GATEWAY TO LEARN NG APR L NEWSLETTER

391 Blossom Park Road Woodstock, ON N4S 7J3

Susan E Woodstock Public Library I was honoured to be asked to participate in Gateway to Learning's 7th Annual Spelling Bee. As a first time participant I wasn't !uite sure what to e"pect# It was clear from the time I arri$ed that the student's were e"cited and looking forward to the Spelling Bee. It was also clear that they had been working $ery hard to prepare for this e$ent. %here was a $ery slight ner$ous tension in the air as word lists were checked and re$iewed. Being one of the $ery last up ga$e me a chance to see and hear the results of all their efforts. &I also heard a wide $ariety of rather interesting animal sounds#' I was $ery impressed to hear how well the student's spelled. I think a Spelling Bee is a great way to show something of the hard work that goes into learning and de$eloping word skills. I had a lot of fun watching and taking part in this e$ent( I too learned something ) I spell much better than I make animal sounds# Tina %oday's class at G%L has been filled with fun*lo$ing laughter of en+oyment as the students begin their creati$e writing stories of their fa$ourite topics. As I sit in the classroom you could +ust feel the enthusiasm and see the strong concentration toward the student's creati$ity of their stories. ,ou can +ust see the wheels turning as they try to put their ideas on paper. All in all today's class has +ust been wonderful with support by teacher $olunteers and most of all students helping one another. ,ou could truly feel the en+oyment and laughter from the students' as they completed the day's assignment. Lori -n the first %hursday of e$ery month at .oodstock /ublic Library our coordinator Susan 0arle gi$es us a title of a book which we are e"pected to read. .e normally ha$e about a month to read the book. %here are 12 members of this book club. .e get together to talk about the book that we ha$e read. 3uring the month of 4arch we read %he Beautiful 4ystery by Louise /enny. I found the book to be full of suspense and it kept my attention to the end. Jodey .e went to 5ambridge for a bowling tournament. %his tournament was for 6 pins only. %his is one of my fa$ourite tournaments. I am always trying to impro$e my score.

Frances L I lo$e working with 7amie &8oster' in the kitchen at South Gate 5entre. 9e is funny. 9e is also a friend. I ha$e worked at SG5 for two years. 5hris &5unningham' is a lo$ing person and my friend. I do history class at the centre between 1 and :;:<. I lo$e the people who attend the centre. %hey are $ery nice to me. Frances K I go to e"ercise at SG5 %uesday .ednesday and 8riday for about an hour. .e do walking sitting in a chair and stand at a wall and do push ups. .e also do brain yoga and use small balls to get our brains working. .e use large balls to work our feet. ,ou can go to the e"ercise class if you are a member of SG5. 0"ercising has made it possible for me to get out of my wheelchair and use my walker. Lenard .hat I like about coming back to school is the teachers I like the students who are helpful to me. I came back to school to learn to read and write. I am $ery pleased that my reading has impro$ed since I started at Gateway %o Learning. Jessica -n 4onday nights I play basketball and it=s a great workout. .e took part in a tournament in 8ebruary of this year and we won. %he .oodstock %hunder team won gold for the first time. %he wrap up night for the season took place end of last month. .e had a fun*filled night with pi>>a pop and chips. Maria 0ach and e$ery year I en+oy the ?oll @p %he ?im because I get a chance to win coffee=s and donuts. ,ou get two rolls on each cup. Among the A7 million pri>es being gi$en out this year are 6< grand pri>es of B<1A %oyota 5orolla Sports 1<< Cisa prepaid cards worth D6 <<< each B6 <<< D1<< %im 5ards and of course millions of coffee and food pri>es. I would like to win a %im 5ard then my tea would be free. Melissa I ha$e +ust returned to work following a two*and*a*half month break due to illness. I made up first*aid kits and stamped receipt books. I had to go through the adult day program. I work three hours at C-E where contractors are decorating. -ne of my co*workers chose new carpet. I work in a small office with two others. At C-E we ha$e a new ser$ice manager. Danielle I work in the front office as a $olunteer and I am part of the team at .oodstock and 3istrict 3e$elopmental Ser$ices. I answer the telephone and direct the call to the correct person. I also show people where to go when they come into the office. It is good to know I ha$e a +ob and after $olunteering for 11 years I would ne$er want to do anything different.