Behind the Scenes: April ‘23
What do they say about April? - in like a lion, out like a lamb? While that does seem to have been the case for the weather, Atlantis’ April decided just to keep the pedal to the metal through the whole month - and that’s the way we like it! Read on to find out some of what happened during another busy month at your community health and leisure centre:
Trainee Development Worker Hannah Shaw and Centre Manager Jonny Brown
Argyll and Bute Council Visit News - ‘representing Atlantis throughout Argyll’
We were delighted to host Argyll and Bute Council Chief Executive Pippa Milne and members of her executive team at Atlantis this month. Together with Healthy Options, members of our Board and management team shared the Atlantis story and gave an update on how things have been going recently. We maintain very close ties with the Council and mornings like this are an important aspect of the relationship.
Community News News - ‘making a difference beyond the Centre’
Hannah Shaw has just started an exciting new role as our Trainee Development Worker, following on from her work co-ordinating the Winter Warmer Project. Hannah will be working closely with the likes of Healthy Options, Oban Youth Cafe, and other local charities, to strengthen our relationships and explore ways in which we can collaborate together. She hopes to make Atlantis an even more accessible place for all and encourage people to take care of their health and wellbeing through use of our centre. Outside of this role, Hannah works as a freelance photographer and spends as much time as possible in the Great Outdoors! She aspires to get people active in our beautiful surroundings and carries this with her through her photography and various projects she’s involved with. If you’d like to get in contact with Hannah, email her at hannah.shaw@atlantisleisure.co.uk.
Centre Life - ‘know your building
Our planned maintenance programme continued this month - this time focussing on the Squash Centre W/Cs. Following the example of the Cafe and Dry-Side Changing Area, we renewed the flooring in our lower level facilities. We know that chatting about toilet flooring isn’t terribly exciting but we think it’s an important demonstration of how well maintained your community health leisure centre is. Looking after the things we spend your money on means we’re being responsible stewards of the community’s asset - that’s important.
Holiday Camps - ‘back with a bang!’
Our Easter holiday camps were a blast! We had a great turnout from lots of happy campers enjoying the fun and action. Our young people were able to try out new activities, make new friends, and have fun in a safe and supportive environment. We even welcomed back our youngest campers, Primary 1 to Primary 3, for the first time since the pandemic started. It was brilliant to see them having a great time and feeling like part of the community.
Speaking of camps, our swimming camps were a hit too. These camps help us deal with the waiting lists for Oban Swim School and give our young people a chance to improve their skills and confidence in the water. We're really proud to offer such a valuable service to our coastal community.
Staff News - ‘the team behind the action’
It’s a great big welcome to the team to Kyle Smith! We're delighted to welcome Kyle to our staff team, he's a climbing expert and will be teaching four classes a week for children in P1-P3 and P4-P7. Keep an eye out for other classes being added once Kyle gets settled in. He’ll also be sharing his knowledge and experience with the rest of the staff, increasing the climbing capacity internally.
Training continued apace throughout the staff team this month, as ever. It was another month of various members continuing to work on their logbooks and develop their skills. Training is important for us, not just because it helps us do our jobs better, but because it also allows us to give back to the community. When our staff are knowledgeable and passionate, everyone benefits.