Celebrating Christmas... Community Style

The staff at Community Junction Inc. have been busy celebrating Christmas with members of our community.


CHRISTMAS UNDER THE STARS:
St Clair's annual Christmas Event had a great turnout, with Santa popping in to say hi to all the boys and girls, there were photos taken, and yummy lollies from Santa’s sack. Rooby Roo also made a special visit. The food was amazing with sausages and bacon on the bbq, as well as fairy floss and popcorn. Our face painter Brooke was very busy painting butterflies for the children and all kinds of creations. The movie Arthur Christmas could be seen on the giant screen to the delight of everyone including the Mums and Dad’s.

MENS SHED CHRISTMAS PARTY
A good time was had by all at this Christmas Party.  There was a fantastic selection of food and lots of fun pulling the bon bons.  All the jokes where read out to the delight of everyone.

   

THE LEARNING LOUNGE CELEBRATION
Children who attend the Learning Loiunge let their hair down at their end of year celebration.  Students played darts and had a go at playing pool, members of the Young Blokes Group cooked the BBQ and chatted to families, while Christmas music was playing in the background. Everyone bought food to share, with plenty of lollies and chocolate to the delight of everyone.

    

 

CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS AT NORTH ST MARYS
North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre celebrated Christmas with many free activities at the local neighbourhood centre.. Santa dropped by handing out lolly bags to the eager children, and Maria completed amazing works of art on the kids faces.  Our youth team were their busily cooking up a storm on the BBQ.  Rooby Roo mad a surprise visit to the delight of everyone, and John was kept busy making balloon animals, swords and hats.  

We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and a safe and happy new year.

CHRISTMAS FOOD AND TOY DRIVE

A big THANK YOU to members of our community who generously donated food and toy items to our annual Food / Toy Drive.  The goods were collected by members of St Vincent De Paul through Holy Spirit Catholic Church St Clair.  They then made up hampers and donated these to needy families in time for Christmas.

Christmas Celebrations

Community Junction  are gearing up for Christmas with 2 planned community Christmas Events.
On Saturday 5th December join us at Autumnleaf Neighbourhood Centre St Clair, for Movie Under the Stars, gates open at 6.00pm.  There will be a visit from Santa, sausage sizzle, popcorn and fairy floss will be on sale, a face painter to keep the kids happy.

Arthur Christmas, the movie will be showing at 8.15pm.  On Thursday 10th December bring the family over to North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre for our Community Christmas party, starting at 3.00pm.  There will be face painting, kids craft, jumping castle and a sausage sizzle. We hope to see you all there.

'BACKYARD BLISS'

Colyton Neighbourhood Centre got a much needed makeover last Thursday. United Way Australia provided the corporate volunteers who enjoyed a day out of the office with the aim of brightening up the neighbourhood centre and make it livelier for people who access it on a daily basis. 

Around 15 volunteers enjoys time outdoors planting 14 grevilleas around the front parameter and installed 2 bench seats outside the front of the building while others painted the inside. A one day makeover has made the world of difference and will put a smile on the face of everyone who sees it.

 

CHILDREN'S WEEK CELEBRATION

Colyton Neighbourhood Centre joined in the National Children’s Week celebrations with their REaD with Rooby Day event. Originally planned as an outdoor event we moved inside due to the morning rain but we have just as much fun. Kids got their faces painted by Maria, a balloon artist made them their favourite characters and James the farmer brought along his baby farm animals for them to feed and pat. Rooby hopped in too and read a book and enjoyed playing with her furry friends. Healthy snack were there and to top off a fabulous event everyone got to take a showbag home. The hall was filled with delight and laughter and parents, grandparents and friends enjoyed a morning of fun.

 If you missed out on the Colyton event we will be having another fun day at Nth St Marys Neighbourhood Centre on Thursday 29^th October 2015 from 9:30am.

A big thank you goes out to Penrith City Council Children’s Services for donating the baby animal farm, United Way Australia for donating children’s books and a balloon twister and to Penrith City Council’s Community Assistance Program (CAP) funding which enables Community Junction to put the event on.

What is Care Pair?

Care Pair is part of Community Junctions Children Services  It operates as type of roving child care, supporting groups that run in the community each term with child care each term. Groups that are supported range from Disability, Welfare, Child Protection, Heath, Recreation, just to name a few. Some groups are held once while others are held over a term. Groups are run in various places in various locations. We take a trolley of resources with us to set up wherever we are. We meet a variety of children, families and workers. Here is a story from one Care Pair worker, Amanda and what she has been doing lately.

Working with children is such a rewarding experience.  While working with a new group at St Marys a new child join the group who doesn’t speak English. He screamed most of the first week then over the next few weeks he started to settle into the group nicely and now he can’t wait to go to “playgroup” every Monday to see us, we have become his new best friend and his mum has even commented on how his English has improved and he has become so much more confident at home. It’s great to get the chance to have such a positive impact in children’s lives, with Care Pair we take our toys with us to set up in a room and may only see some children for one group or a term so we only have a small chance to make a quick connection with the children and their families.

This year one of our workers was lucky enough to go to Mobile Meet, a conference for Mobile Childrens Services. The conference was held at Panthers, it gave mobile childcare workers an opportunity to get together. People travelled from all over NSW, Bourke, Brewarrina, Broken Hill  just to name a few. There was a Welcome Ceremony with a few key note speakers followed by different learning session’s which we would split into groups to attend. Our worker attended workshops on speech, unlocking your services story and an art and nature seminar, all of which were very informative. It was great opportunity to learn so many new things and speak to other mobile child minders and find out how they operate.

There was also a fancy dress Gala Dinner which celebrated the magic yellow bus and its 40 years of operation. Overall it was a fantastic learning experience.   

Colyton Open Day.

Despite the very hot weather we had many residents come along to our Colyton Open Day. They got to see the Neighbourhood Centre and make suggestions on what groups, events and services they would like to see running from the space.

 Kids enjoyed face painting and craft while local residents found out more about Team Colyton and other programs that community Junction Inc. has on offer in our other locations. A fun day all round. Thank you to everyone who braved the heat and joined us on the day.

                                  

A big thank you to our Men’s Shed ‘Cecils Place’ for running the sausage sizzle and our volunteers who helped out on the day. It was a fabulous community event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any suggestions on services, groups and event you would like to see from the Neighbourhood Centre then call the Colyton Community Team on 9188 9065 or email  frances@communityjunction.org.au

School Holiday Fun

The school holidays are here, and Community Junction Inc. held a fantastic Girls Space Program.  Young women aged between 12 - 17 years had an opportunity to hang out and have a whole day of fun.  The day started with a Zumba class, followed by outdoor games, a cooking session were the girls made their lunch, art and craft time, and for the finale, the girls created their own music video.

 

 

The were also activities for the younger kids at North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre. 

"This is awesome" and I'm having so much fun!, are just some of the comments that the children attending the school holiday activity where saying.  Children from the local area, as well as kids from Community Junction Inc OOSH service had a fantastic time enjoying craft activities, out door games, including hide and seek.  The enjoyed interacting with one another while enjoy morning tea. 

 

 



 

 

 

Rooby Roo's Birthday Party

Children and adults got together to celebrate Rooby Roo's Birthday at North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre on Wednesday 26th August.  Rooby Roo is the mascot for Paint Penrith REaD, a literacy program  motivating communities across Australia to read, talk, sing and rhyme with their children so they’re ready to learn to read and write at school.

Rooby Roo received lots presents and had a cake to celebrate her birthday.  Children played party games, had a sing - along, and enjoyed the party food on offer.  There were also lots of books to read and share. The face painter was kept busy, and the Balloon Clown made animals out of balloons for the children to enjoy and take home.  A great day was had by all.

 

Werrington Community Festival

The threat of bad weather couldn't dampen the fun had by local residents who attended this years Werrington Community Festival.  The community were treated to a large range of entertainment including a magician and local dance groups.  Children could cuddle the baby animals in the petting farm, take a ride on a pony ride,  have their face painted or enjoy a sing a long with Rooby Roo.  Those brave enough had the opportunity to scale the Climbing Wall.  Scouts were there to provide the hungry with a delicious sausage sizzle and drinks, and for those that love a bargain, could browse through the stalls.  Well done to the community team at Werrington who worked hard to put on the event.

"Team Colyton"

Team Colyton was launched at Colyton Neighbourhood Centre on the weekend. Residents, community organisations and local business in the community joined Penrith Councils Neighbourhood Renewal Team and special guests Councillor Jackie Greenow and Prue Car, MP in sharing stories, aspirations for their suburb and meeting their neighbours, not to mention enjoying a gourmet lunch and a bit fun for the kids. The launch of Team Colyton was celebrated with its very own cake and in the moment the cake was cut, a sense of pride and ownership of their Colyton community was felt.

Team Colyton is open to anyone who lives or works in Colyton, and has a passion to build on things they love about their suburb and work together on the things they’d like to see improved. The team will include local residents, community services, schools, businesses and Council. The first meeting was held on Tuesday night 18^th August at the Neighbourhood Centre. Residents and community organisations were well represented joining to share their ideas and thoughts about where Team Colyton would go next.

And so the journey begins. You’re invited to join us and become a part of Team Colyton and help shape the future of your suburb. The next Team Colyton meeting will be held on Tuesday 1^st September at Colyton Neighbourhood Centre (Cnr Jensen and Willoughby St) Colyton from 6pm-8pm.

 

 If you cant make the next meeting you can still get involved and share your ideas. Here’s how:

·         Join us on Facebook – Penrith Neighbourhood Renewal

·         Go to the Team Colyton website - http://yoursaypenrith.com.au/Colyton

·         Call TeRina or Frances (Community Junction Inc.) on 9188 9065 or email terina@communityjunction.org.au or frances@communityjunction.org.au

·         Call Lila Kennelly from the Neighbourhood Renewal Team on 02 4732 8141

All Colyton residents are encouraged to join and be a part of Team Colyton and be the voice of your suburb.

Introducing "Community Junction Inc"

Community Junction Inc. was officially launched on the 14th July 2015.  Three local organisations, North St Marys Community Centre, St Clair Youth and Neighbourhood Team Inc. and Werrington Community Project Inc. united to form the new organisation.  The launch was held at North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre and was officially declared by Deputy Mayor Greg Davies.  Other local dignitaries where also present, including NSW State MP Tanya Davies, NSW Opposition Leader Luke Foley, and Penrith City Councillors Prue Car and Jackie Greenow. 

"Each of the services has made a significant contribution to our city", Deputy Major Davies said.     
" Their passion for the communities they work with is well documented and Community Junction will continue this great reputation".

Community Junction Inc. will provide a broad range of services to their local communities which include Colyton, Erskine Park, North St Marys, St Clair, Werrington and surrounding areas.