Monday and Tuesday May 17 and 18

A very resourceful Level 3 student named Amparo Medina Pina has started
a club. The club has already taken a trip to the Asian Art Museum on 5/2, and Amparo has many
great ideas for other free field trips.

Meetings in May in room 107 and 108: MW and TR 12:30-2:00
Meetings in June and July in nearby location: MW, TR, Friday and
Saturday 10:00-12:00 and 12:00-2:00
Students and teachers can contact Amparo at this email:
clubenglishconversation@yahoo.com

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Thanks for a Dream Fulfilled

Francisco Ramos, originally from El Salvador, says his hardest task here in the U.S. has been finding a job. He writes this about his experience:

I was a regular student in San Bruno Adult School. I remember when I talked with Teacher Jay about my task, about how I was looking for a job and a few days later he gave me the information about another class at San Mateo Adult School - "Job Search/Resume Writing." He put me in touch with teacher Martin Doener, who is in charge of that class and Martin helped me to write a Personal Resume, a Cover Letter, like it is used in the USA. He taught me how to use the different web pages for looking for a job and how to practice some personal interviews with the most useful questions in the real market. After all these things, I am right now an employee, and I am very thankful for the Adult School, because when I was desperate, without any options, in the Adult School of San Mateo I found hope. Thanks to everyone who´s helped me to make my American dream come true.
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Thanks At Every Stage

Gabriela Castro is also writing to show her appreciation and concern for the Adult School.

To whom it may concern:

I wrote this letter because other students and I are worried because we are going to have less support from you. This is really sad because through the Adult School we learn English.

For me, the Adult School is helpful. It has been around me in different stages of my life. For example: teaching me basic English wwith which I found a job. When I had the job in the morning, I was still going to school at night time. Now I have two children and I found a perfect program for me - Distance Learning. This is a program to do your lessons and homework in your own time. And the Adult School is helping me with my children. I cannot pay for pre-school becasue it is really expensive but I was looking for some activities for my kids to help them to learn and then the Adult Schol has this program - Play As Learning. This program helps with differnt skills like socializiation, communication, follow the instructions, colors, vocabulary, and more.

Withouit this help, I am sure that I could not have the life I am having now, becasue to go to college or pay for pre-school are so expensive that I can't pay it.

So I want to say thank you for helping us but we still need your support becasue education is importatnt to have a better job, family, communities and my world for sure is going to be better. Just please continue with the support becasue we need it. Thanks.

Gabriela Castro
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A Letter of Thanks

Red Letter Day is coming - our chance to speak up and tell the State Legislature how the Adult School helps the community.

ESL student Barbara Brehovska writes:

Hi,

My name is Barbora Brehovska. I am from the Czech Republic and now I am a student of the Adult School in San Mateo.

The Adult School is very important for me. The school helps me to understand and speak in English better. Also, the school helps me to be a good parent too.
I can help my daughter with her homework, I can be a volunteer at daughter's school, I can read to her. We can go to the Public Library. It is very good for me and for my family.

I really appreciate this possibility - to study English at the Adult School.

Barbora Brehovska
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Motivation and Support

A San Mateo Adult School ESL class is where Marita Marquez-Muzzi found the motivation and support she needed to succeed.

Seventeen years ago, she came here from Cordoba, Argentina. Initially, she felt ignorant and frustrated, unable to make friends and express her love of life and people the same way she could in Spanish. Communication and connection are important to Marita. Not being able to reach out to others as a friend in English troubled her.

Lack of English created other challenges: shopping, healthcare, banking, and so many other things are much harder to deal with when you can't do deal with them in English. Her sisters helped her and she was grateful but she wanted to do these these things for herself.

The solution to her problems was an ESL class at the San Mateo Adult School Foster City campus. There she gained not just English but the courage to continue her studies all the way to college.

According to Marita, she still has a "looong" way to go, but according to her friends and teachers, she has come a "looong" way, as well. She speaks English beautifully, makes friends everywhere she goes, and brings cheer and comfort to the residents of the Millbrae Magnolia, where she works managing Emma's Sweet Shop.

All these things were made possible by her own strong spirit - and classes at the San Mateo Adult School.
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