The ELI Weekly
Scholarship Winners
Congratulations to the recipients of the ELI Scholarships for the Summer 2022 Semester!
Dr. Jayne C. Harder Memorial Scholarship:
- Luz Paola Morales Contreras from Colombia
Dr. J.C. Casagrande Peace Scholarship:
- Abdulrahman Almutairi from Saudi Arabia
First Runner-Up:
- Ju Won Lee from South Korea
Second Runner-Up:
- Vicky Rincon Vargas from Colombia
Out and About: Kanapaha Botanical Gardens
by Giota Panagiotou, RW40B
ELI programs gave to the new entry students, the opportunity to participate in the spring garden festival. This is an annual celebration taking place at the Kanapaha Botanical Garden. The festival offers a variety of plants , exotic flowers, and products related to garden, handcrafted arts , that we could buy, especially for garden decoration. Also there was a wide variety of herbs either for cooking or for decoration. We had the opportunity to smell them and enjoy the different scents of each plant. Moreover, there was a large variety of food trucks available, such as Greek and Mexican food. Fresh and delicious smoothies made in front of your eyes with exotic fruits with great flavor. Last but not least, we had the opportunity to meet students who already study at UF. Also small talks and interesting conversation began with our classmates, and we had the chance to meet each other better and take great photos together. People from all over the world in a sphere was a really exciting experience. Kanapaha botanical garden festival was an activity that no one should have missed.
CIP Weekday Activities
Weekend Activity
Saturday April 16th – End of Semester BBQ at Lake Wauburg – 11:45am to 4:00pm
Celebrate the end of semester with good friends, free food, and beautiful Florida nature! Experience UF’s Lake Wauburg by bringing your Gator1 ID to boat for free! There are volleyball courts, open fields, boats to use, docks and swimming areas, and more! You can go indoors at the Cypress Lodge to take breaks from the heat and get some good food! Meet the ELI at Norman Parking Garage at 11:45 to get a ride with LAs! Guests and family welcome.
PLEASE SIGN UP so we know how much food to order. If you don’t sign up, there may not be enough food. Comment with how many guests you will bring and if you are driving yourself.
US Federal Tax Forms for International Students
Taxes are due on April 18th this year. Taxes are filed for the previous calendar year, which in this case is 2021. If you didn’t earn money in the U.S. in 2021, you won’t owe taxes; however, if you were an international student in a U.S. school in 2021, you must file Form 8843 for you and your dependents whether you worked at a campus job in 2021 or not.
As a UF ELI student you can use a free non-immigrant tax filing program called Sprintax to file tax form 8843. Daryl Bish emailed you how to access Sprintax. Contact him at studyenglish@eli.ufl.edu or make an appointment to talk with in 223 Matherly Hall if you did not receive information about Sprintax. You must access Sprintax through a secure portal, and you must use your Gatorlink information to enter the program.
If do not use Sprintax, you can print form 8843, complete and sign it, and mail it to the government. You can access form 8843 here: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8843.pdf. Fill out the information under Part I and Part III. In 9 and 10, you need to include the information about the academic institution that you attended in 2021. You can find the address and phone number for the ELI at www.eli.ufl.edu. The name of the director of the ELI is Megan Forbes.
Mail your completed form to this address:
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Austin, TX 73301
If you had on campus employment in 2021, you will receive a form reporting your income and tax withholdings called a W-2. Because you earned taxable and reportable income and must submit a federal tax return to file your W-2. You also must file form 8843. Sprintax can help you do both.
The ELI is not permitted to assist any student with any IRS tax form preparation or give tax advice, but if you have questions about the above information, please contact Daryl Bish.
Last Day of Classes
Thursday, April 21, is the final day of ELI classes this spring. Teachers will be submitting final grades and attendance reports on Wednesday, April 20. If you are absent on Thursday, your absence will not be counted for immigration, class grades, or any petition you have submitted. All absences on April 18, 19, and 20 still count!!! You should not miss class these days!
We hope all ELI students will attend class on Thursday, April 21. Your teachers and LAs have fun and interesting lessons and activities planned. However, we know many ELI students are making preparations to leave Gainesville, so are very busy this last week. If you will not be attending class on Thursday, April 21, please inform your teacher by Tuesday, April 19. Your teachers and LAs need to know how many students to plan for.
All of your teachers and LAs will be at the ELI Commencement Ceremony on Friday, April 22nd. We hope you will be there, too!
Commencement
Friday April 22nd -10:00am
Celebrate your accomplishments, see your friends, and say goodbye! The ELI Commencement Ceremony will be held on Friday, April 22nd at 10:00am in the JWRU Ballroom. Students, Language Assistants, teachers, administrators, family, and friends are welcome to this special occasion.
Summer C 2022 Class Schedule Preference
Do you prefer a morning or afternoon Reading/Writing class? We want to try to give you your preference. All students who will study in the Summer C semester must check in online between May 2nd and May 6th. When you complete the check-in form in May, you will be able to select if you prefer:
- Morning reading/writing
- Afternoon reading/writing
- No preference.
If it is possible, we will place you according to your preference. However, we cannot guarantee we can match your preference for many reasons! For example, sometimes we only have one section of a class. You will be required to attend the class schedule you are assigned, even if it is not your preference. When we do have two sections, priority will be given to students on F-1 visas and the order in which we receive the request. If you want us to consider your preference for reading/writing time, you should be sure to check in on the first day (May 2nd). We will do our best!
Notes From the Office
Apartment Leases: As the semester draws to a close, keep in mind that your lease might be ending soon. It is important to know the exact date that your apartment lease ends so you can make plans. If you’re not sure when it ends, ask your apartment office.
If you need help finding a hotel to stay in short-term (you should ask your friends first!), someone to take over your lease, or a new apartment, talk to Victoria in Matherly 223.
Expiring I-20s: If your I-20 is expiring soon, make an appointment with Daryl in MAT 223 to renew your I-20 before it expires.
Financial Guarantees: For scholarship students, it is time to request your new financial guarantee letter for the Summer semester, if you plan to return. Most of your financial guarantees will expire this May, which means that you will need to submit a new financial guarantee by the tuition deadline of May 18th for the Summer C semester to avoid owing a late fee. If you need an enrollment letter or if you have any questions, please email Jennifer Vann at jvann@eli.ufl.edu.
Charges Due: Every ELI student should log in to ONE.uf.edu and look at the “Campus Finances (Bursar)” tile to see if they owe any fees to the university. For example, you may need to pay for services you received at the Student Health Care Center or printing in a library. If you have a scholarship, it will not pay these charges.
Out of the Office: Some of our important staff will be out of the office in the next few weeks. If you need to talk to them, please plan around these dates.
- Daryl is out 4/25 – 4/26
- Victoria is out 4/28 – 5/3
- Patricia is out 5/4 – 5/6
Check-in Dates for Summer C: Returning students need to check in for Summer C by using myELI between May 2nd and May 6th, 2022.
Photo of the Week
Manners & Culture
Q: Why do some students arrive late for class all the time? Is this polite in their own country?
A: Well, I don’t know for sure; you’d have to ask them that. However, I can certainly tell you that it’s considered extremely rude here! We do understand that sometimes you have a long distance between classes, but if you are late everyday it is an interruption to the class, especially on test days! Students, if you are late for class, don’t knock on the door, don’t say hello to anyone; just come in quietly and try to get on task as quickly as possibly!
Grammar
Q: Why do Americans ignore the grammar rules when speaking?
A: Nearly everyone does, to some extent. This is how we create slang and idioms and how language evolves over time. Language is not a static, unchanging thing. It lives because it’s spoken by a nearly infinite variety of people with a nearly infinite variety of thoughts and ideas. Think about it: when you speak in your native language with your friends, does it sound exactly like the language you are taught in school? Does it sound like the same language that your grandparents or even your parents use when they speak to their friends? Learn the rules and then learn how to break them, so you understand the English around you.
Birthdays!
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