November 7, 2008: Central Illinois Reading Council is accepting applications for Grant Proposals that support literacy in Illinois. Preference will be given to new grant receipients or those who have not received a CIRC grant in the past 3 years. To receive a grant, you must be a current CIRC member and cannot preside on the CIRC Board. For more information, please see the application form.
November 13, 2008: Central Illinois Reading Council will host a Read, Reflect, and Relax Event from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Prairie Hill Winery, 23753 Lounsberry Road, Oakford, Illinois. Join us for a night of wine tasting and engaging book conversation. To participate, please read the book A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering American on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson. This book is a laugh-out-loud account of an outrageously rugged hiking trip by a comic author. Register by email or mail by November 5, 2008. The cost is $5 for CIRC members and $10 for nonmembers.
January 29-31, 2009: Central Illinois Reading Council will host a Scholastic 1/2 Price Book Sale at the Capital Area Career Center, 2201 Toronto Road, Springfield, Illinois. The hours on January 29th are 4:00 to 7:00 PM for purchase orders only!! On January 30th, the hours are 4:00 to 7:00 PM and on January 31st, the hours are 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. CIRC is looking forward to volunteers to work at the book sale. You will be paid $10 an hour in books. If you are interested, please contact us by January 8th by email.
February 1, 2009: Central Illinois Reading Council is looking for Preservice Teachers who are members of CIRC and want to go to the IRC Conference for free! Please send your one-page explanation explaining why you should be one of the lucky four recipients of a "scholarship" to attend the conference. For more details, please see the available information.
February 21-25, 2009: International Reading Association will host its 54th Annual Convention Beyond the Horizon featuring Two Great Events in Two Great Cities. In February, IRA will host Multiple, Pathways to Literacy in Phoenix, Arizona. IRA will host Reading, Writing, and Conversations from May 3-7, 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. To find out more about these exciting conventions, check out the Annual Convention section at www.reading.org.
March 19-21, 2009: IRC Conference, Reading! Engage! Excite! Ignite!, in Springfield, Illinois. Please take a moment to peruse the Preliminary Program highlighting
the ENGAGING authors and EXCITING speakers awaiting you at the 2009
Conference that are sure to IGNITE your passion for reading! The early Registration deadline is February 1, 2009. The Housing Form is due to the Springfield Convention Vistors Bureau (SCVB) by February 15, 2009.
April 2, 2009: Central Illinois Reading Council will host an event featuring Boomer Crotty. As a CIRC member, we need your help to decide where he will speak. You can vote for one of three cities. The city with the most votes will get to host Boomer’s visit. When you vote, if you have a location idea please include it with an address and contact information. The three cities are: Jacksonville, Taylorville, or Lincoln. Send your vote with the word city in the subject line to circ@illinoisreadingcouncil.org by February 28, 2009.