The ELI Weekly
Where in the World?
This semester, the ELI has 104 students from 24 countries. Ask your classmates to tell you some fun facts about their countries!
CIP Weekly Activities
Weekend Event: Volunteer Weekend
Join us as we help our local community with various service opportunities! Please sign up for only one activity of the three. You must sign up to attend: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0C4BA9A823A02-54545433-volunteer
Saturday, February 1st
Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs – 9:00am – 12:30pm – Meet at Norman Parking Garage
- Visit a training center for medical service dogs. We will play with puppies to help train them to be friendly to strangers.
Project Downtown Gainesville – 12:30pm – 1:45pm – Meet in front of City Hall Downtown
- Help serve food to the unsheltered community of Gainesville!
- Meet at 200 E University Ave.
Sunday, February 2nd
Mill Creek Horse Farm – 9:15am-1:30pm – Meet at Norman Parking Garage
- Come help at a retirement home for horses! They will have a project to help improve their farm and we will get a chance to see and feed the horses.
Other CIP Reminders
Conversation Partners (CPs)
Want to meet with a fluent English speaker and make a new friend? Sign up for a CP! If you choose to sign up, you must meet with your partner for one hour a week. It can take up to two weeks to get a partner from when you sign up. Please sign up here!
Please email Joey at conversationpartners@eli.ufl.edu for any issues, questions or concerns or visit her in the CIP Office during office hours.
CIP Passports
Don’t forget to get your CIP Passport hole punched from the activity leaders at the event (not after). We don’t hole punch passports after the event. Redeem your completed passport for a small gift, a photo for the ELI Instagram, and your name published in the ELI weekly!
Need a new CIP Passport? Stop by the CIP Office
Find the Pineapple
Remember the CIP Pineapple is hidden in a new place every Monday in the CIP office. Stop by and find it for hole punches!
Notes from the Office
Class Attendance: Your attendance is important. Your teachers are taking note of both your absences and your tardies in every class every day. Please remember that this also includes time spent in the hallway instead of the classroom.
Lost and Found: Have you lost your car keys, student ID card, driver’s license, wallet, or some other important item? Many times, when people find an item, they bring it to the office for safe keeping. When you lose something, please come by the ELI Main Office (MAT223) and see if it is in the lost and found.
Hallways: Many UF faculty and staff have offices in classroom buildings, just like Matherly Hall. Please remember to speak softly in the buildings. Please do not block the hallways or staircases by sitting in them.
Getting Extra Help in the Classroom (Accommodations)
Do you have special learning needs due to a personal medical condition? If you do, it is important that you get in touch with Christine (christinevoigt@ufl.edu) as soon as possible so we know how to help you. Christine will help you talk to the UF Disabilities Resource Center about accommodations for your classes.
Some examples of accommodations are:
- extra time on exams due to a reading disability
- providing PowerPoint Presentations to students who need more reading time
- permission to leave the classroom to take medication
- eating or drinking in class for a specific medical condition
- an audio version of a text book for students who have limited vision
We want this to be a great learning experience for all our students!
Staying Safe on Campus
Here are a few safety reminders for staying safe on campus:
- Gatorsafe: You should download the Gatorsafe App on your phone so you can get UF alerts. Gatorsafe has useful safety information about weather, a quick link to UFPD, and other safety services.
- Personal belongings: Do not leave backpacks, computers, phones or other personal belongings in the classrooms or hallways when you are not there. Also, if you use a mobility device like a bike, electric scooter, or skateboard, you should lock it outside at one of the racks. Take the time to register your property with UFPD, especially your mobility devices.
- ELI Emergency Cell Phone and 911: The ELI has a special phone number that you can use if you have a medical or legal emergency outside of normal office hours. The ELI emergency phone number is 352-672-0144 that is available from 4:30pm-8:00am when the ELI office is closed. You should store this number in your phone in case you have an emergency. An example of an emergency is if an ELI student needs to go to the hospital or gets arrested. Please do not use the emergency number for anything that can wait to be answered by email or when the office is open. If you need the police, fire department, or an ambulance for an extreme emergency, call 911 before you call the ELI emergency number.
Photo of the Week: LA Class!
Birthdays!
Manners & Culture
Q: I have this strange text that says I have a toll on my car. What should I do?
A: It’s a scam! Be careful of scam emails, text messages, and phone calls from people asking for bank account information, gift cards, credit card information, even if they say they are from the police, ICE, or IRS. These messages might say they need immediate payment or there will be some terrible result for you. These are scams meant to scare you into giving them money. If you ever get a text or call and you aren’t sure if it is a scam, talk to Christine for help.
Grammar
Q: If “plan” doubles the “n” in past tense (planned), why doesn’t “open” (openned)?
A: Actually, you’ve found one crazy spelling point in English that does have a pattern. In verbs of more than one syllable, we only double that last consonant when the stress falls on the last syllable. In “open” the stress falls on the “o” so we do not double the “n”.
Joke of the Week
Q: What did the wool hat say to the scarf?
A: “You hang around while I go on ahead!”
Notes from the Editor
I need students, LAs, instructors, staff, and administrators to help me write the Weekly!
- Write a paragraph about your experiences this semester. You could write about an ELI activity, a Gainesville event, a fabulous local restaurant, or tell us about a place or event in your country that we should visit.
- Send me grammar questions for me to put in the Weekly.
- Send me manners and culture questions for me to put in the Weekly.
- Send me jokes to put in the Weekly.
Send your paragraphs and/or questions to Maya (mshastri@ufl.edu) Use the subject heading: ELI Weekly.