It’s a privilege to announce the 6th year of our Sunday classes at PZO. Thank you all for your contributions and the gift of your families presence in our community.
Please print this, and keep it for your reference for the year.
Registration:
Please fill and mail the registration form to Darb-e-Mehr (Attn: PZO Sunday Classes 10468 Crother Rd. San Jose, Ca. 95129). You can download the registration forms from our download area here.Parent Participation Requirements:
We need the participation of all families in order to keep our classes thriving. We have been so blessed with very generous families in our community. Thanks for all that you have been doing. The following are a list of participation responsibility for each family registered in our classes. Please let us know if you have any questions or for any reason it is not possible for you to fulfill them.
- Parent meetings: There are two required parent meetings on the first day of each term after the children’s classes. This is essential to keep us all up to date and connected. It is also a way of showing your support of the classes. The classes need all of us.
- Snacks: Each family is asked sign up to bring healthy snacks for the kids during their break time a few times during the year depending on how many families sign up this year. This is meant to nurture our kids’ bodies as well spirits knowing that we all pitch in to take care of each other. Please make sure you sign up for this at the beginning of the year.
- Yard duty: Each family responsible to sign up to watch the children in the yard after the classes for a short period of time. We will have more detail at parent meeting.
Schedule and Cost:
We are meeting on the following dates. We have been able to have classes on 2nd and 4th week of the month for majority of the time, but there are exceptions. Please mark your calendar.
| Semester | Meeting Dates | Class | Cost |
| September 13th - December 13 | 9/13, 9/27, 10/11, 10/25@, 11/8, 11/22, 12/13 | Religion | $40 ($32**) |
| Religion + Dance | $86 ($69**) | ||
| January 10th - May 23th | 1/10, 1/24, 2/14, 2/28, 3/14, 3/21#, 4/11, 4/25, 5/9, 5/23* | Religion | $61 ($49**) |
| Religion + Dance | $108 ($86**) |
@ Possible Sleepover the night before .. More info to come
# Optional day, early afternoon Nowruz Celebration
* Last da of classes, plan for a longer day including lunch.
** Sibling discount of 20%.
(Scholarships are available)
Religion Classes: 10am – 11:15am
We will know how many classes we’ll have based on enrollment and the age and make up of our kids. Our goal is to keep our children connected no matter what their age, and we are planning on cross age activities through out. The teachers continue to meet every week to discuss and create the content of the lessons for the classes. We use many resources to fit the need of our community of learners.
(The minimum age requirement is age 4 by September)
Dance Classes: 11:45 – 12:45
The class is intended to be co-ed and cross ages. It is a great community building activity. A possible change in our dance classes: Since the numbers of students have increased, based on the number of students enrolling, we will have two classes at the same time accommodating different age groups.
If your child interested in having dance lessons every week, PZO have the option of meeting on Saturdays 9am at Beshkan Studios in Campbell for a separate fee.
(Enrollment is limited to the students attending the religion classes only)
Notes to parents:
Thank you for all of your contributions and kind support of our classes. We continue to strive to make these classes a kind and safe place to be Zaratoshti, and to develop a community for our families to connect and “a place to belong to” for our children. One of the most important need of all humans is a sense of belonging. As immigrants are replanted in the new land, and just like a plant, we need to nurture our roots to be healthy and prosperous. These classes are one way to nourish the roots of ourselves, and our children. This helps our children to develop a more solid sense of identity and self-esteem, and for all of us to stay connected to our wonderful traditions and culture.
We continue to need everyone’s help in developing and maintaining our community and these classes. The rewards are immeasurable, and the challenges are workable. We have some old challenges and some new ones because of our growth. If you have any input or want to teach a class or contribute in any way, please join in.
Some Requests:
- CONTINUE TO MAKE COMING A COMMITMENT! These classes are very important; Children follow our lead in taking this seriously. This is one way to model what are our values as a family.
- PLEASE BE ON TIME! We meet in the temple for our lovely group prayer. When people come late, it is very disruptive to the group, and it breaks the flow. The child has a harder time adjusting to what is going on.
- A SAFE PLACE. On the first day in each of the classes we make it a point to come up with an agreement that safety is number one in our community. Everyone’s bodies and feelings needs to be safe. The safety extends to ‘things’ and the animals at Dar-e Mehr as well. Please help keep this consistent for our kids. If you see a problem, please let the teachers know so we can incorporate in our teachings. It makes religion so much more meaningful.
- A FUN PLACE TO COME HOME TO: Don’t force the kids to come, but some first timers may need more encouragement to try. Once they come, and give it a good try, then they can decide. Kind, but firm boundaries are crucial help children develop in a healthy way. We are committed to making the class a fun place to want to come back to. Please let us know what we can do to help.
We are all learning, including the teachers. If something is not working for you, please talk about it so we can make changes if possible. We all are doing the best we can, and have good intentions, but need all of us.
Supervision of children:
When children are not in class, they need to be supervised by their parents. If you are carpooling, please make sure there is an adult that is keeping an eye on your child, and your child knows to go to if they need help. We are a community and want to have an eye on all of our children at all times. However, Darb-e Mehr is huge, and is not child proof! So for their safety, we need to be more diligent about this.
A point about the fees for the classes:
Paying for the classes is another symbolic form of your commitment and support of our classes, and your kids know that you are committed. The fees pay for supplies, help maintaining our precious Dar-e Mehr, and dance teachers (i.e. dance fee). There are scholarships available. No one should be excluded from our community because of financial reasons. We are all immigrants, and know what it’s like to survive in different parts of our journey. (Please note: It has been the policy that the newly arriving families will not pay any fees for the classes during the first year of immigration while attending our classes. It is one way for our community to extend a welcome.)
