We were so inspired by this video from last nights Neurodiversity Seminar – we hope you are too!

“Across history there has been a tendency for human beings to fear our differences. To equate difference with defectiveness, or even label our differences as disorders. We think that it is time for us to rethink the way we view our differences. We think that it is time for us to recognise that difference represents diversity, and this diversity is vital to our collective wellbeing. The more genetic diversity there is among us, the better we are able to continually adapt to our environment, as it changes and evolves…

Humans think, feel, perceive, process, and experience the world in vastly different ways. This beautiful diversity of human minds with infinite variations, traits, and abilities is known as neurodiversity.

There are minds that sense the most subtle changes in the environment. Minds that have a determined sense of social justice and minds that can create stories in worlds that most of us can only read about. There are minds that seek patterns to process and synthesise. There are minds that crave words, or numbers, or images. There are busy minds, and quiet minds, highly focused minds, and distractable minds. There are minds that think deeply, and feel intensely.

When we value neurodiversity as a form of genetic diversity as part of the biodiversity of planet earth, we start to value our differences, and see that they do not require curing, treating or masking. We see that our differences can be accepted, appreciated and respected. We start to support each other to find a place in this world, and flourish as individuals, while increasing the resilience of humanity as a whole!”

Samson and Bulluss Psychology

We hope you enjoyed tonight’s Raising Neurodiverse Kids Seminar.

We’d love to hear your feedback, by completing a short survey at this link:

https://forms.gle/rEEoDRpJ316nV8xWA

Resources

CLICK HERE for the PDF of all the slides shown tonight.

CLICK HERE for a PDF of more resources about ADHD we’ve put together.

There are lots of websites, with some great tools, resources, and ideas too. Here are some of our favourites:

https://autismnz.org.nz/

https://www.adhd.org.nz/

https://www.altogetherautism.org.nz/

https://sparklers.org.nz/wh%C4%81nau/

https://parentingplace.nz/

https://biglifejournal.com/

https://gozen.com/

Also here’s a link from Listening to Families, which has Videos on various wellbeing topics including ADHD and Autism:

https://www.listeningtofamilies.co.nz/#Topics

Do follow the Mana Ake Facebook page for more updates and resources for parents.

“Poipoia te kākano kia puawai”: “Nurture the seed (child) so that it blooms”.

The Mana Ake & Youth Alive Trust Teams

Students from Ara Institute of Canterbury have just completed the repainting of a community sports gym in New Brighton. Painting and Decorating students took their learnings out of the classroom, to repaint a worn and torn sports gym at Grace Vineyard.  The gym is used daily by young people attending Youth Alive Trust programmes, plus many other groups. Trust Manager, James Ridpath said “It was a win, win, win for all! The students needed a place to practise their skills and be assessed by tutors, the gym has had 10 years of wear and tear and really needing a freshen-up, and Resene and Haydn chipped in to provide some of the paint and materials, to promote their products to the students and support our charity work too! Amazing!” The Grace Vinyard Beach Campus building used to be a supermarket over 35 years ago, but is now a community hub and church used by hundreds of people every week. “With advice from Resene and our own creatives, we chose Delta Grey with big splashes of Turbo Yellow. It certainly stands out and the young people said it looks great”. The gym is used by most of their 8 after school clubs, holiday programmes, basketball training, other local schools, alternative education schools, a weekly winter inter-schools table tennis competition, pre-school groups and more! The trust is now applying for funding towards a digital scoreboard as part of the finishing touches.

Our Holiday Programme bookings for the first week of the upcoming school holidays are now LIVE!!! It is a full 5 day week, with all 3 age groups as normal:

• Kea (School Years 1-3) – including a trip up the Antarctic Centre, Inflatable World and lots of games!!
• Pukeko (School Years 4-6) – including a trip to Inflatable World, The Cinema and an Art Gallery activity.
• Piwakawaka (School Years 6-9) – including a trip to Hanmer Springs, Ice Skating and lots of fun challenges.

Website link:

www.yat.org.nz/holiday-programmes/holiday-programme-years-1-9/

Children in School Year 6, can book for either Piwakawaka or Pukeko. This is to encourage those feeling too old for Pukeko and to help with the transition for those going into that age group next year anyway. Please chose one of the other, not both programmes in the same week though.

Note: Activities are subject to change, due to weather, staffing or other circumstances.

Priority Bookings

Youth Alive Trust are only accepting bookings from previous families who have registered for our programmes in the past 12 months up until 12noon Wednesday 11^th June. This is to provide time for our regulars to make a booking, so they don’t miss out. After 12noon Wednesday, we will accept bookings from anyone else.

Oscar Subsidy

Check out if you’re eligible for government subsidies – it keeps going up!  If you have 3 or more children, you now need to be earning more than $3,004 per week to not be eligible for any support. If you have 2 children, you need to be earning more than $2,670 per week and if just 1 child, $2,336 per week (gross).  Many probably don’t realise they will qualify, if they just jump through a few bits of paperwork. The subsidy is only for those in work or study who need childcare. Click on the link below for full information about applying for the subsidy:

Out of School Care and Recreation (OSCAR) Subsidy – Work and Income

Booking Confirmation Policy

If you click that you’re applying for a government subsidy, then YAT’s policy is to only ‘confirm’ your booking once we’ve received your completed WINZ forms. We need to sign your form, so this can be dropped off at reception anytime in office hours, and we can send the paperwork to WINZ for you. OR, once we’ve signed it, we can take a copy, in case WINZ loose it (which does happen) and you can take it all into WINZ yourself.

Your booking will sit in the ‘Pending’ category for a week, until we’ve seen the paperwork. If we’ve not seen the paperwork, there is a chance your booking will be cancelled unless you get in touch to explain circumstances: rego@yat.org.nz

A reminder that you and we often don’t find out about how much WINZ will contribute to your holiday programme fees until after the programme, so you are responsible for any shortfall to be paid as soon as possible.

Bookings

All Bookings are done online at: https://yat.aimyplus.com

Here’s a reminder of how to make a booking after logging in:

– Click on ‘Make a booking’

– Select childs name

– Choose Programme Venue: ‘Youth Alive Oscar’

– Select ‘Holiday Programme’ & click ‘Next’

– If booking for holiday programmes, select ‘July Holidays 2025’.

– Select the programme appropriate to your child’s age & select all the days you want to book

– Click ‘Next’, ’Next’ and ’Finish’

There are 3 options for payment at the time of booking:

1. Bank Transfer (no fee for you). Please reference ‘HP’ and ‘Your Name’
2. Visa or Mastercard – Credit or Visa Debit (2.5%)
3. WINZ Client. You will need to input your client number into your profile before choosing this option. As above, it will stay ‘PENDING’ for a week until we have signed the paperwork.

2025 Holiday Programmes

30^th June – 4^th July 2025

22^nd – 26^th September 2025

Pre-Christmas 2025 (tbc)

Any issues or questions about programmes, registrations or cancelations, please email us at: rego@yat.org.nz

Any finance questions, please email us at: accounts@yat.org.nz

Thankful Thursday – Today, we are thankful for Valerie! Valerie has been a part of YAT for many years. She first joined us as a child at our programs, and now she’s a leader at both Kitchen Klub and Craft Club!

Let’s get to know Valerie:

How long have you been a leader at YAT?

“I have been volunteering at YAT for over a year now.”

What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

“I play guitar and bass, love drawing, and enjoy skating in my free time.”

Why do you volunteer at YAT?

“I volunteer at YAT because I love meeting new people, helping kids with what they need, and giving back to my community.”

Thank you, Valerie! We truly appreciate the care and support you give to our tamariki!

Thankful Thursday! Today we’re shining a spotlight on Phil – one of our incredible volunteers who continues to make a big impact at YAT!

Phil has been part of the YAT whānau for many years, starting as a young person in our programmes before stepping into leadership. He’s now one of our dedicated volunteer leaders at Rock Solid, and we’re so grateful for the energy, care, and consistency he brings every week.

Let’s get to know Phil a little better:

How long have you been at YAT?

“I was one of the young people for about 7 years and then moved on to volunteering on and off for about 8 years.”

What do you love doing in your spare time?

“In my spare time I enjoy playing/watching football and also playing cornhole for Papanui Club.”

Why do you volunteer at YAT?

“I volunteer at YAT because I think it creates an amazing and safe place for kids and young adults to have some fun and create new friendships.”

Thanks for all you do, Phil! You’re a huge part of what makes YAT so special!

If you’re a parent – then understanding the online world through the eyes of your kids is a must! Lock into your diary this FREE workshop for Parents by @Tāima Kōrero – Time2Talk.nz at Queenspark Te Hua Mānuka School Hall, 7pm next Tuesday May 13th.

The 90 minute presentation by Brett Harvey will give you knowledge and tools to effectively navigate those awkward conversations about what’s online. Find out more info at the Tāima Kōrero website, or register for your free ticket at: tinyurl.com/Queenspark-Korero

Hosted and funded by our amazing Mana Ake – Stronger for Tomorrow team.

We love our Mana Ake team who work everyday supporting whānau at home, in school and by running parenting courses and seminars. Here’s some feedback from parents who recently completed a Tuning into Kids course:

– “It is so amazing that this course is free, it has been so helpful and I wouldn’t have been able to do it if it cost to attend.”

– “I’ve seen such a big change in my son over the last 7 or 8 weeks, We still have bad days but they are so much easier now”.

– “I wish we could do it all again, thankyou so much.”

If you’re keen on some more hints and tips, check out the parenting courses ran by Mana Ake – Stronger for Tomorrow all over Canterbury and online:

https://manaake.health.nz/supporting-your-child/supporting-your-childs-wellbeing/parenting-courses/

Happy Birthday Shelly! Thanks for being an awesome Oscar Coordinator!