Family Literacy Day 2012:

The province of Saskatchewan recently proclaimed January 27, 2012 as Family Literacy Day. Created by ABC Life Literacy Canada in 1999, Family Literacy Day has come to be known as a day to celebrate family fun and family learning.  This special day gives us reason to highlight the activities that bring us together providing our children with the essential foundation needed to thrive as they grow into adulthood.

Family Literacy at the Saskatchewan Literacy Network:

The Saskatchewan Literacy Network (SLN) has worked to promote lifelong literacy and life wide learning for over 20 years. We celebrate the many ways in which families learn and grow together. We firmly believe that a strong base in the joys of reading and the benefits of learning from our surroundings significantly influence our children’s learning and development, which stays with them throughout their lives. Supporting families in their learning activities ultimately benefits all of us as our children are better prepared for and enjoy school more while they seek to understand their world with a love of learning.

For the past five years, Marilyn Stearns has been promoting literacy as the SLN’s Family Literacy Coordinator. As her passion for literacy grows, she works to provide Saskatchewan literacy professionals with the tools to help families build strong literacy foundations that include a lasting love of learning.

Marilyn’s appreciation for literacy began when she had the good fortune to be trained as a Come Read With Me (CRWM) facilitator. Facilitating CRWM programs offered countless opportunities to help parents and caregivers understand their important role as their child’s first and most influential teacher.

From the Desk of Marilyn Stearns:

It is my firm belief that literacy provides a solid foundation where families, learn, grow, and create brighter futures. Family literacy programming provides a gentle, but powerful, way to enrich lives.

Celebrating Family Literacy is as easy as the passing of family traditions to the next generation through activities (decorating a Christmas tree) and storytelling. Playing board games, following recipes, learning to ride a bike, reading directions from a map, or visiting a museum are some of the fun activities that promote learning, help us understand our world, and teach us the lessons that we use throughout our lives.

Are you interested in learning more about family literacy? Please Email Marilyn Stearns or visit our website for more information: http://sk.literacy.ca.

What does family literacy mean to you?

How do you learn and grow within your family?

How have you celebrated family literacy and lifelong learning?

The Spirit of Community Knowledge Exchange brings together literacy and Essential Skills professionals, educators, tutors, and adult learners from across Saskatchewan to investigate solutions to the challenges we all face, share success stories, and present the latest research and findings in the area of literacy. With a special focus on Essential Skills in the workplace, community, and family the 2011 Spirit of Community is sure to spark ideas that can build long-lasting change in your community.

Dr. Rick Miner, Miner and Miner Ltd.

Dr. Rick Miner, Miner and Miner Ltd.

Session Title: People without Jobs, Jobs without People: Canada and Saskatchewan’s Labour Market Future

Dr. Miner’s presentation will consider the dual trends of an aging population and the need for a more educated workforce. The consequence of these events occurring simultaneously is frightening. Unless they are proactively addressed, increased labour shortages and high levels of unemployment will result. The presentation discusses how the negative impact of these trends can be avoided with particular attention being paid to the importance of literacy, essential skills, job related training and communities preparing for the jobs of the future

Dr. Rick Miner, Seneca’s President Emeritus, served as Seneca President from August 2001 to July 2009. After retiring from Seneca, he established Miner and Miner Ltd which does research on issues related to post-secondary education and the labour market. He has a Doctorate in Management from the University of Minnesota. He recently received the Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Lifetime Achievement award for 2010.

In 2007, New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham appointed Dr. Miner as commissioner of the province’s Commission on Post-Secondary Education. The Commission reviewed the entirety of the province’s post-secondary system. In July 2008, Dr. Miner was appointed by Federal and Provincial Labour Ministers to serve on a fiver person panel to recommend improvements to Canada’s Labour Market Information System.

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Elaine Cairns, Further Education Society

Elaine Cairns, Further Education Society
Session Title: Exploring Workplace Learning Circles for Aboriginal Learners

The Aboriginal Workplace Learning Circles (AWLC) program’s approaches Essential Skills training at an introductory level. The “Learning Circle” is a holistic approach bringing together learners from all backgrounds and literacy levels to share ideas/skills, guide their learning and create new knowledge. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore: workplace culture, approaches to enhance the success of learners in the workplace and how relationships with family, community and cultural traditions play a role in the workplace.

Elaine Cairns is Co-founder and Co-Executive Director of the Further Education Society and has many years of experience in the literacy field. In addition, she co-authored the award-winning Literacy and Parenting Skills (LAPS) program. Elaine is a Literacy Specialist and was recently awarded the Literacy Alberta’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Spirit of Community Knowledge Exchange brings together literacy and Essential Skills professionals, educators, tutors, and adult learners from across Saskatchewan to investigate solutions to the challenges we all face, share success stories, and present the latest research and findings in the area of literacy. With a special focus on Essential Skills in the workplace, community, and family the 2011 Spirit of Community is sure to spark ideas that can build long-lasting change in your community.

Spotlight on Change: An Essential Skills Program for Women

Spotlight on Change is a new curriculum that focuses on the learning needs of women over 40.  Developed by Project READ Literacy Network in partnership with Douglas College, Coquitlam, BC, Focus for Ethnic Women, Waterloo, ON, The Literacy Group of Waterloo Region ON and Cambridge YWCA Immigrant Services ON, this program supports women to honour their experiences, recognize their strengths, and plan for their future while upgrading their skills.

This session will provide an overview of the content and describe how it can be implemented by agencies: as a standalone program (all modules) or as individual learning activities incorporated into existing programs and tutoring sessions.  Participants will receive a copy of selected pages from the curriculum package and have an opportunity to review sample learning activities.  We will discuss the field-testing process, the target audience, Essential Skills gains and program implementation.  There will be a few draws for copies of the whole curriculum package (limited quantities).

Anne Ramsay

Anne Ramsay

In her present position as Executive Network Director of Project READ Literacy Network Waterloo-Wellington, Anne has managed and facilitated numerous projects and planning initiatives.  She has been involved in the adult literacy field since 1989 working as a program coordinator, instructor and project supervisor.  In addition to her work at Project READ, Anne offers training through her “Learning Tree Consulting.”  She has facilitated well over 100 workshops, training sessions and meetings in Ontario, Canada, United States and Great Britain.  A firm believer in adult education and nonprofit growth, Anne believes professional growth comes through personal reflection.  She coordinates the “Teacher of Adults: Literacy Educator” Certificate program for Conestoga College.  She holds a certificate in Non-Profit & Voluntary Sector Management, Adult & Continuing Education, and Volunteer Management.

Ready to register?  Give our Adult Literacy Coordinator, Karen Rosser, a call at 1-888-511-2111 or (306) 651-7286, or email her at Karen.Rosser@sk.literacy.ca.

Literacy and Essential Skills: Making them Work for You

Andrea Horton, Office of Literacy and Essential Skills

Andrea Horton is a Senior Program Analyst (project manager) with the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.  She previously worked at the Canadian International Development Agency.  Andrea holds a BA in Sociology and an Adult Literacy Educator certificate, and is pursuing her Masters of Education.

Session Title: Literacy and Essential Skills: Making them Work for You

In this workshop, participants will acquire a practical understanding of the free, easy-to-use and customizable literacy and essential skills tools developed by the Government of Canada.  The workshop will offer hands-on activities and demonstrate how different organizations (e.g. Aboriginal, youth, college, newcomers) have used and/or adapted these resources to meet their clients’ needs.  Participants will develop the knowledge needed to identify the most relevant tools for their organization needs and effectively implement these into training and development.

Silvano Tocchi, Office of Literacy and Essential Skills

Silvano Tocchi is the Director General of the Office of Literacy and Essential Skills (OLES) at Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). OLES’s principal objective is to improve the literacy and essential skills of adult Canadians in the labour market by supporting systemic change. Silvano has previously held various positions related to labour market policy and programming within the Federal Government.

Silvano holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from the “Institut universitaire de hautes études internationales” in Geneva, Switzerland and a Bachelor degree in History from the University of Ottawa.

This session will trace the development of the essential skills framework; situate the importance of essential skills in a knowledge based economy; and present some of the interests and activities HRSDC – OLES is pursuing to realize its goal of ensuing adult Canadians have the literacy and essential skills they need to adapt and succeed in the labour market.

Interested in registering? Contact Karen Rosser, SLN’s Adult Literacy Coordinator, at 306-651-7286 or email (Karen.Rosser@sk.literacy.ca).

Are you Tweeting during the knowledge exchange? We will be. Join the conversation by adding #sln2011 to your Tweets.