Customs may differ but Christmas remains a global celebration
By Huma Sheikh
Published: Friday, December 23rd, 2011
For Moses Ikiugu, who is a professor in the department of occupational therapy at the University of South Dakota, Christmas is a celebration that rekindles memories of his country Kenya – elaborate mass at church on Christmas Eve, a huge extended family get- together, and a wide variety of foods. “The midnight mass ends around six in the morning. The Creshe is quite Africanized also; a thatched house built around the manger.
“We have a special goat for Christmas. This goat is domesticated for about a year before it’s killed on Christmas Eve for a big traditional meal for Christmas. We celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with our extended families – aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents besides parents and siblings Because this is a massive get-together, the main dish of goat meat goes along with other foods like chicken, beef, potatoes, vegetables, chapattis (flat bread) and rice.” New clothes are worn for Christmas. People go to church in coat suits and wear new shoes. Everything that you are wearing has to be new. Parents buy clothes for their children to wear on Christmas.”
Christmas is, says Wycklyffe Mogondo, also from Kenya, “a very religious festival for us. We celebrate Christmas with fervor and devotion. The ‘Way of the Cross’ is the custom in my part of the country in Matunda that prepares us for Christmas. The priest, a few days before Christmas, would choose a spot some miles from the church and people and members of the church would gather there. The priest would then carry the cross and walk to the church with others following him in a procession. This follows the rosary broken into different parts for worship at the church.”
Roberto Gomez from Venezuela says Christmas is much louder in his country. “We celebrate Christmas in extended families and do a lot of partying, fireworks, and eating. The traditional Christmas food menu is extensive – bread stuffed Turkey, ‘Empanadas’ –corn meal meat pie (the pie has a half-circle shape, and it’s usually stuffed with ground beef), Ham, ‘Hallacas’ – meat wrapped in corn dough and steamed in a banana leaf, and sweet rice made with cloves, cinnamon, and Nutmeg.”
But good food doesn’t come easy. “We have ‘Novena’ – nine days of worship – that culminates into Christmas. We pray together for nine successive days to thank God for the special graces and to obtain God’s special favor.”
For Amimul Ehsan, a Bangladeshi student at USD, Christmas reminds him of Bengali New year (Pohela Boishaka) celebrated on April 14. “We do a lot of fireworks and make traditional food such as ‘Panta Ilish’ – Hilsha fish with rice. Cooked rice is soaked in water overnight and then eaten with Hilshaw fish the following day. On this day, people wear clothes of red and green which represent the colors of the Bangladesh flag.
Another USD student, Tridib from India, says Christmas evokes ‘Diwali’ feelings for him – ‘Deepavali’ or ‘Diwali’ is the festival of lights and is one of the most important Hindu religious festivals. “We celebrate ‘Deepavali’ in families and decorate our homes with ‘diyas’ – small clay lamps. ‘Diyas’ are placed in varied shapes inside the house, and they are usually in rows outside the house. Sweets are also shared with friends and families on Diwali.”
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
YALC changes lives of illiterate adults
YALC changes lives of illiterate adults
Higher level grade requirements discourage adults to be part of literacy programs but at the Yankton Area Literacy Council (YALC), adults who cannot read beyond a third-grade level are welcome.
“Yankton adults don’t need a driver’s license to get in the program,” said Ms. Bev Calvert, YALC program coordinator. “We understand they can’t get a driver’s license without reading and writing skills.”
This is one of the major successes of YALC. Ninety three percent of adults in Yankton County are trained in reading, writing and speaking English as a second language. In Clay County, 6 percent of adult learners are American while in Bon Homme, the percentage of Americans stands at eight. All other adults are ESL learners. In a 2003 assessment, more than 550 Clay County adults lacked basic literacy skills.
Students work individually with a tutor for a minimum of two hours per week. None of the students are charged. Tutors are volunteers. Students and tutors set up times and locations to meet at the Yankton office.
“Students start at a lower level and do assignments. Their progress is assessed for about a half-hour by their tutors each time they meet,” said Calvert. “We have been blessed in Yankton. We have some wonderful teachers in Yankton.”
YALC is planning on coming to Vermillion.
“We are trying to set up for readings in Vermillion if we find a small location and funding will be best to go along with it. We buy books for students and each book costs about $25-30,” she said.
Community programs are held in malls and libraries to encourage kids to read so that they force their parents to read.
YALC also holds literacy programs in Yankton County and surrounding areas to inform people about their literacy activities. In September, a week-long ‘Adult Education and Family Literacy Week’ was held in Yankton to remind people that YALC helps students of any educational background to improve their literacy throughout the year. The second annual “Scrabble Tournament Spellebrate for a Good Cause” Scrabble tournament is set for Jan. 29, 2012, to raise funds for and awareness about the program.
Brochures are also issued to get the message out about the YALC. People who wish to volunteer or know someone in need of literacy services complete the form at the end of the brochure and send it back to the YALC. The brochures are available at the Yankton library and YALC office.
YALC is a volunteer-based organized founded in 1987. It organizes literacy programs in Yankton, Bon Homme, Charles Mix and Clay counties. Its work is funded by United Way and Volunteer Services of Greater Yankton and by community fundraisers.
Higher level grade requirements discourage adults to be part of literacy programs but at the Yankton Area Literacy Council (YALC), adults who cannot read beyond a third-grade level are welcome.
“Yankton adults don’t need a driver’s license to get in the program,” said Ms. Bev Calvert, YALC program coordinator. “We understand they can’t get a driver’s license without reading and writing skills.”
This is one of the major successes of YALC. Ninety three percent of adults in Yankton County are trained in reading, writing and speaking English as a second language. In Clay County, 6 percent of adult learners are American while in Bon Homme, the percentage of Americans stands at eight. All other adults are ESL learners. In a 2003 assessment, more than 550 Clay County adults lacked basic literacy skills.
Students work individually with a tutor for a minimum of two hours per week. None of the students are charged. Tutors are volunteers. Students and tutors set up times and locations to meet at the Yankton office.
“Students start at a lower level and do assignments. Their progress is assessed for about a half-hour by their tutors each time they meet,” said Calvert. “We have been blessed in Yankton. We have some wonderful teachers in Yankton.”
YALC is planning on coming to Vermillion.
“We are trying to set up for readings in Vermillion if we find a small location and funding will be best to go along with it. We buy books for students and each book costs about $25-30,” she said.
Community programs are held in malls and libraries to encourage kids to read so that they force their parents to read.
YALC also holds literacy programs in Yankton County and surrounding areas to inform people about their literacy activities. In September, a week-long ‘Adult Education and Family Literacy Week’ was held in Yankton to remind people that YALC helps students of any educational background to improve their literacy throughout the year. The second annual “Scrabble Tournament Spellebrate for a Good Cause” Scrabble tournament is set for Jan. 29, 2012, to raise funds for and awareness about the program.
Brochures are also issued to get the message out about the YALC. People who wish to volunteer or know someone in need of literacy services complete the form at the end of the brochure and send it back to the YALC. The brochures are available at the Yankton library and YALC office.
YALC is a volunteer-based organized founded in 1987. It organizes literacy programs in Yankton, Bon Homme, Charles Mix and Clay counties. Its work is funded by United Way and Volunteer Services of Greater Yankton and by community fundraisers.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Vermillion Plaintalk - Jolley, Austin become PBIS schools
Vermillion Plaintalk - Jolley, Austin become PBIS schools
Huma Sheikh
Vermillion’s two public elementary schools – Jolley Elementary and Austin Elementary – have become Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) pilot schools as they implement the behavior management program to teach kids what behavior is expected for each student in each possible school setting.
At Jolley School, students on the first day of school last month went through Expectation Stations which briefed about school wide expectations. These expectations were a list of broad, positively stated behaviors that were desired of all students and faculty.
“We had, for example, each grade come to the lunch area to have the students watch our teachers go through the lunch line while discussing the expected behaviors and the proper procedures for going through the lunch line. We had the students attend stations for the lunch room, the playground, in the hallways, in the bathrooms and while in lines for morning and recess time,” said Principal Mark Upward.
“PBIS is a positive behavior management system to create a safer and more effective school. This system provides clear school wide expectations for our students and teachers so we can all work as a team for a common goal which is to have less behavioral issues and more learning time, “said Cindy Weis, who is the program coach at Jolley.
Austin Elementary School Principal, Kim Johnson said the school staff participated in professional development for positive behavior interventions three years ago. They had organized a School Climate Committee and studied the basis PBIS framework. The committee began developing a school discipline plan based on that framework.
“Becoming a pilot PBIS school through the Department of Education was a perfect extension of our philosophy, but also incorporated training, support and accountability,” she said.
Both at Austin and Jolley, the entire teaching staff had been involved in implementing the program to assure that the skills necessary to meet the PBIS expectations were worked on and evaluated frequently.
“Our PBIS team attended two workshops over the summer to train on the PBIS system. After the workshop, we trained the rest of the staff on PBIS. PBIS is a school wide system so every staff member, from the school lunch aides to the Principal, are involved in implementing this program,” said Upward.
At Austin, the PBIS Team had gone through the training and then devoted their back-to-school in-service to training the entire teaching staff.
“We also held a 'Welcome-Back-to-School Brunch' for our support staff (educational aides, playground and lunch supervisors) to show appreciation for their important role as well as build consistency and support for the PBIS philosophy,” said Johnson.
The schools also assess students’ progress toward reaching the behavior expectations in a number of ways. At Austin, progress is measured through data (i.e. office referrals) as well as through classroom and school-wide feedback of student behavior. The progress of students at Jolley is assessed daily and weekly by counting the number of students who get a Tanager Buck in each classroom.
Huma Sheikh
Vermillion’s two public elementary schools – Jolley Elementary and Austin Elementary – have become Positive Behavior Interventions and Support (PBIS) pilot schools as they implement the behavior management program to teach kids what behavior is expected for each student in each possible school setting.
At Jolley School, students on the first day of school last month went through Expectation Stations which briefed about school wide expectations. These expectations were a list of broad, positively stated behaviors that were desired of all students and faculty.
“We had, for example, each grade come to the lunch area to have the students watch our teachers go through the lunch line while discussing the expected behaviors and the proper procedures for going through the lunch line. We had the students attend stations for the lunch room, the playground, in the hallways, in the bathrooms and while in lines for morning and recess time,” said Principal Mark Upward.
“PBIS is a positive behavior management system to create a safer and more effective school. This system provides clear school wide expectations for our students and teachers so we can all work as a team for a common goal which is to have less behavioral issues and more learning time, “said Cindy Weis, who is the program coach at Jolley.
Austin Elementary School Principal, Kim Johnson said the school staff participated in professional development for positive behavior interventions three years ago. They had organized a School Climate Committee and studied the basis PBIS framework. The committee began developing a school discipline plan based on that framework.
“Becoming a pilot PBIS school through the Department of Education was a perfect extension of our philosophy, but also incorporated training, support and accountability,” she said.
Both at Austin and Jolley, the entire teaching staff had been involved in implementing the program to assure that the skills necessary to meet the PBIS expectations were worked on and evaluated frequently.
“Our PBIS team attended two workshops over the summer to train on the PBIS system. After the workshop, we trained the rest of the staff on PBIS. PBIS is a school wide system so every staff member, from the school lunch aides to the Principal, are involved in implementing this program,” said Upward.
At Austin, the PBIS Team had gone through the training and then devoted their back-to-school in-service to training the entire teaching staff.
“We also held a 'Welcome-Back-to-School Brunch' for our support staff (educational aides, playground and lunch supervisors) to show appreciation for their important role as well as build consistency and support for the PBIS philosophy,” said Johnson.
The schools also assess students’ progress toward reaching the behavior expectations in a number of ways. At Austin, progress is measured through data (i.e. office referrals) as well as through classroom and school-wide feedback of student behavior. The progress of students at Jolley is assessed daily and weekly by counting the number of students who get a Tanager Buck in each classroom.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)