Party in the Park

A: The 6th Annual ‘Party in the Park’ will be held on the 22nd of July at the usual venue (New Lynn Park). This year we are pleased to announce a number of new features, as well as the all the traditional stalls, music and games that have made the Party in the Park such a success in previous years.

B: Live music will be provided on two stages throughout the day, with over 20 different bands. Festival favourites ‘Leaning Out’ will return again, as well as Irish dancing troupe the Emerald Slippers.  New acts this year are Screener, recently returned from a hugely successful tour of Europe, and Spider Slice, one of our home grown bands that have enjoyed great critical success over the last year.

C: There will be the traditional handicraft stalls, where you can watch local craftsman and artists at work as well as chance to purchase some of their unique products. Come and see the John Henry, a local artist who will draw pictures of portraits on request. There will also be a stall run by The Woodman, a local favourite who will again have wooden products on sale as well as short workshops on wood crafting for all those enthusiastic amateurs.

D: There will be plenty of food and drink stalls, ranging from sandwiches and coffee right through to ice creams served in pineapple halves and freshly squeezed exotic fruit juices. And of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to sample the products before you buy!

E: Due to the success of the event in previous years, we have added additional parking space this year. There will be two different car parks; the first, just off Turner Street, is allocated to people running stalls on the day, and a car park for the general public on Judd Road. We also have an overflow car park on Smith Lane, just a 10 minute walk from the event. The event is free to enter, but there is a charge of £1.50 for parking (please note that this must be paid in cash at the gate).

F: Hopefully the weather will be good, but the event will proceed regardless so make sure you bring some wet weather gear if it looks like rain on the day.

G: Please remember that this is an alcohol-free event. Anyone drinking alcohol within the park grounds will be asked to leave by security. We also ask smokers to use only the designated areas and to put all cigarette ends in the bins provided

Westgate Gym

Opening hours:
6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Friday. 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekends.
Facilities

• Sauna
• Exercise bicycles
• Boxing equipment
• Free weights
• Stations to work on individual muscle areas
• Hot showers

Classes

Awesome Abs
This class focuses on your abdominal muscles, giving an intense workout to get you in the best possible shape. Class sizes up to 12 with a private trainer.
Duration: 20 minutes
Days: Mondays and Wednesdays at 11 a.m.

Kick class
Get fit with this popular martial arts influenced class. You’ll kick, jab and punch your way to better health whilst actively reducing your level of stress! Class sizes of up to 20.
Duration: 30 minutes
Days: Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and Thursdays at 7 p.m.

X-Ride
Get on the highway to health in this addictive indoor ride. Our exercise bicycles are a great way to calorie burn your way to better fitness. The X-Ride class will take you through all levels of difficulty, with simulated uphill, downhill, street and mountain levels. We have 24 bicycles, so it’s a first come, first served class. Be here early to avoid disappointment!
Duration: 1 hour
Days: Mondays and Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Fridays at 4 p.m.

Pilates
Increase your flexibility with our Pilates class. Designed for beginners, this class requires no previous experience in a Pilates class. With groups no bigger than 6 people to one trainer, you can be sure of getting a personal experience.
Duration: 45 minutes
Days: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m.

Flex
Perfect for people trying to lose weight without trying to build too much muscle, this class will help you get in good shape without heavy lifting, as well as giving you a good workout. Maximum 18 per class.
Duration: 45 minutes
Days: Mondays only 4 p.m.

Energiser
The ideal choice for people keen to have a little extra energy in their daily lives, the ENERGISER class will help you feel refreshed and ready to go!. Over 6 weeks, this class will help build your energy and stamina, giving you some simple techniques that you can do at home or in the office to maintain your level of energy and fitness. Group sizes of up to 14.
Duration: 30 minutes
Days: Saturdays at 10 a.m. and Sundays 11 a.m.

Sculpt
This class is for those looking to build muscles and strength. You will show how to use different weights to target specific sets of muscles to build an all-over definition. NOTE: some experience of weight lifting is recommended before enrolling in this class. Maximum 8 people per class.
Duration: 40 minutes
Days: Mondays at 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. , Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and Fridays 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Induction programmes

Every organisation, large or small, should have a well-considered programme to introduce new employees to the company and help them build a degree of familiarity with their new workplace. This is referred to as an ‘induction’ programme and includes two specific aspects – , orientation, which focuses on getting the new employer familiar with the office environment, and socialisation which covers the establishment of building working relationships with their new colleagues.
However, designing an appropriate and cost-effective induction package can often be a huge challenge. A delicate balance has to be struck between providing all the information that new employees need (and are able to assimilate) without the employee being diverted from the essential process of integrating into their new environment.

The purpose of induction is to ensure the effective integration of staff into the organisation and research has shown that induction programmes increase staff retention. In order to provide a good induction programme, the following elements need to be considered:

• Physical orientation – pointing out where the facilities are
• Organisational orientation – showing how the new arrival how they fit in the organisation’s strategy and goals
• Health and safety information
• Details of the organisation itself – history, products / services, culture and values
• A clear outline of the job/role requirements and an explanation of the terms and conditions of employment  (although this could arguably have already been covered in the interview process)

It is a common misconception that only new employees need an induction to the company. In fact, it has been proven that a specifically tailored induction can be of great value to current and former employees, such as those returning from long-term absence or maternity/paternity leave, senior appointments, or recently promoted staff. Tailor-made programmes should also be available for contractors brought in for a specific purpose.

The dangers of not having an induction programme were identified in a Harvard study, which found that new employees did not really understand the organisation itself or their role in it, in turn leading to

• poor integration into the team
• low morale, particularly for the new employee
• loss of productivity
• failure to work to their highest potential

In extreme cases, the new employee leaves, either through resignation or dismissal.

The question of who should be involved in the creation and delivery of an induction programme is often left until to the Human Resources department, yet this has proven to lead to a generic ‘one size fits all’ type of induction, which has far less value than a more personalised approach. There will be slight variations between companies depending on size and variety of products or services, but the ideal approach seems to be an integrated induction requiring input from a number of areas within the company.

Typically, the inductee’s future manager or supervisor will oversee the explanation of departmental organisation, the requirements of the job, the purpose and operation of any probationary period and other internal processes. Human Resources would cover those aspects typically referred to as ‘housekeeping’ – this would include ensuring all contact details, payment details etc had been recorded accurately.  Explaining legal health and safety issues could also be covered by the HR department, although (if one has been appointed) this would ideally be the Safety Officer’s role.

Many inductions make the common error of getting the manager or supervisor to provide an escorted tour of the department and introduce fellow workers, yet it has been found to be more beneficial for team building to actually nominate a colleague with roughly equal status in the company. These people also have been found best to give day-to-day guidance in local procedures for the first couple of weeks, as it creates a mentor-like arrangement giving the new employee someone to ask questions without having to repeatedly report to the manager.

Having given an explanation of the department’s role in the country, the direct manager should ideally then invite a senior manager to give an overview of the organisation, its history, products and services, quality system and culture. This allows the new employee to see the company as having a sense of horizontal integration.