November 2016

November 2016

DJ’s 2 Cents

Hello From Helen

David’s Round Up

News From the Centres

New “What’s Happening”

UPCOMING EVENTS

. Compass Awards Night

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November Birthdays...

Chris Wilson Jesse Price

Mitchell Runcie Caitlin Larson

Joshua McGrath Rob Glover

Sharon Todhunter Tara Pignata

www.compassinc.org.au

PO Box 585, Palmwoods, QLD, 4555

(07) 5445 - 9116 info@compassinc.org.au

This year’s theme is “Kings & Queens”. Come dressed to impress in your best costume.

Saturday November 26th, 2016 - 5:30pm Sebel Pelican Waters, 38 Mahogany Drive, Pelican Waters

Tickets $48pp Trainee Tickets $20 (subsidized by Compass)

RSVP 5445 9116 or

bookings@compassinc.org.au (bookings close November 18th. Please advise any special dietary requirements at the time of boking)

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IT’S THAT TIME AGAIN!

2016 Gala & Awards Night

Dear Parents and Friends,

Christmas holidays are fast approaching and I don’t know about you but I’m looking forward to them.

It’s been a big year and the whole team have done a great job in ensuring Compass continues to meet all its obligations and reach its goals. Most importantly every day I see one of the young people at Compass reach one of their goals. And that’s what’s so exciting about this work. As mentioned last month, we’ve seen lots of new faces at the centres as our trial days have proceeded and enrolments are looking very strong for 2017. Compass Caboolture looks set to double in size which will be wonderful for all the trainees... more friends, more programmes and more fun. This means we will need to start looking at alternative venues in order to plan for intakes in 2018 and beyond.

David’s

Round Up

2017 will also see our newest enterprise – Compass Assistance Dogs – move to a three day a week operation. We are running a competition via our website to give you the chance to name our latest puppy and all you need to do is click Name Our New Puppy to enter your choice. The competition is free and you can enter once a day, as many days as you like, until the end of the competition.

Our first dog – Sophie – has already been placed with Lachlan, a 9 year old boy in Brisbane with autism, a

sensory processing disorder - and she has already had a huge positive impact in his life and that of his family. (There’s a full story in this newsletter on Sophie so make sure you read that). Compass was able to place Sophie with Lachlan for $2,500 and the placement fee included a free cage along with other equipment & accessories. When you consider that the other main provider working in this area charges $25,000 you can appreciate just what a wonderful service this is. The thought that we can make a

huge difference for a young person with autism and potentially change their whole life trajectory is an exciting one. And remember if you want to

be a part of this great project you can make a one-off donation OR you can join our ‘Dollar a Day’ programme. To join, visit The Dollar - A - Day Program

I hope you’re all looking forward to the Awards Night! I think this may be my favourite night of the year… having a chance to see you all again and watch the young people receiving their awards and cutting loose on the dance floor. Once again, thanks to our friends at the Palmwoods Community Branch of Heritage Bank, the tickets for the trainees will be again at half price. Best wishes,

David

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Welcome to the November edition of

the Compass newsletter. We have

certainly come into our own over the

past month and I am enjoying meeting

all the new families and trainees that

are attending open days and trial days.

I was speaking to a couple of teachers

recently and quickly realised the future

for Compass is looking very strong.

There is an abundance of students

exiting Special Schools over the

coming two years, and with the current

percentage of them opting for

Compass as their post school provider,

we are very, very excited. New

programs will go from strength to

strength and the existing ones will be

reinvigorated with new trainees

entering into them. Now we understand

that the NDIS will play a large part in

the funding of these students, it is

encouraging to see a growing number

of families seeing the value of learning

and development, and looking to self

fund to access Compass Services.

Thank you to everyone for your

nomination in this years Sunshine

Coast Business Awards. We have

again been humbled and privileged to

tell the Compass story to so many

people along the journey, and for a

third year running we are a finalist.

This year we were entered into the

“Social Enterprise” Sector Awards

and the “Collaboration” Excellence

Awards. During the interview, David

was inspirational in providing the

underpinning philosophies and the

need for change in some of the current

models within the disability sector. I

DJ’S 2

CENTS

was lucky to let the trainees sell the

Compass story through a short video

presentation. It gives a great insight

into the thoughts and feelings of the

trainees and their perception of

Compass. I love having the ability to

showcase our trainees and to give

them a voice at every opportunity.

The awards will be announced at a

ceremony on the 5th of November at

Twin Waters Resort. Keep an eye on

this space for the results.

Compass Gympie

was nominated for a

Carers Friendly

Award through

October. This

nomination came through from one of

our gracious families up in Gympie

and it recognises businesses and

individuals that have demonstrated an

understanding of the particular needs

of unpaid family cares—doing that

little bit extra when providing a

service. Although we didn’t win, it was

a great accolade for Stuart, Lyn and

the team in Gympie. Well done to all.

Compass had two groups through the

centres and the farm in October. We

had the Caboolture Special School in

for a visit, to showcase the programs

that are available on the Farm and a

possibility of what could potentially be

in each of our centres in the future.

Naturally this is a little ways off, but

we do introduce elements of

horticulture into our centres through

herb gardens and raised garden beds.

Glasshouse Christian College were

completing an assignment on the

“Perception of people with disabilities

in the community.” It was an pleasure

to show them through the farm and

again expose them to the work that

the trainees do on a daily basis. It was

a huge eye opener for many of them

and was great to see them interacting

with the trainees by the end of the

tour.

Helen and I attended Oktoberfest

hosted by the Maroochy Chamber of

Commerce. Now before anyone starts

to judge, it wasn’t the traditional event

with beer flowing freely. Granted there

was beer, but it was a networking

event where Mayor Jamieson,

SunCentral CEO John Knaggs and Cr

Oprey gave a rundown on 2016 and

what we can all expect on the

Sunshine Coast over the coming

years. Although I had seen the

presentation itself before, there were

some new development updates that

kept me engaged and excited about

the future for the Coast.

If you haven’t heard,

Wabi Sabi are now

doing hampers. We

have produced close

to 40 for businesses

here on the Coast. If

you would like to

reward your staff,

clients or yourself give the office a call

on 5445 9116 to order yours today.

No min order or budget.

Remember to book your tickets for the

Compass Awards night, November

26. Tickets are selling fast and there

are only limited tickets available due

to space.

Until next month , I will wish you all

the very best and look forward to

speaking with you soon.

Cheers DJ

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Hi Everyone,

It is hard to believe that we only have

six weeks of attendance at Compass

left, before we take a well-earned

break for the Christmas holidays. The

last day of Term will be Friday 9th

December with our fabulous break-up

events currently being planned to

ensure all of the trainees and staff at

each Centre celebrate another

fantastic year at Compass.

As part of preparation for the holiday

break, we will be distributing the 2017

Compass CLD Planner Calendar to all

families. This will assist in planning for

next year, and will provide information

on the CLD holidays, Special Events,

Staff Training and Power Weeks.

In 2017, Compass will re-commence

on Monday 9th January for existing

trainees, with our new intake of

trainees occurring on Monday 6th

February. We are certainly looking

forward to welcoming the new trainees

and their families to Compass. I am

sure you will all make them feel

welcome!

Helen’s

Happenings

Helen

October has been a very busy month, with

lots of exciting events and celebrations!

Stuart MacAdam, the Team Manager from

the Gympie Centre and I attended the

Carers Queensland Sunshine Coast Region

Carer-Friendly Business Awards function,

held Monday 17th October at the

Mooloolaba Surf Club. The Gympie Centre

was nominated by one of our parents, in the

Great Service Provider Carer-Friendly

Business Award Category. We received a

Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of

our outstanding service and support of

carers in our community; however the

coveted award went to another equally

deserving service provider. Thank you to the

parent (you know who you are) for taking

the time to nominate our Gympie Centre; it

is lovely for the staff (and trainees) at the

centre to be acknowledged for the great

work they do!

We have held further Open Days at the

Caloundra, Caboolture and Palmwoods

Centres; mainly to support prospective

trainees to visit the Centres with their school

groups and teachers, and provide the

opportunity for parents to come along and

actually see the programs in action.

Feedback from the parents and schools who

visited, confirmed they appreciated the

warm welcome they received!

Until next month,

Regards

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October Memories

Considering Martial Arts? Con-

tact us to find out more today!

Compass Caloundra has a new

addition to the backyard with

the first stage of the Sensory

Garden completed late

October. It gives a nice feel to

the centre with the “taste”,

“scent” and “feel” raised garden

beds erected and ready for

use. It also has stable footing to

allow for the trainees to access

the beds safely. Next time you

visit the centre, have a walk

through the garden to see the

great work of the guys from

Smart City Vocational College.

News From The Centres

COMPASS CABOOLTURE

OCTOBER 2016OCTOBER 2016

NEWSLETTERNEWSLETTER

Compass Caboolture are enjoying a very busy Term 4, here are some of

the notable highlights! We farewelled Alissa Candy, we wish her all the

very best in her new job at the Sunshine Coast University and thank her

for her hard work and dedication to Compass. We sent her off in true

Our gardens continue to grow and with

recent rain we are seeing beautiful flowers,

we are even picking some as floral

arrangements for the centre.

Our Thursday afternoons have been

“dramatic” with Michelle from Focus On

Stage coming to provide a session in all

things drama. We are learning how to be

confident, clear speaking and find our

rhythm and beat. It has been so much

fun...thanks Michelle.

Our weekly numeracy and literacy sessions have been focusing

on countries and cultures of the world - we have covered Japan,

Mexico, and Italy. We have had a focused time using our local

library to research the food, culture, dress and language as well

as tasting the national foods during our food prep sessions on

Wednesday. Our favourite was Green Tea Ice-Cream with Black

Sugar syrup from Japan paired so well with the Garlic. Ginger Soy

Chicken wings and Rice….Yum!!!!!

News From The Centres

RAKES & PANES

It’s been a busy week at Rakes & Panes, with summer fast approaching, the work load has increased, but the team have been putting in an A - glass job! Well done team!

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COMPASS CALOUNDRA

This month at Caloundra we had a training group from Smart City training organisation to design and

build a sensory garden. They designed three garden beds, one for smelling, one for touching and one

for tasting. Thanks Smart City.

THE FARM

News From The Centres

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Our Tuesday lads, Matt, Ben, Glen and Jordan with our nearly completed

Possum boxes.

Levi getting close to the chooks!

Contract team hard at work!