New Americans Welcome Center

pg 3 pg 4 EMBRACING CULTURE STUDENT’S STORY

CHINATOWN

ASK YOUR NAWC

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EVENT HIGHLIGHTS — CHERRY BLOSSOM ON ROOSEVELT ISLAND

On April 25, we visited the Roosevelt Island to

appreciate cherry blossom. Our students had an outdoor history

lesson. Everyone enjoyed the trip!

“In learning you will

teach, and in teaching

you will learn. “

-Phil Collins

Our Beginner class student—ZhenGeng is working at a daycare center in Chinatown placed by NYC Depart-ment for the Aging. ZhenGeng’s hard work in learning English is recognized by the department and they want him to be a model for other senior workers who can't speak English. This makes ZhenGeng more motivated at both his work and our classroom, as he feels his efforts are valued and appreciated. We should all learn from this diligent student. -Jihan, ESL Instructor

ASK YOUR NAWC

Q: What classes do you offer?

A: Currently, we offer Beginner level, Intermediate level, Advanced level, and Workplace ESL classes, Computer literacy class and Citizenship class. However, you can check for a more updated schedule on our website or stop by our office to find out more information!

Q: How much does each class cost?

A: All of our classes are completely FREE !

My greatest challenge as an instructor in entering into the Eng-lish language teaching program at the New Americans Welcome Center / Chinatown YMCA a little more than one year ago was having zero level bilingual skills in Mandarin/Cantonese. Alt-hough I felt fully ready to face this challenge I admit to feeling apprehensive at times as to how best to reach my new students. Jie Ling Chen, my supervisor, and Oi Ying Yuen, the program co-ordinator, have never been less than encouraging and sup-portive of my efforts. I'm grateful that they've always had my back. In one short year, I've grown to be quite fond of my adult education students. Every week I've risen to the challenge of how to maintain their interest and hard work. And I've learned as much from them –– if not more –– about their lives, their cul-tures, their New York experiences as they've learned English from me.

–Noel Shaw, ESL Instructor

The New Americans Initiative at 5 West 63rd Street, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10023 Rachael Rinaldo, Sr. Director rrinaldo@ymcanyc.org Chinatown YMCA NAWC at the Chinatown YMCA Beacon Center 100 Hester Street, New York, NY 10002

Jie Ling Chen, Program Director jchen@ymcanyc.org 212-219-8393

Chloe Yuen, Program Coordinator oyuen@ymcanyc.org 212-219-8393

Staten Island YMCA NAWC at the Staten Island Counseling Center 285 Vanderbilt Ave., SI, NY 10304 Joanne Springstead jspringstead@ymcanyc.org 718-981-4382

Regina Marks, Program Counselor rmarks@ymcanyc.org 718-981-4382, ext. 15

Justina Gibbs, Counselor/Ed. Case Manager jgibbs@ymcanyc.org 718-981-4382 ext. 26 ELESAIR Project at the Flushing YMCA Branch 138-46 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354

Lorna Blancaflor, Program Director lblancaflor@ymcanyc.org 212-875-4345 Flushing YMCA NAWC at the Flushing YMCA Branch 138-46 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11354

Michelle Lam, Program Director mlam@ymcanyc.org 718-551-935

Bronx YMCA NAWC at Glebe Senior Center 2125 Glebe Ave. Bronx NY 10462

Selenie Villar, Program Coordinator svillar@ymcanyc.org 718.829.1564

Danielle Rucker, Program Counselor drucker@ymcanyc.org 718.829.1564

Harlem YMCA NAWC at the Harlem YMCA Branch 180 West 135th St New York, NY 10039

James Anderson, Program Counselor jaanderson@ymcanyc.org 212-690-4024 Prospect Park NAWC at the Prospect Park YMCA Branch 357 9th St., Brooklyn, NY 11215

Nabila Khan, Program Coordinator nkhan@ymcanyc.org 212-912-2375

Alejandro Vilar, Program Counselor avilar@ymcanyc.org 212-912-2378

YMCA New Americans Initiative 5 West 63rd Street; 2nd Floor New York, NY 10023 (212) 875-4336

MORE DELIGHTFUL MOMENTS ...

On our Annual Arts Celebration

this year, we have invited our par-

ticipants to perform the traditional

Chinese dance. We would like to

encourage everyone to show their

talent, express their culture and

enjoy the moments that we all

come together to appreciate each

others!

mailto:rrinaldo@ymcanyc.orgmailto:jchen@ymcanyc.orgmailto:jchen@ymcanyc.orgmailto:rmarks@ymcanyc.orgmailto:lblancaflor@ymcanyc.orgmailto:mlam@ymcanyc.orgmailto:jaanderson@ymcanyc.orgmailto:nkhan@ymcanyc.orgmailto:avilar@ymcanyc.org