Issue 79 December 2015

2015
Issue 79
www.skillwise.org.nz
The SkillWise Journal
What’s New
In 2013 SkillWise took a fresh approach to the teaching of drama. Many Hats Theatre
Company was established as a group for performers with disability. Throughout 2015 we
took a number of individuals with little or no theatrical experience and introduced them
to a wide range of performance techniques. Everything from poetry and
puppets to improvisation and verbatim theatre.
We attempted to discover which approaches suited which performers, who responded well to what, who showed interest
and the manner in which they engaged with the various approaches. From these modest beginnings we explored how the
performers might best express themselves through these techniques. How these 'expressions' might be worked into scenes
and from these scenes we developed a performance. We also
bought in professional actors, theatre technicians and musicians to work with the group.
‘A Sound and an Action’ was Many Hats’ first public performance, held at the Court Theatre in 2014. This year we performed the Schools Project at St Andrews College – to over
200 people! All material was written by the performers, either by direct writing of dialogue, stories and poetry; or through devised workshops in the rehearsal room; or on show
nights by live improvisation on stage.
The SkillWise Journal
Issue 79
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A big thank you to everyone
especially Stadium Cars that
made our new van possible.
We love all the mod cons and
like going out in style.
Chris McFarlane at the Circa Café with two of his
paintings. All paintings are for sale so go and check
them out. 934 Colombo St, (near Bealey Ave),
St Albans.
Murray Brown 7th January 1950 – 6th October 2015
As many of you will be aware, Murray Brown
passed away on Tuesday 6th October 2015
after a long illness. He came to SkillWise in January
this year and left us when his health declined in
June.
Murray had worked most of his life. He rode a
motorcycle and later bought a car. He was a very
keen follower of motorsport, both car and bike
racing. He had travelled a lot, including Canada,
France, Spain as well as Australia.
At SkillWise he tried lots of different activities and
would always have a go at different things. He is
survived by his four sisters.
R.I.P.
The SkillWise Journal
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SkillWise Radio Show plays every last
Thursday of the month @ 12pm.
Thursday am Cooking Group
The Thursday morning cooking group cooks once a
fortnight. On the alternative weeks we are working on
the ASDAN cooking module as a group. The cooking
group has been making simple easy dishes that they
can make at home. We have looked at different
foods from around the world. We have made dishes
such as: Fish and chips, bacon egg pie, pasta dishes
using multiple ingredients, sushi, pad Thai, fried rice
and fried noodles. Every time the group cooks, we
make a meal for lunch and a sweet treat to enjoy afterwards such as: cakes, biscuits, ice cream sundaes, brownies, muffins, cheesecake and various
other desserts
The group has been working on their skills
in the kitchen. These skills include:
hygiene skills, food preparation, using different appliances (oven, microwave, the
big frying pan, mixers for baking). The
group has also looked into food safety
such as: food contamination and how to
prevent this, safety in the kitchen when usPeter: “I love it when we cook foods with noodles
ing equipment and what possible hazard
and rice”
could arise and how to prevent this.
Shaun: “I love to eat the food that we cook!”
One of the group members dietary requirements has recently
changed. This means he is doing a trial of no sugar, no potato,
no flour and no gluten. We are currently looking into food ingredients the whole group can enjoy. These ingredients involve
Kumara, vegetables, meat that is not processed and desserts
that have no sugar in them. This could mean the sugar is replaced with fruit and the flour is replaced with almond flour. Nathan is allowed nuts and dairy, however we must make sure
that these ingredients contain no sugar. When using ingredients
the group will be taking notice of the nutritional information to
ensure it meets Nathan’s dietary requirements .
Make sure you check us out on facebook! We are always posting what’s new
for our community!
SkillWise: www.facebook.com/SkillWiseCHCH
The White Room: search “The White Room Creative Space”
Employment Support: www.facebook.com/SkillwiseEmploymentSupport
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The SkillWise Journal
Issue 79
Pioneer Train show . . .
10 not out!
The model making group attended its 10th model railway exhibition over
the weekend of 3rd – 4th October 2015 at Pioneer Stadium. We have also been involved in several other modelling events over the years.
Pioneer was well attended, with an estimated 7,000 plus visitors over
the weekend. Our 10 exhibitions so far have been attended by at least
40,000 people which is a lot of smiling and answering questions!
The recently completed (the day before!) ‘Gary’s loop’ module worked
well and increases our flexibility. Future plans are for more bridges.
25 people helped out over the weekend, four of whom hadn’t been to
an exhibition before. Volunteers Doug, Kevin and John helped out plus
Gavin, Niki and Stan. Thanks to our supporters.
Sponsors Board 2015