Inside:
Join us for our Literacy Open House the week of December 12th!
Coordinator Corner Learner Stories Programs & Events
Coordinator Corner
I
Robin Rafael
Literacy Supervisor and Volunteer Coordinator
n August, Library Literacy held a Back to School Kick Off at the American Canyon Library. Over sixty parents and children participated in activities and received school supplies to start off the year. The jewelry making was a hit with parents and children. The gak (a sticky substance similar to whale skin) and play dough were being made faster than the ingredients could be put on the table. Little hands were covered in glue to the delight of parents. All families received information on the literacy program and free books to encourage reading at home. In honor of International Literacy Day (September 8th), literacy staff and volunteers were present at the Calistoga, Yountville, American Canyon and Napa libraries sharing information on the impact of illiteracy and informing people about the library literacy program.
In September, we also held our annual Tutor Appreciation event at the Napa library accompanied by the band Trio De Solea. We heard heartfelt stories from Richard Tres, Sandra Higareda, Patti Fullerton, and Gemma Mejia about the impact of the program on their lives as tutors and learners, thank you for getting up and sharing your story. Tutors, we hope you enjoyed this special event; and thank you for your commitment all year long to the literacy program. The following learner stories attest to the impact you have on those you tutor. Special thanks to Patti Fullerton, Sandy Higareda, Jean Barstow, Gene Piscia, and Denice Robinson for volunteering on International Literacy Day. Plus a welcome to Sarah Novak, Cynthia Rebullida, Iadora Kelly, Brenda Perry and Vincent James who started tutoring this fall.
In Other news
November 1st we celebrated Dia De Los Muertos at the American Canyon Library with a decorated shrine and craft activities for children and families. Patrons learned about the significance of this special holiday and received a Dia De Los Muertos story book. Spanish GED and ESL classes continue to be a big draw at the library with the continued support of Friends of the Library. Off site, English classes at the Mondavi Farm Worker Housing Center are going strong after three years thanks to Maura Eggan and Kelly Pepper. Programming has started back at the jail on Wednesday afternoons, after a two year hiatus following the Napa earthquake. We continue to say yes; to new programming that is a value to our learners. We have eight scholarships for the Leamos program, a reading and writing program for Spanish speakers and five scholarships for Career Online High School. We recently received a grant from the Robert & Ellen Streich Fund and Hog Island Oyster Company to use for our literacy services, thanks to both for making our community more literate. This winter look forward to some great events. Join us for our Literacy Open House the week of December 12th for cider and goodies and in February enjoy guest speakers, movies and dance to celebrate Black History Month.
Learner stories
Learners say thank you Kim and Luke
Tutor Kim and Luke share a special connection. Kim was Luke’s third grade teacher sixteen years ago. Luke shares, “Kim has been a great help and has taught me things I'll likely use for the rest of my life. I enjoy when we work together and I'm happy I got paired up with her. Kim has helped me with spelling, vocabulary and geography.”
Sandra
My name is Sandra Higareda I have been attending the tutor program at the Napa Library about eight months at least, my tutor’s name is Patty, she is amazing person with the spirit to help me and help others. She is a retired worker from her profession as a script supervisor in Hollywood. She is outgoing and an active listener. She has about 20 years of experience working in a cinema business; she likes to read so many books about politics, novels, ESL. She likes to spend time with family and friends but the most things she enjoys are going to beach to walk with her dog. I want to say thank you
Patty for your time, and your knowledge; you are excellent person with values.
Ana
Hi my name is Ana. I have been in the program for two and a half years. The program has helped me to understand a lot of words I didn’t know. I can help my children with homework and communicate with the teachers at school about my children and to make doctor’s appointments.
Gabriela
Hi my name is Gabriela. I have been in the program for 2 ½ years. I understand the teacher more and when the doctor calls me. Improving in writing English. I want to thank my teacher for her time and patience.
Story of Oaxaca The City of Oaxaca is one of the most beautiful colonial cities in Mexico. It has archaeological sites like Monte Alban and Mitla. The city also has baroque temples, civil buildings from colonial period and museums. You can walk easily downtown; the streets are closed to traffic. In the center of the city is located the Zocalo where the state band and Marimba band performs concerts. Close by to the Zocalo is the cathedral and other churches where you can visit. Also you can enjoy food and different flavors of ice cream or go to see the giant tree called Arbol del Tule.
- Aurelia
Pioneer in Russia by Sachiko
In the spring of 2016, I was transferred to Russia from Tokyo, Japan as one of the first staff to live there and support in the organization. I’d been to Russia, Moscow once before just a week to see their situation and it was a very cold snowy winter in 2005. At that time I still had not been told if I would be transferred there or not. Finally I stayed in Moscow in 2006 when all the snow was gone and pretty flowers were blooming. I happily started my new life in a completely different country. As I didn’t have any friends or family there, some
Maura, one of our literacy tutors submitted a success story about her learner and took it a step further by writing the author, story below: Dear Mr. Vawter, I am a volunteer tutor in the Adult Literacy Program at the Napa County Library in Napa, California. Many of the learners speak Spanish as their first language; they have full-time jobs and family responsibilities, so it’s a big commitment for them to enroll in this program. That was the case with my learner, Monica Martinez,
¿Conoce a alguien que quiere aprender a leer y escribir? Leamos is a simple and easy-to-use online Spanish literacy course that teaches non-literate Spanish speaking adults to read and write in Spanish. If you know someone who cannot read or write in Spanish, contact Karime at 253-4237 for more information.
Leamos™ es un curso de alfabetización que enseña a los adultos a leer y escribir en línea con la asistencia de un tutor.
members kindly helped me to settle down, get some furniture and taught me how to ride on a bus or subway. Also, I learned where to get some groceries or nice sweets. I really liked the Russian food and didn’t miss Japanese food as I expected. It was good because Japanese food is four times more expensive than Rusian food. Though I enjoyed my new life, I struggled with the Russian language. The more I spent time there, the more I began to understand, but still I felt bad when I was not able to comprehend or say something that I meant. The first couple of months I had the hardest time as my vocabulary was quite limited. I even thought I was not in the right place. Every time I thought I should give up learning the language, someone told me
I spoke better and better Russian. Those words always made me feel happy and gave me more enthusiasm to keep studying. So I made effort in my spare time. By the time I left there in 2012, I felt comfortable to speak in front of people and enjoyed myself spending more time with the members. I left there reluctantly, but felt satisfied with what I had done for six years. I was really happy to help and support people, but looking back now I may feel I had been helped and supported by members too. It is such a good and precious memory for me now and forever in my life. Maybe I was too young to be afraid of doing anything new and could be a pioneer to live there alone. I was so grateful for the opportunity to experience it in my life.
who has lived in Napa for a long time and decided she wanted to improve her spoken and written English. I’m very proud of the progress she has made. Recently, the director of the program asked the tutors if we have any success stories that we would like to share in an upcoming newsletter. I submitted the attached story about Monica, her son, Emiliano, and I reading Paper Boy together which we did over the course of last summer. All three of us became totally immersed in your book. I am a 76-year old Irish American born and raised in New York City. Monica, in her 40s, was born and raised in the state of Michoacán, Mexico, and 11-yearold Emiliano was born and raised in Napa,
California. Paper Boy resonated with each of us across the boundaries of age, background and life experiences. We are very much looking forward to reading your next book, but please don’t let Ara T barge his way into it! Sincerely, Maura K Eggan Author’s response-I have received many thoughtful emails about PAPERBOY, but none as special as this. Please pass on my sincere thanks to Monica and Emiliano for reading my story. I spoke at our literacy fund-raiser here in East Tennessee a few years ago. You volunteers are true heroes of mine. Bless you. Author, Vince Vawter
LEARNER SUCCESS STORY My learner, Monica Martinez, speaks Spanish as her first language. During our time, it has been very gratifying to both of us that her spoken English has greatly improved. Monica is a diligent student and applies herself conscientiously to workbook assignments as well. She and I have become good friends, and the best part of our twice-weekly sessions is our sharing of stories about our families. Monica is a devoted mother of three sons. When she entered the Napa County Adult Literacy program, she stated that her main goal was to be able to help her youngest son, Emiliano, with his homework. Emiliano is presently in the 7th grade at St. John the Baptist, and Monica takes a keen interest in his school work. At the end of the school year in June, Emiliano was assigned a book to read over the summer. It was “Paperboy,” by Vince Vawter. This award-winning, autobiograph-
ical novel is about a young boy in Memphis in 1959 with a severe stuttering problem and how he learns to cope with his problem and relate to the adults in his life. The book has many interesting characters and a riveting plot that is quite scary at times. It is several hundred pages in length. Monica, Emiliano, and I decided that we would read “Paperboy” at the same time. Emiliano checked the book out of the library and I got a copy for Monica and me. Emiliano read independently while Monica and I read several chapters aloud at each of our sessions and discussed them. When the three of us finished the book, we met several times at the library to discuss it before Emiliano submitted his report to his teacher. We discussed how the plot gradually unfolded as the author successfully transported us back to a particular time and place that was unfamiliar to us from personal experience. We also analyzed the characters, most
special events & Programs Open House
Literacy Center Open House starts December 12th through 17th starts at 10:00 am. Join us for cider and other goodies and learn about the literacy program.
Lunch with Literacy
of whom had the boy’s best interests at heart with the exception of one especially malevolent character whose actions made the book a real page-turner. Our discussions were lively; we agreed on some aspects of the plot development and disagreed on others. Monica was completely engaged in the discussions and confidently presented her point of view. I really believe this experience helped Monica come closer to achieving her most important goal. She is rightly proud of having read an entire, full-length book in English. The three of us agreed that reading “Paperboy” together was an enjoyable experience that we hope to repeat.
Maura K. Eggan
Tutor, Adult Literacy Program Napa County Library
Tutor Training
February 6th from 10:00-2:30 p.m. and February 7th from 9:00-1:30 p.m.; April 4th and April 6th from 10:00-2:30 p.m.; June 3rd from 9-4 p.m.
ESL Classes
ESL Classes starts on January 13th every Friday from 10-12 noon.
Spanish GED Classes
Spanish GED class starts on January 17th from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
January 24th 12:00-1:30
Black History Month
Literacy Center HOURS
Akeelah and the bee February 8th at the Napa Library -3:30 p.m. Akeelah’s skill earns her a spot in the National Spelling Bee, which inspires the people in her neighborhood with her courage and tenacity. Queen of Katwe February 15th at the American Canyon Library -3:30 p.m. & February 22nd at the Napa Library -3:30 p.m. Living in the slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona and her family. Phiona must learn more than the game of chess as she is exposed to life outside Katwe. Birth of a Nation February 16th 6:30 p.m. at the Napa Library Set against the antebellum South, THE BIRTH OF A NATION follows Nat Turner (Nate Parker), a literate slave and preacher, whose financially strained owner, Samuel Turner (Armie Hammer), accepts an offer to use Nat’s preaching to subdue unruly slaves.
MONDAY - THURSDAY 10AM - 9PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY 10AM - 6PM
Contact Us!
707-253-4237
ROBIN RAFAEL
robin.rafael@countyofnapa.org
NICOLE THOMAS
nicole.thomas@countyofnapa.org
www.napalibrary.org/Literacy 580 Coombs St. Napa, CA 94559
KARIME JACOBO
karime.jacobo@countyofnapa.org