February 2017

February 2017

DJ’s 2 Cents

Hello From Helen

David’s Round Up

News From the Centres

“What’s Happening”

UPCOMING EVENTS

Compass Staff Training—Feb 3rd

SCRC Race 2 — March 5th

SCTC Race Night — Feb 10th

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Jan & Feb Birthdays...

Sam Meninga David Ashworth

Nienna Marx Jake Campbell

Liam Jerram Matthew McMahon

Ben Holgate Rebekka Campbell

Aaron Wing Stephanie Burley

Compass in partnership with Bunnings Caloundra hosts an annual Sausage Sizzle to help raise much needed funds for the Caloundra centre. Unfortunately this year, due to a lack of positive response from families and staff, we have had to cancel this event meaning the centre loses approximately $2000 in fundraising as well as the opportunity to raise the profile of the young people in their community.

We’d like to personally thank Tanya Armstrong, Lyn Bracks, David Dangerfield, Gerald Hunt, Robyn Coates, Diane Joblin and Cheryl Luck for initially volunteering to assist, and we hope to encourage more staff and families to become actively involved in our fundraising activities throughout the year. Ultimately fundraisers are an important part of acquiring the reserves that allow us to continue providing resources and facilities for the young people here at Compass.

Every year Compass partners with our great sponsor Coast Life Homes to bring you our Charity Race Night. This year we have maxed out our attendance with 270 people coming along for a great night of entertainment, fun and fundraising. As with all our

events 100% of all funds raised go straight to resources and facilities that are used by the trainees. NO funds are absorbed by administration or wages.

We’d like to give a super special shout out to

Russel and Jane Kay of Coast Life Homes for their generous sponsorship

Mick, Watto and the team at the Turf Club

Darcy Tyrrell (whose daughter attends Compass) for all his support in getting tables sold

and Kylie Southon – staff member from Palmwoods also for amazing support in selling tables

Awesome job and THANK YOU

February 2017February 2017

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Dear Parents and Friends,

Welcome to our first newsletter for 2017…

and a special welcome to the new families

and young people who have enrolled with

Compass this year. 2017 is Compass’s 15th

year of service and it’s always interesting

to look back at where we have come from

since opening the doors to 3 young school

leavers in 2003. Today they are joined by

107 more young people who, with their

families, share the dream of a real and

positive future for people with an

intellectual or physical disability. In 2003

there was one staff member… today there

are 52 people including our casual pool

contributing to the support for your sons

and daughters. Over the past 14 years not

only has Compass been recognised as a

leader in the sector for its developmental

approach to post- secondary school

support but it has also gained a raft of

awards for its governance and business

practices and a very strong profile in the

community as a pro-active and

professional organisation.

The key for me is

that all of this

growth has allowed

more and more

young people to

show what THEY

can do… the

contribution THEY can make and the

opportunities THEY can access… BUT only

if they’re provided with a genuine path of

David’s

Round Up

further learning, skill development and

real world life and vocational options.

When they are NOT provided with that

pathway they cannot alone acquire the

maturity, understanding, skills and

chances to attain a truly rewarding life.

And sometimes it’s not about achieving

BIG things… sometimes it’s about feeling

safe, feeling cared about and

understood, being with friends and

having fun. So for us at Compass it’s

trying to blend opportunities to succeed

with ensuring the young people feel safe,

understood and are having fun with their

friends.

I would like to share with you an email

that came to our Service Manager in

2013… just four years ago and from

Caboolture. The young person’s name

has been changed to preserve privacy.

Hi Norm,

I am interested in what Compass might

have to offer for my son John. I met with

some services here in Caboolture. Only

one had some good programs but I’m

worried about the staffing because they

only have one staff member with 12

young adults. In the centre it’s sort of ok

I guess but I don’t know what happens if

more than one person needs help to use

the toilet, or the staff member does. My

big worry is they go for a walk every day

for their outing and I’m concerned that

one person can’t look after 12 adults

with a disability – with John it will be 13.

John has no road sense at all and needs

constant supervision. When I asked

about it I was made to feel a bit

incompetent. Would Compass consider

coming to Caboolture? I’m scared what

might happen to John otherwise.

Sometimes I’ve been asked why Compass

has set up new centres in other

communities… why do you feel you have

to keep growing? Just for a moment put

yourself in the place of this Mum and ask

yourself how you’d want Compass to

respond. The simple answer is we started

our Caboolture Campus in 2013 just for

that one parent and her son. This year

there are 15 young people and we have a

great rapport with the Special School so

this number could potentially double in

2018.

Last week we had our staff training day

and my presentation focused on two

things.

1. Ensure that everyone is having fun…

Life is too short not to be happy and

often when we’re having fun we do our

best.

2. It’s got to be about WE… not me. In so

many ways there is a growing culture of

‘me first’ or even ‘me only’ in the world

today… and that is a sad way to live. If we

can put others first they will put us first in

return. All good families and teams know

this and they make it work. There are

some very obvious advantages to a

culture of ‘We’.

Can take on any sized task

Pooling of resources

Shared risk

Shared thinking & learning

Synergy… the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Shared problem solving

More fun

Complementing each other’s respective strengths

Can share in greater variety of possible ventures

Shared leadership and responsibility

Time and energy efficient Compass is a family… a team… and you are all part of that team. We are at our best when we function as a cooperative unit. I wish you all the best for 2017 and look forward to seeing you all.

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David

Welcome to the February edition of the

Compass newsletter and what an amazing

start to 2017 we have had. The weather has

been more conducive to swimming at the

beach than starting work, but when standing

out at the Farm there is nowhere else that I

would want to be.

The trainees are excited to be back and

with all the exciting programs we have in

store for 2017, we are looking at bringing the

FUN back to our learning and development

activities. Fresh off the back of a highly

successful 2016, Compass trainee numbers

have exploded to over 110 and not looking

at stopping anytime soon. This is credit to all

the staff, trainees and families that make this

place a pleasure to be a part of.

You may have missed it but our first

exciting program that was unveiled was our

new Garden Café located at the beautiful

Maroochy Botanical Gardens in Tanawha.

We were fortunate enough to be granted a

1x1x1 year lease on the café and this has

been growing steadily over the past couple

of weeks. You will notice there are huge

smiles on the faces of the trainees as you

enter the Café and with a limited menu,

surrounded by the tranquil backdrop of the

Botanical Gardens, I am thinking of relocating

my office there myself. The café is open

Monday - Thursday from 9.30am - 2.30pm.

Drop in some time and say hi to Simon and

the team for a great coffee and cake.

DJ’S 2

CENTS

There are many of our other Enterprises

that continue to kick goals into 2017. Wabi

Sabi had a fantastic finish to last year with

well over 120 hampers going out over the

Christmas period. Not content to rest on

that, hampers are now available everyday

of the year with seasonal hampers

available upon request. Why not book your

Valentines Day hamper today. The Farm

continues to go from strength to strength

with our chillies being sold through the

Brisbane Markets, egg production at an all

time high and Compass honey now going

out in large quantities through the Cricks

hampers.

Our wonderful Assistance Dogs continue

to steal the show with the program

gathering support from major businesses

here on the Coast. Our latest outing

including a morning tea at the Maroochy

RSL. Watson and Radar lived up to all

expectations, stealing the attention of all the

attendees and generating some fantastic

opportunities to speak candidly about the

program. Maroochy RSL have been great

supporters of the program with the

sponsorship of Watson and the continued

opportunities afforded to us to have them

on displays at every chance.

Our friends in the Caloundra Campus will

soon have the opportunity to cool off a little

with an air conditioner being installed over

the coming weeks. This has come about

through the Sunshine Coast Regional

Council minor grants

round. The air conditioner

will help in regulating the

temperature of some of

the trainees attending the campus and help

in allowing them to continue to be involved

in the programs on offer at the site. We

would like to thank Council for the grant

and look forward to seeing the trainees

comfortable in their surroundings.

Over the past month I have been actively

engaged in a program that will have

benefits to both Community and Compass.

The CARE Program is a Social Enterprise

Procurement Platform. It is designed for

suppliers to provide returns to Carers

Queensland based on business spend. For

smaller businesses the program provides

access to cheaper prices. Larger business

will pay the same prices but have the

added incentive of giving back to the

community without spending any more

money.

The CARE Program is the only Social

Enterprise Procurement model where a

not for profit has established links with the

corporate sector to use procurement

spend as a sustainable fundraising model.

The CARE Program has the backing of

large multi-national suppliers. Carers

Queensland has developed The CARE

Program program from the outset, creating

a workable model that enables corporate

social responsibility with no threat - and in

some cases, many benefits - to an

organisation's bottom line. If you would like

more information around this opportunity to

do some good in your community by doing

very little, please don’t hesitate to give me

a call today. You won’t regret it and may

even save some precious dollars along the

way.

Until next month , I will wish you all the very

best and look forward to speaking with

you soon.

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Cheers DJ

A big welcome to all of our new

trainees and their families and

welcome back to the existing

trainees and families!

It certainly has been a very hot

summer and for someone who

usually loves the warmer weather,

the ongoing pattern of hot days

with very little rain to provide

some relief has been taxing, to say

the least. However, we continue

to embrace the New Year with our

usual brand of enthusiasm and

energy!

As of this week, we will be

welcoming approximately sixteen

new trainees, across four of our

campuses. I am currently liaising

with another five new families

with their sons and/or daughters

looking to attend Compass this

year. This could bring the number

of trainees attending Compass to

Helen’s

Happenings

Helen

approximately 120 and this figure will

continue to grow during 2017. This year

is looking to be a fabulous year for

Compass!

I would also like

to extend a

warm welcome

to our new staff

who have been

appointed at the

Caloundra and

Caboolture campuses, plus the casual

staff who provide a valuable service

through their willingness to step in

when existing staff are ill or away on

leave.

On a sad note, Emma Wittholz, who has

been one of our fantastic trainers with

Compass for nearly eight years, has

recently resigned and we all wish Emma

every success in her future endeavours.

She will be missed by everyone here at

Compass.

Last Friday we presented the first of six

scheduled training days for 2017 for our

existing staff and casuals. This was a

fabulous day, with an introduction and

inspiring talk from David, an overview of

2017 from DJ, and a truly insightful

session on ASD, from a person who

experiences this on a day to day level.

The staff training always includes a

session where the staff are able to

meet in their respective teams and

plan the programs and activities for

the coming year. I would like to thank all

of the staff who attended; for their

contributions and dedication in making

this day a great success.

As DJ has outlined in his article,

we have a huge number of

exciting events planned for

2017! I look forward to meeting

with you at a number of these

events. Please do not hesitate to

contact me if you have any

feedback, questions or

suggestions for improvement;

my door is always open!

Kind regards,

February 2017February 2017

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News From The Centres

COMPASS CABOOLTURE

Compass Caboolture have settled into the New Year nicely, welcoming some new friends and getting back into

routine.

We have continued our swimming program and have been enjoying the reprieve

from the heat in the lovely cool water of local swimming pools. We have been

concentrating on safety in and near the water and observing the signs around the

pool area to help us know what we should and should not do. We have also been

discussing the importance of being “Sunsmart” and

looking after our skin when it is exposed to the sun.

Our Gardening program has seen our garden beds turned over and

fertiliser added, thanks to some local horses! We have also been

getting mulch from the local dump to spread over the top. It has

been hot work in our garden!

With the donation of a 3 wheel trike at the end of 2016, and others bringing their bikes to Compass we have

been enjoying some extra exercise in the form of pedal power around the park. This has been so much fun

and we look forward to a few more “Bikies” joining us.

The food prep program has been extended into a daily routine for some of

our trainees, we have been preparing our lunches at Compass making

healthy choices and creating some delicious sandwiches and being very

independent. Well done everyone!!!

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COMPASS FARM

The farm sure has been busy since the start of the new term! We’ve neem mowing and tidying the farm after the Christmas holidays.

If you are not too afraid of spiders, come check out our new Spider and Web...try to find them if you can!

The Farm Art team has been busy making some beautiful pieces for the new year.

The amazing weather has seen lots of plants growing at the Farm, and Mango season is here. We have been busy picking and getting them ready for the Harvest Kitchen, where they will be made into

some delicious goodies!

News From The Centres February 2017February 2017

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HARVEST KITCHEN

We like to mix it up in the Harvest Kitchen every now and then to give the guys a break from all the Jam and Chutney cooking. Everyone enjoys helping make lunch for some of the farm team occasionally. Today the guys made Savoury Muffins that we can put into the freezer and reheat when we need them for quick lunches. We used some of our home made Tomato & Capsicum Relish in them as well. Everyone did an amazing job and they tasted delicious. Here’s the recipe if anyone wants to give them a go at home.

SAVOURY MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

200g Diced Bacon

1 Small Onion – Diced

1 Small Zucchini – Grated & mixed with a teaspoon of salt – then drain excess liquid before adding to the muffins)

100g Corn Kernels (drained)

200g Grated Cheddar (+Extra for topping)

75g Butter – Softened

1 - 2 Eggs (depending on how dry mixture is)

250mL Buttermilk (Can be made with one cup of milk & one Tbsp of White Vinegar – set aside until it looks “curdled/thick”)

½ a jar of Harvest Kitchen Capsicum & Tomato Relish (or any savoury flavour of your choice)

METHOD

Rub butter and flour together until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mix in all other ingredients.

Spoon into patty pan cases. Add a teaspoon of relish to the top of each muffin and a pinch of cheese.

Bake at 200C for 20 minutes.

News From The Centres February 2017February 2017

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