CYCA Spring Newsletter 2010
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Carmarthenshire Youth & Children’s Association
INTRODUCTION Welcome to our Spring newsletter. The Charity are delighted to have been awarded 3 year funding for £184 k from the BIG Lottery to support families in crisis in Llanelli. The project will employ a team of practitioners to include counsellors, stress management and life coach practitioners, family therapists and substance misuse workers. CYCA will be able to offer a range of interventions appropriate to each family and hopefully prevent breakdown of families or children being taken into care. The project will begin in May. We have received £1,000 from Rank Foundation to offer DIY support to the elderly in the community and also offering some training to younger adults. The work we will be providing are raised beds and small gardening jobs. Our Reaching Out project that offered counselling and holistic therapies to young people in the Llanelli Comprehensives sadly ended in February as we were unable to access new funding. We thank Val Taylor, Debra Byers and Guy Smith for the invaluable work they shared with 672 young people. 363 school staff and 83 parents. 262 vulnerable young people received counselling, many with complex needs, using Goodmans SDG, 96% of referrals presented a reduction in conduct problems. Staff feedback in all schools indicated that all referrals made for behavioural issues were able to engage more in positive relationships. Val will continue to work at CYCA as a supervisor and an Associate Counsellor with Look After Children for 1 day a week, Debs and Guy will also be employed for a few hours a week if there is a demand for the service. And there is always a down side---unfortunately our Dewi Sant Centre needs building work to crumbling walls in excess of £20,000. We are pleading for support from local businesses or fundraisers who can offer any help to keep the centre open. Also, we welcome Caroline Davies who has joined the charity as a life coach working with the unemployed and the Looked After Children.
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Tracy Pike, Association Manager
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SPRING 2010
CONTENTS 3—4
NEWS ROUNDUP
5—6
FIT 4 FUN
7—8
TATTY BUMPKIN—OUR EXCITING NEW SERVICE
9—10
THE FUN CONTINUES AT TEDDYBEARS!
11—12 AN EXCITING START TO THE YEAR FOR JELLITOTZ 13-14
LITTLE SERAPHS
15—16 CYCA YOUTH 17—18 OUR WISHLIST & UPCOMING EVENTS 19—20 STAFF IN FOCUS
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NEWS ROUNDUP SPECIAL MEETING WITH PM! Our manager Tracy Pike recently attended a meeting with Gordon Brown Prime Minister in Llanelli. Tracy was selected as a community hero by Nia Griffiths Llanelli MP, alongside other individuals from the fields of health, business and education. Tracy was given the opportunity to highlight the work of CYCA as well as express concerns about future funding for the 3rd Sector. Mr Brown pledged to respond to Tracy in writing , so we eagerly await this!
Tracy Pike meets Gordon Brown
NEW STAFF FROM FUTURE JOB’S FUND Due to the support of the Future Job‟s Fund, we‟ve recently appointed 2 new members of staff. Nathan Thomas and Hefin Davies join our team and both are exciting about the months ahead and the contribution they intend to make on the charity. Nathan Thomas – CYCA Youth & Play Officer “As a new member of the team at CYCA I work with the new project Fit 4 Fun. My aim over the next few months is to set up sports clubs in the area for children aged 11 and under. As well as doing this I work in after school clubs both in Copperworks and PenTip. I also help in youth club once a week, which is great fun.”
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SPRING 2010 Hefin Davies—CYCA Administration Officer “My main duties for CYCA involve working with the Fit 4 Fun team, where I help with the general administration of the project including the monitoring and evaluation. This involves attending some of the events and observing the children in action, which has been great fun.
SUCCESSFUL START FOR LAC PROJECT Since the end of 2009, we have working in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council, supporting looked after young people, initially aged 14 to 16 and so far the project has been a great success. The aims of this pilot project are to support young people within the care system to develop key life and social skills, together with developing coping strategies and building resilience to help cope with personal issues that may arise. We use an innovative approach, delivered via a team of Mentors, Counsellors and Holistic Therapists. Initially interacting through informal structures before starting more focused work, utilising a mix of Digital Media, through Film Making, Music Recording and Creative Industries, together with Life and Social Skills Development to build Confidence, Self Awareness and Self Worth, Resilience, Goal Setting and Motivation, as well as Practical Support encompassing DIY, Cooking, Money Management and Independent Living... For Further information about our LAC project please contact Barry Johnson or Caroline Davies on 01554 757599.
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FIT 4 FUN The start of 2010 has proved to be a really exciting time for the Fit 4 Fun project. The events calendar has really taken off, with the team holding sessions on nearly a daily basis in a variety of settings both in Llanelli and Carmarthen. The year began with Healthy Cooking workshops in both Ysgol Rhydygors and Ysgol Y Felin‟s After School Club and the pupils have enjoyed a number of sessions throughout February and March too, cooking up delights such as Pancake dishes, Fruit Kebabs, Pizzas, and Cous Cous. February half term saw the team stage an exciting „Ready Steady Cook‟ competition in Carmarthen Leisure Centre, where local children served up a treat under the guidance of S4C celebrity chef, Hazel Thomas. Back in Ysgol Y Felin, all the pupils in the school have being treated to some exciting Skateboarding sessions, where they've been given the chance to develop their skills from week to week. In Copperworks Infants school, Fit 4 Fun staged some „Food & Mood‟ sessions to complement their Healthy Schools Initiative for 2010. The children had the opportunity to make some healthy sweets and snacks and were educated on the various sugars, salts and chemicals that many foods contain. „Let‟s Dance‟ was the message at Bigyn School as the team organised some funky dance lessons with the help of local professional instructors. www.cycaonline.org
Ready Steady Cook!
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SPRING 2010
„Food & Mood‟ event at Copperworks Infants School
The team have also began a fun filled programme with all the children at Lakefield school which will run until the summer and include a mixture of smoothie making workshops, cooking workshops, dance sessions and the development of a „healthy tuck-shop‟. The team has also staged a number of in-house activities. Barnados‟ Young Carers group have been treated to cooking workshops in CYCA‟s Dewi Sant kitchen, and this kitchen has also played host to new family cooking club‟s which have run weekly since the new year under the expertise of CYCA‟s Community Chef, Rebecca Westcott. The team are looking forward to the coming months as they continue develop their events programme. However, they are particularly excited about the new Fit 4 Fun interactive online games, which are being developed in partnership with Tinopolis. The games will see Fabian take centre stage and children will be able to join him for some fun adventures. For more information about the project visit www.fit4funwales.com www.cycaonline.org
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OUR EXCITING NEW SERVICE Weâ€&#x;re delighted to have on board Tatty Bumpkin an exciting new service weâ€&#x;re able to offer children under the age of 7. The service will be provided by Jean Morgan, our fully trained Tatty Bumpkin provider who has a vast experience in the field of holistic therapy, yoga and with working with children.
Jean Morgan
Due to the support received from the Flying Start programme and our very own Fit 4 Fun project, Tatty Bumpkin sessions have began in each our nurseries an will run through until the Summer. The children receive weekly visits from Jean, where she delivers this very unique multi sensory programme that embraces the fact that children learn in different ways. Each developmental session follows the Government Early Years Foundation Stage and the learning during each session is made fun through interactive experience and the sessions themselves are Yoga inspired and include postures, movement, and a relaxation period. Music also plays an important role as it has the ability to calm as well as energise the children.
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SPRING 2010
Who is Tatty? Tatty Bumpkin is a unique and bendy doll that is an appealing and effective teaching tool. Tatty promotes understanding and respect for the World through an environmental and outdoor theme. The sessions are non competitive and nurturing, encouraging the children to become like Tatty, who is Bendy, Giggly, Clever and
Strong.
For more information about our special Tatty Bumpkin service, visit our dedicated pages on our website www,cycaonline.org/tatty-bumpkin www.cycaonline.org
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THE FUN CONTINUES AT TEDDYBEARS! Despite the snow disruption at the beginning of the year Teddybears opened up every day to welcome in some new children after the Christmas break, and everyone had great fun making snow men and throwing snow balls. During this term the children had numerous special days and occasions to celebrate. Firstly they welcomed the Chinese new year by making a colourful dragon with mathematical shapes . The children also experimented with chop sticks whilst they sampled some delicious Chinese food as noodles and prawn crackers replaced the usual snack menu. For Saint David's Day, Teddybears held a week of celebrations in honour of our patron saint. The children dressed in traditional Welsh costume, chopped up their own vegetables to make cawl, made daffodils and leeks, and also tried some traditional Welsh food, including welsh cakes, and lava bread which they enjoyed immensely. Mothers had a lovely surprise as the children made dream catchers as presents for mum's special day. As World Book Day came around, parents very kindly helped with donating books to share amongst the children. And Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated with shamrocks and lots of creative green art. Childre n make a Chines e Drag on
idâ€&#x;s fun St Dav
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SPRING 2010
Children dress up for the Easter Bonnet Parade
Teddybears also welcomed back Tatty Bumpkin after a long absence, for weekly yoga sessions. The sessions will run through until the summer and parents are more than welcome to attend. Flying Start and Copperworks School have continued to give great support, offering very enjoyable parent and child story sessions in the school, as part of this, the children were treated to a stunning display of owls flying overhead and a visit from a spring lamb! As well as these special events, the nursery also had some good news in March as it passed the Estyn inspection with flying colours. To celebrate Easter, an Easter bonnet parade was held. Everyone joined in the fun, as the children and parents made the bonnets as part of a fun homework task. The Llanelli Star came along on the day to take photos of all the children who participated in the parade. Hot cross buns were also on offer for the children, and parents joined the children in our Easter egg hunt. The winners of bonnet competition were Leon Wilson and Kasper Rejiniak fro our morning session and Kyle Weldon and Shanika Nurse from the afternoon session. www.cycaonline.org
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AN EXCITING START TO THE YEAR FOR JELLITOTZ
2010 has so far been a fun year at Jellitotz with the children having the chance to take part in some fun activities. One of the highlights was when the children had the chance to make some Angel Delight! This helped the children develop their literacy skills as Angel delight gives the children a complete sensory stimulation, through, smell, sight , the sound as they Sticky fingers! move it around and touch as they feel the texture of the dessert and best of all when they have finished they can lick their finger, so they use their sense of taste. The staff at Jellitotz like to encourage the children through their senses and let them take part in activities such adding food colourings and essences to play dough and to paint and water, which enables them to get the full sensory experience, while they play. Jellitotz staff have also started to introduce woodwork activities to the children, where they were shown how to safely use a saw to cut sticks and how to use sandpaper to make the wood smooth. In a few Woodwork activities weeks time, CYCAâ€&#x;s Maintenance Officer, Howard Pike will be introducing the children to more woodwork projects.
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SPRING 2010
The nursery also enjoyed a visit from the Storybus, where Anne Messer told the story of the Hungry Caterpillar, and the children enjoyed many different activities linked to the story. Jamboree also visited Jellitotz and the children enjoyed a number of activities through music and movement. The children are also being treated to weekly Tatty Bumpkin Yoga sessions. The staff at Jellitotz nursery is looking forward to developing even more creative and exciting activities for the children to enjoy over the coming months.
Messy fun with Angel delight!
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LITTLE SERAPHS
Staff and children dress up for World Book Day
The children and staff have had a very busy beginning to 2010, as there have been many themes to celebrate. Due to the icy conditions and the snow, the nursery had to close its doors for a day or two, but the children and staff had great fun playing outside and experiencing playing in the snow that was left on our grass area. On St David‟s Day, the children all dressed up in traditional Welsh costumes, and they also took part in a tasting session where they had Welshcakes for their „snack‟. Welsh nursery rhymes were played and sang throughout the day and they also made a daffodil collage to take home. For Mothers Day, the children enjoyed story time where they read a book called “ My mum is fantastic” . They also made mothers day cards to take home. www.cycaonline.org
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SPRING 2010
On „World Book Day‟, the children and staff dressed up as their favourite character from their favourite book. The children also made their own book markers to take home. The nursery has recently had two raised beds built, where the children will be planting seeds and growing their own vegetables. As well as this they are currently in the process of completing a special sensory room. The children are very excited about its opening. Tatty Bumpkin has been welcomed into the nursery with open arms. The sessions have been running on Monday afternoons and they have been a huge success with the children, parents and staff.
St David‟s Day
In the build up to Easter, the children have had many Easter linked stories and songs during circle time. The Nursery has also been decorated to celebrate the Easter Holidays and the children have also made Easter bunny hats and Easter cards. Following the huge success of the Open Day in December 2009, Little Seraphs has now increased its opening to 8:00am - 6:00pm Mondays to Fridays. For more information or to arrange a visit to the nursery please phone Emma on 07980400483 or 01554 757599, or you can now visit our new facebook page. Snow fun!
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CYCA YOUTH
Our Youth Club operates on a Tuesday between 6.15pm and 8.15pm for young people aged 11 to 16. We also operate a junior leader and mentor programme where young people over 16 can still stay with us through supporting new, younger members. The club operates on a drop in basis at a cost of 75p, where young people can come and just unwind, relax and be with friends in a safe, stimulating environment. We also try to run a trip at least once per term, discussed and agreed on with our members.
IT suite
Football fun
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SPRING 2010
Graffiti Art
The youth club is voluntary operated and funded and all help is most certainly welcomed and appreciated, without community and local business support there would be no club for our young people, so if you feel you can support us then please contact Barry Johnson on 01554 757599.
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OUR WISH LIST & UPCOMING EVENTS
At CYCA, we rely heavily on the generosity and support of both the general community and local businesses., which can help us survive. Whether you are an individual whose voluntary work can help us deliver our projects and services or an organisation who can offer „in-kind‟ or financial support, your help will go a long way. Here‟s our wish list for the coming months Builders who can spare a few hours to do some repair work Volunteers to help in our community kitchen, after school clubs and holiday clubs
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SPRING 2010
UPCOMING EVENTS & CLUBS CYCA Holiday Clubs—Easter holidays and May half term holidays at Dewi Sant Centre. CYCA After School Clubs—We run a host of after school clubs across Llanelli every week night. CYCA Youth Club—Every Tuesday 6.15-8.30pm at Dewi Sant Fit 4 Fun—Throughout 2010, Fit 4 Fun will be staging a host of healthy living events in schools and in the general community. Visit the Fit 4 Fun pages of our website for more details. For more information about all of our events and clubs, contact us on 01554 757599 or visit our website.
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STAFF IN FOCUS
JANET JONES—CYCA FINANCE OFFICER
How long have you worked for CYCA? I have worked here nine wonderful years. What’s the best thing about your job? The best thing about my job is the variation when I arrive in the morning. I never know how the day will go! What’s the first thing you do when you get to work in the morning? I want to say check my emails, but as most of you know it is make a cup of tea! What do you do to relax after a long hard day in the office? Take work home. Are you expecting any Easter Eggs this year? No, I don't think any one will buy me one but I have bought a couple for my grand daughter and I am sure she will share with me. What are you looking forward to most in 2010? The continued success of CYCA and more money coming in!
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SPRING 2010
OUR FUNDERS
CONTACT US For more information about CYCA and all of our services and projects get in touch with us on 01554 757599, email support@cycaonline.org, visit our website www.cycaonline.org, or call in to see us at Dewi Sant Centre, Nevill Street, Llanelli, SA15 2RS.
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