interconnect ISSUE: APRIL 2022

APRIL ‘22 THIS ISSUE headspace Kempsey and Taree International Women’s Day

InterCONNECT is an exciting, new, must-read employee newsletter that aims to do just that: to inter-connect our 2500+ employees (and countless volunteers) so that we all have a broader understanding of and empathy for the significant scope of faith-based, for purpose work Newcastle Anglican is delivering to enable people of all ages and communities to flourish through our parishes and services.

Groove and Moove On Commission

In the right headspace A combination of relief and joy was evident in the tone of Samaritans General Manager Safety and Resilience for Child Youth and Family, Jared Gillard, as he announced the opening of new headspace facilities in Kempsey and Taree, explaining: ‘it has been a very long road to get to this point and required the tireless effort of a number of people… in Kempsey, the community was initially informed of the service some 3 years ago, so to see it now finally coming together is such a rewarding outcome’.

Celebrating the achievement, Bishop Peter’s message noted: ‘Jared wanted to particularly acknowledge the work of CSM Felicity Scott, Brendon Lowndes from the Asset Management team, as well as Annette Toomey and Lindsay Hobson as the new headspace facility managers for Kempsey and Taree respectively. Also recognising Our Service Agencies

strong collaboration from several parts of the business, as well as through consortium with our health partners in the region and through the communities.’ headspace offers early intervention services across four key areas—mental health, related physical health, social and vocational support, and alcohol and other drug use. Services are co-designed with young people to ensure they are relevant, accessible and highly effective, including input from Samaritan’s Youth Representative Group (YRG).

Newcastle Anglican’s Executive Director of Education and Child Development, Liz Knight, added ‘We know that youth mental health, in particular, continues to be a leading cause of concern for our region, and one that needs to be addressed with a person-

centred, compassionate and inclusive approach. Through the Samaritans, we have a strong commitment to providing high-quality, early intervention youth services that empower young people to overcome challenges and engage with their community to find their purpose and flourish.‘

Newcastle Anglican Schools Corporation

Celebrating the WOMEN in our BUSINESS - International Women’s Day 2022 Launched through a video message from new interim Chief of Staff, Lesley Jordan, the month of March was a focus for Newcastle Anglican’s recognition of International Women’s Day (8th March), acknowledging that our organisation enjoys and celebrates a heavy gender bias in favour of women, including six in Executive Leadership positions and strong representation across other senior management roles.

appointment, Bishop Sonia indicated that elevating the role of women should be seen as a ‘normal’ step as the church evolved, and acknowledged the role of the church to be a place that ‘gives hope and helps people to see the bigger picture’.

To recognise how Newcastle Anglican sees that bigger picture, all staff were invited to join our celebration of women in the organisation,

through a panel discussion and webinar, hosted by ICT Services Business Engagement Manager, Kate Bernardino and with an inspiring introduction from Bishop Sonia to set the scene. Bishop Sonia and Lesley Jordan were joined on the panel by newly appointed Executive Director People Care, Paula Trood and Executive Director Education and Child Development, Liz Knight.

Bishop Sonia’s own story is somewhat unique, as the first woman to be appointed Bishop in the history of the Newcastle Anglican Diocese. At the time of her

#BREAK THE BIAS

with

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a i n o S p o h s i B Newcastle Anglican Schools Corporation

MAINTAIN YOUR COVID HABITS Whilst thankfully, the severity of COVID-19 seems to be waning with each new strain, it does look as though the virus will be with us for the long haul. So as we start to return to a new normal, it is imperative that all employees look to maintain their COVID habits: • wash your hands regularly; • wear a mask and/or keep a safe distance whenever appropriate to do so; • stay away from others if you have symptoms.

As an organisation, there is evidence to suggest that we’ve managed the various outbreaks reasonably well to-date. However, given that much of the Newcastle Anglican work is service-based and working in and alongside the community, we need to remain extremely vigilant and mindful of our responsibility in that regard.

So, with government messaging maturing from mandated to requested, an appeal for some good old-fashioned ‘common sense’ is now providing the cornerstone to Newcastle Anglican’s approach to ongoing COVID management.

MOOVE & GROOVE This time last year, Anglican Care agreed to jump into a new pilot therapy aged care program that uses technology to deliver personalised therapeutic audio and video experiences for residents living in aged care.

Initially trialled by residents in our Warnervale Gardens, CA Brown, McIntosh Court, Kilpatrick Court and Jesmond Grove facilities, the results of this innovative Moove and Groove program have been nothing short of remarkable, with data-driven evidence to suggest a:

78%

increase in mood and apathy improvement

65%

reduction in agitation

79%

reduction in aggression

85%

reduction in vocal disruption

An early indication of these results was enough to inform the decision last October to make the Moove & Groove program available across all our Anglican Care facilities, seeing more of our residents ‘moving and grooving’ and enjoying greater connectedness with those around them.

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Principal COMMISSION It is customary in the Anglican community for the Bishop to commission - the act of committing or entrusting a person with supervisory power or authority – new school principals, charged with the stewardship of any Anglican schools. There are four schools in the Newcastle Anglican Schools Corporation (MASC) and two of them have had new school principals in the last year.

Paul Humble joined Bishop Tyrrell Anglican College at the end of 2021, following 4 years as Principal of Riverina College in Wagga Wagga.

On 3rd of March, Paul was formally commissioned into his new role as Principal of BTAC by Bishop Peter and he described the occasion as ‘one I will never forget - to be welcomed and embraced by the students, staff and community who have a collective passion for learning

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Principals Paul Humble & Deborah Clancy

and innovation…and to share it with my family, has been an experience to be treasured’.

Lakes Grammar School Principal Deborah Clancy, beat Paul to the punch by just one week, with her commissioning by Bishop Peter taking place on Thursday 24 February 2022.

The difference here being, that the active presence of COVID in the community saw postponement of her originally planned commissioning date – back in June 2021 when she commenced the role.

‘As it turned out, this delay made the event even more meaningful,” explains Deborah, “because I already had connections with students and staff, and those from Newcastle Anglican who attended, so it truly felt like I was speaking to my Lakes Family, who had already

accepted me.”

A teaching career that began in 1987, Deborah has taught in NSW, QLD and WA, across a diverse range of education sectors, and growing in leadership through her previous roles of Head of Teaching and Learning, Head of Academic Care, Head of Boarding and Deputy Principal. ‘‘I love working with young people and their parents to make a difference. The highlight of any day is the opportunity to speak to our students and hear about what our school and their education means to them.”

“As a principal, I have the opportunity to do not only what I love, but also to impact a broad range of our community and be part of the Lakes history – for just a moment in time!”

Newcastle Anglican Schools Corporation

DEBORAH CLANCY & BISHOP PETER

BISHOP CHARLIE, BISHOP PETER, DEBORAH CLANCY, SIMON CLANCY & LIZ KNIGHT

BISHOP PETER & PAUL HUMBLE

ORDER OF COMMISSIONING FOR REVEREND JACQUELINE WESTON WAS ALSO UNDERTAKEN BY BISHOP PETER IN MARCH

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DURING MARCH, BISHOP PETER ALSO DELIVERED AN ORDER FOR COMMISSION OF THE REVEREND NICOLE BALDWIN AS RECTOR OF CESSNOCK AND ARCHDEACON ROD BOWER (PICTURED RIGHT) AS NEWCASTLE ANGLICAN DIRECTOR OF MISSION.

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CHECKING IN With a fresh new look and some additional functionality – and ease of use, top of mind – the main office ipad login system will be back up and running In April.

With the focus on simplifying the check-in process, the touch-screen ipad points staff to an ‘employees’ hot button where all employee names are contained in a register, enabling you to simply check yourself in and then out again when you leave the building. It is important to always remember to check out when leaving the site as this is an essential part of our employee safety and security model.

Low touch is the driver behind the visitor check in/out functionality too. After requesting some basic visitor contact details, the user will also be prompted to indicate who they are visiting, which sends on an automated email to that person, to notify you that your visitor has arrived and is waiting in reception.

SERVICE CLOSURES Whilst the focus of Newcastle Anglican is always on human flourishing and services that support and enable that, there are occasions where services or facilities in our remit simply become unsustainable in the context of the standards we set ourselves to deliver against. Recently, employees will have received an announcement about the closure of Greenmount Gardens and Cedar Wharf Lodge, a decision made after a comprehensive review of Anglican Care residential aged care facilities over the last 12 months. In a media statement, Bishop Peter acknowledged the emotion of this decision, recognising the facilities as a ‘home’ both for the residents and, to some extent the employees who work there and Newcastle Anglican has put in place a team to support next steps for residents and staff. Bishop Peter also cited ‘the age and design of these buildings being prohibitive to the necessary upgrade and upkeep required to support the provision of best practice, modern residential aged care facilities and services’. The intended closure and sale of St Peters Wards River has also recently been announced, following a process led through the Newcastle Anglican Diocesan Office, in which the views of stakeholders could be presented and collated to the Diocesan Council as the major decision-makers. With the closure permitted through an ordinance, the intent is to focus Anglican mission and ministry ‘along Bucketts Way’ through St Johns Stroud and St Paul’s Gloucester.

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IT matters Over the past few months, we’ve all watched the Operations & Support arm of our IT Services team step up and lead the business, first through the massive undertaking of ensuring all of our office-based employees had the tools, systems and network capability to work from home, during an extended lockdown period.

Then, as part of the SORT induction back into office-life, making sure that everything ticked and hummed back in our office spaces too, as the broader workforce steadily migrates back to their new hot-desk environments.

Our IT Services Team Now it is time for the Business Engagement and Project Delivery side of the IT Services team to step up and one of the first metaphorical cabs off the rank is the enormous task of aligning everyone’s individual IT ‘tenancy’ or footprint to facilitate a more streamlined and consistent way of working, regardless of which part of the broader Newcastle Anglican organisation you currently have tenancy in.

With a newly appointed Project Delivery Manager, Rachael Anthes, leading the charge and change, this is just one of many new initiatives being rolled out this year by this team, as Newcastle Anglican aims to build maturity and momentum around our cross-agency digital accessibility. Exciting times ahead, so look out for news both on this project and others in future issues of interCONNECT.

The Tenancy Project

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Newcastle Anglican Schools Corporation

Green idea Sprouts!

Visiting a local community garden proved to be the catalyst for the fresh green shoots of a new idea for Disability Support Worker, Vicki Manning, as she quickly set about planning an edible and sensory garden for the residents of the Samaritans Independent Living (SIL) facility in Bateau Bay. With support from the SIL Service Manager, Lyn Johnstone and an extremely generous donation of tools, potting mix, seedlings, paint and even a shade sail from the local Bunnings in Tuggerah (special mention to their Community Activity Officer, Lorraine), Vicki and the residents set about establishing the new garden and it proved to be an instant hit.

‘Some of the residents are vision-impaired,’ explains Lyn, ‘so having a garden that is rich with sounds and smells is a game-changer.’

Home to four residents - Lucy, Greg, Dylan and Luke – the garden is already opening doors to new sensory experiences, be it cooking, painting or gardening. Greg, for example, loves to paint and has a collection of old tyres, which he is busily up-cycling by painting them and placing them in the garden as beds for the herbs and veggies.

Huge thanks to the local Bunnings and interCONNECT celery-bates the initiative of Vicki and Lyn in getting this project off the ground.

PICTURE FEATURES SOME OF OUR SAMARITANS

INDEPENDENT LIVING RESIDENTS

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A LEAGUE OF HER OWN During the week she is a humble staff member at Scone Grammar School, where she teaches PDHPE, but outside of school hours, Yasmin Meekes plays football for the Sydney Roosters Women’s NRLW side, which is why a couple of well-known sports TV broadcasters have asked permission to film Yasmin on school grounds. A member of the Central Coast Roosters since 2020 and former Rugby Union Sevens player - awarded Players’ Player of the side in 2021 – Yasmin has also played representative football for NSW in an Origin series and her adaptability is part of her success, presenting as an outside back but equally comfortable as a centre, wing or even in the back row. Also a prolific tryscorer, Yasmin bagged seven tries in ten matches last season.

ACQSC-ing THE BIG QUESTIONS A recent assessment by the Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission (ACQSC) at CA Brown Lodge, following receipt of a non-compliance against Standard 3(3)(a) and two formal complaints, returned some exceptionally positive feedback from the assessors, as well as an audit ‘pass’ and general praise for our continuous improvement since recording the non-compliance and in response to the complaints. This is a significant win for the team and a clear demonstration of ongoing improvements being made in the area of clinical care, our process related to the treatment of falls and wounds and our medication management.

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CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER Whilst it already seems like a lifetime ago, the December-March office closure impacted the opportunity to celebrate the fact that once again the annual Christmas Samaritans fundraiser raised just over $95k for use across a variety of important Samaritan services. Dependent, as ever, on some significant volunteer support, coordinated by Dana Pichaloff, this achievement is even more commendable given the backdrop of COVID uncertainty. Arranging and managing the transportation of over 1000 people to the Newcastle Foreshore and Singleton Showground on Christmas Day is no small achievement in itself, but the real joy is in the faces of those gathered when the picnic lunch hampers are distributed. Special thanks to our 30+ sponsors who donated an additional $60k worth of value (the highest value support in 21 years) in the shape of hams, chickens, Christmas presents, picnic rugs and umbrellas and even some grocery hampers for guests to take home.

SPOTTO Pictures of pigs and various other animals and birds spotted in gardens of CA Brown Lodge, initially confused our onsite maintenance team. Until they were told it was all part of a daily ‘spotto’ the residents of the facility enjoy to help motivate them to get out and about in the gardens and paths of the well-appointed Residential Aged Care facility. Exercise and a strong sense of community, all in one fun-filled daily walk.

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HSC GOLD HSC GOLD

ABOVE SCONE GRAMMAR SCHOOL STUDENTS Below MOLLY WONG, SCONE GRAMMAR

In a somewhat exceptional message of resilience, 131 students across our four Newcastle Anglican Schools Corporation (NASC) managed to tenaciously navigate their way around a COVID pandemic towards completing their high school journey and sitting their final HSC. Their circumstances demanded that they approach learning in new ways, become adaptable in the face of real uncertainty and embrace a new language thanks to the joy of online learning….’ Sir, you’re on mute!’ Yet, despite the adversity faced throughout their final school years, our principals have praised their students’ resilience and determination, also quick to acknowledge the dedication and care of their staff, who have necessarily had to adapt and to support their students on a whole new level. ‘As our 2021 HSC graduates begin the next chapter of their lives, they leave a legacy of hope to future students that they can achieve great things through hard work and determination.

Year 12 Graduates remain part of the legacy at BISHOP TYRRELL, each laying a paver with their name engraved along the pathway.

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SUCCESS STEMs FROM FUN AND FOCUS A 28-strong student team (four less than most team sizes) from Lakes Grammar Anglican school has recently taken out day three of the regional STEM - Science and Engineering Challenges award, winning 4 out of 8 challenges set and even breaking challenge records in 2 of them.

STEMs CHALLENGE

None of the day’s events are plain-sailing and every activity remained highly competitive all day. Even when just pipped to the winning post with a bridgebuild that was just 4g heavier than the winning entry, the Lakes Grammar team was able to take pride in the runner up berth for this cameo Challenge event by fielding the youngest team in the competition – two Year 8s and one Year 9 – who also had to stand up in front of all other competition participants to ‘test’ their balsa wood and tape bridge.

“All our representative students showed diligence, creativity and character,” enthused Lakes Grammar School Principal, Deborah Clancy, “and I applaud them. What an amazing achievement from our innovative and inquisitive students at Lakes.

Grammar.”

Science Coordinator, Jenny Charker, adds: “The team not only performed extremely well all day, remaining focused, optimistic, and enthusiastic, but they also displayed excellent sportsmanship and exemplary behaviour throughout, even causing one of the judges to joke ‘these guys are having too much fun solving this!’”.

From here, whilst there are 28 students quite rightly enjoying the accolades of their peers, there is a short but nervous wait to see whether they did enough to make it to the State STEM finals.

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CRAFTY TALENT In a mighty effort, Jesmond Grove Residents took top place in this year’s Newcastle Regional Show Craft competition. With only three days to complete their project, residents decided an artwork depicting the difficult year 2021 lockdowns, isolation, and restrictions would be the theme of their creation. This winning artwork symbolised the trees, which became an important part of their day.

Isolation was the most challenging issue that residents felt, yet hope came from being able to walk outside and connect with nature in the gardens and feel a part of the world.

The second entry came from Residents in separate units, which became connected through decorating paddle pop sticks then gathered to create a colourful masterpiece. This sparkling entry took out the second-place prize in the Craft Show.

The artworks were placed in the Aged Care category and Residents were delighted upon hearing of their win, celebrating with a special morning tea and 1st place certificates given out.

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Never a CROSS-WORDan article included in this issue.

• Here is a quick chance to check you’ve heard and taken on some of the news and views from around Newcastle Anglican. All the clues relate to an article included in this issue.

1

2 3

4 5

6

ACROSS 1. On Principal: by name and by nature. (6)

7

5. A possession of land and important IT project. (7) 6. The bird Yasmin Meekes identifies with most at the moment. (7) 7 Her picture is on the banner of our International Women’s Day celebration article? (6,5) 8. The quality of being thankful and our primary message for all of you this month. (9) 10. Don’t forget to do this when you visit the main Newcastle Anglican Offices. (5,2)

Next MONTH If you’ve enjoyed this issue of interconnect and like this snapshot of what is going on around different parts of the

8

9 10

DOWN 2. Ancient Greek word for thanks.

(9) 3. Something this letter is designed to achieve: to_us. (12) 4. Moove and _ a resident success story. (6) 9. Initially speaking, a great assessment of CA Brown Lodge. (5)

business, make sure you submit news and views to marketing@ anglicancare.com.au In the meantime, please look out for April’s issue which will include: • a profile on new Director of Mission, Rod Bower • an update on and from our

• •

retirement living team more IT Matters news and a check-in on the results of last year’s culture survey

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from

Bishop Peter The practice of Gratitude ‘‘The practice, as promoted by the Resilience Project, of spending time at the end of each day identifying three things for which I am grateful.

The theories behind the practice are simple, with strong evidence that the practice of gratitude has a positive impact on our brain chemistry and thus, our overall wellbeing. Similarly, the practice of gratitude changes what we are attentive to: we begin to look for the positive.

Among the many things I personally am grateful for, are the staff of our organisation.

We have dedicated women and men serving the Hunter and Central Coast regions with passion and skill. Over and over people are making a huge difference to the lives of others.

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Gratitude is so important, but it is often drowned out amongst other things. Some researchers suggest for every negative encounter we need a minimum of five positive encounters to counterbalance the negative experience.

So ideally, we should be concentrating on 5 times more positive feedback to people than the negative feedback we might give.

In truth, some people on learning about gratitude, begin to realise that they very rarely say ‘thank you’.

Sunday church service. It is a way of affirming that thanksgiving or gratitude is at the heart of Christian spirituality. Gratitude to God and gratitude to one another.

I hope that when you read this, you might think of a person whose work you appreciate. Why not send them a text or email, today…. now? Let them know that you are grateful!’’

With gratitude +Peter

There is an ancient Greek word for thanks – ‘Eucharist’.

Many Christians use this word to describe the primary

Newcastle Anglican Schools Corporation