Author: Angela Ramirez

Hearts Full of Gratitude, Bellies Full of Food!

Shandon BGC Club members have had a November full of color, gobbling laughter, and fun! Trips have been taken to the community park and library where Mrs. Joey had a Fall themed scavenger hunt, water painting, a lego station, and many more activities that kept our Members entertained. On Veteran’s day, our Club was open… Read more »

Happy Halloween & Day of the Dead!

The Shandon Elementary School hosted a Trunk-Or-Treat event after school. After having our Members dress in their Halloween costumes, our Staff accompanied them trunk-or-treating and had a total blast seeing that their teachers as well as parents decorated their vehicles in such a spooky and creative way! Themes included Wednesday, Candyland, Winnie the Pooh, Tinkerbell… Read more »

Shandon’s Spooky Time at the Library!

Our Shandon Members finally had the opportunity to attend their first field-trip this school year! Our destination was the Shandon Library, where our lovely Librarian, Joey Ley, had Halloween/Fall activities prepared for our youth. These thrilling activities consisted of crafting cute owls and scarecrows, going on a spooky scavenger hunt, building Legos, and playing with… Read more »

October Fun!

October has arrived and so have the spooky, Fall vibes here at the Shandon Club!  Our members have enjoyed making Halloween crafts like painting paper plate witch hats & spiders, creating oil pastel ghosts, making origami pumpkins & bats, assembling Halloween melting beads, designing and painting cardboard pumpkins, and making windsock ghosts! We love to… Read more »

Farewell September

These last few weeks of September have been a blast here at the Shandon club! Photography sessions with Ms. Czarina have begun, soccer sessions have caused so much fun and smiles, and arts and crafts have continued to bring out the imagination in our members. Now with the arrival of Fall season, we are hoping… Read more »

Kick Start to Fall Sessions!

The Shandon Club has had a blast with the initiation of Fall sessions! Mrs. Angela and Ms. Czarina are each running programs this Fall and are looking forward to leading bigger groups. Soccer has been a long-time favorite sport at the Shandon Club, so having it included as one of the targeted programs was a… Read more »

Shandon’s TK Bunch!

This year’s bright TK (Transitional Kindergarten) bunch is full of joy and  creativity! The Shandon Club has welcomed a total of 10 TK Members and staff have enjoyed spending time and getting to know a little more about them every day.  Our TK schedule consists of different activities that keep Members educationally entertained. “Circle time”,… Read more »

Welcome Back Shandon Members!

The Shandon Club had an awesome first week! Many new, as well as last year’s Members were welcomed and introduced to the area plus new additions that we are so excited for the kids to use. These include new board games, diamond painting, water beads, a new classroom, our favorite, which is a calming corner,… Read more »

Summer Fun at the Shandon Club!

For the Shandon Club, Summer Break began on Monday June 10th, and ends Friday, June 28th.  It has been a blast! Our daily schedule includes activities that involve art, sensory stimulations, science, yoga, and even dance! A few of our favorite art crafts have been making dinosaur Father’s day cards, octopus toilet paper rolls, paper… Read more »

Mini Stanleys and May Birthdays

Our Shandon Members were ecstatic to visit the public library because the librarian, Ms. Joey Ley, had an awesome craft prepared for us. She set up her crafting tables with glitter stickers, rhinestones, and patterned washy tape and pre-ordered colorful 3oz mini-Stanley cups for our Members to decorate and keep at the club! The kids… Read more »

Paradise Ice Makes A Cool Visit At The Shandon Club!

On Wednesday May 22nd, our Shandon Members were pleased to receive a visit from the delicious Paradise Ice! Our Youths’ most liked flavors were mango, pineapple, blue raspberry, and tiger’s blood. Apart from selling tasty shaved ice, other appetizing food options included; corn dogs, hot dogs, stuffed pretzels, pork sliders, and the most flavorful churros,… Read more »

Celebrations and Slime!

This past Monday May 13th, the Shandon Staff as well as Members celebrated Mrs. Angela’s birthday! Her desk area was decorated with a birthday banner and balloons, and a “birthday princess” sash and crown were a MUST from our TK Members. Since Mrs. Angela has been leading Ultimate Journey Sessions, her group’s Members gathered flowers… Read more »

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day from the Shandon Club to all the strong, beautiful moms out there! This week our Members made beautiful crafts to give their moms for Mother’s Day. They created and decorated a birdhouse card with words that read “You make our house a home” to give a special sweet touch. We hope it’ll… Read more »

Birthdays and Books!

As we welcomed May, our Shandon Members took the time this week to celebrate those whose birthdays were in April. We first sang the “Happy Birthday” song, enjoyed delicious Nerd flavored popsicles, and shared nice comments about those who were celebrated.  Another highlight of our week was taking a trip to visit the Shandon Library… Read more »

We Love Earth!

In honor of Earth Day, our Shandon Members learned about the importance of taking care of our environment and different ways we can  all help to make a positive difference. We explored a globe and collected information about the sizes of continents, made a cute earth craft, decorated paper bags with the most ideal stickers,… Read more »

Fun At The Park!

Every other Friday, our Shandon Members have the fun opportunity to visit the CW Clarke Park. Youth spend a majority of their time on the play structures but also love the open field and enjoy playing games like football, soccer, and tag. During the Summer, we look forward to taking trips to the community pool… Read more »

TK Begins Storytime!

This week, our TK members were introduced to “Storytime” led by Miss Carina, where they listened to one book, one felt story, and one song. They began by focusing on the calendar and going over the current date, weather, and season. Afterwards, they reviewed shapes, colors, numbers, and the alphabet. Then, they proceeded to listen… Read more »

Shandon’s Eggcellent Spring Break!

This was our club’s second week being open for spring break. The Shandon staff planned for an Easter celebration on Monday and our Members had a great time. As a science activity, they had a blast stacking plastic eggs and made 3D shapes using toothpicks and Play-Doh. For art, they made an origami bunny followed… Read more »

Spring Break at the Shandon Club!

The Shandon Club is delighted to remain open during our two weeks of Spring Break.  Art sessions as well as science and outdoor time are the Youth’s favorites. They’ve had so much fun! So far, Members have had the chance to make rainbow clouds, inspected nature with binoculars, learned while using a microscope, made origami,… Read more »

1..2..3.. Cheese!

This week was Miss Czarina’s final week running photography sessions here at the Shandon Club. Our Members were pleased when learning about a camera’s functions in order to capture beautiful images and can’t wait for future opportunities! We also rewarded Members who completed our yearly NYOI survey. They enjoyed eating delicious pizza slices along with… Read more »

Feeling Lucky at the Shandon Club!

Shandon Members had a blast spending time at the Club today, March 15th. We began by having a special guest, Joey Ley. Mrs. Ley is the town’s Librarian who has volunteered to lead Storytime every Friday with our TK Members to spark up their imaginations and literacy curiosity. Today’s story was “Minerva Louise and the… Read more »

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring Programs!

The Shandon Club has recently ended their winter programs which were led my both Ms. Czarina and Mrs. Angela. Smart Moves Core(3rd-5th) was led by Ms. Czarina. And Smart Moves Core(k-2nd) as well as the Nat. Art Comp. were led by Mrs. Angela. Throughout the final week of winter programs, Members who participated were treated… Read more »

Innovations at the Shandon Club!

A few small changes made to a classroom can have a big impact on a child’s motivation, well-being, creativity, and engagement with any material. The Shandon Staff have recently changed the seating arrangement and are excited to have added new games, materials, and colorful TK decor that includes a car track rug, yoga mats, and… Read more »

Slime and Smiles!

On President’s Day, the Shandon Club was open from 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM for Members. With a total of about 6/7 Members, we still managed to enjoy our time together and the staff tried their best to entertain the kids. The Youth’s favorite part of the day was getting the chance to make slime… Read more »

Spreading Love At The Shandon Club!

Our Shandon Members had a “heart” felt celebration during our time together on this year’s Valentine’s Day. We had some of our older Members begin by completing an ice breaker where they wrote on a sticky note their favorite thing that they love about themselves and after sharing, they stuck it to our window. We… Read more »

Shandon Club’s Colorful Artwork

Throughout the month, our 2nd-8th grade Members have been able to communicate and express themselves through their innovative and beautiful art pieces. They’ve grown tremendously with their creativity and have built as well as recognized each other’s artistic skills which has drawn the group closer together and generated new friendships. Recently, we’ve made art pieces… Read more »

Winter Break Fun!

During winter break at the Shandon Site, members made “snow” with the help of Ms. Czarina. Since it’s not common for this area to receive snow over the winter, our little ones had a blast and spent a good amount of time playing after mixing baking soda with a small amount of water. Once finished,… Read more »

Christmas Party At The Shandon Club

The Shandon staff have been preparing for our Christmas celebration for a while! Our Director, Ms. Carina had the great idea of having three separate days where we created “food shacks” where we fundraised money to be able to purchase Christmas gifts for each and every single one of our Shandon Members. After having our… Read more »

Artistry Spreads Through Shandon Club

Recently, the Shandon Club members began demonstrating their artistic talents by participating in the National Arts Contest. This program provides youth the opportunity to express themselves creatively, build confidence, learn new visual arts, and showcase their artwork in the community.

Shandon’s Thanksgiving Feast!

On Tuesday, November 28th, the Shandon Site had a blast celebrating Thanksgiving. Ms. Carina started the day off by asking a few questions about the true meaning of this holiday. Members, as well as staff, shared who and what they’re most thankful for and mentioned ways to spread kindness as well as gratitude. They also… Read more »

Kindness Is Free!

The Shandon 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders completed the Kindness is Free program on November 15th. This national Boys & Girls Clubs of America program is meant to empower the next generation to be kind by teaching and bringing awareness of the importance of treating everyone equally, showing respect to all persons, and being considerate… Read more »

Shandon Club Celebrates Day Of The Dead!

Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is celebrated each year from October 31st-November 2nd. It is a Mexican tradition where families reunite and celebrate their ancestors with food, drinks, music, and joy. On November 2nd, our Shandon Members colored and decorated their own “calavera” masks, enjoyed eating conchitas with warm “abuelita” hot chocolate… Read more »

Spooky Shandon Snack-Shack

Shandon Staff has taken the time to prepare and make some delicious spooky snacks to sell to our Members and families, as a fundraiser for Christmas gift bags. Our first open date was the 17th of October. That day, our menu consisted of nachos, orange creamsicle floats, chocolate covered pretzels, caramel apples, and cotton candy…. Read more »

Shandon Club Welcomes TK Members!

Monday, October 16th, was the first day that TK members attended the Shandon Boys and Girls Club. We welcomed Iker, Selena, Lucas, Cataleya, and Aaron, and are extremely happy at the positive relationships they’ve already created with our staff as well as the rest of our BGC members. We can’t wait to see how these… Read more »

Shandon Club Celebrates Hispanic Heritage!

On October 5th, the Shandon Members celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month. Our day began by watching a few videos about the significance of recognizing the contributions and influence of Hispanic Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the United States. After, they chose Hispanic heritage coloring pages to color and answered questions about influential Hispanic Americans who… Read more »

News from the Shandon Club

On September 13th, our Members had the awesome opportunity to visit the Shandon Fire Station. When arriving, the fire-fighters handed youth goodie bags that included a coloring book, magnet, stickers, bracelet, and a safety guide that explains what to do in case of a fire. Club Members also had the opportunity to use the fire… Read more »

Be A Star Begins!

Our Boys & Girls Clubs of America “Be A Star” program began at the Shandon site at the end of August and is being led by Youth Development Professional (YDP) Czarina Gallardo. This program is a social/ emotional learning approach to bullying, and is taught to our Youth who are between the ages of 10-12…. Read more »

Youth For Unity Kicks Off!

Shandon members that are 6-9 years old began participating in BGCA’s Youth for Unity program. This program consists of a selection of activities and conversation starters that help members appreciate themselves as unique and exceptional human-beings.  For our first session, we colored three of our physical features including our hair, skin, and eyes, and learned… Read more »

Shandon Members Have Fun In The Sun!

On Friday, August 25, the Shandon members cooled down, enjoyed the water, and had a blast in the summer heat. Youth began by having a water balloon fight and then proceeded to take turns in using the water equipment including water blasters and water guns. Water play ended by soaking Mrs. Angela with the goal… Read more »

Shandon BGC Celebrates The End Of The School Year!

The Shandon BGC staff and members celebrated the end of a successful school year together on Monday, June 5th, where Members had fun playing musical chairs, had dance battles, and ate nachos with iced-tea. In addition to the celebration, our 3rd-6th graders also had their last drumming session with instructor Alice Tomasini, where they recapped… Read more »

SMART Moves Graduates Club Members

The Shandon 3rd-5th graders have successfully completed the SMART Moves program lead and instructed by Ms. Czarina Gallardo. After 2 1/2 months and 10 sessions, these participants have shown tremendous improvement in their social emotional skills and constructive coping methods. The last two sessions consisted of members playing Jenga to learn how to manage emotions… Read more »

Shandon Members Enjoy A Cool And Tasty Visit From Paradise Ice

On Tuesday May 23rd, the Shandon members were ecstatic to receive a visit from the delicious Paradise Ice food truck. Paradise Ice offers over 40 snow cone flavors, as well as food options that include hot dogs, mini cheeseburgers, pretzels, and nachos. Staff and parents were also able to cool down, and enjoy the flavorful… Read more »

Shandon Members Visit Their County Park

Every other Friday, from 3:45-5:00pm, the Shandon Club Members have the fun opportunity  to spend time at the county park. While being there, the kids like to play soccer, football, volleyball, basketball, and also enjoy using the park’s play structure, where they have access to swings, slides, rock climbing, and monkey bars. On rare occasions,… Read more »

Smart Moves’ Progress In Shandon

Shandon members are almost halfway through their Smart Moves sessions and have been enjoying their time with Ms. Czarina as their leader. Recently, they created comic strips where they shared a story about their lives. The comics were made to demonstrate their emotions that either stayed the same or changed throughout that event, and after… Read more »

Shandon Is Back On Beat With Drumming Sessions

Shandon Members enjoy their time discovering how beats match with syllables with the instructor, Alice Tomasini who’s also a musician and professor from Cal Poly. Every Monday at 4pm, 20 of our 3rd-6th graders attend an 8-week long program called Infinite Music where Members engage in rhythmic activities to exercise core values in teamwork, respect… Read more »

Smart Moves Kicks-Off At The Shandon Club!

SMART Moves: Emotional Wellness is a targeted program that supports Healthy Lifestyles. It builds the foundational social-emotional and health skills that will enable youth to make healthy decisions. SMART Moves is a suite of health promotion programs, focused on building the key attitudes and skills necessary for youth to make decisions about their health. This… Read more »