Volume 1, Issue 1 July, 2011 Settlement Post Introducing In - School and Library In-School Settlement referrals, employment-related Services Program and solution-focused counselling. Who are the partners in this pro- What is the In-School Settle- gram? ment Services program? This program is a partnership The In-School Settlement between Edmonton Immigrant Services is an outreach pro- gram that helps newcomer Services Association and Edmon- students and families in Can- ton Public Library. Funding is provided by Citizenship and ada settle in their school and Why does the program place Association, Edmonton Men- Immigration Canada. community. settlement practitioners in nonite Centre for Newcomers, schools instead of agencies? Catholic Social Services, Ed- How long has this program Schools are one of the first monton Public Schools, Edmon- Why are Settlement Practitioners been around? places newcomer families ton Catholic Schools, Fort placed in libraries? The program started in Janu- go when they arrive in Can- McMurray Public Schools and When newcomers first arrive in ary 2009 as a pilot in three ada. Local school districts Grande Prairie Public Schools. Canada, a local library branch is cities namely; Fort one of the first public centres McMurray, Grande Prairie has placed Settlement Prac- Library Settlement titioners in a number of they visit to acquaint themselves and Edmonton. Services Program schools with high newcomer with available services. It seems only natural that settlement prac- populations. The program What is the objective of Library titioners be available at the librar- INSIDE THIS systematically contacts all new- Settlement Services program? ies to assist newcomers with ISSUE: comer parents and students The primary objective of the settlement needs. from the school and connects program is to connect newcom- them with available services, ers to available services and Is there differences between Introducing 1 programs and resources. ISSSP/LSP resources in the community. settlement work in libraries and in This is done by Settlement Prac- the settlement agencies? What services are provided by Set- Meet a tlement Practitioner in schools? titioners who are based in se- Settlement Practitioners in the Settlement 2 In addition to contacting new- lected library branches. libraries do a lot of outreaching Practitioner comer families and students, to find out who the newcomers in the settlement practitioner con- How long has this program been the libraries are and to let others What’s Happening know about settlement services 2 ducts needs assessments, pro- around and in which branches? During Summer? vides information and orienta- This program started in June that are available in case they tion, either on a one-on-one 2009. It is currently offered in know of someone in the future Program 3 basis or in group presentations. the Mill Woods, Stanley A. who might need such services. Initiatives The settlement practitioner also Milner and Londonderry Word Search 4 refers clients to available re- branches by two Settlement sources and services depending Practitioners. We are now on the web! Canada Trivia 5 on individual need. What kind of services are pro- Visit us online at: Who are the partners in this vided by the program? Contact 6 program? The services provided by the Information www.islss.org Partners in the program include: program are similar to the In- Edmonton Immigrant Services School Program. They include: Answers 6 information and orientation, Volume 1, Issue 1 Settlement Post P a g e 2 Meet a Settlement Practitioner — Grazyna Pakos better. There are lots of newcomer What services do you provide to clients who cannot read and write. We newcomers? try our best to help clients in the best I provide information, orientation, possible way. I am grateful that the referrals to community services Edmonton Library staff are responsive […]. However, everything de- in finding resources. pends on clients’ needs. The needs are usually but not always deter- What initiatives/programs are you mined by the length of time the currently working on? clients have been in Canada. If Clients will ask about sponsorship, they need-for example-help with education and legal information. So What languages do you speak? language. we arrange group presentations in I’m fluent in Polish, but I have a different library branches to make sure good understanding of Russian, What challenges do you come clients get the information that they Ukranian, and Slovakian lan- across working in libraries? guages. I studied French, but can’t One of the challenges is the high are looking for. say I’m fluent. I understand Czech number of clients who need ser- as I used to live in Czechoslovakia. vices. It’s also hard to predict how Grazyna Pakos was born and raised in Poland. She graduated from the University of Alberta many clients you will meet in a day. Some clients want to be re- with a Major in Psychology and a Minor in Who are the clients that you Sociology. Fascinated by different cultures, serve? ferred immediately to places that offer literacy classes. The prob- committed to helping others, and being an im- Mostly newcomer adults and very migrant herself, she has always wanted to use lem though is those places are so seldom, there will be minors. I will her skills to improve the lives of other newcom- know those minors mostly through busy and have large waiting lists. ers adjusting to their new life in a new coun- their parents, but it’s not like I You have to be creative and not try. Grazyna works in three different library work with them directly […] give up. There is always some- branches: Stanley Milner, Millwoods Library thing we’re always trying to do and Londonderry. NEWCOMER ORIENTATION WEEK 2011 Newcomer Orientation Week start of the school year. (NOW) is a summertime program In 2010, sixteen newcomer stu- that prepares newly arrived stu- dents participated in a two-day Queen Elizabeth High School dents to their first weeks of high Aug 23-25, 2011. (9:00-3:30 p.m.) orientation session. They were school in Canada. The program is joined by their parents who also St. Joseph High School usually offered during the last had their own orientation. Aug 23-25,2011, (9:00-3:30 p.m.) week before schools start in fall. Last year, the program was piloted Two schools have signed up for Newcomer Parent Orientation at Queen Elizabeth High School. NOW in 2011. They are Queen Queen Elizabeth High School, Elizabeth High School and St. Aug 25, 2011 (9:00-11:30 a.m.) Orientation is delivered by Peer Joseph High School. The program Leaders is still accepting registration and who have to deadline is August 22, 2011. attend three “I needed some help to find a study club […] so thank God Grazyna day training For more information please came to me, and she gave me the number of to help me with the study two weeks contact Oliver at 780-474-8445 club. I think it is the best service for newcomers because they help a lot.” ~Fatu, came from Liberia 4 years ago prior to the ext 226. Volume 1, Issue 1 Settlement Post P a g e 3 Program Initiatives Computer Classes for Newcomer Parents English Conversation Classes There is a considerable number of newcomer parents who Classes were held every Wednesday morning at Grace Martin come to Canada with limited English. These parents can- Elementary School from April 6 to June 1st. Lack of child not read or comprehend any written information emanating care is a major barrier for women with young children attend- from schools. Edmonton Public Schools for instance have ing English classes, so with the suggestion of the In-School placed information related to student academic perform- Settlement Practitioner, ABC Head Start not only provided ance, assignments, school news, etc on an online web- the space for the class, but childcare as well. A volunteer portal known as SchoolZone. If a parent neither speaks from the Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers English nor possesses computer skills it is impossible to (EMCN) facilitated the classes. access or track the progress of the student. For newcomer parents, this class was an opportunity to prac- Consequently, the In-School Settlement Services program tice their English speaking and listening skills while making started computer classes for newcomer parents with the new friends. They also practiced scenarios such as asking the ultimate goal of helping them access the SchoolZone. bus driver for directions or answering a phone call with the Classes are taught by Settlement Practitioners, who are goal of making them more comfortable in using English assisted by students and last usually eight to ten weeks. should they encounter such situations in the future. Student assistants are recruited to help with interpretation. Parents attending the English Conversation Class also had the Parents are taught basic computer skills such as turning on opportunity to attend a Library Tour at Mill Woods Branch and shutting down the computer, how to use the mouse on May 27. Those who did not have library cards received how to open an email address, how to use the internet to one. Parents were informed about library resources that would search for information, or how to use language tools for help them to practice their English as well as materials in translation. The highlight of the class is when parents are other languages, newspapers, magazines, and books for chil- shown how to access School Zone. This class is normally dren and teens. taught by a teacher from the participating schools as Settle- ment Practitioners do not have official access. A gradua- tion ceremony is held after the last day of class.