spring april and may 2012 spring is in the air at...
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Professional Development Day at Broadleaf
April and May 2012
Spring
Spring is in the Air at MAGMA
MAGMA-AMGM
From left to right, Tradina Meadows-
Forgeron, Managing Director , Claudine
Landry, Human Resources Coordinator,
Anahita Aslani Life Skills Coordinator and
Myriam Poncelet, , International Student
Settlement Coordinator
Friday, March 16th at Broadleaf Farm
The majority of the staff made the trek (via
school bus) to Broadleaf Farms for a professional
team building session. It was a beautiful sunny day
and the setting at Broadleaf Farm was wonderful!
In the morning, Janice Butler, a dynamic Motiva-
tional Speaker from Creative Breeze Training,
energized the staff with her WOW conference.
We left her conference full of positive energy for
both work & everyday life. A sleigh ride followed
in the afternoon. Thank you Janice !
Staff at MAGMA
enjoying a
beautiful spring
day at Broadleaf
farm with a
sleigh-ride.
It’s a happy day !
Janice Butler from
Creative Breeze
Training.
Alina Kobos Literacy In-
structor and Khalid
Badrezzamane , French
Teacher .
Both employees at
MAGMA
WINTER DISCOVERIES
Maple Sirop and waffles ! MAGMA classes celebrated the arrival of spring by sampling our
famous New Brunswick maple syrup and pancakes/waffles. Students
cooked the pancakes/waffles, talked about the process of making
maple syrup, read stories about the First Nations discovery of maple
syrup, copied recipes for homemade pancakes/waffles, and wrote
stories about their experiences. One student who had never sampled
maple syrup before exclaimed to the class, “It takes like caramel!”
Laughing the teacher replied, “This takes a lot more work and skill
to make than caramel but you are right, both are sweet!” It was a fun
experience and students were encouraged to get out into the commu-
nity and visit a sugar bush and view for themselves how syrup is made.
Young newcomers in the Moncton area have been busy exploring their province and trying out several winter ac-
tivities Canadians enjoy doing in such a traditional fashion. Students from various cultural backgrounds and Cana-
dian youth met at La Maison de Jeunes in Dieppe for a very relaxed and fun evening, as well as participated in a
Ski trip to Poley Mountain. For most of our young clients, this was their first skiing and snowboarding experience...
They were surprisingly skilful at these new Winter Sports.
Two MAGMA staff also brought a group of 20 children out to Fredericton. There we visited the Science Centre,
participated in a guided tour of the Parliament, and spent a joyous lunchtime at a local pizzeria.
Our Wintery activities also included a Sleigh Ride and a sledding session at Rotary Park, curling lessons, and cele-
brating Black History Month. Nonetheless, one of our biggest successes remains our Learn to Skate Program... 70
newcomer children and youth were registered, and several of them were given free skates and a helmet. We cele-
brated this event with a pizza party, cake, certificates, and a lot of laughter. What fun! Special thanks to the
Moncton Boys & Girls Club for their active participation in the planning, and realisation of
this event, and thank you to the Université de Moncton hockey team, -Les Aigles Bleus, - for
helping out on the ice!
The New Day—Iranian New Year– March 21st-Naw-Ruz
Naw-Rouz or Nawrūz (Persian: نوروز, IPA: [nouˈɾuːz], meaning "[The] New Day") is the name of the Iranian New
Year in Iranian calendars and the corresponding traditional celebrations. Nawruz is also widely referred to as the
"Persian New Year". Nawruz is celebrated and observed by Iranian peoples and the related cultural continent and
has spread in many other parts of the world, including parts of Central Asia, Caucasus, South Asia, Northwestern
China, the Crimea and some groups in the Balkans. Nawruz marks the first day of spring and the beginning of the
year in Iranian calendar. The moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calcu-
lated exactly every year and Iranian families gather together to observe the rituals.
The UN's General Assembly in 2010 recognized the International Day of Nawruz, describing it a spring festival of
Persian origin which has been celebrated for over 3,000 years. Haft Sîn (Persian: هفت سین,) or the seven 'S's, is a
major traditional table setting of Nawruz, the traditional Iranian spring celebration. Today the haft sin table in-
cludes seven specific items starting with the letter 'S' or Sîn ( ( س in the Persian alphabet. The items symbolically
correspond to seven creations and holy immortals called Amesha Sepanta protecting them. The seven elements of
Life, namely Fire, Earth, Water, Air, Plants, Animals, and Human, are represented. They also have Astrological
correlations to five planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Sun and Moon. With the advent of Islam
the word Amesha Sepanta shortened to and eventually was remembered by just the letter S and the number 7.
The Haft Sin has evolved over time, but has kept its symbolism. Traditionally, families attempt to set as beautiful
a Haft Sîn table as they can, as it is not only of traditional and spiritual value, but also noticed by visitors during
Nawruzi visitations and is a reflection of their good taste.
The Haft Sîn items
sabzeh - wheat, barley or lentil sprouts growing in a dish - symbolizing plants (or rebirth) / samanu - a sweet pud-
ding made from wheat germ - symbolizing affluence /senjed - the dried fruit of the oleaster tree - symbolizing
love /sîr - garlic - symbolizing medicine /sîb - apples - symbolizing Earth (also symbolizing beauty and
health)/somaq - sumac berries - symbolizing (the color of) sunrise/serkeh - vinegar - symbolizing age and pa-tience
Welcome to
Anahita Aslani
Our New Life
Skills
Coordinator at
MAGMA
Anahita with her
husband
Homayoon and
their son
Benyamin
arrived
in Moncton in
April 2011
www.magma-amgm.org
Anahita ( middle) with her husband and Iranian clients of
MAGMA
It has been a blast! The veteran
curlers have been a marvelous sup-
port and terrific role models for
the first time curlers.
Nothing beats the warm hospitality
of MCA. We have always been
greeted with smiles. The volunteers
are patient teachers on the ice and
love to talk with the newcomers
after they come off the ice to ask
about their countries, their cultures
and their future plans here in Monc-
ton.
Our second great season at MCA was
topped off with an international pot-
luck lunch on Tuesday April 3rd.
Heartfelt thanks to all the great peo-
ple at MCA !
Newcomers Take to the Ice at MCA
Veteran and novice newcomer curl-
ers have been enjoying the exper-
tise of volunteer coaches at MCA
since late January. Twelve weeks of
learning one way to enjoy winte-
Moncton.
MCA Curling For MAGMA
Childminding Centre-Our Beautiful Children
What a wonderful day of curling.” THANK YOU MCA
The Children in
MAGMA’s Child-
minding Centre
with Fozia ( top)
and Miriam ( bot-
tom) full-time
Educators.
Childminding at MAGMA has been busy this year.
We developed several partnerships in the community, includ-
ing Moncton‟s Family Resource Centre and Talk with me pro-
gram. We have also been busy incorporating French into all
our program plans , our centre is now bilingual. Childminding
has been working on developing program plans that respect
the values, customs and traditions of the enrolled children.
We have been celebrating diverse holidays from around the
world. Childminding now has some spaces available for
toddlers, in the morning and afternoon.
MCA and Heather Telman, ESL
Teacher at MAGMA
Black History Month
The Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area hosted an event to cele-
brate Black History month which showcased local talents such as musicians, dancers,
art displays and presenters sharing black history events on a regional and international level.
The main component of the evening was the book launching of Blacks in the Maritimes before
the Loyalist. The book was published by the University of Moncton professor Gregory Ken-
nedy and his student Kayleigh Blacklock . Several community members attended this very suc-
cessful event, and the Lions Centre Hall was filled at its full capacity, with a very enthusiastic
multicultural group.
Kayleigh Blacklock - Student at
Université de Moncton
African Dance Queens from Moncton.
Thank you for the great performance.
To celebrate the event, the children at Childminding with
Fozia Ahmed prepared this beautiful painting.
From left, Mr, James “Skip” Talbot , Past President,
Mrs. Sandra Forman ,School District 2 , Mr. Jack
Haller, Past President and Mr. Mike Timani,
President of MAGMA`s Board of Directors
Newcomers to Moncton : Welcome Divya and Girisankar
Divya migrated to Canada along with her husband in order to pursue better opportunities in life.
They arrived in Moncton on April 23, 2011 and it was almost the beginning of summer. Divya‟s
husband, Girisankar ,is now working for Medavie Bluecross as a senior IT Consultant .They used
to live in Winnipeg for 3 years before moving to Moncton. This is the first time Divya has trav-
elled outside her homeland. She is from a country where the population is around 1.2 billion and
more than 100 languages so moving to Canada was a big change in her life.
In June 2011 , Divya volunteered for the Mosaiq Multicultural festival. At that time, she came to
know more about MAGMA which is dedicated to help immigrants settle in Canada. Initially she
joined MAGMA to learn French and has successfully completed Level 1 French program. An En-
gineering graduate (specialised in Information Technology In India ), Divya started looking for
jobs related to the IT fields. She found it difficult to get a job because she lacks Canadian work
experiences. At this time , a colleague informed her about the NBELT Program at MAGMA
meant to help immigrants gain awareness about Canadian workplaces and improve language skills.
After undergoing the NBELT program, she is able to understand Canadian workplace environ-
ments and it helped increase confidence during interviews. Also it helped her create effective
resumes and cover letters . Divya met a lot of new friends at MAGMA coming from different
parts of the world. She is planning to start volunteer work for MAGMA and willing to contribute
her time to help new immigrants settle in Moncton.
She will complete her first year in April 2012 and within a short time frame, Divya has adapted
to the canadian weather and life styles. According to her , Moncton is a very small city compared
to where she lived before, but Moncton offers a lot of benefits and now she is thoroughly enjoy-
ing her new life in our beautiful City.
Divya and Girisankar
Centennial Park in Moncton
Divya and her classmates in the NBELT
Program at MAGMA. All graduated from the
program in April 2012.
Business Buy and Sell conference
The Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area (MAGMA) in cooperation with The Immi-
grant Settlement and Integration Services of Society of Nova Scotia (ISIS) and the Atlantic Canada
Opportunities Agency (ACOA) had the pleasure of presenting a Business Buy and Sell Training and Net-
working Event on March 9, 2012 at the Crystal Palace Convention Centre in Moncton, NB.
This workshop provided a unique training and networking opportunity where buyers and sellers were
brought together to learn what to consider when buying or selling a business and also to discover ex-
citing business opportunities within the Greater Moncton Area.
The event was by facilitated by Fred Veysey, Employement Counselor of MAGMA , and included ses-
sions for buyers and sellers in the morning and the afternoon. Approximately 52 participants had the
opportunity to listen to an expert panel . Thank you to ISIS and ACOA for supporting this event.
From left : Wa’el Stephane Al-Faraj Ghaida Petro,
Fred Veysey ( Employment Counselor at MAGMA)
and Anmar Moise Al-Faraj . Participants
From left: Nicole Pauley, TD Canada Trust,
Ghaida Petro, participant, Karim Bhibah, Entre-
preneur AKTIV Accounting and Myer Rabin, Real
Estate lawyer for the Murphy Group
Canadians have a rich history of volunteering and
community involvement. Each day, our volunteers at
MAGMA make a WORLD of DIFFERENCE.
Thank you to all our volunteers . We appreciate all
your efforts and dedication to our newcomers.
Please join us on May 3rd for a special VOLUNTEER
APPRECIATION NIGHT at NBCC , Mountain rd in
Moncton. For information on this event, please contact
our New Community Connections Coordinator
Chantal Laviolette at 858-9650 ext 2299
Volunteering at MAGMA
The fabric of Canadian life and history has been woven with the threads
of hundreds of nations, and in 2002 the Canadian Government declared
the Month of May as Asian Heritage Month to recognize and acknowl-
edge the important contributions and history of Asian Canadians to the
development and growth of our Nation.
From the earliest, hardest and most dangerous times of the gold rush
and the construction of our network of railroads through to the new
wave of highly-skilled workers and business entrepreneurs, we are constantly reminded of the benefits they have
brought to our companies, restaurants, arts and social life. Even our parents' generation would never have imag-
ined that we would spend a relaxing day with friends starting with a dim sum breakfast, followed by a shiatsu
massage, a sushi lunch, and then driving the kids to their tae kwon do lessons
so we could enjoy our butter chicken curry in peace.
Keep in touch with MAGMA for the latest news in festivities and fun as we cele-
brate the vibrant heritage and culture that our Asian communities continue to
add to our community.
May is Asian Heritage Month
MAGMA‟s Immigrant Seniors Activity Program encourages immi-
grant seniors to be involved in the community by creating activi-
ties where they can meet other seniors and share common ex-
periences all while building friendships and networks that help
them to settle in their new environment. All activities and pro-
grams are offered in both official languages . MAGMA provides
the following services to immigrant seniors : settlement ser-
vices, technology services, employment services, language ser-
vices, Life Skills services, Community building , activities, hobbies
, social events. Also, a monthly newsletter and volunteering possi-
bilities.
For further information on our Sen-
iors Activities, please communicate
with Samuel Sabor, Immigrant
Seniors Coordinator at MAGMA 858-
9659 ext.2284
Seniors Activity Program
Mosaiq Festival July 20-21 2012
MAGMA and the City of Moncton are working hard to co-present the Mosaïq Multi-
cultural Festival which will take place July 20-21, 2012 in beautiful Downtown Monc-
ton (Additional educational events will take place before and after these dates).
If you are interested in being a vendor of food or arts & crafts in the World Vil-
lage, being part of the live entertainment, volunteering or sponsoring this exciting
event then please direct your inquiry to the General Manager, Robert Gallant.
Call 506-855-8525 or email [email protected] for more de-
tails
NBELT Celebration of Achievement Ceremony
On April 4th, MAGMA held a celebration of achievement ceremony for the most
recent New Brunswick Employment Language Training class graduates. Newcomers from the
Medical, Law, Education, Pharmaceutical, Business & Psychology fields, successfully completed
the program. During the program, some had already received the wonderful news that their
credentials had been recognized by Canadian associations. Congratulations to all! (note: a few
students missing from picture due to employment and volunteering obligations)
Khalid Badrezzamane
with his students from
CLIC ( Cours de langues
pour les immigrants au
Canada) .
These students are
learning to speak and
write in French. This
special class was held in
the Mapleton Teaching
Kitchen. Thank you
Joanne Richard from
the Teaching Kitchen.
MAGMA’s new home address
Address: 22 Church St Suite
C170—Moncton NB, E1C 0P7
MAGMA’s mission is to enrich and
enhance the well being of our
community by fostering and nurturing
respect, understanding, acceptance of
and assisting people from all heritages.
It‟s very important to note that MAGMA-AMGM office is now situtated
in the Peace Centre, 22 Church St Moncton. Reception area is on the
first floor !
Thank You MAGMA Funders
Citizenship and Immigration
Canada
City of Moncton
Canadian Heritage
New Brunswick Multicultural
Council Inc.
Ville de Dieppe
South East Regional
Adult Learning Centre
Province of New Brunswick
Town of Riverview
NEW STAFF PROFILE—JUSTIN RYAN
PUBLIC EDUCATION COORDINATOR It might surprise you to find that Justin Ryan, our new Public
Education Coordinator, immigrated to Canada not from his native
Australia, but from Japan. While living and teaching there for
over six years he met his Monctonian wife Jennifer, who
convinced him that becoming part of the Moncton community
would be right not only for them but for their
soon-to-be family. He therefore brings with them the
experience of being a newcomer to a foreign land not once but
twice, which has inspired him to be part of making sure that the
newcomer experience for others is a positive one.
“My main role is helping the local region truly appreciate the
tremendous value immigrants bring to the community. And it‟s not
just the social community that‟s enjoying the depth and richness
that their adding to our culture. Business are also coming to
understand that at a time that New Brunswick is losing so much
of its most valuable talents to opportunities out west, having
such a key source of potential employees is huge. These are
often highly skilled and educated people who are choosing to be
part of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe and are not only bringing a
unique depth of experience, but also access to new markets.”
Justin is himself an example. As a former lawyer, teacher and
investment banker, choosing to make his home here has been a
win-win for himself and the community. If you‟re part of a school,
business or organization that is looking to have its members add
depth to their understanding of diversity and how to make it
work for them, don‟t hesitate to contact him at:
Special Guest at MAGMA– MP Robert Goguen
Childminding Educators, Fozia
and Miriam with the kids were
so happy to welcome MP for
Moncton Mr. Robert Goguen to
MAGMA „s new location.
The kids ( and Fozia ) are
proudly wearing RCMP hats
following a presentation by-
from Corporal Steven Conrad.
Thank you for the visit
Mr. Goguen.
Hope to see you again soon !
What a wonderful group of students !!
Morning English classes gathered on Wednesday April 25th to celebrate students moving up within the levels of
LINC (Language Instruction to Newcomers of Canada) classes. The celebration started with O Canada. Four stu-
dents moved up from LINC 2 to LINC 3: Xuan Phuong Nguyen, Salome Mbouzie, MyungJa Hong, and Hyun Hee
Choi. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed cake. Another celebration was held in the afternoon to honour students
moving up within afternoon LINC classes. From LINC 3 to LINC 4: ThiNhaVuong, Heesook Kim, and Catherine
Pissi. From LINC 4 to LINC 5: Bwe Paw, Sohyun Yoon, Jina Ha, and A. Reum Jang.