Old School Writing Workshop

Fall 2011 Workshop at The Community House

OSWW will be offering its third year of middle-school workshops at Hinsdale's Community House.  You can register students through the Community House  (www.thecommunityhouse.org), but Deirdre, Kate, and Molly would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the program directly. Just email us at molly@oldschoolwritingworkshop.com, or call 630.272.7885.  Kate and Deirdre will lead the OSWW Fundamentals in 2011; they are busy refining our already well-received curriculum for the class. A description of the workshop follows:

 

Old School Writing Workshop

Does your middle-school student struggle with writing? Does he realize that an understanding of proper grammar and punctuation is fundamental to strong, clear prose? The Old School Writing Workshop (OSWW) helps kids master those “old school” skills, like proper grammar, essential to all good writing. OSWW Fundamentals covers parts-of-speech, proper punctuation, sentence structure, and good paragraph construction. Engaging, experienced instructors bring the material to life, making

sentence diagramming and other tried-and-true methods fresh for today’s students. After the workshop ends, students are better prepared to tackle their writing assignments with confidence. View our website at: www.oldschoolwritingworkshop.com

Day: Saturday

Time: 4:00pm-5:15pm

Dates: 9/17, 9/24, 10/1, 10/15, 10/22, 11/5 *

*no class 10/29

Age: Middle School Students

Cost: $360/$430

Code:

Min/Max: 6/8

 

Deirdre Sullivan joins OSWW

OSWW is growing its program and coaching team this year. Kate and I are thrilled to have Deirdre Sullivan join us for coaching and workshop instruction. Her extensive experience, unique talents with teaching kids with different learning styles and needs, and enthusiasm for all things grammar makes this a perfect fit for all.  Deirdre is already coaching students this summer and will be co-teaching Fall 2011  OSWW Fundamentals (more details on that soon).  Here is more on Deirdre:

Deirdre Sullivan, a former English and Spanish teacher, also supervised the Write Place, a peer mentoring program at Fenwick High School in Oak Park. She graduated cum laude from Boston College where she majored in English and minored in International Relations with a concentration in Spanish. During college, Deirdre worked as a copy editor on the Sub Turri yearbook. She believes it is pertinent for students to fine-tune basic English grammar skills in order to advance to composition level writing.  Deirdre has a personal interest in assisting students with special needs, but has been a passionate educator for varied levels of learners; over the past twenty years she has been a classroom instructor for students ages 7 to 70. 

About Us

Kate Dulla and Molly Hughes lead the OSWW programs.

Molly joined Anita Moriarty at College Bound Consulting in 2009 to start a second career as an independent college consultant. That fall, they expanded their services by launching the Old School Writing Workshop. Molly and Kate Dulla, who joined OSWW in the summer of 2010, added services for high-schoolers; Spot Tutoring and the Writing Coach Program, along with the successful middle-school workshops, complete the OSWW offerings.  

Molly attended Hinsdale Central High School, where she spent many afternoons in the El Diablo yearbook room as a copy editor, or elsewhere in the English Department hallways writing and rehearsing for Mock Trial competitions. She went on to earn a B.A. in Spanish Literature with an English minor from Boston College, and then earned an  M.B.A. from the University of Virginia. At both Boston College and the University of Virginia, Molly wrote and edited for the student newspaper. She is writing short stories, loosely based on her childhood in Hinsdale, in her spare time.

Kate Dulla joined OSWW in 2010 as a writing coach, tutor, and workshop instructor. A Hinsdale native and Western Springs resident, Kate brings clients her wisdom from over ten years of teaching high-school English.  In addition to instructing in the English departments of Riverside Brookfield High School, where she was the yearbook advisor, and Hinsdale Central High School, Kate has tutored one-on-one for years. She shares the OSWW philosophy that students need to develop strong fundamental writing skills, but that building those skills need not be a tedious, boring experience.