Danielle Pelletier Leads Statewide Effort to Teach English in the Workplace

Danielle Pelletier, ESL instructor, has been named coordinator for the Teaching English in the Workplace for the California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (CATESOL). Pelletier has been serving in her new role since last spring.

"The primary initiatives of the CATESOL Teaching English in the Workplace Interest Group is to make sure that there is representation for those California ESL (English as a Second Language) teachers who teach English in the workplace," Pelletier said. "This group is comprised of teachers who teach workers at all levels. This could mean teaching basic English to hotel employees or teaching presentation skills to an executive at a bio-pharmaceutical company."

As the coordinator, Pelletier's primary responsibilities are to recruit, maintain, and develop membership so the group has proper representation. She also works with the members to organize professional workshops in all parts of California. "The workshops are designed to help our members continue with professional development between CATESOL conferences."

Whereas most schools are cutting back on ESL teachers, companies throughout California are realizing the value of having their employees feel confident about speaking English and understanding the U.S. culture of business, Pelletier said. "The TEW (Teaching English in the Workforce) group is fortunate to be in a field that is continually growing and I feel fortunate to be coordinating this group," she said.

Pelletier has also been named President of English League, a Translations and Workforce Language Training company. The company started in 1995 in Boston and moved to the Bay Area in 2002. Pelletier has been with English League since 2000 as a Senior ESL Instructor and Program Director, teaching in companies such as Bose in Boston and Genentech in the Bay Area. "I'm happy to be at the helm- a new adventure for me - and will continue to provide our customized English classes to international professionals all over Silicon Valley and the Bay Area," she said. “It’s also exciting to be working with organizations in this global economy, providing translations services.  It’s a great new world!”

 

Renovation Begins on the Campus Tennis Courts

Cañada College is renovating its tennis courts, work that will continue through December.

The college is removing and replacing the tennis court parking lots, installing a modular restroom, security cameras, and parking lot lighting. The initial work will be begin with trenching from the campus road outside of the tennis courts uphill to tie into the sanitary sewer outside of the Cañada Vista Housing.

Students, staff, faculty, and visitors should expect the immediate closure of the right hand lane of traffic on the Campus Loop Road.

 

Beatles Tribute Band to Headline Arts & Olive Festival Sunday, Oct. 7

The annual Arts & Olive Festival, the largest student scholarship fundraiser at the college, will take place Sunday, Oct. 7 from 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $5 with all proceeds going to the student scholarship fund while parking is free.

The Arts & Olive Festival at Cañada College began in 1998 as part of Cañada’s 30 year anniversary celebration to benefit student scholarships. The festival has since grown to be one of the largest scholarship fundraisers of the year providing much needed financial assistance to students. The celebration brings together more than 80 vendors consisting of some of the olive industry’s top experts to provide the community with olive education, olive and olive oil tasting, olive related products, and an abundance of quality art works and gifts.

The Sun Kings, the Bay Area's top Beatles tribute band, will headline the main stage, playing two sets beginning at 2:30 p.m. The band has a repertoire of more than 150 Beatles songs and wins over fans with their driving energy, joy, and vitality that recall the earliest Beatles shows.

There are plenty of kids activities including a puppet show, face painting, and balloons. All kids activities are free and will be held in the bottom floor of Building 9 on the north side of the building. The schedule includes:

• Arts, Crafts & Face Painting - 10 am to 5 pm
• Aladdin Puppet Show by Fratello Marionettes - 12:30 to 1 pm
• Storytelling by Armando Ramirez of the Redwood City Library - 2 to 3 pm
• Aladdin Puppet Show by Fratello Marionettes - 3:30 to 4 pm

For more information, go to www.olivefest.org.

There will be a live olive curing demonstration by Don Landis at 1 p.m. in the North end of the Upper Plaza. He'll talk about the history of the olive in California and give a thorough description of how to de-bitter olives with no lye. All through the day, Don will be at a booth with Olive Oyl talking olives, sharing olives, cheese and crackers and olive tapenade. There will also be a discussion of the olive fruit fly, control products, and a description of how to battle the olive fruit fly. 


An interior design sale will be held in Building 13, room 17 from 10 a.m. to p.m. Fabric, accessories and showroom designer items will be available for sale at greatly reduced prices.

Music & Dance Entertainment, Outdoor Amphitheater

11:30 to   12:00 p.m. - Zambalita Middle Eastern Dance Company
http://www.zambalita.com/index.html

12:20 to   1:30 p.m. -  Terry Hiatt and the Big Science Band -  "gumbo fusion"
http://www.terryhiattguitars.com/

 1:40 to  2:10 p.m. - Samba Mundial Brazilian Dance Troupe
http://www.musicishealing.com/sambao/about.htm

2:30 to  5:00 p.m. – The Sun Kings (premiere Beatles tribute group; two sets!)
http://www.thesunkings.com/