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| New Tutor Trainings - Register Now!
Recruit a friend or sign yourself up to become a tutor. Be ready to tutor when the new school year begins! See website for locations and more information. (www.jclread.org)
San Francisco Dates:
Wednesday, September 30, 5:45-845pm
Tuesday, October 13, 5:45-8:45pm
East Bay Dates:
Monday, September 14, 1:30-4:00pm
Tuesday, September 15, 5:45-8:45pm
Sunday, October 18, 10:00am-12:30pm
Peninsula Dates:
Sunday, August 30, 9:30-12:30pm
Thursday, September 10, 6:00- 9:00pm
Tuesday, September 15, 9:30-12:30pm
Sunday, October 18, 9:30-12:30pm
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A Message from Roberta Rothman, Bay Area Director
Dear JCL Volunteers and Friends,
I hope you are having a relaxing summer. We at JCL are busy closing out last year and planning for next year. For those of you who tutored this year, we do need your help, so please be certain you answered the online questionnaires on Survey Monkey. If you need the link, contact Helene or Jennifer. For those of you who do not have computer access, they will send you another hard copy. Your answers are helpful to us as we plan for next year and report to our funders.
We are really pleased to announce that Andy Coblentz will be the new Chair of the JCL Advisory Committee. Andy has been on the committee for two years and teaches 6th grade at M.H. Tobias Elementary School in Daly City. More about Andy and other new members of the committee in the fall. A huge thank you to Susan Rothenberg for stepping in to serve as interim Chair.
Check out the schedule for trainings in the fall and please recommend tutoring to your friends. There are lots of schools on our waiting lists and current schools wanting more tutors. It really makes a difference, as you know.
We would like to hear from you with suggested books that your students have really enjoyed. We will create a list on the website, please provide the name and author of the book, grade level and why you think it is a good book to use.
Enjoy the rest of the summer. We will be back in touch in early September to encourage you to contact your school or teachers.
Fondly,
Roberta Rothman
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A Special Welcome to our new Advisory Committiees Chair: Andy Coblentz
by Susan Rothenberg
When Peter Sloss died so suddenly a few years ago, many people felt a great loss, particularly here at the JCL, where he had been such an outstanding leader. His knowledge, creativity, thoughtfulness and ability to connect us to a variety of communities helped build JCL into the outstanding program it is today. I agreed to keep Peter's chair warm while we searched for someone able to fill Peter's large shoes and am delighted to announce that that day has arrived. Our new chair will be Andy Coblentz.
Andy brings with him a similar thoughtfulness and creativity to that provided by Peter, coupled with his experience as a teacher, lawyer and community activist. As our new chair, I am confident that he will help guide JCL to build on its prior success and see how we can fill the even greater mentoring void that will be present in the classroom with the new State funding cuts. I hope you will all join me in welcoming Andy to his new role.
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| Through My Eyes...Come Meet Jose Ortega Principal JoLynn Washington
My name is JoLynn Washington and I was born and reared in San Francisco, California. I have two adult children that attend San Jose State University. Both of my children are studying to be educators. I have been a part of the Joes Ortega School community since 1990. I started as a teacher's assistant, became a teacher, and after several years I became the principal. This will be my fourth year as principal at Jose Ortega. I love this school community and I feel that the staff and parents really care about what is best for children. Our students have made many academic gains in the past four years and we would like to continue with that academic excellence. We are working with children of the 21st century and these children know technology, so it is very important that my teachers make their lessons engaging for our students. We want our students to be joyful learners. Jose Ortega has a very diverse student population and it is important that the students respect one another's cultures. I think that one of the biggest challenges is always making sure that the school is a safe environment for all of the students. We want our children to love coming to school, so they need to feel safe at all times.
The JCL tutors are a group of young people from Brandeis Hillel Day School that genuinely care about volunteering and supporting the children at Jose Ortega. They are great role models and they are dedicated to helping our students. They understand how magical tutoring can be, not only for the students that they work with, but also for themselves. The most important advice that I can give the JCL tutor is to get to know our students and form a positive relationship. Pay attention to what the child knows. Try not to overwhelm a student by setting unrealistic goals that the child will not be able to accomplish. The tutors should try to touch base with the classroom teacher or me and get to know the student's story. If trust is formed, then our students will work to the best of their ability. They will also have some great stories to share with the tutors. We hope the Brandeis Hillel students will continue to read with our students because we want our students to acquire a love for reading books. Volunteering and tutoring a child can be so rewarding and it can make such a difference in a child's life. This is an experience the JCL tutors will always remember. Lastly I would like to thank the JCL tutors for taking the time to work with the students of Jose Ortega School. I would also like to thank Brandeis Hillel Day School for the donation of books that was given to our school. I hope the tutors will be able to come back and volunteer in the 2009-2010 school year.  | |
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Review Your Favorite Book in the Newsletter!
By Randee Schwartz, JCL Intern
JCL welcomes and values tutors' input and opinions. We would like to encourage interaction between our tutors, especially as it pertains to books! JCL will devote a section of our Newsletter for tutors to write reviews about books they have found especially rewarding to use with their students. In the future we will also list these book suggestions on our website. Please follow the format demonstrated by the following review provided by Michael Samson. Let us know the title of the book, what it is about, the age group it is meant for, and why you think this book should be highlighted. Why is it special? What about the book engages students? We are eager to read your reviews and will highlight one tutor's book choice in each newsletter. Thank you in advance for your contributions.
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Tutor Book Review
Provided by Michael Samson
"DON'T Look at It! DON'T Touch It!" was written by Steve Patschke, illustrated by Julie Durrell and published in 1996. The book is a Halloween story about four children and their dog, which begins with the children finding a strange box with written warnings. They proceed on an adventure with more warnings and scary, yet funny, things occurring.
This is an ideal book to read to a group of children ages 5 - 8 as the reader can use different voices and sounds and ask the listeners questions as to what they think will occur next. The listeners will also enjoy the large, copious, descriptive illustrations that go well with the story.
Children always get very involved and excited with the story and it is a favorite throughout the year. (Teachers and other adults in the classroom also enjoy hearing the story.) It takes ten to fifteen minutes to read depending on how much time is available for interaction.
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Taking Reading out of the Book: Fun Ways to Encourage Literacy, Creativity, and Learning (No Textbooks Required)
by Randee Schwartz, JCL Intern
Often we take for granted how enjoyable reading can be. We flip through the Chronicle in the morning, browse through a magazine during the afternoon and curl up with a book at night. However, students who are struggling with literacy find the idea of reading any material daunting and far from pleasurable. While it is important to adhere to the curriculum of a student's classroom, incorporating fun activities that involve reading can teach a child to associate reading and learning with more positive feelings. Reading doesn't have to be a chore. The more children learn to relate to the material they are reading, the more likely they are likely to enjoy reading it. Making reading an enjoyable activity will not only satisfy your student now, but will aid him in the future. I have compiled some tactics suggested by tutors, as well as some personal favorites. I encourage you to mix and match these different activities in the fall and see what works best for your child.
Have a wonderful summer and happy reading!
1. Have your student dictate a story to you and then write it down and make a book for them. (Children are incredible at creating stories thanks to their imaginations) Have them illustrate the story. Afterwards, have the student read the book to you and their friends.
Benefits: encourages creativity, pride in creation of craft, and reading skills
2. Write a group story. Gather a few students. Have each individual in the group write a few sentences and then pass their story to the next person. The last person to get each story ends the story. Then have everyone read his or her part of the story out loud.
3. Draw cartoon characters, or clip out models from magazine articles or advertisements. Then have the kid write down what he thinks the people are saying...maybe even making a story out of it. Have him read the story out loud to you.
4. This is an oldie but goodie: take your child to the school library and have her pick out books that she WANTS to read. Encourage books with protagonists who are similar to your student, i.e. age, gender, or interests. )
5. With parental permission, take your student to a museum or a zoo. Have him read the labels and tell you about the animals. I am a big fan of the Tech Museum, The Children's Discovery Museum and the Exploratorium.
6. Have your student write a small pseudo newspaper article about some of her favorite things she did this summer. Don't be intimidated - it can be short. Then have her read it out loud.
7. READ!!! everything and everywhere. Read the stories on juice bottles. Read billboards, read signs, read bumper stickers, read slogans on clothing...read strange names of obscure food items, makeup colors and perfumes. Show your child that reading is not a mundane activity it is a wonder of life...every time you read you are partaking in a new adventure!
Sincerely, Randee Schwartz JCL Intern  | |
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