It’s been another jam-packed and fun-filled month for the residents of Glendale.
On 12 April, we celebrated our annual, second night Pesach Seder. It was a great evening, with residents, families and friends all taking part — and enjoying all the favourite traditional foods. Dr Solly Lison did a fantastic job leading the Seder and we want to thank all those involved for once again making the event a huge success.
We were also pleased to recently welcome another member to our team: Cole Goldberg, an Occupational Therapist. Cole spent her community service year at Alexandra Hospital and is currently working part-time at Glendale as she completes her Masters of Philosophy, specialising in Intellectual Disability. At present, Cole is focusing on individual and group treatment sessions — and has taken up the task of organising special outings and trips for our residents, who absolutely love them! These outings not only offer the residents a chance to socialise and engage with others, but also help them integrate more with the community by encouraging sensory input and exposure to new experiences.
Over the past month, our outings have included visits to Sea Point Park, a coastal drive, a boat ride to Seal Island and a very memorable trip to the aquarium! This was a real highlight for the residents, especially those in wheelchairs, who don’t often get to experience adventures like this. Everyone loved watching the sea creatures in their natural habitat and the sensory pools were a huge hit! Plenty of wonderful memories were made and it’s great having Cole on board as we look forward to her OT input in future.
Next month we’ll be launching our baking classes, where our residents will have the chance to get some hands-on experience in the kitchen, learning how to make delicious, tasty treats. Plus, our Glendale vegetable garden has started producing veggies, which we’re delighted to be using in the kitchen. It’s also wonderful that a few of our residents have taken responsibility for looking after our garden — and making sure it stays weed-free, watered and well loved. And we’ve also started an exercise program in the mornings, with the residents training hard for our upcoming Sports Day later in the year.
Of course, these are just a few of the exciting initiatives we at Glendale have planned, so be sure to stay tuned.