Kent College to provide free computer classes to Filipino overseas workers
TORONTO, Mar. 1 – Kent College of Business, Health & Technology (Toronto), The Philippine Consu-late General (Toronto) and the Philippine Labour Office (Canada) are pleased to announce an agreement that will see Kent Col-lege provide free computer classes every Saturday morning to Filipinos from overseas.
In an attempt to assist in the improvement of computer literacy, Kent College has entered into a new venture that will provide free computer classes to overseas Fili-pino migrant workers/caregivers. The classes will include basic pro-grams such as Microsoft Word and Internet Search Engine skills.
This course is considered as a milestone agreement between the Philippine government and the Canadian educational sector and Kent College is proud to be a pio-neer in that process.
Early registration is encour-aged due to limited availability. For registration details, kindly con-tact the
Philippine Overseas La-bour Office – Canada at tel: (416) 408-2882 / (416) 975-8252 or visit their website at
www.polocanada.org
or Kent College’s website at www.kcbht.com.
Jess Carlos tops Speakers Award
Toastmaster awardee Jess Carlos (2nd from left, middle row) is shown with the other winners: Allan Devine (seated); middle row from left: Gina Peixoto, 3rd place; Harriet Vu, 1st place; and Dorothy De Young, Back row is Brian Robinson.AFCA Toastmasters Club, headed by its President, Minda Longkines is proud to announce that Jess Car-los, its contestant in the Toastmasters International Area Speech Contest for the International Speech Category, won the second place among seven contestants from different clubs of Area 32.
The contest was held on March 11, 2004 at the Mini-Auditorium, Ontario Power Gen-eration at 700 University Avenue, Toronto. The seven clubs compris-ing Area 32 in Metro Toronto are: AFCA Toastmasters Club, Dis-covery Toastmasters Club, Joie de Vivre Toastmasters Club, Liberty Village Toastmasters Club, Rain-bow Toastmasters Club, Toast IT Toastmasters Club and West Toronto Toastmasters Club.
Harriet Vu from Discovery Toastmasters Club won first place and Gina Peixoto from Liberty Village Toastmasters won third place.
Jess delivered a very inspiring speech entitled, “The Parable of the Pencil,” with eloquence and passion. His victory in the contest has inspired not only Jess but also all the members of the club to at-tain excellence in their speaking skills. His victory gives testimony to the message he conveyed in his speech, “The Parable of the Pencil”, that we can be the best of what we are through positive men-tal attitude and hard work.
Divinia Tupe, also deserves our congratulations not only for representing the club in the Speech to Evaluate Category in the Area 32 Speech Contest, but also for putting up a good fight.
Their courage, positive attitude and hard work are the quali-ties of a real Toastmaster.
To Jess and Divinia, we are proud of you!
Filipino community hums with activities
My wife May and I with our gems, Chelsea Marie and Ashlea May Mckoy at the entrance of Magic Kingdom…a place where kids can be kids and have more space.The Filipino community is bustling with activities namely: (1) making plans on where to bring their family for the March break, (2) organizational goofs and (3) community social gatherings. I will express my own personal opinion on these matters in order to unload my feelings and in some way, inform the public.
Cold March Break!
Many of my friends left for Caribbean cruises, the USA, the Province of Quebec and the Maritimes. Others parents took the week off from work and brought their children to interesting places around the City so that they can still enjoy the March break despite the cold weather.
In the past years, March break meant sitting under the sun in places with warmer climate. However, this year, with the cold spell we’re having, parents have to put on their thinking cap to find activities or places of interest to keep their children busy and amused at the same time. The private corporations and the City made several activity programs available to children, which are mostly indoor, perhaps foreseeing the cold winter spell.
This year, we were lucky to have been able to join the Mckoy’s on their trip to Disney World in Orlando. May and I enjoyed visits to Magic Kingdom, MGM Studios and the Universal Studios with our grandchildren Ashlea and Chelsea. The malls (May’s favorite) offered enormous items that my daughter Jennifer and wife May could not resist buying at sale prices. Because of the cold weather in Orlando, the indoor malls and factory outlets were a great alternative for outdoor activities and we visited them all (I counted about 7 of them).
The entire trip was very educational. It gave us the opportunity to learn more about our grandchildren, having been with them 24/7 of that week. We are convinced that kids will be kids and that they should be given enough time and space to grow up. Of course, corresponding discipline must be exercised and imposed as situation arises. This is the most exhilarating experience that my wife, May, and I will remember for the rest our lives. We will always cherish the wonderful feeling we had and the time we shared with them. I go back to Toronto full of happy memories and unforgettable pockets of incidents that made them real fine kids.
FCT Fiasco!
The seeming discontentment of the tenants at the Filipino Centre Toronto has reached a proportion in such a way that a lot of people are talking about it. There are claims of alleged arrogance of management, inconsiderate procedures and poor operational management. Some claim that the hours of operation agreed upon are not properly adhered to. I am not in a position to say whether these allegations are true or not but I would like to share with you what I have gathered from the side of the FCT.
One of the most prominent members of the FCT board said that the problem might not have been FCT initiated but from the tenants who abused the courtesy extended by the FCT. An example my source cited is that the FCT board has the right to lock out any tenant whose lease has expired and with no request for extension. When this happens, the tenants are up in arms because now they want their lease extended. These may be the ones who are inciting turbulence among the other tenants.
Other information was given to me in confidence and not to be disclosed. Meanwhile, my suggestion to the FCT board is to review their ways of dealing with the tenants. It may also be a good idea to set up a meeting between their board members and their tenants to voice out their feelings and suggestions for a better relationship. Once these issues are ironed out, invite the press to a joint conference with FCT and their tenants and their supporters to publicize what they have agreed on. This is the only way to dispel all the negative allegations.
If FCT is meant to be the centre for the Filipinos in Toronto, what better way to advise the Filipino community of their plans and compromises other than through the press?