2015.12- The Merton Muse
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An evil genius forced most GCA staff to be locked in the building for a holiday party. Maria Coelho and Melanie Garland confessed to orchestrating the plan but the staff committee cannot press charges. Despite evidence, staff were unable to crack the code to unlock the security system and were trapped until the party ended. Staff celebrated with a party and looked forward to the holiday season.
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2015.12- The Merton Muse
- 1. December 2015THEMERTONMUSE Evil Genius Forces All Staff Holiday Lockdown A heavy door slammed shut on Friday December 7th, locking in all but two GCA staff members, while the perpetrators remain at large. Maria Coelho, known to the GCA community, had clear motive for forcing staff to spend the holiday together. Her sidekick, Melanie Garland, also a ubiquitous figure on Merton Street, confessed to abetting the complicated plan in an audio recording obtained by All Staff teams. Despite multi-media evidence, and blatant gloating by both perpetrators, the GCA Social Committee is unable to press tribunal charges. Human Resources have their hands tied - well really, their hands are free but their ego is still restrained in the TPAS classrooms where staff were held. Not a single team was able to crack the complex code to unlock the tampered security system. Defeated But Still Determined, GCA Staff Celebrate Staff Party Provides Warm Up for Exciting Holiday Season
- 2. high 5s Congratulations to the latest High 5 recipients: Christina Danos Andrew Davis Adriana Karka Melanie Garland Vicky Grumet Diane Hopper Janett Strachan Aleda Talbot Javier Zuleta Katie Nicholson Hanieh Khosroshahi Team Laura (Henderson) Trevor Moore Sarah Price June Weekes Whos missing? High 5 your colleague(s) today: Heres how you do it. X:Docs for All StaffTeam BuildingRecognition
- 3. GCAs Merry Halloween Spirit Signed, One Happy Parent Can you please give the staff a big thank you from us for sending the Halloween picture of Jack home and taking the time to dress him up and celebrate? The picture was adorable. Your staff are great and I want them to know how much we appreciate them. Have a great day!
- 4. Try Your Luck for a Buck at Stepping Stones Caf辿! Purchase your ticket for the holiday raffle to win a basket full of baked goods, including these coveted snowmen. Tickets are just $1 each and the winner will be announced on December 17th.
- 5. compliments from the chefs Snowman Cake Pops Recipe If you prefer to leave your baking to the professionals, stop by the caf辿 this month for a tasty treat. To prepare the cake, preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and line an 8-inch square cake pan. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well. With and electric mixer, blend eggs and sugar, oil and half of the vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly add and mix half the flour mixture and mix. Repeat this process with buttermilk, slowly add remaining flour mixture,as necessary. Do not over blend. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cake cool for 15 minutes, then invert onto a greased rack. Let it cool completely. To prepare buttercream, beat butter for a few minutes on medium speed. Add powdered sugar and mix on low until blended. Add the remaining half of the vanilla and heavy cream, beat on medium speed for another 3 minutes, or until buttercream becomes light and fluffy. To assemble cake pops, prepare two cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Break the cooled cake into a few big chunks by hand, place them into the bowl and mix on medium speed until the big pieces turn into crumbs. Gradually blend 1 to 1.5 cups of frosting to create dough. Scoop dough into 10 to 20 teaspoon-sized balls for the heads, and 10 to 20 tablespoon-sized balls for the bodies. Place on prepared cookie sheets and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Gradually melt the white candy melts in the microwave, heating in 10 second intervals and stirring in-between. Dip one end of a lollipop stick in the candy melts and insert all the way through a small cake ball, leaving about one centimetre of the stick at the bottom. Repeat with all mall cake balls. Set aside for 30 seconds. Remove the large cake balls from the refrigerator. Dip each small cake ball in the white candy melts and gently tap off excess. Carefully and quickly insert the end of the stick into a large cake ball. Secure the head and body part and let it stand for 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining cake balls. Dip each snowman body in the white candy melts and gently tap off excess. Place cake pop onto a piece of parchment paper. Let it dry completely. Use the candy to adorn your snowman with features and accessories! INGREDIENTS FOR THE CAKE BALLS: 1-村 cup All-purpose Flour 1 teaspoon Baking Powder 1 teaspoon Baking Soda 遜 teaspoons Salt 2 whole Large Eggs, Room Temperature 1 cup Granulated Sugar 遜 cups Canola Oil 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract 遜 cups Buttermilk, Room Temperature 2 sticks Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature 2 cups Powdered Sugar 2 Tablespoons Heavy Cream FOR THE COATING AND DECORATION: 1 bag (1 Lb. Size) White Candy Melts 1 packet of Fruit roll ups 1 small bag of M&Ms 20 Lollipop Sticks
- 6. Community Beats ImprovAbility A Conversation with Founder and CEO Alana Shields Barker By Ninsen Lo ImprovAbility, the brainchild of Alana Shields Barker, seeks to help individuals with special learning needs acquire the skills to achieve their goals. Barker, who currently teaches at George Brown College, has been affiliated with Second City for the past three decades. She sees first hand how learning theatre, comedy, and improv helps to improve the lives of participants and their families. As a mother of a son with ASD, she grew to notice how what she was teaching was similar to what he was experiencing. From there, she drew parallels from her know-how to her daily life and realities as a mother of a child with different learning needs. Alana works primarily with teenagers and young adults. She seeks fulfillment from seeing her participants experience something for themselves first-hand. For instance, she recalls a parent explaining significant differences they had noticed in their son after taking her improv class. They said he had a long conversation with us. This was an important stride for the whole family. It is comments such as these that give her meaning and purpose in doing the work that she does. As a person who wears many hats, she stresses her most important is as a mother, which limits her time and energy. Her son, who was diagnosed with ASD at the age of 4, had a kindergarten teacher who she thought was terrible, and mean. She then entered his classroom and saw that he was not relating to his peers. In turn, everybody else thought that he was doing something different. Upon receipt of an initial diagnosis, it is understandable for anyone to be overwhelmed with the exorbitant newly acquired knowledge. For Alana, as a parent, there was some grieving involved. For her personally, she thought that her life was over. It was not, but the way she had envisioned life was over. There were many questions she had and naturally, she wanted to find out more information pertaining to her familys new reality. She yearned to reach out to her son, among many things. He was an extension of herself in a smaller package and she wanted to learn about him, just as any parent would with their child. She holds the firm belief that ASD does not define the person. In her family, for instance, they had what were considered non-autism days where she focused on other things. Though she cant change her reality and the challenges that accompany it, she copes day-to-day the best way that she can whilst adopting a positive attitude and an optimistic outlook on life. Ninsen Lo is a Communications Intern at GCA and Community Beats columnist. She is a recent communications graduate (BA Hons) from York Universitys Class of 2013. Her academic background includes courses in policy, advertising, childrens media, and television. Please let her know if you have any story ideas you would like for her to cover.
- 7. Merton Muse columnist Ninsen Lo spotted Michael Gibson at the water cooler. She discovered more about his work with Adult Services Pathways of Extended Learning Program. She also found their differences, such as sporting interests, gave them a lot to talk about. What is your role at GCA? Im a Community Options Facilitator What is your primary responsibility? To support young adults between 18-29 years of age with their transition into adulthood. What is your goal in this role? To make a difference in the lives of people with ASD and to help them get more involved in the community. What is your motivation? At the core, it is to build relationships with clients, families, and community members as well as being an agent for social change. Whats one best practice you think all GCA employees can share? To believe in the mission statement and work towards successful community inclusion. What can we talk to you about at the water cooler? I am immensely fond of talking about my travels or travel in general. My other interests also include talk of exchanging new recipes, collecting Air Miles and flyers rewards, reading good books, political tales of the day, and Toronto sports teams (to Ninsens immense dismay). Spotted at the Water Cooler Look like anyone you know? Aleda Talbot thought her co-workers looked suspicious alike until she cracked the dress code. She tells the Merton Muse, Theyve been working together so long, theyve started to dress the same! Notice anything funny occurring on your team?