Winter is here! Hope you are all rugged up and enjoying the break from the heat. This month we have...Upcoming this month...
- Carer Anniversaries
- Dates for Ongoing Training: August
- Whole Brain Strategy #5
- MFF training (evening sessions too)
- Fun indoor activities
- Book review
Congratulations and thanks from us to you!
on 15/07/2023
Helen and Kendall Wills & Pip and Val Domotor
reached their one year anniversary of caring for Allambi Care.
Upcoming Ongoing Training
Caring for our Mob - August 24, 2023
Come and say hello to Cultural Therapeutic Specialist – Barry McGrady, and learn about:
- History
- Children’s connection to Culture
- Cultural safety
- Connection to value and beliefs
- Cultural protocols
- Overcoming barriers
We would love to see you at this event. Many of the children/young people we care for are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. This training will help with ways to create Cultural safety and Connections for the kids we care for.
Date: August 24th
Time: 10am to 1pm
Venue: Ignite Auditorium
Morning tea and lunch provided. Please RSVP to your Case Worker if you are attending and if you have any special dietary needs.
Podcast Review - How to Think Like a Hacker
How to Think Like a Hacker with Bastien Treptel
Technology and the Digital Age is just like the wild west. Laws and policing of behaviour is still yet fully formalised, and the bandits, scammers, organised crime, and plain old anarchists are roaming free out to rob any stagecoach they can. Whether you like it or not, you have an online presence even if it is through a 3rd party such as your bank and our beloved Government Departments. So, how do we protect ourselves in this pioneering age of the Digital Wild West?
Bastien Treptel, a reformed hacker, discusses with Paul Taylor all the tricks of the trade that criminals and hackers use to steal your money and your identity. More importantly the discussion covers what we can do to better protect ourselves from having to clean up the mess that can follow on from being hacked. Even if your presence online is minimal, the children we care for could be unknowingly exposing themselves to these dangers. That is what makes this podcast a must listen interview.
Whole Brain Strategy #5
This month we have the Whole Brain Strategy #5: Move It or Lose It: Exercising the Upstairs Brain.
I can’t read that title without getting the “I Like to Move It” song stuck in my head. But anyway, “Move It or Lose It” is based on research that shows, their body, which can remove blockages and pave the way for integration to return.”
We need to do the exercise or activity with our children. You can play a game, do jumping jacks, whatever you like to do together, but you also need to consider whether your child is tired or hungry. Most of mine and Elise’s troubles come from not eating enough for breakfast or not getting enough sleep the night before, so I have to consider whether she’s hungry or tired while trying to decide which strategy to apply to our situation. I do know she needs to be calmed before I offer her something to eat or I might get the food item lobbed back at me. Hopefully, some family jumping jacks or tap dance routines can help us.
What I find most interesting about Strategy #5 is that it’s what works for me – most of the time. I need to go to another room and do an activity (lock myself in the bathroom), go for a walk or exercise, so I can clear my head and focus on a task. I do have a distinct memory from my childhood of acting a little crazy and being told to go outside and run ten laps around the tree in our driveway, and I did it. I only had to do it once, so I’m sure it worked. My sister thought it was really funny. But all joking aside, I definitely see the value in teaching this strategy to my children since I use it to help myself. So the next time your child is about to lose it, get them to move it first.
Rainy day boredom?
Jump onto GoNoodle
Your kids have probably played it at school as GoNoodle partners with their teachers to fuel classrooms with activity videos. The idea behind GoNoodle is simple: to be a force of joy, health and self-discovery for the kids and the adults who love them. Be silly, mindful and curious!
If the kids need to blow off some energy, then GoNoodle will help. A favourite with kids, GoNoodle has loads of movement and mindfulness videos created by child development experts.
What are they doing in space?!
Check out the NASA website and see the earth from far away! They run STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) demonstrations from the Space Station!!!! If you have a space buff in your household, this is for them. Lots of info about flight and aircraft and photos of Earth from space.
Feel like quiet time?
Read a favourite book. Start reading a series so that it can become a regular quiet time activity in your home. Why not try listening to an audio book if you don’t have the book you want? This is also a great entertainer for road trips.
How about some easy baking?
Cheese Twists
Ingredients:
- 2 slices of puff pastry, thawed
- 1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
Method:
- Preheat over to 180°C (160°C fan-forced)
- Cover a baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
- Place one sheet of puff pastry on bench and sprinkle with cheese.
- Place the second sheet over the first and roll over the top with a rolling pin.
- Cut into 2cm wide ribbons. Twist and place on the baking tray.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden.
Want to try a twist on the Twists?
Spread the pastry with Vegemite for Cheesymite twists.
Spread Nutella or jam on the pastry for a sweet treat.
Have a young person learning to drive?
Free Safer Drivers Course for young people in OOHC
The Roads and Maritime Services Safer Driver Course is free to young people in OOHC and care leavers up to the age of 25. Completion of the Safer Drivers Course will provide young people in care the opportunity to become safer drivers and earn 20 bonus hours of log book credit.
Learning to drive gives young people confidence and encourages independence by enabling access to education, job opportunities and social networks, especially for those in rural and regional communities.
Young people in OOHC and young people who have left OOHC who have obtained their learners driving permit and completed at least 50 hours of log book driving time are eligible to enrol in a Safer Drivers Course under the Roads and Maritime Services disadvantaged learner initiative for free (usually $140).
To attend the course a young person will need to:
• Hold a valid NSW learner license
• Be aged under 25 years
• Have completed a minimum of 50 log book hours of actual on-road driving (excluding any 3-for-1 bonus hours) which should include night driving.
The course is made up of two modules:
1. Module one is a three-hour group facilitated discussion on how to manage risk on the road and teaches safe driving behaviour.
2. Module two is a two-hour in vehicle coaching session that aims to reinforce and practice low-risk driving strategies.
Chat with your Case Worker to get relevant details and documents needed for this to happen.
My Forever Family NSW
July 19 – 7pm to 8pm | Online | Understanding grooming and what it means for children
Grooming refers to a technique used by perpetrators on a child in order to manipulate and confuse them with the purpose of drawing them into a sexual relationship of some kind.
This session will expand on what grooming is, how it occurs and what support a child needs after an event of grooming.
July 20 – 11am to 12pm | Online | Ask an expert! Dr Jane Aronson
Dr Aronson will be joining us live from New York in the Online Lounge Room with some very special guests. Dr Aronson is one of the leading humanitarians in the field of orphan care, globally. She is a paediatric physician; an academic; a scholar; a teacher; a scientist; a counsellor; a cultural and medical expert; a champion for the well-being of children, and she’s here to help our carers and parents!
June 20 – 12:30pm to 2:30pm | Online | The end of the world as you know it!
This training session is all about advocating for children in care - I am a foster carer, what now?
Assessment is complete, authorisation in hand….now what? Join us as we share hints and tips on how to survive the first 72 hours of a placement.
July 26 – 7pm to 8pm | Online | What is food hoarding and how do I manage it?
Children in out of home care have been identified to be at an increased risk of food hoarding or Food Maintenance Syndrome due to exposures to the separation of their families, losses, trauma and neglect. Learn about this syndrome, the health repercussions and Management Strategies to provide carers with an insight into how food hoarding affects the child and suggest strategies on how to manage the symptoms.
July 27 – 10am to 11am | Online | Ask an expert! Gail McCabe-Johnston
Gail Johnston is a psychologist who works with children, families and adults who have experienced trauma. She has worked extensively in the areas of child protection, childhood trauma and attachment issues. Gail provides training and consulting services in these areas for Community Services, Department of Human Services and other non-Government agencies supporting children and families. Gail has a passion for supporting children who can no longer live with their biological families as a result of abuse and neglect and to facilitating their recovery and connection to their foster and adoptive families.
Trauma - the Invisible Epidemic: How Trauma Works and How We Can Heal From It
Written by Dr Paul Conti
I know some of you must be thinking, “Not more about trauma! I already know about that.” I am thankful that we review trauma a lot here at Allambi. Just as I can stare at my favourite piece of art or listen to the same song over and over again, I can always find some new information and gain a greater appreciation about the impact trauma has on us. Dr Paul Conti does exceedingly well to blend his academic knowledge and experience of trauma into an accessible read for those of us who know a little or a lot about trauma. What I got most out of this book was how we as a society view trauma and the common misconceptions we hold. I found there to be insightful moments where I could understand the thinking of a traumatised person with great clarity and see how I could have greater compassion in how I could respond to them. This book is a wonderful read because it highlights not only how trauma affects the brain, but also the body, and how that in turn affects future generations.
Don’t deny yourself the opportunity to get yourself a copy of this book. You can grab it at major department stores, bookstores, online stores, and of course the audiobook version at a very reasonable price or borrow it from your local library. Put your feet up, relax and enjoy the wealth of knowledge contained on the pages within.
