Newsletter - The Rekai Centres

January 2015
Rekai Reporter –
Sherbourne Place
345 Sherbourne St Toronto, Ontario M5A 2S3 Tel:(416) 964 -1599, Fax (416) 964-3967
Celebrating
January
Adopt a Rescued Bird
Month
Mentoring Month
International Creativity
Month
Universal Letter Writing
Week
January 8–14
Vocation Awareness Week
January 13–19
Buffet Day
January 2
Twelfth Night
January 5
Midwife’s Day
January 8
Cut Your Energy Costs Day
January 10
Belly Laugh Day
January 24
Bubble Wrap
Appreciation Day
January 26
New Year is here!
Hello everyone and Happy New Year! We had a
fantastic 2014 year.
Now January 2015 is here and will be filled with
newer and more exciting programs for everyone to
attend and enjoy . December had been a very busy
and trying month with a lot of changes taking place.
Our three Christmas parties were a big hit and would
not of been successful without the help from our
wonderful LE department, nursing department,
maintenance department, kitchen aids department,
Management and of course you the residents and
family members. Thanks to all who participated.
Our outings for the month of January are as
followed:
January 21 – Spadina Museum
January 29 - Concert at the Metropolitan United
Church
LE department will be coming around in the month of
January to help recruit potential candidates for
Resident Council 2015
Resident Council will be holding elections for all
positions on January, 12th, 2015 @ 10:30am in the
Crafts Room.
Be sure to keep your eye out for the flyers around
the home advising major events.
I wish everyone a healthy safe and Happy New
Year,
Nicole Joseph
Director of Residents Programs
December 2014
Creative
Writing
The following are some of the works done by
members from our Creative Writing group; we
are writing enthusiasts who meet up once a
month to share stories, thoughts and inspirations
through written words.
1969 - Coming to Canada
Crazy Canadians put vinegar on their
French Fries. My first day in
Toronto, I flew up from St.Louis.
When I got here I took a cab from
the airport to Yonge st. and Dundas
ave. I went to a movie on Yonge st.:
“Medium Cool”. It was about having a
detached objective view in all your
observations. Something I found
abhorrent. I thought that one should
never be detached. One should always
be engaged, involved intimately with
everything one observed. If your
heart was not in it, then you had
nothing to contribute to its
understanding. In 1969, the Eatons
store at Yonge and Dundas was the
centerpiece of the Eatons’ Empire.
In those days everyone talked
hockey. The Toronto Maple Leafs were
Toronto’s team and they performed
well these last decade. With the
Montreal
Canadians they were the premiere
team in Canada, but they had become
the source of much frustration since
their last Stanley Cup victory in
1967.
-
Michael
Please show your
support to our residents
by attending our annual
bake sale on January
20, at 10:30-3:00 in the
main lobby. We appreciate all
donations suitable for the event, please
contact the Life Enrichment Department
for further details.
My Life
I am originally from Turkey. I was
an accountant in Turkey. I have
wife and 2 children. Now my
daughter is 30 years old and my
son is 25 years old. My children
are very important to me. I also
have 2 brothers and 2 sisters:
They are living in Turkey. I am
alone here. I love Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.I love my friends
and I love everybody.
Ugar
Lost and Found
Attention Residents, Staff and Family Members:
There are two items that have been missing if you have
seen these items please inform the LE Department in
the Basement. Below is the description of each item:
1. 3 - 81/2 ? X 11? black framed photos in black
and white, of resident and his sister, including
graduation pictures
2. A hard-covered strong plastic , dark- brown book ,
pages are plasticized , like photo album, inside with typed
poetries with drawings authored by resident.
Thank You,
LE Department
-Resident
ProfileDavid
David was born in Toronto at Toronto Western
Hospital in the early forties. He had his
schooling in his own hometown and he basically
liked Math and Science. In addition, he had great
interest in arts and participated in many art
activities and programs while he was in school.
He had interest in literature and wrote some good
poems as well. Gradually he developed his
interest in art into a career. He went to a College
of Arts for four years. Then he worked for CBC
television as a graphic designer (artist) for a long
time. He says that now he can be on his own as
he has a different type of mind - set. David
believes that he can see things differently as an
artist.
David enjoys watching television and mostly
prefers programs about cooking. He says that he
liked cooking and often cooked for himself in his
bygone days. He reveals that he was fond of
travelling, and he has visited all parts of the
world except Africa. David still recalls some of
the memories of his visit to Japan and China. He
primarily speaks English language only;
however, he never found it difficult in adjusting
to new places during his journey. David states
that he does not have a particular dish as his
favorite one but he enjoys any food that has been
well cooked. He enjoys nature and all seasons
are good for him. David does not like to pick up
any particular thing as his favorite; rather he
thinks that all things are good for him in general.
David finds it interesting that Toronto has
changed so much since his early days. He
remembers those days when he used to watch
cattle grazing on the lawns through the windows
of his residence. There were hardly any high-rise
buildings at that time, but now he finds
skyscrapers all around and the city is really
crowded.
David has interest in music, and enjoys
classical ones the most. However, he enjoys
listening to all kinds of music provided that it is
well played, and he says that music played by
the learners bothers him. Regarding his close
family, David has a sister named Gale living in
the north of Toronto (New Market). He used to
have cats as his pets. Growing up and living in
the city of Toronto, he always used public
transit. In fact, he never drove for himself and
he did not even learn how to drive. Regarding
his living at the Rekai Centre, David says that
he is happy because ‘I can stay warm inside my
room while it is snowing outside”.
- Written by: Ram Adhikari, Social Service
Placement Student, George Brown
College
December is fading away
there's a new year coming your way
all frustrations drowned
with the chill of cold air around
as the new year rises array
everybody say hip hip hurray!
Do you remember the things that made
you laugh,
cry like a calf?
never forget the luck you had the whole
year;
if you didn't have any, don't moan saying'
"oh dear"!
'cause there's more to come in the new
year!
There comes Santa with yummy goodies
for the sweet charming little buddies.
Goodbye is what is said to this year
expecting more to happen in the next
year.
Have fun everyone! and
Artists’ Corner
The Expressive Art Therapy groups are held in
the Chapel on Tuesdays and Fridays of each
week. The group provides an opportunity for
residents to experience the joy of art making
and creative expression.
Autumn in Allan Gardens
- Medium: Soft pastel on paper
No Title
- Medium: Soft pastel on paper
Healthy Living
Happy New Year, everyone! Welcome to January
2015.
January
Birthdays
Bing
January 6
Shuai
Bi Zhen
Anna
Agnes
Kari
January 7
January 9
January 18
January 22
January 23
It's that time of the year where a lot of us make new
year's resolutions about getting healthy, especially
after all the holiday lunches and dinners over the
past month. However, for the most part, many
people eventually revert back to eating poorly and
not exercising. This month, I just want to give a
few suggestions that have worked for me in trying
to stay healthy and active.
First, set realistic goals. This applies to both eating
and exercising. In terms of eating, it is tough to
expect people to just start eating cleanly right away.
So start slowly. Bring some extra vegetables or
fruits for lunch. If you drink pop, then only drink
half the can. Or only eat half the chocolate cookie
you brought and give the other half to a friend.
These are realistic goals. As for exercising, start
with 4 minutes of workouts and try to increase it
slowly. For example, do 2 minutes of squats and 2
minutes of push ups. These two exercises target the
biggest muscles in your body and help increase
your metabolism very quickly. That can be your
workout for the day. The point is to make it a habit
to be active for at least a few minutes a day.
Last but not least, try to find something active that
you enjoy doing. Whether it's taking a brisk walk in
the park to site see, swimming, yoga, learing to
skate, find something fun. When you're doing
something that is active and fun, then it will not
really seem like working out.
Anyway, good luck to everyone on their journey to
a more active and healthy lifestyle. See you all in
February.
- By: Elgene Bautista-Chan,
Rekai’s Physiotherapist