The WC goes back to First Grade

Yesterday, March 6th, members of the writing center spent their lunch periods in the classrooms of Ms. Keller, Ms. McDonough, and Ms. McElroy working with their first grade students. The week before, each tutor or pair of tutors exchanged letters with a first grader as a way to get to know each other.
Upon arriving to the clasroom, I was directed towards an adorable little girl in a neon pink headband named Alexis. Shy at first, Alexis came out of her shell after Caroline and I began to ask her questions and got to know her better. She told us all about going down the slide with her mom at the park, playing "shark tag" with her friends at recess and painting pictures of her three dogs in her spare time. We were able to help Alexis elaborate when describing her experiences so she could make her story even better.
Caroline and I had a great time working with Alexis and everyone else in the room looked like they were having so much fun with their adorable first graders. The time went by so quickly, it hardly even felt like 45 minutes.

Berkeley to Host the National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing!

After a meticulous application process, Berkeley Preparatory School has been selected as the sponsor of the prestigious 2013 National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing (NCPTW). This marks the first time in conference history that a high school has been chosen to host the event. 

Tom Brandt, one of the faculty directors of Berkeley's Hoover Writing Center, played an integral role in the application process. He produced a written proposal and a website http://www.ncptw2013.org/# for the conference's bidding process. 

Sunny Tampa, FL - the location of the 2013 National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing!

With the conference to be held in November, preparations have already commenced. Berkeley alumnus Marty Baron '72, editor of the Washington Post, will be the keynote speaker. Brandt hopes to emphasize the role of high school writing centers at the conference, specifically by scheduling a thread of presentations by high school students. 

Approximately five hundred high school and college students hailing from various parts of the nation are projected to attend the conference. 

Congratulations to Berkeley's Writing Center on such a historic recognition!

For further information on the NCPTW, please visit the below websites. 

http://brandtom.wix.com/ncptw-2013
http://writingcenters.org/