United for Reading Success

Mary Greiner, United for Reading Success, talked about how the Appleton Area School District has three primary volunteer programs:  United for Reading Success, Math Achievement Partnership and 21st Century After School Program.  The mission of the tutoring programs is to become one of the premier school districts in the nation for engaging the community in academic programs through a well-established volunteer network.  United for Reading Success (UFRS) is a program that helps first graders who are struggling  and need a little extra help. UFRS is in its 18th year.  In 1995, Dr. John Mielke and others took a trip to North Carolina to observe a similar tutoring program.  A committee was formed to discuss how to implement in the Appleton Area School District.  UFRS began in 1996 at Horizons Elementary School and now operates in 15 elementary schools, early October through mid May. The format each day consists of working with a student for 30 minutes on three elements:  read aloud (tutor reads a book to the student), word work (the tutor supports the student in fast recognition of high frequency words) and student reading (student reads book to tutor).  The result is that two thirds of students in the program attain grade level or above reading standard by the end of first grade.  Tutors commit to 1-2 hours 1 day each week.  Currently there are 255 tutors that volunteer for this program but they are looking for more.  Some of the benefits of tutoring programs are that they improve self esteem and confidence; improve student's attitudes toward school; increases mastery of math and reading skills; decreases drop-out rates and truancies; breaks down social barriers and creates new friendships; promotes emotional support and positive role models; improves social skills; and provides companionship with a positive adult role model.  For more information, please contact Mary Greiner at volunteerservices@aasd.k12.wi.us

Courtesy Awards

Courtesy Awards are given for service above and beyond and for those who went the "extra mile" for the Rotarian.  Nomination forms can be found online at www.appletonrotary.org.  The nomination deadline is Friday, January 24, 2014 and awards will be presented at our Tuesday, March 4th meeting.  While you are out shopping, take notice of those providing you with exceptional service.

 

HOLDAY CELEBRATION

The holiday season is here and it is time once again for the annual Rotary Holiday luncheon hosted by the Family of Rotary Committee.  This year’s event will be held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel on Tuesday, December 17 from 11:30 to 1:15 P.M.  Entertainment will be provided by the Fox Valley Symphony.  Please sign up at the registration table so we have an accurate count of Rotarians and guests.  There will be a $12.00 charge for guests and “attendance not required” members. 

As is our holiday tradition, we will again collect cash donations and items for those in our community who are less fortunate.  This year’s charitable recipient is COTS, whose mission is Ending Homelessness in the Fox Valley.  COTS is a transitional homeless shelter in Appleton that focuses on addressing the root causes of homelessness.  The COTS Program helps 70 men, women and children experiencing homelessness transform their lives.   Donations of cash and goods will be collected at the Holiday Lunch.  A “Wish List” of items will be provided.

ROTARY FRIENDSHIP COMMITTEE

The mission of the Rotary Friendship Committee is to develop services and relationships within our club to help develop the third principle of the Rotary Four-Way test: “Will it build goodwill and better friendships?”  Their goal is to build better friendships by serving our members in three areas: Illness and Bereavement, Transportation and Hospitality.

• Illness and Bereavement- Rotary to Rotarian connection to those who are incapacitated, seriously ill at home or in a care facility, or any member that is hospitalized or suffering a loss. To generate awareness a quarterly announcement will be made to general membership, as well as a reminder in the Gusto. The Club Administrator will advise the subcommittee about any Rotarian that is dealing with health issues or suffering a loss. In the case of a death the subcommittee will determine the best person to make the announcement to the general membership and determine Rotary representation at the service, etc.
• Hospitality: Invite spouses of former or recently inactive Rotarians to 2 meetings each year to maintain contact and friendships. Will maintain a current listing of spouses, determine who may have an ongoing relationship with the spouse and annually send a “friendship” letter.
• Transportation: Primary purpose will be to provide a ride to and from our Rotary meetings. Maintain a roster of members who will be willing to provide transportation. Maintain a listing of members that need transportation to and from meetings. A member of the transportation committee will be designated to be the contact person.

"Thank you Rotarians for living our motto "Service Above Self" by volunteering to be a driver for our Rotarians in need of transportation.  There were 28 volunteers signing up (and everyone did it correctly!) which covered all four quadrants.  We could use a couple more volunteers who live or work in the North West quadrant (north of College Ave, west of Richmond St).  Many thanks from the Friendship Committee."

VISION AND LEARNING BEYOND 20/20

Linda Dejmek, Developmental Optometrist at ABSee Vision Therapy Center, discussed how about 10 million children under the age of 12 have vision problems which make it hard to cope with school and home.  About 20% of all students have vision problems affecting reading and learning. Sight is the ability to see, to look at an object and have it in focus.  Vision is the ability to understand what is seen.  It is how we form our perception of the world and what is happening around us.  There are a number of developmental vision problems such as eye tracking, eye teaming/coordination, eye focusing, processing peripheral and central vision, crossed or wandering eye, lazy eye and eye/hand coordination.  Sometimes children who have trouble in school have undetected vision problems.  Some of the symptoms of vision problems include complaints of headaches, burning eyes, nausea, words moving on a page, double vision, short attention and easily fatigued; low reading comprehension (skips or omits words, loses place, confuses words, moves head and needs finger to keep place reading); and writing difficulties (writes up or downhill, words poorly spaced or crooked and confuses right and left). 

Visual skills are important for learning.  Eye tracking includes fixation and pursuits.  Fixation is the ability to point the eyes at a target and voluntarily keep them on the target.  Without the ability to fixate, a child can become easily distracted and have a hard time concentrating.  Pursuits is the ability to smoothly and accurately move the eyes while following or locating an object.  Eye focusing is the ability to focus the eyes to see up close, change focus from distance to near and maintain clear focus for an extended period of time.  If a child is unable to focus, they may be unable to concentrate on reading for a long period of time, show frustration/anger and want to quit or give up.  Eye teaming is the ability of both eyes to align and work together.  Someone who has difficulty with eye teaming may cover one eye, have difficulty completing assignments, experience headaches and double vision and tilts the head.  Binocular dysfunction is an eye coordination problem where the eyes drift outward when reading.  When reading our eyes turn inward and must point at the same on the page.  When the eyes don't line up, it causes problems reading.  There are two pathways for vision and when we can't use both systems, we sometimes develop tunnel vision.  Visual perception includes visual discrimination (ability to discriminate similarities and differences), visual spatial relationships (determine correct direction and spacing of objects) and visual memory (remember the characteristics of a given form).  To determine if a child has vision problems, a COVP Quality of Life Questionnaire is conducted.  If the child scores a 20 or more, they would benefit from an evaluation of their function skills.  Vision therapy may then be conducted 1 hour per week with 1/2 hour of additional practice at home for 16-24 weeks. Vision therapy includes training in eye movement, eye focusing, spatial awareness, visual perceptional skills and eye teaming to train the brain to redirect vision.  Once the therapy is completed, children can add numbers, spell words forward and backwards and have improved eye movement and tracking to enhance learning. 

Rotary Shines

Rotary Shines will be held Friday, April 11 at the OuterEdge.  This year, we will have a cork pull where you can pull a cork to win a bottle of wine.  Next week, we will be selling boxes of Wilmar's chocolates for $20 per box.  You can sign up purchase a box and the money will be collected upon delivery - December 3. 

World Service Grant Applications

The World Service Committee is charged with initiating, investigating, planning, coordinating and implementing new and existing opportunities for our club's international service activities.  The goal of the committee is to help our club serve on an international basis, which will allow us to promote peace and goodwill among all people.  The committee is accepting grant applications that focus on water/sanitation and economic sustainability through female literacy that will come from the proceeds of Rotary Shines. It would also be beneficial to have Rotary involvement in another country, personal involvement and the ability to monitor/report on the progress of the project.  Applications can be found on our website (www.appletonrotary.org) or contact Jeff Werner or Kathy Dreyer.

Holiday Celebration

The holiday season is here and it is time once again for the annual Rotary Holiday luncheon hosted by the Family of Rotary Committee.  This year’s event will be held at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel on Tuesday, December 17 from 11:30 to 1:15 P.M.  Entertainment will be provided by the Fox Valley Symphony.  Please sign up at the registration table so we have an accurate count of Rotarians and guests.  There will be a $12.00 charge for guests and “attendance not required” members. 

 

As is our holiday tradition, we will again collect cash donations and items for those in our community who are less fortunate.  This year’s charitable recipient is COTS, whose mission is Ending Homelessness in the Fox Valley.  COTS is a transitional homeless shelter in Appleton that focuses on addressing the root causes of homelessness.  The COTS Program helps 70 men, women and children experiencing homelessness transform their lives.   Donations of cash and goods will be collected at the Holiday Lunch.  A “Wish List” of items will be provided.

The Rotary Foundation Matching Program

This year, our club will match a donation of at least $100 up to $500 to The Rotary Foundation until the club’s 10,000 points are used up. Through our club’s program, an individual can receive a Paul Harris Fellow for $500.  If you are so inclined, following are ways you can take advantage of the matching donation program:
'

·        On your birthday, make a donation of at least $100 to The Rotary Foundation.  You will become a Rotary International Foundation sustaining member and your donation will count towards a Paul Harris Fellow.

·        Donate at least $100 to the Every Rotarian, Every Year Program.  All money raised goes to the Annual Programs Fund to support humanitarian and educational programs such as providing safe water, feeding the hungry, eradicating disease, and educating children and adults.  This donation also counts towards a Paul Harris Fellow.

·        Donate $500 and surprise your spouse, significant other, friend, or colleague with a Paul Harris Fellow.  The person you recognize will be acknowledged by The Rotary Foundation as someone who supports programs that make a positive difference in our world.

 

If you have questions, please contact a member of the Rotary International Foundation Committee.  They are:  Tom Boldt, Dick Calder, Steve Rieth, Dave Rothmann, Ram Shet and Val Wylie.

World Service Comittee Grant Application

 

 

The World Service Committee is accepting grant applications for the 2013-2014 Rotary year. For more information and an application, please go to: http://www.focol.org/aprotary/Documents.html

ICE CUBE – FROM THE SOUTH POLE TO THE EDGE OF THE UNIVERSE

Megan Madsen, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) told how WIPAC is a new center in the graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison that is developing new ways to explore the universe.  WIPAC also operates IceCube, a neutrino observatory at the geographic South Pole.  Other South Pole WIPAC projects include DM-Ice that looks for direct evidence for the mysterious dark matter, ARA, a project that will search for the highest energy neutrino and High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC).  The IceCube collaboration consists of 25 scientists from 42 institutions in 12 countries that meet twice a year. IceCube is a telescope/particle detector at the South Pole that records nearly massless sub-atomic particles called neutrinos. IceCube searches for neutrinos that come from the sun, radioactive decay, cosmic rays and from events such as exploding stars and gamma ray bursts.   In addition to exploring the background of neutrinos, IceCube studies the neutrinos themselves. Neutrinos can help us understand where cosmic rays come from and learn more about gamma ray bursts and supernovae.  IceCube is the world's largest neutrino detector, encompassing a cubic kilometer of ice.  The IceCube detector is buried 1 1/2 miles in the ice and consists of strings/cables and 60 sensors.  IceCube records light from changed particles traveling faster than light in the ice:  the time sequence gives direction, the amount of light is proportional to energy and the pattern indicates the neutrino type.  The detector was completed in 2010 with the primary funding provided by the National Science Foundation.  There are logistics to consider when traveling to the South Pole Station. It takes about 4 days to get there traveling on a commercial airline to New Zealand; a military plane to McMurdo Base, a U. S. station on the Antarctic coast; then another military plane to the South Pole.  Work is restricted to November 1 to February 14.  In summary, the universe is immense and mostly unexplored; science and technology enable both to advance; and partners in Wisconsin are at the forefront of these efforts.

Fox Valley Memory Project

Last year, one of the beneficiaries of Rotary Shines was the Fox Valley Memory Project.  On November 19 from 7:00-9:00 p.m. at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, John and Susan McFadden will give an update of the Fox Valley Memory Project:  Creating a Dementia Friendly Community.  Free registration is required at www.cffoxvalley.org/nov19 or call 830-1290.

ROTARY HAPPY HOUR - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5

The next Rotary Happy Hour, sponsored by the Family of Rotary Committee, will be:

The Melting Pot

Tuesday, November 5^th

2295 W. College Ave. in Appleton

5-7 p.m.

Cash Bar / Sampling of Appetizers Provided

As leaves melt from the trees, so we go to The Melting Pot! Bring a spouse, significant other, friend, potential Rotarian – and join us at The Melting Pot as we relax in their guest room reserved for us.  Get to see old friends and meet new ones, and just enjoy camaraderie and conversation.  This is a great way to get to build better friendships – and earn a makeup as well!

ARTS SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT - BRANDON DOSDOS

Marta Weldon, Chair of the Arts Scholarship Committee, explained that the purpose of the Arts Scholarship Fund is to grant arts scholarships to artists who live in the Fox Cities seeking a degree or non-degree related educational experience in his or her field of art.  Applicants must demonstrate ability and a desire to improve upon or enhance that ability be it in a performing, visual or literary form.  The Arts Scholarship Fund is a fund within the Appleton Rotary Foundation and is administered by the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, Inc.

At the age of 2, Brandon Dosdos started playing the violin.  He gravitated to the cello when he was 9 years old.  Brandon has performed at Lawrence Chapel and the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center.  Currently, he is 18 years old studying at U. W. Fox Valley and the Lawrence Conservatory of Music to pursue a degree in music.  One other interesting fact about Brandon is that he was a 2012 RYLA student.  He said it was one of the best camps and it made a positive impact of who he is today.  The skills he learned will help him to pursue his dream job - music professor.   Brandon shared some his talent with us by playing Bach Cello Suite in No. 2 in D minor and Sarabande and Gigue.

Thanks to the Art and Arts Awards Committee for their help in the selection process for the 2012-2013 Rotary year:  Marta Weldon, Lee Allinger, Lane Earns, Paulette Laffin, Karen Laws, Colleen Rortvedt, Steve Savides, Shana Shallue, Phil Sealy, Jan Smith and Susan Stockton.