St John’s Court
Monthly News Letter
April 2016
We would like to welcome the following Residents to St John’s Court & hope that they are Happy & Comfortable in their new home:
Norman Barker
Sadly we have to say goodbye to:
Marjorie Stone
Our thoughts are with their loved ones at this sad & difficult time.
Please feel free to add you thoughts of remembrance in the Book of Remembrance in the Conservatory.
We would like to welcome some new staff members to the team at St John’s Court & we hope that they enjoy their new jobs:
Chelsie Jones – care assistant, Emma Sterling – night care assistant
Forth coming Residents Birthdays:
Olive Jones – 28th April
All residents Birthdays are celebrated with a Card from all at St John’s Court & a Birthday Cake. If families wish to stay for lunch or have a room made available for family to hold a get together then please let us know.
Forth coming staff Birthdays:
Mick Satchwell – 1st April, Anne Daniel – 8th April, Heather Mitchell – 15th April, Amy Sherrington 16th April , Emily Price – 20th April & Wayne Wilkes – 27th April.
We wish you all a very Happy Birthday.
Planned Events for the coming Month:
· Tuesdays – Pet Therapy – Maisie the Black Labrador visits
· Tuesdays & Thursdays – Bromsgrove School visit for Games Afternoon & Crafts
· Friday 1st April – April Fools Day – There are usually a few practical jokes throughout the morning
· Saturday 2nd April – Spring Fayre – 11.00am-1.00pm in the Dining Room
· Thursday 7th April – Minibus trip to the Botanical Gardens
· Saturday 9th April – Grand National Sweepstake
· Tuesday 12th April – Entertainment by UBA Choir – 2pm in the Dining Room
· Thursday 14th April – Thi Chi – 11.00am in the Dining Room
· Thursday 14th April – Cuppa & Cake meeting with the cook – 3.15pm in the dining Room
· Planned Events for the coming Month Cont:
· Friday 22nd April – sing a long with the very popular Carol 11.00am – 12.00noon in the Dining Room
· Saturday 23rd April – St Georges Day – Celebration of England – wear Red & white with a traditional English menu
· Thursday 28th April – Information coffee Morning in the Dining Room 11.00am – Community Links with Heather Mitchell – Activity Organiser
Fund Raising:
SPRING FAYRE
· We are holding our Spring Fayre on Saturday 2nd April 11.00am – 1.00pm, we are having a prize tombola, bottle tombola, cake stall, bric a brac & refreshments so please come & support us. All money goes into the Residents Welfare for Trips & Entertainment for residents.
· Easter Raffle – we raised £67 on the Easter Raffle so thank you to everyone who supported us.
All funds raised at these events go to the Residents Welfare fund to help pay for visiting Entertainers & trips out etc so your support makes a huge difference.
Thank you to everyone who has supported us & Good Luck!
Information Morning coffee/Afternoon Teas:
We have arranged monthly morning coffee or afternoon tea information days which will be held on the last Thursday of the Month.
All residents, relatives, team members & people in the community (they are in the local paper) are invited to attend these events which are being hosted by our Champions who go above & beyond to ensure that changes to benefit the residents take place & changes are cascaded to the rest of the team.
Listed below are the dates of the events together with the time.
Everyone is Welcome & we look forward to seeing you - Please join us for a cup of coffee & a chat, your knowledge & experiences are welcomed & we would be happy to support with information, where possible.
· March – Kelly Dews – Falls – 31.03.16- 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
· April – Heather Mitchell - Community Links – 28.04.16 – 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
· May – Laura Wilkes & Faye Upton – Safeguarding – 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
· June – Faye Upton – Medication – 30.06.16 – 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
· July – Cristina Sincu, Sue Mooney & Michelle Du-Roe – Diabetes & Nutrition & Hydration – 28.07.16 – 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon TeaTimes
· August – James Mogg & Kath Upton – Dignity & Personal Appearance – 25.08.16 - 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
· September – Wendy Dalby – Oral Health – 29.09.16 – 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
· October – Ffion Birch – Parkinsons - 27.10.16 - 11.00am-12.00noon Coffee Morning
· November –- 24.11.16 – Elliott Edwards – Mental Capacity & Mental Health (MCA) - 2.30pm-3.30pm Afternoon Tea
· December – Lisa Dews & Jayne Raybould – EOL & Remembrance Afternoon – 29.12.16 2.30pm Afternoon Tea together with a balloon release with personal messages attached
Cuppa & Cake Meetings with the Cook:
The very popular Cuppa & Cake meetings continue with Pat our Cook alternate months & these are listed below:
· Thursday 14th April – 3.15pm-4.00pm– Dining Room
· Thursday 9th June
· Thursday 11th August
· Thursday 13th October
· Thursday 1st December
· Cuppa & Cake Meetings with the Cook Cont:
Residents, relatives & members of the team are all invited to these informal meetings to discuss meal options & to make suggestions & requests to help with future mean planning & to keep everyone informed.
Residents & Family Meeting:
The minute from the last meeting are on the notice board if you would like to have a look.
The next residents & family meeting will be on Thursday 3rd March at 11.00am & 6.00pm, everyone is welcome to attend.
The planned residents & relatives meetings during the year are as below but may be subject to change:
· Thursday 2nd June – 3.00pm & 6.00pm
· Saturday 2nd July – 11.00am
· Thursday 8th September – 11.00am & 6.00pm
· Saturday 12th November – 11.00am
· Tuesday 6th December – 3.00pm & 6.00pm
Employee of the Month:
I would like to thank all of the team at St John’s Court as you all work really hard to make it a lovely home for the residents & a happy place to work.
You all deserve to be nominated for Employee of the month but…………..
The winner of Employee of the Month for March is:
Mike Cooper
Mike was presented with a certificate & a small gift.
Well Done Mike & thank you for making a difference
Some of the nomination reasons were – All his hard work, kind approach to residents & staff, professionalism, all his behind the scenes jobs he does, willingness to go out of his way for others, a pleasure to work with, full of great facts & stories & loves to make people laugh.
Employee of the Month Cont:
Other nominees were:
· Lisa Dews – hard working, ensures everyone celebrates their birthdays & organizing collections, organizing Chris’ trip to the football, goes above & beyond her role, caring nature to staff & residents, most thoughtful member of staff, always gives 100%.
· Elliott Edwards – He has grown in confidence, has great enthusiasm, inducting new staff in a responsible & professional manner, he can be relied upon consistently, he is lovely to work with & lovely with the residents, supportive of staff & welcoming for new members of the team.
· Sue Mooney – Such a joy for both residents & staff to be around, all the residents are happy & comfortable around her
Please support us & let us know who has made a difference to your daily life.
Good News:
Both Amy Sherrington & Dani Stiles have had their babies this month & all are doing really well. Amy gave birth the a baby boy who they have named Cillian & he weighed in at 7lb 9oz. Cillian is Amy & Ollies’s second baby & he has a big brother called Patrick.
Dani also had a little boy (not so little) who weighed 8lb 91/2oz. Dani & her partner Markie have named him Edward & he is their first born.
I know that you will all join me in congratulating both Amy & Ollie & Dani & Markie on the safe arrival of their little bundles of joy & we wish them all well.
Events which took place in March:
· Pets for Therapy – this is always a very popular visit when Masie the Black Labrador pays us a visit, I’m not sure who enjoys it the most, residents, staff or Masie!
· Bromsgrove School make regular visits on Tuesdays & Thursdays for their very popular games & crafts afternoons.
· Sunday 1st March – St David’s Day – all were encouraged to wear yellow for the day & the home was adorned with daffodils & there was a welsh theme on the menu for the day.
· Sunday 6th March – Mothering Sunday – Special Lunch
· Thursday 10th – Mini bus trip out in the afternoon – unfortunately this was cancelled due to the lack of volunteer drivers
· Thursday 17th March – St Patricks Day – Fancy Dress or Wear Green - a good old fashioned Irish knees up with a taste of Irish food & Guinness – this was very popular again this & enjoyed by all
· Saturday 19th March – this was a very special day for Christopher Parry who was treated to a day at Sporting Bromsgrove Football Club by the Manager Paul Smith who came to invite Chris to the next home game. Chris was their guest of honour on the day & was treated like a VIP to watch the team he has supported since 1960 & to top the day off they won! Chris even featured in the match day programme.
Chris with Manager Paul Smith Chris cheering after the team score
· Thursday 24th March – Animals for parties – This event is always very popular with a variety of different animals to hold & feed including: Owl, rabbit, meerkat, skinny-pig (furless guinea pig), snakes, toads, lizards, spiders & a variety of bugs
Dot feeding the Skinny-pig Edna cuddling the Meerkat
Gladys having her hair brushed by the owl Gerald with a snake, giant cockroach & millipede
John holding the beautiful Owl Observing the giant toad
Margaret brushing the Meerkat Roy holding the Tarantula
· Friday 25th March – Good Friday – we held our Easter Bonnet Parade in the morning followed by Afternoon Tea & hot cross buns.
Easter would not be complete without the Easter Bonnet Parade
Winner of the Easter Bonnet Parade was Edna Curnow with Evelyn Warren & Winifred Emere coming joint second
· Sunday 27th March – Easter Sunday – Entertainment with Lee & Keith – everyone enjoyed the Afternoon Tea Dance with Elvis making an appearance.
Lee & Keith as Elvis Dancing Sisters Angela & Lee
Afternoon tea Dance
· Thursday 31st March – Afternoon Tea – 2.30pm & a presentation from Kelly Dews themed on falls & falls prevention. This is our second information event following the success of the Dementia Awareness Coffee morning.
There are more photographs displayed around the home of events during March.
April Facts
APRIL
Facts about APRIL
* April showers bring May flowers
DAISY and the sweet pea are the flowers of the month.
The Cuckoos
The arrival of the cuckoo is the signal that Spring has come, it arrives some time in Mid-April. Here is a traditional rhyme about the cuckoos life cycle:
In April I open my Bill
In May I song night & day
In June I change my tune
In July far far I fly
I August away I must.
DATES TO REMEMBER:· William Shakespeare, the playright, was born on April 23, 1564. He also died in England in 1616.
· St George is the Patron Saint of England & we celebrate this day on April 23rd.
· The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, when South Vietnam surrendered.
· April 1969 – Concordes maiden flight took place
· 8th April 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter died aged 91 years
· 9th April 1806 – Brunel – Great Western Railway began
· 12th April 1606 – The union flag became the official flag of the United Kingdom
· 15th April 1912 – RMS Titanic struck an iceberg & sank
· 18th April 1934 – the first laundrette opened
April was the second month in an early Roman calendar, but became the fourth when the ancient Romans started using January as the first month. The Romans called the month Aprilis. It may come from a word meaning 'to open', or it may come from Aphrodite, the Greek name for the goddess of love. Special days celebrated in April begin with the first day of April, when children and grown-ups play jokes on one another.
April Fools' Day, or All Fools' Day, is the first day of April. No one knows where the custom began, but some historians believe it started in France. They had a New Year's festival that was celebrated from March 25 to April 1, and they would then exchange gifts. But, later, King James IV changed the holiday to January 1 for New Years. The people that still celebrated it April 1 were called 'April fish' and sent mock presents.
April Fools' Day may also be related to the ancient Roman spring festival Hilaria, which celebrates the resurrection of the god Attis.
The first of April, some do say
Is set apart for all Fools Day
But why the people call it so,
Not I, nor they themselves do know.
Eastercelebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, thus making it the most important Christian festival of the year. On the third day, Christ' tomb was empty, he arose, and people talked with him. Christians believe his resurrection means that they too will some day receive a new life after death.
The holiday can fall on any Sunday between March 22 and April 25, since it is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon in the Northern Hemisphere.
The new plant life that comes in the spring is associated with the new life that Christians gain because of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The word Easter may have come from the English word,Eastre. Some believe Eastre was the name of a pagan goddess of spring, a spring festival, or the name of a season.
Astrological Signs
Aries March 21 to April 19
Taurus April 20 to May 20