Newsletter

April 2012 Dear Friends, Welcome to the second edition of the UnitingCare Cutting Edge Newsletter for 2012. Already this year is proving to be an extremely busy one for UnitingCare Cutting Edge as we are sure it is for you all - as we settle in to our new Shepparton premises, tender for new programs and forge ahead with existing ones. In this newsletter you will find information about:
Horses for Hope New floor in Wesley Memorial Hall UNHCR Refugee Resettlement Working Group visit to Shepparton Training for UCCE Managers Alternative education at UCCE Donations

Victoria (Goulburn Valley) for his assistance with our application, which is just one example of his ongoing, and much appreciated, support of UnitingCare Cutting Edge. After much consideration of options (there are an awful lot of flooring products available these days!) we decided upon hard wearing and very nice looking bamboo floating floorboards. Installation of these is complete and the contrast between the old and new flooring is striking. Its very exciting to see new life breathed into a venue that has been such a great resource for the local community for many years.

Horses for Hope On Friday 23rd March we held a Horses for Hope demonstration day with a view to gaining corporate sponsorship and forging links with organisations such as Racing Victoria. Valuable relationship building took place on the day and we are confident that these will result in financial support for Horses for Hope into the future. The event was the result of a lot of hard work by many people. We would particularly like to thank Pip Sorrell from the SHARE Appeal for helping identify possible donors for the program and Pip Bond from Inform Training & Research for pro bono coaching in how to promote the program and present the demonstration so that all attendees could see how it could relate to themselves and/or their businesses. New Floor in Wesley Memorial Hall Last year UnitingCare Cutting Edge was fortunate to receive a grant of $11,600 from the Freemasons Public Charitable Foundation towards a much needed upgrade of the floor in the Wesley Memorial Hall. We would like to thank Brother Geoff Thomson of Freemasons
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Wesley Memorial Hall gets a new floor a work in progress.

Of course, against the new floorboards the walls are now looking a little shabby so this year we have applied for a grant of $12,925 from the Freemasons for internal painting the quotes received were $25,000 - $38,000! A number of fundraising activities will be held to help raise the extra funds. We have also recently installed new linoleum in the Sacred Space, adjacent to the hall, to provide a safe wet area so that the many kids who attend playgroups in the space can paint and enjoy other joyously messy play activities all year round. We are very happy with the outcome of this and so are the kids!

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April 2012 United Nations High Commission for Refugees visits UnitingCare Cutting Edge On Tuesday 21 February this year UnitingCare Cutting Edge, as the main provider of refugee resettlement services in the region, hosted a visit from delegates on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees Working Group on Resettlement who came to learn about settlement services for, and the settlement experiences of, refugees settled in the local area. Shepparton settles approximately 550 refugee and humanitarian entrants each year, and has a long history of migrant and refugee integration. Refugee communities that have settled in the area in the past ten years are predominantly from Afghanistan, Iraq, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, all together numbering an estimated 4,500 to 5,500 individuals. Delegates visiting Shepparton originated from 10 countries including Japan, USA, Czech Republic and Sweden and represented governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOS). Australian representatives were from the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and other NGOs. table discussions in the Wesley Memorial Hall at UnitingCare Cutting Edge. The delegation ended their visit to Shepparton (one of only two sites they visited outside the metropolitan region) with a tour to the Shepparton English Language Centre. The day was hugely successful and informative for all involved and we hope that it leads to a greater understanding, and accommodation, of the needs of former refugees as they make their homes in new countries. UCCE Managers Undertake Supervision Training UnitingCare Cutting Edges managers have recently completed the first half of a supervision training course with the The Groupwork Institute of Australia Collaborative Workplace Specialists designed to provide a consistent framework for supervising staff. We have pursued this training in the belief that effective supervision is the cornerstone of high quality reflective practice. It helps build learning organisations, capable of achieving the most effective outcomes. The Super VisionTM model fosters clear, consistent supervision practices which are easy to use, and builds on people's existing wisdom and experience using reflective practice. This course will give participants the confidence to utilise the management micro skills required for high quality staff supervision and performance management. Although the training is only halfway complete (there are two more days of training in May) it has been well received so far with everybody feeling that they have gained knowledge which will be useful in their roles.

The delegates visited the Adult Migrant English Program at Goulburn Ovens TAFE before enjoying lunch and entertainment by the Angel Voices Band (comprised of young former refugees from a range of African countries) followed by round
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April 2012 First Term Draws to a close for Alternative Education at UCCE The start of the Easter school holidays has been welcomed by UnitingCare Cutting Edges alternative education programs CYCLE (Cobram), and The Big Picture UnReal! Learning (Shepparton) as staff and students take some time to rest and recharge after a busy first term. CYCLE: Connecting Youth to Community Learning and Education The CYCLE program has had a hectic yet very encouraging start in 2012, with a record 25 students enrolled at the start of the year (four of which were referred from Cobram Secondary College), up from a steady 17 over the past two years. Although a few of these students have fallen away, enrolments are expected to remain fairly steady for the remainder of 2012. The students have settled in well and have been approaching a demanding workload with enthusiasm. Program Manager Debhrina Fuller says We have been really impressed by the attendance rate this term, as all of the kids have been very consistent. It has kept us on our toes because weve been used to attendance being a bit patchier in previous years but we do love to see that kind of dedication. The kids actually get grumpy when theres no school and a number of them couldnt be kept away when we had to close because of flooding early in March. They insisted upon coming in and helping with clean up. Its moments like those that make you feel so good about what youre doing to see the staff and students working together, going the extra mile, really makes it all worth it. A highlight of the year so far has been the recent day trip to Ulupna Island on the Murray River as students learn more about their local area. A terrific time was had by all. A couple of students have already completed work placements at local businesses with more preparing to take up that option next term. VET courses also commence
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next term with students pursuing studies in a range of areas. The growth of the program over the last year has required significant capital expenditure as we have upgraded buildings and invested in new computers, phone systems and furniture. Although these outlays have been necessary, and the results enormously helpful, they have been higher than expected.

CYCLE students at Ulupna Island

Big Picture UnReal! Learning With the move of UCCE staff into our new Wyndham St premises, The Big Picture UnReal! Learning program has made its home at 136 Maude St Shepparton. Although work on preparing 136 Maude for the program with new carpet and paint took a little longer than expected, all three advisory groups (classes) are now happily ensconced and bonding well with each other and their new school. The first week of March provided the highlight of the year so far with the very first Big Picture Camp at Gilwell Park. Overall, the camp was a great success giving students and staff a chance to get to know each other and work together and compete against each other in some fun and challenging activities. May it be the first of many. Students have settled in well and begun initiating their own projects in their areas of interest. As in

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April 2012 life, not everything works but that too is part of the learning process. Six students have already completed shadow days at a range of local businesses, where they get a taste of what its like working in one of their fields of interest. These have been very educational and interesting for the students and many more students are looking forward to participating in shadow days next term. Wednesday Workshops, in which an adult with practical knowledge in a certain field imparts knowledge to the kids in a hands-on way, have already become a very popular feature of the program. So far, staff and students have had a go at photography, painting, drawing, cooking and fishing, and there is no shortage of ideas for future workshop topics. purchase small items for the program and the student projects.

Brit and Sean host speed Exhibition Night

Save + Raise UCCE recently received a cheque for $5,010.00 from Low Energy Supplies and Service (LESS) via the Save + Raise program. The cheque represented a $10 donation towards energy retrofits booked and/or performed by UCCE in the Save + Raise program so far. By performing Save + Raise installations in the Hume region, UCCE has so far saved 9641 tonnes of CO2 emissions which is the equivalent of taking 3487 cars off the road for a year. We plan to perform around 1500 more retrofits by the end of 2012.

Advisory Group 1 in their new classroom

End of term speed exhibitions were held last week with 15 students presenting their first term of work in 5 minute blocks to 20 adults in 6 rotations. Many of the adults (parents, friends and staff) commented on how mature the students were in their presentations about their learning. The event was hosted by students Sean Trevaskis and Brit Conti who, despite their nerves, did a terrific job. A couple of fundraising initiatives, including an Easter raffle and weekly car wash, have been commenced to raise discretionary funds to
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Christine receives a donation cheque from LESSs Annie Luu

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April 2012 In a Save + Raise retrofit, our installers can change all of your standard light bulbs (excluding down lights and fluorescents) to energy saving light bulbs, install energy saving showerheads, and install up to four standby power controllers in each household at absolutely no cost to you. You can book a Save + Raise installation by phoning any one of the following numbers: ~ 5799 2258 ~ 58722 814 ~ 5831 6157 ~ 1300 130 812 ~ Volunteering Opportunities Everyone has different skills, interests and availability. These things will influence the type of volunteering activity that you might choose to participate in. here are some of the activities available through our programs:
Administration support ~ answering phones, mail outs, preparing show bags, making up files, photocopying, helping with surveys etc Bus drivers ~ UCCE has 12 seater buses and sometimes hires larger buses to transport people to our programs. We also need volunteers to go on outings with clients. Conversation English ~ assist members of the new settling communities with opportunities for practicing their English and getting to know people in the community who are not service providers. UCCE is currently exploring what activities the community would like this to be part of, we imagine it will grow and develop in ways we cant plan. So if you are interested let us know! Diversity Support Group ~ help with planning and cooking a shared meal, talk about your experience, provide support Equine assistant ~ helping set up or pack up horse yards, cleaning yards, feeding horses, collecting or delivering horses General maintenance and housekeeping Goulburn Valley Community Legal Centre Pilot ~ a joint project of UCCE and the Loddon-Campaspe Community Legal Centre, it requires administration support and qualified lawyers to run the evening services in Shepparton and Seymour
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Holiday Programs for Young people from New Settling Communities ~ To work with the young people during the school holiday period. Times vary depending on the activities that are planned by the young people and the Multicultural Team. Multicultural Homework Support Clubs ~ Help young people with their homework 3.30 5.00 pm during school term. One program operates from the Shepparton English Language School on Wednesdays, another is being developed at Shepparton High school. Multicultural Playgroup ~ Every Thursday at UnitingCare Hall, 9.30 12.30 To help out with the mums & kids. Playgroup runs during the school term. Special Events and Promotional Activities ~ developing promotional materials, helping to organise events in a professional manner, preparing media releases, engaging with the media to get them to take notice of UCCE and promote its programs Youth Independent Referral Program ~ volunteers support young people who do not have a parent/adult present when being interviewed by police. To apply go to www.yripp.org.au UCCE will provide assistance to obtain working with childrens check and police check. Training opportunities will be provided to volunteers.

Please Give Generously To make a donation to CYCLE, Big Picture UnReal! Learning, or any of our other programs, or to simply learn more, visit www.ucce.org.au Easter is a celebration of life begun anew; as is every sunrise. Celebrate each by giving thanks for the sacrifices made that you may enjoy them in peace and freedom. If some days this seems harder than others, pretend its Easter Sunday and start the day with chocolate! We look forward to working with you throughout 2012 for the benefit of our communities. Yours sincerely, Christine Nunn Chief Executive Officer UnitingCare Cutting Edge