Annual Report
2013 Annual Report of Activities for the Civic Association Class Acts o.s. 2013
Basic Information I. Basic Information and Characteristics of the Civic Association Class Acts, o.s., registered 2. 1. 2007 under č. j. VS/1-1/66 126/07-R Business Registration Number: 270 51 358
Seat:
Křížkovského 7, 130 00 Praha 3
Mobile:
602 971 418
E-mail:
[email protected]
WEB:
www.classacts.cz
II. The civic association is a legal entity established in accordance with the following law: No. 83/1990 Sb.
III. The civic association was financed in 2013 in two ways: -
From income resulting from activities related to the fulfillment of the group’s objectives (entrance fees, course tuition, etc.) From donations and contributions from individuals and organizations.
Operating funds of the association are tied funds and were used and made available only for expenses that supported the goals of the association.
English language community. 2
programs
in
a
friendly,
multi-cultural
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Dedicated to English speaking children
IV. Personnel
Eleanor Hammond
Chair of the association, responsible Unpaid volunteer
[email protected]
Leah Gaffen
[email protected] Deputy Chair of the association, responsible for programming Unpaid volunteer
Lucie Tatransky
Board Member, responsible for finances and administrative issues, including website administration
[email protected]
Unpaid volunteer
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Zuzana Klain
Board Member, unpaid volunteer
Josie Müller
Board Member, Instructor, Kids in Motion, Puppet Tales
Tereza Dubsky
Events Coordinator
[email protected]
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V. Organizational Mission Class Acts, o.s. was established with the mission of showing that the co-existence of different cultures in the Czech Republic is not only possible, but an enriching and developing area. We have created a space for communication, getting acquainted, and exchanging experiences from many different European and other cultures and identities. We support these organizational goals through various informational, educational, and cultural activities.
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Ongoing Activities offered in 2013 Regular Weekly Activities Several of our weekly courses take place at the Paleček Family Center, Písecká 17, Prague 3, where we are able to have the facilities each Friday for the entire morning. Kids in Motion – the longest-running course offered by Class Acts, o.s., was launched in January 2007. The course is designed for children from 2.5 to 4 years old and is conducted in English, which is also the language of communication for the children and parents from many different nationalities who attend. Children and their parents explore elements of music, movement and storytelling through song, dance, chants, nursery rhymes, puppetry and games. Classes emphasize fun learning and parent-child cooperation. Teachers: Josie Mueller and Lucie Tatransky There is a great deal of interest in our programs on the part of multilingual families with children who speak Czech and English. Currently, very few activities are available to support the equal development of both languages. As a result, the development of additional arts programming in English where children are creating something in English rather than studying the subject has become an important focus in our civic association. Drama Class - a course for children aged 4 to 6. Participants have a unique opportunity to develop their creativity and imagination in English, which is a native language for many of them. While it was offered on its own in the early part of 2013, as of September 2013, the drama class became incorporated into the new Kindy program. Teachers: Leah Gaffen, Jay de Yonkers
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Ongoing Activities offered in 2013 Regular Weekly Activities Kindy - a new program for kindergarten-aged children (5-6) for the 2013-2014 school year. KINDY is an extension of our "Getting Ready to Read" and our drama classes, as we believe that children of this age will benefit from a full morning of English. Inspired by British and American kindergarten programs, children learn the basics of reading and writing based on phonics, and expend their vocabulary through theme-based sessions focused on mathematics, science, geography, history plus music and drama. Teachers: Kateřina Gacek - phonics, Leah Gaffen and Adam Stewart teach the drama portion of the Kindy program, which evolved from the popular Drama Class. These morning classes at the Palecek Family Center offered English-speaking parents a platform for meeting, exchanging experiences, providing tips about cultural and social activities in Prague, and forming long-term friendships.
Even children who do not participate in the Friday courses have the opportunity to come and use the playroom and attend the puppet show in English that is held at the end of each Friday morning session. The puppet show brings these families together with the families attending the courses and brings everyone together in a way that reenforces the multicultural atmosphere of these mornings. In addition to the Friday courses at the Palecek Family Center, there are weekly courses at other locations across Prague.
Ongoing Activities offered in 2013 Regular Weekly Activities
Young Toddlers Class Children aged 1.5 to 2.5 and their parents explore elements of music (rythm, tempo, dynamics) and storytelling through song, dance, chants, and nursery rhymes. Classes emphasize fun learning, parent-child cooperation, and a supportive community. Teacher: Kendra Sundal Where: Mondays at the Kampa Community Center, Prague 1, U Sovových mlýnů 3
Getting Ready to Read Ideal for 4-6 year olds and children in their final year of kindergarten. Children learn the basics of reading and writing and expand their vocabulary through creative play, storytelling and phonics. The curriculum is structured around the Jolly Phonics workbooks, which will teach them all of the 42 letter sounds. By the end of the year, children will be ready for 1st grade. Children need not know how to read and write to enroll in the class. Teacher: Kateřina Gacek Where: Wednesdays at ZS nam. Jiriho z Podebrad, Bohemian Bilinguals Bohemian Bilinguals (BoBili) classes for school-aged kids are open to anyone fluent in English who would like to develop their speaking, reading and writing skills in a supportive and creative environment. Most of the children in these classes are bilingual and attend Czech schools where they are at a different linguistic level to their classmates. BoBili strives to tailor the classes to the students' needs while also encouraging them. BoBili classes balance spelling and grammar with activities and games that promote literacy and creative writing and give the children the opportunity to make friends with other English-speaking children.
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Ongoing Activities offered in 2013 Regular Weekly Activities BoBili groups:
o ZŠ Londýnská GROUP: 3rd graders on Thursdays with Ratchanee Chatsantikul GROUP: 7th graders on Thursdays with Chris Marais
o ZŠ Jiřího z Poděbrad GROUP: 1st graders on: Wednesdays with Katerina Gacek GROUP: 2nd graders on Wednesdays with Katerina Gacek
o ZŠ Hanspaulka GROUP: 2nd graders on Wednesdays with Kendra Sundal
o FZŠ prof. Otakara Chlupa GROUP: 2nd graders on Thursdays with Kendra Sundal
In 2013 Class Acts has registered 90 children for regular activities.
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Ongoing Activities offered in 2013 Weekend Activities
Art for Tots Tots classes develop a young child’s familiarity with art making and encourage experimentation, exploration, and creative thinking. This program, which takes place once a month, is designed to be a multi-sensory experience that encourages the development of gross and fine motor skills, as well as socialization and self-expression. Teacher: Liezel de la Isla Where: Sundays at Kampa Community Center, Prague 1, U Sovových mlýnů 3 Readers’ Club The Readers’ Club is designed for children fluent in English who are in the 1st grade (of the Czech National Curriculum) and older. It provides them with a unique opportunity to share and discuss books in English, which they might not otherwise be able to do. The Readers' Club meets once a month and is led by a qualified reading and literacy teacher. There are currently three groups (6-8 years, 8-12 years and independent readers older than 12) . The program promotes reading in a fun, yet educational way. Participants don’t need to be fluent readers. They can read the chosen title with their parents. Teachers: Ratchanee Chatsantikul, Piers Landseer Where: Saturdays at Prague Municipal Library, Korunní 68/2160, Praha 10
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Ongoing Activities offered in 2013 Weekend Activities
Storytelling at Korunní Library Storytelling at Korunní - part of Class Acts´Storybridge project - is a monthly gathering where parent volunteers read books from the new collection of English children’s books at the Korunni branch of the Prague Municipal Library and other favorite children’s books in English. In 2011, Class Acts coordinated a book drive that brought more than 1300 books to the library. The monthly storytelling hour brings together kids from Englishspeaking families and those who learn English as a foreign language and seek out opportunities to learn the language in an informal setting outside of the classroom. Where: Tuesdays at Prague Municipal Library, Korunní 68/2160, Praha 10 Puppet Tales Puppet Tales is s Sunday activity for bilingual families. Experienced actor-teachers as well as parent volunteers lead the morning at the Kampa Community Centre which offers a relaxed child-friendly venue. We read children’s books in English, sing and play shows on a given theme (such as Halloween, Valentines Day, Christmas, Spring, Earth Day, Animals etc.). Ideal for kids of different ages, the playroom with a food/drink stall is open alongside the performance space. Teachers: Leah Gaffen, Josie Muller. Where: Sundays at the Kampa Community Center, Prague 1, U Sovových mlýnů 3
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Ongoing Activities offered in 2013 Special Events
Summer Camp During the summer holidays Class Acts offers a city summer camp. The camp takes place at KC Kampa. Every year the summer camp is based on children‘s creativity, starting with drama through art to science. The main focus of the camp is on working together in an ensemble, creativity, and co-operation. The outdoor activities are also part of the 5-day camp. The week is filled with fun and excitement. Family Outdoor Activities: The Kampa Treasure Hunt took place in September. Children gathered clues from fairy-tale characters such as Greedy Woman or Water Sprite across the Kampa Park to find their way to the treasure.
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Our work on bilingual (Czech - English) education issues in 2013 A number of parents – particularly foreigners – lack sufficient information about the Czech educational system and how to register their children. Class Acts organizes regular gatherings of parents and, as a result, compiled a "Frequently Asked Questions“ page about Czech state preschools and schools, which is available in English on the Class Acts website. At the 2013 Class Acts Parent Forum, the key topic was how to select a a school for a bilingual child to make sure the child is sufficiently challenged in a situation where English language instruction is designed for children from Czech speaking families. Educators as well as parents of bilingual children shared their personal experience with various schools´ approaches and answered questions from parents who were yet to choose a school for their children. Storybridge The name Storybridge comes from the idea that telling stories can bring people together and stories can work as a bridge between cultures. The goal of the project is primarily to contribute to the quality and resources for the teaching of English in schools, but it also aims to increase children’s awareness of multiculturalism through storytelling and bring volunteers into libraries and schools. The Prague Municipal Library and the Department of English language and Literature of Masaryk University in Brno were partners on this project, the launch of which was funded by the US Embassy in Prague. For the past three years, Class Acts led a teacher-training program at the Korunní library on storytelling – using interactive methods, including puppets and other theatrical devices, to read picture books to children. The course was intended for English teachers as well as volunteers – parents and students. The English Department of the Masaryk University Pedagogical Faculty has introduced a Storytelling unit into their curriculum as part of Storybridge. Members of the training course and students at Masaryk University created projects for classrooms and libraries using picture books. They shared their projects at a conference at the American Center in April 2012, Some of the lesson plans have been made available through the Class Acts website. Storybridge members continued their meetings in 2013 to share ideas, books, teaching methods and lesson plans. Class Acts is also exploring the possibility of expanding the program to another city library in Prague.
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Strength and Weaknesses of Class Acts
Strengths
Weaknesses
Great potential and interest in bilingual education not only among the parents of bilingual children, but also among Czech parents
Insufficient finances for operations and administration. Income from activities covers „bare bones management“ and just barely covers expenses.
The board members of Class Acts have personal experience with raising and educating bilingual children, so they are highly motivated to continue their volunteer activities.
It has been difficult to attract parent volunteers because of their many time commitments.
Activities have taken advantage of the presence of families of different nationalities for whom English has become a common language for communication.
Class Acts faces a shortage of qualified instructors, particularly those who would be available to lead after-school classes.
Parents return to our activities time and time again, and children who participate have begun to build long-term friendships.
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Minimal competition in the area in which Class Acts works.
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Financial statement for Class Acts Class Acts, o.s. conducts all of its activities in accordance with its charter and within the framework of its primary objectives. Income is derived from ongoing activities (e.g. Kids in Motion classes) or one-time events (e.g. seminars). Expenses are comprised of materials for courses and events, fees for instructors, the operation of the website, bank fees, and renumeration for ongoing accounting and the preparation of the year-end financial statement required by Czech law for all registered non-profit organizations. Income and Expenses: 2013
5010 Course materials 5180 Other services 5181 Rent 5182 Copying 5183 Postage 5184 Telephone fees
8 206,00 93 180,00 427,50 91,00 3 073,00
5185 Accounting services
21 360,00
5186 Salaries including teaching
34 351,00
5187 Transportation fees 5210 Salaries 5480 Other overheads
1 419,00 188 523,00 19 379,50
5481 Insurance fees
1 500,00
5680 Bank fees
3 808,00
6020 Tuition and fees 6480 Other income 6620 Interest 6880 Donations
Net income
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55 545,00
489 139,00 23 432,00 32,91 22 000,00
+103 740,71
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Conclusion Do you know that during an average week, there are now 12 Class Acts events taking place across Prague? That's quite an achievement for a volunteer-led organization! As with every year since our formation in 2007, 2013 was an exciting year for Class Acts. Our program has continued to expand and we are particularly delighted that KINDY, our new half-day blend of literacy and drama for "predskolaci”, has proved to be really popular. Despite the increase year-on year of English-based activities for bilingual and non-native speaking children living in Prague, Class Acts continues to prove its worth and popularity as a community of families and friends. We are proud of our commitment to providing affordable activities for children but as you will see from our Financial Statement, managing our finances is an ongoing challenge and a lack of financial “breathing space” is without doubt a constraint on our development. Embarking on new projects always introduces an element of risk to any organization and Class Acts is no exception. We are therefore always delighted to receive donations from our regular and occasional supporters and at the end of 2013, we were lucky enough to secure 2 generous donations from Class Acts supporters Maggie Gaffen and Zoe Voborilova which will enable us to launch a new showcase website during 2014. On behalf of the Class Acts Board, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks everyone who has worked so hard this year to make Class Acts the thriving community that it is. To our teachers for their dedication and enthusiasm. To our Board for their time, their energy and their creativity. And to all our supporters for the many and varied ways in which they lend their invaluable support: as onsite liaison for us at schools and family centers, as donors, as coordinators at weekend events - and as customers. We look forward to your continuing support in 2014!
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Teachers, Supporters and Volunteers Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has given their time and support to Class Acts in 2013:
Teachers:
Volunteers:
Katerina Gacek
Barbara Woodard
Leah Gaffen
Zdenka Ellederová
Lucie Tatransky
Milena Andrade Dneboska
Josie Muller Dolores Koutnik Kendra Sundal Ratchanee Chatsantikul
Supporters:
Lucie Gomezová Markéta Růžičková
Markéta Crowe Caroline Kovtum Martina Hromasová Markéta Mainwald
Chris Marais Lindsay Kawecki Pierse Landseer Judi Challinger Jay De Yonker Adam Stewart
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