It’s hard to believe, but the 2024 – 2025 school year has come to an end! Sunday, June 15th, was our final day of weekend classes. We wrapped things up with a joyful end of school year party – a wonderful celebration and a delicious trip around the culinary world!
We had a tremendous selection of foods: arepas, tacos, dumplings, cheesecake & salads – you name it, we ate it!
The event also featured fantastic performances from each of our classes. Lynne’s W1 class sang the Elvis classic “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Louisa’s W2 class performed “Everything at Once” by Lenka, and Joan’s W3 students talked about their favorite places around New York City.
W1
W2
W3
Congratulations to all the students! Have a safe & happy summer – see you all in September!
bucatini – a thick, spaghetti-like pasta with a hole running through the middle
fennel – a flowering plant species in the carrot family
sardines – a nutrient-rich, small, oily fish widely consumed by humans
pine nuts – Pine nuts, also called piñón, pinoli, or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines
Ingredients
500g (1 lb) bucatini
Salt
1 onion, finely chopped
2 fennel bulbs, just the stems and fronds
4-6 anchovy filets
3 or 4 small (4 oz/124g) cans of sardines packed in olive oil
A handful of raisins soaked in warm water
A handful of pine nuts
A few threads of saffron, soaked in warm water
Olive oil
Salt
For the topping (optional):
100g (1 cup) breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Directions
Boil the fennel stems and fronds in a large pot of well salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer the fennel out of the pot with a slotted spoon, drain in a colander and let cool. Then chop the fennel and set aside for later use. (Do not discard the cooking water!)
While the fennel is cooking, sauté the breadcrumbs in olive oil over gentle heat, stirring so the breadcrumbs are all coated in the oil, until they turn a golden brown. Turn off the heat and set aside until needed.
In a large sauté pan, sauté the onions in olive oil. Add the anchovies and let them melt into the onions. Then mix in the chopped fennel and sauté for a minute or two. Then add the saffron with its liquid, along with the raisins and pine nuts. Simmer everything for a minute or two longer to let the flavors meld. Taste and season with salt if it needs it. Finally, add the sardines and give everything a gentle stir, letting the sardine filets break up but not disintegrate. Lower the heat as far as it will go to keep this sauce warm.
Meanwhile, add the bucatini to the same pot where you had boiled the fennel.
When the pasta has cooked, transfer it to the pan with the sauce and toss everything together gently.
We’re excited to share news about The Literacy Review, an annual journal that showcases powerful writing from adult literacy programs throughout New York City.
Each year, The Literacy Review brings together diverse voices and perspectives, providing a platform for writers from ESOL and ABE (Adult Basic Education) programs – including several students from our own program here at University Settlement.
The newest edition, Volume 23 (LR23),was recently released, and there was even a celebration for its launch at NYU.
April is known for many things: the start of spring, Arbor Day, as well as Easter & Passover. But did you know it’s also known as National BLT Sandwich Month and International Guitar Month 🤟🎸?
A B.L.T Sandwich ( Bacon, lettuce & tomato )Kirk Hammett – guitarist for Metallica
Here are a few more lesser known holidays to celebrate in the month of April…
The first Saturday of April is International Pillow Fight Day. “What is International Pillow Fight Day?” you ask. Read all about it here.
Sometimes getting dressed in the morning can be a challenge – no worries! On April 6th come to work/school in your pajamas for National Pajama Day.
No Housework Day on April 7th says it all. Take the day off from your household chores and rest; maybe watch a movie or drink some wine- do the dishes tomorrow, they can wait!
April 7th is also National Coffee Cake Day, so why not grab a cup of coffee to pair with this sweet treat. Not sure what coffee cake is? Check out this YouTube video and learn all about this deliciously mis-understood “breakfast” food.
Hug Your Dog Day is on April 10th – Show your dog some love with a big hug. Don’t have a dog, maybe consider adopting one!
National Siblings Day is on April 10th. If you have a brother or sister, reach out to them to send your love. If you don’t have a sibling, maybe consider volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters – “a mentoring organization that pairs adult volunteers with children to help them develop positive relationships and reach their full potential”.
National Pet Day 🐶🐱 is April 11th. Do you have a pet? Maybe you want another pet? Check out the ASPCA and adopt a new cat or dog today.
If you love bread and cheese, Grilled Cheese Day on April 12th is perfect for you. Check out this video on how to make the world’s greatest sandwich:
And finally, if you’re tired of all the music streaming services, maybe head to your local record store on April 20th for National Record Store Day. Check out this list of the top ten record stores in New York City.
Comparatives are used to compare differences between two objects (larger, smaller, faster, higher).
One Syllable / -er
small – smaller cold – colder young – younger
One Syllable ends in /e/ -r
safe – safer nice – nicer close – closer
Consonant + vowel + Consonant -(x)er
hot – hotter big – bigger fat – fatter
Two Syllable ends in /y/ -ier
happy – happier angry – angrier hungry – hungrier
Two or More Syllables >> more –
dangerous – more dangerous expensive – more expensive difficult – more difficult
Irregular
good – better bad – worse
Read the dialog and look for the comparatives.
Aimee: So Todd, you said before, that your mom is from San Francisco.
Todd: No, my dad is from San Francisco.
Aimee: So, your dad is from San Francisco and your mom is from Los Angeles.
Todd: Yes, that’s right.
Aimee: Okay, so which city is better?
Todd: Ooh, wow. They both are great American cities! They are very, very different. I think San Francisco is better, but some people think LA is better.
Aimee: So, is LA bigger than San Francisco?
Todd: Yes, it is much, much bigger. LA is huge. It is about 10 million people, maybe more.
Aimee: That is huge.
Todd: Yeah. San Francisco has only one million people.
Aimee: Oh, that’s tiny.
Todd: Yeah, it’s much smaller than LA.
Aimee: Okay.
Todd: Yeah, much smaller.
Aimee: And is LA more expensive than San Francisco?
Todd: I don’t think so. LA is expensive but San Francisco is more expensive. San Francisco is maybe the most expensive city in the US. Because of Google, Yahoo, Apple, all these famous companies.
Aimee: Right, okay. And so about the weather? Is LA warmer than San Francisco?
Todd: Yeah, it’s much warmer. It’s much, much warmer. LA has beautiful weather so most days it’s warm, no clouds, maybe 25 degrees Celsius.
Aimee: What about the looks? Is LA prettier than San Francisco?
Todd: No, not at all.
Aimee: No?
Todd: Which city sounds more interesting to you, Aimee?
Aimee: I want to go to both but I think I would prefer to go to San Francisco.
