Another year has come
to a close with our final day of classes on Friday, May 7th,
but
registration for 2020-2012 is right around the corner, starting in
August. The
board is planning for these target dates for registration: July 1st
for posting updates to classes and schedule, and August 1st
for
opening of online registration to begin. Look for more information on
how and
when to sign up for classes coming soon on the website and in future
newsletters.
Annual Membership
Meeting
Our Annual Business
Meeting was held on April 23rd, and more
than 50 La
Causerie members attended. Thanks for the great turnout!
Dalene Bradford
presented the Club Progress Report. La Causerie offered 19
classes this
year, a record number. We added a new class called French 1A,
reinstated
an Italian III Conversation class (that had been dropped the year
before) and
expanded Spanish I to an hour and a half. We added four new
teachers to
our faculty and rented additional space from the church, providing
additional
space for classes. And we had 207 active paid members, an all-time
high.
While at least two cultural programs were offered in each language,
this area
needs some improvement (and volunteer assistance).
Treasurer Inez
Pennington presented year-end financials. We are expected to end this
fiscal
year in the black by around $2,900, which is very close to the amount
we lost last
year, so this nets out to zero. With approximately $6,000 left in
expenses
between now and the end of May, our Operating Reserve is expected to
end up
near $27,000.
Dalene paid tribute to
outgoing board members Judith Walter, Joan Daniel, Carol Cowden, Jeff
Piehler,
Anita Toby Grow and thanked Amanda Hassett who has taken on additional
duties
this year.
We owe a huge THANK YOU
to outgoing President Dalene Bradford, who graciously accepted the job
two
years ago and has guided us through a period of growth and change.
Officers for the
2010-2011 Board of Directors were elected (see list at bottom). Our new
President is Martha Hogerty. Martha is a Spanish student and has been a
member
of
La Causerie since 2007.
Other board members are Joan Adam, Gail Clair, and Monaem Elhawari.
The Used Book Sale was
held before and after the Annual Meeting.
This Spring Fête
many
members brought fabulous treats to share. Doug Eikermann and his
classes
brought Spanish delicacies, and Barbara Shaw and Shannon
Tumanut shared
information on French traditions for this time of year.
Summer Luncheon
Stay tuned for summer
luncheon plans.
Shop Amazon.com and
Support La Causerie
Remember that if you
shop Amazon.com by starting with any of our Amazon.com links at
www.lacauserie.org,
we make some money on your purchase. It doesn’t cost you extra.
It’s a special arrangement Amazon.com offers to nonprofit
organizations.
This applies to anything you buy through Amazon, not just books.
May
7
LAST
DAY OF CLASSES
TBA
SUMMER
LUNCHEON
August
1
Online
Registration begins
August
31 Last
Day of Pre-enrollment
?
Enrollment
Party and Orientation for 2010-2011
September
24 CLASSES
BEGIN
Spanish
Opportunity for Summer Learning
A
conversation group for learners of Spanish is starting at the West
Branch of
the KCK Public Library. The convener is Marina Vildoso, a native
of
Bolivia, who presented a noon program at La Causerie in
January. The first
meeting will be May 14 at 2:00 at the West Branch Library, 1737 North
82nd
Street, KCK, 66112. All levels of experience in Spanish are
welcome to
come together to practice. Further meetings will be determined by
the
group.
French Language Practice
TV5 is a
French-language network, broadcasting commercial-free programming in
the US,
including subtitled films, news, sports, and documentaries. They also
offer a lot
of free educational programming online at www.tv5.org.
There
are many types of televised programs available free on your computer
(news,
weather, sports, blogs, music, etc). Because this station has an
educational focus (like PBS), you can find related lessons, worksheets
and
practice exercises. One new program called “7 jours sur la
planète”
just added a free i-Phone or i-Pad Touch application. It is available
free on
the I-tunes store and offers weekly downloads of games to practice
vocabulary
(as well as the news program).
The
television channel called TV5 is available from many cable providers
(for an
extra fee, usually $15 month). While many programs are offered
completely
in French, subtitles are provided for movies and some evening
programming
(including the weekend news program “7 jours sur la
planète”). Call your cable provider to see if TV5 is
available (it
is channel 177 on TimeWarner in Missouri).
Executive Board
Members 2009-2010
President
Martha Hogerty
1st Vice
President (Membership Chair) Inez Pennington
2nd Vice President (Social Chair) Joan Adam
Secretary
Gail Clair
Assistant Secretary
(Newsletter) Judy
Pearlstein
Treasurer
Monaem Elhawari
Assistant Treasurer
(Textbook Chair) Dalene Bradford