Summer Camp Director and Camp Assistant

YLC is excited to announce that Joelle DePietro will be joining the YLC summer camp staff this year wearing TWO hats. She will be an assistant for the Spanish camps as well as the camp director, to oversee the camps and make sure any concerns or challenges that arise are addressed. She will definitely be an asset to our staff and the campers!
Joelle DePietro is a junior at the University of South Carolina studying Spanish and international studies. She has been studying Spanish for eight years, and has recently taken up Italian as well. Her love of the Spanish language has led to her initiation into Sigma Delta Pi, the national Hispanic Honor Society. She has spent time traveling and learning language in Spain, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Italy and Greece. Joelle plans to spend next Spring semester studying in Spain to immerse herself fully in the Spanish culture before graduation. After she graduates from USC in December of 2013, she plans to spend a year teaching English in Spain before seeking a career in the United States Embassy in Madrid. This is her first summer with Your Language Connection, and she looks forward sharing her passion with campers.

Spanish Camp Teachers – Desiree Weyforth and Melissa Morales
Desriee Weyforth has been teaching with YLC since 2008 and many of you already know her as a dynamic and energetic teacher. She brings a lot of teaching experience to the camps and we are lucky to have her teaching with us, as she has 4 young children of her own to teach and care for daily!

She taught high school students in Baltimore before moving her family to Lancaster. She was originally hired to teach the Family Spanish class for YLC, and was an instant hit with all of the families. She has taught summer camps for the last 3 years and is requested regularly. She currently teaches Spanish to grades 1 – 8 at St. Leo’s Catholic School.

Desiree has such an amazing amount of energy, patience and excitement that spreads throughout her classroom. Her students absolutely love her and do their best for her. Because they enjoy the camps and classes so much, they are very successful at acquiring their new language.

Melissa Morales is brand new to YLC, but not to teaching. She teaches 2nd grade with the School District of Lancaster in the Dual Immersion Program. She is a native of Puerto Rico, but has lived in Lancaster since the 5th grade. She has travelled extensively and is proud to say she has travelled to 11 countries so far, and will be teaching ESL for a year in Japan for the 2012-2013 school year.

Melissa is very dedicated to her students and uses a variety of teaching strategies to help her students learn. She has a positive attitude and truly cares about each of her students as individuals. Melissa values the contributions other cultures bring to our society and is excited to share what she has learned through her travels with her students. We are excited to have Melissa on the YLC summer camp staff.

Bilingual Reading Camp Teacher – Jody Charles
Jody Charles started studying Spanish in the eighth grade and continued throughout her school career, also studying in Spain and Mexico. She is certified to teach in both French and Spanish and also has an ESL certification. She has worked with YLC since late 2009 and has nineteen years of experience teaching.
Her favorite part of teaching a language is being able to see someone who can communicate with others in a language other than English. She also believes that being able to understand different languages and cultures is a wonderful skill to acquire. One challenge for her is making certain that she appropriately and successfully meets the needs of her students, and she wants to work with them so that they can be successful.
She stresses that when learning a new language, it is extremely important to be willing to try and use it. You need to be courageous and willing to try something new. It may not be easy, but hard work and perseverance will lead to success. Jody’s students describe her as helpful, flexible, organized, and dedicated to their success. Although some students may require more time or assistance, Jody believes that all students have the ability to learn a new language.

Multicultural Arts & Crafts Camp Teacher – Rebecca Gilbert
Rebecca Gilbert has many years of teaching experience, both in public schools and private instruction. She taught these camps in 2010 for YLC and they were very popular, not only with the children but with the parents as well. The art work is done by the children, with each child producing their own piece of art and not a replication of the teacher’s art. Rebecca teaches the children about the history of the art, the mediums they use and how to create an individual masterpiece using those mediums. The artwork that comes home is impressive and something to keep forever.
Rebecca is not an art teacher by profession, though she taught first grade for many years. Her passion for art, combined with her love for teaching children, brings a new and fresh style to a subject that has been around for many years. This is not your typical art class! Rebecca has an amazing amount of patience and a calm spirit, which promotes the perfect environment for creating masterpieces!

If you have any questions about our camps or the staff, please contact Michelle.

Date: Saturday, June 2nd
Time: 7:30pm
Location: The Ware Center
Millersville University – Lancaster Campus
42 North Prince Street
Lancaster, PA 17603

General Admission

Adults $15
Senior Citizens (60+) & MU ID $10

Purchase tickets on-line:

http://muticketsonline.com/list/mu-lancaster-events

Imani Edu-Tainers African Dance Company http://www.imaniafricandance.org/

Many of us grew up during the Cold War. I remember the Bomb drills in school when we had to get under our desks, as if the small desk next to the wall of windows would have kept us safe from the feared Atomic or Nuclear bombs. I also remember learning all the countries of Asia; I could name them all. But that was then, and this is now. The Cold War is over, and the Soviet Union no longer exists. However, many new countries have developed since the fall of the USSR.

Do you know how many countries there are in the land that was formerly known as the Soviet Union? Can you name them? Can you label them correctly on a map?

Here are some quick facts about the countries that have developed since the fall of the Soviet Union:

Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania

Two main language families: Indo-European and Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Finno-Ugric languages
Many people speak Russian and an increasing number of people are speaking English
People belong to different Christian denominations

Central Asia: Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan

Was home to the Silk Road trading route
Most countries are fighting corruption
People speak Turkish languages
Offers a lot of beautiful scenery such as steppes and mountains
People eat a heavily carnivorous diet

Eastern Europe: Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine

A catastrophic nuclear accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine in 1986
People speak Belarussian and Russian in Belarus
In Moldova the official language is Romanian and most people are Orthodox Christians

Russia:

Largest country in the world
Diverse climate and many areas with extreme winters
Popular cuisine includes soups and stews, black bread, fish, poultry, mushrooms, berries, and honey
Traditionally wash in banya, a hot steam bath similar to a sauna

Southern Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

The region was unified as a single political entity twice
Some experts believe it may be the birthplace of wine production

Answer this trivia question and receive $10 off a class or camp! Email your answers to michelle@yourlanguageconnection.com

Q: About 90% of world production of which cultivated crop occurs in former Soviet Union Countries?

Answer:
Buckwheat

Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012
Time: 5:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Centro Hispano, 545 Pershing Avenue, Lancaster

Featuring lots of Latin food, drinks, and good friends. Click here to reserve your ticket – RSVP by May 7th.
Tickets are $40 per person.

The 5K (3.1 mile) race brings the community together in support of eliminating racism and helps fund the YWCA’s local Racial Justice initiatives. This year marks the 14th anniversary of the event making it the longest running YW Race Against Racism in the world. The Kids’ Fun Run for children 12 and under will take place immediately after the race.

The YWCA will sponsor Humanity Fest, a multi-cultural food and craft fair in Musser Park from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. to coincide with the race. Humanity Fest will appeal to all ages and is open to everyone – you don’t have to be a race participant to join in the fun. There’ll be lots of ethnic foods, fair trade goods, works of local artisans and multi-cultural entertainment.

Besides individual runners and walkers, numerous schools, businesses and community groups will have teams.  The largest team overall wins free tickets to a  Barnstormers game.  The team with “The Most Team Spirit” wins a Turkey Hill Ice Cream Party for up to 100 people.

There will be prizes, trophies and awards for winners in more than a dozen age groups from 9 and under to 70-plus.  And every pre-registered runner and walker will get a 14th Anniversary Race Against Racism t-shirt and an eco-friendly bag of goodies.

Cost of running or walking in the Race is  $25 for adults and $10 for children 14 and under. There’s no admission fee for Humanity Fest.  For more information or to register call 717-393-1735, go online at www.ywcalancaster.org, or e-mail raceagainstracism@ywcalancaster.org.

When: Wednesday, May 30th 2012 5 – 7:30pm
Where: Downtown Lancaster, PA

1. Get your ticket - Tickets ($10) are available at the Alpha & Omega Community Center Office, 708 Wabank Street

2. Go downtown on May 30th – Join hundreds of Alpha & Omega supporters on this walking and tasting tour

3. Visit the restaurants – Start at any participating restaurant between 5 and 6:30pm (the event ends at 7:30pm)

4. Eat great food – Walk to the restaurants in any order and taste delicious specialties from all over the world!

5. Support a wonderful cause – Proceeds benefit the Alpha & Omega Community Center

Participating restaurants and dishes:

Rachel’s Cafe and Creperie - Nutella mini-crepe plus Lonely Monk Coffees

La Dolce Vita Italian Bakery - Fruit tart
Cookie crust tart with vanilla pudding custard filling, fresh fruit and an apricot glaze

Cocina Mexicana - Pork tamale
Corn meal flour dough filled with pork in red sauce and steamed in a corn husk

Sa La Thai Restaurant - Thai appetizer

La Cocina Restaurant – Mofongo
Fried plantains with salami

For more information and tickets, call Alpha & Omega 717-394-3021
This event is organized by Kids and Cultures.

-Improvements in and love for communication
-Global perspective and appreciation of diversity
-Higher standardized test scores
-Better problem-solving skills
-Improvement of their native language
-Better employment opportunities in the future

Young children are also best equipped to learn a second language with a more native grasp.

So you know that there are benefits, but how do you begin the process of teaching your child a second language? Here are some tips:

-Learn a little of the language yourself if you don’t already know it – children mimic authority figures.
-Begin as early as possible, as children’s ability to internalize languages decreases over time. But you don’t have to worry about confusion, because children can identify and compartmentalize different languages by age 3.
-Make learning organic by immersing your child in the language rather than just “teaching” it, to mimic how people pick up their native language.
-Make it fun – don’t force it! Use visuals, games, music, reading, and other activities to keep your child interested.
-Teach both the native and the second language equally – if you introduce a word in one language, teach it in the other language too. If your child’s first language is not English, do not agree to a 100% English immersion program or stop speaking your native language at home.

Here are some language resources that you can use, in addition to a program, to teach your child a foreign language:

http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2010/05/10-resources-for-esl-and-foreign.html
http://www.eslkidstuff.com/
http://www.brighthubeducation.com/infant-development-learning/110067-foreign-language-cds-books-resources-for-infants/

52nd Annual Sakura Matsuri Washington DC http://sakuramatsuri.org/

Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia: http://sakura.japanphilly.org/node/36

Sakura Matsuri 2012 in Cincinnati: http://www.jasgc.org

Japan – U.S. Cherry Tree Planting & Centennial Celebration in Indianopolis: http://www.japanindiana.org/english/program/2012/042812_sakura.html

Japan Spring Festival in Boston: http://japanfestivalboston.org

The 1st Annual Pittsburgh Sakura Festival: http://www.pghsakuraproject.org/en/news/news12.html

********** WHITE ATTIRE REQUESTED **********

SALSA – merengue – BACHATA – cumbia – URBANO
Latin MUSIC

Lancaster’s premiere cultural celebration at Lancaster’s premiere location.

ADMISSION: $10
PARKING: at Hotel
SPECIAL HOTEL OVERNIGHT RATES FOR OUR GUESTS!!!!

http://www.facebook.com/First.Thursday.Latino