Address: 100 Queen Street, Bendigo VIC 3550

Phone: (03)54412666 email: admin@amicus.org.au web: www.amicus.org

February 2016

Welcome to 2016!

For those of you who have had a break from your Amicus services we hope that you enjoyed your holidays and welcome you back in 2016. While you were enjoying sleep ins we had a very busy Vacation Care program with Bendigo Regional YMCA and by all reports it has been a wonderful success with lots of great activities on offer and fun, fun, fun for all involved!

As we commence 2016 it is important for us to keep our eye on the horizon as the NDIS is now only 64 weeks away! Amicus has some great opportunities for you to learn about the NDIS and what you need to do NOW to get ready. There are some very important and useful steps you can be taking now to ensure that you are well placed to make the transition so we encourage you to come along to sessions that are of interest to you. In this newsletter there is a short questionnaire that will help us to plan for these sessions. Please take the time to fill them in so we can try to offer sessions at the most suitable times.

As part of preparing for the NDIS our COM met recently with a consultant to workshop our readiness as an organisation to implement the NDIS. This was a very valuable exercise and highlighted a lot of great work that has already been undertaken and aligns with the principles of the NDIS including providing choice and control over your funding and how you spend it, offering supports that assist you to be active and involved in your community, assisting you to work towards goals of employment, study, volunteering and

community membership and some of our back of house systems like Gemba and MERP. We will be preparing a plan to assist us with implementation of the NDIS and this will be drawn from the participant surveys which have already been finalised and those that are just about to be sent out, staff feedback from recent our recent training day and the COM Workshop.

I am currently working on a submission to the Department of Social Security to assist us with the development of housing for people with a disability on our Cecil St site. The funding round closes on 11 February and we hope that our application for assistance is viewed favourably. Our site is now fully cleared and we have a proposed plan of subdivision and over the coming month we are planning to put together a notice board which will contain important updates about the project. Another great place to find this information out will be in the newsletter and on our facebook page.

Our last bit of news to kick off 2016 is that late last year we welcomed Judy Sheaf onto the COM of Amicus. Many of you will know Judy as Dylan’s mum but Judy has also had many years of involvement on committees and is a very active contributor to our community. We are really pleased to have her on board and look forward to her contributions to Amicus.

That’s a wrap for now but I wish you all the best for 2016 and look forward to working with you to bring in the NDIS!

Cheers! Ann-Maree

From the EO

Ann-Maree Davis

Inside this issue

From the EO ................................ 1 Key Dates ................................... 1

Amicus News and Events ............. 2 Amicus Christmas Party............... 3 Bushfire Safety ........................... 4 Heatwave Safety ......................... 5 Amicus News .............................. 6 PAG News ................................... 6 After School & Vacation Care ...... 7 Survey / NDIS ready session ........ 8

Amicus News and Events

Bendigo Cinemas is now offering sensory friendly film ses-sions with lights on and sound low.

check it out on the following link http://www.bendigocinemas.com.au/Page/Home

Kath with her beautiful Artwork on display at Amicus

The Amicus Christmas Party was held at the North Bendigo Bowls Club

We had a lovely lunch and everyone had a great time!!!

It is very important in the Summer time on days of very hot or extreme weather , that we make sure you wear a hat and have sunscreen on and have a drink bottle of water in your bag. Can all participants please remember to check they have these items each morning.

Please see the Department of Health Heat Health fact sheet attached to your news-letter. This gives further information on how to keep yourself healthy in hot weath-er. When the weather is very hot, we may need to change your activity to suit the

weather. Your staff will let you know if there is any changes to your activity.

AMICUS BUSHFIRE PLAN

On days of Severe Fire Rating There will be no changes to your support but staff will check the CFA web-site and ABC Radio to make sure there are no fires in the area and through-out the day to make sure we are safe. On days of Extreme Fire Rating There will be some changes to activities as we will not travel out of the City of Greater Bendigo. Staff will check the CFA website and ABC Radio to make sure there are no fires in the area and throughout the day to make sure we are safe. On days of Catastrophic (Code Red) Fire Rating Amicus will be closed on a Code Red day and you will need to implement your Bushfire Safety Plan

Do you need help to make a Bushfire Plan

If you need any help to make your Bushfire Plan, please contact Caralyn or Shayne at Amicus on 5441 2666

Bushfire Response and Safety

Simon was awarded this Certificate of Appreciation

For Volunteering

Pete ay the Australia Day BBQ held at Eaglehawk

PAG Activities—The City Slider!!!

Amicus News

Our PAG's (Planned Activity Group) had an extra special activity during the summer break, we went on The City Slider! Connor, Riley and Mitchell took part with Tim, Luke and me (Diana) supporting them. It was a unique experience sliding down View Street on a tube. We had to queue for a while, working our way up View Street. It gave the Group a chance to see what they were in for before it was our turn to slide 325 metres down View Street! We had 3 slides in total. The City Slider was a terrific activity. Mitchell looks like he's flying!

Diana Rajics

PAG Support Worker

After School and Vacation Care

Welcome Everyone to Term 1, 2016!

We have just completed a great school holiday program, the weather was fantastic and the kids all got to make the most of it. There were many outings to Parky’s Wonderland, Inflatable World, the Melbourne Zoo, the cinemas, bowling, scavenger hunts and visits to parks and playgrounds. Then there were the exciting in house activities like crazy hair day, water play, basketball clinics, drama sessions, martial arts, Christmas crafts and much, much more. The Kangaroo Flat site operated from St Monica’s Primary school once again these holidays while the YMCA is undergoing some much needed renovations. The Mundy street site closed down these holidays and was run instead from Lightening Reef Primary School. Everyone really enjoyed this site. There was lovely air conditioning and the kids had regular access to a fenced playground. The last day of the holiday program saw all sites celebrating back to school with a party. All kids thoroughly enjoyed this day with inflatables to jump on and water and party games. Eve-ryone brought a plate of party food to share for lunch.

We welcomed one new child to the program these holidays and he had a wonderful time meeting the Amicus staff and making new friends with so many children. We also enjoyed catching up with many of the regular children we support on the pro-gram, often the staff comment on how wonderful it is to see each child again.

Term 1 has begun this week with all our regulars back enjoying the afterschool program. I am busy dealing with a few inquiries of new children wanting to join in this program. We look for-ward to welcoming them over the next few weeks.

Thank you to everyone for your support with our program, we hope you all enjoy Term 1.

Tracey Christmas OHSC & Vacation Care Coordinator

Please complete this survey

NDIS Ready Sessions

Amicus will be conducting a series of sessions over 2016 to assist you to get ready for the NDIS. Please help us to plan these by completing the follow-ing short survey and returning it to reception. Name: ………………………………………………………………... Please circle your preference. The best days of the week to hold information sessions are:

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

The best times of the day to hold information sessions are:

9.30-12 noon, 12 noon to 2.30pm, 3.30-6pm, 7-9.30pm

My preferred length of session is:

1 hour 2 hours 3 hours

Would you prefer to attend an event that included light refreshments:

Yes / No

For parents and carers –

I need support for my family member with a disability to attend:

Yes / No

Thanks for helping us to plan our NDIS Ready sessions.