Welcome to the Team, Ezra!
3rd Circle is happy to introduce our new Quality Assurance Supervisor, Ezra Vert-Levine!
Ezra is happily married to his love-at-first-site wife, Alysa, who is a sturdy anchor in a troubled sea that keeps him focused. As Alysa is Jewish, Ezra joined her in celebrating Jewish holidays initially, but connected with it on a deeper level and has joined her in her religious views. They have a 2 1/2 year old son named Phin together who has redefined Ezra’s perception on life as he works to build a better world for him.
Ezra has many hobbies from board games to video games to collecting to LARPing! When he was going to school he became very involved in Live Action Role Play with a few groups. Ezra always played characters that would give him a chance to interact with other players as his goal was not to win, but to create bonds and special moments with his fellow LARPers.
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Ezra is a perma-local! He grew up in Waterford/White Lake area, and while he moved to New Jersey to attend school, he returned back to Michigan in 2013 and landed a job working with special needs students at Waterford Schools. Ezra spent 8 years advocating for his students with special needs, not only with their education but offering tools and skills to help them be independent at home and in the community. As proud as he was that his students grew and moved on without him, Ezra realized that he was only doing so much for them and wanted to flourish and branch out so that he can offer more. Which brings Ezra to 3rd Circle to offer his gentle, caring support to the individuals, staff, guardians, and admin team! His primary goal is to help better lives for those that are not offered as many opportunities as some of us and he is excited to be able to offer that long term for our individuals!
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Make Your Own Private Activity Center! |
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What better way to fight discouragement and boredom than by setting up an activity center in your own home! Some of our homes are focusing on creating a hobby room or activity spot for the individuals. This way, regardless of Covid restrictions or the weather everyone can have an opportunity to stay sane and enjoy themselves a little!
Staff should take some time to figure out what hobbies the individuals like and grow from there! Some ideas are puzzles, board games, card games, knitting, coloring, spa setups, reading, cooking, etc. Managers can then take some personal funds and set up the home with items that help build that hobby for the individual. Then, they can create a small space to store these items so that when someone is feeling bored, they can go to their "fun corner" and find what speaks to them most in that moment!
Hobbies are a great way for individuals to bond with their roommates or staff as well. If there is some tension between 2 people, putting a common goal in front of them both can easily settle any past feelings and bring them together, just like Laronda and Jennifer over at our Melvin home!
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Laser Tag, Arcade Games, and Bonding Roommates
Running out of fun things to do? Zap Zone is a one-stop-shop for an entire day of fun! Our Laurelton home made a small trip out on Friday to the Waterford Zap Zone. Grace, Ashley, and Meredith made their way through the arcade playing as many games as they could. Ashley's favorite game was the Batmobile, Meredith's favorite game was Laser Tag, and Grace's favorite game was Deal or No Deal. As you can see below, Grace and Ashley won a ton of tickets they were able to spend on trinkets they could take home to keep!
When visiting the home before the visit, the girls were excited to go and recapping other fun trips they have taken together in the past. They even showed me their wax hands they made a few years ago at the Renaissance Festival. Meredith, Ashley, and Grace have built a bunch of memories together and plan to continue to do so in the future! There is a link to Zap Zone in the Other Activities links, as well as Round1 which is similar in Auburn Hills. If you like arcade games or fun games check them out!
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Staff Sidebar:
Setting Up Your Home For Success!
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Communication can be tough between staff when you do not get a chance to work next to someone. Luckily, there are many ways to battle that breakdown and ensure that all employees are setup for success!
An easy, effective way to begin is by posting a Daily Breakdown and Monthly Schedule. Melvin shared their new schedules with us to give everyone an idea of what you can do for your home! The daily routine is a tool to help keep the individual's structure secure regardless of who is on shift-especially if you have help from another home's staff or for new employees getting their footing. The routine also assists in making sure that staff does not miss a step and that staff is not doing something that has already been done that day, while keeping the individuals on the routine they are used to. The Monthly schedule is great to use for the individual's appointments, special events, and birthdays. This helps to make sure nothing get missed, it keeps everyone on track, and you are able to plan for your next shift knowing what is coming!
The right tools can help every staff member feel empowered and confident with their role in the home, which in turn builds that trust with the individuals as they know they can rely on them! You can also get a plethora of paperwork, guidelines, and training policies from the office for an information binder if that helps breakdown more resources for staff. There is no shortage of possibilities for what YOU can do to build the right environment that is successful for staff and still a home for the individuals!
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This Month, 3rd Circle took a trip down to the theatre to see Tom and Jerry The Movie on Friday, April 30th! We were able to give other homes the chance to go and we hope to give everyone a chance throughout the coming months. So far, we have had a lot of success in our Movie Days so 3rd Circle is happy to keep the momentum going! If you have any preferences for what you would like to see in the future, let us know so that we can make it fun for everyone!
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3rd Circle Presents:
Tom & Jerry
The Movie
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Big Shoutout to ALICE TOUROO our home manager over at Pines who has really stepped up and out of her home for 3rd Circle this past month!
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Food: Pizza
Favorite Music: Little bit of Everything
Alice has great communication, so when we reached out she got back with us right away to help how she could! Alice covered 100+ hours of open shifts over the past few weeks to help out a few other homes in a pinch. On top of that, she even took a few hours to go to another home and train a new employee on a procedure so that they could feel confident about it! To show our appreciation, Alice is May's Employee of the Month and will receive a $100 bonus! Thank you for all that you do!
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MONTHLY ROCKSTARS!!
Perfect Timesheets:
Snow Apple
Monthly Paperwork:
Heritage
Newsletter Submissions:
Rolunda Hardiman
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Happy Anniversary
Bernard & Donna Kamen!
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OTHER ACTIVITIES GOING ON! |
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Homemade French Bread Pizza |
1 Large Loaf of French Bread
2 cups Pizza Sauce
1 bag of Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
2 tablespoons of Butter
Dash of Garlic Powder
Your Favorite Pizza Toppings!
- Preheat the oven to 350*F
- Split the French Bread in half (long way) and place open side up on a sheet pan
- Spread thin layer of butter on both sides of the french bread, then sprinkle with garlic powder
- Bake for 5-10 minutes or until lightly toasted and pull out, let cool for a few minutes
- Smooth sauce over both sides of the bread
- Sprinkle a light layer of mozzarella over both sides
- Place as many of your favorite toppings on top of breads how you would like it most
- Sprinkle more cheese on top of both sides
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown
- Rest for a few minutes and Chow Down!
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NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS CAN BE SENT TO nallen.3rdcircle@gmail.com |
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