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Saturday Program Closing Ceremony Cancelled!

by SProgram2010.
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Dear all,

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the faculty has cancelled the closing ceremony for this Saturday (May 5th) and will be possibly moving it to a later date (unconfirmed). We apologize for the inconvenience. But we hope you will continue to support our program in the future. We will keep you posted if and when the closing ceremony will take place. Thanks!

Regards,
SP coordinators


Orientation Info for Tutors – 2011/2012

by SProgram2010.
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Program Directors

· Alissa Visram

· Chris Tang

· Maria Jogova

· Himani Sharma

Core Volunteer Director

· Serena Kao

Mandate

The mission of  the Saturday Program is provide tutorint, mentorship and enrichment to Grade 8, 9, and 10 students who have demonstrated  the desire to explore their potential, but who are not achieving their academic goals.

Goals

  • Improve students’  academic performance
  • Increase awareness of post-secondary school opportunities
  • Enhance students’ self confidence
  • Foster enthusiasm for learning

Time Overview

  • January 28- May 5, 2012 with breaks on:
    • February 18 (Family Day)
    • March 10 (March break)
    • March 27 (March break)
    • April 7 (Easter Holidays)
  • 10 weeks total and dates include:

January 28th

March 24th

February 4th

March 31st

February 11th

April 14th

February 25th

April 21st

March 3rd

May 5th

  • Opening Ceremony on January 28, 2012
  • Closing Ceremony on May 5, 2012
  • Both Ceremonies mandatory for both tutors
  • Remaining sessions can be divided between co-tutors

Typical  Day

9:40am – 9:45am

Arrival

9:45am - 11:15am

1-on-1 Tutoring in  MSB

11:15am – 12:00  pm

Workshop or Event

12:00pm – 12:30pm

Free Lunch

The  Opening Ceremony Day  on January 28, 2012

  • 9:30
    • Tutors register and have breakfast
    • Tutors head off to their designated rooms to meet and discuss scheduling
  • 9:45
    • Student registration and breakfast
  • 10:00-11:00
    • Students and tutors meet and get to know each other
    • Learn about what your student needs help in, what their strengths and weaknesses are
    • Exchange contact information for everyone
    • Contract & Goals
    • Tutoring (if student brings homework)
    • Mini-tour – where is my homeroom
  • 11:15 – 12:00
    • Opening Ceremony in MSB3153 – Tutors and students
  • 12:15
    • Free lunch is served in MSB 3154

Tutoring

  • 2 tutors from different disciplines are paired with a single high school student
  • Co-tutors share responsibility for tutoring and mentoring their student for the duration of the program
  • You will meet your co-tutor and your tutee on the first day
    • It is YOUR responsibility to set your tutoring schedule with your co-tutor
  • Each session  runs from 9:45am to 1pm
  • Tutors STAY to help out with workshops/accompany their student and have lunch
    • Students are here not only for homework help but also mentoring and confidence building
  • Please be  at MSB no later than 9:40 am
  • Decide in advance with your co-tutor who will be tutoring each Saturday. If neither of you can make it:
  • Tutor must  telephone student a few days in advance  of Saturdays to remind them
  • Please arrive no later than 9:40 am
  • If you cannot make it at the last minute:
    • Contact your co-tutor
    • If they cannot make it, Contact us ASAP
      • call (416) XXX-XXXX and leave a message
      • Important: contact your student and tell them there will still be a mentor/tutor for them when they arrive (we have backups)
  • To each session please bring
    • Pens, pencils
    • Paper
    • An extra calculator
    • Contingency plan

NOTE:  If the student wishes  to continue working  on their homework instead  ofparticipating in  the workshop, it is  fine to remain in  the room and keep  on working with your  student.

Attendance  Policy

  • Attendance  Forms
    • Student attendance forms will be placed in each homeroom
    • The forms need to be signed by each tutor at the start of the session
    • The forms will be picked up by a core volunteer or director between 10:15 and 11:00am

If your student hasn’t arrived by 10:15, inform one of the program directors

Things  to Do Before the  First Saturday….

  • For  Tutors:
    • Both tutors should call your student by Tuesday, January 24th to:
      • Introduce yourself to your student
      • Let them know they’ve been accepted into the program
      • Tell them that the Opening Ceremonies are on January 28th and that they should arrive in the Stone Lobby of the Medical Sciences Building at 9.45 to register and have breakfast
      • To get to MSB, take the subway or streetcars to Queen’s Park Station at University and College. From there, follow the signs to the MSB Stone Lobby
    • Call again 1-2 days before January 28 to remind them of the date

Core Volunteers

  • Generally help  out with the administration and logistics  of the program
  • We will have 2 core volunteer leaders that will help us coordinate
  • Vital to the smooth running of the program every Saturday
  • Will be contacted by Serena to let them know their duties
  • Most will also be tutors
  • Roles:
    • Attendance and  Bus Tickets
    • Workshop setup
    • Lunch Time Set-up and Clean-up
    • Liaisons to program directors in case any issues come up
    • Tutors

Have Fun! The relationship you establish with your student can have a tremendous impact on their life- this is your chance to make a difference.


Sign up with the Saturday Program 2011/2012 (Registration is now open!)

by SProgram2010.
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The short version:

What is the Saturday Program? A tutoring and mentorship program with a 14+ year history that helps inner city youth in Toronto who are in grades 8-10 by connecting them with one-on-one tutors.
Who is involved in tutoring? Students from all faculties at the University of Toronto. Each student receives 2 tutors from different faculties/areas of study.
Who are the students? The high school students we help are specially identified by TDSB as being youth who are motivated to learn and succeed and who are struggling in school despite working hard and putting in effort.
What is the time commitment? The program runs from the end of January to mid-April, for a total of 9 Saturdays from 9:45-12:30. You would only have to come for 5-6 Saturdays due to there being 2 tutors per student. You and your tutoring partner are allowed to alternate on a weekly basis or make other arrangements.
Why should I get involved? This is a great opportunity to become a tutor and a mentor for kids who are motivated to learn but may have some difficulty in achieving academic success. If that wasn’t enough, we also provide our volunteer tutors with a free lunch following every session.
Briefly, some benefits of the Saturday Program:

1. It takes place on the St. George\’s Campus, at the Medical Sciences Building.
2. A delicious, free lunch is provided each time for you and the students.
3. The students are selected and matched to mentors for the duration of the program ensuring continuity.
4. There will be about 9 sessions that you, and a partner, are responsible for as a pair (so you only need to commit to half of them)
5. The program is effective given its 14+ year history and demand for increased admission to it
6. It’s an excellent way to gain teaching and mentorship skills, which are valuable for any career!
7. A great way to meet tutors from other faculties including Medicine, Dentistry, Law, MBA, grad school and more

How do I sign up? To apply for the program, simply fill out an application online http://goo.gl/IaMd by Monday October 17th before 11:59pm. Please respect that the application is a firm commitment.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Best wishes,

Alissa, Chris, Himani, Maria

The Saturday Program Co-Directors


2011 Tutor Training Presentation

by SProgram2010.
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Hello all,

All individuals selected to be tutors, workshop leaders and core volunteers for this semester have been emailed. If you have not received anything from us by now, please contact us at saturday.program@gmail.com.

Training for workshop leaders and tutors took place on Jan 13, 2011. Tutors that missed the tutor session should have received details of their match by email. The powerpoint for the presentation has been attached. If you were a workshop leader and you were not able to attend the training session, please email us so that we can put you into one of 3 sub-groups formed.

Training Session Powerpoint: Saturday Program Training Session 2011


Sign up with the Saturday Program 2010/2011 (Registration is now open!)

by SProgram2010.
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The Saturday Program is a tutoring/mentorship program for 100+ specially-selected inner-city high school students grades 8-10 in Toronto with identified needs and potential. We provide them with 1-on-1 tutoring, lunch, workshops, seminars, and team-building activities on Saturday mornings. We are one of, if not the largest Community Affairs programs under UofT Medicine and we are currently recruiting volunteers. You have the option of not only being a tutor/mentor, but also a workshop leader, core volunteer, and more.

We understand that there are several programs operating on Saturdays and you cannot commit to all of them – but make sure to check us out before deciding!

Benefits of the Saturday Program:
1. It takes place at MSB
2. A delicious lunch is provided each time for you and the children
3. The students are selected and matched to mentors for the duration of the program ensuring continuity
4. There will be 10 sessions that you, and a partner, are responsible for as a pair (so you only need to commit to half of them)
5. The program is effective given its 13+ year history and demand for increased admissions
6. A great way to meet tutors from other faculties – we have volunteers from Medicine, Law, Pharmacy, MBA, grad school, and more!

To apply for the program, simply fill out this application form by October 15th, 2010.If you have any questions, please email us at saturday.program@gmail.com

Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you all!

Aidin, Erin, Steph, Trevor
The Saturday Program Co-Directors 2010/2011


Reminder: no saturday program

by Kenneth.
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Hi,

Just a friendly reminder that there is NO SATURDAY PROGRAM on March 13th, 2010 and March 20th, 2010. The program will be starting again on March 27th, 2010.

Enjoy the March break!

The SP Team


Thank you everyone!

by Kenneth.
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On behalf of the Saturday Program Co-Directors, we want to thank everyone for getting the 2009-2010 Saturday Program off to an amazing start. We enjoyed meeting all the tutors, the eager tutees, and the core volunteers (especially the core volunteer leaders Serena and Janine) that make a program of this size possible.

Some general housekeeping issues:
- Next week’s workshop is titled “Medicine: the Human Body Workshop”.
- We are aware that some students did not show up as expected. Likewise, we are aware there are one or two tutors who did not show up as expected. We are sorting these issues out and we will be getting in touch with these individuals soon.

Finally, we want to thank John McPhee and Diana Alli for their tireless work, and our amazing keynote speakers, Jane Rumball and Faazil Kassam, for their inspiring speeches.

Ken, Yimeng, Lynn, Tiffany
Saturday Program Co-Directors 09/10


Last Year: Training Guide and Information

by SProgram2010.
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Power Point Presentation presented at the training session:
http://torontomeds.com/saturdayprogram/SaturdayProgram0910Presentation.pdf

Training Guide
http://torontomeds.com/saturdayprogram/2009-2010Tutor Training Guide.pdf

We look forward to seeing everyone on January 23rd!

    Remember: CALL YOUR STUDENT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

EDIT: It looks like there might have been problems with the PDF attachment for people using utoronto email addresses (showing as .DAT instead of .PDF). Please try saving it as a PDF file or opening it using your PDF reader.
If you can’t open it, please reply to the email and I will send it to you again. Sorry for the inconvenience! – Ken

The SP Team


Tutor Selections Tentatively Made

by Kenneth.
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Hi everyone,

This is to let everyone know we have tentatively made the tutor selections for the Saturday Program (emails have been sent out). We received the TDSB applications in the new year and will be doing a tutor to tutor and tutors to student match tomorrow.

We have made every effort to involve as many people as possible within our limitations. There is still a bit of flux (in terms of extra TDSB students and some tutors not being able to commit) so we may still be able to involve additional tutors!

Some notes:

1) Mandatory training session is scheduled for Tuesday January 12th 5pm @ MSB Rm 2172. We’ve received emails from people informing us they will not be able to attend the session due to various reasons. We understand! We will send you the necessary information and we will always be available to answer your questions.

2) Opening session is set for January 23rd, 2010

Look in your in-box for additional details in the coming days.

Once again, thank you everyone for your patience. I know there’s quite a gap between applying to the Saturday Program and actually hearing back. We’re trying our hardest to keep everyone abreast of what’s going on behind the scenes.

Ken on behalf of the SP Team


Another update

by Kenneth.
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Just another quick update: thank you to all the applicants and their patience with the process. We are working closely with the TDSB and expect this year we will be accepting between 80-95 kids in grade 8, 9, and 10.

Emails informing successful applicants (tutors) will be going out in late December. We are going to try to make every effort to accept everyone who did apply. That said, if you have made other commitments and you are no longer able to take part in the Saturday Program, please let us know at saturday.program@gmail.com

Our mandatory training session is scheduled for January 12th, 2010 from 5pm-7pm @ Medical Sciences Building Rm. 2172.

Saturday Program Directors


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