Education Roundup: Preschool Fair, college advice, robotics and kindness, Feb. 4

Financial aid help: The BGC Club Maxwell Village is offering free drop-in assistance with FAFSA and CA Dream Act applications for all high school seniors, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 12, 13, 19, 20, 26 and 27. For information on what you need to bring with you, email ytellez@bgcsonoma.org.

Reading mentors needed: Learn how (and why) to become a reading mentor at an information session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at El Verano School, 18606 Riverside Drive.

Preschool Fair: The Sonoma Valley Mother's Club is hosting a free Preschool Fair from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11 at Presentation School. It is a great chance to learn about all the preschool options in Sonoma Valley.

Hands on history: The next Sonoma State Historic Park “Hands On History” event is a free, drop-in basket-making workshop from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8. There is also a “Food at the Mission” event the same hours on Saturday, Feb. 22.

College advice: SVHS is offering a second four-year College Overview presentation for students and families who missed Dragon Expo last week. The presentation is on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 6 p.m. in the CCC (in English) and library (in Spanish). The presentation is geared to juniors and sophomores who plan to attend a four-year college after graduation.

Family walk: There is a walk to explore the seasonal marshlands from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8. Look for the State Park vehicle along the bike path near Third Street West and the ballfields for the free, drop-in program.

Kindness: Dunbar School last week participated in the Great Kindness Challenge - a week dedicated to creating a culture of kindness and compassion on campuses worldwide. All students received a Great Kindness Challenge checklist and were urged to complete as many acts of kindness as possible. There was also a family checklist.

Camps already: Enrollment is open for Camp EDMO at SRJC. The STEAM-infused day camp is for pre-K to eighth graders (with Leader in Training programs available for high school students). Visit campedmo.org/locations/santa-rosa for more information.

Girls Who Code: Girls Who Code is offering a summer program for 10th and 11th grade girls interested in computer science. The free seven-week program is open for applications now at girlswhocode.com/summer-immersion-programs/.

Camps: Enrollment is open now for Sonoma Ecology Center's one-week Spring Break Camp at Sugarloaf, four Wizard School Camps at Sonoma Garden Park and four Summer Science Camps at Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. Sonoma Academy of Dance's Summer Camps for 2020 are now listed on its website. Its newest camp this year is Good Morning Sonoma - a Broadcast Journalism Camp. Transcendence Kids Camp registration is open now for ages 8-12 and a second camp for older kids, ages 13-18. Sign up at transcendencetheatre.org/kids-camp-2020/.

Donations: Republic of Thrift recently it donated $1,500 to each Sonoma Valley public school's PTO. They have donated $268,000 to SVUSD schools since opening in 2012. A big anniversary sale is Feb. 7 to 9 with everything 50 percent off.

Robotics: Kids might enjoy watching the third annual FIRST Tech Challenge robotics tournament at Justin-Siena on Saturday, Feb. 8. There will be 33 teams competing all day. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a stem-focused education nonprofit.

Open house: Presentation School's annual open house for current and prospective families is from 6 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6 on campus, 20872 Broadway.

Parenting Advanced Learners: The Child Parent Institute offers classes for parents of gifted children once a year, and this year's cycle runs on the next six Tuesdays, Feb. 4 to March 10 - morning or evening classes in Santa Rosa. Register at calparents.org. Email klittell5@gmail.com with questions.

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