February – BLACK AWARENESS MONTH – (Canada)

ANNOUNCING: Your Annual General Meeting is being planned for April. The Board of Directors anticipates that it will, once again, be held via Zoom. This was quite successful for our 2019 meeting which was held in October. Directors are elected, at the AGM, for a 2-year term. There are 5 positions to be filled. The Board is looking for members who are able to commit to a minimum of 2 hours a month to attend monthly board meetings. What did you do in your pre-retirement life? Would you like to use those skills again? Were you in finance, marketing, social sciences, or law to mention a few? If you are interested in finding out more or running for office, please call or email the office or any board member. I can be reached at flexible@bell.net.

When the movie ‘Groundhog Day’ first came out, I watched it and thought it was a chuckle. Never did I believe we would be living it. Now I go to bed at night and wonder what I did to pass the time and I realize that I did the same thing I had done the day before and the day before and so on and so on. We are living “Groundhog Day”. But the days are getting longer and the sun getting warmer so at least we will be able to sit outside soon.
I read an article in the Toronto Star about a new product Martha Stewart is putting her name on. It is dog treats. These CBD products are meant to reduce a dog’s stress, support mental health and maintain mobility. I think it is a wonderful idea as when kids get back to school and adults return to work our pets are going to be very stressed out. Cats, I am sure, will take it all in stride. The downstairs cat continues to ignore me even at bedtime. I have friends who have cats and at the same time every night the cats go upstairs to the landing and start bawling as if to say ‘it’s time to go to bed’. My downstairs cat only pays attention to me when it is meal time. Then she sits in front of the appropriate bowl waiting for it to be filled.
Did you know that Blue Jays (the bird) migrate south every two years? I haven’t seen any hawks or cardinals for a while but I did see a woodpecker. I check the birds on the bird cams through allaboutbirds.org. It should start to get really interesting when nesting starts in North America. Cornell Lab of Ornithology has bird cams in New Zealand, Panama, Bermuda, Canada and many states in the U.S. I missed the hatching of the Royal Albatross chick. I also check out the webcams at San Diego Zoo, Monterey Bay Aquarium and Toronto’s Ripley’s Aquarium.
I have decided that when hair salons re-open I will not get my hair cut. It is getting so long now that I can finally do something with it so that it isn’t in my eyes. That in between time when it is short and then when it is nicely long is too difficult to suffer through again.
This is national Black Awareness Month. I was researching months that are federally designated celebrations. Canada has many specially themed days or weeks such as National Flag Day (Feb. 15) or National Wildlife week (week of April 10), but not so many month-long observances. I ended up reading a research publication from the Library of Parliament entitled ‘Designation of National Days and Observances in Canada’. It took me a long time to find as I didn’t have the correct phrasing for the computer. Fortunately, I have the time to search.
Thanks to our wonderful staff we have exercises via Zoom. Yoga is being added to the program as are occasional Friday educationals or entertainment. Our food bank continues to offer food to the community. For details, please phone Syme at 416-766-0388. Feeling stressed out or just want a friendly person to talk to other than family? Call Syme and leave a message. Staff are working from home when they are not involved with the food bank so phone messages are checked frequently and your call will be returned.
We will meet again soon; vaccinations are being administered. Meanwhile, stay masked, socially distance yourselves and wash your hands for 15 seconds. Keep Safe.
Donna Tettmar
President, Syme Board of Directors

 

ANNOUNCING: Your Annual General Meeting is being planned for April. The Board of Directors anticipates that it will, once again, be held via Zoom. This was quite successful for our 2019 meeting which was held in October. Directors are elected, at the AGM, for a 2-year term. There are 5 positions to be filled. The Board is looking for members who are able to commit to a minimum of 2 hours a month to attend monthly board meetings. What did you do in your pre-retirement life?  Would you like to use those skills again?  Were you in finance, marketing, social sciences, or law to mention a few? If you are interested in finding out more or running for office, please call or email the office or any board member. I can be reached at 416-781-5173 or at flexible@bell.net.

 

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Upcoming Event with Humber College

 

Join Syme and Humber College for a presentation on Falls Prevention

 

Presentation will be held over Zoom: Link information on flyer

 

Date: Tuesday, April 20th, 2021 @ 12:30 pm

 

 

 

 

 

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Syme 55+ & Humber College Virtual Health Fair Links & Resources

 

 

Toronto Public Health Covid-19 Vaccines Information Page:

• www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19/covid-19-protect-yourself-others/covid-19-vaccines/

 

Public Health Ontario Mask & Face Covering Information:

• https://www.publichealthontario.ca/-/media/documents/ncov/factsheet/2020/05/factsheet-covid-19-non-medical-masks.pdf?la=en

 

Public Health Ontario Multilingual Covid-19 Resources:

• https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/diseases-and-conditions/infectious-diseases/respiratory-diseases/novel-coronavirus/public-resources

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Improve How Your Mask Protects You:

• cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/effective-masks.html

 

Toronto Public Health Phone Number

• 416-338-7600

 

 

 

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PROGRAM UPDATE

Spring 2021 Zoom Class Schedule
These classes will run from April 5th – June 25th, 2021.

Monday

Pilates with Diane @ 10:00 am

Fit & Fun with Katrina @ 11:00 am

Tuesdays 

Cardio Boost with Halyna @ 10:00 am

Co-Ed Fitness with Sylvia @ 11:00 am

Wednesdays

Osteo Keep Fit with Julie @ 11:00 am

Thursdays 

Flex N Stretch with Gabriela @ 10:00 am

Co-Ed Fitness with Luba @ 11:00 am

Fridays

Yoga with Sandra @ 10:00 am

Sit & Fit with Connie @ 11:00 am

PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL TO BE REGISTERED FOR THESE CLASSES AND RECEIVE LOGIN INFORMATION ALL LOGINS WILL BE NEW

 

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For all updates from the:
City of Toronto https://www.toronto.ca/home/covid-19
Province of Ontario http://ontario.ca/covid19
Government of Canada: http://canada.ca/covid19

The Ward 5 Councillor’s office can be reached at 416 392 4091 or email councillor_nunziata@toronto.ca