Mercy Street Family Resource Center: March 2015

CHAC/FIRST 5 Presents: Your March Overview

Greetings Families, Partners, and LTI Community

Happy Spring! March 20 marks the first day of spring, but the budding plants and warm weather have made it feel like it is already here. What do you look forward to most about Spring? We hope you come and enjoy some time with your CHAC/FIRST 5 community.

Here’s this month’s news

Young ‘Masterminds’ Raise Awareness and Funds for Art Studio Scholarship.

A group of 6 amazing students from Collins Elementary School was given a challenge to learn about the different types of organizations in their community. They had to select an organization to work with by providing services or to help raise money for the cause. After a meeting between our Volunteer Coordinator and the 6 students from Collins, the Mastermind Group was formed.

Within the next 2.5 months, the Mastermind Group was able to raise a total of $80 through selling hot chocolate and collecting recyclable cans in their community. The money will go towards providing scholarships to students in our Science Kids and/or Art Studio class. These scholarships will make a young child and their parent very happy.

THANK YOU, Mastermind Group from Collins Elementary School. We are appreciative of your support, your creativity, and we are so proud of your accomplishments!

Why We Value Early Literacy

Reading to young children helps build essential skills for school and life. Not only is reading fun, research shows young children who spend time reading with their families enter kindergarten better prepared. Listen to our podcast on the value of early literacy (5 minutes).

http://www.first5kids.org/podcast/early-literacy

Movetrition

Time to get moving Friday afternoons in Sunnyvale! Nancy Doan and SJSU student volunteers will teach kids about healthy eating through one of their favorite activities –movement! See Sunnyvale page for details. Starts March 6 and runs for 6 weeks.

The Power of Positive Parenting Presentation Coming to Vargas Elementary

Community Worker Ana Moreno will be presenting “The Power of Positive Parenting,” from the Triple P Parenting series on Tuesday March 17 from 6:00-8:00pm in Spanish. This is a great presentation for people interested in learning new strategies for connecting with children and increasing successful shaping of behavior.

Springtime Family Fun From Our Partners

Now is the time to get back outside and have some fun with the whole family. Here is a list of fun festivals and events coming up from our Community Partners

Mountain View:

Summer Camp Fair – Saturday, March 7, 11:00am-1:00pm at Rengstorff Park Explore Summer Camp offerings from the City of Mountain View while meeting the staff and getting your questions answered! Will be accepting drop-off registration and can assist you with creating your online account for the first day of summer registration. They will be holding a Swim Lesson Assessment at Eagle Park Pool at the same time. Use this Swim Lesson Assessment as an opportunity to determine which level to register your child in for Spring and Summer Swim Lessons.

Concerts on the Plaza – Friday, April 3 and May 1, 6:00pm – 7:00pm – 500 Castro Street (Civic Center) The Community Services Department proudly presents Concerts on the Plaza! The concert series will take place on the first Friday of the month April through September from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Join your friends and neighbors and bring your blanket or lawn chair down to the Civic Center Plaza for a variety of musical performances. In addition to the music, there will be food trucks, a “Pop Up Park” area for children and for adults, beer and wine.

37th Annual Spring Family Parade – Saturday, April 25, 12:00pm – 3:00pm. The City of Mountain View Recreation Division presents the 37th Annual Family Parade! The parade will begin on Castro Street at Villa Street at noon and continue into Pioneer Park for crafts, music, food, games and information about camps and classes the Mountain View Recreation Division will be offering this summer. If you or your group would like to have a great time and participate in the parade, please check their website for more information and registration deadlines at www.mountainview.gov/parade or call (650) 903-6331.

Sunnyvale:

Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra – Sunday, March 8, 3:00pm-4:00pm at Sunnyvale Library. Sunday Music Series – Firebird Youth Chinese Orchestra:* Young Chinese-American musicians play traditional Chinese instrumental music, including the Dizi, Sheng, Suona, Erhu, and some Chinese percussion instruments. *Generously funded by the Friends of the Sunnyvale Library.

Fit ‘n Fun Earth Day Fair – Saturday April 25, 10:00am-3:00pm at Columbia Neighborhood Center. Health and Nutrition, Exhibits, Games, Music, Stunts, Sports Clinic, Kids Activities. For more information call 408-730-7800

26^th Annual Sunnyvale Library Storytelling Festival – Saturday, April 25, 2:00pm-4:00pm at the Sunnyvale Library. Stories from around the world told by a variety of storytellers.

Cupertino:

Big Bunny 5k - April 4, 2015, 9:00 am, Cupertino Civic Center. The Big Bunny 5k brings members of the entire Cupertino community together to kick-off the start of Spring. The Recreation and Community Services Department looks forward to seeing you and your family as the community takes a step forward for health and fitness. Pre-registration is required on-line or at the Quinlan Community Center. For more information and to register, please go to:www.bigbunny5k.com.

Earth Day & Healthy Communities Festival - April 11, 2015, 11:00 am-3:00 pm. This annual event is held at Cupertino Civic Center, 10300 Torre Ave. For more information, please call the City of Cupertino Sustainability Division at (408) 777-3200.

Holi (Festival of Colors) – April 11, 2015, Memorial Park, Time TBA. This is a new event. Further information TBA at http://cupertino.org/index.aspx?page=94

The Cherry Blossom Festival - April 25 & 26, 2015, 10:00 am-5:00 pm, Memorial Park. The Cherry Blossom Festival, honoring Cupertino's sister city of Toyokawa, Japan, is an annual event held at Memorial Park each April. This event offers a wide selection of Japanese food and beverages, entertainment, demonstrations, cultural exhibits, art, crafts and clothing for sale. All-day entertainment takes place in the park amphitheater.

The festival benefits the non-profit Cupertino Sister City Committee, which promotes friendship and student exchange programs between the two cities. Local non-profit organizations that support services for disadvantaged youth, sports, music and language programs will have booths to raise funds for their groups.
For further information about the Cherry Blossom Festival, contact Asif Kausar, festival coordinator, at (408) 940-5287. You can also visit their website at www.cupertinotoyokawa.org.

Cupertino Day - May 2, 2015, 10:00 am-6:00 pm, Blackberry Farm. This annual event celebrates the reopening of Blackberry Farm for the season. Please see Blackberry Farm's web page for more information.

20th Annual Bike to Work Day - May 7, 2015 (Tentative). This annual event is sponsored by the Cupertino Bicycle Pedestrian Commission and the Cupertino Library. An Energizer station will be set up in front of the Quinlan Community Center from 6:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., offering food and beverages to participants. Please click here for more information.

World Journal Festival - May 9 & 10, 2015, 10:00 am-6:00 pm, Cupertino Senior Center. For more information, please visit www.worldjournal.com or call Peter Ho at (650) 259-2045.

Snack Time at the FRCs: Thank you for the healthy snack donations, and please remember to take any extra home with you!

We thank you for your contributions of healthy snacks for the children during snack time. Sugary treats are so common especially during times of celebration that it’s worth the reminder that we have taken the Potter the Otter pledge and do not serve any sugary food or drinks at any of our FRC events. We want children to learn how to celebrate without sugar!

Parents have brought in healthier choices, like fruits, veggies, cheese, crackers and cereals, and we are grateful for the contribution to stretch our limited funds.

PLEASE NOTE – we cannot have ANY open food in the FRC cabinets unless it is in an airtight plastic/glass container. We do not want to encourage pests. During our clean up event on October 30, we had to throw out several partially used boxes of foods because of this hazard. We want to be mindful about health and safety and keep our centers clean.

Thank you for understanding!

Donations

We very much appreciate all of you who kindly give us gently used clothing, supplies and toys for our classrooms. In order to make sure that we have adequate space and good use for your donations, please call us first at (650) 967-4813 before bringing your donations to our centers. Thank you!

Holidays and Scheduled Closings:

Here is a list of upcoming days we will be closed and class cancelations. Please watch our calendars for unexpected closings, such as teacher illness.

April 4 – 6	Spring Break in Mountain View – Office hours only, no classes at Mercy Street or Escuela
April 13 – 17	Spring Break in Cupertino No classes at Vargas Elementary or Canon Music School

Volunteers Needed! Do you have a few hours a week you that you can spare? Do you want to give back to your community? Do you want to make an impact in the lives of young children and their families? Do you want to expand your knowledge of early childhood development? Come join our team. If you are interested and/or want more information on our fabulous volunteer program, please send an email to Nancy Doan at nancydoan5@gmail.com. Thanks for considering – the success of our program depends on Volunteers! Together we make the difference.

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