Each year the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) encourages readers of all ages to read classic literature by notable authors through The Big Read initiative. With over 77 communities across the nation participating, the Poughkeepsie Adriance Library is working hard to improve outreach efforts at a grass-roots level and encourage individuals and families to share in life-long learning. This year’s featured author is Dashiell Hammett and his literary work, The Maltese Falcon.
The Dutchess BOCES Adult Learning Institute (ALI) has collaborated with the Adriance library on this literary campaign. Approximately 120 Adult Literacy students participated this year. With copies of the book provided by NEA, adult learners read The Maltese Falcon and focused on creating their own detective and mystery writing pieces, and studied plot elements of what makes a suspense thriller a great piece of literature. Teachers also incorporated literary and historical aspects of the book in their GED® program.
Rockland BOCES Adult Education program hosts flu vaccination drill
Asma Nawaz of Congers, an ESOL student, gets her first-ever flu shot.
Rockland BOCES Adult Education students and staff got a lesson in emergency preparedness — and a free flu shot, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012, during a drill conducted by the Rockland County Department of Health and Nyack Hospital at the BOCES Educational Resource Center (BERC) in Nyack.
Adult Education Supervisor Al Moschetti said that hosting the drill was a way to address prevention for a population that typically lacks health care.
“You get the flu, you can’t attend school. You come to school, you infect others,” he explained. “So we really are talking about health education, which is part of our mission.”
So Thursday morning, students who had preregistered formed a line as emergency workers prepared their stations. When the drill began, the room became a flurry of activity — sleeves rolled up, shots administered, and calls of “another one over here!”