Today we had our weekly meeting, and it seems like we have now got more into the flow of things in terms of general knowledge regarding the service, our roles, and our upcoming plans. Unfortunately, our service partner Apex Harmony Lodge still hasn’t responded to our service’s email about reaching out to them for online calls, however we didn’t let this setback hinder our organisational plans. As a result, we spent the majority of the session split into groups and planning activities to do with each resident when the opportunity to digitally meet them arises. In my group which included Kian and Lila (communications officer), we were given a resident named Auntie Lucy who we may potentially have. We then planned activities in accordance with her interest, so this entailed listening to music and making drawings considering her passions included old sing-along songs and art. Along with this, we learned some tips from previous members of the service (our chairs) about interacting with the residents. This was helpful because it really aided in the planning process, particularly when making slides introducing ourselves. For example, the advice given lead us to include large prompts on certain slides to ensure they’re engaged and to facilitate a connection. Additionally, I learned that speaking slowly and guiding conversations revolving around opinion rather than fact is crucial when communicating. As a whole, although we are off to a relatively slow start, this allows for thorough planning and organisation of activities which will consequently be as effective as possible when put into action. Below is a photo taken during our meeting with Auntie Lucy when we conducted some reading passages with her.
