RAPS Newsletter SUMMER 2011-12 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: COORDINATORS UPDATE Hi everyone! With 2011 coming to an end, it is already time for our summer calendar. Hopefully summer brings lots of warm weather, so we can get out and enjoy the picnics, daytrips, and all the other outdoor activities. Once again there have been a lot of great ideas from the planning BBQ, and we have a calendar jam-packed with activities. As you will see from her farewell on this page, sadly Alex will be leaving RAPS to move in to full time work. While I m sure everyone will be sad to see her go, it is an exciting opportunity for her to start a career in the industry, and she goes with our best wishes. She has been a breath of fresh air at RAPS this year, and it has been a real pleasure to have her on our staff. In the meantime, I will be filling in at all the activities, but don t worry, you won t have to put up with me for too long! The search for a new worker has already begun, and we hope to have them start in early December. Finally I d like to encourage everyone RAPS members, carers, family, and friends to come along to the RAPS Christmas Party on December 17th (all the details are on page 7). It is always a great occasion, and a fantastic way to celebrate the festive season, and another awesome year of activities at RAPS! As always we encourage anyone with any kind of feedback to let us know we are always happy to hear people s opinions and ideas for new activities! RAPS Activities 4 RAPS Calendar 10 Booking Form 13 Farewell from Alex Hi RAPS members and carers, It is with regret that I say farewell to all of you as I have decided to make the move to full time work to advance my career. The opportunities I have had at RAPS have been thoroughly enjoyable and indeed life changing. I thank you all for welcoming me into RAPS this year and for all the laughs and fun in the activities. Thanks also to Alistair and Allan, as colleagues you have both taught me so much. I wish you all the best of luck in the future and will be back to see you all as a RAPS volunteer! Alistair [ 4/184 GLEBE POINT ROAD GLEBE NSW 2037 PHONE 9518 8277 FAX 9518 8431 WEB www.raps.org.au ]
P AGE 2 S UMMER 2011-12 MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT Hello Everyone, The committee has been rather busy the last few months securing funds for the bus to continue and this will be ongoing. We ve also been working on our strategic plan, and making sure that RAPS is keeping on target with outputs and meeting our member s needs. It s hard to believe that this is the last report for the year may we have as much fun with RAPS next year as we ve had with this one. Lisa Hayes Vice Chairperson BITS & PIECES Phone numbers With Alex moving on from RAPS, please be aware that RAPS activity mobile number will remain the same, as will the process for contacting us with any last minute cancellations or changes. If you need to contact our activity staff during an activity call 0450 049 115 Alistair will be using this number during activities in December, and our new staff member will use it when they begin with RAPS. This is also the number to call to make any last-minute cancellations after office hours. During office hours contact Alistair on 9518 8277 with any queries or cancellations, or just for a chat! Weekend bus The weekend bus has received a lot of positive feedback, and we are working really hard to secure extra funds that will allow us to continue to offer the service free of charge in 2012. There has also been some comments on the length of time it can sometimes take to pick everyone up on the way to our weekend activities. Unfortunately the reality of RAPS covering such a large geographic area is that some people will spend a longer period in the bus than others. We do our best to make this fair and even, but the order of pick ups is often dictated by the destination we are visiting. We encourage everyone to enjoy their time in the bus, and use the opportunity to catch up and chat with your RAPS friends! Of course if you prefer we can help you arrange taxi transport directly to the venue, but this will be at your own cost. International Day of People with Disability IDPwD is on 3rd December, and there are plenty of events happening all over Sydney to celebrate. Unfortunately RAPS can t fit them all in our calendar! But maybe you would still like to attend some of them by yourself, or with family and friends? Some of the activities include a free screening of the movie Red Dog in Circular Quay on Friday 2nd December, and the Mary Mackillop Disco at Ashfield Bowling Club, also on Friday 2nd December. For more information on all the events you can visit www.idpwd.com.au/events or call Alistair in the office.
R AP S N E WS LE T T E R P AGE 3 OUT & ABOUT WITH RAPS Stewart presents Alex with some flowers on her last day of work at RAPS good luck with your new job Alex from everyone at RAPS! Joe with the wobbly mirrors at Luna Park Group photo taken at the Tulip Festival in Bowral looks cold!
P AGE 4 S UMMER 2011-12 RAPS ACTIVITIES DECEMBER 2011 FEBRUARY 2012 Here is the list of activities RAPS will be doing between now and February. If you would like to attend an activity, please notify the office at least two weeks before the date of the activity (we realise some activities will be less than two weeks away when you receive this newsletter, for those activities just give the office as much notice as possible). You can notify the office you wish to attend activities by: Calling 9518 8277; Emailing alistair@raps.org.au; OR Filling out the booking form at the back of this newsletter. Please be aware that some minor variations may have to be made to the activities below. Should this be the case, you will be informed well before the activity occurs. GROOVABILITY: BURWOOD To celebrate International Day of People with Disability RAPS will be heading down to the GroovAbility event in Burwood. There will be stalls from local service providers to help learn about services in the area, plus entertainment, activities, and disability ambassadors. Date: Thursday 1st December Venue: Burwood Park, Burwood Rd, Burwood Time: 10.30am 2pm Cost: Free. PICNIC: BALLS HEAD RESERVE, WAVERTON Balls Head Reserve is located just past North Sydney, and looks back over Sydney Harbour towards the Harbour Bridge and Opera House. It is a fantastic spot for a Sunday afternoon picnic! Alex will also be running the outing for one last time while Alistair is away for the weekend, so make sure you come down and give her a big farewell!! Date: Sunday 4th December Time: Pick ups: 9.30 11am Drop home: 3.30 5pm Cost: Free. Lunch provided, but everyone is encouraged to bring a plate of your favourite food to share with everyone!
RAPS NEWSLETTER P AGE 5 CAFÉ NIGHTS Twice a month RAPS heads out to a café or restaurant for some good food and a chance to catch up with your RAPS friends. Date: Approx Price (per main): Thursday 8th December: Croydon Park Hotel, 212 Georges River Rd. $10 $18 Thursday 22nd December: Earlwood Ex-Serviceman s Club, $10 $16 32 Fricourt Ave, Earlwood Thursday 5th January: Canterbury/HP RSL, 20-26 Canterbury Rd, Hurlstone Park. $12 $18 Thursday 19th January: Wests Ashfield, 115 Liverpool Rd, Ashfield. $11 $19 Thursday 7th February: Club Burwood, 97 Burwood Rd, Burwood. $9 $17 Thursday 21st February: Tigers Five Dock, 20B Barnstaple Rd, Five Dock $12 $16 All café nights will start at 6.30pm. FRIDAY FITNESS CLUB One Friday each month, RAPS gets together for fitness and relaxation based classes this quarter features strength, stretch and relax classes. Date: Friday 9th December Friday 6th January Friday 3rd February Venue: Whites Creek Cottage 31 White St, Lilyfield Time: 10.30am 12.30pm Cost: Free. Tea/coffee provided after the class DAYTRIP: PALM BEACH Jump in the bus for the trip north to Palm Beach. We ll get some fish and chips for lunch from the takeaway shop, and also check out the Summer Bay Surf Club, where Home & Away is filmed. Date: Saturday 10th December Time: Pick ups from 9am 10.30am Drop home from 3.30 5.30pm Cost: Money for lunch (approx $10 15) or BYO lunch
P AGE 6 S UMMER 2011-12 MOVIES Tuesday night is movie night!! Join us to enjoy the latest new release movies. Date: Tuesday 13th December Tuesday 10th January Tuesday 24th January Tuesday 7th February Tuesday 21st February Venue: Hoyts Cinemas, Broadway Shopping Centre, Sydney Time: 6pm (approx.) Cost: $11 TEN PIN BOWLING A chance to hit the lanes and see if you can be the RAPS bowling champion for the night! Date: Thursday 15th December Thursday 12th January Thursday 9th February Venue: Strathfield Superbowl 546 Liverpool Rd, South Strathfield. Time: 6.30pm 8.30pm Cost: $6 per game + money for a coffee after wards (approx $4). MOONLIGHT CINEMA Come and join RAPS as we enjoy a movie under the stars in the beautiful surrounds of Centennial Park. Date: Tuesday 20th December Venue: Centennial Park Time: 7pm 9.30pm Cost: $10. Please have dinner before you come. DVD NIGHTS Once a month RAPS gets together for a DVD night so that we can relax and be couch potatoes! Everyone is encouraged to bring along your favourite DVD. Date: Friday 23rd December Friday 27th January Friday 24th February Venue: St Helen s Community Centre, 184 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe Time: 6pm 9pm Cost: Approx $10 for pizza, or eat before you come
RAPS NEWSLETTER P AGE 7 RAPS CHRISTMAS PARTY The most anticipated event on the RAPS Calendar! A great opportunity to celebrate the festive season, and catch up with everyone at RAPS before Christmas and New Year. As usual there will be a big buffet lunch for everyone to enjoy, and plenty of Christmas cheer! Everyone is welcome to join us, and it would be fantastic to see a big turn out to celebrate Christmas and the end of 2011! Date: Saturday 17th December Time: 12pm 3pm Venue: Petersham RSL, 7 Regent St, Petersham Cost: $20 for RAPS members, $30 for family/friends/carers. Includes buffet lunch, and a present from the Santa Lucky Dip! Please RSVP no later than Friday 9th December for catering purposes. Please also inform us of any special dietary requirements. PICNIC: CLIFFTON GARDENS Another beautiful picnic location overlooking Sydney Harbour! Join the RAPS crew for lunch in the summer sun there is even a wharf we can fish from if anyone wants to throw a line in! Date: Sunday 8th January Time: Pick ups: 9 11am Drop home: 3 5pm Cost: Free. Lunch provided, but everyone is encouraged to bring a plate of your favourite food to share with everyone! DAYTRIP: BUNDEENA The bus will be heading south through the Royal National Park for lunch at the RSL in the beautiful beachside town of Bundeena. Date: Saturday 14th January Time: Pick ups: 9 11am Drop home: 4 6pm Cost: Money for lunch ($10 20).
P AGE 8 S UMMER 2011-12 MENS GROUP: BIG BASH T/20 CRICKET The RAPS men will be heading to the cricket to see the Sydney 6ers take on the Perth Scorchers in the new Big Bash Twenty/20 league! Date: Wednesday 18th January Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground Time: 6pm 9.30pm Cost: $12 for ticket + money for dinner or BYO dinner CHINESE NEW YEAR MARKETS 2012 is the year of the Dragon, and RAPS will be celebrating by heading down to Belmore Park (opposite Central Station) for lunch. There will be Chinese Markets, including plenty of delicious Chinese food for lunch. Make sure you bring your appetite! Date: Saturday 21st January Time: Pick ups: 9.30 11am Drop home: 3 4.30pm Cost: Money for lunch (approx. $10 15) or BYO lunch PLANNING BBQ An opportunity to discuss the current calendar, and make suggestions for the new activity calendar. Date: Sunday 29th January Time: Pick ups: 9.30 11.30am Drop home: 3 5pm Cost: Free. BBQ lunch provided. PICNIC: WATSON S BAY Our last picnic of the Summer season, and what better place to spend it than by the water in Watson s Bay. There is also a great fish and chip shop right on the wharf for us to get our lunch from! Date: Saturday 4th February Time: Pick ups: 9.30 11am Drop home: 3 4.30pm Cost: Money for lunch ($10 15) or BYO lunch.
RAPS NEWSLETTER P AGE 9 RAPS TRIVIA AFTERNOON Time to find out who are the trivia buffs among us, and crown the champions of RAPS trivia. Join us a St Helen s for a fun afternoon of music, sport, and movie trivia make sure to study up before you come! Date: Sunday 12th February Time: Pick ups: 12pm 2pm Drop home: 4.30 6pm Cost: Free. Afternoon tea and tea/coffee provided. WOMEN S GROUP: BODY SHOP PARTY This quarter the RAPS women will be visited by a Body Shop representative, who will show them us all the latest products, and give us the opportunity to test a few and then buy any of our favourites! Date: Friday 17th February Time: 6pm 9pm Venue: St Helen s Community Centre, 184 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe Cost: Money for dinner (+ spending money if you want to buy some Body Shop products!) LUNCH AT THE FISH MARKETS This weekend we re heading down to the fish markets for some nice fresh fish & chips for lunch, or even some sushi or oysters for the more adventurous! Date: Saturday 18th February Time: Pick ups: 9.30 11am Drop home: 2.30 4pm Cost: Money for lunch (approx $15) or BYO lunch. DAYTRIP: BLUE MOUNTAINS This month the RAPS bus is heading west towards the Blue Mountains. We ll be stopping in Katoomba for lunch, and to check out the fantastic view of the Three Sisters. Date: Saturday 25th February Time: Pick ups: 9 11am Drop home: 4 6pm Cost: Money for lunch (approx $10 15) or BYO lunch.
December 2011 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 GroovAbility: Burwood Park 2 3 4 Picnic: Balls Head Reserve 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Café Night: Croydon Park Hotel Friday Fitness Club Daytrip: Palm Beach 12 13 Movies: Broadway 14 15 Ten Pin Bowling: South Strathfield 16 17 RAPS Christmas Party 18 19 20 Moonlight Cinema: Centennial Park 21 22 Café Night: Earlwood Ex- Serviceman s Club 23 DVD Night: St Helen s, Glebe 24 RAPS closed for Xmas/New Year 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
January 2012 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 30 31 1 2 Public Holiday 3 4 5 Café Night: Canterbury/HP RSL 6 Friday Fitness Club 7 8 Picnic: Cliffton Gardens 9 10 Movies: Broadway 11 12 Ten Pin Bowling: South Strathfield 13 14 Daytrip: Bundeena 15 16 17 18 Men s Group: Big Bash Twenty20 19 Café Night: Wests Ashfield 20 21 Chinese New Year Markets 22 23 24 Movies: Broadway 25 26 Australia Day Public Holiday 27 DVD Night: St Helen s, Glebe 28 29 Planning BBQ: St Helen s, Glebe
February 2012 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun 1 2 3 4 5 Café Night: Club Burwood Friday Fitness Club Picnic: Watson s Bay 6 7 Movies: Broadway 8 9 Ten Pin Bowling: South Strathfield 10 11 12 RAPS Trivia: St Helen s, Glebe 13 14 15 16 Café Night: Tigers Five Dock 17 Women s Group: Body Shop Party 18 Lunch at the Fish Markets 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Movies: Broadway DVD Night: St Helen s, Glebe Daytrip: Blue Mountains 27 28 29
ACTIVITY BOOKING FORM You can fill out this form and send it to the office to let us know which activities you would like to attend. Please tick the boxes next to the activities you would like to attend and mail to: Recreation & Peer Support, 4/184 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, NSW, 2037. or fax to 9518 8431. NAME: GroovAbility, 1 st December Picnic: Balls Head Reserve, 4 th December Café Night: Croydon Park Hotel, 8 th December Friday Fitness Club, 9 th December Daytrip: Palm Beach, 10 th December Movies, Broadway, 13 th December Ten Pin Bowling, South Strathfield Superbowl, 15 th December RAPS Christmas Party, 17 th December. Number of tickets: Moonlight Cinema, 19 th December Café Night: Earlwood Ex- Serviceman s Club, 22 nd December DVD Night: St Helen s, 23 rd December Café Night: Canterbury/HP RSL, 5 th January Friday Fitness Club, 6 th January Picnic: Cliffton Gardens, 8 th January Movies, Broadway, 10 th January Ten Pin Bowling, South Strathfield Superbowl, 12 th January Café Night: Wests Ashfield, 19 th January Chinese New Year Markets, 21 st January Movies, Broadway, 24 th January DVD Night: St Helen s, 27 th January Planning BBQ, 29 th January Café Night: Club Burwood, 2 nd February Friday Fitness Club, 3 rd February Picnic: Watson s Bay, 4 th February Movies, Broadway, 7 th February Ten Pin Bowling, South Strathfield Superbowl, 9 th February Trivia: St Helen s, 12 th February Café Night: Tigers Five Dock, 16 th February Women s Group: Body Shop Party, 17 th February Fish Markets, 18 th February Movies, Broadway, 21 st February DVD Night: St Helen s, 24 th February Daytrip: Blue Mountains, 25 th February Daytrip: Bundeena, 14 th January Men s Group: T/20 Cricket, 18 th January