Welcome to the SAIL Robinson November Newsletter!

The 'let us know' list
1. If any of your contact details have changed, please let us know.
2. If you are planning to have contact with your student outside of SAIL hours you must let us know first and complete the contact request form.
3. If you intend to bring a friend to SAIL please direct them to the website first and direct them to apply online or just let us know beforehand.
4. Let us know if you are going to miss a Saturday via the online "Can't Come Sheet".
5. Please check and read your emails each week - if possible, Friday is best!
6. Please let us know before you speak publicly or publish an article about SAIL.

SAIL Christmas Drive
The end of the year is almost upon us which means that SAIL will be closing up for 2008 on 20 December. However, the celebrations aren’t over yet! December 20 also marks SAIL’s Christmas extravaganza. As many people would be aware, this celebration culminates in a visit from a particular “man in red” and as such, we are seeking a little help so that we can give SAILors a very, merry Christmas.

If you are able to assist in the donation of presents or know of a person or business that can, we would love to hear from you. We are also seeking assistance in wrapping and organising presents in December.

If you feel that you’re able to help in any way, please let Aidan or Hannah know on Saturday or via email!
 
Double Xtend

Continuing the new Xtend format of running two Xtend activities concurrently, this cycle had art and craft workshops being held at Dandenong Robinson and bicycle education lessons at Dandenong Langhorne.

The art and craft activities saw SAILors getting involved in making cranes and giraffes with origami and constructing reading glasses and dinosaurs out of balloons and pipe cleaners. SAILors also learnt how to create homemade play-doh in one particularly messy Xtend session.

The bicycle education lessons were run by Spokes in the Wheel at the Langhorne campus. Spokes in the Wheel taught Sudanese students about cycling, safety and bike maintenance, while providing each student with a bicycle to keep. The lessons were extremely popular and SAIL and Spokes in the Wheel hope to team up again next year to repeat the success of this cycle.

Our next cycle begins on 15th November and includes singing and drumming workshops. These workshops are being run by the Song Room and will be take place at the Robinson campus.

The Xtend program runs each Saturday after lunch at SAIL for approximately an hour. If you would like to get involved in the Xtend program or know of a SAILor who would like to take part in the singing and drumming workshops, please ask Aidan or Hannah on Saturday or via email.

Theme
The current theme is ‘Melbourne Cup and Fashion’. Thank you to all the SAILors who have gotten involved in the theme and made use of theme worksheets.  This theme wraps up on 8th November.

The new ‘Summer Holidays’ theme begins on 15th November and is the final theme for the year.

Healthy Eating at SAIL

We’ve noticed that that lolly consumption at SAIL has gone a bit crazy lately. While we understand the generosity behind providing treats for the SAILors, many of the children have extremely unhealthy diets (including endless amounts of lollies, soft drink and McDonalds).

In the interest of keeping SAIL a healthy environment, we would like to set a good example for the children and promote healthy eating habits. If there is a special occasion and you would like to treat your student, could you please check with Aidan or Hannah first? This way, we can keep the sugar consumption under control. Alternatives to lollies are stickers or bubbles, which many of the kids would enjoy just as much as lollies. Thank you for keeping SAIL healthy!

Setting up and Cleaning Up
We’d like to say a big THANK YOU to everybody who assists each week in setting up and cleaning up. This is a gigantic help as it allows us to focus our attention on other matters at the beginning and end of every SAIL day.

WholeSAIL News

SAIL 7th Birthday Celebrations
On Saturday, 23 August more than 600 SAILors from all six Melbourne campuses came together to celebrate Seven Years of SAIL. The party took place at Maribyrnong College and featured performers from SAIL Dandenong, Footscray and Braybrook, as well as a short film on SAIL News. A presentation was also made to SAIL’s founder and past overseeing coordinator, Matthew Albert. Finally, a delicious chocolate birthday cake in the shape of the number seven kicked off the Birthday Lunch, an assortment of healthy salad rolls, delicious pies and cakes of all shapes and sizes. Thank you to you all for joining in the celebrations.

SAIL Tutor Survey
In recent weeks, the yearly SAIL tutor survey will have made its way into your inbox. Thank you to those who have already responded with their valuable thoughts, ideas, feedback on all things SAIL. We ask that you take the time to complete it to ensure the good ship SAIL stays on the right course.

AMES Volunteer Training
Wednesdays, 15 October-19 November, 6-8.30pm, AMES Flagstaff, Level 1, 255 William Street OR Office Hours 23 October-27 November, 10am- 12.30pm, AMES Head Office, Level 4, 1 Little Collins Street

Want to improve your tutoring skills? AMES is running training courses for volunteer tutors who work with migrant and refugee school children, with sessions taking place on a variety of dates and times in the next two months.

Places are still available for training sessions in November. Sessions are held at AMES Flagstaff, 255 William Street, with lunch provided.

Please contact Liz Round on 9926 4633 or at rounde@ames.net.au if you’d like to register. If this date doesn’t suit you, please also feel free to discuss this with Liz as there may be sessions available at other locations.

Total Trivia

Did you know? The Sudanese flag is a red, white and black tricolour with a green triangle next to the hoist. Red represents the struggle of martyrs who gave their lives for their country, white stands for peace, optimism and love, black symbolises Sudan and the Mahdiya revolution, while green is for Islam, prosperity and agriculture.
Thank you all for the time and energy you donate each week.

Smooth SAILing,

Aidan, Hannah, Cara and Nik.