Argo Trust ChristChurch Fundraising

The residents and staff of Argo took part in the Great Christchurch Bake-Off on Monday, February 28th. The aim of the Bake Off is to provide the quake affected people of Christchurch with much needed food, love and support. Most of the food and toys were collected in the morning by the event organisers and a bake sale was held at 10am to raise money.

Argo stepped up for the occasion and two large boxes full of favourites such as choc chip cookies, banana cake, brownies and a variety of tasty cupcakes were baked by staff and residents.

Additionally, staff and residents took part in the Victoria University Association Football Club fund-raising Raffle with all profits going to Red Cross Christchurch Appeal.

VUWAFC has organised a torunament to be held at the brand new Boyd Wilson Turf on Friday, March 4th from 530pm onwards. All proceeds will be donated to the Christchurch Appeal.

Argo would like to extend their support and love to all affected in one way or another by this tragic event.

Farewell to Sean Doral

Farewell to Sean Doral

There is no other way to say this: we will miss you, Sean. We will miss your presence, your wholeheartedness, your caring attitude. You have done a terrific job here at Argo, in the five years you have been with us, and we cannot thank you enough. No words were spared at your party, your peers, your managers and the trustees were clear enough in saying that you will be irreplaceable. The residents of Argo are just as sad to see you go, as they know that it’s going to be a while since they will see you again.

We are also going to miss your weird sense of humor; your awkward vision of the world, your powerful yet seldom accurate boot on the football pitch, your…special self!

We wish you luck in your future endeavors, and we hope you will come visit us in the near future. At Argo the door is always open for you, “Sean-Boy”!

Happy 40th, Glenn!!!

Happy Birthday Mr. Glenn!

On May 9^th, 2010, our dear Glenn Stewart turned 40 years old! In order to celebrate this joyous occasion, his family decided to throw him a party at the Aro Valley Community Hall.

Amongst the guests were Glenn’s flat mates at Argo, his mother Claire, brother Jared, “soon to be sister-in-law” Gemma, his lovely aunties and cousins, former Argo Manager Sandra Love and all those who have the pleasure to share their lives with Glenn at Argo.

Many of the families of Glenn’s flat mates also turned up to wish Glenny a very happy 40^th! For a few hours the guests chatted, ate, drank and celebrated this special occasion. The guest of honor himself was sitting at his family’s table and an endless stream of guests congratulated him throughout the night.

The highlight of the night was definitely the speeches. Many stories about Glenn were shared and in the general atmosphere of hilarity we all acknowledged Glenn for becoming such a unique man whom everyone loves dearly!

Happy 40^th Glenn! Keep on truckin’!

Argo Weekend M.O.V.E Program-By David Nicholson

For a couple of years now, Argo has been using the M.O.V.E program. This came from America and stands for Mobility Opportunities Via Education. Just this year, Argo purchased a walking device recommended by M.O.V.E which has helped both Aiden and Marty to develop skills on the way to being able to walk.

M.O.V.E has a breakthrough two weeks ago when Scott, learning to sit unsupported, managed to do this this for 27 minute! The longest previous sit was 10 minutes. What is most remarkable is that during those 27 minutes I have never seen Scott so alert, turning his head in both direction and searching with his eyes. M.O.V.E claim is that once a person learns to balance, other learning abilities come much more readily because the act of keeping balance "fires" other parts of the brain which otherwise would lie dormant. What Scott did demonstrate that move really does work.

by David Nicholson

The Argo Football Team

For the third year running Argo has entered a team in the Upper Hutt Multi Ethnic Tournament. Last year the team lost 2-1 to eventual champions Somalia in a very exciting semi-final game.

The 2009 edition of the so-called Mini World Cup saw Argo being placed in what has been defined by many as "the pool of death". Sugar City, Upper Hutt Police and former champions UK Kiwi are all tough opponents, with special mention to the Police, who have beaten Argo in the past, and UK Kiwi, a team which includes several former Central League players.

In the first outing, on September 5th, Argo met UK Kiwi in their first pool match. On a very sunny day the boys fought hard, and despite missing a few players, put in a very good performance against a skillful and experienced side. UK Kiwi found the lead through a Sean Doral own goal, an unlucky deflection following a corner. The Expats increased their lead just before half time.
In the second half Argo worked even harder, and applied even more pressure through the midfield, but they managed to break the seal too late. A precise Brooke Toker's drive from the edge of the box gave them hope, but it was all too little too late. UK Kiwi went 3-1 up and game over.

Despite leaving all three competition points on the field, the Argonauts (Leigh McDonald, Sean Doral and skipper Giuliano Serrao) all had kind words for their team. And they were not the only one. "You guys did well" - said an unnamed spectator "you could have managed a draw".

Argo will meet Sugar City next week, and Upper Hutt Police on September 19th, and will need to win both to qualify for the Quarter Finals.
In the other game in Group 3, the Coppers overcame Pacific Sugar City 3-0.

Finally, we would like to thank our hard core fans, including all the Argo Residents who made the trip to Upper Hutt to support us, the caregivers working on that day, our sponsor SLOW BOAT RECORDS, team manager Angie Serrao, and Clair Stewart.

Argo United Goes Professional!

We are very excited to announce the completion of the Argo United Designer Football Strip.

Over the last 3 years Argo has been involved in playing five-aside football with a large number of international staff who love the beautiful game. We play both mixed and men’s leagues during the summer months and then a cultural tournament during the winter.

We are really excited to now have our own designer kit as a team.

A huge thank you must go out to everyone who has been involved in the creation of Argo United over the years. We say a special thank you to Dennis O’Brien – owner of Slow Boat Records - for investing in a championship winning side, even though he claims to be a rugby man! Dennis has frequently watched us play and we appreciate his continuous support and we hope to do Slow Boat proud. We also say a special thank you to Jade Oliver who designed the Argo United logo with the assistance of Giuliano & Ange Serrao. Finally, we would’nt be where we are now without the residents and other faithful supporters.

We will keep everyone updated on any upcoming tournaments but until then.....Go Man United!!

P.S - We are now looking into designing some Argo clothes.....stay posted!

Thank you Guliano and Flo!

Well, here we are again saying more farewells to staff that have left Argo for greener pastures.
Giuliano Serrao and Florence Fudakowska have been a huge part of the life of Argo and we will never be able to replace such amazing people. We want to thank them for all their contribution towards the resident’s lives, families and colleagues over the years of their employment.
We extend our sincerest desire that they would continue to spend time at Argo and join in any functions that will be happening.
Giuliano will continue to play for Argo United, so we will get to see the lil Italian on a regular basis!
We know that Giuliano and Flo will flourish in all their future endeavours and we wish them all the best.
Thanks guys.
Check out the photos below of our two stars

2009!

Howdy folks.

Well, we have entered into another year which we are all very excited about. With that excitement though comes a little sadness of losing two amazing young Argo woman :(

Alice Monro has worked at Argo since 2004 and now has finished all her studies. Alice did extremely well and was accredited an A+ for her work. Alice has just left NZ with boyfriend Steve to travel the world and spend some time in London. We wish her all the best and thank her dearly for all she has given into the life of Argo.

Keri Bidmead has worked at Argo since late 2006 and also has just finished her studies. Keri is now a qualified Nurse and we congratulate her for a fantastic achievement. We wish Keri all the best and again thank her for all she has given into the life of Argo.

Argo xx

Argo Christmas party!

Yup, it's that time of the year again and Argo will be having their Christmas party for all their staffs. Before we go any further regarding the party, we would like to give our greatest thanks to all the trustees for making this possible.

This year Christmas party will be held at Dayna's Place on the Saturday 13th December. We've collectively decided that we will have a wonderful BBQ dinner instead of having it in restaurant like we normally do in the years before. To end this posting, here are some recap of some of the good times. Hope to see you there and Merry Christmas to all from the Argo Crew!

P.S: They are not exactly Christmas party photos, but just photos of parties.

Argo On Tour

Dayna, Sacha & Leigh have just returned from attending the annual ASSID Conference (Australasian Society for the Study of Intellectual Disability) in Melbourne Australia. The Argo contingent were fortunate enough to receive the necessary funding from the Ministry of Health as well as the Trust - to which they are extremely thankful. The conference was held at the RMIT University and was based around new research and studies done in the intellectual disability field. There were some very interesting topics, though not much that we could really use in every day Argo life. Nonetheless, we had a great time, Melbourne is a beautiful city and the weather was hot!
While in Melbourne we caught up Jade and Elizabeth (Ex Argo - see photo) and we all went out for beautiful outdoor Italian meal that was accompanied by live street Jazz!

If you have any questions or comments about the conference we would be happy to answer them?

Leigh.

Places that Argo recommends to eat.

We would like to introduce a new category for the blog which is 'Places to eat'. Its not easy to find places to eat which are nice and actually cater your taste buds and needs. Here are some of the places that we recommend to eat.

1) Felix- Corner of Wakefield St. & Manners Street.

2) Sweet Mothers Kitchen - At the end of Courtney Place (Embassy theater end)

3) The Occidental - Corner lambton Quay & Ballance St

4) The Establishment - Courtney Place

5) The Bristol - Cuba St.

6) Olive Cafe - Cuba St.

These are great places for Argonauts to hang and enjoy their meal while catering their needs. We are open to other suggestions and this section will be constantly update as soon as new places are introduced. Do add your suggestions at the 'comment' section underneath this entry. Bon appetit!

Argo Air adventure Youtube test.

Argo United got FOURTH place!

Yes, Argo United managed to get fourth for the Ethnic Soccer competition held in Upper Hutt, Wellington. The competition consist of 16 teams of different nationalities. Argo United was joined by friends of Argo.

Out of six of the games played, Argo or Eurasian as we were called for the competition, manage to grab three wins and that managed to get us through till the semi finals and played for the third and fourth placement. Unfortunately many of us were no able to play for the final game because the fixture was changed which explains the fourth placing.

Overall we all played very well as a team and exceeded everybody's expectation as we started off as the underdog. Our biggest thanks to Argo trustees, Argonauts friends and all those who have support our team throughout the competition. Till we battle again on the field. Thanks.

Argo's United is back!

Hey everyone! Springs here and Argo United is back with some new summer signings. So first let me introduce the veteran players. We'll start with the oldest. Leigh, Steve, Guliano, Emily, Angie, Fabian, Loretha and myself, Sean. Our new wonderkid summer signing is Amelie (I hope I spelled her name correctly). She's an exciting new talent who was spotted by our very own Leigh. We had a good start by thrashing the GIRLS team 14-0. 1o of the goals were from the girls. Anyhu, here's the league table so far as well other fixtures so Argo United fans could come and spread the love on the field with us. Till then take care everyone and enjoy the sun.

Updates On result weekly here:

TSF Nairn - Mon 5:45 Mixed

	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/_	Pts
Argo United	6	5	1	0	33	13	20	16
Mystery Mates	6	5	1	0	27	8	19	16
Out.Scoring	6	4	0	2	39	14	25	12
Flash	5	3	0	2	25	18	7	9
WTF	5	3	0	2	17	11	6	9
Watt a Shocka	5	1	1	3	8	21	-13	4
Goal Diggers	5	1	0	4	9	38	-29	3
Dragon Flies	5	0	1	4	2	24	-22	1
Bye	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mauve Huckers	5	0	0	5	10	25	-15	0

		G		G		Time	Date
Rd 1.	Out.Scoring	8	vs	1	Mauve Huckers	5:45pm	3-Nov
	Mystery Mates	8	vs	2	Flash	5:45pm	3-Nov
	WTF	6	vs	1	Watt a Shocka	5:45pm	3-Nov
	Argo United	14	vs	0	Goal Diggers	5:45pm	3-Nov
	Dragon Flies		vs		Bye	5:45pm	3-Nov
Rd 2.	Out.Scoring	9	vs	0	Dragon Flies	5:45pm	10-Nov
	Flash	5	vs	1	Watt a Shocka	5:45pm	10-Nov
	Goal Diggers		vs		Bye	5:45pm	10-Nov
	WTF	4	vs	5	Argo United	5:45pm	10-Nov
	Mauve Huckers	2	vs	5	Mystery Mates	5:45pm	10-Nov
Rd 3.	Out.Scoring	1	vs	2	WTF	5:45pm	17-Nov
	Watt a Shocka	0	vs	0	Dragon Flies	5:45pm	17-Nov
	Flash	9	vs	0	Goal Diggers	5:45pm	17-Nov
	Mystery Mates	2	vs	2	Argo United	5:45pm	17-Nov
	Mauve Huckers		vs		Bye	5:45pm	17-Nov
Rd 4.	Out.Scoring	7	vs	5	Flash	5:45pm	24-Nov
	Watt a Shocka		vs		Bye	5:45pm	24-Nov
	Mystery Mates	3	vs	1	Dragon Flies	5:45pm	24-Nov
	Mauve Huckers	1	vs	3	Argo United	5:45pm	24-Nov
	WTF	5	vs	1	Goal Diggers	5:45pm	24-Nov
Rd 5.	Out.Scoring	4	vs	6	Argo United	5:45pm	1-Dec
	Mystery Mates	6	vs	1	Watt a Shocka	5:45pm	1-Dec
	Goal Diggers	8	vs	0	Dragon Flies	5:45pm	1-Dec
	WTF		vs		Bye	5:45pm	1-Dec
	Mauve Huckers	2	vs	4	Flash	5:45pm	1-Dec
Rd 6.	Out.Scoring	10	vs	0	Goal Diggers	5:45pm	8-Dec
	Mauve Huckers	4	vs	5	Watt a Shocka	5:45pm	8-Dec
	Mystery Mates	3	vs	0	WTF	5:45pm	8-Dec
	Argo United	4	vs	1	Dragon Flies	5:45pm	8-Dec
	Flash		vs		Bye	5:45pm	8-Dec
Rd 7.	Mystery Mates		vs		Goal Diggers	5:45pm	15-Dec
	Watt a Shocka		vs		Argo United	5:45pm	15-Dec
	Flash		vs		Dragon Flies	5:45pm	15-Dec
	Mauve Huckers		vs		WTF	5:45pm	15-Dec
	Out.Scoring		vs		Bye	5:45pm	15-Dec
Rd 8.	Out.Scoring		vs		Mystery Mates	5:45pm	22-Dec
	Watt a Shocka		vs		Goal Diggers	5:45pm	22-Dec
	Flash		vs		WTF	5:45pm	22-Dec
	Argo United		vs		Bye	5:45pm	22-Dec
	Mauve Huckers		vs		Dragon Flies	5:45pm	22-Dec
Rd 9.	Out.Scoring		vs		Watt a Shocka	5:45pm	12-Jan
	Mauve Huckers		vs		Goal Diggers	5:45pm	12-Jan
	Mystery Mates		vs		Bye	5:45pm	12-Jan
	WTF		vs		Dragon Flies	5:45pm	12-Jan
	Flash		vs		Argo United	5:45pm	12-Jan
A Final	Argo United		vs		Mystery Mates	5:45pm	19-Jan
B Final	Out.Scoring		vs		Flash	5:45pm	19-Jan
C Final	Flash		vs		WTF	5:45pm	19-Jan
D Final	Watt a Shocka		vs		Goal Diggers	5:45pm	19-Jan