Winter is here but that didn’t stop a special group of people attending a dinner that recognised their long term commitment to foster caring. The night was enjoyed by all who attended, as you can see from the photos.
Congratulations and Thanks to the following Carers on their First Anniversary of caring. Congratulations
Tegan Hayden & William Soe
&
Stephanie Dowling & Ethan Humphries
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Join us for Morning Tea
Come along and say ‘hi’ to new Foster Carers and catch up with familiar faces. We will have some delicious food supplied by the café. We hope you’re able to attend!
Friday 29th July 2022
9.30am to 11.30am
IGNITE AUDITORIUM, ALLAMBI
28 Fraser Parade, Charlestown
Please RSVP by 22nd July by return email
or contact your Case Worker
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Things to do In July
NEWCASTLE BRICKFEST - Newcastle Jockey Club
Saturday 9th 2pm-5pm Sunday 10th 9.30-5pm. This event is created by local volunteer LEGO fans and is the first and longest running fan event. It has 60 exhibitors and 180 tables of exhibits to enjoy. $8 per person or $30 family of four, under 3 free.
DROP IN ART, CRAFT & SCAVENGER HUNT ZONE
This will take place at The Station. Friday 15th July, 10-2pm, FREE. Join Newy with Kids at The Station to enjoy some free school holiday fun! There’ll be free craft activities for you and the kids to do. You can also do the Newy with Kids Scavenger Hunt for The Station.
ILLUMINATE - Saturday 16 July 2-9pm
Bringing back life to Hunter Street Mall! Join in for family-friendly activities and workshops, multimedia sculpture/light displays, giant illuminated puppets, roving entertainment, live music and hot food
EXHIBITION - The Soft Library
Ends Tuesday July 19th Newcastle Library; Mon- Sat 4pm; FREE. This is an immersive felt installation by Melbourne-based textile artist & author Cat Rabbit. The artist pays tribute to the library as a place of learning and wonder; a home for the endless possibilities if the imagination. The library is turned into a fantastical library run by bears or librarians looking after shelves of felt books. The Soft Library is a beautiful and captivating experience for families.
STEAMFEST - 30th & 31st July
Steamfest showcases everything steam from the past. The heart and soul of Steamfest is its impressive assembly of steam trains. They have 6 different trips that you can take and the ever popular train race! Enjoy live music, roving performers, heritage walks, market stalls, gourmet food stalls, coffee and more.
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Meet Kendall Pedrana
Kendall has recently joined the Foster Care team as a Case Worker.
What are you most excited about in relation to your job this year?
Working closely with the children and their families to help them maintain their family connection and continue to support their family connection with their carers.
What is one important skill every person should have?
One important skill I believe everyone should have is empathy.
What is your favourite thing to do by yourself?
My favourite thing to do by myself is go to the beach or get my eye lashes done. LOL yes, very girly!! I do also take my children out every Saturday to do a fun activity to help create memories for them.
Are you a cat or dog person?
I am a DOG person!! Fun fact! I own 5 dogs; all are French bulldogs. Their names are, Daisey, Donald, Coco, Sapphire, and Cardi B.
What’s your favourite food?
My favourite food is probably anything with chicken or hazelnut chocolate..png?width=1080&name=Untitled%20design%20(2).png)
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Please join us for the first ONGOING TRAINING in two years!!!
We have scheduled the first Ongoing Training for 2022. Please save Wednesday 10th August 2022 to attend.
Seher Suhail and Trisha Hanrahan will be presenting Wellbeing Training for Carers. Their goal is to “help our wonderful foster carers feel their best so they are able to continue doing the amazing work they do with our clients.” All strategies that will be discussed are evidence and research based. See the attached flyer for more information. We look forward to seeing you there!
Venue: Ignite Auditorium, Allambi Care
Time: 10am to 1pm
Details: Morning tea and lunch provided. PLEASE RSVP to FCRT@allambicare.org.au or, let your Case worker know that you will be attending.
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Book Review - The Connected Child: Bringing Hope to Your Adoptive Family.
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A wise friend once told me that the most dangerous words to come out of any person’s mouth, including my own, are the words, “I know.” When we think that we “know”, our minds have become closed and we will no longer learn the lesson we need to learn.
Grahame Williams brought to Allambi TBRI training, which so many of us, foster carers and staff alike, love. Couples complete TBRI and suddenly we can dismissively say “I know” and disqualify ourselves from a really great read in The Connected Child: Bringing Hope to Your Adoptive Family. My first book review discussed a book by Bruce Perry and Oprah that is really helpful in shifting our perspective from what is wrong with the children we care for, to what happened to them for this to be happening now. This shift in perspective is great, but then what?
TBRI training with Grahame gave me some great tools but I completed that over 3 years ago. Reading The Connected Child reminded me of the tools I have forgotten since my TBRI training along with tools that were not mentioned, or were, but I missed them. What was reassuring for me as I was reading this book is I got to road test some of the tools on my own children who range from the ages of 22 down to 6 years of age. Not surprisingly they worked. Particularly with my irrational 6 year old. I am glad I did because I feel more connected to him and the reciprocation of the love that I hold for all my kids coming back to me has been rewarding.
It took me a while to get hold of this book as it was not immediately available through the library or any of the major bookstores. The major online bookstore I ordered it through had to wait 3 months to get a copy before shipping it to me, but there are plenty in stock now. In my humble opinion this book is a must for all foster carers and staff to have and read. This is one book I can see I will revisit multiple times throughout the remainder of my life and give to my own kids when they decide to bless me with grandchildren.
Review written by Scott Handlin
