Graceful Lines
Grace Joel Retirement Village • Summer edition 2018
Celebrating our culture International Month took the village by storm and we loved learning more about our dierent cultures
Meet Syd and Anne
Father's Day
Friendship Day
Greetings from Murray... Hello and welcome to the summer edition of Graceful Lines. As you may have noticed, we have changed our newsletter name! That is because another company in New Zealand, which predates the village, operates under the name State of Grace. We decided to change the name and asked for everyone’s input. Graceful Lines received the most votes. The village has been very busy over the last few months. Our new bridge, linking apartment block IA14-24 to the main building, is almost complete. We have also started auditing the ensuites in the care centre. A new TV screen and sound system has been added to the Waitemata floor lounge, much to the delight of the residents. We have held many events and outings, and our
combined Father’s Day BBQ lunch in September was an enormous success. It was great seeing everyone together and most importantly, enjoying each other’s company. With the Christmas season fast approaching, please keep an eye on your calendars for all the wonderful Christmas events. As always, my door is open if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you around the village. Kind regards,
Murray Parkes Village Manager
Musical interlude Our residents and visitors spent a wonderful afternoon enjoying a symphony of music performed by The Band of the Royal Regiment of New Zealand. They played some fantastic music including Fame & Glory March, My Way and many more. Everyone felt uplifted and thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Bronwen
Murray Parkes Village Manager Ph: 09 575 1572 Call Murray for general enquiries, or any information about resthome and hospital care.
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Bronwen Steer Sales Advisor Ph: 09 575 1563 Talk to Bronwen for more information about independent apartments or serviced apartments.
International Month The village celebrated International Month during July. During the month we decorated the village with flags of different countries and learned many interesting facts about different countries in the world. Several of our staff members hail from countries other than New Zealand and during the month they had a lot of fun sharing information, culture and food from their homelands. We also celebrated with a Staff Cultural Day in the village atrium. It was a feast of culinary delights and most staff dressed up in their cultural attire. The atrium looked very colourful indeed. Above: Our wonderful staff dressed in many colours. Inset: Christine Han and Chiring Lama won the award for best-dressed.
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RYMAN E H T
H E A LT H C A R E S E A S O
If you notice the Christmas decorations going up a bit earlier in our villages this year, it’s to celebrate our partnership with the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s season of The Nutcracker. We know our residents will enjoy being immersed in the whimsical story of the Nutcracker as our villages are transformed – think sugar plum fairies, gingerbread houses and toy soldiers. There will be a range of activities on offer – from appreciating Tchaikovsky’s beautiful
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musical score, to having a go at making themed-decorations for display. The ballet will be touring throughout New Zealand, opening in Wellington on 31 October, and finishing in Auckland on 15 December.
Want to see a show near you? Contact your village reception for exclusive Ryman discounts on tickets!
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Ryman chefs take top prize At the recent New Zealand Hospitality Awards, our in-house Chefs; Steve Iraia and Paul Korunic, took the top two prizes.
also pleased to go one better than last year. “We’ve got the two top positions in the country, which is a brilliant result.’’
Steve has been the chef at Princess Alexandra village in Napier for 10 years. He was named the winner in the senior lifestyle section.
Steve and Paul had 75 minutes to cook meals for eight people consisting of four hoki loin dishes and four dishes featuring beef cheeks.
Steve came second in last year’s competition.
Ryman Hotel Services Manager Andrew Gibson said he was proud of the chefs, as the dishes they prepared had to be practical and suitable for Ryman menus.
“I’m absolutely ecstatic, it was a bit like taking care of some unfinished business.”
Village chefs serve up more than 10,000 meals a day to our residents. Chefs prepare the food fresh on-site, with three main course choices, including a vegetarian option.
Both Steve and Paul’s classic recipes feature in Ryman Delicious menus. Paul, Chef at Anthony Wilding village in Christchurch for the last four years, was
myRyman rollout crosses the finishing line Our myRyman electronic care system has been rolled out to all our villages in New Zealand. myRyman is a robust electronic care system located in each resident’s room. It allows nurses and care assistants to view the full care profile of each resident at the touch of a button. Information is recorded in real time, dramatically reducing paperwork. In 2015, Chief Operations Office Barbara ReynenRose went looking for an electronic care
system but couldn’t find one she liked, so Ryman decided to build its own version.
“It makes us excited about what’s possible, and where we can take it next.” Chief Executive Gordon MacLeod said the project would keep Ryman Healthcare at the forefront of aged care. “What we have achieved is very, very rare. To take a concept that involved a complete change in how people work and make it into a system that is operable 24/7 in a care operation is incredible. “It makes us excited about what’s possible, and where we can take it next.’’
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Resident Profile
Meet Syd and Anne
for dances all over north-west England. It took two years for Syd and Anne to start going out and after another couple of years they got engaged. The couple started their married life on Syd’s family farm and Syd continued to play in the band to help with their income. However, the late-night engagements took their toll and eventually Syd quit the band. By this time, Syd and Anne had welcomed their two children and they needed to look at other means of employment as the farm couldn’t support two families. Initially Syd wanted to immigrate to Australia, but Anne knew someone in New Zealand so in August 1952 they landed here.
They love village life and enjoy taking part in all the activities on offer. Syd and Anne Jackson love living in their independent apartment at Grace Joel. Syd and Anne were both born in 1927 in Cumberland, England. They were from a small farming community and had happy childhoods despite the Great Depression. Syd met Anne when they were 17 years old at a dance where Syd was playing with his band. Syd and his bandmates got together and played
Syd started working in Warkworth and held various jobs before landing a sharemilking position at Ngarua in Waikato. After five years, Anne and Syd bought their first farm in Tauranga. Several years and a move to Auckland later, Syd worked as a real estate agent. Syd and Anne have a grandson, 23, who is studying law and commerce at Victoria University. They are very proud of him. They love village life and enjoy taking part in all the activities on offer.
Happy Hour Our residents like gathering for Happy Hour. Recently they enjoyed listening to Robyn when she played the harp. The music was soothing while everyone chatted and drank a glass of wine or beer. Robyn was very popular and many residents stopped by for a chat.
Right: Josie Cocker, Phil Garret, Nina Beggs, Faye Ellery, Robin Ellery, Margaret Ussher, Judith Meachen, Cliff Hart, and a friend of Cliff Hart.
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Wellness Day
Father's Day
Our residents enjoyed the Health & Wellness Day in our community centre. Everyone received a loot bag with lots of healthy snacks and other health related goodies.
For Father's Day, the Men's Club were treated to a bucket of balls at Formosa Golf Resort. Then it was off to the restaurant for a lovely meal and a chat with the club manager. It was a great day spent in fabulous company.
Above: Activities Coordinator Avrill Burchell, Gordon Lester, Laurie Teixeira, Martie McCaughan, Peg Barrett and Activities Coordinator Amy Yin.
Above: Bob Kingston, Jim Espie, Frank Bishop, Harvey Manual, John Gribble and Cliff Hart.
Staff Profile
Introducing Tina
Hello, my name is Tina Healy and I am the administrative assistant at the village. Before joining the village team, I had a successful career in advertising and marketing across Europe and America. I married and had two children, and decided to follow my husband, who was travelling for work.
I feel like I can make a difference to our residents' lives by listening and being attentive.
I became an entrepreneur, and held roles from owning cafés through to being a recruitment consultant. It was a very interesting time and I learned
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how to interact with people. Once back in New Zealand, I wanted to work in a happy environment, where I could meet interesting people and work with a supportive team. I found both at Grace Joel. I feel like I can make a difference to our residents' lives by listening and being attentive. It’s a pleasure to gain a personal connection with our wonderful residents and to provide emotional support when needed. I couldn’t be happier.
Celebrating our friends There is nothing like spending a fabulous afternoon with your friends and chatting away over a delicious cup of tea. And that is just what we did to celebrate International Friendship Day! The atrium was delightfully decorated, and residents invited their friends and family to spend the afternoon with them. We hope everyone had a wonderful time and we are looking forward to planning our next event! Pictured: Residents Annette Wilson and Shirley Kent with Shirley's daughter Annette Babajan.
Upcoming events Nov
4
Mandolinata Concert
Dec
Nov
14
Where's the Password presentation
Dec
7
14
Christmas in the
Christmas
village concert
markets
184 St Heliers Bay Road, St Heliers
www.gracejoel.co.nz