SUMMARY It’s happening right here!

Memphre en Mouvement…..! 2 Enhancing the ability of parents… 3 Équipe Ressources Relais is for families too! 3 Outdoor activities are an easy way to be more active! 4Harvest Festivals 4

Did you know ?The Appreciate Approach: supporting change 5 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge 6

Info & linksCommunauté de Pratique en Activité Physique: 7 CartoJeunes : 7 NaÎtre et Grandir : 7 1000 Days to Savour Life: 7

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EDITORIAL “Our pedantic mania for instruction is always leading us to teach children things which they would learn much better of their own accord (...) Is there anything more foolish than the trouble we take to teach them how to walk, as though any one had ever been seen who, through the negligence of his nurse, was not able to walk when grown up?” This is one view of the Appreciative approach, according to Rousseau, in “Emile: Or On Education”.Many of us believe that each person has positive resources within him or herself. And yet, as Gaston Michaud showed us recently, they’re often overlooked as we try to address shortages and needs. In many cases, individuals underestimate their own particular strengths in order to respond to social pressure, but it’s important to be true to one’s self.The Appreciative approach can be conceptualized by superimposing Maslow’s Pyramid of needs with the same, but inverted, pyramid. The resulting image is a star, which emphasizes a constantly evolving continuum. We therefore avoid the stereotypical passage from one state to another within a structural hierarchy.Implementing this approach means changing the way we do things and focussing instead on building a relationship of trust, in order to promote access to services.In fact, the partner group is very committed to making services more accessible by tailoring them to the specific needs of the most vulnerable families. An example of this is the Parent’Aise initiative, which gives parents an opportunity to be heard.Could we apply the Appreciative approach to outdoor activities?Well, to do so, “we need to tend our own garden”.

Contact

Memphré en Mouvement 1011, rue SherbrookeMagog J1X 2T2Tél. : 819 847 3034Tél. : 819 446 5005

Isabelle Denis Twitter : @MemenMouvement Facebook

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Rédaction

Denis Delbois agent de liaison et de communication Isabelle Mercieca coordonatrice MeM

Partners Newsletter

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Memphre en Mouvement…..!The last partner meeting brought together 18 stakeholders in the MRC with the purpose of finalizing the details of the merger between the ‘early childhood’ group and the ‘healthy lifestyles’ group. We worked hard to adopt operating rules and a territorial governing style, while respecting the choices made by the partners. Interestingly, the Youth Governance table agreed to consolidate its efforts with those of the new group at every decision-making level. This new “global vision” committee will be mandated to monitor, advise, influence and negociate.We also defined our mission and our vision, an important and mobilizing step, to say the least! The two texts that were formulated will soon be circulated among the territorial committees, and formally adopted at the next meeting. However, following this reflection exercise, we can already state that our mission is much broader now that our mandate includes mobilizing the community and consolidating stakeholders in order to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of 0-17 year olds. As for our vision, it’s accompanied by the wish to see children and young people grow up happy, fulfilled and healthy in an environment that promotes their full development and with which they live in harmony. We also focussed on several values which we’ll include in our papers. These values were strongly inspired by Mr. Michaud’s speech on the empowerment of an inclusive community!

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Enhancing the ability of parents…During the second meeting of the Socio-Economic Committee, we highlighted the importance of understanding the life context of vulnerable families so we could work with them in developing concrete courses of action to better meet their needs when they’re making a move toward reintegration. We also recognized how crucial it is to be knowledgeable about the various employment resources that are available in our MRC so that we might point families in the right direction when they need help. For a list of the available resources, check this interesting link and share it: http://portailressourcesestrie.com/

Équipe Ressources Relais is for families too!

Given that our action plan for 0-5 year olds was developed based an eco-systemic approach, Memphré en Mouvement joined eight other partners in investing in Équipe Ressources Relais (ÉRR), a support organization. This step was taken to improve our understanding of the needs of vulnerable families with 0-5 year olds so we could better meet these needs. The task of ÉRR outreach workers is to reach out to these families and to support them in such a manner as to make the parent the main figure of this undertaking. As a result of prior outreach actions, this work will be done in a more global perspective, with regular and sustained interventions aimed at establishing a meaningful relationship of trust. That way, families who receive support will be better directed toward resources that are adapted to their present reality, and we believe this will eventually help them move toward a more favorable and lasting reintegration.

Annie Beauregard, Psycho-edu., Partnership Development Consultant (0-5 year olds)

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Outdoor activities are an easy way to be more active! The fall season included plenty of outdoor activities for schools in the MRC. Youngsters went hiking on beautiful mountain trails - a great way to get them moving while reconnecting with nature. Brassard-St-Patrice School hosted the post-hike event: the 9-12 year olds expended excess energy in a WIXX zone, while the younger kids enjoyed a multi-game zone. St-Pie X School made the most out of the outing by getting the children to take part in nature-related activities at the summit. And let’s not forget the Potton schools who’ve launched “plein-air/études”, a program combining outdoor activities with study in collaboration with the summer camp!

Harvest FestivalsChildren from Potton, Val-de-Grâce and Princess Elizabeth enjoyed the crops from their gardens. Bravo to the gardeners: students, teachers, children from the summer camps, facilitators, parents and volunteers! And bravo the the chefs who prepared all kinds of delicious food. Finally, a nod goes to Potton’s Nutri-Santé committee for being quick on its feet when it realized that its vegetable lasagna was spoiled...it prepared a last minute meal for 100 youngsters and their families who had joined the celebration! Luckily, there was also a beet cake on the menu!

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Did you know ?

The Appreciate Approach: supporting changeEvery day, we work to develop services that will enhance the quality of life of families in the MRC. However, change can be seen as threatening, and therefore become a source of resistance. But in working toward a desired outcome, do we always go about it the right way?The Appreciative approach involves highlighting positive aspects of either a person, a group or an organization, in order to promote change. Instead of looking at the cause of a problem, the latter is seen as an opportunity to create and evolve in a positive way. The resource worker who supports a family guides the parents in their thinking process and supports them in discovering their own resources so they can mobilize them and enhance their potential. This approach has a few guiding principles:- in every human system, there’s something that works well - people are more confident and comfortable about moving toward an unfamiliar future

when they bring part of their familiar past with them- the more we focus on something, the bigger it gets - positive questions and images lead to quicker and more lasting change. Indeed, this type of approach promotes an openness to communication and change. Building on something positive increases self-confidence and affects one’s state of mind, allowing individuals to impact their environment with greater motivation.The Appreciative approach can be applied to many situations. So...maybe we should use it in our everyday actions?

Pascale Gendron Daigneault, Psycho-edu., Early Childhood Education Consultant

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5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge The 5/30 Health Challenge is an ideal opportunity to get people in a community to be more active. Many municipalities in our MRC have already decided to take part this year. If yours hasn’t, I invite you to contact your elected official to discuss how his or her municipality can benefit from participating.

“The 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge is the chance for local municipalities and communities to work in tandem with a provincial ‘healthy lifestyles’ campaign that was developed to encourage a physically active lifestyle and healthy eating, especially among young people and families. The ‘Municipality and families’ component of the Health Challenge also encourages the creation of environments that foster healthy lifestyles.The participating municipality or community is called upon to:- promote enrollment in the 5/30 Health and Wellness Challenge - support participants by making sure they are aware of, and have acess to, sports and

leisure infrastructures, equipment and services - submit a project, carried out in the municipality or community this year, aimed at

creating an environment that fosters healthy lifestyles.” So, before January 20th, I invite you to register your organization and to urge your municipality, not to mention you and your family, to participate.You’ll find the details at www.defisante.caSee you at the park...

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Info & linksCommunauté de Pratique en Activité Physique: The PeP Community is a group of people who share a common passion and goal: the development of young people between the ages of 6 and 17 through physical activity and pleasure. The community includes an interactive website, face-to-face and virtual meetings, and is facilitated by a team from the Université de Sherbrooke and several strategic partners in the project. The PeP Community website has been open to all resource workers in Quebec since November 5, 2014. Be sure to register! http://communautepep.ca

CartoJeunes :An interactive mapping platform containing thousands of figures on the living conditions and educational experiences of young quebecers (0-20 years old). This tool is helpful for purposes of diagnosis, reflection, decision-making and action support, and was designed specifically for those who want to help reduce inequalities in health and education experienced by young people at the local, regional and provincial level.http://cartojeunes.ca/

NaÎtre et Grandir :Naitre et Grandir is launching a new campaign on the social skills of toddlers...a topic that is very much in line with our plan’s goal for this age group! Check out the ads on their website: http://naitreetgrandir.com/blogue/dans-les-coulisses/2014/11/04/apprendre-a-vivre-avec-les-autres-ca-commence-tot/

1000 Days to Savour Life: On October 28, the OLO Foundation officially launched this initiative aimed at helping thousands of toddlers and their families develop or strengthen healthy eating habits. http://www.avenirdenfants.org/actualites/2014/montreal-%E2%80%93-lancement-de-%C2%AB1000-jours-pour-savourer-la-vie%C2%BB.aspx

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