N ovel la David Donald, Ronald Ball, John Montagu and David Carr were ready to 'bet' on the horse races
Inside this issue: • SCU art exhibition • Delicious summer menu • Quiz night! • Meet Glenys Essie Summers Retirement Village Christmas Newsletter 2017
Essie’s Novella
Essie’s Novella
Greetings from Rosemary... Hello and welcome to our Christmas edition for Essie’s Novella. It is hard to believe that we are entering the silly season for 2017, the year seems to have flown by, but that may have been because life is busy and so much fun at Essie Summers.
which is an outstanding result. We hope to continue to provide you or your loved one with the best care possible.
So many highlights this year, it’s nice to sit back and reflect on how far we have come. Our staff are happy and settled, with a very low staff turnover, and we know that this means our residents see the same smiling face each day. Essie Summers was nominated for Ryman Village of the Year, and although we didn’t take the crown, we are still thrilled to have been nominated.
We have some great things coming for the festive season, so please keep an eye out for our flyers.
In our recent audit result we showed continued improvement in six areas,
Rosemary Deane Village Manager
I wish you a Merry Christmas and prosperous New Year! Kind regards,
Charity partner announced In June, Alzheimer’s NZ was announced as Ryman’s charity partner for the year. Ngaire Dixon, chair of Alzheimer’s New Zealand, was delighted with the announcement as dementia and Alzheimers will become more of an issue in the future. There were more than 62,000 New Zealanders with dementia
Rosemary Deane Village Manager Phone: 03 337 2702 Call Rosemary for general enquiries, or any information about resthome, hospital and dementia care.
in 2016, and the this is forecast to grow to 170,212 people by 2050. Ryman villages include 710 dementia beds and demand for care is growing. Every dollar raised for Alzheimer’s New Zealand at our villages this year will be matched dollar for dollar by Ryman Healthcare.
Susie Cowles Sales Advisor Phone: 03 337 6500 Talk to Susie about retirement living options and availabilities in the village.
222 Colombo Street, Beckenham, Christchurch • www.essiesummers.co.nz
Painting for the soul A hidden talent was unearthed at Essie Summers’ special care unit as art classes have taken the unit by storm! In late November, residents, staff and family members held a special art exhibition to celebrate the paintings made by the residents. These paintings were displayed at Essie Summers and it moved to the Christchurch South Public Library where it will be displayed until Christmas. For the past two years the residents came together to paint a small painting every Wednesday under the guiding hands of Margaret Doerner and activities coordinator Lavinia Quinn. Margaret’s husband, Graeme who passed away last year, was a dementia resident at Essie Summers and she started the classes for him. The art produced by residents astonished the staff and families alike. Lavinia and Margaret have found that painting have
Activities coordinator Lavinia Quinn and artist Margaret Doerner had some astonishing results in the residents. One resident’s hands stopped shaking while painting, while another started to talk during these sessions. Lavinia and Margaret hope to roll out art classes like these to all Ryman villages. “Art should take over the world!” Margaret laughs.
Ron and Hilda celebrate 20 years Ron and Hilda Ball celebrated a very special anniversary this week at Essie Summers. The couple have been residents of the village for 20 years, which makes them the first Ryman residents to reach this milestone. The team at Essie Summers have made a big fuss about their anniversary, with village manager Rosemary Deane presenting them with a cake and flowers and the staff came to congratulate them!
Ron Ball, Arti Kar an ilda Ball, vi lla e managerr Rosemary Dea,nH e and Lesley MgcK arr
Essie’s Novella
Essie’s Novella
Summer menu launched! Our Delicious menus have taken our villages by storm since the launch in February this year. The much-anticipated summer menus combine age-old favourites along with a few new additions, such as the inclusion of couscous. Hospitality manager Andrew Gibson said that the team concentrated on refining the menus for this edition.
“We’re building on the success of our previous menus by refining the recipes. We know what works now and we’ll build from there. But we also included a few new dishes.” Among these new dishes are chefs Paul Kuronic and Steve Iraia’s crab cake dishes. Paul and Steve both won silver at the New Zealand Hospitality Championships earlier this year, and residents will now get a taste of their creations.
Father’s Day was celebrated 1940s style at the village. Our staff dressed up in costumes from the era and the residents gathered in the village for burgers and beers and of course, lots of salad. After lunch, we played games, including ‘horse’ racing, mini golf and residents bet with their ‘money’ on the outcomes.
And the best new dish on the menu? “Definitely the brisket!” Andrew enthused.
During the afternoon, it cool downed a bit so we moved indoors and played ‘shoot the can’ and two-up, our residents used fake money and the guys loved it! To finish it off we had a happy hour and the ladies were invited to join in the fun.
The summer menus were rolled out in October.
Quiz night Do you know who John Ryder and Kevin Hickman are? Perhaps you can effortlessly recite all the romance novels Essie Summers wrote? Or maybe you have a secret talent for recognizing countries' capitals like where Bucharest and Budapest are? These were some of the questions at The Final Quiz Night to test residents knowledge of Ryman Healthcare's history, geography, natural science, music and more! Our finalists, the Sexy Six, the Quizzlers, the Secret Six, and the Strugglers managed to stay calm and hide their exam nerves. The four teams thought the quiz was very difficult but each team aimed for a perfect or high score to help them win.
Cashin Scholarship open for entries
Our quiz nights have
become really popu
There were whisperings, discussions, ceiling stares, a lot of shushes, sign languages, lip readings and best of all laughter but the Strugglers took the crown! Of course, there were drinks and nibbles. We can't imagine a pub quiz without it. What a fun night!
lar!
Fozia Tasheem has no doubt that winning the first Cashin Scholarship changed the course of her life.
The 2018 Cashin Scholarship is now open. Ryman staff and family members undertaking tertiary study in 2018 can apply.
Fozia was studying accounting and information systems at Victoria University and funding her studies was a struggle.
For more details contact David King at: david.king@rymanhealthcare.com
Fozia’s mum, Hushn Bano, was working at Malvina Major as a housekeeper, and Fozia took a part time job there. “I did everything I could at the village to get extra shifts.’’ In 2011, she applied for the first Cashin Scholarship and it could not have come at a better time. Now 25, Fozia has just been promoted to a co-ordinator’s role at Datacom in Wellington, so her career is on the up.
Essie’s Novella
Essie’s Novella
Later, I married and had two daughters, Joanne and Michelle, who in turn gave me five grandchildren and a great-grandson.
Getting to know you
h other In an effort to learn more about eac es with we celebrated our different cultur nt. s an Around the World in 90 Day eve da We ‘visited’ Fiji, Tonga, and also hel and ia, Ind Pinoy Barrio Fiesta, A Taste of celebrated all things New Zealand. ut It was wonderful to learn more abo redible each other and to taste all the inc e’s to dishes that our staff prepared. Her celebrating our diversity!
Intervillage sports day
During October, we ha d a lovely time competing against our sister villages Woodcote, Margaret St oddart and Ngaio Marsh. Well done to all the participants. Unfortunately for us th e Woodcote team took the crown. We ar e sure to beat them next time! It was a fant astic day and we are looking forward to the next challenge. Dorothy Todorovic takin g her turn at croquet
Introducing Melanie Hello, my name's Melanie Asuncion and I've been Clinical Manager at Essie Summers since October 2014.
became the Clinical Manager two years later.
I was raised in the Philippines and my 80-year-old father still lives there, though he recently visited New Zealand for the first time and fell in love with it. I have two siblings both of whom live in Italy.
I take great pleasure from caring for our beloved residents and o relish the sense of their families. I also teamwork and the friendly environment of Essie Summers. I enjoy being a leader and helping my team achieve success and personal growth.
I qualified in the Philippines as a pharmacist and a registered nurse and I worked there for two years in Acute Care and at an endocrinology clinic. I moved to New Zealand in 2010 and began work as a caregiver while undergoing further training at CPIT and Princess Margaret Hospital. In 2012, I started work as a registered nurse at Beckenham Courts as Essie Summers was known then - and
Away from work I seek adventure. I love camping and exploring the natural wonders of New Zealand, and I also enjoy going on culinary adventures, exploring the foods of different cultures.
Meet
s y n Gle
Hello, my name's Glenys Norris. I was born Glenys Grenfell and was raised in Christchurch along with my two brothers and a sister. I attended West Spreydon Primary School, South Intermediate and Christchurch West High School, before going to work in the soft furnishing workroom at Ballantynes.
I have always enjoyed sport, having played indoor bowls for many years and I also love to play golf. My relationship with golf has been one of both love and hate – it can be such a frustrating game – but it has provided me with many good friends. Having worked in the soft furnishing trade I was later able to set up my own business, which I ran until I retired. After the earthquakes of 2011, I went in search of a new home. I looked through most of the Ryman villages in Christchurch before eventually settling on Essie Summers. It has met all my needs. I have a lovely townhouse, excellent health support and an abundance of company. I enjoy exercises, housie, happy hour, Wednesday outings, but most of all the friends I've made here.
A helping hand The special care unit residents love to be a part of activities. They look at special care as being their home, and therefore they like to help out with chores such as folding washing, polishing cutlery, dishwashing, sweeping, table setting, dusting and more. The sense of satisfaction they get when they have completed an activity or task is wonderful and there is always a thank you from the staff after the task is completed, and appreciation is always shown. Not only do these activities make the residents feel like this is their home, but it also
thy Brown and Gerald Stringer, Doro ing out Patricia Carroll help
makes them feel valued, needed and wanted as this would have always been a part of their lives and shouldn't stop just because they have moved in to care.
Essie’s Novella
Christmas tree cookies Makes approx 10 trees Ingredients: • 2 cups flour • ½ tsp baking soda • 1 tbsp ground ginger • 1 cup (220g) firmly packed soft brown sugar • 150g butter
• 1 egg • Cookie cutter, one shape varying sizes Royal icing sugar: • 2 egg whites • 2 cups icing sugar • 2 tsp vanilla extract
Method: 1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 2. Sift flour, baking soda and ground ginger together in a bowl. Add butter. 3. In a separate bowl beat the egg and sugar until light and fluffy. 4. Mix everything together. Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes. 5. Roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut out the shapes. 6. Bake for 8-10 minutes until golden.
Keep an eye on the smaller cookies so that they don’t burn. 7. Remove from oven and cool on baking rack. 8. Assemble the tree by using a bit of icing sugar between the layers. Royal icing sugar: Beat egg whites in clean, large bowl with mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla extract. Beat at high speed until thickened.
ts n e v E g n i m Upco arols Christmas c taff and s s a m t is r h C rty residents pa elebrations New Year c arty Children’s P