Editor’s Note: RCGW extends thanks to Manitoba Education and Training ELA Consultant Angela Burdett for her assistance in answering our many questions. 

Since 2017, Manitoba Education and Training (MET) has been implementing the new ELA Curriculum Framework through a phased-in model. Across the province, many school teams and groups of teachers have gathered to discuss and explore their practice through the new curriculum framework. We at RCGW continue to field questions from teachers in the field, so we reached out to MET for some updates.

Last month, in Off to a Great Start, we recommended teachers read the Manitoba English Language Arts Curriculum Framework – April 2019 Draft. (Read it online at Maple today!) Teachers can inquire and explore the many avenues for digging deep into language and inquiry under the new framework. We are pleased to hear that MET expects to have the latest iteration of the Curriculum Framework and the new Maple group, "The ELA Place," available later this fall. 

The revised framework will be shared as "A Living Document" rather than a "Draft" to better reflect the emergent nature of the curriculum. MET is in the process of redesigning and renaming the current Maple group "Reflecting on and Moving Forward With the New ELA Curriculum" to "The ELA Place." The new group will be a more interactive space where educators can explore the framework and wraparound supports from multiple entry points. It will evolve over time as teachers shift practice and become more familiar with the new framework and as MET receives feedback from teachers in the field. If you’re already a member of the current group, you’re all set – you won’t need to join anything new. You will receive an invitation from Maple to join the new group and you simply follow the directions provided.  

One exciting part of The ELA Place is the Stories of Practice. This is where educators can go to see the stories of Manitoba teachers enacting the practices and living out this curriculum in their classrooms. In the future, MET hopes to include many "stories of practice" that represent all grade bands and many contexts. If you’ve begun to implement the new curriculum, we at RCGW and MET would love to hear your stories. Get in touch with us!

Finally, RCGW offers its congratulations to former MET ELA and Literacy Consultant Shelley Warkentin, who moved to Seven Oaks School Division earlier this year. We also welcome the new Senior Years ELA and Literacy Consultant Vicky McMahon to her position at MET. We look forward to continuing our longstanding collaboration with MET and to bringing you, our members, the latest information to support your teaching. 

The Reading Council of Greater Winnipeg is excited to announce that past president and long-time board member Cathy-Ann Winters has been appointed as the International Literacy Association (ILA) Provincial Coordinator for Manitoba! 

Cathy-Ann has been a long standing member of the Reading Council of Greater Winnipeg, the Manitoba Reading Association and the International Literacy Association. She has served on the RCGW board as the MYRCA Representative,  President Elect, President, Past President and Journal Editor. Cathy-Ann is a Vice Principal at Dakota Collegiate Institute in the Louis Riel School Division and has recently become a Reading Apprenticeship facilitator, supporting literacy instruction across Manitoba. Cathy-Ann is dedicated to inspiring cultures of collaboration, learning focused relationships and personalized learning. She has been a Classroom Teacher, a Student Services Teacher, a Literacy Itinerant Teacher and an Instructional Support Teacher. Cathy-Ann received her Masters in Educational Administration from the University of Manitoba where her learning focused on instructional leadership and effective school planning. 
​
RCGW's Board of Directors welcomes Cathy-Ann into her new role and looks forward to working closely together over her term.

The following message is from the International Literacy Association. 

This year, the ILA Annual Conference is being held in the fall for the first time, October 10–13 in New Orleans. Registration is still open and that hotel rooms should be booked soon for all planning to attend. For details, please see https://literacyworldwide.org/conference/register-now. A robust lineup of featured literacy research sessions will be offered, including these:

• Research into Practice Institute given by P. David Pearson, Nell Duke, Douglas Fisher, Diane Lapp, Jacquelynn A. Malloy, Barbara A. Marinak, Cynthia Shanahan, Timothy Shanahan, Jennifer Danridge Turner, Denise Johnson, Hallie Yopp Slowik, who will discuss research perspectives on critical issues pertaining to literacy instruction.
• Annual Research Address and Roundtable, to be delivered by Steven Graham, Arizona State University, on The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Instruction, featuring follow-up roundtable discussions led by experts in specific aspects of writing pedagogy and concluding remarks by David Kirkland, New York University
• A Critical Examination of ILA’s Literacy Leadership Briefs, presented by ILA’s Literacy Research Panel and the Reading Hall of Fame.
• Exploring Alternative Views of the Relationship between Research and Practice, led by James Hoffman, University of North Texas, Diane Lapp, San Diego State University, and D. Ray Reutzel, University of Wyoming.
• Panel: What Can We Learn about Language Arts Instruction, led by Douglas Fisher and Diane Lapp, San Diego State University.
• Meet the Researchers Poster Session and a Poster Session by ILA Grant Recipients and the ILA 2019 Timothy & Cynthia Shanahan Outstanding Dissertation Award Winner and Finalists.

Researchers will be also presenting sessions on topics of note for classroom teachers, teacher educators, school administrators, and others. Plus, the editors of The Reading Teacher, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, and Reading Research Quarterly will be hosting Meet the Editors sessions to answer questions about the submission process for prospective authors.

So, if you haven’t registered yet, now’s the time to make sure you don’t miss out on this outstanding opportunity. Don't delay - register today! 

We want you! The Reading Council of Greater Winnipeg (RCGW) seeks to recruit dedicated teachers to volunteer on its Board of Directors. 

Dedicated to the promotion of literacy and the development of lifelong readers, RCGW has been a leader since 1956. We are a supportive group of new and experienced teachers from K-12. Joining the board broadens your network and strengthens your leadership skills. We are looking to recruit volunteers for the following roles.

• Vice President – Assist with planning our three annual programs and have a say in the "big names" we bring to the province. Prepare to become the next President of RCGW.
• Membership Director – Promote membership and maintain the membership list by working with MTS. Create a membership display for use at our events. 
• Manitoba Reading Association (MRA) Representative – Represent RCGW at MRA Saturday half-day meetings every few months to learn about literacy initiatives in the province.

In addition to our monthly board meetings, each position generally involves two to three hours of independent and collaborative work every month.

Finally, if you're not sure about any of these positions, we invite you to attend a meeting to learn what we're about. Please contact Jon Sorokowski if you have questions or if you'd like to join. 

We can't wait to see you!

As Regie Routman writes in Reading Essentials, “Research tell us that children who do not read regularly throughout the summer months lose approximately three months of reading growth, while those who do read during the summer continue to make gains. In order to stem this cumulative loss of years over a school career, we must make getting books into children’s hands through the summer a whole-school priority" (p. 80). 

With this in mind, a small group of invested educators from St. James-Assiniboia School Division set out to make this a reality for 12 lucky students who have inconsistent or unlikely access to books over the summer months. Six target schools selected two students to enjoy a book shopping excursion to Chapters Polo Park. Each child was invited to come and spend $40-$45 on personally engaging, self-selected books.

From the moment they entered through the doors, they were captivated. For some, it was the first time they had ever stepped foot into a bookstore. Many could hardly wait to start roaming the aisles, and were amazed at the choices that were available to them. Some students searched for books by their favourite authors; others looked for titles from popular series they had heard of or by preferred subject areas. All were challenged to limit themselves to the available budget and needed some adult support to help them make their final decisions. Once their final choices were made, the students enjoyed a few quiet moments in a sunny corner of the store to savour their new finds.

At the end of the shopping experience, the students openly shared their enthusiasm:

• “This book has all my favourite Piggy and Elephant books in it.”
• “I’m going to let my brother read these too, once I’m done.”
• “It’s awesome. It’s not awesome, it’s fantastic!”
• “Ok. I think I love it here.”

The grant money provided through the Reading Council of Greater Winnipeg enabled these twelve students to select books that they will read over the summer months. Perhaps more important than this, however, is the possibility that these students will remember the joy of the day and choose to return to a book store in the future in order to experience this same feeling another time.

The Reading Council of Greater Winnipeg and the Manitoba Reading Association proudly awarded deserving literacy leaders from around Manitoba with awards and scholarships at their annual Awards Celebration Evening.

Held May 30, 2019, at the beautiful Niakwa Golf Club, the celebration honoured Leslie Dent-Scarcello, who was awarded the Certificate of Merit. Colette Dufault was awarded an RCGW Honourary Membership. Colleen Chau and Sarah Elhatton received RCGW's Anniversary Scholarships. Carol Hryniuk-Adamov, RCGW Past President and ILA Past Provincial Co-ordinator (among many other titles), was awarded the Connie L. Dziedzic Memorial Life Membership.  

Congratulations to all the award winners!