Greetings Families, Partners, and LTI Community
It’s November, the heart
of fall, and the cooler days are finally here. Many people have been suffering
from colds/flu from the seasonal changes. We hope you are staying healthy and
active. Please remember to stay home if you or your children are sick to avoid
the spread of illness. Here is information about our latest events and news,
including our holiday schedule through the end of the year. See you soon!
- We had over 50 families with almost 70 children present!
- Volunteers from De Anza College and San Jose State University who are studying child development helped staff and prep the crafts and stations.
- Face painters Lisa and Bill Vazquez donated their time, talent and funds raised to support our program.
- Photographer Jose Cruz volunteered his time for the fourth year to take photos in the photo booth.
- The talented Jameszini donated 50% of the proceeds from his balloon creations to our program.
- Volunteer Scott Garfield won the hearts of many as Clifford the Dog for the second year.
- Staff enjoyed the chance to play, dance and admire all of the wonderful costumes.
- Pictures are posted. Please refer to the link on the back of the map that you received at the party. If you do not have the link, please email mercystreetfrc@gmail.com
Congratulations
to Aura Pineda of Mountain View, winner of the iPod Nano! Aura is a participant in our
Wednesday Play and Learn Classes at Mercy. Many thanks to everyone who
purchased tickets for our raffle. We earned almost $400 that will go toward
program enhancements! The iPod was donated, so our LTI Program gets 100% of the
money raised.
Two
New SEEDS Classes coming Soon!
SEEDS is a class about Early Literacy, but that does not mean learning to read,
necessarily. According to zerotothree.org, “Early literacy theory emphasizes
the more natural unfolding of skills through the enjoyment of books, the
importance of positive interactions between young children and adults, and the
critical role of literacy-rich experiences.”
These valuable classes
are offered to you at no cost, with free childcare included. We hope you’ll
take the time to learn more about how to enhance your child’s literacy and
language development from birth!
Classes are in Spanish and Mandarin this round – want one in English? Let us
know and we’ll put you on the interest list for upcoming classes.
SEEDS:
Registration required, free childcare
provided with registration.
Mountain View: Fridays 7:00pm - 9:00pm at Escuela FRC (for MV residents only). In Spanish. Starts November 1, and lasts for five weeks.
Mountain View: Fridays 7:00pm - 9:00pm at Escuela FRC (for MV residents only). In Spanish. Starts November 1, and lasts for five weeks.
Mercy Street LTI
Childcare Services
Here at Mercy Street, a
big part of our mission is to provide classes for parents geared to help get
kids ready for school. We offer classes on Early Literacy (SEEDS), Positive
Parenting Program (Triple P), and parent advocacy (Abriendo Puertas), and other
classes throughout the year. We are proud to provide quality childcare services
so that parents can participate in these events knowing their children are not
only well cared for, they are learning and having fun too!
Our Childcare Provider
Team, led by Guadalupe Romo, offers activities similar to an arts enrichment or Play & Learn class. There is free play, story time, songs, snack and art
activities. Children who come to our classes regularly thrive on this structure.
For some children, it is
their first time separating from Mom or Dad, and it can be difficult and scary
(for both parent and child!). We place the highest priority on children having
a positive experience, and work with parents based on the child’s developmental
age and temperament. If a child’s cry is very distressed, we bring them back to
their parents within 5 minutes. Sometimes a child is able to return to class,
but often it means Mom or Dad has to come back next week.
“We are stretching the child’s
capacity to tolerate their caregiver’s absence for short periods, but we do not
want a child to be overwhelmed. Some amount of distress is common and not
overwhelming, and is repaired when the child sees Mom/Dad again. Over time the
child learns that they can separate, it won’t be too much, and Mom/Dad will
come back. Then their distress becomes less and less. Familiarity with the
classroom and sensitive and caring childcare providers is also helpful. Over
time the child’s confidence with new experiences grows.”
– Brandy Vanderheiden, FRC Coordinator
and certified trauma therapist.
We would like to take a
moment to offer some gratitude to our families and community members who donated
items and funds to our centers this month. In these times with funding
decreasing and costs increasing, we will need more support to provide the
quality of services that we offer at our centers.
A big thank
you to Anke DeJong,
Soosan Sarvian, Noriko Tyson, Stella White, Sayo Palomino, Alana Caldwell,
Virginia Phelps, Eric Lemons, Michel Godert, Beverly Dyke, Linda Lau, Kenny Hu,
Leslie Lee, Tesin Dosch, Revathi Chockaligan, and Shu Hua Cheng!
Community
Partners Gather in Collaboration to “Make a Difference” Organizations and service agencies
from all over the county came together on October 17 to connect with each other
and meet people interested in volunteering to serve in the community, and introduce services to families wanting to know more about the resources around them. Organizations
are very interested in how they can work together to expand services and avoid
duplicating work.
For example, our Mercy
Street LTI works with adult education programs in Mountain View and
Sunnyvale/Cupertino to bring our parent education to teen parents completing
their GED’s. We work with school districts, libraries, local preschools, and kindergarten
readiness programs.
CHAC’s FIRST 5 LTI Program Director, Maddi Pascua says, “Families and service providers are becoming more aware of the fact that we all need help to deal with everyday challenges and unexpected events. It is becoming obsolete for non-profit organizations to stand out to compete with other non-profit organizations, and try to do as much as possible in-house. There are so many families to serve, and a growing number of non-profits that specialize in specific services (i.e. mental health, mentoring, food programs,etc.). Organizations in collaboration with each other could help with maximizing program budgets and delaying the staff burnout that we see very often, because in a collaboration, many people are coming together to help the community. Of course, these organizations thrive because of the kind people who volunteer with their programs. All of these types of partnerships are better for both service providers, and for our communities.”
Save the Dates!
- Community Partner Appreciation Gathering on Thursday 11/21 from 3:00 - 5:00pm. Partners from all over the county will be honored for their collaboration and work for children in our communities. A panel of parent participants will speak about the great impact the program has had on their families and on their experience of being a parent in Santa Clara County.
- Holiday/End of Year Celebration and Volunteer Appreciation on Friday December 13 Time: TBD. Family potluck. Please, no sugary food or beverages.
- Children’s Holiday Concert on Saturday December 14 from 4:00pm - 6:00pm in the Church Sanctuary. Classes will rehearse holiday/winter songs in classes and perform for all of us. Donations will be collected to support Trinity Methodist Church for their generous gift of the use of their facilities.
Holidays
and Scheduled Closings:
Here is a list of the
days we will be closed through the end of the year. Please watch our calendars
for unexpected closings, such as teacher illness.
- November 11, Veteran’s Day. All centers closed.
- November 20, Wednesday Play & Learn in Spanish canceled due to Volunteer Meeting
- November 27 - 29, Thanksgiving Break. All centers closed.
- December 23 - January 3, Winter Break. All centers closed.
- January 6-10, Staff in-service week. Classes canceled, office will be open.
What’s NEW for Fall?
Mountain View
Monday
and Tuesday Classes to Divide by Ages. In order for our teachers to provide the most age
appropriate materials, they have decided to split the two classes by age group.
Mondays from 10:15am - 11:45am with Wynn and Tomoko will focus on ages 3 and up. The Tuesday group will be for
ages 3 and under. It is fine to
attend if you can only go on certain days, or if siblings fall into different
age groups. Just know that the material covered will focus on those ages. We
think this will create a stronger learning environment for both groups.
Movetrition
Class at Mercy – Class
continues through November 22. Yes! You can still join. This is a fun-filled
class that teaches children about healthy nutrition using movement. Led by
volunteers from San Jose State. 6 weeks starting October 18 from 2:30pm - 4:00pm. If you have questions, please call us at 650-967-4813.
Siembra/SEEDS
– Community Worker Jeanette Santana will be
leading a SEEDS class for early literacy and language development in Spanish,
starting Friday, November 1. Class is 5 weeks on Fridays from 7:00pm 9:00pm at Escuela
FRC (open to all Mountain View Families). Childcare is provided with advance
registration. Please register by calling 650-967-4813.
Sunnyvale
Play
& Learn Tuesday Note: The
Tuesday afternoon Play & Learn has gotten very popular. For safety reasons,
we cannot allow more than 15 children/30 individuals in the room at one time.
If you want to get a spot, we recommend showing up at least 15 minutes early.
That’s what happens when word gets out about a good thing!
Did
you know about our FIRST 5 partners in Sunnyvale?
Find calendars for the
FIRST 5 FRC at Fairwood Elementary here http://www.first5kids.org/frc/fairwood
Cupertino
New
Monthly Play & Learn Class at Calabazas Library! Second Thursday of every month,
10:30am - 12:00pm. Mark your calendars: November 14, December 12, January 9 and
beyond! Address: Calabazas Library, 1230 S Blaney Ave, San Jose, CA 95129
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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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Volunteer Network! CHAC/FIRST 5 Volunteers, stay connected on all our volunteer news, updates, training opportunities, and more! You can take part in our Facebook Volunteer Group. Find us by typing "nancydoan5@gmail.com" in the search bar or click
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Feedback: Do you have comments that you would like to send the staff? Please send us a note to:mercystreetfrc@gmail.com
