INDEX

Book a Flu Shot now (continued) 2

Whats On May 3-4

Quick and Easy Meals 5

Recipes 6

Generalised Anxiety in Children 7

Free Workshop Flyer 8

Calendar 9

May Newsletter

Book a Flu Shot now

Australias leading influenza expert body the Influenza Specialist Group (ISG) is urging Australians to book a flu shot now to ensure the best possible protection from flu.

This year the WA government has funded a program offering free flu vaccinations to all children aged 6 months to 5 years and as in previous years the vaccine is also free for pregnant women.

Experts including the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Influenza (ATAGI) and The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) recommend influenza vaccine for children aged 6 months to 5 years and for pregnant women.

The World Health Organisation recommends that pregnant women should receive the highest priority for influenza vaccination.

1. To protect themselves - Getting the flu can cause serious problems when you are pregnant.

2. To protect their baby - When you get your influenza vaccination, your body starts to make antibodies that help protect you against the flu. Antibodies can be passed on to your unborn baby and help protect the baby for up to 6 months after he or she is born.

(Cont On Pg 2) If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter

please email cforc@amityhealth.com.au

AMITY HEALTH CforC NEWSLETTER 2015 | 5 PAGE 2

Great Southern Early Years Network growing our children together

Conference - Albany

July 19th and 20th 2015

The Great Southern Early Years Network is hosting an Early Years (birth - 8 years) Conference in Albany, on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th July 2015.

The theme of the conference is Building CapacityGrowing our Children Together and recognises children as a shared responsibility of the whole community. The conference will include hands-on sessions as well as some inspirational guest speakers.

Maggie Dent, Mem Fox, Paul Prichard and Associate Professor Sally Brinkman are just a handful of the inspiring speakers.

For more information visit www.gseyn.org.au/ and like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/gseyn

Influenza is a highly contagious illness that impacts quality of life. It can cause complications such as pneumonia or worsening of other illnesses in those who are vulnerable. The flu virus is constantly changing, so it is necessary to get vaccinated every year.

Influenza vaccination is available free for people who are at high risk including:

Pregnant Women Children 6 months to 5 years of

age Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from 15 years of age.

Those who are 65 years of age and over Those who are medically at risk due to existing medical conditions such as heart disease,

asthma, diabetes, chronic lung disease, chronic illness, diseases of the nervous system and those with impaired immunity.

Vaccines are now available from GP surgeries, Great Southern Population Health and Aboriginal Health Services.

To make an appointment for vaccination call your GP or reception at Great Southern Population Health Population Health in Albany on 9842 7500.

We understand this information to be accurate and current at the date of publication: May 2015. This page and the information it contains is not intended as a substitute for professional consultation with a qualified practitioner. For further information visit. www.immunise.health.gov.au www.isg.org.au www.flusmart.org.au or www.healthywa.wa.gov.au

ALBANY

Australian Breastfeeding Association Meets every Thursday 10am - 12 at 18 Chester Pass Rd. (Albany Playgroup). A variety of topics discussed. All mothers, support people, babies/toddlers welcome.

To speak to a local ABA counsellor call Emilynne 9844 1458. Visit our website www.breastfeeding.asn.au or call our national helpline 24hr/ 7days a week 1800 686 268

Albany Breastfeeding Centre 99 Collie St. Appointments available Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons. Please call 9842 7561

Albany Babywearers Meets twice per month (next meet 18th May), 10am-12pm

at the Church of Living Waters. Discuss safe baby carrier

use, share tips & see demos. Contact

albanybabywearers@gmail.com or www.facebook.com/

groups/albanybabywearers or call Lisa 0475 193 836 for

more information.

Play in the Park Tues 10-12 Cull Park, with Storytime, Campbell Rd. Fri 10-12 Lange Park, Bayonet Head. YMCA

Rainbow Coast Neighbourhood Centre 219 North Road Ph: 98418254: Free and low cost activities, call ahead for crche availability.

Bouncing Back Mon 9.15am Mums the Word Mon 11.45am and Thurs 9.30am Messy Maestros Tues 10am-11am starts 20th October Multiple Births Wed 9.15 am Garden GrubsWed 3:30pm Wednesday Women Wed 11:30am Early Parenting Wed 1:30pm Baby Rhyme Time Thurs 1:30pm Playgroup Fri 9:30am Produce Swap and Share 1st Sat of the month 10am-12pm Time Out Fridays Fri 12.30 2.30pm

Albany Library Story Time (2-4 yrs) Thurs and Sat 10.30am, Rhyme time (0-3 yrs) Wed and Fri 10.30am. Call 9841 9390.

Albany Museum 10am 4:30pm daily, range of activities, free - $5

Albany Playgroup 18 Chester Pass Rd. Caryn 0400 209 767.

ALAC Swim School All ages and stages welcome. Contact Nola on 98442274 or E: nolao@albany.wa.gov.au with any queries.

Immunisation Clinic Tues 1.30-4pm at Population Health, Warden Avenue. Thurs 1.30-4pm at Population Health, Warden Avenue. Please call 9842 7500 to make an appointment.

Little Grove Playgroup Tues & Fri 9am Little Grove Progress Hall. Contact Rebecca 0411 858 567

Mt Lockyer Primary School Playgroup Wednesdays term time: 9am-12noon at "Our Place" Bring a piece of fruit to share. For details call Christine 9841 1166 or christine.tozer@education.wa.edu.au

Mt Lockyer Child and Parent Centre Mt Lockyer Primary School demountable opposite Tuck Shop on South Coast Hwy. Contact Sarah Pegden: 0408 806 405 or spegden@wanslea.asn.au

Free activities for 0-5 year olds:

Rhyme timestarting 20th October, running every Monday thereafter from 9:3010:30am

Jumping Joeysenergetic sessions, every Tues from 9:30-10:30am.

My Time Support group for parents of children with special needs. Weds at 9.30 am. Wanslea call Di on 9842 9998

PCYC 77 Sanford Rd. Host a wide range of low cost youth activities Toddler Gym- Mon, Thurs at 10am Kindy Gym- Tues 4.30pm Strike II - Fri 7:30 pm Gym - Mon, Thurs, Fri 4pm, Sat 8:15, 9:45 am Jnr Rangers- Tues 6 pm Police Rangers-Tues 6:30 pm Contact 9842 1716 or 9841 6672 for after school care.

Rainbow Coast Toy Library Open Friday and Saturday 10am-12noon Located behind PCYC building Children 0-8 years. E: rctoylibrary@hotmail.com

Whats On in the Great Southern for May 2015

AMITY HEALTH CforC NEWSLETTER 2015 | 5 PAGE 3

National Families Week: 15-21 May 2015 Each year, tens of thousands of people and hundreds of organisations celebrate National Families Week - Australia's annual cele-bration of families.

The aim of National Families Week 2015 is to celebrate the vital role that families play in Australian society. The 2015 theme is 'Stronger Families, Stronger Communities' which highlights the important role families play as the central building block of our communities and that community wellbeing is enhanced by family wellbeing.

National Families Week is a time to celebrate with your family, make contact with your extended family and friends, and share in the enjoyment of family activities within the wider community. It is a time to celebrate the meaning of family and to make the most of family life.

BORNHOLM Western Districts Playgroup

Thursday 9.30am.Bornholm Hall, Lower Denmark Rd. Renee 0458 149 735.

BREMER BAY

Playgroup Tues mornings at Bremer Bay CRC, call Veronica Thomas 0413 761 370

Play in the Park 1st Wed of the month, 10-12noon (term time only), Pelican Park (next to Library). Run by YMCA and Albany Public Library, contact 0409 048 204 or 9841 9331

DENMARK Rhyme time & Story time

Mon 11am & Story time Thurs 11am, Library, Strickland St. Ph: 9848 3006

Play in the Park 2nd Wed of the month, 10-12noon (term time only, Berridge Park (off Hollings Rd). Run by YMCA and Albany Public Library, contact 0409 048 204 or 9841 9331

Bubs & Bellies Tues 10am-12pm, Denmark Family Place-Denmark Primary School, Ph: 9848 0800

FRANKLAND RIVER Playgroup

Thurs 10am Community Centre 55 Wingebellup Road. Christen tcwcrichards@bigpond.com

GNOWANGERUP Play & Mothers Group

Tues 9.30am, Family Centre Building, Whitehead Rd, Julie 9827 9219.

Story time Thurs 9.30am, Gnowangerup Shire Library.

KENDENUP Playgroup

Tues 9.30 at Kendenup Hall. Story time

Fri 9.00 am at Kendenup PS

KATANNING

Katanning Public Library Storytime and Baby Rhyme Time at 10 am on alternating Tues. Contact Sue on 9841 4300

Badgebup Playgroup Wed 9.30am Badgebup Hall

Walk & Talk Wed 9am. Ph: 9821 2009.

Katanning Playgroup For families with children between 0 - 5 years. Wed, Thurs and Fri 9.30am12pm. 84 Conroy St (opposite public pool) E: katanningplaygroup@yahoo.com.au or like Katanning Playgroup on Facebook

Toy Library Tues 11-12 & Sat 10.30 11.30am Katanning Library, Austral Tce.

Play, Fun and Learn Mon 9.30-11.30 (for migrant families), Wed 10 -12 (open to all). Tues 9-11.30am Kitchen Garden (open mixed group). Based at Coolingah. Call Leanne at Wanslea 98211 1102

KOJONUP Playgroup

Thurs 9.30am Spring St

Toy Library Tues 9.30am, playgroup building

MANYPEAKS Manypeaks Play Caf

Tues 9-10.30am, Mount Manypeaks Primary School. Contact Fiona 9846 1269

MT BARKER Parent Group

Alternate Thursdays 10:30-12noon for parents with babies up to 6 months old, Child Health Clinic. Contact Carolyn Oliff 9851 1451

Mt Barker Toy Library Thurs 10-11.30 am, 1st Sat of the month 9:30-10.30 at Mt Barker CRC, Robin on 0402 115 680 or mtbarkertoy-library@gmail.com

Play in the Park with story time 10-12 Thurs, Mt Barker Library. YMCA.

Mt Barker Playgroup Wed mornings at the RSL Club, Booth St. Contact Tara 0448 124 443.

Lift Off to Learn 9.30-11.30am during term time. KP1, Mt Barker College. Fun for Aboriginal Families in the Plantagenet Area. Start your kids learning journey from birth. Run by Wanslea. Contact 9843 0077 or 0448 137198.

NYABING Nyabing Playgroup

9.00-11.00am on Thursdays. CWA Hall, Richmond St. Ph: 9828 5200 or E: jehobley@bigpond.com

PINGRUP Play in the Park

4th Wed of the month, 10-12noon (term time only), Burston Park. Run by YMCA and Albany Public Library. Contact 0409 048 204 or 9841 9331

SOUTH STIRLING South Stirling Playgroup

Tuesday 9.30 to 11.30am, South Stirling Hall.

TAMBELLUP Family Playgroup

Crowden St, Tues 10am term time. Rebecca 9825 1372. Indigenous Parenting Playgroup

Fri 9.30am Primary School. Play in the Park

3rd Wed of the month, 10-12noon (term time only, Diprose Park. Run by YMCA and Albany Public Library. Contact 0409 048 204 or 9841 9331

WALPOLE Early Years Playgroup

Tues 10am Walpole Primary School. 9840 1020

WELLSTEAD Playgroup

Wed 9.30-11.30am, Wellstead Primary School

Whats On in the Great Southern for May 2015

AMITY HEALTH CforC NEWSLETTER 2015 | 5 PAGE 4

Cook more than you need and freeze meal sized portions for another time or for lunches

Make use of frozen vegetables to serve with meals or add to leftovers for lunches.

Serve leftovers or no added salt baked beans on toast or in a jacket potato

Open a can of tuna, drain and stir through cooked pasta. Add some frozen peas. But remember to add vegetables on the side

Serve no added salt tinned chopped tomatoes or sardines on toast

Cook an omelette and add some chopped fresh or frozen vegetables. Serve with wholemeal toast

Cook a lean piece of meat or piece of skinless chicken. Slice while warm and toss over salad vegetables

Open a can of salt reduced tomato soup and add frozen vegetables and a can of drained legumes without added salt. Serve with wholemeal toast or a roll.

Cook a base recipe that can be used in a number of different ways

By having a number of strategies for quick and easy meals, you can make sure all your meals are

nutritious and include foods from the five food groups. You will also need far fewer convenience and

takeaway products that tend to be higher in saturated fat, added sugars and added salt.

Cook once, but eat often

500g lean beef mince

2 tsp unsaturated oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 medium carrot, diced 1 stick celery, diced

1 clove garlic, crushed, optional

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp no added salt tomato paste

3/4 cup water or no added salt stock

Heat a nonstick pan, add the oil and fry the onion, carrot and cel-ery for a few minutes, then add the garlic if using and fry until fra-grant and soft. Add the beef mince and brown, breaking up the clumps of meat with the edge of wooden spoon so that the meat cooks in fine pieces. Add the water or stock, tomato paste and oyster or worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, turn the heat to low and simmer, covered for about 20 minutes to let the flavours develop.

Base Recipe - Easy Mince

SERVES 6

AMITY HEALTH CforC NEWSLETTER 2015 | 5 PAGE 5

Information sourced from eatforhealth.gov.au

AMITY HEALTH CforC NEWSLETTER 2015 | 5 PAGE 6

Easy Mince = curry

Add curry powder or curry paste to taste to a serve of Easy Mince, along with a handful of tinned, rinsed chickpeas and a handful of frozen green peas or spinach. Before serving squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top. Serve with steamed basmati rice, a dollop of natural yoghurt, fresh co-riander leaves and chutney.

Easy Mince = stuffed capsicum

Mix a serve of Easy Mince with about the same amount of leftover cooked brown rice and a few sliced black olives. Cut the top from a red capsicum and scoop out the seeds and white membrane. Stuff with the Easy Mince mixture and bake for 45 minutes in a moderate oven, or until the capsicum is soft.

Easy Mince = pasta bake

Add a tin of no added salt tomatoes to a serve of Easy Mince and cook to combine the flavours. Cook wholemeal penne pasta for half the time recom-mended on the pack, then drain, mix with the sauce, pile into a casserole dish, Top with grated cheese and bake until the top is golden and crispy. Serve with a salad.

Easy Mince = Mexican tacos

To a serve of Easy Mince add half a tin of drained kidney beans, half a tea-spoon of paprika and chilli to taste. Cook for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to mix. Serve in a warm tortilla with shredded iceberg lettuce, slices of avo-cado and diced tomato.

Easy Mince = Beef and sweet potato pie

Peel and boil a potato and half a sweet potato. Mash with a little unsatu-rated margarine and hot milk and season to taste. Pile a serve of Easy Mince into an ovenproof dish and top with the mash. Dot with little pieces of unsaturated margarine and bake until golden on top and hot all the way through.

Easy Mince = Lunch special

Heat a serve of Easy Mince and add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Serve on toast and scatter chopped fresh parsley over the top.

Use the Easy Mince Recipe to create these delicious family meals

Information sourced from eatforhealth.gov.au, Images sourced from taste.com.au

AMITY HEALTH CforC NEWSLETTER 2015 | 5 PAGE 7

Generalised Anxiety in Children All children worry, but too much worrying can be a sign of generalised anxiety. This is a tendency to worry about many areas of life, anything from friendships to world events. You can help a child who experiences generalised anxiety learn to handle and overcome her worries.

Identifying generalised anxiety in children Generalised anxiety typically emerges when children reach school age. Its not often seen in younger children.

Children with generalised anxiety might:

worry about lots of things for example, health, schoolwork, per-

forming at school or in sports, money, safety, world events

feel the need to be perfectionists

be scared of asking or answering questions in class

find it hard to perform in tests

be afraid of new or unfamiliar situations

seek constant reassurance

complain about feeling sick when worried.

Its easy not to notice generalised anxiety in children. Children who have it can work very hard in the classroom and other situations. It can be difficult to know theyre constantly worrying. But they will often ask lots of questions, over and over, in new situations for example, Whats going to happen? or What if ?

There are also some physical signs daydreaming, stomach aches, headaches, tiredness and inattention. Children might also spend a lot of time getting to sleep at night, because theyre worrying about the events of the next day.

Helping with generalised anxiety in children If your child is experiencing generalised anxiety, hell probably look to you for help and support.

Here are some other ideas to help your child learn to handle her generalised anxiety.

Gradually reduce the number of reassurance-seeking questions your child is able to ask you for exam-

ple, What is going to happen? If youve already answered your childs question, encourage him to think

about the situation, come up with the answers, and rely on his own judgment.

Some children use lucky charms or special clothes or objects to make a situation safe. This is OK to start

with, but consider gradually phasing them out so your child can eventually face new situations without

them. Shell learn that she can handle it on her own.

Think about whether to let your childs school or preschool know about his anxiety. Sometimes it might

be useful for the school to know about your childs worries, particularly before events such as excursions,

camps or carnivals. But it can sometimes be good not to tell the teachers, so that when your child comes

across something that make him anxious hell learn to handle it on his own.

Its tempting to give your child constant reassurance, and to help her avoid the things she worries about.

This will only make the problem worse. Its important for her to learn to handle worrying situations.

No matter how frustrated you feel, avoid criticising your child or being negative about his worry or need

for reassurance.

Make a conscious effort to foster your childs self-esteem by complimenting her and giving her lots of

positive attention.

When your child manages to calmly do something that normally makes him worry, give him lots of praise

and encouragement.

This article was sourced from the Raising Children Network. To read the full article on Generalised Anxiety in Children visit http://raisingchildren.net.au/

AMITY HEALTH CforC NEWSLETTER 2015 | 5 PAGE 8

Communities for Children - Lower Great Southern is funded by the Australian Government via the Department of Social Services.

This program is part of the Department of Social Services Families and Communities Programme (FCP) providing prevention and early intervention programs to families with children who are at risk of disadvantage and disconnected from childhood services.

Communities for Children is managed by Amity Health with the aim of overseeing the development of activities and organising funding allocations to selected community projects in the Lower Great Southern.

Additional services available from Amity Health include:

Amity Health, 136 Lockyer Avenue/PO Box 5294, Albany WA 6332 T: 9842 2797 F: 9842 2798 E: cforc@amityhealth.com.au W: www.amityhealth.com.au

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