Thursday, August 12, 2010
Roger, the student
Today, I'm showing Roger how to blog. In our next lesson we'll set up one for him so he can write his poetry in it.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Adult Learners' Week 2008
Liverpool City Library marked this year’s Adult Learners’ Week with five activities spread out over three weeks.
The first event was Dollars & Cents: Financial Literacy for Adult Learners, which was held on Tuesday, 2 September. This was an information session on managing money, debt, savings and goals. Presenters were solicitors Nicole Scott and Lisa Lu from the National Assessment & Action Group, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Ann Bounds, ASIC's Senior Adviser, Consumers and Retail Investors - Financial Literacy, put me on to Nicole and Lisa. If anyone wishes to have Financial Literacy sessions conducted in their own libraries, feel free to contact Ann on 02 6250 3840 or email her at ann.bounds@asic.gov.au.
The second event, Waste not, Want not: an information session on sustainable environment, took place on Wednesday, 3 September. Presenters were Liverpool Council’s own Waste Project Officers, Valerie Lebon and Yara Mrad who brought along lots of sample recyclable materials plus a worm farm and showbags of handouts and fluorescent light bulbs. This was a very good follow-up to the first session which dealt with money-saving tips. This time the focus was on environment-saving tips.
The third and fourth events, Line Dancing (Tuesday, 9 September) and Creative Card Making (Wednesday, 10 September) were limited to 15 participants only. However, 16 people showed up for the Line Dancing session and 20 people joined the Creative Card Making workshop. Volunteer Tutor Choon Smith showed the participants the line dancing steps to the tune of “Achy Breaky Heart”, while Liverpool Library’s IT Officer Kellie Husband introduced the participants to the art of card making. Both sessions were very much enjoyed by the participants, with everyone wishing for more sessions!
The fifth and last event was Liverpool Council’s Discovery Tour. Thirteen students from the Library’s English Language Conversation Beginners’ Class went on a bus trip which started at the Council Chambers. Council staff representing the Civic Office, the Sustainable Environment and Recreation and Open Space Departments, spoke briefly about their programs and services. From the Council Chambers, the students proceeded to Collingwood House. Bev Barfield, secretary of Friends of Collingwood House, gave a brief history and tour of the house. The Discovery Tour ended at Chipping Norton Lakes where the participants enjoyed the scenery and their packed lunches.
Liverpool Library would like to thank the State Library for the grant money of $500.00 which enabled us to provide the above activities to our adult learners.
The first event was Dollars & Cents: Financial Literacy for Adult Learners, which was held on Tuesday, 2 September. This was an information session on managing money, debt, savings and goals. Presenters were solicitors Nicole Scott and Lisa Lu from the National Assessment & Action Group, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Ann Bounds, ASIC's Senior Adviser, Consumers and Retail Investors - Financial Literacy, put me on to Nicole and Lisa. If anyone wishes to have Financial Literacy sessions conducted in their own libraries, feel free to contact Ann on 02 6250 3840 or email her at ann.bounds@asic.gov.au.
The second event, Waste not, Want not: an information session on sustainable environment, took place on Wednesday, 3 September. Presenters were Liverpool Council’s own Waste Project Officers, Valerie Lebon and Yara Mrad who brought along lots of sample recyclable materials plus a worm farm and showbags of handouts and fluorescent light bulbs. This was a very good follow-up to the first session which dealt with money-saving tips. This time the focus was on environment-saving tips.
The third and fourth events, Line Dancing (Tuesday, 9 September) and Creative Card Making (Wednesday, 10 September) were limited to 15 participants only. However, 16 people showed up for the Line Dancing session and 20 people joined the Creative Card Making workshop. Volunteer Tutor Choon Smith showed the participants the line dancing steps to the tune of “Achy Breaky Heart”, while Liverpool Library’s IT Officer Kellie Husband introduced the participants to the art of card making. Both sessions were very much enjoyed by the participants, with everyone wishing for more sessions!
The fifth and last event was Liverpool Council’s Discovery Tour. Thirteen students from the Library’s English Language Conversation Beginners’ Class went on a bus trip which started at the Council Chambers. Council staff representing the Civic Office, the Sustainable Environment and Recreation and Open Space Departments, spoke briefly about their programs and services. From the Council Chambers, the students proceeded to Collingwood House. Bev Barfield, secretary of Friends of Collingwood House, gave a brief history and tour of the house. The Discovery Tour ended at Chipping Norton Lakes where the participants enjoyed the scenery and their packed lunches.
Liverpool Library would like to thank the State Library for the grant money of $500.00 which enabled us to provide the above activities to our adult learners.
Monday, June 30, 2008
UWS Child Care Facilities
UWS College, Liverpool is a wholly owned entity of the University of Western Sydney. It has been providing English language classes and support for newly arrived migrants and refugees since 1998.
The College has been offering free, on-site childcare for its students from the beginning but can only do so for a limited number of children. Due to the increasing demand for such service, UWS College built a new and improved childcare centre. The new centre is run by KU Children's Services and can care for up to 35 babies and toddlers.
The UWS College Childcare Service was officially opened on Thursday, 17 April 2008 by the Hon Laurie Ferguson, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services. The Centre is very colourful, has plenty of educational toys, games and books. So it's a win-win situation for those migrants and refugees who attend English classes because their own children get to learn, too.
The College has been offering free, on-site childcare for its students from the beginning but can only do so for a limited number of children. Due to the increasing demand for such service, UWS College built a new and improved childcare centre. The new centre is run by KU Children's Services and can care for up to 35 babies and toddlers.
The UWS College Childcare Service was officially opened on Thursday, 17 April 2008 by the Hon Laurie Ferguson, MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and Settlement Services. The Centre is very colourful, has plenty of educational toys, games and books. So it's a win-win situation for those migrants and refugees who attend English classes because their own children get to learn, too.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Arabic Employment Forum
On 17 April, 2008, Sydney Employment Development Service, in partnership with the Disability Employment Network and supported by Liverpool City Library, held an information session on on "Improving the Capacity of Arabic Small Business Owners to Host Employees with Disabilities”.
The forum focused on employers from Arabic speaking background with an aim to increase the participation of people with a disability within their businesses.
This project was supported by the Australian Government's Employer Demand Demonstration Project Fun
The topics (and speakers) included:
Aims of the forum, benefits and responsibilities for employers and employees (Eehab To'mah); Benefits of work subsidies, supported wage and special wage permits (Eduardo Luis); Workplace modifications and Occupational Health & Safety (Lara Oram, OT); and Apprenticeships - CVGT (Abraham Ghossain, AC).
This project is a fine example of how different organisations can work together side by side to increase awareness of people with a disability at the work place.
The forum focused on employers from Arabic speaking background with an aim to increase the participation of people with a disability within their businesses.
This project was supported by the Australian Government's Employer Demand Demonstration Project Fun
The topics (and speakers) included:
Aims of the forum, benefits and responsibilities for employers and employees (Eehab To'mah); Benefits of work subsidies, supported wage and special wage permits (Eduardo Luis); Workplace modifications and Occupational Health & Safety (Lara Oram, OT); and Apprenticeships - CVGT (Abraham Ghossain, AC).
This project is a fine example of how different organisations can work together side by side to increase awareness of people with a disability at the work place.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
An Opportunity Arose
The weather forecast this week was rains, rains and more rains. I was a bit worried because today I was going to have the launch of my latest initiative, the Navigator Library Access Project, to mark the golden anniversary of NSW Seniors' Week.
The Navigator is a community based project aimed at increasing the quality of life and independence for people with Macular Degeneration. This project was organised in partnership with the Macular Degeneration Foundation (http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/) and funded by the Friends of Liverpool Library. The Navigator is a product of Audio-Read Pty, Limited (http://www.audio-read.com.au/ ).
And why was I worried? Considering that my target group for this event were all seniors, I thought that with the rains, they would rather stay home. It was raining cats and dogs when I came to work last Monday. And yesterday, Tuesday, was no different. It rained all day long! And so last night and early this morning, I prayed really hard that God would not let it rain today, at least not until 11:00 am when my audience would have arrived in the Library. And God heard my prayers! It was really a bright, sunny morning. And the rains did not come down until after 11:00 am!
The program of THE day included: the Traditional Welcome by Glennys Norton, Coordinator, Customer Services, followed by a warm welcome by our library manager, Paul Scully, and talks by Nerida Edwards, president of the Friends of Liverpool Library group, Tony Blackwood, Managing Director of Audio-Read, and Lyn Ifedioranma, Liverpool Council's community worker for the aged and disability services. Launching officer was Julie Heraghty, MDF Chief Executive Officer. In a separate blog, I will be downloading their speeches.
Julie gave me the biggest compliment during the social part of the program. She said that I should have been a wedding planner, seeing how organised and successful the day was.
Indeed, there was an opportunity for me to videotape the proceedings and upload this to You Tube, Google Video or podcast. That is, if only we have the right equipment to do so. However, I took photos with our digital camera and will upload this to Flickr, then to this weblog. And maybe later, make a CD or DVD of the occasion. We'll see...
The Navigator is a community based project aimed at increasing the quality of life and independence for people with Macular Degeneration. This project was organised in partnership with the Macular Degeneration Foundation (http://www.mdfoundation.com.au/) and funded by the Friends of Liverpool Library. The Navigator is a product of Audio-Read Pty, Limited (http://www.audio-read.com.au/ ).
And why was I worried? Considering that my target group for this event were all seniors, I thought that with the rains, they would rather stay home. It was raining cats and dogs when I came to work last Monday. And yesterday, Tuesday, was no different. It rained all day long! And so last night and early this morning, I prayed really hard that God would not let it rain today, at least not until 11:00 am when my audience would have arrived in the Library. And God heard my prayers! It was really a bright, sunny morning. And the rains did not come down until after 11:00 am!
The program of THE day included: the Traditional Welcome by Glennys Norton, Coordinator, Customer Services, followed by a warm welcome by our library manager, Paul Scully, and talks by Nerida Edwards, president of the Friends of Liverpool Library group, Tony Blackwood, Managing Director of Audio-Read, and Lyn Ifedioranma, Liverpool Council's community worker for the aged and disability services. Launching officer was Julie Heraghty, MDF Chief Executive Officer. In a separate blog, I will be downloading their speeches.
Julie gave me the biggest compliment during the social part of the program. She said that I should have been a wedding planner, seeing how organised and successful the day was.
Indeed, there was an opportunity for me to videotape the proceedings and upload this to You Tube, Google Video or podcast. That is, if only we have the right equipment to do so. However, I took photos with our digital camera and will upload this to Flickr, then to this weblog. And maybe later, make a CD or DVD of the occasion. We'll see...
Monday, April 7, 2008
Catching Up
Now that I have finished the modules, I've started catching up with what other participants have been blogging. And boy! What a revelation! I'm learning so much from their weblogs as well, not only about what they have been doing or have done in their own libraries but also the many websites they refer us to which are not included in the lessons. Very interesting!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Social Networks
Social networking will especially be useful to me in promoting my programs, projects and events.
I can also see possibilities here for marketing our services and collections. This is one good opportunity to raise the library's profile with the community. I do hope that we will be given encouragement, help (with IT issues), time and support by our Libray Management to engage in social networking. I consider it high priority for our Library Management to get our IT department to allow us unlimited access to online tools, such as YouTube, Google Video, Google Maps, Facebook, MySpace, etc., so we can implement what we have learned here. ACCESS will also mean being able to read/listen to/watch/view, and replicate if relevant, what others are doing. Why re-invent the wheel?
I can also see possibilities here for marketing our services and collections. This is one good opportunity to raise the library's profile with the community. I do hope that we will be given encouragement, help (with IT issues), time and support by our Libray Management to engage in social networking. I consider it high priority for our Library Management to get our IT department to allow us unlimited access to online tools, such as YouTube, Google Video, Google Maps, Facebook, MySpace, etc., so we can implement what we have learned here. ACCESS will also mean being able to read/listen to/watch/view, and replicate if relevant, what others are doing. Why re-invent the wheel?
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