Cultural Day at Creative Abilities
Important Dates
2014
Centre Breaks:
• Mon 15 Dec to Fri 9 Jan
Client Annual Event:
• Fri 21 Nov
Christmas Picnic:
• Mon 15 Dec
Public Holiday:
• Labour Day Mon 27 Oct
Back Row Richard & Jigisha / Front Row: Kay, Kim & Imogen
The Centre Team decided to change things this year & hold a Cultural Day
during this year’s Winter Variety Programme. Creative Abilities has a wide
range of cultures to celebrate so we want to show them off by sharing food,
dancing & singing from around the world!
Everyone had a great day with the Centre full of different music, laughter,
drumming, learning new dance moves & trying a huge range of foods. The
American Smores Bar & colourful Philippine deserts were a definite hit!
Further dates for 2015 will be
published in the Summer
edition Newsletter, due out
in December.
Jonathon turns the BIG 30!
July was a big month for Jonathon Hurley as he turned the BIG 30! He went
out to celebrate in style with family, friends and flatmates at a bar in
Takapuna.
TIME FOR A SPRING CLEAN
14 Silverfield Estate
Wairau Valley, Auckland 0627
Ph: 09 444 0608
Jonathon blowing out his candles with the
help of his little nephew
Jonathon celebrating with his family,
friends, support workers, & flatmates
In Memory of Vicky Lea
1981 - 2014
Maxwell’s New Job!
Thank you to Cathy Lea (Vicky’s
mum) for the generous donation
of a television and DVD player in
memory of the beautiful Victoria
Lea. A very special lady who will be
sadly missed by all who knew her.
We have set up the television in
the Art area in the Centre to
support our creative skills and
encourage a wider range of topics.
Jillian Usher (Centre Manager)
Maxine’s Graduation!
Maxwell Cowden
Maxine Morgan completed a
certificate in Literacy and Learning
at Unitec, Point Chevalier. She
graduated in June and is currently
deciding what to move onto next!
Maxine said the course provided
the opportunity for her to meet
some new friends, challenge
herself to learn new things and get
involved with expressive art.
Congratulations Maxine!
Hi! My name is Maxwell Cowden
and I am the new Media and
Communications Officer for the
Yes Disability Resource Centre. I
hold both a Bachelors Degree and
a Graduate Diploma and I am really
enjoying working for an
organisation that is involved in the
community at grass roots level. I
started working at Yes in July and
have really enjoyed my time there
thus far”.
Prevention is Better
than Cure!!
We need protection from common
illnesses such as colds, flu, cough,
minor infections etc.. In order to
prevent these illnesses we need to
strengthen our immune system.
One way to boost our immunity
against unwanted diseases is by
taking Vitamin C rich food. Most
experts recommend getting
vitamin C from a diet high in fruit
(oranges, lemons) and vegetables
(broccoli, cauliflower) rather than
taking supplements.
Fresh-squeezed orange juice or
fresh-frozen concentrate is a
better pick than ready-to-drink
orange juice. The fresh juice
contains more active vitamin C.
Drink fresh-frozen orange juice
within one week of buying it for
the most benefit. If you prefer
ready-to-drink orange juice, ensure
you check the
expiry date, and
drink it within one
week of opening.
Ronald Rey Ong RN
Iris Mid-Winter
Ball Extravaganza!
Iris turned the Mount Albert War
Memorial Hall into a Winter
Wonderland in August.
Snowflakes were sparkling,
comedians were joking and the
DJ was getting the party started
as Kim, Bradley and Kay arrived.
Kim and Bradley said they had a
great night and really enjoyed
the dancing. Kay said it was great
to meet some new people.
Jigisha and baby
Congratulations to Jigisha (Life &
Wellbeing Supporter) & her
husband Rishit on the birth of their
beautiful baby girl ‘Trisha’, born on
the 30th August 2014, weighing
3.5kg. We hope she brings you lots
of joy!
Maxine showing off her creative
art piece and Certificate.
Duncan’s Barrel of
Laughs:
“Knock Knock”…...
“Who’s there?”…...
“Cornflake”…...
“Cornflake who?”…...
“I’ll have to tell you
next week….it’s a cereal/serial”!
Kay, Kim and Bradley at the Iris
Mid-Winter Ball.
Jigisha and her baby girl Trisha
Matthew Emanuel
Memorial Award
Winner: Leny Advincula
A huge congratulations to Leny
Advincula. Leny won the Matthew
Emanuel Award for Outstanding
Service.
The 12 Finalists for the award were
recipients of the monthly Service
of Excellence Award.
The criteria for the award is:
• Excellent communication with
clients and families.
• Gaining the trust of clients and
families.
• Encouraging client independence and empowerment in a
safe environment.
• Going the extra mile.
The award was presented to Leny
at the Parents’ Forum in July by
Matthew’s parents, Hilary and
David Emanuel.
Hilary, David, Leny and Liz
Welcome to our new
Gym Assistant!
CONGRATULATIONS
Ronald!
My name is Bryan Manuel and I
have recently joined the Centre
team in the role of Gym
Assistant. I work closely with
Jenna (our
Centre Gym
Supervisor),
to provide
gym
programmes
to the
clients. I
have worked
Bryan Manuel
at Creative
Abilities
since May 2011 and have loved
every minute of my time here. I
have previously worked at
Ramsgate, Knights Rd, Te Wharau
and Hillcrest houses as well as in
the Centre. After starting at Creative Abilities I discovered my love
for the Health sector and my
work experiences made me realise
my passion for this area. I am
currently studying towards a
Bachelor of Nursing at Unitec
Institute of Technology. I am
looking forward to working at the
gym and helping the clients
achieve their goals!
I moved to New Zealand from the
Philippines in February 2006.
Arriving here as a 16 year old, I
found New Zealand to be amazing
and loved the multi-cultural
dynamics Auckland has to offer.
Ronald, our Senior Registered
Nurse was married to his beautiful
wife Jessema on the 10th of
August in the Philippines.
New Team Members
Life & Wellbeing Supporters:
• Kristina Mijares
• Reniel Mangahas
• Shalu Corro
• Daniel De Silva
• Vincent Tanchoco
• Karl Ribleza
• Ofa Vitapa
• Eileen Kitundu
• Mary-Ann Thomas
• Vera Msasata
Team Leaders:
• Juliet David has moved from her
position as Team Leader Riviera,
to Team Leader Calypso.
• Congratulations to Margarita
Burias who is the new Team
Leader for Riviera.
Training Update
By Julie Renner, Training Manager
July 25th we saw 6 more team
members graduate with a National
Certificate in Health, Disability &
Aged Support levels 2, 3 & 4! We
will hold another graduation in
November for the team members
who were unable to make it this
time and others who will complete
the qualification by then. It is
great to have so many people
wanting to develop further!
Creative Abilities strives towards a
qualified workforce, so we can
continue to provide a quality
service to the clients.
Creative Abilities are
pleased to announce
their new
WEBSITE
to be launched on 30th
September 2014.
Check it out!
www.creativeabilities.co.nz
From left: Christina, Caleb, Nonder, Romel,
Kehaati & Liyun. Careerforce Graduates.
TO CONTACT JULIE
[email protected]
Phone 964 0216
As this goes
to press I
would like to
take this
opportunity
to affirm the
appointment
of Steve
Drury as
General
Manager of
Creative Abilities & Associates as
was announced at the Parents’
Forum in July. Steve has been with
the company for 3 years as
Operations and Quality Manager
and as such, has a good
knowledge of the Philosophy,
Mission Statement & Ethics that
all of us at Creative Abilities
adhere to.
As the Spring weather (& the
rain)! are upon us, they remind us
that Christmas is just around the
corner, so let us enjoy the sun as it
comes our way but do protect
ourselves and everyone in our
care from the damage it can
cause. Sunglasses, hats, and
sunscreen are the order of the
summer.
Take care all, Liz.
Message from the GM
When I first came to Creative
Abilities I was captured by the
beliefs and the strong values
displayed by the team. This has
not changed even though my role
has, as the new General Manager.
I am impressed and proud with
the attitude of the team here at
Creative Abilities.
Change can be difficult to accept,
and sometimes doesn't please
everyone and things are no
different here, it is my personal
responsibility to make sure that
during this change there is very
little if any disruption to the
clients and the work that we do.
This is where I sound almost
political and seen as we have just
been through a General election I
will try to not sound too much like
a politician.
Believe it or not you can still move
forward by going back; going back
to our family the clients, going
back to our family the parents and
guardians and going back to our
family the
team. We can
have those
beliefs, the
ethos and the
atmosphere
of the past
but
delivered in
the way of
the future, a
standard that everybody deserves
in a style that everybody
understands.
TO CONTACT STEVE
[email protected]
Phone 964 0211
Social Services Update
By Ellice Rains, Social Services Mgr.
Spring is here
and we are
all
enjoying warmer
weather and
the sight and
scent of the
daffodils
everywhere.
This seems to
have been a difficult winter, and it
is great to know we have all come
through smiling.
Our team has many celebrations,
Ronald’s wedding of course,
Cassandra our Junior RN is to join
us permanently, Susan has gained
her New Zealand Social Work
Registration and I have had my
competency to practice
recertified by the Social Work
Registration Board for another 5
years.
Most of us have also enjoyed a
holiday over the past 3 months.
Currently we are focussing on
booking times for client reviews.
This year we want to know more
about your aspirations and how we
can best assist each one of you to
reach your goals, however long it
takes.
“Impossible is nothing”.
Susan and I are looking forward to
meeting again with parents and
family members for those of you
who will be coming to the reviews.
For those of you who are unable to
attend please do not hesitate to
contact me if there is anything you
would like me to assist with.
Looking forward to seeing you all
soon.
TO CONTACT ELLICE
[email protected]
Phone 964 0213
Riddle Me That !?!
Q1: Mary’s father has 5 daughters—Nana, Nene, Nini, Nono.
What is the fifth daughter’s name:
Q2: In a one-story pink house,
there was a pink person, pink cat,
pink fish, pink computer and pink
shower. Everything was pink!
What colour were the stairs?
Q3: What goes up when the rain
goes down:
Q4: What word becomes shorter
when you add two letters to it?
Q5: What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment and never
in one thousand years?
Find the answers along the
bottom of the page!
Creative Abilities’
“Wild West” Event
Friday 21st November
7pm-10pm
SEE ENCLOSED INSERT
Riddle Me That—Answers:
By Elizabeth Soper, Board Chair
We have come a long way in a
short period of time and I feel that
we need to take a breath and
reflect, we need to get back to
those “Values and Expectations”
to “P.R.I.D.E” to the family, almost
going back to our roots.
1: It’s Mary!, 2: There weren't any stairs, it was a one story house!, 3: An Umbrella, 4: Short,
5: The letter ‘M’.
Message from the Chair