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.