Sunnyvale

Sunnyvale

Please register with The Mercy St FRC, at mercystreetfrc@gmail.com or by calling 650-967-4813

Families may attend only ONE Play and Learn class per week at any of our centers.

New/Limited Time Classes & Events

Father’s Group

Date: Tuesdays and Thursdays starting 4/28 (Tuesday) through 6/10 (13 sessions). After June 10, Father's Group will meet every Tuesday from June 17.

Time: 6:30-8:30PM

Address: Vargas Elementary, 1054 Carson Drive, room 15, Sunnyvale, CA

Notes: Call Francisco Hernandez if you would like to join – 650-967-4813

Bombay Jam

Date: Thursdays ongoing (Last class June 26, may return in Fall)

Time: 4:00pm – 5:00pm

Address: Vargas Elementary, 1054 Carson Drive, room 15, Sunnyvale, CA

Fee: $1 per person No childcare, but supervised children may dance (not play) in the room. Teacher: Sharmila Gopinathan. Must sign a waiver for participation. Please wear comfortable clothing and appropriate shoes for dancing on carpet.

Children’s Art Studio

Led by Elizabeth, Aliza and Sharmila

Date: Fridays as listed below

• Summer session: June 13, 20, 27; July 11
• Fall session: Sept 5 - Dec 5
• Full Series is 17 weeks total

Fee: 

• Summer only: $29, must pay by June 13
• Fall only $130 – Early bird discount is $92 if paid by July 11
• Full Series $120 (save $50) if paid by June 13

Time: 10:30am-12:30pm

Address: Vargas Elementary, 1054 Carson Drive, room 15, Sunnyvale, CA

Notes: For children ages 3-5, sorry no siblings. Registration required. Fees are not refundable and not transferrable to other series. Parents must stay with their children and participate without doing the art for their child.

Literacy Superstars

Led by Wynn and Lin (parent portion) and Cindy, Alison and Nicole (Children’s teachers)

Date: Tuesdays June 24 – July 22 (5 weeks)

Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm

Address: Vargas Elementary, 1054 Carson Drive, room 15, Sunnyvale, CA

Fee: Free

Notes:  Registration required by June 22. Designed for children 5 and under who are able to learn separately from their parents. Class will be in one room with a divider for parents and children. Parents agree to remain in the parent’s group unless their child is in distress (this is a helpful school readiness skill.) Register at http://bit.ly/1rMvc6b or by calling 650-967-4813.

Ongoing Classes at Vargas Elementary FRC

Bilingual Storytime (Spanish/English)

Led by volunteer Marti

Date: Fridays

Time: 4:00pm-5:00pm

Address: Vargas Elementary, 1054 Carson Drive, Sunnyvale, CA

Notes: No registration required. This class is first come, first served for the first 15 children / 30 people (due to the classroom size, for safety reasons). Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early (or 30 to secure a spot) – it will most likely fill each week.

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

Cupertino

Please register with The Mercy St FRC, at mercystreetfrc@gmail.com or by calling 650-967-4813

Families may attend only ONE Play and Learn class per week at any of our centers.

New/Limited Time Classes & Events

Let’s get Moooving! Fun in the Sun

Date: May 2 – June 20, 2014

Time: 10:00am – 11:30

Cost: $3/class per child (children 1 and under are free). Purchase fun pass for $20 (8 sessions)

Address: Wilson Park, 19784 Wintergreen Drive, Cupertino

Notes: Includes playground exploration, music & movement, story time and art project. Parents encouraged to move with kids. No registration required. Please bring water and wear sun protection. Wear comfortable clothing. Fun pass is nonrefundable and cannot be transferred to other programs.

Calabazas Library Arts Enrichment

Led by Cupertino Community Worker Lin Xu

Date: June 12, 2014 (Second Thursday of every month)

Time: 10:30am - 12:00pm

Address: Calabazas Library, 1230 S Blaney Ave, San Jose, CA

Notes: No registration required. This class is first come, first served for the first 15 children / 30 people (due to the classroom size, for safety reasons). Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early to secure a spot) – it will most likely fill each month.

Ongoing Classes at Canon Music FRC

Mandarin Play and Learn

Led by volunteers Hui-Wen, Rebecca and Tina

Date: Mondays (last class is June 9, class returns August 18)

Time: 10:00am - 11:30am

Address: Canon Music Center, 10885 S. Blaney Ave, Cupertino

Notes:  In Mandarin only. No registration required. This class is first come, first served for the first 13 children / 26 people (due to the classroom size, for safety reasons). Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early (or 30 to secure a spot) – it will most likely fill each week.

Play and Learn

Led by volunteers Priti, Urmi, & Revathi

Date: Tuesdays (last class is June 10, class returns August 19)

Time: 10:00am - 11:30am

Address: Canon Music Center, 10885 S. Blaney Ave, Cupertino

Notes:  No registration required. This class is first come, first served for the first 13 children / 26 people (due to the classroom size, for safety reasons). Plan to arrive at least 15 minutes early (or 30 to secure a spot) – it will most likely fill each week.

May Overview

CHAC/FIRST 5 Presents: Your May Overview

Greetings Families, Partners, and LTI Community

Happy May everyone!  The school year is in its final stretch and summer will be here before we know it. Do you have your summer activities scheduled yet? Take a look at what we have going on – we hope to see you soon!

Here’s this month’s news

Happy Mother’s Day!  

Mercy Street to Ramp up Fundraising Efforts. Over the nearly 4 years that Mercy Street FRC has been operational, we have slowly built up to be a beloved resource in our communities. We’ve offered literally hundreds of free classes, including our weekly Play and Learn classes, enriching parenting classes, specialty series and memorable events. A majority of our classes are led by amazing volunteers, and we have developed strong partnerships with dozens of community organizations.

As time goes on, it becomes increasingly important that we leverage other resources to sustain the level of services we have had.  We would also like to boost the potential to reach people in even more personal and specialized ways, and we will need to increase our fundraising efforts.

How we’re doing that:

1. Charging a small amount for specialty classes. These classes were developed in response to community requests and we love offering them, however they are not funded by FIRST 5.
2. Applying for additional grants. This helps extend our budgets for programming.
3. Seeking donations from local businesses, participants and community members. Many local businesses support us with donations of planting materials and food for parties and snack times.
4. Mini-fundraisers. We have hosted small fundraisers like Garage Sales (see below for our sale on May 3), raffles and special workshops.

Fund raising is a common concern in education that you will most likely hear about throughout your child’s school career. Our Program Director is currently recruiting parents to form a fundraising committee to contribute ideas, help in making connections, and participate in coordinating more effective fundraising.  If you would like to join the committee or have ideas about how to support our programs for the future, please contact Program Director, Maddi Pascua at 650-967-4813 or email mpascua.chac@gmail.com

Thank you for your support!

Garage Sale Fundraiser on May 3 – We need your help!

Mercy Street FRC will be participating in the Mountain View City Wide Garage Sale on Saturday May 3. Now is a great time to sort and clear clutter and donate items that you and your children no longer need. We are requesting donations of gently used items that can be dropped off on Friday May 2.

You can also stop by on the day of the event for moral support or to pick up some great deals.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit our Childcare program and “I’m Ready for Kindergarten” teachers. If you have benefitted from these classes, we would very much appreciate your support so that new families can take part.

The sale is 8:00AM – 2:00PM on Saturday, May 3. We will be hosting it out of our Mercy Street Family Resource Center located at 748 Mercy Street, Mountain View

Thank you!

Movetrition – We just ended our second series of Movetrition at Vargas Elementary lead by a new group of students from San Jose State University and De Anza.  The children and their families had a fun  time learning how important it is to eat fruits and vegetables. The volunteers from SJSU and De Anza throughout the 6 weeks gained more confidence in planning, coordinating, prepping, and leading the activities. They got to increase their knowledge on child development by interacting with the children. We are so proud of our college student volunteers! If you are a college student who needs hours for your class, please contact Nancy Doan at 650-967-4813 or send her an at nancydoan5@gmail.com  

 

Potter the Otter has a New Book! If your kids love Potter, they will want to see his latest adventure. We have some at Mercy Street – ask one of the staff. Otherwise, if you want to have the free e-book “Potter, Potter, the Healthy Otter,” all about the importance of exercise - click http://issuu.com/first5kids/docs/potter_2_book_issuu_22783d4a249b30?e=3250347/4184126

Volunteering at Mercy Street is FUN! Do you have some free time to volunteer? Friends or grandparents who have time during the day to help? We have a wide variety of volunteer activities available, from preparing art projects for classes to assisting in classes, office work and outreach. It really does take a village to support our young people. Come to our next volunteer meeting Monday April 7 from 10-11:30 to hear more, or contact Volunteer Coordinator, Nancy Doan at 650-967-4813. Registration required by April 4 (childcare available).

Thank you to our families who are helping us with donations and funding opportunities. Tesin Dosch has been a big supporter, dedicating time and sale items, as well as alerting us to corporate sponsorship opportunities she found in the community. If your company has a corporate matching or grant program, please let us know!

We would also like to thank Savita Hegde, one of our “I’m Ready for Kindergarten” moms for her donation. She said the program was so beneficial to her child that she wanted to support our work. We love hearing about how families lives improve after they participate in our program.

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.

5/7 – Volunteer meeting – Wednesday Play and Learn at Mercy is canceled

5/26 – All centers closed for Memorial Day

What’s NEW for May?

Mountain View

Science Kids in Mountain View! Get your lab coats ready – Science Kids is here! Thursdays May 1 – June 19 (8 weeks) from 10:00-11:30AM.  Class is for children ages 3-5 (sorry, no siblings).  Includes basics of numbers, shapes & colors; the world around us; science skills: measuring and more. Cost is $25 for the series, due at the first class. Tuition is nonrefundable and cannot be transferred to another series. Space is limited to the first 15 children/30 people. By Aliza Savransky. (Lab coats not required) ;)

Register here: http://bit.ly/1o4Mtlq

Or call 650-967-4813

Sunnyvale

Bombay Jam: Thursdays throughout May, 4:00pm-5:00pm. Cost $1 per person. Join this fun filled Bollywood dance inspired class for adults and children (must be supervised by an adult). Easy to learn, great exercise and infectiously fun. Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes that will work with carpet. All attendees must sign a waiver prior to participating. No registration required.

Father’s Group – Spanish. Tuesdays and Thursdays are dads’ turn to get together and talk about being a father. Many topics from finances to discipline to early literacy will be discussed. 6:30pm-8:30pm at Vargas Elementary. For more information or if you would like to join please contact Francisco Hernandez at 650-967-4813 or send him an email at fhernandez.chac@gmail.com

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

Let’s Get Moooving! Our popular outdoor fun in the sun class is back on Fridays, starting May 2 – June 20 (8 weeks). 10:00am-11:30am. Cost is $3 per child per class, or purchase a Fun card for $20 per child for the whole series. Includes playground exploration, music & movement, story time, and fun art project to take home. Parents AND children encouraged to move. Please wear comfortable clothing and sun protection. Bring water. No registration required. Fun pass is nonrefundable and not transferrable to other series. All proceeds goes back into the program.

Monthly Play and Learn Class at Calabasas Library! Second Thursday of every month, 10:30am-12 noon. Mark your calendars: 5/8, 6/12, 7/10 and beyond!  Address: Calabasas Library, 1230 S Blaney Ave, San Jose, CA

 

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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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Like us on Facebook! Did you know we have a Facebook page? We post interesting tips, videos, information on local events, and more. Please “like” us and help our online community grow. Find us by typing “Mercy Street Family Resource Center” in the search bar or (click)

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