Welcome to the March Edition of our agency wide newsletter!
THE PBURG SCOOP
Greetings from the Pburg center.
This month we had our first Valentine’s Day Tea Party on Feb.14. Everyone wore some type of red or pink. We had finger sandwiches, cupcakes and tea. We played games and listened to music.
Anthony really enjoyed the activities that day.
We also went to Thomas Stewart Park for a picnic. It was a little chilly, but we wore our coats and enjoyed the sunny weather.
Hackettstown Center
Fun times with Centenary by Sabrina
I really enjoy when the Centenary students come to visit us. They provide us with lots of activities. I enjoyed the scavenger hunt for St Patrick’s day. I also enjoy dancing with my peers. Everyone has fun laughing, dancing, and singing. They bring a big picture for everyone to color together. It was beautiful when completed. We can see the colors. We spend time talking with the students and I am excited to know they are coming soon for another fun day.
Beautiful day in the park.
Today we enjoyed a nice day in the park, we walked and saw the river and learns about the animals and plants, we also greeted many people walking with their dogs, me and my peers did exercises around the park, we enjoyed the sound of the river when we walked. We will be back soon to see flowers in spring.
~Edward D
I like when Phil comes to visit, he is a big sweet dog he lets me touch him and today I gave him a snack, I don’t have a dog and it is nice to have the opportunity to share with him and give him a hug, Phil is nice to everyone he makes me smile.
By Nicole
Mary Apgar
Latest news and bulletin updates by your reporter on the scene, Darren.
This month we went out to Meals at Home 4 times! We also took a trip to Wal-Mart to get ingredients for Irish Soda Bread, some craft supplies, and vegetable seed and potting soil to start our plants. I can’t wait to water them and watch them grow. We will be planting vegetables, herbs and we are going to try to grow pumpkins! The plan is to start the seeds inside and when they start to grow and it is warm enough, we will take them out to the green house. I’m excited to be getting back out into the green house!
We had our monthly visit from Imperfect Phil and Sue. We always enjoy seeing them.
In art, we did some St. Patrick’s Day crafts with Sam. They came out great!
In our daily “This or That” survey we learned that:
- 14 individuals would rather find a pot of gold and 10 would rather find enough food for a lifetime
- 9 individuals would rather wear green pants and 17 would rather wear green shoes
- 6 individuals would rather eat cabbage and 20 would rather eat potatoes
- 13 individuals would rather march in a St. Patrick’s Day parade and 13 would rather watch a St. Patrick’s Day parade
- 8 individuals would rather be covered in glitter and 17 would rather have shiny gold skin
- 15 would rather dress like a leprechaun while 12 would rather dance with a leprechaun
- 11 individuals would rather find a gold coin while 17 would rather win $500!
We learned that in the past month, 335 cups of coffee, 41 eggs, 68 cups of juice, 70 bowls of oatmeal/cereal, 33 waffles/pancakes, 23 servings or bacon/sausage and 171 “other” items were consumed by the consumers and staff at Mary Apgar!
MSN
Let’s sham-rock and roll:
As we approach St. Patrick’s Day on March 17th, 2025, MSN has been starting to decorate our program with St. Patrick’s Day crafts and projects. Kaila, Melissa, and some of their peers created Leprechauns that will be displayed in our program. Our Bulletin board was created by MSN DSP Diana with hand over hand assistance to guide some of our Consumer’s in assisting to create it.
All About Me:
Name: Myra
Age: 69 yrs old
Favorite Food: Chicken Parm
Favorite Drink: Coffee
Hobbies: Music, watching cooking and HGTV episodes and going out to
eat at Olive Garden. I love their salad.
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Song: Country Girl Shake it for me
Favorite Musician: Luke Bryan
Favorite Season: Spring
Favorite Holiday: Hanukkah
What I want others to know about me is that I love music, I am a proud
Jewish woman who enjoys celebrating all our holidays and traditions. I
recently moved into a new house and am still adjusting to it. I went to
see Luke Bryan at the concert and I handmade signs that are currently
hanging on my walls.
Jaycee’s Advice Column:
Dear Jaycee,
I just moved into a new house with new roommates. I also just started a brand-new day program, where I do not know anyone. I am a little nervous and unsure how to adjust and make new friends, any advice?
Thank you,
Ava
Dear Ava,
Congratulations on the move, I recently moved myself and have new roommates. I know it can be hard at first, but it gets easier. I would start by speaking with your new roommates and getting to know them. You also can tell your new roommates about your likes and dislikes. You might even have something in common, one of my roommates likes HGTV like me and we watch and bond together over it. Since you are new to your day program, I think it would be nice if you talked with your peers and got to know each other. If you are nervous, you can always tell a staff, or the Supervisor and they can help you. You can also play games or participate in clubs or other people’s hobbies, where you can talk, laugh and have fun. If you like to cook, I suggest you offer to help with cooking at home with the staff and one of your roommates. I enjoy talking with people while cooking. I hope these tips help!
Thank you,
Jaycee
Washington CRP
We went on vacation to Saint Martin’s.
It was a family trip. We went on a large rock and sat on the rock. My mom held me because I am afraid of heights. Then my niece went on the rock and we took pictures. Me, my mom, my dad, 3 sisters, 1 niece, grandma, and 1 brother in law went on the trip. It was a good trip to get away from home and relax together.
Marie’s Dream
I like to sing on the stage and in the choir. I would like to teach people to sing. I want to make my family happy. Singing is my life it makes me feel comfortable.
Its all about my cat Ollie…
We got Ollie at Common Sense for Animals But adopted Ollie in December 2017. Before we named him Ollie his name was Harvest. But he was born on October 2017 Hes 7 years old right now. Hes an orange calico that’s what kind of cat he is. He’s a boy cat not a girl cat. Ollie is a friendly cat that likes to be around people. He comes right up to you and lets you pet him. He will rub on you when he see you. He also is a house cat, that he has to be inside my house not being outside. He likes to play with his toys around the house. He also moves things around the table when I use them to draw with them. He likes to run and jump around the house on the table and rolls around on the floors. He likes to lay down on you when sit on the couch. He likes to sleep on it in different kind of ways. He goes to sleep on the couch when its at night time too. When I use a blanket on the couch for bed, he likes to go under them at night time. He likes to sit on a shelf that’s in front of the windows to look whats outside and watches things out there. He likes the wet food that I give him that I put in his food dish and also cold water that I put in his water dish in my kuchen. He also likes to ride in the cars when I take him places when I need to bring him there.
Dear New York Yankees
I am your biggest fan and hope you all beat Pittsburgh tonight. I was not happy that you all lost to the Atlanta Braves on Sunday afternoon and I will still root for you guys and we will be champions of 2025 and hope to bring home the world series trophy and be in the parade in New York City. I hope we can still hit and score runs when you all play tonight. I will make sure you all know how to hit home runs base hits and singles. I will still be rooting for you guys tonight on Major League baseball Network tonight.
Your Yankee fan
Chris K
My Message to Phil Collins:
Congratulations Phil on your world tour! You have made a lot of money by singing. I would like to meet you in person one day. I hope I can talk to you. My favorite songs of yours are “Only You and I Know” and “Who Said I Would?”- they make me feel cool. I hope you have fun and stay safe on your tour. I also like your old band Genesis. From,
Your Friend Stevie
Employment Pathways
Join us in congratulating Rah’nisha on being nominated for the March Employee of the Month at Complete Care in Phillipsburg. She began support services through our Center for Adult Transition (CAT) program and upon completion was hired at Complete Care as an Activity Assistant. With supports from her job coach, she was promoted to Dietary Aide and continues to work hard to provide the best care to the residents!
Keith enjoys a variety of activities outside of work. He likes to golf, bowl, go camping. He is very artistic and loves crafting, adult color books, Diamond Dots, Hook n Latch, making tie dyes, steppingstones for the garden. He’s always ready to go to a Penn State game, Utica Comets hockey, LV Phantoms hockey, LV Iron Pigs baseball game. Keith also loves getting together with his friends to hang out, go swimming, a movie, mini golf, birthday parties. He’s always looking forward to participating in the ARCs activities. Keith is health conscious and watches what he eats and exercises daily.
Youth Services
Abilities Internship
Watching my son, John, participate in the internship through The Abilities of Northwest Jersey was such an amazing experience for him—something he probably wouldn’t have been able to do on his own. The compassionate team at Abilities prepared him for the job in a way that really helped him step out of his comfort zone by encouraging him to engage with new people and tackle unfamiliar tasks. By the end of his internship, I could see how much more responsible and confident he had become, both in his interactions with new people and in his ability to handle new situations. I can’t say enough good things about this organization and the tremendous benefits it provides to teenagers with specific needs who are struggling to find their place in the working world.
~Lisa Muentener
I am very grateful for the internship that I got through Abilities. They showed me how to work hard and take responsibility for myself. They taught me how important it is to be disciplined and to be on time. I learned that when unexpected things happen, that I am prepared and can take action to help others. Mrs. Hawkins from Abilities was very helpful and understanding. She was there for me whenever I had questions or needed support. Working with her through this internship made a huge difference in how I see myself and what I can do.
~John Muentener III
Administrative
Upcoming Events
Would you like to join us, at no cost? Included in our event sponsorships are complimentary admission for our Abilities’ family. Please contact Charissa Buskirk at (908) 689-1118 or [email protected] to be added to the list for consideration.
Urgent!
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve a budget resolution that sets the stage for Medicaid cuts. As Congress continues to consider legislation that could make deep cuts to the federal Medicaid program, we must push back on these attempts and tell Congress why Medicaid is so important to I/DD services.
Click Here to contact your legislators!
For questions about upcoming events call
(908) 689-1118 or email [email protected]
