Thirtieth Recognition Banquet Honors Students and Tutors On September 25, 2011, VITA held its 30th Annual Recognition Banquet at Vermilionville. Honoring students and tutors for their contributions to the program was the highlight of the evening. Bernadette Lee Deckard of KPEL 96.5 News Radio presided as Mistress of Ceremonies. A trio of very talented young musicians, Sixteen and Under, provided musical entertainment. Inspirational student testimonies were given by John Allen, a Lafayette John Allen, a Lafayette student gives his testimonial. student, and Jacob Robins, an Opelousas student. Kathy Swords delighted listeners with stories of tutoring ESL students. Jerry Caillier gave the invocation. Two ESL students, Gladys Gonzales and Fr. Jairo Castano led the "Pledge of Allegiance" and said the closing prayer, respectively. Special thanks to Jay Caldwell for his photographs of the event. Student Achievement Brenda Daniel Susan Joyner Xuan Le Joseph Ndihokubwayo Jacob Robins Outstanding Tutors Stephen Bilich Clint Caldwell Lawrence Dupre' Karen Gesser Miriam Sundram Think Like a Winner Award Dorothy Thomas The Martin Award Delores Labbe - Lynne Castle The Don Littlefield Memorial Award Sherlynn Washington The Donna Groth Delhomme Memorial Award Jerri Caillier 2011-2012 Installation of Officers and Directors The VITA Training Room was the setting for the 2011-2012 installation of officers and directors on August 24, 2011. Officers for this year are president Dr. Huey McCauley, vice president Bill Bowers, secretary Gene Cole, and treasurer John Hebert. New to the board this year are Carolyn French and Vaughan Baker Simpson. French is a financial advisor and the Senior Vice President of Investments at UBS Financial. Baker Simpson is a Lafayette native, artist, and retired UL history professor. The students, tutors, staff and board welcome our new board members and thank them for helping us change lives through literacy. L to R John Hiatt, Mary Neiheisel, Kelly Manuel, from Clerk of Court's Office, Jeff Ackermann, Huey McCauley, John Hebert, Jerri Caillier, Bruce Snow, Ken Villemarette, Gene Cole. Not Pictured : Earl Alleman, Vaughan Baker Simpson, Etta Brew, Bill Bowers, Carolyn French, Moses Morgan, Barbara Kinchen, Gail Smith, Pat McCarthy. Changing Lives Through Literacy Upcoming Events: Tutor Training November 3, 10, 2011 Christmas Coffee Lafayette Museum December 14, 2011 Tutor Support February 7, 2012 5:30pm to 6:30pm VITA Board Member Honored Donna Groth Delhomme Memorial Award VITA awarded Jerri Caillier the Donna Groth Delhomme Memorial Award at the 30th Annual Recognition Banquet on September 25, 2011. This award is presented in recognition of a special tutor, student or volunteer who best represents the dedicated service to others and a commitment to literacy. Caillier, a VITA board member for 20 years has served as president of the board and as chairman of various committees. Born in Abbeville, La., Caillier received her B.A. and M.Ed. degrees from University of Louisiana @ Lafayette. She taught in St. Landry and Lafayette parishes and has served as a special education teacher, coordinator, and placement officer. Caillier has served as LPSS Assistant Superintendent for Instructional Services and as acting Superintendent. Caillier has received many community awards, including Outstanding Women Leaders in Lafayette. She is very well known in the community, serving on the United Way Board of Directors and other local committees. Married to Dr. James Callier, Dr. and Mrs. Caillier have three children Jennifer, Gerard, and Sylvia. VITA, Local Agencies Collaborate to Improve Family Literacy Recently, VITA partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana and Girls Scouts of Louisiana: Pines to the Gulf to improve family literacy in Acadiana. The Literacy Links program is being presented to adult parents/guardians who have a K-5 daughter currently enrolled in the Lafayette Parish School System. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Acadiana will provide mentoring support for the young girls in the Reading Readiness Program to improve reading skills. Girl Scouts of Louisiana: Pines to the Gulf will foster a girl's potential through the Leadership Experience Program on the girl's chosen pathway. VITA will help the parent/ guardian improve his/her literacy, language and life skills to increase the parent's ability to engage in the child's education. Any K-5 girl currently enrolled in LPSS with a parent/guardian interested in strengthening his/ her skills is eligible for the program. Also, any adult parent/guardian wishing to encourage a child to improve her reading skills by strengthening his/her own skills is eligible. Anyone interested in this program is urged to contact one of the participating agencies. Welcome to Our New Tutors June Workshop Marshal Dupre Terrie Levie Colby Foreman Linda Reif Ashley Foreman Stephanie St. Clair-Wright Joshua Landry Letha Woods Welcome to Our New Tutors September Workshop Bryan Baker Kathy Kochansky Yvonne Bogan Christine Meaux Stephanie Broussard William McGovern Sharon Falgout Amy Quinn Lynn Gee Deborah Rinaldi Wendee Herold Tanya Yentzen Nicholas Istre New Classes, New Teachers Fall brings new morning classes for VITA students. Because of the growing popularity of the morning classes and increasing enrollment, the VITA staff made changes to the schedule in order to better meet the needs of the students. A divided phonics class will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30am- 12:00pm. "I found that, in the larger class, some of the students were not getting the most out of the lessons. Splitting the class Made sense to fix this problem," said Janel Fontenot, former teacher of the larger class. The second part of the class will be taught by Phyllis Ledet, a VITA tutor. On Thursdays at 10:30 am, VITA will be offering Fun with Reading, taught by Audrey Martin. Martin will help students with their reading skills by reading plays, practicing public speaking, and reading newspapers and magazines. Yvonne Bogan has agreed to teach a beginning conversation on Thursdays at 9:00 am. A returning VITA volunteer, Bogan spent many years teaching ESL. For more information about the new classes, or if you would like to teach a class at VITA, contact a staff member to share your ideas We would love to hear from you. Nighttime Class at Alfa Omega International In the months of October and November, VITA is hosting an eight-week beginning level English class at Alfa Omega Church on South College in Lafayette. Tanya Yentzen, a VITA tutor, is teaching 20 Spanish-speaking adults basic literacy skills. This collaborative effort reaches out to working adults who need to improve their reading, writing, and English speaking skills and who cannot take advantage of the morning classes at the VITA office. Alfa Omega church will provide the space and daycare for the participants' children. "The group is very eager to learn and asks thoughtful questions," said Kathy DeGlandon, one of the coordinators of the program. "They are so happy to be in class and learning new skills," DeGlandon continues. Another eight-week session is planned for the middle of January. If you would like to volunteer for this worthwhile program, contact VITA for more information. Tutor Support a Sweet Treat New and veteran tutors were pampered with a sweet treat at Borden's of Lafayette on June 15, 2011. The tutor support meeting was held to introduce new tutors to veteran tutors and to share ideas. "At the time of the meeting, some of the tutors had not met their new students, and these Seated Left: Dennis Sullivan, Vic Hummert, Roselyn Hummert. Seated Right: Janel Fontenot, Bruce Snow tutors were able voice their concerns, if any, and ask questions of experienced tutors," Janel Fontenot shared. The next tutor training will be held on February 7, 2012 from 5:30 to 6:30pm. Tutors who have a topic they would like to share can contact Janel or Kathy at VITA. Good News Congratulations to VITA students, Gladys Gonzales and Justino Cortes, for becoming US citizens in September. Congratulations to Our GED Graduates Kasey Mendoza Rapunzel Andrus Kaitlin Arredondo Kristi Browning Melinda Cashio Marlanie Fontenot Roxanne Fontenot Ian Odom Nakita Shelvin Margarita Warren Jessica Wilson