The Board President Says …
On June 2nd we held our Celebration of Achievement at Mocha Shrine Temple. Six of the seven children who completed our program were present to receive their certificates. The graduates were piped in and received their certificates from their tutors.
One of the graduates, Ruby Winterburn, gave a heartfelt speech in which she thanked her tutor, the Learning Centre and the Scottish Rite for the positive difference they had made in her life.
A special thanks goes to the Camel Coach of Mocha Shrine Temple for their generosity in defraying the cost of the Celebration of Achievement. Ross Sutherland made a donation on behalf of the Masonic Lodges — St. John’s 81, Rising Star 81 and Doric 289 — to our Learning Centre. This very generous donation will greatly assist us in delivering our Learning Centre program for children with dyslexia.
Our Tutor Trainer is busy training new tutors, and beginning in July we will start construction of our four new tutor rooms. Together, these two endeavours will enable us to take on more children and reduce the waiting list for our program.
I would like to wish the volunteers, tutors and Board members a safe and happy summer holiday. If the weatherman is correct, it will be a hot one.
James Sutherland
Board President
The Word From the Centre Director
Unbelievably, another year at the Centre has come and gone. The last day for tutoring was Thursday, May 28th, and we will resume the second week of September. This year was filled with an abundance of firsts for me as the new director. Although there was a steep learning curve, the rewards have been numerous. The dedication of the tutors and their ongoing commitment to the program and their students is immeasurable.
The children and their families are incredibly kind and caring. It is a pleasure to hear the camaraderie and sharing of ideas that happens in the waiting area. Unfortunately, we have a long waitlist; however, we have an even longer list of people who are interested in tutoring. We hosted a tutor information session in May where we presented all about the Centre and the details about tutor training. Our hope is to start training the next group of volunteer tutors in June.
The final event of the year was our Celebration of Achievement, where we had the opportunity to recognize seven of our children who have graduated from the program. We could not be prouder of this group and their families for their perseverance and efforts along their learning journey.
Helen Griffin
Centre Director
Celebration of Achievement
On June 2nd, 2026, the London Learning Centre held its Celebration of Achievement for seven students who have completed the program. Students were piped into the auditorium led by bagpiper Steven Shepherd. After opening remarks from Board President Jim Sutherland, the audience heard sincere and heartwarming remarks from former student Ruby Winterburn, who spoke on the impact and the positive changes resulting from her time at the Learning Centre. Ruby, who was introduced by her former tutor Sue Martin, has just completed her Grade 10 year.
Certificates were presented to each student by their respective tutor, each of whom shared fond thoughts of their times together. New tutor Carol-anne Dendias also received a certificate, having completed her tutor training, from Tutor Trainer Cathee Crinklaw and Board President Sutherland.
Ross Sutherland, a member of London Scottish Rite, presented a cheque to the London Learning Centre through the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation, donated by a group of Masonic Lodges in London. The previous issue of The Bear Facts explained three current committees that members of the London Learning Centre are working on. President Richard Jones and Treasurer Jim Vasko of the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation presented cheques to Board Secretary Jim Ford and Vice-President Ron Findlater to help finance the work of two of those committees.
Following closing remarks from Centre Director Helen Griffin and Board President Jim Sutherland, the audience of about 50 people retired to enjoy cake and refreshments provided by — and with thanks to — the Camel Coach Unit of Mocha Shriners.
Journey of Learning
Centre Director Helen Griffin and Centre Tutor Trainer Cathee Crinklaw had the pleasure of attending a two-day conference hosted by the Halifax Scottish Rite Learning Centre. The keynote speaker, Dr. Deb Glaser, is an educational consultant and author with expertise in reading assessment and proven instructional methods. Her knowledge about learning disabilities was instrumental in developing programs to teach teachers and students during her time as director at a non-profit dyslexia learning centre. The focus for this event was morphology — the study of how words are formed, structured and related to one another in a language.
Did you know that English borrows from over 350 languages, including French, Latin, German and Greek? It is no wonder that learning this language can be challenging and, at times, frustrating. Research proves that when we understand the meaning, spelling, pronunciation and origin of the smallest meaningful form of a word — known as a morpheme — we can increase our vocabulary and our skills in decoding and spelling. The question, then, is how we do this, which Dr. Glaser incorporated into meaningful, relevant and hands-on activities. She shared her years of experience and personal examples of the successful implementation of morphology in teaching and learning. We will be incorporating many of these wonderful ideas into tutor training, lesson planning and elsewhere throughout the Centre.
To be with other educators across the country who are passionate about teaching children how to read and write was amazing. Several Scottish Rite Learning Centre trainers, directors and tutors from different centres were present, so it was an opportunity to share everything fabulous that occurs at each location. It was rejuvenating and inspiring to hear all the wonderful things that happen for children with dyslexia. To top it all off, we met a woman at the airport who shared that she has dyslexia and was so grateful for the work we do and the difference we make!
Our Children Share Their Thoughts
Some of our favourite reflections from the students this year:
When I started, I couldn’t read a 3-letter word and now I’ve read a 17-letter word. Lucas
I like that I never feel rushed and that my tutor and everyone is very patient with me. I have learned how to read more words than before and understand what I am reading. Emmy
How tutoring makes me feel: excited, enthusiastic, optimistic and, most of all, creative! One of my favourite memories is showing Miss Sue my drawings. Peyton
I’ve gained more confidence. Caleb
I had fun! I learned how to read better and to write in cursive. Tessa
Caleb’s Speech on Dyslexia
We love sharing great news! Caleb, one of our tutoring students, started at the London Centre in October 2024. He is in Grade 7 and plays basketball. He loves history and keeps his tutor on her toes during their sessions with his thoughtful questions. He recently researched and wrote a speech on dyslexia for a school assignment. He did a wonderful job presenting it in front of his classmates and then in the school finals — he was first up and he did not use cue cards! We thought you would like to read his speech. Well done, Caleb!
Hi, my name is Caleb and, as many of you know, I have dyslexia, and I’m here today to spread awareness about it.
What is dyslexia?
Now you are probably wondering what dyslexia is. Dyslexia is a lifelong learning difference that you are born with, and it affects reading and spelling. It has nothing to do with eyesight or how smart someone is. But you might be thinking that doesn’t answer the whole question: how does dyslexia affect reading and spelling? Dyslexia affects reading and spelling because certain neural pathways in the brain are not connected. The pathways that are not connected to each other are the phoneme processor, the word analyser and the automatic detector.
Facts about dyslexia
You have a 40–60% chance of having dyslexia if one of your parents has it. Dyslexia can also travel with other differences, such as dyscalculia (difficulties with math and numbers), dysgraphia (difficulties with writing skills like handwriting and typing) and the most well-known one, ADHD (difficulties with focus, hyperactivity and sometimes impulsivity). Remember when I said that dyslexia has nothing to do with how smart someone is? Fifty percent of NASA employees have dyslexia. Albert Einstein had dyslexia. Twelve iconic world leaders — including two Canadian political figures, seven US presidents, Winston Churchill and more — had dyslexia. If you are thinking that’s a lot, one out of five people in the world is dyslexic!
Myths and diagnosis
Now you might be thinking about some of the biggest myths about dyslexia. If you are wondering, I have the answer. They are eyesight, smarts and medication. Eyesight: people think that the words move on the paper, which is not true. Dyslexics see the same thing as you, unless they have something separate from dyslexia that affects their eyesight. Smarts: dyslexia has nothing — and I mean nothing — to do with how smart someone is, which I have already explained. Medication: there is no kind of medicine that can cure dyslexia. Dyslexia is lifelong, and all dyslexics need is some extra help.
Finally, what did we learn? We learned that dyslexia does not reflect how intelligent someone is. There is no medical cure for it, just extra help. It does not affect eyesight — that’s a myth. Dyslexic reading issues are caused when the phoneme processor, the word analyzer and the automatic detector are not connected together by neural pathways in the brain. Dyslexia often travels with dyscalculia, dysgraphia and ADHD. Twelve iconic world leaders have had dyslexia. Albert Einstein had dyslexia. Fifty percent of NASA employees have dyslexia, and one in five people has dyslexia. In conclusion, I have a lot to live up to, and I am proud to be dyslexic.
From the Board
As part of the Celebration of Achievement event, Richard Jones (President) and Jim Vasko (Treasurer) of the Scottish Rite Charitable Foundation presented a cheque to Ron Findlater, chairman of a National Learning Centre committee looking into Psychoeducational Assessments and Access.
Members of the London Learning Centre Board of Directors attended the Celebration of Achievement at Mocha Shrine on June 2nd, 2026: President Jim Sutherland, Centre Director Helen Griffin, Vice-President Ron Findlater, Cate Boates, Sheri Van Slack, Treasurer Wayne Love, Tutor Trainer Cathee Crinklaw, Cristian Popescu and Secretary Jim Ford. Not present were Don Fick, Duncan Fick, Brent Patroch and Pauline Richards.
We wish all our families, tutors, volunteers and Board members a safe and happy summer. Tutoring resumes the second week of September.