Field Trip 2009

On October 8^th Lynda, Cheryl and I went on a field trip to the “Wings of Paradise Butterfly Conservatory.” Cheryl and Lynda are working on a science course. They were learning about Butterflies and wanted to check out the conservatory for more information. I went along for the ride and to enjoy the butterflies.

We saw the following butterflies:

Rice Paper butterflies are white with dabs of black. They are found in Southeast Asia and the wing spread is 10-14cm.

The Owl butterflies is gray on the top and the lower half of the top is brown with a white ring in the middle that looks like the owl’s eyes. The underside is yellow and brown. It is found in Central and South America. They can spread their wings 12to15cm across.

The Monarch butterflies are orange and black and are found in North America and Australia. Its wing spread is 7to9cm.

The life cycle of a Monarch butterfly is:

1.The egg- eggs hatch 2 or 3 days after being laid.

2. Caterpillar- can eat up to 20 times their weight a day. They must shed their skin several times in order to grow.

3. Chrysalis – Inside the body of the caterpillar breaks down and reforms into a butterfly.

4. The Butterfly emerges from the chrysalis and hangs underneath while pluming fluid from its abdomen into its wings. When its wings are fully expanded and dried it can fly away.

The migratory Monarch butterfly lives 6 to 8 months. They leave Ontario in the in fall and overwinter in Mexico. In the spring they mate on the milkweed plant in southern Texas. It takes 3or4 generations to make it back to Ontario by mid May.

As a child the butterflies that I remember are the Monarch and a white one called cabbage butterfly.

Brenda

The facts are found on the butterfly conservatory’s guide

United Way Halloween Fundraiser a Success

On Friday October 30 Action read members had a chance to give back at their United Way Fundraiser. Members of the Action read community put on costumes and gathered to eat scary snacks as they watched the movie Beetlejuice in support of the United way capital campaign.

Mira Clarke Executive Director kindly answered my questions about this event.

Why was this event important?

It was to raise both money and awareness for the great work of the United Way of Guelph Wellington. Each September to December the United Way holds its annual campaign. As a United Way agency Action Read participates by regularly speaking at businesses and factories across the city or by hosting community tours at our agency. Staff also participates in the employee payroll deduction program. (Last year we won an award for our high level of staff participation) Finally, we try to hold events such as this so that learners can also have the opportunity to get involved. We know that people want to help out - they just need to be given the opportunity.

Who participated? How many attended? Approximately 20 people attended. Mostly learners but some volunteers and staff too. In addition, some people who could not attend sent in donations of money or treats or cheesecake or food for the food bank! The event raised $117, a great start to our United Way Campaign

Was the event a success? What made it a success? It was a success because it was a fun, low stress way to raise money for the United Way. Equally important was the awareness it raised. It showed that people want to do fun community things, particularly when it helps a great cause. Plus Action Readers love to dress up!

Action Read Special Olympian Wins Four Medals

This summer Chris Osborne attended the Special Olympic Provincial Games in Windsor Ontario. There were over 600 athletes competing and this was the first year that the Guelph track and field group competed at the Provincial level.

Chris won four medals.

Gold- 400 meter relay

Silver- Shot Put

Silver- 100 meter

Bronze- Running Long Jump


To prepare for the competition Chris trained every Wednesday (rain or shine) with the team. Chris also did daily home training that included running, push-ups, chin-ups, trampoline work, free weights and biking. Chris gets up early every morning to train.

I asked Chris what it felt like to win the medals and he said, “I feel like a winner!” He said that winning made him feel like his heroes Jim Carey and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

For any one who has a dream Chris has this advice, “Go for you dreams! Have fun and do your best!”

Congratulations Chris!

The church of our lady

Historical buildings in Guelph
When John Galt founded Guelph on April 23 1827 he picked the highest spot in the centre of the newly found town to the roman Catholics as a favor to a friend Bishop Alexander McDonnell Who had given him on the foundation of the Canada company. When John Galt cleared the road by the spot where the church was to go he named it after the bishop which is now called McDonnell street. In the Guelph public library wrote the following statement in the deed to where the church would stand, “On this hill would one day rise a church to rival St peters in Rome.” The church of our lady is the third to stand on this site. The first church, a framed wooden church named St Patrick’s had been built in 1835 and was the first structure to be painted on the inside as well as the outside. It burned to the ground on October 10th 1844. Construction on St Bartholomew’s church began shortly after St Patrick’s was destroyed. The new building was completed in 1846. This church was also consumed in flames. Construction of the new church began in 1877 under Irish Canadian architect Joseph Connolly who designed many churches in Ireland, England and Ontario, notably the St Peters Basilica in London Ontario. It was built of limestone in Gothic revival style. The church of our lady is considered to be Connelly’s masterpiece. Mathew Bell, a well- known Guelph artisan was responsible for some of the carvings on the exterior and the pillars on the inside of the church. Mathew Bell died in 1883 as a result of injuries sustained in a fall while working on the building. In 1888 almost twelve years after construction started it was dedicated to the church of our lady. The twin towers, which rise to heights over 200 feet, were not completed until November 13th 1926. In 1958 a new entrance from Mc Donnell street was constructed, but the outside appearance of the church has changed very little since 1926. The complete building of the church took more than 50 years, probably make it the longest construction project in the city’s history. The church is a national historical site. This was a brief history lesson about the church of our lady.

My Graduation

Lynda and I went for an interview in April 2007 with Betty, the head of Continuing Education, to sign up for courses for me to get my grade twelve. She told me that I would only need three credits. Betty recommended “Health for Life” and “English for Everyday Living.”
I started in mid April with Health for Life through Wellington Centre for Continuing Education sending in my lessons by mail. I wrote my lessons on a computer with the aid of zoom text at Action Read and guided by my tutor Lynda. There were sixteen lessons. I had some sight problems when I wrote both the mid term and the final exam. It took me one year to finish with a final mark of 69. I started English for Everyday Living in June 2008. I still was having problems after doing the English mid term and Betty suggested having someone write out my answers by hand. This worked out great and was repeated for the final exam. In May 2009 I received a final mark of 79.
Action Read gave me a party on June 10th with staff and other learners. My second party was at King Buffet on June 14th with family and friends. My big night was on June 17th, when Cheryl and Lynda came to watch me receive my diploma.
I would like to say a special thank you to Betty and Wayne at Continuing Education, the staff at Action Read and my daughter Cheryl for all their help. A very special thank you goes to my family and friends who came to my parties bearing gifts. A very extra special thank you goes to my tutor, Lynda who stood by me all the way to the end on June 17th 2009.

Invitation to the Annual General Meeting

Dear learners,

You are invited to join us on September 17th, 6 to 8 pm at Action Read for our Annual General Meeting and celebration.

The Board of Directors has proposed changes to the Action Read By-laws. These are posted on the bulletin board near the front desk. I would be happy to go over them with you, or answer any of your questions.

All members and their guests are welcome. Let us know if you can make it!

Mira Clarke
(on behalf of the Board of Directors)

Action Read Board Seeks Learner Rep!

Dear Learners;

Action Read is looking for a learner representative on the board of directors! This is an exciting and challenging volunteer opportunity where you will gain new skills, learn what being on a board is all about and develop new friendships. Being

a board member is a big commitment. However it is also an excellent way to build up your resume and it is really important to the community!

You would need to give about 6-8 hours of your time per month to the board. Meetings are held on Tuesday evenings, once per month. A board orientation retreat planned for Saturday October 17th.

If you are interested, please get more information and an application from Mira. You can stop by her office or email her at action1@on.aibn.com. Also, you are invited to attend a Board Information Session at 12:00 pm on Thursday Sept 3rd at Action Read.

Next the nomination committee will set up a time to meet with you. After that, your name will be put forward for election at the Annual General Meeting on September 17th.

We hope you will consider running for the board of directors!

The Action Read Nominating Committee