Taste of Columbus Entertainment

This year, as you walk around and indulge in the delectable food and drink offerings that local restaurants and beverage dispensers have to offer, try your luck at answering some trivia questions.

With three tables to choose from, you’ll get a better understanding of who attends classes and what students at the Platte Valley Literacy Association are studying—and hopefully learn something new.

Think you have what it takes to answer questions from the citizenship test? Find out!

How well do you know world geography? Test your knowledge and learn more about the countries PVLA students are from.

Do you have any foreign language skills? See how many Spanish or French words you know!

While the trivia is entertaining and fun in itself, you also have the chance of winning prizes. By getting correct answers, you’ll earn tickets that are placed in a container and drawn later in the evening. The more you play, the more tickets you earn, and the more chances you have of winning.

Some of the prizes you can win include the following:

A Relaxation Basket donated by Colegrove Counseling. Includes a blanket, scented lotions, a journal, stress ball, and other items.

A Mushroom Plushie donated by Vanessa Adame.

Various peacock feather arrangements donated by Duane Matson.

Put your knowledge to the test, learn something new, and have some fun by playing trivia games specific to the PVLA!

We hope to see you there!

The Start of Family Learning

Photo by August de Richelieu: https://www.pexels.com/photo/mother-helping-her-daughter-use-a-laptop-4260325/

Here at the PVLA, we are always looking for ways to better serve our students and the community at large. As you may know, we work in partnership with Central Community College Adult Education to ensure that we have the necessary resources to reach more individuals within the community and provide them with what they need to be successful.

When I first came on as the executive director, I asked the Adult Education coordinator what are some ways the PVLA and CCC could better serve the community. Her answer was that she wanted to start a Family Learning class.

What Is Family Learning?

One of the things that we noticed is that many of the non-English-speaking individuals in the area don’t feel like members of the community or that they can be fully engaged with their children’s education or other activities because they don’t understand what’s going on.

We wanted to change that.

We wanted to offer a way for individuals to learn the English language and be involved with their child’s education—and that’s where Family Learning comes into play.

By implementing Family Learning in Columbus, our hope is to equip adults with the necessary skills to be involved with their children in every aspect of their life with confidence. Making parents accountable to themselves and their children gives them the incentive and desire to gain new knowledge to be successful in life.

Not only does classroom instruction help with knowledge gain, but by having parents involved, this also promotes academic achievement and builds stronger relationships. When parents have a better understanding of what their children are learning, they can be supportive and encouraging—and this can motivate parents to pursue their dreams as well.

Family success starts at the top, and providing adults with the skills and knowledge they need to apply for and obtain better paying jobs is essential. Giving them the confidence to be involved with their child’s education and activities and as members of the community is mutually beneficial. Once parents and caregivers have a stable foundation, they can then offer support and guidance to their families.

What Does Family Learning Look Like?

The adult students attend a total of 6 hours of classes per week, two days per week. Forty-five minutes to one hour of that time is spent with their child in the classroom, then they go to their own ESL class.

We have partnered with a local elementary school that offers an ELL program, and they allow parents into their child’s classroom and provide a space for the adults to attend their own ESL classes.

What Are the Hopes for the Program?

We can’t tell you how incredibly excited we are about starting the Family Learning program. Not only do we want our students to be successful while learning the English language, but we also want them to feel like valuable members of the community.

To be able to attend this class, you have to be invited. If you'd like more information, please reach out and ask!  

We may be starting out small, but the hope is that we can grow and expand the program to impact as many individuals and their families as possible. The PVLA’s mission is to empower students to reach their education goals, and Family Learning is another opportunity for them to do that.

What Makes Raffles Fun?

Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash

At some point in your life, you’ve probably participated in a raffle. When the time came to draw the winning name or number, you more than likely held your breath as you waited to find out if you won.

If you did, you most likely squealed with excitement.

If you didn’t, you probably still had some fun.

Not only that, but by participating in the raffle, you were helping out a worthy cause.

Games of Chance that Are Beneficial

Raffles are games of chance, and your chances of winning depend on how many names are in the drawing and how many prizes can be won. Raffles can be found in a variety of places, but more often than not, they are used as a way to raise funds for a specific cause—a sports team, a nonprofit, whatever.

What makes a raffle fun is the fact that not only can you win a great prize, but you also have the opportunity to support an organization that is important to you. You may not win the item, but you’ll still get a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing you helped someone out.

Speaking of raffles and fun, did you know that we are currently selling tickets for a raffle? Click this link to buy tickets for a chance to win a Maker’s Mark griddle (with accessories) and a Solo smokeless firepit. From morning to night, you’ll have the outdoor items that will make your backyard THE place to be.

 

In addition, you get to support a great cause. Whether your name gets drawn or not, you’re still a winner because you’re helping out the PVLA.