Dates to Diarise for 2016

Happy New Year to all Parents / Teachers / Therapists!

I hope that the first week back at school has been good and that 2016 is a great year for you and your students.

Read For Africa has started the year running having conducted courses at the French School in the first week of January and then introduced our Whole School Approach to teaching reading to a new School in KZN last week.

Welcome to Al-Falaah College in Durban – our newest member school to join the family!

This year promises to be as action packed as ever and before the term runs away with us I just wanted to send out some  “Dates to Diarise for 2016”.

Our first 1.5 day course starts this month.  Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like specific details. We will also be running our Advanced Workshop this term which is applicable to anyone who has completed their internship or those who are still in the process.

Dates to Diarise for this term …..

USUAL 1.5 DAY COURSE - overview of the programme and how to teach reading and spelling
This course is the first course that any new teacher should attend as it provides the overview of the programme as well as goes through how to teaach reading and spelling from 3 sound words to multi-syllable words. All new teachers at our member schools should automatically attend the course at the first opportunity when they join the school. One course is offered per term.  All attendees who wish to complete the internship will also need to attend the follow up half day course as well.

Member Schools can send their teachers to this course at no charge (membership is due for renewal by the end of January. You should have all received the dates and details for 2016, but please get in touch if you would like to find out the details).

Private Individuals interested in the course – please download the information sheet and registration here

Johannesburg @ The German School (DSJ) in Parktown

Durban North @ ICAN

• Thank you to Ali Smeeton at ICAN who has agreed to provide a venue for one course a term in Durban North. The dates for the rest of the year will be confirmed as soon as possible. ICAN cater for children and adults with special needs and have been instrumental in getting more children and adults with special needs to access the literate world and therefore more skills development programmes and other employment opportunities. Visit them at https://ican-sa.co.za/. ICAN and Corruseal have committed to another year of their support which means that we will be able to continue to provide support and training at Ningizimu Special Needs School in Durban.

Cape Town

Anyone who has attended one of our courses before is also welcome to attend the second half day as a refresher (at no charge) if you would like to get back into the process and either start or complete your internship. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for details.

The assessment/internship (½ day workshop) focuses on how to assess learners which informs where in the programme you start with your teaching. This workshop outlines all the internship milestones and deadlines for those teachers who want to work towards the certification as Phono-Graphix Reading Therapists. The workshop is free for any teacher/therapist at a member school but an individual certification fee will be charged per person who pursues the certification.

READ FOR AFRICA’S ADVANCED WORKSHOP – SOUND TO SYMBOL TO MEANING
This workshop will help you take your learners from sound to symbol to meaning using Phono-Graphix. It’s applicable to teachers who have already achieved their certification as well as those who are in the process of finalising their internship.

Teachers who attend this course will also be able to apply to get permission (as well as a power point template) to give a free talk on Phono-Graphix to colleagues or parents (terms an conditions to be explained in the workshop.)

Additional worksheets and extension activities will be issued.

• The fee for this course is usually R350 per person including additional worksheets, but it is included in the membership fee for member schools who renew their membership for 2016.

Enquire about our other services

• Join RFA online which is our member area which has articles, a few additional resources as well as video clips that you can view – this is free for all teachers at our member schools, otherwise R150 for the year from March 2016 to March 2017 (membership will be activated now) … this includes a listing on our accredited reading therapists page should you have acquired your certification and would like to advertise on our site (To see how your details could be listed, go to : http://readforafrica.com/index.php/therapists
• Additional resources – sound house templates, coded readers, phoneme flippers, colour wall charts (fabric)

Are you starting your internship this month? If you completed your course towards the end of last year and intend starting your internship this month but don’t have access to a learner yet, please contact us if you need assistance …. We can arrange for you to do your internship at our Diepsloot project on Tuesdays. Alternatively we do hear from parents/teachers/therapists from time to time who have ideal candidates who cannot afford private reading therapy and would really benefit from working one-on-one with an intern during the internship.

We currently have a child at Sandhurst Preparatory who lives in the Midrand area, so please get in touch with us if you would like to try and work with this little 8 year old boy and if either of these areas are convenient for you.

PLEASE NOTE: It is never too late to start or re-start your internship.
We know that life happens and that things get in the way which prevent you from meeting the deadlines. We want everyone who has ever been trained in Phono-Graphix to complete their internship and be certified in the method. We want as many accredited people out their teaching Africa to Read and will support you as much as we can. This may involve re-doing one of our courses – which we don’t charge for, however in some cases when over a year has passed, we may charge a “late certification fee” but we do take every situation into consideration.

Important Dates to Diarise for the rest of the year ….

UPCOMING 1.5 DAY WORKSHOPS IN JOHANNESBURG FOR 2016
Presented by Jenny Taylor in Johannesburg

Term 1
Saturday      30 January (Full day) & Saturday 6 February (½ day)

OR

Term 2
Saturday      14 May (Full day) & Saturday 28 May (½ day)

OR

Term 3
Saturday       23 July (Full day) & Saturday 30 July (½ day)

OR

Term 3 (pvt); 4 (govt)
Saturday       5 November (Full day) & Saturday 12 November (½ day)                

Training Times:
Day 1:  9:00am –3:30pm (Registration from 8:30)
* Please provide own packed lunch

Day 2:  9:00am – 1pm   Follow up, Assessment and Internship:

Venue:     DSJ (German School): 11 San Souci Road, Parktown)
Health Professionals gain 11 CEU points for completing this course.

WEEKDAY OPTIONS    Presented by Melanie Smith    Psych Assess in Randburg
Wednesdays    3, 10, 17 Feb 2015 (8:30 to 12:30 over 3 weeks – 1½ days in total)
Wednesdays    1, 8, 22 June 2015 (8:30 to 12:30 over 3 weeks – 1½ days in total)
Wednesday     2, 9, 16 Nov 2015 (8:30 to 12:30 over 3 weeks – 1½ days in total)

Training Times:    3 consecutive Wednesday from 8:30am - 12:30
Venue:             Psych Assess, Valley Road, Bordeaux, Randburg

Health Professionals gain 11 CEU points for completing this course.

Thank you to Melanie Smith of Psych Assess for her continued support of Read For Africa and for the collaborative work we do. Visit Psych Assess at www.psychassess.co.za to see how you can benefit from the services that they offer which include, but not limited to Educational Assessments, Career Assessments and Reading Therapy in the Randburg Area.

Please go to www.readforafrica.com or email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you would like any additional information.

If you are on Facebook, it would be great if you could like our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/readforafrica and join the Read For Africa group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/166538845748/.

Wishing you all an amazing year as you continue to work towards “finding your 70” whilst helping us teach Africa to Read one learner at a time!

Take Care
Jenny

Jenny Taylor (M.Ed) 

Phono-Graphix Reading Therapist and Trainer.

Read Africa has been providing ABETter solution since 2000.

082 322 0608     011 704 6418