KAIPARA LIFESTYLER September 1 - 2015
7
A furry fundraiser
Celebrations at Norfolk
by Ayla Miller
by Ann Morgan
From Thursday, September 10 until Sunday, September 13 it is every possum for itself during Paparoa Primary School’s annual PTA possum purge fundraiser.
Norfolk Court Rest Home celebrated five staff members on their completion of further studies toward their National Certificates in caring for the elderly and clients with dementia.
p Paparoa Primary School students enjoy the gala at last year’s possum purge
Teams of up to four adults and four children are given the chance to collect as many possums as they can find during this time to donate to the school which will then go on to sell the fur to fundraise for school projects. “The aim of the possum purge is to be a part of the solution for controlling the population in our area as they do a lot of damage to the native bush and birds, and to raise much needed money for our school to improve the outdoor environment,” says principal Alison Cadman-Smith. “We want to raise awareness about how much of a pest possums are to the native wildlife and we always have someone from the Northland Regional
Council talk to the children so that they are aware of that. It is a huge fundraiser and a great way to engage with the community.” Past purge’s have helped to raise money for shade cloths for the children and this year the board of trustees hope to extend the sand pit area, build outdoor storage for PE equipment and plant an orchard on the school grounds. Professional possum pluckers Jeff Allen and Craig Hardisty will be offering their services to participators “The gala day on the Sunday is always a lot of fun even if you haven’t been out chasing or trapping possums — there is always lots to do.”
“When people are employed to work in rest homes the training is ongoing through the ACE programmes for health education in New Zealand,” said ACE accessor Shona Anderson. Brenda Elmbranch and Vanessa Gillespie completed their Dementia Care course which qualifies them to care for dementia patients and Cindy Lata, Karen Cox and Shayamale Rajapaska completed their National Certificates for p Vanessa Gillespie, Cindy Lata and Brenda Elmbranch Caring for the Elderly. celebrating their qualifications with Norfolk Court residents “The education programmes are ongoing and staff are their family too. Every day we have build qualifications over time gaining activities to keep them busy and at their Level 3 National Certificate. times we go on outings. Brenda said one day she saw the job The constant training enhances staff abilities as caregivers and here at advertised and thought ‘I can do that’ Norfolk Court we like to celebrate staff so applied and got the job. “We love the job and value each advancements with an afternoon tea person as individuals and they with our residents,” said Shona. Cindy is the Special Dementia Unit are special.” “I congratulate my staff on their Co-ordinator and says she loves the job and the clients become part of achievements and thank them for their commitment to undertaking the the family. “All staff feel like that because you study. They have done really well,” said are with them every day, they think we manager Carla Doran.
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