Entries for December 2015

Hello Members,

We are giving Louise a break from writing her monthly report so please see below her report from the AGM. - Ed

President Report – AGM 17^th November 2015

Good Evening everyone, and thank-you for the great attendance,

I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on the last 12 months and to share with the member base some of the significant highlights.

Last conference the Board made the decision to create an Executive Officer role, specifically designed to support strategic growth and development. As a result of this initiative, new strategic and business plans have been developed, and it is from this basis that the Board works.

As a direct result of this and the development of strong strategic partnerships, there has been an increase in member growth, particularly in the area of 

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The heat wave hitting both sides of the continent this week saw sweltering temperatures in Perth on the 14^th and again in Sydney on the 17^th of November- this did not stop a great time being had at these last workshops for 2015.

Perth 14^th November

A big thank you to Ruth Wilson and Annemarie Kluvers for their help at the only workshop in WA this year. We had an eager group of attendees, some new faces too!

Sue Gordon from the Aged Care Quality Review Agency took us through some of the principles of Accreditation from the perspective of activity staff and the importance of this area to people’s overall sense of wellbeing and health. (She is a real advocate for the recognition of our profession and the importance of qualifications for recreation and leisure staff in facilities in general). Our Laughter Yoga session had us in stitches while Annemarie’s update on Singing for Health and Happiness that she presented at this year’s DTA Gold Coast Conference caught the eye of our quality review presenter and may go up for a Better Practice award from WA next year- watch this space! We explored the issues

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5th February NSW- Sydney (Disability focus) 

26th February VIC- Melbourne

18th March QLD- Brisbane 

8th April SA- Adelaide                                   

13th May NSW- Orange

3rd June VIC- Shepparton            

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My name is Isabel Bonham. I am a Diversional therapist at Mt St Vincent Nursing Home in Ulverstone on the North -West Coast of Tasmania. I have worked in Aged Care for around 15 years and have obtained my Diploma in Leisure and Lifestyle in 2008.

I am the leader of the North West Coast Tasmania Network Group for DTA and have a group of about 10 - 15 DT’s who attend regularly.  I live in the City of Devonport and just love the area I live, as it has beautiful green bushland and fertile farmland surrounding us, and beautiful stable weather.

 I am very passionate about how Diversional Therapists can make the lives of our clients more inclusive and meaningful, rather than just distracting them from boredom. I Believe our job can help bring the joy of life back to people who may have come to us  from

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I have attached the Report from our accountant, Mr Glen McEwan, Thomas GLC, Chartered Accountants.

As confirmed by our accountants, Diversional Therapy Australia is not a reporting entity and as such, this special purpose financial report has been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies outlined in Note 1 to the financial statements.

Our financial position is very similar to last year. With very careful management and improved areas of

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Like our members – Diana and I have had a very busy year in the office!

The last DTA workshop for 2015 was held today and Diana and I will be able to get to all the tasks we’ve put aside to get all those events happening – we’ll be getting back to those important tidying up jobs from Conference, seeking new sponsors and advertisers, our AHPA membership, chasing up members who have not yet paid their fees for one reason or another, budgeting and financial reporting, getting our paperwork updated to include our new Board members after tonight, drafting policies and getting more info uploaded onto the website. And getting our long awaited Forums up there…. My apologies for the delay there.

The office has been working to improve

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It has been my absolute pleasure to have the chance to work with so many of you in facilitating workshops over the past 12 months!

In 2015 we held 15 workshops, though we initially planned 18. The Hobart-Tasmania workshop in March was cancelled due to low numbers and 3 others were cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances (Bairnsdale Vic, Perth WA and Shepparton Vic). We ran an extra workshop in April in Sydney specifically focusing on Dementia education, when a spur of the moment opportunity arose for

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Diversional Therapy National Conference Gold Coast 

Wow!! What a fantastic National conference we had this year on the Gold Coast. What a great place to hold the conference, we had a great time there.

My highlight of the conference was day one, the first Presenter did a talk on how a good sleep is important for our brain, and how sleep can affect the way we perform during the day. Dr Carmel Harrington was her name and I thought she was an excellent presenter and

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Margie Kennard has assumed the role of Executive Officer in conjunction with her position as Office Manager

Gold sponsorship from Skills training Australia for national conference

Currently developing 6 website training modules for Healthstrong.  This will mean that DTA members can earn PD points and provides DTA with an additional income stream.

Review of course recognition documents for the bachelor degree, Diploma and Certificate IV courses. Two registered training organisations have already

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Are you interested in this special opportunity to go to Japan with a DTA Group in May 2016? 
Please contact the office as soon as possible if you are interested in receiving more information or wish to commit to the trip.

The probable dates are May 20th - 29th 2016.

 
Basic costs estimated at $2300.00 excluding flights and spending money.

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