Food and information shared at second language potluck

Families of students from Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School and Meneley and Scarselli elementary schools shared food and information at the fifth annual English as a Second Language information fair and potluck in the Meneley commons Thursday night.

"This is a nice opportunity to socialize and to have access to public services like WNCC, the library, Partnership of Community Resources, Nevada Hispanic Services, Family Support Council and parks and recreation," said Scarselli ESL teacher Karen Ferrare.

The food table was filled with tamales, casseroles, salads, lasagna, chile rellenos, quiche, taquitos, tostadas, vegetables, chips and salsa, pies and cakes.

Esperanza Ramos, a 7-year-old from Scarselli, said the chicken tamales she had were good. She and her sister Alejandra, 4, were drawing turkeys and flowers on the table. Their mother Maria Ramos thought the potluck was a good way for parents to get together.

"Here is mostly family," Maria Ramos said. "The teachers sent out invitations in Pee-chees so we decided to come."

At the Douglas County Parks & Recreation booth, Gaby Vazquez and Anne Ward were letting people know about activities for children through adults. The winter/spring guide will be coming out soon. Things to do include Kids Club, tumbling, youth basketball leagues and Renaissance swordmanship.

Part of Luis Pierrott's job as Western Nevada Community College's tech prep coordinator is to talk to juniors and seniors to let them know they can start taking college courses while they are still in high school.

"I tell them they have to earn a B or better for the program," said Pierrott. "We need to start recruiting more Hispanics to go to college."

WNCC also offers free English as a Second Language and GED classes. The ESL class begins Jan. 9. For more information, call (775) 445-4451.

Support services librarian Luise Davis from Douglas County Public Library brought Spanish language books, video and CD-ROM English courses and the learning system Leap Frog to the information fair.

"A lot of parents showed an interest in the LeapPad interactive book for their kids," said Davis. "You can choose between six languages to use and it can be checked out from the library for three weeks just like books, a big selling point."

Davis also brought applications for library cards, a GED guide in Spanish and Dan Brown's "Codigo Da Vinci."

"We want to let people know just how much the library has to offer," she said. "In Mexico this wouldn't be free and it's a hard thing to get across. We have some things available in Spanish at the library and we're expanding a bit more."

The purpose of Nevada Hispanic Services is to inform and refer Hispanic people to existing agencies and to help them with interpretation.

"We work with immigration and have lawyers that come in," said Katy Stolt of the non-profit group. "We have resources to solve problems."

-- Servicios Hispanos de Nevada en Carson City

637 S. Stewart #B, Carson City, NV 89701

(775) 885-1055

-- Partnership of Community Resources

Servicios en Español

9 a.m. hasta las 3 p.m., Martes y Jueves

Neyzer Torres, (775) 901-1781

-- Douglas County Public Library

1625 Library Lane, Minden

782-9841

-- Douglas County Parks & Recreation Department

Lampe Park, Gardnerville

www.dcparks-recreation.co.douglas.nv.us

782-9828

-- Family Support Council

1255 Waterloo Lane, Suite A, Gardnerville

www.family-support.org

782-8692

-- Aprenda Inglés gratis (Learn English for free)

Clases de Inglés Como Segunda Idioma en Carson City

ESL orientacion y registracion, Western Nevada Community College

Para poder atender las clases de Inglés, necesita venir a la oficina (Edificio Bristlecone #340) en una de las fechas o horas anotadas abajo. Planee permanecer en el colegio por tres horas durante este tiempo. Solo su presencia es necesario, no necesita ningun requistio. Lo esperamos con gusto para ayudarle a empezar y mejorar su habilidad en su Inglés. Las clases comienzan el 9 de Enero. Para mas informacion llamen al (775) 445-4451.