Nyvonne Krause
Auckland South Regional Coordinator
09 281 5609 or 027 501 0395

With the start of February comes the start of school and wow what an emotionally charged start it has been.  I don’t want to trigger anyone, but it really was not a good idea to take the kids stationery shopping.  I’m not sure what dream they had, but the reality was sure as heck not going to be us doing all the shopping in Smiggle!  So here’s our strategy;

• Sit down with the kids, talk about the economics involved with stationery shopping for five kids vs nana and papa’s budget.
• Attempt to recycle last year’s largely unused resources – the attempt could be futile, hope the children are open to this idea.
• If they have their own money, they can choose one item they can purchase from Smiggle.  The remaining items nana and papa will fund.
• Result – Pocket money was spent at the Warehouse on various lollies and goodies and Nana and Papa paid for the stationery that was the best value for money. Maybe next year we can consider Smiggle.

Wherever and however you are celebrating Waitangi Day, I hope you have a beautiful day with the ones that love you.

SUPPORT

To have someone to talk to at the end of the phone can sometimes be all we need.  Please save my number if you think I could be someone safe to chat with – 027 501 0395.

We are always interested in assisting members to connect and share together.  If you feel you would like to start a support group in your area, please contact me to help you get a group up and running this year.

Waikato FASD Group meet on the last Friday of every month, this month it’s the 24th of February at the Trust Waikato Community Rooms, Little London Lane, Hamilton from 10.00am -12.00pm.  This group was set up to enable caregivers and whanau to learn more about FASD and how we can support those with FASD to live well.

Our closed Facebook groups are another way of connecting when you want to chat to someone but are unable to get away from the house.

The Waikato/Hauraki group link is here

The Auckland South group link is here

My days of work are Monday-Thursday 9am-430pm. Remember that I’m here for you all, so please feel free to phone or text me if you need to chat.

Important Reminder

Just a reminder there is still time to apply for the School and Year Start-up Payment (closes 28 February) and the Extraordinary Care Fund (the next round of applications closes 17 February). More information about each of these Work and Income NZ entitlements can be found at School and Year Start-up Payment – Work and Income  and Extraordinary Care Fund – Work and Income

TRAINING & LEARNING OPPORTUNITY

Check out our training opportunities in your region this term on the training calendar.

If you are a support group and would like to book a training with us, contact our training administrator, Dagmar and let’s see if we can make it happen for you and your group – 04 282 0767.

EVENTS

Foster Care Awareness Week is all about celebrating you, our wonderful caregivers.  We will be holding the following events in these regions to celebrate all our wonderful caregivers;

• Pasifika Talanoa – A special gathering for our Pasifika caregiver members – Wednesday 8th March, 10AM-1:30PM
• Appreciation Morning Tea – Hamilton – Monday 6th March, 10AM-12PM
• Appreciation Morning Tea – Pukekohe – Tuesday 7th March, 10AM-12PM
• Appreciation Afternoon Tea – Manurewa – Tuesday 7th March, 1PM-2PM
• Appreciation Luncheon – Paeroa – Friday 10th March, 10AM-2PM

If you don’t know of any events in your area, check with your Caregiver social worker to see what’s happening.

If you would like to attend any of these events please click on the link below to our Foster Care Awareness Week page on our website and look for the Auckland South Events. If you would like to attend the Pasifika Talanoa event, please look for the separate section on the page with this heading.

I’m looking forward to catching up with some old friends and making new ones this year.

Kia pai to rā.  Have a lovely day.

Nyvonne