Stories & Poems
Stories and poems are an integral part of the PGI experience. Each PGI honours an adult learner and they are invited to share their literacy experience with the audience. PGIs also host a poet who shares an original poem based on literacy and the PGI event as a whole.
Terry Affleck
Learning to Read Later in LifeMy name is Terry Affleck and I learned to read at the age of 63 and today at 65 I am enrolled at Holland College to prepare for my GED.I started school in a “one room” classroom which was very common in small rural communities in the 50s....
Sylvia Vicq Tutor Award Winner-Ivanoe Cubillos
When Ivanoe came to Canada from Chile, she knew very little English. She was a teacher in her home country, and wanted to do her best for herself and her family. When she arrived, a single mother of two, she was hungry to learn this new language. She started by...
Athena Lives Here: Giving Back Through Volunteering
Shared with permission from the author, originally published online by BPW Saskatoon. Did you know that in 2013, nearly half (44%) of Canadians volunteered? The total number of hours given was almost 2 billion! I can’t even begin to put a dollar figure on how much...
The Power of Words – Gordon Barnhart
Words are power, and to see someone who has always struggled with words learn how to read is the most powerful experience. I should know. I feel that power every single day. My name is Gordon Barnhart, and I am president of the University of Saskatchewan. Words...
Family Literacy through the eyes of Catherine, our Family Literacy Program Coordinator
Before I joined the team here at READ Saskatoon, I only had a very academic understanding of “Family Literacy”. Both “family” and “literacy” are very broad terms, and it’s been a challenge to discover what they mean together. One of my favourite things so far has been...
Mona Chappell on her experience as a volunteer tutor with READ Saskatoon
My association with READ Saskatoon has been an incredibly rewarding experience. As a tutor, each of the learners with whom I spent time was an inspiration. How they had coped with not being able to read – not just books and the newspaper, but street signs and...
Connie Kaldor 2016 CBC Poet Laureate: Frontier College Bonspiel for Literacy
Curling song: written on the spot by Connie for the 25th bonspiel at the Toronto Cricket 2016 HMm HMM And it’s hurry hurry hurry hardEvery shot is sweet‘Cause curlers never kiss and tellWhat goes on between the sheets. Hurry Hurry hurry hardWho knows when you may...
Bridging the Gap – Aboriginal Literacy Camps
Joy Newhook
Joy Newhook Adult Learner Award Winner: Newfoundland and Labrador 2016 What are your goals (examples: help children with reading and writing, go to college, get a job, etc.)? My main goal in life is to make my life better and to help my daughters get a better life. I...
PGI Canada Learner Award Winner 2016: CanLearn Society
PGI Canada Learner Award Winner 2016: CanLearn Society Nguissaly Sylla (Sally) is a learner who demonstrates how improving foundational skills can change your life. Sally came from Senegal in 2009. When Sally arrived she did not speak any English, making it hard to...
Laura Beaton – Gzowski Award Winner 2016
Laura Beaton - Gzowski Award Winner 2016 Laura graduated from the Queen Charlotte High School in 1999. Since then, she took on various jobs – at the Co Op and City Centre grocery stores, worked as a HaidaWatchman, and worked for the Skidegate Band Council. Laura now...
Worn new, again and again – Calgary Poem
Worn new, again and againShe confronts an object, strange upon the page,and cracks it sound by sound. Slow sibilant,popped plosive, rhotic smile, bowing diphthong,all concluded with a light dental stop:s-p-r-ou-t. A word is a machine fuelled by sound.Disassemble the...
Diane McKellar – 2016 PGI Learner Achievement Award
Diane McKellar Diane McKellar is the recipient of the 2016 PGI Learner Achievement Award. Diane lives in Knowlton with her son Jamie. She is part of a large McKellar family most of whom live in or around Knowlton. She is very involved in her church and is always...
Rose Mary Paul – 2016 PGI Fredericton
There are times, as a teacher that you come across a learner who inspires and challenges you to want to be a better teacher. Rose Paul is such a learner. Unknowingly, she teaches others through her quiet patience, strength of character, kindness, and dedication to her...
Jonathan Caissie – 2016 PGI Fredericton
Jonathan Caissie est agé de 24 ans, il a un fils de 3 ans qu’il élève avec sa compagne Martine. Jonathan possède une 7ième année est propriétaire d’un entreprise de renovation. Il est né à Lamecque Nouveau-Brunswick et a vécu à Montréal pendant 7ans. Jonathan veut...