If you answered no to this question, now is the time to sign up for the last course of the year with the National First Aid Academy: www.nfaa.co.za .It’s the final level 1 course for 2011 on 29 & 30 November starting at 9am. Where is it happening?
Cape Town: V&A Waterfront
Durban: Blue Waters Hotel Marine parade
Gauteng: Bentley Office Park Rivonia
To sign up please fill in the registration form ( Click here to download the NFAA Course Registration form ) and sent it back to them via email or fax ( 086 616 2988 ). On reciept of your signup form they will send you an invoice, that is payable before the course starts. For more information you can contact Anne-Marie on 086 163 2200 or 082 337 2737.
I’d like to give Retha Koekemoer, a big warm welcome to our team. She’ll be assisting in checking references, assisting candidates through our application process, checking documentation, setting up interviews and working closely with all of you going forward! Welcome Retha! we look forward to having you on the team for years to come!
Holiday Entertainment for the entire family in Cape Town this holiday, don’t miss out! Canal Walk presents Hansel and Gretel :
Dates: Sat, 25 June to Sun, 17 July 2011
Show times: Tues to Sun at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm
Venue: Canal Walk Theatre – Central Court
Ticket price: R50 – Book at Computicket
One of the world’s best loved fairy tales, Hansel and Gretel, premières this winter at the Canal Walk Theatre in a spectacular new family musical by Fred Abrahamse and Marcel Meyer. Based on the classic tale by the Brothers Grimm, this exciting new musical is brought to life on stage with breathtaking sets, magnificent costumes and memorable songs. Television actress Chanelle De Jager, best known for her portrayal as Des du Pont in the much-loved soap Egoli, stars as the Wicked Witch. Fleur du Cap award winning actress Jenny Stead stars as Gretel and exciting new-comer Steven van Wyk plays her brother, Hansel. Pantomime and musical theatre stalwart, both locally and in the UK, Mark Sykes will feature as Hansel and Gretel’s father.
Not to be missed, Hansel and Gretel is the perfect holiday entertainment for the entire family! Of course, the wonderful theatre is complemented by the many world-class family shopping and leisure experiences offered at Canal Walk.
Another wonderful update for our staff and clients. We are adding candidate’s photo’s to profiles on our website. If you are listed with us, check out your profile in the next few days. We are uploading these manually so it may take some time before yours shows up. If you don’t like your current photo please send a new one to staff@sitters4u.co.za . Please ensure that your photo is in an ID style but includes a lovely smile.
What we like:
What we don’t like:
Please do not send us photos including
other people (or any part of another person either around you or next to you)
Sitters4U has just launched its updated website. The first thing you will notice is that Sitters4U no longer includes the frailcare section which is now available at www.frailcare 4u.co.za.
There are 3 places in which you can operate the sitters4u website, either using the quicklink section on the top right hand side of the page, or breadcrumb section under the main photo of each page or from the navigation bar at the top of the site.
In the first section ‘Au pairs’ you’ll find everything you need to know about using our service, including our new salary calculator. Using the calculator simply enter the number of hours you require per week, the minimum rate and maximum rate, you can use the guidelines provided to establish what hourly rate you should be offering, once you have entered this information this calculator establishes the salary you should be offering an au pair.
Next up on our service list is our babysitting club service. This service caters to long term babysitting clients looking for a reliable babysittiing service for occasional evening and weekend babysitting services. Most of our babysitters are teachers or au pairs by day and quality of staff and service, our number one priority. You can sign up for the club by clicking here.
Once signed up and registered, you can easily login at the top right hand corner of the site and make your bookings online. Select your chosen candidate , or leave it blank and complete the booking date and time. Its that simple. We then ensure that even if your regular sitter is not available, you have a number of babysitting options to choose from.
Our other services include frailcare services through the Frailcare4u website, housesitting, driver placements and the placement of tutors, facilitators, homeschool teachers, and trainers.
Moving on to our Apply section, you will notice the new news section displayed through out most pages of the website and throughout the entirety of the apply section. This feed makes it simple for candidates to see and receive new notifications about what new positions are available, i.e. Get an instant message via email everytime we have a new position available. You can subscribe to this feed by clicking the RSS button or filling in your email address for email notices on the website in the space provided below the feed. You can then respond immediately to positions as they become available. Please note only candidates that have been interviewed and approved for listing may respond to available positions.
We’d love to know how many of our candidates are using smart phones, or receive their email via their cellphones. Take the poll:
Au pairs, night nurses, babysitters, infant care specialists and drivers must all complete this form to apply. Tutors, home school teachers, facilitators and trainers can use this form, while house and pet sitters make use of this one.
Our application forms are all online making applications a simple 2 step process in order to be considered for positions. Complete the form and send your documentation as specified in the guide provided in order to be considered for interview.
We are looking for candidates for au pairing, babysitting, night nursing, infant care specialists, tutors, drivers, home school teachers and instructors. Listing and applying with Sitters4U is 100% free. Click here to recommend your friends to join our team. Please do remember that we require candidates to have professional experience with references, their own vehicle, a minimum of matric ( preferably higher) and a willingness to do a first aid course if not yet completed.
For any other queries or questions, contact us by using the form on our contact page, or using one of the various methods provided on the contact page.
I thought you might like to check out my daughters favourite new website. Visit songdrops.com
We love the duck and best friend songs, great for any age whether you are 2 or 95 years old, you will enjoy these. Have a wonderful long weekend everyone. Waddle, waddle.
The Baphumelele Children’s home needs your support. Its as easy as purchasing some of their gorgeous frames.
The home houses 160 children aged from 3 months to 19 years of age. On their premises are 4 labourers who produce gorgeous frames, black boards and pin boards, etc. 50% of the profit they make on everything they sell goes to the Children’s Home to buy food, nappies, etc. Contact Sue for enquiries on 0838681064 or suewm@absamail.co.za
Yesterday Facebook launched Facebook Places. Sounds great, it tells anyone where you are, even to the point of map location and street address. Anyone can find out where you are when you are logged in. It gives the actual address & map location of where you are as you use Facebook. Wait, hold on, that is the exact opposite of great, this is a very dangerous application. If your teenagers are using Face Book, protect your children, make sure they know about this new issue and assist them to disable the application. To turn this application off, click on the “Account” button in the top right hand corner, go to ‘Settings’ and select ‘Notifications”, then scroll down to “Places…” and UNCHECK the two boxes. Please pass this information on to anyone you know who lets their children use Facebook.
The NFAA ( National First Aid Academy) is a SETA approved first aid course provider. Their services range from basic to Level 3 courses. As an au pair or child carer you are responsible for the children you care for and it is imperative that you are trained to handle any and every medical situation that may arise while you are caring for a child. Doing a simple safety course will not cut it. In order to care for a child you need at least a SETA approved level 1 course.
The NFAA’s level 1 course covers all of the following topics:
Principals of first aid and safety
Emergency Management
Artificial Respiration
One rescuer C.P.R
Choking
Wounds and Bleeding
Shock
Unconsciousness
Fainting
Fractures
Burns
Head and Spinal Column injuries
The duration of the course is generally 16 Hours or 2 days and it is one of the most reasonably priced courses in South Africa at only R400.00 per student, whereas most level 1 courses run for around R 600.00 per student. The certificate is also valid for 3 years.
Up and coming level 1 first aid course dates with the NFAA in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria are:
Gauteng:
Vereeniging/vanderbijlpark: 7-8 September 2010
Western Cape:
Bellville: 13-14 September 2010
Protea Hotel, Victoria Junction: 21-22 September
Elsiesriver: 31 august – 1 September 2010
For Further information or to book contact the NFAA on 086 163 2200
On the 18th of July, Nelson Mandela, an icon, winner of the noble peace prize, president and inspiration to humanity as a whole, turns 92 this year.
We celebrate his life and legacy with the new internationally acclaimed ‘Mandela Day’ ( visit the Mandela Day website by clicking here). This special day calls upon us all to give just 67 minutes of our lives to improve the lives of humanity as a whole. Mandela Day is an ongoing celebration and a global call to action for people to recognize their individual power to make a difference. There are so many ways to do just that. For some wonderful ideas on how you can make a contribution, check out News24′s article on volunteer ideas for the day by clicking here.
You could also organise a door-to-door collection of tinned food, toilet paper and clothes in your neighbourhood. Its simple, select an orphanage or charity, get a bunch of friends together with some boxes and go door-to-door for just an hour. You’d be surprised at how much people are willing to give when its for a good cause.
Tell your children about this day and continue the legacy. Take them along to selected Exclusive Books stores ( participating stores listed below) where they will be hosting 67 minutes of reading and creating hand print cards ( click here to find out more) to send the Mandela foundation on Sunday the 18th at 10h30:
La Lucia
Morningside Shopping Centre
Somerset Mall
Westville
Canal Walk
Cavendish Square
Mimosa Mall
Bayside
Constantia
Piazza St John
Hemingways
Whatever you do, where ever you are, no matter whether you are rich or poor, young or old, your contribution counts. Spread the spirit and message of Ubuntu and let us know what you will be doing this Mandela day.
The National First Aid Academy ( NFAA) will be hosting their next First Aid Level One course this week on the 14th and 15th of July 2010 at 9 am in Belleville. The venue for the course is Belleville Town Lodge co Willie Van Schoor and Mispel Rd, Belleville.
Other Course dates for Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria courses in July and August:
First Aid Level One Weekend Course : Bedfordview: 24 and 31 July 2010
First Aid Level One and Two Combined : Pretoria: 19 – 22 July 2010
First Aid Level One :Rustenburg: 26 – 27 July 2010
First Aid Level One:Pretoria:10 – 11 August 2010
First Aid Level One and Two Combined: Pretoria: 10 – 13 August 2010
First Aid Level One: Roodepoort: 16 – 17 August 2010
First Aid Level One and Two Combined: Roodepoort: 16 – 19 August 2010
Basic Fire Control: Roodepoort: 20 August 2010
Safety Representative :Roodepoort: 20 August 2010
First Aid Level One: Cape Town :10 – 11 August 2010
First Aid Level One and Two Combined: Cape Town:10 – 13 August 2010
Basic Fire Control : Cape Town: 20 August 2010
Safety Representative : Cape Town: 20 August 2010
Sleep is a necessity and a vital biological function to any healthy human beings daily cognitive and motor functions. It is imperative to your physical and emotional stability and your ability to do even the most menial of tasks. For those who indulge in getting enough sleep (and many of us don’t), sleep fights off and prevents depression, it allows you to maintain a healthy weight, recharge with an increased production in proteins ( hence the term ‘beauty sleep’), it is responsible for the release of growth hormones in both children and adults, sleep increases your resistance to illness as well as regulates your digestion, metabolism, breathing and heart beat.
Lack of sleep, in contrast, has some seriously nasty results including but not limited to; general drowsiness, impaired memory, poor physical performance, hallucinations and mood swings as well as ( horror of horrors) weight gain and wrinkles. Recently it has also been discovered that lack of sleep may even shorten your life span.
So, if you are wondering why your teenager is moody as an angry cat that accidentally fell in the bath tub, your toddler doesn’t want to learn how to use a potty or is constantly sick, or your 8 year olds grades are dropping, check their sleeping pattern. The answer may be as simple as putting the lights out a little earlier than usual.
Now I hear you asking, ‘ But how much sleep should I be getting?’ . Well according to various sleep foundations and experts there isn’t really a magic number, however the consensus points to the following guidelines:
Newborns: 0-2 months : 12 to 18 hours
Infants: 3 -11 months: 14 to 15 hours
Toddlers: 1-3 years: 12 to 14 hours
Preschoolers: 3-5 years : 11 to 13 hours
School Age Children: 5 to 10 years: 10 to 11 hours
Teens:10 to 17 years old: 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours
Adults: 7 to 9 hours
On that note I had better be nodding off shortly myself. Watch this space for tips on creating a good sleeping pattern. Good night, sleep tight and don’t have that last cup of coffee before hitting the hay, your body will be grateful in the morning.
Recently after a lovely dinner, we returned home and got into a conversation with our babysitter, one of our candidates, that completely and utterly made my stomach churn.
Besides working as an au pair and babysitter for Sitters4U, our babysitter on this particular evening is a volunteer with Justice ACTS, an organisation that assists victims of human trafficking, right here in our beautiful country. One always imagines, this kind of thing to be a myth, something that happens somewhere else, certainly not in your own city.The truth is unfortunately daunting, scary and as their campaign states ‘ The truth isn’t sexy’. Here are some scary facts for you:
Human Trafficking is a large issue in South Africa.
Has just surpassed weapons trafficking as the second most lucrative crime in the world.
It’s organised. It’s a business. It’s the selling of human beings.
It’s supply verses DEMAND.
There are not enough women and girls in the world who will willingly prostitute themselves.
80% of Human Trafficking in South Africa is into the sex trade.
Now if that didn’t get your attention this will; our babysitter shared with us a story of a man, who had a family, lived in the suburbs and to anyone looking in, would have seemed like any other ordinary person. Behind the vail of normality, he was a drug lord who then delved into prostitution and this then evolved to trafficking, trafficking of humans, children, to be more precise. A little down the line apparently, he could not take it any more and he spilled the beans.Claiming that who knows who, was wanting over 100 000 trafficked human beings to be available over the world cup period. She didn’t know this persons name nor any further details, apparently his life is in danger for sharing the truth.
Just to give you an idea of what the picture is like, girls and boys aged from 7 or 8 years old upwards who are kidnapped or whose parents give their children up believing that they will be taken care of, educated etc, are instead raped and drugged until they are considered ‘trained’ for prostitution, while younger children are used in porn movies. It made me sick on the spot to hear of such enormous cruelty and violation towards any human being, let alone innocent children.
In any event, my partner and I sat there horrified out of our minds and the very next day resolved to assist in whatever way we could. We found out that , believe it or not, there is not a single safe house for the victims of human trafficking in the entirety of South Africa. Justice ACTS is an organisation trying to raise funds towards the purchase of property, caring for these children and adolescents and doing their utmost to get them off the streets and out of these monsters hands to safety. We also took a look at their current website and awareness campaign’s. They needed help and we were the perfect people to assist in this department.
My partner owns a web design business www.artificialstudio.com and together we decided to sponsor a new website for them and assist their campaign to raise awareness. Currently until their new website is launched later this week, Artificial Studio have put up a mini page just giving you an idea on how bad the situation really is. Check out http://www.thetruthisntsexy.co.za/ . Other websites you can view in the interim include http://www.notforsalecampaignsa.org/ and http://abstain.africanrenewal.org/ . If you want to do something to assist, get in contact with them, make a donation, send a link to this article or these websites to your friends, or volunteer like Greer and many others are doing, walking the streets in groups at night and approaching girls to check if they are perhaps victims in need of assistance and getting them out of brothels etc, perhaps send this letter to your child’s school ( click the link to download) ( Justice ACTS letter to schools). Check back to www.justiceacts.org over the next few days as this is going to be the new website for the organisation and will have more information on how you can help. With more people in slavery today than when slavery was legal, shouldn’t you do something to raise awareness and help fight this evil?
Looking for a fun way to make a difference? Host a Swop-4-Charity Party..
Recently, I got a few friends together. Inspired by overflowing cupboards, years of my mother saying “If you haven’t touched it in 6 months, it’s unlikely you ever will again”, friends feeling guilty about giving their old clothes to their domestic instead of giving them to a charity, and of course, one we all know quite well, ” I’m giving away that bag of clothes on Monday, see if there is anything you like before I do?” , it felt like a crazy idea but I braved the odds and hosted what will hopefully now become a tradition. Our very first Swop-4-Charity party. It was a great way to catch up with girlfriends, we all brought snacks, and some bubbly and at least 10 items (some brought quite a few more than the required 10). By the time we were all assembled there were over a hundred items to choose from and we had such a great time! It’s true what they say, one man’s (or in this case woman’s) trash is another’s treasures. Pieces I was positive no one would want, went, and others I felt sure would go, didn’t. We all went home with some new items, a smile and were left with 4 black bags of clothing for charity. The charity we chose in this case was the Saartjie Baartman Centre in Manenberg, Cape Town which is a centre for women and children who are survivors of abuse.
If you do decide to host a party, write to us and tell us how it goes, which are your favourite charities and why. You can email sitters@sitters4u.co.za and we will post to our blog.
Helpful hints:
Just remember to keep a dice handy so that should there be a quibble you can roll the dice to see who gets to a try the garment first.
You can even do a bit of a run way ‘speel’ and if you aren’t sure about an item ask your friends to vote.
When doing your regular shopping, buy extra toilet rolls, tinned foods, soap, diapers, toothpaste and toothbrushes, ask friends to bring these along to the party simultaneously as for most charities these everyday items we take for granted, are unavailable.
Teach your children to donate their old toys, books and puzzles. Every 6 months go through their toys and ask them which toys they would like to give a child with no toys. Take them with you when you go and drop them off. You will be surprised at how good they feel after seeing that they can really make a difference to this world with such a simple gesture.
Looking for a fun way to make a difference? In the month of May, I got a few friends together. Inspired by overflowing cupboards, years of my mother saying “If you haven’t touched it in 6 months, it’s unlikely you ever will again”, friends feeling guilty about giving their old clothes to their domestic instead of giving them to a charity, and of course, one we all know quite well, ” I’m giving away that bag of clothes on Monday, see if there is anything you like before I do?” , it felt like a crazy idea but I braved the odds and hosted what will hopefully now become a tradition. Our very first Swop-4-Charity party. It was a great way to catch up with girlfriends, we all brought snacks, and some bubbly and at least 10 items (some brought a whole lot more). There were over a hundred items to choose from and we had such a great time!
It’s true what they say, one man’s (or in this case woman’s) trash is another’s treasures. Pieces I was positive no one would want, went, and others I felt sure would go, didn’t. We all went home with some new items, a smile and were left with 4 black bags of clothing for charity. The charity we chose in this case was the Saartjie Baartman Centre in Manenberg, Cape Town which is a centre for women and children who are survivors of abuse. If you do decide to host a party, write to us and tell us how it goes, which are your favourite charities and why. You can email sitters@sitters4u.co.za and we will post to our blog.
Helpful hints:
Just remember to keep a dice handy so that should there be a quibble you can roll the dice to see who gets to a try the garment first.
You can even do a bit of a run way ‘speel’ and if you aren’t sure about an item ask your friends to vote.
When doing your regular shopping keep buy extra toilet rolls, tinned foods, soap, diapers, toothpaste and toothbrushes, ask friends to bring these along to the party simultaneously as for most charities these everyday items we take for granted are unavailable.
Teach your children to donate their old toys, books and puzzles. Every 6 months go through their toys and ask them which toys they would like to give a child with no toys. Take them with you when you go and drop them off. You will be surprised at how good they feel after seeing that they can really make a difference to this world with such a simple gesture.
“Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad.” -Anne Geddes.
Sitters4U would like to Wish all the dad’s out there a Happy Fathers Day!
You’re a dad, and you’re doing great;
At fatherly duties you star;
You deserve to celebrate
The terrific father you are.You’re doing a wonderful job,
And so we’d like to convey
Our respect and admiration;
Happy Father’s Day!
I just want to tell you, you guys are the best au-pair agency in Cape Town!I am registered at 2 other agencies,and they never keep me updated on au-pair positions like you do,and not at all helpfull!!Sitters4u are really the best agency,and all my friends and family agree.Thank you!
Its receiving email like this from our staff and clients that keep us giving the best service we can give, not only to our clients but our candidates too!
Its term 2 and time to join SynEdgy Conscious Educator’s Group for their 2nd Free Workshop this year ( check out the details of the first one here, if you missed out). Join Robin and Debbie on the 4th and 6th of May 2010 from 15h00 to 16h30 at Fish Hoek Library in Cape Town. I would like to encourage all school teachers, assistant teachers and au pairs to attend this particular workshop. This time around attendees will learn the skills required to assist children to resolve conflict with others. Knowing how to resolve a conflict peacefully and without assistance is a skill that we all require and for children in particular this skill will allow them to develop stronger relationships with friends, family, teachers, au pairs and others alike.
Teaching a child to resolve a conflict will assist you, while at the same time empowering him or her to understand that they do not need to always rely on adults to resolve their conflicts for them. Personally through my involvement as a child carer and as a parent myself, I have seen children feel absolutely helpless when they are unable to control their emotions in a conflict situation.
So be there, learn and share. Let Robin Booth, Founder and Principal of SynEdgy School, together with Debbie Ntshangase, qualified life coach and current pre-school teacher at Synergy School, lead you through this workshop to gain new insights and learn new skills to becoming the most effective educator you can be. As Synergy puts it, and I will have to agree,
Each and every person who interacts with a child has the opportunity to make a difference to that child, whether you intend to or not, whether you are skilled at it, or not.
Up until just recently Sitters4U was sending out a monthly newsletter, ‘The Mom’s Gig Guide’ . This newsletter featured events that would be of interest to both parents, children and staff. However after much debate, revision and review of our newsletter we tested a few different formats to determine what information the receivers of our newsletters prefer. After watching the statistics, we decided it was about time for a revamp! Sitters4U is about placing top quality au pairs, babysitters, drivers and more, while adding value to the service our clients receive from us.
Thus far we have achieved this through adding free services such as comprehensive guidelines on interviews processes for both clients and au pair staff, articles of interest, The Mom’s Gig Guide, the Mom’s Link Directory and a number of other services. The core function of Sitters4U though, is and always will be our placement services. We have found that while it is regrettably impossible to please all of our clients, all of the time we are in fact pleased about this. We prefer quality over quantity, it has always been the a golden rule I have held close to my heart through any endeavour I have undertook. If you are going to do something, do it properly or not at all. We cannot have a large number of perfect choices for any client, in any place, at any required time, if we did, we would need to accept 100% of the applying applicants and 90% of the candidates we would be promoting would not best possible au pairs or staff we could find. Considering the fact that only about 10% of applicants ever make it through the initial applications, interviews, reference and background checks, to join the Sitters4U team, and we are proud of each and every one of those that do make it all the way.
In our new newsletter we will still feature a calendar where you can link to the The Mom’s Gig Guide to keep up to date with what activities are happening in your city. However we will be focusing mainly on our newly listed au pairs, tutors, house sitters and drivers, who they are, what they have achieved thus far, details on their experience and what they are looking for in a family, their current times of availability, areas of availability, and salary requirements. We feel that this is a great way for clients to also become a little more informed as to new staff that may be of interest to them and be the first to request interviews with them.
We hope that our clients and candidates alike, will join us in welcoming our new staff to the Sitters4U team! We will be sending out the first newsletter on 28th of April 2010.
A while ago we blogged a post on the Hope Town Soup Kitchen Silent Charity Auction. Collectively the auction raised a decent R4730 for the Hope Town Soup Kitchen and the highest bidders were:
Bid Winners
Item
Highest Bid
Bidder
Slivers Hamper
310
Martin
Men’s Running Shoes
350
Trevor S
Women’s Running Shoes
400
Ben
New Balance compression suit
1010
Martin
Adidas Jabulani Match Ball
450
Jason Bailey 1
Adidas Bafana Bafana Top
550
Jason Bailey 1
Western Province Players Top
400
John
Ajax Cape Town Players Top
250
Trevor Marshall
Orlando Pirates Players Top
250
Pete
Oakley GAS CAN Sunglasses
760
Martin
There were a few people who were understandably a little upset with dear ‘Martin’ who kept on adding just R10 to bids. Check out what one participant had to say on the subject with her post ‘How to ruin a charity auction‘. Let us know what you think.
