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Friday, March 30, 2012

Adults Over 55: Register for Computer Classes Monday, April 2, 2012

Since the year 2000, the Computer Learning Center @ Calendar House Senior Center in Southington, CT has been offering a popular series of computer classes to adults aged 55 and over.

The Computer Learning Center is an all-volunteer group of about 35 people who perform the many tasks of instructing, assisting instructors, coaches, those who design and/or write the course material as well as those who perform the routine administrative, routine clerical, technical and management responsibilities including publicity.

Speaking of publicity, we want our whole community to know that we are now registering adults over 55 in a series of courses which will start on April 16 and run from four to eight weeks until early June.

Registration will be held on Monday, April 2nd from 9:00 to 10:30 am (doors open at 8:30 am) at the Calendar House.

If you are 55 or older, there's a place for you. Or, maybe, you have a parent, family member, friend or neighbor you could tell about this opportunity to get into the world of computers, the Internet, email and so much more.

We offer a range of courses starting with an absolutely FREE four week course we call "Computer Basics for Beginners" and run a series of intermediate and advanced courses beyond that.

The tuition fee for all courses beyond the (free) Computer Basics for Beginners is $25.00 per course. Period. There are no other fees, membership dues or expenses involved in joining our group of about 1,500 who have taken one or more of our courses over the past twelve years.

Link to Computer Learning Center Course Descriptions

Link to Summer Session Schedule of Classes

For more information, or if you cannot make it to the registration on April 2nd, please contact Peter at 860-479-9064 or geekoplex@cox.net or Mark at 860-621-3779 or CalHouse388@gmail.com.

Calendar House is located at 388 Pleasant Street, Southington, CT - directly across from DePaolo Middle School.

Come to the Computer Learning Center, where wisdom meets technology while having fun!

Friday, March 16, 2012

St. Dominic School Focuses on Reaching Students at Deeper Levels

As published in the Southington Citizen, March 16, 2012

"Children are a most precious gift, carrying a message of hope and the continuation of life." These are headline words of "Rainbows," a program added by St. Dominic School which is under the direction of Stacy Marchionni, who has been the school’s Student Counselor since August 2011.

The Rainbows program is based in Chicago where it was founded 29 years ago when it piloted its curriculum in local private schools. Since then, Rainbows states that they have become the nation’s largest not-for-profit organization dedicated solely to helping families cope with loss, and that they have served nearly 2 million youth throughout the U.S. and 17 countries.

A conversation with Principal, Patti Tiezzi and Stacy Marchionni, brought out the fact that when children experience the loss of a parent. grandparent or other close member of the nuclear family, either through death, divorce, disabling illness, etc., they are left with the absence of one of their primary sources of love, trust, even discipline, and orientation. Such a loss can leave a child without an anchor to life itself. It can be that serious. Moreover, it’s difficult for children to put their pain into words. When they attempt to articulate their feelings kids may find parents too burdened by their own grief to effectively help them cope with their feelings. Sometimes children outwardly appearing to be coping are struggling inside with conflicting emotions. The goal of Rainbows is to get out these feelings as one step in learning that their feelings matter and that notwithstanding a loss, they still belong to that family so that they may feel physically and emotionally safe.

The children at St. Dominic are currently placed in two age-appropriate support groups of no more than five. Marchionni reports visible progress in getting the children to express themselves and to develop trust in new relationships as they reach out to each other in a safe place to talk about what is going on. The student counselor’s responsibilities include a range of additional programs directed at the development of individual social and empathy skills .

There’s now in place, a Peer Mediator group of four 5th graders who are trained and under the supervision of the counselor in meeting with students in trying to help them resolve conflicts. Tiezzi pointed out that kids need to learn that the violence they see and experience on TV and in media games is not reality and that such behavior is never appropriate in resolving disagreements in a supportive environment. The school is also preparing 4th graders to assume the responsibility of 5th graders who will be graduating in June.

There’s also a Second Step program that addresses violence, resolution of conflicts through empathetic use of social skills and being a good listener, for example. Children are the center of the universe in their homes but in school they need to grow into healthy members and good citizens in the world they are meeting outside of the home culture.

Tiezzi commented that the school faculty and staff are on board with the counselor and Rainbows and social skills teaching programs. Through their own training and experience they relate to the benefits these curricula provide the students, the school and themselves as teachers.

While the importance of these programs should be self-evident, the strength of them is in the support of principal, faculty, the School Board and parents with the full endorsement of the pastor of St. Dominic. Fr. Ron May, and the fact that Rainbows provides curricula, materials, training, site support, follow up, continuing education and research and evaluation of the entire process.