Opportunities From: VolunteerME Mid Coast Maine

This is the time of year when Penobscot School shifts its focus from weekly foreign language classes to the annual summer English immersion program for adults and host family recruitment is at the top of the to-do list. The school is looking for local families - Rockland, Rockport, Camden, Thomaston areas - who are interested in hosting an adult student from abroad for three weeks in July and/or August. The only requirements are a willingness to share your home and lives with a visitor from afar, and a clean and comfortable spare room. Our students take your generosity to heart and many friendships have been bonded throughout the years. As Penobscot School celebrates its 23rd year of operation as a non-profit school for language learning and international exchange, it enters into its 21st year of English immersion programming for adults. The students come from many countries and they range in age from 18 to 65 with 35 as the average age. Each session is a unique and wonderful blend of cultures but all students are here to immerse themselves in the language and life-style of Maine. Participants arrive with an intermediate level of English language skill and three weeks of full immersion will help them gain confidence and increase ability. The goal is maximum English acquisition and the home-stay plays an important role in this building process. Students and host families are matched according to similar interests and the international guests look forward to joining hosts in some of the activities that fill our daily lives. Since there are no scheduled classes during the weekends, they have an opportunity to spend quality time with host family members. The first group of students will arrive in Rockland on Saturday, July 4 and depart on Saturday, July 25. The next group will follow a week later on Saturday, August 1 and leave on Saturday, August 22. A graduation ceremony is planned for the last Friday evening of each session. This is the final group activity and it is a special event. Host families are invited to join in the farewell reception. To learn more about the summer English Immersion Program, please refer to: www.languagelearning.org/schoolsite/summerenglish/general.html. For more information about hosting a student, call Patti Luchetti at 207-594-1084 or write to info@languagelearning.org. The School is located at 28 Gay Street in Rockland?s north end and walk-in guests are welcome to visit during regular business hours.

Opportunity for Cultural enrichment in Rockland, Maine. For three weeks every July and August, Penobscot School hosts adult students (ages 18-55 with 35 years as average) from around the world and the US who want to improve their English language skills. This year we have students from Italy, Japan, Niger, Vietnam, Colombia, and other countries who will study English July 4 - 25 or August 1 - 22. During this time, we will need volunteers to help with post dinner transportation to host families, primarily in Rockland, Rockport, Camden, and Thomaston, as well as help with grocery shopping and dinner preparation on specific evenings in partnership with the students. Volunteers create a dinner menu with 2 students and a shopping list. Menu planning, shopping and preparation are all part of the English immersion program. Dinners are served at 6:30 and transportation to host families needed around 8PM. Grocery shopping can be done with the 2 students at noon or 4:00 pm to allow time for meal preparation or prior to the dinner day. Volunteers are also needed as conversation partners, and for afternoon, evening or weekend activities with the students. Students have a variety of interests and they are always eager to make new friends who will introduce them to the joys of living in mid coast Maine. The school's English program depends on the generosity of volunteers and could not happen without their help.

Sort books on the Book Sale set-up day, Friday, May 29th, 2009 and perhaps find that long-lost book you have been searching for! We have books of many subjects; hardback and paperback; several languages; all shapes and sizes and perhaps a cookie or two for the hard-working volunteers!