The Sunnyvale Department of Community Services, Recreation Division is excited to be offering the new Super Safari Preschool program. This play-based program is designed to provide children their first experience in a structured environment. Our goal is to encourage your child’s imagination and creativity through a play-based learning environment.

Limited spaces are  available, please call (408)730-7350 to enroll.

If you are currently enrolled in the preschool program, click here to make payments.

Program Description

Lion Cubs: Age 3
This unique program is designed to encourage children’s social development through group activities such as circle time, art projects, stories, music and indoor/outdoor play. Concepts such as colors, shapes, letters and numbers will be introduced.

Meet 9am-12:30pm on Tuesdays and Thursday at Serra Park

Giraffes: Ages 3-4
The Giraffes program will expand upon the skills learned earlier and introduce children to enriching activities such as pre-writing skills, counting and language arts all through creative play, craft projects and story telling. Pre-reading, writing and math will be introduced.

Meet 9:30am-12:00pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Las Palmas Park

Tigers: Ages 4-5
The Tiger program will expand on your child’s development by continuing to provide enriching activities that will prepare your child for Kindergarten. Activities may include music, dramatic play, language arts, letter and number recognition, number groups, writing, art and science.

Meet 9am-12:30pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Serra Park or Ortega Park
 

Zebras: Ages 3-5.9
The Zebra program has been designed to meet the needs of children ages 3-5. This program will encourage children’s social development through group activities such as circle time, art projects, stories, music and indoor/outdoor play. Pre-writing skills, counting & number recognition, language arts and science will all be covered in this program.
Meet 1:30pm-4:30pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Serra Park

Goals

Super Safari Program Goals:

Social & Emotional Development
• Achieving a sense of self
• Taking responsibility for self & others
• Behaving in a pro-social way

What this looks like:
• Knowing oneself, building confidence and relating to other people-both children & adults
• Following rules and routines, respecting others and taking initiative
• Showing empathy and getting along in the world, for example, by sharing and taking turns

Physical Development
• Achieving gross motor control
• Achieving fine motor control

What this looks like:
• Moving the large muscles in the body, especially the arms and les consciously & deliberately. This includes balance and stability, movements such as running, jumping, hopping, galloping and skipping: and physical manipulations such as throwing, kicking and catching.
• Using and coordinating the small muscles in the hands and wrists with dexterity. As these fine muscles develop, children are able to perform self-help skills and manipulate small objects such as scissors and writing tools.

Cognitive Development
• Learning and problem solving
• Thinking logically
• Representing and thinking symbolically

 What this looks like:
• Being purposeful about acquiring and using information, resources and materials. As children observe events around them, ask questions, make predictions and test possible solutions.
• Gathering and making sense of the information by comparing, contrasting, sorting, classifying, counting, measuring and recognizing patterns.

Language Development
• Listening and speaking
• Reading and Writing

What this looks like:
• Using spoken language to communicate with others, enlarging one’s vocabulary, expressing oneself, understanding the oral speech of others, participating in a conversation and using language to solve problems.
• Making sense of written language, understanding the purpose of print and how it works, gaming knowledge of the alphabet, writing letters and words.

Registration Information and Forms

Fall 2012/2013

Enrollment in the Pre-school program is from September 4, 2012 – June 7, 2013 which follows the Sunnyvale School District calendar. The annual cost of the program has been divided into nine (9) installments due August through April and takes into consideration all Holidays and school breaks. There is a $100 non-refundable/non-transferable registration fee which guarantees your child’s space in the program. Enrollment will be accepted through phone in, walk-in, fax or mail. However, it is highly recommended that you register by phone or in person to guarantee your child’s spot. Also, due to the high demand for this program you may only enroll in one of the five Super Safari classes and be on one wait list. Siblings of current participants, not currently enrolled in our preschool programs, will be categorized under new participants and will be eligible for enrollment on or after March 5, 2012.

Please call (408) 730-7350 for more information.

2012-2013 Registration Fee (Non-Refundable) is $100

1st Payment due date August 15, 2012 (for September)

Payment Policy:
Monthly payments are due by the 15th calendar day of each month, with the final payment being due April 15, 2013. Tuition for the year has been averaged to create nine (9) equal monthly payments. Your final payment includes the month of June. Please be aware that payments received after the 15th calendar day of the month will be considered late and charged a $20 late fee per child. For your convenience you may fill out our automatic payment authorization form to avoid any late fees; there will be a $5 fee per transaction for this service.

You may also pay online, by phone or in person at the Community Center. Please be aware that refunds will not be given for missed classes and cannot be made up in other classes. Fees must be paid on time and kept current in order to keep your spot. Please note for non-residents, as of September 2011 the fee for non-residents has increased in order to help improve the level of cost recovery. Since overhead and infrastructure costs are paid by Sunnyvale residents, in large part through City taxes, it has been determined that no increase will be added to the resident rate.

Important reminders:

• Lion Cubs, Giraffes & Zebras must turn three (3) years of age by November 1, 2012
• Tigers must turn four (4) years of age by November 1, 2012
• Proof of age will be required by August 1, 2012 (photo copy of birth certificate, health card or other document is acceptable)
• Children must be toilet trained by the first day of class

Note: In October 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a new law that mandates that by 2014, students entering kindergarten must turn 5 years of age by September 1 of that year.

• Students entering Kindergarten in 2012 must turn 5 years of age by November 1, 2012
• Students entering Kindergarten in 2013 must turn 5 years of age by October 1, 2013
• Students entering Kindergarten in 2014 must turn 5 years of age by September 1, 2014

For more information please contact Recreation Coordinator, Raquel Christopher at (408) 730-7523 or by e-mail.

Teachers

	Vivian Kim has been teaching preschool for 17 years and is our lead teacher! Vivian has a BA in math with a teaching credential. Vivian’s favorite colors are yellow and purple. Teacher Vivian enjoys doing crafts and music with the preschool children.
	Papiya Saha has been teaching with the Sunnyvale Preschool program for close to 1 year. Papiya has her BA in History and currently working on units in Child Development. Teacher Papiya enjoys working with preschool children because it helps to build their self confidence through a curious learning environment. She also enjoys the arts and crafts and helping them explore their environment and find their interests. Papiya’s favorite color is earthy green.
	Marie Bond has been teaching with preschool for 3 years. Marie has her BA in Journalism. She is the mother of 5 beautiful children.  Marie enjoys working with preschool age children because she loves caring for them. She loves when they smile at her and that she has touched their hearts. That’s when she feels the conversation begins.
	Susmita Bhattacharyya has been teaching preschool for 1 year. She has her BS in Geography and has the Early Childhood Certification program. Her favorite colors are light yellow & ivoy. Susmita loves to work with preschoolers because she wants to offer them opportunities to explore their surroundings and develop new skills.
	Dianne LaVerne works as our music teacher and occasional substitute in the pre school programs. Dianne has been teaching preschool classes about 7 years and teaching preschool music since 1996. Dianne has a Certificate in Orff and BA in Music, College of Notre Dame. Teacher Dianne enjoys children this age because they are very honest and open about what they do and do not like! They are willing to try something entirely new. Dianne’s favorite color is teal.
	Kendra Nelson is new to our preschool staff. She is currently a student at San Jose State University. Kendra is majoring in Liberal Studies with a minor in teacher prep. She enjoys working with the preschool children and helping them advance their skills and prepare for Kindergarten.
	Catherine Grelin is new to our preschool staff. After being the mother of two, she decided to become a teacher. She enjoyed teaching her kids things. She completed a Certificate of Achievement in Child Development. Catherine has now been working with children for two years. She believes that childhood is a unique and valuable stage of life. Catherine wish is to inspire her students’ life and to instill in them a love of learning. She wants to make each child happy, comfortable, and safe, in a fun learning environment.