SwanCare Social Engagement Newsletter Sept/Oct 2022

HELLO, FRIENDS

Welcome to the September/October edition of SEN. Rain, thunderstorms, dark clouds, and cold weather… winter can be quite dreary and dull, but as Anne Bradstreet says “If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; If we did not sometimes taste the adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”

We have certainly had plenty of rain over the past few weeks, but this has not deterred the residents and staff from being kept busy by enjoying the activities offered at each of our aged care centres.

The food experience sessions have been popular. Residents have enjoyed making toasties, pizzas and crepes; and of course sampling them afterwards.

Armchair travel to Croatia and Argentina were interesting and entertaining. We usually have a full house with our movie afternoons and bingo.

Kerry D Fashions visited with a range of clothes, jewellery, and cards for the residents to purchase. As usual there were some sales racks which are always popular.

Weather permitting residents enjoyed the morning walks around the village and the bus trips out. We are looking forward to spring when we can get out and about. We might do a spot of gardening or just sit out in the garden and enjoy a cuppa and a chat with family and friends.

Until next time, wishing you well in the coming months and stay safe.

Warm regards,

Ceri Williams

Ceri Williams

GREAT MOMENTS 1

NAIDOC Week

To celebrate NAIDOC week at SwanCare Waminda, the Social Engagement Team and residents enjoyed learning about the different cultures and languages of Aboriginal people. Everyone got involved with their hand at dot painting with some fantastic results to be seen. Social engagement staff member, Hans Hurtado, gave a performance on his own digeridoo to the delight of residents, who were then able to give it a try as well. Everybody had a great time and finished off the afternoon with a lovely afternoon tea.

- Carolynn Robinson

For NAIDOC week, at SwanCare Ningana the Social Engagement Team assisted our residents to gather to pay their respects to the traditional custodians of the land, to acknowledge the Aboriginal culture, land, heritage, and history. This was followed by a quiz and word game in the morning and art and craft session in the afternoon. Residents enjoyed learning and talking about the history of this celebration, they also learnt new words in the Noongar dilect, the meaning of art symbols, and also listened into the “Dream Catcher” story. To finalise this special day, they participated in the coloring session related to Aboriginal art, residents were fascinated and enjoyed these sessions.

- Claudia Becerra

GREAT MOMENTS 2

Daffodil Day

This Daffodil Day the Social Engagement Team put together a raffle with a lovely quilted blanket that had been provided to use as a prize. Proceeds from the raffle have been donated to the Cancer Council to help continue their research. Many of the residents, and even staff, purchased tickets hoping that they would have the winning number. The winner was announced during afternoon tea on Daffodil Day which brought a smile to the lucky person's face. Everyone was happy and all enjoyed some delicious afternoon tea.

- Kirsten MacDonald

For Daffodil Day, the crafty Ningana residents started working on a “flower making” project a couple of weeks ago, a template was provided and they were assisted in drawing, cutting, and gluing the parts together to make the daffodils. It looked like a production line! Residents were happy with the beautiful result.

- Claudia Becerra.

KINGIA FAMILY

July and August were true reflections of excellence at SwanCare Kingia. For NAIDOC week, the residents enjoyed dot painting on canvas. They tried using a flat edge tool, but most residents preferred using a paintbrush. These paintings turned out great!

Games were the main source of entertainment over these winter months, with many different varieties played. One of the most interesting was a personalised picture game, where residents had to guess who among them was the one on the television screen presentation. Residents also participated in exercises with different-coloured scarves which were from our staff’s personal collections. The rainbow scarf exercise, bean bag game, bucket drumming, paper plate dance, fishing game, stuffed toys game, and other mini floor games are thoroughly enjoyed by the residents and are tailored to our residents by our staff.

We have continued with our cooking activities and some of our residents are receiving 1 on 1 therapy sessions delivering person-centred interventions.

We have introduced a new word game where residents are encouraged to stand up and roll one letter at a time to form three-letter words.

Art and craft projects completed are displayed around the common areas. You may have seen daffodils made from coloured paper. They looked so realistic. Most of our residents love having quizzes, so questions are ready every day for a pop-up quiz. Having plan B activities come in handy, especially when we encounter poor weather or other circumstances. All of these, and more, are all made possible by our social engagement staff member, Sue Yang, who always goes above and beyond. Thank you Sue for a job well done!

NINGANA FAMILY

In August, our Allied Health team organised a ‘Festival of India’ to acknowledge Indian Independence Day. Our team member, Agrima, wore her beautiful traditional country dress and our Indian staff members shared their culture, traditions, and food. The residents were very enthusiastic in asking questions. Our residents participated in a spice guessing game where they had to guess the correct spice by smell. The game was very fun! For afternoon tea, chai tea was served along with pappadums, spring rolls, and Indian biscuits. Residents always look forward to learning about different cultures and their traditions.

Our residents also enjoyed making chocolate chip cookies and decorating cupcakes. They put their gloves on and started to work on the cookies, using different shaped cookie cutters with assistance. Residents also enjoyed creating their own designs for their cupcakes with different coloured butter cream icing and a variety of toppings. Some residents were professional bakers before retiring, so these sessions triggered many happy memories. They shared their own experiences and anecdotes of the past. These sessions bring a massive sense of accomplishment, as residents are very proud of the results which motivates them to participate in the next sessions.

Our residents and staff were also very happy to welcome back our volunteer, Glenice, and her lovely dog, Charlie, to resume pet visits at SwanCare Ningana. Pets bring joy, comfort, and love to our residents. Many of them reminisced about their own pets or farming life and enjoyed patting and cuddling Charlie. It was a very happy and joyful experience, and we all look forward to seeing them again soon.

TANDARA FAMILY

SwanCare Tandara has armchair travelled to two destinations from both ends of the world in the past couple of months. Poland was first, where two of our residents originate from. Bogumila P. couldn’t help, but stare at the pictures with a smile on her face the whole time. Stella J. sang a Polish folk song for us all to listen to. Sto Lat (One Hundred Years) is sung to express good wishes, good health, and long life to a person on their special day. She taught us the song, with the lyrics shown on the television for everyone to see and to sing along with. The next destination was India. We celebrated Indian Independence Day with Armchair Travel and cooking activities for both SwanCare Kingia and SwanCare Tandara. Kingia baked scones and had chai milk tea with the help of two students from Curtin University. Tandara cooked chickpea pancakes, which are savoury in flavour and truly a healthy snack. The highlight of the celebration was when we were entertained with Bollywood dancing courtesy of our Quality and Compliance Coordinator, Preetha. She performed across two days, for both Kingia and Tandara residents. She wore two different costumes for each centre. Each outfit was exquisite, with matching jewellery/ gems on her head, face, arms, feet, and even gems on her dresses. After the lengthy dance, she taught the residents some of the steps and even answered their questions.

Special thanks to everyone who contributed to giving us these one of a kind experiences.

WAMINDA FAMILY

Armchair Travel

The residents of SwanCare Waminda went on a journey to South America. On this occasion they stopped off in Argentina, thanks to Armchair Travel. Here they learned about the culture, history, language, geography, national flag and emblem, and even how to tango. The residents participated in a quiz and colouring in activities related to what they had learned during their trip to Argentina.

Whilst having their afternoon tea they enjoyed colouring in some pictures of the scenery, traditional dances, and churches. - Hans Hurtado

Food Experience

Thanks to the Food Experience, which is now part of the weekly program, our residents were treated to pizza. They were able to request a pizza to be made to their liking, so that everyone was able to enjoy something. There were many different toppings, including pepperoni and even pineapple. While the residents were waiting for their pizza to cook, they were able to enjoy some music with their morning cuppa. Everyone enjoyed their pizzas, with many going back for seconds. The residents cannot wait to see what the next food experience brings them!

- Kirsten MacDonald

MESSAGE OF THE MONTH

Staying Well this Spring by Student Dietitians, Melissa and Olivia

Birds chirping and flowers blooming can only mean that spring is on the way! Below, we share our four top tips on ways to stay healthy this spring.

Eating to help with hay fever

Blossoming flowers may look beautiful, but they can cause havoc with our nose and eyes. Despite this, it is important to have a variety of fruit and vegetables each day to ensure your body is getting all the required vitamins and minerals to keep healthy.

In season fruits & vegetables

Colourful fruit including apples, oranges, pears, and bananas are in season during the springtime. Fruit can be enjoyed fresh, tinned, mixed in a fruit salad, or even as a refreshing glass of apple or orange juice with your meal. Getting out in the sunshine

Getting enough sunlight in your day is important for boosting your mood, keeping your bones strong, and providing your body with vitamin D. We encourage you to engage in outdoor activities that you enjoy to bring you outside even for a few minutes each day.

Hydration

As the weather warms, it’s important to keep your fluids up. Sipping on drinks throughout the day is an easy way to keep yourself hydrated. This doesn’t just include water – tea, milk, soup, and juice also count.

Enjoy the spring weather and activities ahead. Stay healthy!

SwanCare would like to welcome the following people:

Ningana: Vera C. Gordon C. John McG. Vernon W. Matthys D. Peter K.

Kingia: Roseline G. Joy F. Albert VL. Don R. Elva W.

Tandara: Tahereh L. David H.

Waminda: Colin B. Ethel B. Arthur H. Lorraine B. May D. Beryl S.

John M. Charles R. Leslie S. Margaret C.

IT'S A CELEBRATION!

Birthdays, Milestones, and New Residents

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS

2nd Fumika F. 4th Joan R. 8th Alan A. 10th Rita T. 13th Jean C. 17th Evelyn C. 26th Hazel C. 28th Donald R. 28th Joyce F.

5th Elizabeth F. 15th Margaret W. 17th Frederick V. 21st Francis B. 22nd John M. 28th Cesira P.

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS

3rd Wilmer P. 5th Anthony J. 8th Sheila M. 17th Petrina C. 23rd Wendy Z. 25th Robert Z. 28th Geoffrey S. 29th Anthony H.

1st Annina D. 1st Willy N. 3rd Margaret W. 5th Margaret B. 7th Gwenda G. 8th Patrick M. 9th Connie R. 17th Nell B. 18th Bob N. 18th Geraldo H. 20th Val F. 24th Helen B. 25th Pamela C. 26th Janet L.

AUGUST

BIRTHDAYS

10th Olive C. 23rd Jennifer S. 25th Peter L.

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS 3rd James J. 11th Patricia T.

AUGUST BIRTHDAYS

2nd Lynne S. 3rd Delores B. 7th Eileen M. 8th Betty B. 10th Marion M. 13th Celine K. 18th Kaye T. 19th Patricia G. 22nd Lynette C. 26th Betty G. 28th Christine B.

SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS

6th Margaret C. 9th Ethel W. 11th Thomas T. 12th Thelma H. 14th George W. 16th Ron C. 16th Patrick A. 20th Barbara F. 23rd Audrey T. 23rd Michael C. 27th Iris G. 28th Katherine M.

love from the

Team.

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visiting hours: Monday

Cafe hours: Monday

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Sunday

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Friday 7:30am – 3:00pm

Tuesday

General Manager Health & Aged Care Services

Manager

Manager

Wednesday

Sunday 8:00am – 3:00pm

Friday 7:00am – 7:00pm Saturday

Operations Duska Bodegrajac

Quality & Compliance