Merry Christmas
This is our last newsletter of the year so I’d like to wish all families and friends as well as all our residents a big merry Christmas and a really happy 2010.
This has been a really busy year with the completion of the hospital wing, the function and training area and, of course, phase one of our purpose designed and built Duncan Lodge.
 Our staff have been fantastic during the last year, especially through all the changes, and I’d like to thank them all as well and wish them a happy festive season.
We’ve put up our Christmas tree, decorated with the help of some of our residents. It always make me feel as though Christmas has really arrived.
Exciting move
So exciting to see our dementia wing residents moving across into the new Duncan Lodge now that phase is complete.
 The glass pavilion (unique in New Zealand) and courtyards are just so splendid and we are really looking forward to final completion date of the whole wing in March 2010.
Our builders and contractors have done an amazing job keeping everything going, so a big thanks to them too!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to the following Residents for December from all the Staff at Sprott House:
Richard Hornabrook
Marjorie Flux
Kay Green
Claire George
Betty Neumayr
Kenneth Quinn
Judith Brd
Gerald Weir
Christmas Activities Reminder
13th December - Big Open Day planned with News Talk ZB live from here, BBQ, drinks and lots more. Posters out soon about it.
21 December - West Wing Christmas Party
The Duncan Lodge Christmas Party will be held during December also. Families will be advised of the date soon.
AND don’t forget we’re off to visit Kirks to see the Christmas decorations and the Christmas shop on Wednesday 9 December!
New Activities Programme
Our activities programme is coming up for a major overhaul very soon as we engage a part time Occupational Therapist. He or she will help us to rewrite our programme and work with our activities team in implementing a new and exciting programme.
Ministry of Health Audit
We’ve been through our annual Certification Audit for the Ministry of Health and are delighted to report that the auditors where very impressed with our new buildings, structures and systems which we’ve begun to put in place over the last year.
They were particularly impressed with what we’ve achieved over the last 18 months in spite of the constant change with construction and building projects. The main area they suggested making immediate changes to is the activities programme which, with the help of our new part-time mentioned above, we will be addressing immediately.
Keeping up that exercise
Over the last two months we’ve talked about looking after and exercising your feet and legs, so this month it’s the turn of your upper body and your hands!
Here are some simple chair exercises to help keep your upper body pliable.
 • Raise both arms horizontally, out to your sides, shoulder height as if you were doing an impression of a plane. Push out your arms in both directions, as far out as physically possible, feeling the stretch across your back and chest.
• Relax but keep your arms out straight and start to move them very slowly in small circles as if running your finger around the outside rim of a coin. Do ten small circles forward, then ten small circles backwards.
• Relax the arms and shake them off.
• Put both hands together as if you have just clapped, hold them out in front of you, elbows raised and push your hands together as hard as you can, tensing your arms, chest, shoulders and back for 10 seconds .
• Raise first one arm in the air and stretch it up, then roll round in circles 5 times, then do the same with the other
• Relax the arms and shake them off.
• Put both hands together behind your back, palms together, and again push to your maximum effort, tensing your arms, chest, shoulders and back for 10 seconds.
Relax – easy wasn’t it!
So merry Christmas to everyone.
Carole Hazelman |
