The Tri-Community CMFRC News January 2011

The Tri-Community
CMFRC News
January 2011
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
Tri-Community Canadian Military Family Resource Centre Staff:
Tri-Community CMFRC:
Director
Community Outreach Coordinator
Child & Youth Development Coordinator
Personal Development & Education Coordinator
Youth Model Coordinator
Community Services Provider
Finance Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Slot # 4122
Building 98, NATO Air Base
Geilenkirchen, 52511, Germany
Telephone: +49-(0)2451-982020
Fax: +49-(0)2451-5571
E-mail: cmfrc-gk@hotmail.com
Kathy Dallaire
Michele Gillan
Nancy Andrews
Corry Robinson
Lisa Beck
Michelle Cloutier
Lucheia Jamieson
Sheila Conway
Visit our website: www.familyforce.ca
FAMILY
FORCE
January 2011
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1
SEASON’S GREETINGS
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Coffee
Morning
1000 - 1130 hrs
9
10
16
17
Youth Council
Meeting
AFNORTH
Early Dismissal
11
12
TAPS
0930 - 1130 hrs
CMFRC
CLOSED
18
19
25
TAPS
0930 - 1130 hrs
26
20
21
Teen Trip to
London
31
22
Teen Trip to
London
AFNORTH
no school for
Junior High
& High
School
27
28
Coffee
Morning
1000 - 1130 hrs
30
15
1000 - 1130 hrs
1630 hrs
24
14
Pause Café!
Advisory
Committee
1300 - 1430hrs
23
Teen Trip
to
London
13
29
Happy
Holidays
FROM THE TRI-COMMUNITY CMFRC
Please be aware that the
Tri-Community CMFRC will be closed:
Thursday, 23 December 2010 through
Friday, 31 December 2010.
Upcoming Events in the Local Area:
Upcoming Christmas Markets in the local area:
Weihnachtsmärkte in Nordrhein-Westfalen 2010 - Christmas Markets in the local area!
*Tip! Cities and towns with the postal code beginning with 52*** are within a 1 hr drive.
December 2010
17 - 19 December - Heinsberg, Germany - Weihnachtsmärkte Heinsberg
17 - 31 December - Place Sainte Catherine - Winter Wonders
Starting 15 December (1900 - 2300 hrs) - Gouda, Netherlands - Gouda By Candlelight
17 - 27 December - Rotterdam, Netherlands - Kerstcircus Ahoy
18 - 19 December - Burg Satzvey, Germany - Castle Weihnachtsmärkte
18 - 28 December - Enschede, Netherlands - International Circus Festival
21 - 29 December - Antwerpen, Belgium - Winterfoor Funfair for Children
26 - 30 December - Mechelen, Belgium - Jumping Mechelen Horse show
January 2011
1 January 2011 (1400hrs) - Brugges, Belgium - New Year’s Day Carillon
1 January 2011 - Ostend, Belgium - Ostend’s New Year’s Dive
8 - 10 January 2011 - Ronse, Belgium - Bommel Festival
20 - 23 January 2011 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Horse Jumping Amsterdam
21 - 30 January 2011 - Brussels, Belgium - Brussels Antiques and Fine Arts Fair
Also, What's Up? for this week is now available, and the newest additions can be found at:
http://www.europe.forces.gc.ca/sites/page-eng.asp?page=8072
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Duty Officer: ………………………………………………………………………. +49-(0)172-534-5900
Canadian Medical Office:………………………………………………….…….. +49-(0)2451-717-301
Pharmacy:…………………………………………………………………….……. +49-(0)2451-717-308
Canadian Dental Office:…………………………………………………….……. +49-(0)2451-717-330
Canadian Social Worker:………………………………………………………… +49-(0)2451-717-309
(Daytime only)
Canadian Chaplain Office:………………………………………………………. +49-(0)2451-632-229
Chaplain cell phone:……………………………………………………………… +49-(0)172-534-5916
Tri-Community CMFRC: ………………………………………………………… +49-(0)2451-98-2020
Mission Information Line (Call Collect):………………………………………….. 001-613-995-5234
Member Assistance Program:……………………………………………………. 001-800-268-77088
City Cab Taxi: ………………………………………………………………………... +49-(0)2451-8888
AFNORTH School Canadian Section:…………………………………………... +31-(0)45-527-8201
CFN Radio Station:…………………………………………………………………. +31-(0)45-526-3791
Office of the AJAG Europe:…………………………………………………………………...
+49-(0)2451-717-170
CFSU(E) Military Police:……………………………………………………….... +49-(0)172-534-5903
Kinder Korner:……………………………………………………………………... +49-(0)2451-717-221
Check your “Thriving in Europe” handbook for more services and contact numbers.
Family in town?
Looking for a day trip around Geilenkirchen?
Enjoy the Dusseldorf Christmas Market and city tour by train! It’s too easy!
Dusseldorf Christmas Market is open from now until 23 December 2010, daily
from 1100 hrs to 2000 hrs from Sunday to Thursday and to 2100 hrs on Fridays
and Saturdays.
Take the train!
The straight through train to Dusseldorf leaves the Geilenkirchen train station
from platform 2 at 37 minutes after every hour and arrives in Dusseldorf at 34
minutes after every hour.
Take the U-Bahn three stops from the Dusseldorf Hbf to Heinrich Heine Allee for
the Christmas Market.
Returning to Geilenkirchen from Dusseldorf, the straight through train leaves
Dusseldorf 22 minutes after every hour and arrives in GK at 17 minutes after
every hour.
*Are you travelling as a couple or in a group of up to 5 adults? Buy a
SchönerTagTicket (weekdays) for 35 Euro return or a Schönes-WochenendeTicket (weekend) for 39 Euro return.
*SchönerTagTicket and Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket are return tickets for
upto five people and include the U Bahn travel.
*Always leave enough time to check your platform on the Deutsch Bahn
machines in the Dusseldorf Hbf.
Düsseldorf Christmas Tour "Jingle bells, Jingle bells"
You are invited to a merry stroll through the festively illuminated Old Town during the Advent
season. Savour the fragrances of cinnamon and gingerbread, of mulled wine and hot chestnuts
lingering in the narrow lanes, and listen to the stories and poems shared by your well-informed guide.
Fridays and Saturdays: 18 November – 23 December 2010
1600 hrs
Adults €12, Children (6 - 12 years) €6
20 % reduction with the Düsseldorf Welcome Card
The meeting point for the tour is the tourist info office in the Old Town at Marktstrasse and
Rheinstrasse.
Want to go somewhere else?
Go to http://www.bahn.com/i/view/index.shtml
Click on Germany on the map and choose Germany on the drop down tab. The English pages will load.
Where to Shop on Sundays!
If you would like more information on Sunday shopping in the Netherlands, see the following website:
http://www.koopzondagen.net/.
*Please note that the www.koopzondagen.net website reports that the dates for Sunday shopping 2011 in the Netherlands
have been based upon last year’s dates and have yet to be confirmed with local municipalities.
Trying to find a store? Another great feature of the www.koopzondagen.net website is a listing of the major local stores and
addresses in each city. For example, to view stores located in Maastricht:
1. Go to www.koopzondagen.net.
2. Click on the province of Limburg.
3. Click on (for example) Maastricht.
4. Click on the link ‘Bekijk ook Winkels in Maastricht’ located above 2010.
5. Feel free to click on the name of the store you are interested in visiting to see
the address(es) of the store(s) in Maastricht.
Great information and easy to find!
19 December 2010
Maastricht - Centrum
Heerlen - Centrum, t’Loon Shopping Centre, Woonboulevard
Heerlen - Hoensbroek
Geleen - Centrum
Sittard Geleen – Born
Weert - Centrum, Garden Lifestyle
Eindhoven - Winklecentrum Woensel
Venray - Centrum
Helmond - Centrum
Beek - MAKADO Shopping Centre
Roermond - Centrum, Designer outlet center, Huis & Tuinboulevard,
Retailpark
Venlo - Centrum
Den Bosch - Tuincentra
Valkenburg aan de Geul - Tourist shops
Maasgouw - Thorn -Tourist shops
Vaals - Tourist shops
Amsterdam - Centrum and Museum Quarter
Rotterdam - Centrum, Alexandrium Shopping Center Rotterdam
Den Haag - Centrum
26 December 2010 - Boxing Day (tweede kerstdag)
Heerlen - Woonboulevard
Venlo - Centrum
Helmond - Centrum
Valkenburg aan de Geul - Tourist shops
Maasgouw - Thorn -Tourist shops
Vaals - Tourist shops
Amsterdam - Centrum and Museum Quarter
Rotterdam - Centrum
Den Haag - Centrum
Roermond - Designer outlet center, Huis & Tuinboulevard, Retailpark
Friday, 31 December 2010 - New Year’s Eve
(Oudjaarsdag)
New Year's Eve Day (31 December 2010): Opening hours are the same
as Sunday Shopping hours from 1200 hrs to 1700 hrs. Please note that
in larger cities, shops may choose to open at 1100 hrs.
2 January 2011
Geleen - Centrum
Sittard - Centrum
German Christmas
Traditions
Christmas Eve - Heiliger Abend (also Heiligabend)
December 24th begins as a regular workday, but by 2:00 pm, businesses close
in preparation for the holiday celebration. The traditional evening meal includes
carp and potato salad. Families sing Christmas carols together and may read
the story of Christ's birth aloud. Family members exchange gifts with children
being the focal point of the gift exchange. The tradition of opening gifts on
Heiliger Abend (rather than on December 6th in honour of St. Nicholas) was
started by Martin Luther in the 16th century in favour of a celebration that
honoured Christ rather than a Catholic saint and German children eagerly await
the arrival of the Christ child that will brings their gifts.
On Christmas Eve, German families, Protestant and Catholic, often attend mass
or a church service. While the mass traditionally takes place at midnight, in
recent times the services have moved into the earlier evening hours.
Christmas Day(s) - der erste und zweite Weihnachtstag
Both December 25 and 26 are legal holidays in Germany and are known as the
First and Second Christmas Day. What originally started out as a church
celebration of Christ's birth has gradually become a family celebration.
Businesses are closed, and time is spent visiting with extended family. Goose,
rabbit or a roast is the traditional fare on the First Christmas Day. These
are accompanied by traditional German fare such as apple and sausage stuffing,
red cabbage, and potato dumplings. The second Christmas day is usually a
quieter time, a day for peaceful contemplation.
Frohe Weihnachten!
Do you have refundable pop
cans overtaking your house?
The Youth Council
Committee would love
to take these cans
off of your hands.
Please drop off your cans
between 1 December to
31 January 2011
at the CMFRC,
Monday to Friday
from 0800 hrs to 1600 hrs.
Thank you for your support.
The money raised will help
support upcoming events for
teens (12-18) in the
Tri-Community area.
Please note: Schinnen pop cans are
not refundable in Germany.
Language Skills Open Doors!
Thinking about participating in a
language course through the JFCB
International Language Program or
the Volkshochschule this January?
A quick reminder to our members that the Tri-Community
CMFRC will reimburse up to € 90 for a German or Dutch
language course, depending on your country of residence.
To be eligible:
•
You MUST have the language course approved by the CMFRC
prior to the start of the course.
•
Within 30 days of the language course completion, provide your
official receipt and course completion certificate (85% attendance
required) to claim your reimbursement for the course and child care.
Let us help with child care costs!
We will reimburse 50% of your child care costs while attending a
language course. A receipt from your child care provider is
necessary to receive a reimbursement.
New Languages = New Possibilities
Rosetta Stone
Online Language License
Learn your host-nations’ language from the comfort of your home.
GREAT NEWS!
The Tri-Community CMFRC has been granted
11 additional Rosetta Stone licenses!
Are you interested in learning Dutch or German?
Do you want to continue your language learning now that the
JFC Language Program and Volchschule classes have finished for
the season?
Interested community members are requested to register at the
Tri-Community CMFRC during regular business hours.
“Rosetta Stone utilizes a combination of images, text, and sound, with difficulty levels
increasing as the student progresses, in order to teach various vocabulary terms and
grammatical functions intuitively, without drills or translation. The goal is to teach languages
the way children learn their first language.”
Excerpt from www.wikipedia.org
More Than Coffee’s Brewing at the CMFRC
Look forward to conversation and caffeine filled coffee morning events.
7 January:
Coffee’s On! Come and join us!
Everyone’s welcome.
14 January: « Pause Café » Conversation predominantly in French.
Everyone’s welcome.
28 January: Coffee’s On! Come and join us!
Everyone’s welcome.
Friday Mornings
Time: 1000 - 1130 hrs
Maple Leaf Room,
Building 98, NATO Air Base
No fee or registration required.
For more information, please contact Michele Gillan,
Community Outreach Coordinator at +49-(0)2451-982020.
ots 0 to 4
nd
arents
essions
Tuesday, 11 January 0930 to 1130 hrs
Tuesday, 25 January 0930 to 1130 hrs
Maple Leaf Room, Building 98, NATO Air Base
There is no cost for this program and no registration.
Meet other parents with tots (0-4 yrs) in our Canadian Community.
Our program is designed to encourage social interaction between children and
their parents.
Watch for special events specific to babies and toddlers:
Day Trips
Creative Play
First Aid Course
Parenting Strategies
CHRISTMAS COLOURING
CONEST WINNERS!
Thank you for the many colourful and festive Santa
Colouring Contest pictures that lit up the CMFRC
during the month of December. All contributor’s names
were entered into a draw and these lucky winners were
drawn during the 14 December TAPS session.
Congratulations to:
Charlotte Spurrell (0 – 4)
Wyatt Freeland (5 – 7)
Haley Belanger (8 – 11)