Computers Available via Computer Refurbishment Program BY: CHARMEAD SCHELLA

d e h s i b r u f e R $ 75

When people think of ‘literacy’, often the regular readin’, writin’, and ‘rithmetic are what come to mind first. At Literacy Alberni, we try to stretch that idea and push boundaries as to what literacy really does encompass.

Computer literacy and general technological literacy programming are taking the front seat in many literacy centres across the British Columbia and Canada these days, and Literacy Alberni is hot on that trail with its own initiatives.

Our free computer classes are, by far, our most populated classes, and to support that phenomenon, we offer refurbished computers for sale at an extremely discounted price.

For $75, anyone can purchase a refurbished desktop computer from Literacy Alberni:

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complete with tower, monitor, keyboard, mouse, and all hook-ups.

The computers are equipped with Windows 10, refurbished by the capable and savvy hands of our experienced computer volunteers, including Bob Wagenvoort, 76.

Wagenvoort has been retired for 25 years.

He bought his first computer at age 51 but wasn’t satisfied with its performance, so he bought the parts and built his own.

“I’m a troubleshooter, so it’s a natural fit,” says Wagenvoort, a native of Holland who came to the Alberni Valley in 1973.

Computers are donated by individuals, businesses, government agencies and schools. Wagenvoort inspects them to see if they are still usable; those that cannot be used are stripped and donated to the Salvation Army’s recycling program.

Computers from schools and government agencies are well maintained and usually in the best shape when they are donated.

The most common issue Wagenvoort finds in donated computers is dirt and dust.

“Some of them are just loaded with it and it’s the biggest cause of computer failure,” he said. “People need to remove the tower and blow the dust out at least twice a year.”

Wagenvoort and volunteers wipe the donated computers’ hard drives clean with a special program, then install new operating systems and some programs. Literacy Alberni is licensed to refurbish computers so Wagenvoort doesn’t run into any problems with installing software.

“It’s like gutting a house and remodelling the inside,” he said.

Refurbished computers “give people the basics

to learn how to write, use a spreadsheet and surf the Internet—to teach themselves to be computer literate,” he said.

The goal of the Computer Refurbishment Program is to get at least one computer into every home in Port Alberni, in much the same manner that the Little Libraries attempt to get a book into each home in the community. Literacy is life, after all.

All funds generated through the sale of Literacy Alberni’s Computer Refurbishment Program go back into the centre to offer continued support of its free literacy programs.

For more information on the Computer Refurbishment Program, please call the learning centre Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 3:00pm.

— With files courtesy Alberni Valley News

Alberni Valley News Sept. 23, 2015

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Sept. 23, 2015 Alberni Valley News

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Literacy helps Mulvey find his way to a better job Alberni woman a finalist in B.C. literacy c Third in a series

SUSAN QUINN A ALBERNI VALLEY NEWS

Leaarning to r led S Albe journ is his learn n Mul with d he haa writin n decod he waas schoo to run Mulvvey and un u with sim disab bili Wh hile difficcult becam me mem mori kept his moth her f his leearn “Theyy di I’m dysle d my sp pelli mem moriz beforre,” h right und becau use o “Beecaus I foun nd wa my compr c problem s as ab bove a readiing wa

Albeerni o journey, b is his stor learn ners.

Mu ulvey w with h dysle he has h diff writiing, sp deco oding la he was w in e scho ool. Dys to ru un in fa Mulvvey’s gr and uncle b with h similar disaabilities.

Wh hile he m difficculty rea becaame an e mem morizatio keptt his teac moth her from his learning d “Theey didn’t I’m dyslexic d b my spelling s te mem morize the befo ore,” he sa rightt undernea becaause of my “Beecause I co I fou und ways a my comprehen c prob blem solvin as ab bove avera read ding was be

breeak. One bassed progr in Port P Albe thaat trend b up parents a sup pporters.

“T The legac sayys Charme exeecutive dir forr Literacy A wh hich started com mmittee in in 2011.

2 “You in the t house t reaad, then it’s In ncluding pa liteeracy suppo imp portant if w breeak that cyc forr literacy “is reaading. It’s all liteeracy. It is of liteeracy is emb eveeryday life.

“Y You don’t ha sittting in your c roo om at night re you ur child…it’s of embedding e (l eveerywhere in y hom me.”

D Jim Anders Dr. Fio ona Morrison d thee Parents as Li Sup pporters prog as part of the 201 Leggacies Now pro PALLS “gives famil strategies to enco leaarning in their p sch hool and Kinde ageed children.” It app proaches childr liteeracy developm

He was held back in Grade 2 and Grade 6.

His mother, who worked alternately as a waitress, construction flagger and

both had a love of cars, and that common bond helped them get to know

gainfully employed…

“Hugh leaves behind him the legacy of municipal

Port Alberni resident Alana Bodnar has

awareness of the importance of Britis

Community

Columbians that

n t

struggles,” she says The contest is a highlight of the Literacy is Life campaign. Organized

by Decoda Literacy Solutions, it is a province-wide fundraising and aw awareness campaign Other Literacy Alberni members ar appearing in televisi commercials that began airing Sept. 1. be

w o n y c a r e t i l g n Supporti e r u t u f e h t r o f d n a

heei eir ir granddaughter cees ession stand for th

fiive ve evenings now t touching up old nss an and my son sp peent two, foururr aft fternoons at reeg egi gional district cee just printing a in nat ating a whole ch h of signs. I thin sig iggn gns have been g fo for a total of 2 s af after te about fo vee da daays.” y Jo ohnson’s first oh doing this and amazed am az by the nt of work it

Westerly News

on n’t know how t nor orrmally m take meen entor and laa sa sai aid aid. ess have ulv lvve vey since hee upgraded witth th tu tutoring t Lit itteeracy er lb berrn ni. He bttain in e d s weellding nd d forklift ckket ets ts, s, and prres esently bo ourreer for avvat ating. allleed d an n so oI in nto the nt ori riia (as a s. ed d to to go ll mo mo ove v can o oth ther he . “I might cou co ourses m in th he he hee said. to o leeast oo od fo fo r ryy un unique

was as diagn exxia— a—mea ficcu ullltty rea peell lling an an nguage eleementa sllexxiia is mil ilies, a raand ndmot bo oth th dea r leeaarnin

nate o d o t d e s a le p is s Bllack Pres he t f o n io t u ib r t is d d g an publication, printin ent m le p p u s r e d a e -R 2015 Raise-A

Parents important literacy supporters PALS: | Literacy program aimed at children also empowers parents with a new or renewed awareness of literacy and its societal role.

maay ay hav ad ding ngg,, M exxpert a on n—w —wh ch heerrs a discov di diisab ab bil i fig iggure beecaau us essts I w e niiggh aid d. “I atth th th th y me mem ou ulld ul dn I found ways aro oun un myy compr ompr p ehen h si hens sion sio ion n probl prob blem lem solv solvi l ing ing we b g

Septembber proclaimed Literacy Month in Port Alberni Port Alberni City Council has declared September Literacy

that month month.

“Literacy Alberni works arduously

varied programming both onsite at our literacy centre

region ” executive region, director Charmead Schella told council

effort to raise funds for literacy programs.

Literacy Alberni has

Literacy Alberni’s Alberni s biggest and most important fundraising

T shirts and at various T-shirts locations handing out newspaper sections