May 2014 ● Inside this Issue: Painting Class at Community Center—Page 2 Pictures from our Volunteer Luncheon—Page 3 Adult Day Services Happenings—Page 4 Preparing for Graduation—Page 5

780 S. Park Centre Ave., Green Valley AZ 85614 www.PosadaLife.org ● 520-625-2273

Los Niños del Valle has achieved an important milestone in efforts to provide high quality preschool and child care by earning a 3-star Quality rating in the State’s Quality First program.

Meeting the high standards necessary to receive a 3-star rating involved the entire staff under the leadership of school Director Susie Simmons.

“Together with a well-educated teaching staff and our loyal volunteers, we have a great team committed to providing a quality learning environment for young children in our community,” Simmons commented.

Los Niños del Valle has a current enrollment of 69 children, ages 2-5, and offers a summer program serving ages 5-8. In addition to the 3-Star Quality rating, Los Niños is distinguished by accreditation from the National Association for the Education of

Young Children (NAEYC) and is endorsed by Eco-Healthy Child Care.

Casa Community Services Director Bill McCreery said, “Los Niños is here to serve the entire community and we are proud to be able to provide parents in our area a choice in preschool and child care settings devoted to nurturing the development

of every child. Meeting the high standards for the Quality rating has called for meticulous attention to detail and our staff met each challenge.”

The rating was the culmination of a rigorous year-long process that involved documenting the school’s achievements in several areas including health and safety practices, teacher qualification, positive teacher-child interactions and maintaining a learning environment that includes age-appropriate books, toys and learning materials that promote emotional, social, language and cognitive development.

Los Niños Earns State’s 3-Star Quality Rating

Casa Lunch Program Coordinator Kip Young holds the cymbals for Walden Grove High School percussionists during their March For Health at Casa and the La Posada campus.

Volunteer Manager Barbara Salazar welcomes Casa donors at a breakfast in their honor. She was one of the staff sharing “Casa Stories” at the recent event.

Casa Community Center

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Health & Wellness Alcoholics Anonymous—Mon. & Sat., 7 p.m.

Blood Pressure Checks—Mondays, 11 a.m.

Chair Exercise with Sarah—Mondays, 11 a.m.

GV Meditation Group—Sundays, 10:30 a.m.

Hand & Neck Massages—Tuesday, May 6, 10:30 a.m.

Nutrition with Dee—3rd Wednesday, 11 a.m.

Tension Release Exercise—no class in May(Call Diann for details—834-7698)

Weight Watchers—Wednesdays, 8 a.m.

Florence Kuhns and Gloria King faithfully clip coupons each Thursday as Victory Volunteers.

VICTORY VOLUNTEERS Would you like to volunteer your time but don’t want a lot of responsibility? Do you want a volunteer job that fits your busy schedule? Victory Volunteers meets every Thursday morning at 10 a.m. We would love to have you join us to work on tasks for community groups. Call Ellen at 520-393-6840 for more information.

Manicure Time Dorothy Shropshire and Arlene King enjoy manicures sponsored by CareMore at the Community Center’s Monthly Mani Mondays. CareMore also sponsors Karaoke Fridays for Senior Lunch Program participants once each month.

The Merry Month of May! This month is chock-full of activities and fun! On the 2nd, we celebrate the Centenarians in the Greater Green Valley area. The following week, we’ll enjoy Cinco de Mayo, a day trip to a resort, a Gecko painting class, Mother’s Day party and Mystery Tea.

Mid-month, we take a day trip to the Tucson Museum of Art followed by Out to Lunch at Tubac Jack’s on the 22nd.

We’re closed to honor Memorial Day on Monday the 26th, then will enjoy local home-schoolers presenting a USO Show on May 27th.

CASA’S SENIOR LUNCH PROGRAM Our Senior Lunch takes place every Monday through Friday except for national holidays. Come in and pick up our menu and nutritional information, look for the information in late April published in the Green Valley News. Our new web site has monthly menus that you can view or print at home. The Community Center calendar also is online so you can look for upcoming activities. Visit us online at www.posadalife.org, click on Community Services, then Casa Community Services, then Casa Community Center.

Volunteering

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Casa’s volunteers were treated to lunch at a special event held April 22. The volunteers enjoyed dining in the Casa Courtyard and within the programs where they give their time. Thank you all!

Adult Day Services

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Pieces of the Puzzle of Well-being One of the enjoyable activities for participants in Casa’s Adult Day Services is working on jigsaw puzzles. It’s more than just a pastime, however. Finding the right puzzle pieces calls for activating both halves of the brain: the left, or analytic side, sees the separate pieces and how they might fit together logically; the right, or creative side, looks at the whole picture and works through intuition. Exercising both cerebral hemispheres enhances the connections between them. Pictured, Activity Specialist Maria Barnett, right, works on a puzzle with Connie.

Telling Our Stories: Donors Hear Their Impact on Adult Day Services

At Casa’s recent breakfast honoring donors, Adult Day Services Director Jeannie Maldonado spoke about the many benefits of the program and shared stories relating the meaningful help that donations provide including the ability to offer fee assistance and caregiver support programs. Breakfast attendees also read personal stories from program participants.

Guests Love Lunch and Learn

Many Green Valley residents have responded to our invitation to have lunch with us and to learn about Casa’s Adult Day Services. Part of the time is spent in an activity that is a sample of a participant’s day. We are happy to report that our guests have given us many lovely comments. Guests have left reporting that they enjoyed themselves and also discovering what goes on in a typical day. Our next lunch is on Wednesday, May 28. Call Jeannie Maldonado at 393-6835 for a reservation.

“Beach Volleyball” doesn’t happen in the sand at Casa. Volunteers Marion Haber and Charlotte Johnson lead the lively game.

Los Niños del Valle

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Final Call for Summer Program Enrollment “Science and Art: Can You Tell them Apart?” is the theme for this year’s summer program for ages 5-8. Teaching staff with backgrounds in art and science are combining their expertise to give children a summer filled with hands-on activities, field trips and intergenerational fun plus a water safety program. The 10-week program begins May 27 and is held Monday-Friday except July 4.

“It is important to continue children’s learning experiences throughout the summer break from school,” commented Los Niños Director Susie Simmons. “Our popular summer program does that and brings new experiences to this age group through our planned trips to museums, nature environments and art galleries.”

Enrollment is due by May 19. Class size is limited Please call Susie Simmons at 393-6823 or email her at ssimmons@casagv.org. All activities, including water safety classes, are included in the $160 per week tuition. Registration is by the week to allow maximum flexibility around family activities. See the entire class brochure and enrollment form at www.posadalife.org under Community Services.

Preschool Graduation Set for May 22

Parents and family members will gather on May 22 in the Casa Community Center for the annual graduation. It’s a wonderful evening, with children’s faces beaming with pride as they don their graduation caps, pick up their diplomas, and smile for pictures. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. and includes cake and social time in the Casa Courtyard following the ceremony.

It’s Los Niños’ goal to assure that every child has had the best preparation possible for school success. Congratulations to all our graduates and their families for sending our 5-year-olds on to Kindergarten ready to learn and thrive.

Swimming and Water Safety La Posada resident volunteers and staff helped children become more comfortable in water and learn swimming and water safety techniques. The

children enjoyed the outdoor La Vista pool. The next swimming session is June 10 to July 24.

780 S. Park Centre Ave. Green Valley AZ 85614

Adult Day Services ● Counseling ● Casa Community Center Los Niños del Valle Preschool and Child Care ● Volunteer Opportunities

By the time readers see this newsletter, many will have received a letter from Casa inviting their participation in our Annual Fund Drive. This is an important fund-raising time of year at Casa. Each donation stays right here at Casa, in its entirety, to help support programs. If we’ve missed sending you a letter and donation form, please call Joanne at 393-6839 to receive the complete donation packet. As always, thank you for supporting Casa!

Annual Fund Drive is Underway

Adult Day Services volunteer Marion Haber, in the center of this photo in pink, is shown with program participants and Casa Director Bill McCreery surrounding a large check indicating a $2,000 donation from Desert Hills Lutheran Church. Marion explained that the congregation designates part of its capital campaign funding to community nonprofits including Casa.

Thank You Partners that Care Recent additions to our Partners that Care list (businesses, organizations and foundations) are: Bill’s Home Service, Desert Hills Lutheran Church, Long Realty Cares Foundation, the Patio Sales Group of Green Valley Community Church, St. Francis-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church and Valley Presbyterian Church.