Kootenay / Boundary

Submitted by Velma McKay, COTR

Here in the East Kootenays, College of the Rockies Cranbrook campus has initiated some very successful ABE computer courses for seniors, in partnership with the local senior's group. These continuous intake computer classes have attracted a number of eager seniors who attend 2 days a week for 3 hours per session. The class has proven to be very popular and the number of sessions has increased accordingly. Some of the more adventurous seniors are now taking other ABE and University Studies courses at the College as well.

Building on the success of our ABE Math Skills Classes which were initiated last year, the Cranbrook campus has recently initiated English Skills Classes to address basic skill areas in English in which students from a variety of programs require additional focused instruction.

The Math Skills classes are in their second year and attract students from the local high school, and trades programs as well as ABE students who require extra instructional time. Numbers of ABE students at the Creston campus are healthy, with a number of students taking the pre-requisite courses for our LPN program which will be offered in Creston next year.

In Fernie and Cranbrook, some revisions are being made to the layout of our Literacy courses, to offer more levels within the Literacy program so that students can have their progress recognized more readily.

Metro Vancouver

Submitted by Patrick Fureyp

On Thursday, October 18th, a number of adult educators and secondary counselors attended the Agents of Change Conference 2007 in Vancouver. The conference was held at the Coast Plaza Hotel with Stephen Lewis as keynote speaker. Mr. Lewis captivated all listeners with a passionate speech highlighting his observations as UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Mr. Lewis is co-director of AIDS-Free World, a new international AIDS advocacy organization based in the United States (www.aidsfreeworld.org). It was truly inspiring to hear the words of such a great Canadian humanitarian.

Vancouver School Board (VSB) Continuing & International Education continues to provide a broad range of instructor led classes to self paced study to computer online courses. Information on registration, assessments, course options and related school criteria is available through the continuing education catalog or by visiting the website www.continuinged.ca. Adult education center locations as well as individual school descriptions are also available on the continuing education web site. New course proposals are welcome and further information may be obtained at the continuing education website.

Congratulations to Main Street Education Centre on its wonderful student newspaper. School news, events, happenings around Vancouver are all readily available at the school website http://www.mainstreet.com. Also kudos to Down Town East Education Centre on celebrating its 10th anniversary this spring. DEFC, located at Powell and Columbia, looks forward to many more ten-year anniversaries.

Congratulations to Vancouver Community College as the culinary arts program was named the top cooking school in the city in the Georgia Straight's annual Best of Vancouver awards. This yearly award is based on a lengthy reader poll. This is the first time that the awards have included a category for the city's best cooking school. The College held its annual information night on October 19th showcasing a wide range of programs from music, technology, and business to apprenticeship, health science and trades.

The Career and Vocational Exploration (CAVE) centre is a youth employment drop-in centre for young adults between fifteen and twentynine years. The CAVE is located in Burnaby and is sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada and Douglas College. This centre offers a host of job-related support services such as resume assistance, employment postings, and computer/internet access as well as other aids such as job search and career planning workshops. You do not need to be a student at Douglas College to access these services. http://www.cave-employment.com/

Best wishes to Anita Jacob of Coquitlam Continuing Education upon her well deserved retirement. An evening honouring Anita took place last term in Coquitlam. Thank you, Anita, for all your energy, expertise and dedication to the Adult Basic Education of BC. Anita has donated countless hours of her time over the years promoting our organization and adding that spark to keep the ABEABC progressive and as relevant as ever.

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