The beautiful tradition of bringing Christmas trees into the home began when a German pastor wanted to recapture for his family the beauty and brilliance of stars twinkling through evergreen trees.

He erected a fir tree in the main room of his house and wired lighted candles to it.

His desire to bring joy into his home and share it with his family underpins our own tradition of Sally, Mary Ann and families visiting as many of our homes as we can to help decorate Christmas trees. It is a time for us to share joy and celebrate with our staff and our residents across all of our homes and retirement villages.

And of course, it has been a year in which we have many more staff and residents.

We welcomed seven new homes and two retirement villages into the McKenzie Group and we cannot thank our staff enough for their hard work and dedication during this time. Thank you for making sure that we remain a place where people are not only cared for but cared about.

We hope that this Christmas is a time of sharing and celebration for our residents, their families and friends and our staff.

Have a very Merry Christmas.

Christmas – a time of sharing and celebration

CHRISTMAS 2015

Above: Carols by Candlelight at SandBrookRight: Decorated Christmas Tree at The Terraces

At a glanceMcKenzie 2015 Annual Awards

Staff and volunteers were recognised for their achievement and commitment at the annual awards evening in November.

Final stage of CapellaBay opened by local Mayor

Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams officially opened the third and final stage of CapellaBay on 23 November.

A thought for the new yearIn speaking with a resident who is a great age, we agreed that, in the end, we are left with more questions than answers.

I thought of some words I committed to memory some years ago: Life is not so much a problem to be solved as it is a mystery to be lived in openness and love.

Let’s resolve to be open and loving as we move beyond 2015.

Keith Cameron-Smith

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Keith’s columnDuring the month of November, Memorial Services were conducted in all of our homes. Over 300 former residents were remembered. Many family members attended the services, returning to the home that had been the final place of residence for their loved one.

For many of those families, Christmas will not be the same. The matriarch will not be there. Dad will be missing this year.

Did your grandmother always make the Christmas pudding, as mine did? Did your dad always carve the ham?

Yet, life goes on. Babies are born, little children still enjoy the wonder and excitement of Christmas morning. Lovely traditions continue to be observed.

The ancient wisdom teaches that there is a time for everything; a season for every matter under heaven – a time to be born and a time to die, a time for laughter and a time for weeping…

It is so important to embrace and courageously live the seasons of life – the joys and the sorrows; the hellos and goodbyes – to be a source of comfort and encouragement to each other and to live with the unselfishness of love.

May your Christmas be rich with beauty and meaning.

Keith Cameron-Smith Resident and Staff Support Officer

Staff and volunteers were recognised for their achievement and commitment at the annual awards evening in November.

Congratulations to all residences, staff and volunteers who were nominated, and to the 31 finalists.

The Winners:

Volunteers of the Year

Fred Carr, Glasshouse Views

Fred has volunteered at Glasshouse Views for nearly 10 years with his wife Joyce. He is heavily involved in a huge range of activities including running the Men’s Club, Laughter Club, Sing-a-longs, Church Services and many more. When accepting his award at the ceremony on the Gold Coast he managed to get everyone up and singing “If you’re happy and you know it”.

Caroline Bell, Rosebrook

Carol has volunteered at Rosebrook for the last two-and-a-half years. Carol helps with activities such as bingo, board games, puzzles, craft, manicures and spends one-on-one time with our residents.

Krys Hacking, SandBrook

Krys is a wonderful part of our team and volunteers her time to support the residents at SandBrook. Krys attends as a volunteer with the church, and also runs small art classes at SandBrook, where Residents are assisted to produce beautiful, dignified art.

Contribution to Cornerstones Award

Brett Stephenson, Professional Development Facilitator

Brett is a valuable member of the team. He goes about his work with passion, care and is so supportive of staff and residents alike.

Resident and Family Satisfaction Award – highest achieving facility

Glasshouse Views

This award goes to the residence that scored the highest in the Press Ganey Resident and Family Satisfaction Survey conducted at each home during the year. A big congratulations to Glasshouse Views, who achieved this result in a time of considerable change with the change of ownership to McKenzie earlier this year.

McKenzie 2015 Annual Awards

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Activities Tour

Floral fancies – Residents at Buderim Views had a lovely time in their floral arrangement workshop where they made pretty posies.

Argh me hearties – International Talk Like A Pirate Day was a big hit in many of our homes with staff and residents dressing up and of course, talking like pirates (Bribie Cove, above).

Harold and his puddings – Congratulations to Harold from Heritage Lodge, whose homemade puddings were a hit at our market day!

Pimp my ride – Sutton Park residents got festive by decorating their wheelie frames for the silly season.

Frocks, fascinators, fillies, food and fun – Spring Carnival Racing Week was a fabulous week with many of our homes showing the Melbourne Cup on the big screen, holding Fashions on the Field, Cup sweeps and high teas (SandBrook, above).A Cinderella Story – Raffles put on a fantastic Cinderella Pantomime

in September with residents, staff, ballet students and even the local GP getting involved. Everyone was very excited to see pictures of this wonderful event on the news and in the paper.

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Merry Christmas and happy new year from the McKenzie family and Executive Team.

McKenzie residencesVictoria

Charlesbrook 1 Innisfallen AveTemplestowe VIC Lynbrook Park 42 Olive RdLynbrook VIC Newmans on the Park 33 Newmans RdTemplestowe VIC Rosebrook 441 Waterfall Gully RdRosebud VIC

Sutton Park 126-134 Exford RdMelton South VIC

The Ashley 17-21 Ashley StReservoir VIC

Queensland

Bribie Cove 199-213 Goodwin Drive Bongaree QLD Buderim Views 383 Mooloolaba Rd Buderim QLD CapellaBay 260 Old Cleveland Rd EastCapalaba QLD Glasshouse Views 96 Peachester RoadBeerwah QLD

SandBrook 10 Executive DriveBurleigh Waters QLD

Seabrook 15-29 Bonton AveDeception Bay QLD

The Terraces 74 University Drive Varsity Lakes QLD

New South Wales

Heritage Lodge 194 Byangum RdMurwillumbah NSW Raffles Peregrine DriveTweed Heads South NSW

Visit our site: mckenzieacg.com

Our latest news: mckenzieacg.com/blog

Final stage of CapellaBay opened by local MayorResidents, staff and the local community celebrated as Redland City Council Mayor Karen Williams officially opened the third and final stage of CapellaBay on 23 November.

Cr Williams said that the home is an impressive addition to the region and meets an important community need.

“Redland City is clearly a preferred location for people to spend their golden years, with more than one in five Redlanders aged 60 years or older,” Cr Williams said.

“CapellaBay gives people another option for quality, local aged care accommodation, providing continued care that will allow residents to feel at home in their own personal space and connected and supported in our community.”

A second McKenzie Aged Care residence in the Redland area has begun construction. The new facility on Smith St in Cleveland will be home to up to 128 residents.

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