Greetings.
Our AGM took place in September and the new Management Committee is hard at work.  I am enjoying the role of President and would like to acknowledge the outgoing Committee for their great work & contributions to the development of CWS.  
We will ensure CWS continues to provide opportunities for Connection through Recreation for our members.  Much work is undertaken behind the scenes, which may go unnoticed but is vitally important to maintain & develop CWS into a strong & vibrant community-based organisation.  I look forward to meeting more members and working with you all to ensure we share & learn new skills, try new activities, make friends and above all, have fun.!!
Deilia Murray.
 
Activities, meetups and workshops (scheduled booked):  reminder to always book on Hello Club and that we endeavour to run these activities with 2 volunteer coordinators to support and supervise the activity (we aim for 3).  This is a safety measure that forms part of our risk management process.  If you are interested in becoming an activity volunteer coordinator please contact Deilia.

Band:  (chat platform for each of our groups) when you become a member you can then access Band after you receive an invite to that group.   Remember to check the FEED as well as the CHATS for general CWS updates and information.

Brainiacs:  1pm Saturday cards/games group continues to attract new members and we have just started another group on Thursdays at 1.00pm.  Come along, have fun and test your skills.

Book Clubs:  Library Book Packs – a reminder if you are a member of any CWS Book Clubs, please remember to pay your fee by adding it from the extra’s menu in the booking system – $12.50 per year.  The book pack service costs CWS over $100 a year per club.

Walking group:  every Tuesday a group of very keen women enjoy the varied walks.  The coffee is always a treat at the end.  The November Away Walk will be held on Tues 8 Nov, further information will be posted on Hello Club Walk Group.
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Sketchy gals:  drawing meetup; interested getting started in drawing or specific techniques?  Beginners welcome to this self-paced group, each meeting will have a basic topic.  You can bring your own project or suggest tutorials or activities.  BYO materials.

Donation:  recently we received a donation of $605 from a Sunshine Coast Council Senior Engineer.  He raises funds for community groups and Not for Profits, during September it was Womens Health Week, so he chose Coolum Women’s Shed.  We were delighted to receive this unexpected and generous donation.
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Tool Shed:  what a great job Sheddies are doing - handmade name installed above roller door, repurposed rolling cabinets for power tools work benches, stand for outside sink, repair kitchen cupboard door and the mosaic letterbox is almost complete.  Sessions currently: - A meetup is an informal session that can be self-directed or you can join in with projects we are working on.  You can use equipment and scraps for small projects but for larger ones you need to source your own materials.  Please do not use any equipment alone and without familiarising yourself with the safety instructions and the manual (all kept in the folder at the shed).  As we progress, a record of Inductions and Tool competencies will be developed.

CWS furniture: we have acquired another Poang chair and now have a spare couch to give away, the one in the main hall of the Community Centre.  If you are interested, please chat to a Management Committee member.

Coolum Men’s Shed:  Saturday 29 Oct 9.30am, celebrations for their 10-year anniversary.  Along with a dedication of a Memorial Garden for past members, there will be a garage sale and morning tea.  CWS have been invited to this whole day event.

First Fridays Social Meetup:  on hold until next year.  Even though this is a social gathering we need 2 volunteers to organise, check the CWS bookings and lead the evening get-togethers.  If you are interested in taking on this role, please let one of the management committee know

Xmas celebration:  Yes Xmas is coming and we will be organising an activity/celebration for our members, possibly early December, details to come.
Thankyou
Deilia M.

This guidance may change - the latest information can be found here. This information is valid from 1st June to 17th August.  It is important that all people book online in advance to allow us to meet the contact tracing and social distancing requirements.

Please do not attend if you are showing any symptoms - you will be asked to leave.

Gatherings at Research Street Community Centre:

• The community centre is 76m2, so the limit of people inside at any one time is 19 (one patron per 4 square metres)
• Social distancing of 1.5m between people must be observed. For yoga and pilates classes, this is a maximum class size of 10 including instructors.
• 19 people includes all people at the activity including coordinators/facilitators/volunteers. 
• Please use alcohol gel when you arrive
• Barefeet are not allowed - please bring yoga socks or similar.
• Participants please bring their own equipment where possible (for example, bolster, mat); (especially items that are hard to clean).
• Frequent cleaning and disinfecting should be maintained for borrowed equipment 
• Minimise use of communal facilities - 1 person in the kitchen/ storage cupboard at a time.

Back at the shed this week
Thursday:
9.30 am Gentle yoga with Simone ( also available online)
6.30pm Women that run with the Wolves Bookclub

Saturday:
Vinyasa yoga (online, 8am)
Macrame meetup - members only, fully booked
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Just as we were about to write this update, the Queensland Government has announced a further relaxation in restrictions. This is good news for many of you that want to come back to Research Street and get back into our in person activities. Whilst we don't have the resources to open tomorrow (!) we have been planning a slow return to in person activities. There will be some changes to allow us to manage risks to our members and volunteers including:

• Activities must be pre-booked online from now on. This helps us ensure that we do not breach limits on numbers, allows us to capture contact tracing  information and avoid the need to handle cash. 
• We are looking at ways to move classes and activities outdoors where possible.
• We will only be operating with smaller groups, another reason to book ahead.
• Where possible, we will continue to offer classes via zoom. Some classes may stay on Zoom only, depending on the facilitator. This means that you can still 'attend online' if you have any sniffles/ symptoms.
• There will be strict guidelines about attending the shed and wiping down surfaces and equipment.

If you want one to one help with the booking system or zoom, please email [email protected] and we will arrange a time to help you.

As restrictions have gradually lifted we have been offering the chance to meet up in a informal way with a smaller number of members- people have suggested walks, and  we have organised a sewing bee via our community forum.  The community forum is a way to connect with other members and make plans about activities. It's a bit like Facebook but we prefer it because it has better privacy and is restricted to members only.  If you aren't interested in joining the conversation there, we will still post things on Facebook and our website. 

You should also get an email soon with your membership number, and some more information about the different systems. Read more here if you haven't received it yet: https://www.thewomensshed.org/new-members-guide.html

As for this weeks activities we have :

• Pilates with Narelle (Monday 9am)
• Meditation with Simone (Monday 6.30pm)
• Gentle yoga with Simone (Thursday 9am)
• Vocal group with Ali and Erica (Thursday 7pm)
• Vinyasa yoga with Holly (Saturday 8am)

All the activities are bookable here and will remain online only. We will let you know when we are back at the shed :-)

Our main focus for the next few months will be preparing for our open day in August.
Coming up we have a macrame basics meetup on 13th June and are planning a sewing bee, fabric dyeing meetup and ceramic hand building meetup.   We are also hoping to have more talks from Martine (financial planning) and Sara (nutritionist).
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Happy Friday Sheddies! As restrictions are slowly lifted we are looking at how we can continue our activities and adopt COVID Safe practices. For now this includes:

• Continuing to offer some activities online including Monday night meditation with Simone. We are looking at ways to stream classes from the shed as well, so you will have the choice of attending in person or staying home
• Running more activities outside
• Limiting group activities to between 8 and 10 members 
• Making sure we can provide enough space when doing activities.
• Requiring online bookings and cashless payment
• Some member only activities to limit our exposure to other people

 
Coming up this week:
Holly is running a free Vinyasa Flow yoga at 8 am Saturday morning - Holly takes you through a moving meditation - this session is a mixed session so you can bring your husband/ sons for a try of this dynamic style of yoga.

Pilates is taking a break this Monday - we are offering a Monday morning walk limited to 10 members. RSVP in the Band App.

Our ever popular Monday night meditation is  available at 6.30pm . Join us as Simone guides you through a different type of meditation each week.

Beginners drawing on Tuesday this week will cover chapters 5 & 6 which look at disengaging from our symbol system. If we have time we may cover negative space. Feel free to read ahead if you have the book, or we will cover the main points in the meetup. Catch up summaries are available on the members only pages on the website, although each lesson stands alone  - just bring a pencil and paper!

Gentle yoga with Simone is online Thursday morning at 9.30am, join us for a coffee afterwards :-) (you have to make your own!)

The Vocal Group  (online) are meeting on Thursday at the later time of 7pm from now on - we are pros at online singing now!

Bookings are still open for Hannah Hempenstall's 'Finding your North Star' on Saturday 23rd May - it's a chance to really reflect on what motivates you, and especially welcome at a time when we are asking a lot of questions.  Hannah has also run our Introduction to Journalling class. We've included a little more about Hannah below:

"Originally from London, I’ve lived in Australia for 22 years and have called the Sunshine Coast my home since last October.  Ever since the age of 3, I have been aware that there is far more going on than meets the eye. Connecting to what I call Life Source Energy through contemplation and meditation have been key to my continued awakening. That journey led me to becoming qualified in reflexology, Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), massage, polarity therapy, life coaching and yoga. 

I'm also a Reiki Master and am qualified in a variety of meditation traditions. Spirituality is at the core of everything I do and I’m currently undertaking a degree in World Religion. As well as delving into the mystical world I've enjoyed a 25-year career in magazine publishing, working on titles such as Marie Claire, Women's Health, Men's Health, Mindfood, Who and many more.   

What life continually shows me is that a willingness to be open and the ability to ask pertinent questions such as, "What does Life want me to know today?" increases our awareness. And in my opinion, self-awareness is the key to living a more purposeful and meaningful life.     If this resonates with you I run regular self-development and spiritual workshops so stay in touch with the Women’s Shed and hopefully we’ll meet soon! Namaste!

Hannah x

Hannah recently posted a meditation on her Facebook page - why not give it a try? https://www.facebook.com/hannahhempcoaching/videos/4309113229114115

Have a great weekend everyone
​xx

​Hello Sheddies, please note these important changes to this week's timetable.

We have changed the timing of the Women That Run with The Wolves Book Club - this week it will be running 5-6pm, before the Vocal group at 6.30pm. Going forward the Book Club will run on the 2nd Thursday of the month.  Both the book club and vocal group are welcoming to new members - you won't take long to catch up. The vocal group practice tracks are available in the members only section of our website

We are very happy to announce that Holly from Temple of the Sun Yoga is joining us online from Sydney this Saturday, 10th May at 8am. She will be offering a Vinyasa flow class for the next  4 weeks. Holly was one of our original yoga teachers, we were very sad when she moved away- our loss was Sydney's gain. Now the magic of the internet means that Holly is able to join us for a series of Saturday classes all the way from Sydney.  Please note that this class will also be open to men, so bring your son, boyfriend or dad! The beauty of online classes is that we keep the camera on Holly so you don't need to worry about privacy. If you are concerned we can also make sure your camera is switched off - although it helps of the teacher can see you .This class is perfect if you have done some yoga, although all levels are catered for with different options offered for each pose.  Classes are $10 per household, if you have member in your household. Otherwise it's $15 per household.  Book here.

Pilates will not be running on 11th May as our instructor Narelle takes a well earned break. If you want to try another activity we have Monday night meditation with Simone, Thursday morning gentle yoga with Simone and the new Vinyasa flow with Holly on Saturday.  

In other news, this week we had an online meetup of our fabric dyeing group that rapidly turned from discussions on fabric dye to eco dye, to sewing and to jewellrey making, so we decided that we would just call ourselves a craft group for now :-) . We came up with some fabric dyeing activities that our members could try at home and do in preparation for the Shibori meetup we have planned when we get back to the shed. If you would like to try some techniques out at home, check our craft page with more info. Make sure you share your results with us :-) 

Some members took part in the Art Therapy Workshop with Helen Bradsaw of Growth Through Art. The session started with an introduction to some ideas for a 'tree of life' project. We worked in collage, sculpture and charcoal, around a reflection on parts of our story. Then we came up with prose based on the drawing and the feedback. It was interesting to be led through a creative process that allowed us to tap into our own symbolism and personal reflections, and was a great introduction to art therapy. Here is a snippet of the art with the prose (reproduced with permission ) :

We also had a meetup of members that are keen to help us progress in some important areas including Activities, Funding and Facilities. We will update you with our progress soon.

If you are participating in the drawing for beginners group, you can catch up on what you have missed and get on top of the 'homework' in advance of our meetup next Tuesday 19th May.

 On Friday, our President, Nell was interviewed on Noosa FM - the DJ was impressed that we are still operating and continuing to attract new members - we are really proud that our members have adapted so well to the current environment, and welcome our new members!

If you are due to renew your membership, you should receive an email from us this week. If you don't hear anything, please get in touch.  

That's all for this week - see you soon!

STOP PRESS we have some exciting news about Thursday's Art Therapy with Helen Bradshaw - we have been able to drop the price to $30 for members. We had hoped that we would be back at the shed for this workshop, but as we now know that's not possible. Helen has provided a list of materials that you should be able to find at home or fairly easily, and reduced the price so that more people can try this activity. If you have already booked, we will refund you the difference :-). Book online here

It's been another busy week for us at the virtual shed, including a great talk from Sara from The Skin Solution which covered some of the popular diets and how we can boost our immunity. She has sent us some more information on one of her favourites, the Mediterranean diet, download it here:

There was a bit of confusion this week when the facilitator for Drawing for Beginners (yours truly) was 20 minutes late, people were in the Zoom waiting room and nothing was happening- it all came back together in the end and we started some upside down drawing exercises. If you missed it, the class outline is available in our members only part of the website. 

We are also keeping recordings of our vocal group in the members section, so if you want to practice or catch up, just go to our members area on the menu above.

​This week on Tuesday, the fabric dyeing group are having a catch up to see if there are any projects we can do at home. Join us from 1pm on Tuesday.

We had a few people drop in for a virtual cuppa this week, going forward we will run this at 10.15 on Mondays and Thursdays, either drop in or stay on from Pilates or Thursday yoga :-). 

Our regular Pilates, yoga and meditation offerings are on at their normal times this week. It's also week 3 of the 4 week combined yoga and yoga nidra (meditation) class on Wednesday at 6.30pm. It was so lovely to see one of our early members back in class - she relocated to Sydney and has been missing Simone's classes - so there is an upside to online yoga :-). Of course all of our classes are suitable and welcoming to beginners, you can let teachers know about any medical issues on the booking form and our teachers. Usually there are modifications to each class for those people that need to take it easier or want more of a challenge - plus our teachers can see you and give feedback, just like in our classes at the shed.

Everything can be booked right here on our website :-)

Shed Operations

A while ago, we gave notice of our intention to streamline our Facebook presence, and this process will start to happen over the next few weeks. Some groups will be closed completely. All groups will be limited to members only. 

Member renewals will start going out this week, the management committee have agreed that despite this being a difficult time financially for some of our members, we do have a responsibility to roll out renewals. If you cannot afford to maintain your membership at this time, and you aren't  interested in joining us online, we will send a follow up reminder in 3 months. You will be able to rejoin when it suits you.

Plants Fundraiser
We still hope to run our open day on the 8th August and are asking people to start propagating plants for a plant stall. We have had quite a bit of plant show and tell in our virtual cuppa sessions. One of our members sent in this photo of the plants she is propagating for us. It seems that everyone has something at home they can raise, either in soil or in water - the only problem is whether you can let your green babies go  after raising them !  Here are some possibilities :​

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Talking of sweet - how is your diet going these days? 

 I've actually found somewhere to hide the chocolate from the kids - in the vegetable drawer! Although, that does mean more chocolate for me, and we aren't really getting out and about as much.  This is hopefully offset by the 400 kg of cucumbers that seem to have sprouted from my hubby's new gardening obsession.... That being said, it's great timing that Sara from The Skin Solution is going to go ahead with her talk on the different types of diets.  Whether you are thinking about Keto, Paleo, Plant based, Vegan or Fasting, Sara will be going through these eating plans from a nutritionists perspective, and talking about boosting your immunity with the right foods as well. There will be time for discussion and questions at the end.  Join Sara this Thursday from 1pm, at our virtual shed (i.e. Zoom).

Another new activity this week is the 'Drop in Cuppa' on Monday morning at 10.30. This is a chance for you to grab a coffee and just drop in for a chat - especially good if you feel like you haven't had a chance to catch up with anyone :-) . 

There isn't much time to tell you more except the following is happening this week - click on any item to book :-). Or create an account to make booking easier and to keep your payment details stored, from our bookings page. Prices are for members, non-members pay a $5 surcharge or can join when they book.

Monday 7am - Pilates with Narelle (nb earlier start time this week) -$10 
Monday 10am - Drop in cuppa (make your own coffee and join us to say hello) - Free for members
Monday 6.30pm - Meditation with Simone $10
Tuesday 10am - Drawing for beginners -  Free for members
Wednesday 6.30pm - Yoga & meditation with Simone $10
Thursday 9am - Gentle Yoga with Simone $10
Thursday 10.30am - President drop in /Zoom training
Thursday 6.30pm  - Vocal Group with Ali & Erica, Free for members

Plenty happening for all - hope to see you soon!

Hi ladies, 

It's been a different week for us at the shed. We had to make the decision to close down our face to face activities, along with many other people in our community it has been a time of stress for a lot of our volunteers and members. 

In order to keep some sense of community and to look after our wellbeing we decided to trial running our activities online. I'm pretty sure most of us had fairly low expectations of going online, but these sessions have really been the highlight of my week.  We have managed to run pilates, meditation, yoga and the vocal group and we will be continuing to offer activities online where we can. 

On Saturday at 7.30 you can attend Abbey's moving meditation class -using the Nishino method for free. We are also still running the 'Path to Self Love' class with Hannah Hempenstall from 9am. 

I really want to thank the volunteers, facilitators and members that have accommodated this change in our delivery - we have all gained skills in online socialising that will come in useful over the next few months. We may even be able to offer more classes!

If you are concerned about your IT skills we have also been running 'have a go ' training sessions with our preferred software - it's a chance to try it out without the pressure of a class starting. 

Please keep checking our weekly roster page or bookings page to see what you can join us for. 

Stay safe and well,
 Nell

 

Hello sheddies! We have had another great week at the shed. Did you join us for any of the fun? 

On Tuesday we had a really great start to our 'Talking Money' group with Martine.  It started with a discussion on the markets in the wake of what has been happening, and moved through discussions of balanced funds, super, pensions, wills. Rather than a formal presentation, Martine did a great job giving her insights and answering the questions that came up. We got some great tips from other members about what we need to think about. It was interesting talking to women at different lifestages and getting advice from other members who had already been through it. All in all, very thought provoking and we are looking forward to our next meetup in a month or so. 

Tuesday evening saw the first meetup of our new singing group. I have to say I was shocked to turn up, running late as usual (!) and find so many women waiting to come in - usually the rain keeps our members away, but not this time! (PS sorry for being late!!) (PPS sorry for all the exclamation marks !!!!!). After a cuppa and introducing ourselves, Erica took us though some vocal exercises and then we belted out some tunes  including  Rockin Robin, Chiquitita and Lean on Me. It turns out that a lot of us don't know Chiquitita except for the chorus, and it's v e r y   s l o w in parts which made for some very interesting muscial arrangements ;-). I can't tell you if we were any good but at least Erica didn't run away crying!  Another member, Ali has volunteered to help coordinate the group with Erica - thank you ladies, can't wait to see you next time! The vocal group runs fortnightly on a Tuesday evening.

This week at the shed we start with our regular social walk at 8.15am, meeting at Tickle Park at 8.15 and followed with a chat and coffee. Register your interest on the website and we can let you know if there is a last minute cancellation due to the weather :-)

Last week was the first week of our  Monday morning Pilates with Narelle. Narelle was recommended to us by some of our members and we were all very impressed with the class - join us from 9am at the Research Street Community Centre. Narelle is focusing on getting us familiar with the basics of Pilates so we do the exercises correctly - it was fun, relaxing and effective all at the same time :-)

Talking of relaxing, we all floated out of the Monday meditation group with Simone last week. It's a great time to set your intentions and refresh yourself ready for week ahead. Join us from 6.30pm to try it for yourself.

Tuesday was the first of our Eco Dye workshops - it was fantastic to see the variety of methods and materials combined with each individual's approach. There were lots of different outcomes, with some surprises and some disappointments, and it was a great chance to experiment and see what happens.  Margaret and Liz provided a handout of useful info and we left with the knowledge to try our own concoctions at home, working with plants from our gardens.  The second of the workshops is coming up on Tuesday and is sold out - but we can't wait to see what they come out with. 

Join us on Thursday for Simone's Gentle Yoga from 9, with coffee and the president's drop in immediately after at 10am. 

Then, on Saturday 15th we have our members update - come along and find out what's been going on behind the scenes, and find out what activities are coming up. The session starts at 10am with a chance to grab a cuppa and have a chat, then at 10.30 Pam from the 'Sheddie Villagers' will be letting us know what they have been up to (we are still waiting for the official name for this collaboration with Peregian Veggie Village...)Then it's the president's update, followed by another guest speaker and member, Martine who will be doing a brief overview on financial planning for women. We want to know if there are any specific subjects you would like her to cover in future sessions. Martine  will be followed by more time for having a chat and a cuppa  which is where all the best questions get asked ;-) We will be asking you for your input on a few different subjects including the timing of the new drawing group and iPhone photography group. We will also have a PC there if you have any questions about the booking system. 

After the Members catchup, Abbey from Whistling Kite Healing Therapies will be running an energy transformation workshop - Abbey is a trained Bowen therapist and has been practising for over 17 years. We are quite excited about what the session will be like as she has designed it especially for us !! Tickets are $20 and  only available if booked in advance- please go to https://www.thewomensshed.org/bookings.html to book into any of our activities. Booking online really saves time , helps our teachers start classes on time and makes sure you get a spot.

That's about it for this week- hope to see you at the shed soon!