Friday, September 12, 2014

September Overview


CHAC/FIRST 5 Presents: Your September Overview
Greetings Families, Partners, and LTI Community


September has arrived, and though Fall is officially a few weeks away, with the kids in school, it definitely doesn’t feel like summer any more. How have you been adjusting to the changes in schedules? Our informal poll of parents is that it’s easier in some ways, more challenging in others – how about for you?



Our August blog has only been up a couple weeks, so we’ve kept most of it up so you don’t miss all the great Fall opportunities.



Here’s this month’s news


Cupertino Volunteers Find Innovative Way to Raise Funds and Teach Kids About the Earth

Volunteer teachers across all our classes were challenged to come up with a way to teach kids about the importance of taking care of the environment. In Cupertino, volunteers and families from the Canon Music Play and Learn classes took it one step further. Teachers Urmi and Priti invited families to help their little ones collect bottles and cans to bring in to be recycled. Then, they took the items to a recycling center and raised money for classroom supplies.

We applaud Urmi and Priti for their innovation in teaching children an important value, while helping us find funds for needed supplies. Thanks to all the families who brought in bottles and cans!

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New Hours for Health Insurance Sign Ups for Children

Starting September 2, our insurance application assister Lily Lai will be available Tuesdays from 1-5pm. It’s best to make an appointment, and when you call, Lily will let you know what documentation you will need to bring with you. You can reach Lily at 408-679-3530.








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Mercy Street FRC Fundraising Efforts

Fundraising is a common issue in education that you will most likely hear about throughout your child’s school career.  For us, it means building sustainability into our program so that we may continue to provide quality services for our current and potential families.  Much of our success has been built by the passion and support of volunteers and participating parents, and we have great opportunities for those of you who have inquired about how you can continue to help our programs. 

Our Program Director is currently recruiting parents and volunteers to form a fundraising committee to contribute ideas, help in making connections, and participate in coordinating more effective fundraising. 

SAVE THE DATE: The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 30 at 12:00pm at Mercy Street FRC.  Lunch will be provided. If you would like to join the committee or simply have ideas about how to support our programs for the future, please join us! 

RSVP to Program Director, Maddi Pascua at 650-967-4813 or email mpascua.chac@gmail.com


Thank you for your support!





Children's Art Studio Still Open for Fall!

Every child is an artist!

Children will....
  • Paint and have fun making sculptures!
  • Make a collage using your favorite things.
  • Sing & dance with your favorite poems and rhymes.
  • Learn how to express your feelings and emotions through art.
  • Learn about famous artists and see how they made their masterpieces.

We will visit our Art Gallery each class and learn how to appreciate art. 

Most important is that we will learn that through art we can express our feelings and our emotions. 

Let's speak through art.

Cost:
Fall session - 13 weeks: Sept 5 – Dec 5 $130 ($10/week)
*Class is valued at $170.

Cost is per child and fees are non-refundable and not transferrable to another series.
Cash or checks only. Checks should be made out to CHAC.

Registration is required. You can pre-register by going to http://bit.ly/1iYalYQ

If you have any questions, you can contact us at 650-967-4813 or send an email to: mercystreetfrc@gmail.com

Class is designed for children ages 3-5 years old, sorry we cannot have younger siblings in class.


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Science Kids is Back for Another Year of Science Fun!


Aliza and her wonderful teaching assistants will be busy making science fun with children ages 3-5 and their parents at our FRCs this year.

Here is the schedule for the coming year:

  • Sunnyvale (Vargas Elementary):  September 8 – November 13, Mondays 10:00am-11:30am
  • Cupertino (Canon Music):  January 27 – March 31, Tuesdays from 10:00am-11:30am
  • Mountain View (Mercy Street FRC):  April 20 – June 22, Mondays 10:00am-11:30am



Registration will be open 30 days prior to the start date. Priority will be given to new families who have not yet taken this class.  Repeat students may be placed on a waiting list for any slots unfilled by the week prior to class start.

This class is for children ages 3 – 5 only and their parents. Sorry, absolutely NO siblings under 3 years old.

Fee: 

Secure your place soon!
BEST DEAL - A discounted price of $40 per child for the 8-week session [value of $5/class], if paid by September 15th

$56 [value of $8/class] will be charged for the series for each child joining us during the third class meeting - September 22nd. 

Prices apply to the entire series only. The class will be CLOSED after the third class. 

Click here to register for Sunnyvale: http://bit.ly/1hLoh2b

Questions? Call 650-967-4813 or email mercystreetfrc@gmail.com




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I’m Ready for Kindergarten 2014-2015

We currently have two “I’m Ready for Kindergarten” classes on the schedule for fall, both in Spanish. An English language class will be announced soon (2015 start date).

I’m Ready classes are for children ages 3-5 and their parents. Children must be three by the first class, and sorry, we cannot allow siblings to attend.

The class is designed to help prepare your child for school. It consists of a mixture of parents/children together classes, and then children will attend classes on their own while parents receive supplemental instruction on how to enhance their child’s learning outside the classroom.

These series are funded by FIRST 5 at no cost to you!

Sunnyvale – year long program:
Wednesdays, 9:00am – 11:00am. (Spanish)
Orientation is August 27, class runs from 9/3 until graduation on 5/27
Parents must commit to nine month program. Two spaces still available*.
Location: Vargas Elementary, Room 15, Sunnyvale
Contact: Ana Moreno 650-967-4813


Mountain View – 16 week program:
Mondays 10:00AM – 12:00PM (Spanish)
Orientation is August 25, and class runs from 9/8 until graduation on 12/15
Parents must commit to full 16 weeks. Class is full – call to be on our waiting list in case space becomes available.
Location: Mercy Street FRC
Contact: Jeanette Santana 650-967-4813

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Literacy Themed Classes Bring a Twist to Play and Learn

A child who enters kindergarten with a strong vocabulary, a love of books, and a familiarity with playing with words, has a definite advantage. You can help these skills develop by talking, singing, reading, writing and playing with your child.

Our play and learn classes naturally contain all of these elements, but this year, we will be adding special literacy themes to some of our play and learn classes for five weeks at a time, and the class format will be slightly different.

During these classes, parents will learn ways to enhance literacy skills and practice some of them in the classroom. Our first literacy themed class has been a big success.

Here’s where to find a class near you:

Cupertino:
Monday August 18 – September 15 (no class Sept 1 for Labor Day)
10:00am-11:30am, in Mandarin

Tuesday August 19 – September 16
10:00-11:30am, in English

Funded by FIRST 5 at no cost to you.

Contact:
Lin Xu at 650-967-4813 or email Lxu.chac@gmail.com




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Thank you to our outgoing Tuesday Play and Learn teachers at Mercy Street. Karen, Neha, Rachel and Surabhi created a wonderful space for children under three to play and grow throughout the year. They will be missed by the Tuesday group. We welcome our new Tuesday teachers, Iris (who also teaches on Mondays at Escuela for Mountain View Residents), and Rashmi (who teaches in Cupertino). We are so appreciative of all of our volunteer teachers.

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!

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Special Meetings and Events:


9/30
Fundraising Committee luncheon, 12:00pm-1:30pm at 748 Mercy Street, Mountain View, CA 94041
10/25
Fifth Annual Halloween Party 10:30am-12:30pm at Washington Park in Sunnyvale



Holidays and Scheduled Closings:
Here is a list of upcoming days we will be closed and class cancellations. Please watch our calendars for unexpected closings, such as teacher illness.
9/1
All centers closed for Labor Day
11/11
Closed for Veteran’s Day
11/26 – 11/28
Closed for Thanksgiving
12/22 – 1/2
End of year break
1/4 – 1/9
Office hours only
1/11
Classes resume at all centers


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Mountain View

Sunnyvale

Cupertino

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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? Do you have expert knowledge that you can teach to our families? 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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Feedback: Do you have comments that you would like to send the staff?   Please send us a note to:mercystreetfrc@gmail.com




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