Croydon College Student Life Newsletter- 2016 Celebration

STUDENT LIFE YET ANOTHER OUTSTANDING YEAR FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS! CROYDON COLLEGE

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U N IC E F The Annual Pledge Award Ceremony

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U N IC E F Student Volunteer of the Year, Jennifer Yogarasa

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Croydon College students are exceptional when it comes to volunteering and once again this year they have volunteered over 23,500 hours making a grand total of over 90,000 hours that students have contributed in their spare time to good causes over the last 4 years.

At the prestigious Pledge Award Ceremony, held at the college on Tuesday 28th June, many high profile guests attended the event to celebrate student achievements, including the Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Wayne TrakasLawlor; Cllr. Alisa Flemming, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning; Frances Bestley; UNICEF UK and Andy Tarrant, Croydon Met. Police Commander. Several of the guests who attended were very keen to speak about the many worthy student led projects that they had been involved in, including the Domestic Violence Youth Ambassadors, the Scrutiny Panel students who led the council Scrutiny meeting and the student campaigns undertaken on behalf of Refugees. The many partnerships established by students as part of their projects a testament to the dedication and resilience of these young people who are determined to make a difference in their communities.

Students at Croydon College are supported to lead on projects that are of importance to them and that will develop their skills to become agents of change whether this is the local, wider, national or international community. The Pledge Award Ceremony is a yearly event to

Health & Social Care students present cheque, payable to The Royal Marsden Hospital, Cancer Unit

celebrate the achievements of the many students who have worked tirelessly on projects that they have steered whilst developing the many employability skills that will help them progress into work or Higher Education.

The award for Volunteer of the Year went to Jennifer Yogarasa who, amazingly, dedicated 1,194 hours to leading an international project to challenge the abuse of the rights of children in Sri Lanka. ‘Through being a member of the college UNICEF Steering Group I have learned a lot of employability skills. I am shy but I have gained lots of confidence and overcome my shyness through all the activities I have been a part of. I get very nervous speaking in public, but all the training I’ve done and all the activities I have taken part in have helped me overcome this’, she said.

To volunteer over 23,500 hours, the learners involved themselves in a multitude of events and organisations including the borough’s ‘Fill the Trolley’ competition to collect food items donated by students to help homeless families over Christmas, The Big Lunch with Age UK Croydon, A song for UNICEF to support the UNICEF UK Children in Crisis campaign, and fundraising activities for the relief fund set up after the earthquake in Ecuador, to support children in Gaza and Syria and raising money for charities such as Shooting Star Chase, the Royal and Marsden, McMillian Coffee Mornings.

Students share their delight with Di Layzelle, MBE (Head of Student Life & Community Engagement)

Public Service students with Commander. Andy Tarrant (Met Police, Croydon)

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U N IC E F Gold Award winners celebrate with the College Principal, Frances Wadsworth.

Successful Gold Award winners

So proud of their achievements!

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‘Doing this project for Gaza has helped me to appreciate the opportunity we have to help others’.

Ambreena, Science L3

‘Being part of this project has been wonderful as not only have I gained confidence in myself, a deeper understanding of a cause I feel strongly about and professional training but I have also been able to make a difference in the lives of people who suffer’.

‘It has made me a better person. I always wanted to help people in need, and UNICEF was a good way to achieve this goal. I don’t think I would be the person I am today without it’.

Jalila, Science L2

‘Being a part of the UNICEF Steering Group has helped me to understand more about rights and political literacy.

Henry, Access

Rosie, A levels.

The Mayor of Croydon of Croydon, Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor, with proud student volunteers

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The Mayor of Croydon, Councillor Wayne Trakas-Lawlor talks informally with students ‘My volunteering has helped me to believe that I can change someone’s life’.

Emmanuelle, ESOL

‘I have learned about campaigning, organising events and also developed my communication skills’.

Carlene, Travel & Tourism L2

‘I don’t volunteer to get a reward but because it is important to do and I enjoy it’.

Francis IT, L3

‘I like helping others.

Organising the Refugee Week event has been a proud achievement, working with amazing people’.

Valerie, Childcare L3

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U N IC E F

A ‘SONG FOR UNICEF’ Music Tech L3 students wrote the following song which is to be uploaded onto UNICEF UK’s website; Dusty road to a broken home God has left us left all alone I can’t do this on my own I don’t know where We can go Now that we’re standing here I can see it’s crystal clear I need to get out of here And I’m never gonna give up I ain’t ever gonna give up oh N I’m never gonna give up ih Baby u should know that Yeah we never gonna give up Oh n we never gonna give up oh I ain’t ever gonna give up Baby you should know that All this slaughter n bloody red water Don’t I have the right?

The right to a home that won’t be destroyed Aren’t I a person like you?

Like you It doesn’t matter where your born Or if your family’s been torn You deserve the right to live in peace Our politicians are telling those lies It shouldn’t come as a surprise Austerity is killing me You deserve the right to live in peace.

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THE OUTRIGHT CAMPAIGN — UPDATE The UNICEF Steering group are still participating on the OutRight 2015 campaign, working with UNICEF UK. UNICEF UK will be delivering OutRight 2015 campaign messages to Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening who is leading the UK Government’s policy position on the Summit.This special event, hosted by a UNICEF UK Ambassador will be a significant moment when Justine Greening receives 6,000 submissions from Croydon College students and school children calling for the UK Government to protect children’s right to education in emergencies.

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THE FOLLOWING POEM WAS READ OUT AT THE PLEDGE AWARD CEREMONY The following poem was read out by Mohammed Al-Kaisi (IT L3) who is moving onto university this year after having progressed from our ESOL area; ‘The boy lived in Baghdad in Iraq. In Iraq it’s summer all the time and it is very, very hot.

In Baghdad the boy went to school. At school he helped his friends pass love letters to the girls who they weren’t supposed to talk to. He loved his friends and wanted to help them. They hid the love letters in books, so it looked like they were working. There was door between the girl’s school and the boy’s school and the boy passed the books with the letters hidden inside to a girl on the other side of the door. This was against the rules and very dangerous because if he got caught he would be sent home for three days and his family would find out he had broken the rules.

After a while the boy couldn’t live in Baghdad anymore and he moved to a farm. Living in the farm was exciting, the boy had seven cousins and four brothers to play with and there were rows and rows of fruit trees - pomegranate, apples, oranges, dates and grapes. The boy loved the fruit.

At the farm there were sheep and chickens and two dogs. Each morning the boy woke up and ran to chicken house to collect the eggs. It was like a competition to see who got the most eggs. To collect the eggs the boy had to get the chickens out of their house. The male chicken would try and fight with the boy so he got a stick to scare him off, then he ran inside shouting to get them all out.

It was very hot at the farm and someone had dug a big hole in the ground to make a pool to let the sea water come in. The boy jumped into the pool to cool off. The water was very cold but it felt so good.

The boy was happy, he loved the farm, it was so green, but he was sad too, he missed his parents who were still in the Baghdad.

After a while the boy couldn’t live in Iraq anymore and he came to London. When the boy arrived at the airport in London it was so bright. Everything looked new to the boy, the buildings and cars were so completely different. The people also looked very different and they were all speaking English and the boy was very confused and it made him feel very shy.

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The boy took a train and a tram and huge bus that I he had seen before in the cinema. The boy couldn’t believe where he was. The first thing the boy did was go to a park. The park was so green, even greener than the farm. The boy liked the park.

London became the boy’s new home, but it wasn’t always easy for the boy. The boy liked to help people, he liked to make people happy but people didn’t always like to help the boy. In London the boy felt like he was carpet that people could walk over. The boy got upset when people didn’t help him, he didn’t understand.

In London the boy ate fruit, but it didn’t taste like the fruit from his farm. In London the boy had a new name – refugee. In London the boy met other people with this name and soon he had lots of friends called refugee.

In London it is winter sometimes and it is very, very cold’.

(Mohamed and Stela)

Mohamed Al-Kaisi

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‘ THE BIG LUNCH’ The annual ‘Big Lunch’ event was a very simple idea started in 2009 by the Eden Project. The aim is to get as many of the 64 million people in the UK as possible to have lunch with their neighbours once a year.

The Student Life team, in liaison with Age UK, Croydon, again invited a group of 40 of their elderly members to join our UNICEF Steering group for our BIG Lunch event. The event took place on the 9th June, in the College’s own ‘CHEF’s’ restaurant and comprised of a set menu, prepared and served, by our own learners studying various Hospitality courses.

In line with the ethos of the national project the three course meal is offered entirely FREE of charge to our guests and was themed around the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

Special guests from Age UK

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Feedback from the guests was overwhelmingly positive.

A selection of their quotes is shown below;

We are now lucky that we are pensioners to have lovely participation like this- when my neighbour asked me where I was going, I told them I was coming here, and she said I was very lucky.

UNICEF Steering group welcome guests from Age UK

Very enjoyable, delicious food, lovely company.

I had an amazing time, the food was wonderful!

I have enjoyed the while afternoon. Well done to Croydon College Chef restaurant.

Excellent event, memorable quizzes, sumptuous meal well presented, very tasty, polite and enthusiastic staff, well done Croydon college staff and students.

Wonderful afternoon and lovely food.

Croydon college students you did a great job

Hospitality students prepare and serve ‘The BIG Lunch’ wonderful afternoon of great, good A and laughter. Well done to all the students at Croydon College we had a lovely time. Thank you for meeting us again….. Same time next year!!

It’s like going to a five star restaurant.

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CI T IZ E N S H IP

WE DAY Building on the enormous legacy of volunteering created by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Team London Young Ambassadors programme seeks to inspire young people across London to volunteer and make a positive impact in their schools and local community. As part of the college expectation to volunteer all new students were given a talk on the recent Welcome Day about the importance of volunteering. More of these workshops will be rolled out from September.

We are looking forward to more collaboration with the London Mayor’s Office.

Student presentation about the importance of volunteering at Croydon College

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EU REFERENDUM — VOTER REGISTRATION As part of their on-going campaign to encourage youth participation in local and national elections, London Citizens UK visited College several times in the run up to the EU Referendum to encourage learners to register to vote before the deadline.

As a result of their efforts, London Citizens UK have confirmed that 124 of our students registered to vote and over 150 checked online that they were already registered!

COLLEGE MOCK EU REFERENDUM RESULTS Students at engaged in the College Mock EU Referendum with;

84%

voting to remain in the EU following sessions on the EU as part of curriculum enrichment sessions which looked at both sides of the argument; for and against.

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E N RIC H ME N T

MOD EDUCATION OUTREACH PROGRAMME CROYDON COLLEGE STUDENTS CELEBRATE IN WHITEHALL

For the 14th consecutive year a number of students from across Croydon College had the opportunity to represent their college at the annual Ministry of Defence Education Outreach Programme end of year celebrations in Whitehall.

A representative group from the Public Services area, the L2 Pre-Access course and those that have given so much of their own time as UNICEF Ambassadors during the past year, were able to speak from the podium as to how the MOD workshops have helped them with their progression and employability options.

Workshops have included how to begin to market yourself both verbally and in written form, how to keep that application form out of the bin and ensure it becomes short-listed, and how to prepare for the all-important interview and put over the passion and positive body language to the panel through role-playing both as the interview panelist and candidate.

Public Service students and staff with MoD personnel

Public Service students present at the MoD, Whitehall, London

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One of the most successful workshops is the MOD International Crisis workshop where in teams students unpick an overseas crisis and through role-playing the Prime Minister, other Ministers and the United Nations, deliver a press conference to explain their plans; There have been some very enthusiastic Prime Ministers throughout the year along the corridors of College!

Andy Gilman MBE (Mod Education Outreach Programme) commented; ‘This year has been one of the most successful ever, supporting students in not only those areas that came to Whitehall, but also across Business and Travel and Tourism groups. The best part of my job is when I hear that my workshops have led to a student succeeding in that first interview, or winning that job on the first rung of the employment ladder, or gained that university place through using my workshops in interview. This year I have had the pleasure of supporting more students in Croydon College than ever before – in fact I support more Croydon College students than in any other College anywhere across the UK’.

Access student present at the MoD, Whitehall, London

UNICEF Steering group members deliver a presentation to audience at the MoD

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DO M E S TI C V IOL E N C E Y OU T H A M B AS S A D OR S

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CUR R I C U L U M E N R IC H M E N T

HOSPITALITY END OF YEAR TRIP TO FRYLANDS WOODS Hospitality end of year trip to Frylands Woods with The Outdoor Cooking School.

We arrived at Frylands Wood to find Simon (Outdoor Cooking School) had a fire going, with the kettle boiling. First the students were given a talk, and then split into groups. Each group had to collect wood to start their own fire. Once alight, they had to keep it going to cook lunch.

The wood was damp as we had a lot of rain in the days leading to the trip.

Lunch preparation involved putting jacket potatoes in foil and placing them in group fires. Next, we had to prepare the trout in foil with lemon, salt & pepper and add to the fire. Simon demonstrated how to cook with sticks, holding the salmon over the fire.

When the students had finished we all went back to the fire, to find lunch was ready. The students really enjoyed this.

As a treat they had marshmallows and waffles with maple syrup and chocolate spread, all cooked over the fire. We were lucky with the weather, although the ground was a bit muddy; but it didn’t matter if we had mud on our clothes, as it would come out in the wash.

Overall, the students really enjoyed their day out with The Outdoor Cooking School.

Linda Hussey, Hospitality, Senior Technician

The group activities started after preparing lunch, with archery and the climbing wall. The two groups were each assigned to an activity, after completing the session they swapped activities.

Archery activity at Frylands Woods

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Hospitality students enjoy a day at Frylands Woods learning new outdoor pursuits

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ART & DESIGN VISIT TO THE LONDON COMIC CONFERENCE Students from Level 3 Games and Animation course took a trip to the London Comic Conference in the Excel Centre on the 27th May. They enjoyed it so much and it was great to see them engage with all the stands and the independent storyboard artists and comic book publishers, as it gives them a really good idea of how their skills can be used within the industry, and to be honest many of our students are well on the way to developing those professional drawing and storyboarding skills, if not better than what we saw. There were a lot of new games that they could test and play along with the merchandise from the whole industry. There was so much to see the time flew by and the feedback from the students is that they would definitely like to do this again.

Emma Fenton Lecturer, Art & Design

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REFUGEE WEEK ‘Different Pasts, Shared Future’ Refugee Week is a UK-wide programme of arts, cultural and educational events that celebrate the contribution of refugees to the UK, and encourages a better understanding between communities.

This year’s theme is ‘Welcome’.

A permanent exhibition is on display in the corridor, adjacent to the Student Common room. They have also created a small booklet of the photographs, which are also available from the Student Common room.

The Student Life Team led this year’s Refugee Week Celebration event in the Student Common room on the 23rd June.

They were ably assisted in the planning by our Student Action for Refugee (STAR) group. The event was attended by a huge cohort of students from the ESOL area who received the various performances enthusiastically. Guests included Maurice Wren, CEO of the Refugee Council and Ember Hibbert, British Red Cross, Croydon.

Fay Johnson Enrichment, E&D Co-ordinator (Students),

The STAR group successfully launched their exhibition their collection of photographs of objects which some of our learners, from refugee backgrounds, have said are important to them as permanent reminders of their homelands.

Refugee Week student planning group

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DRAMA SESSION S4L As part of our observation of Refugee Week, Skills for Life students attended poetry workshops led by staff from the ‘Re-Write’ charity. To encourage a sense of belonging through drama, the learners were encouraged to act our dramatic scenes reflecting their experience of moving to a new country.

Students eagerly participate in drama sessions

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SLDD SEWING PROJECT As part of the Refugee Week, a seamstress from the Reddskin organisation was invited to lead a series of sewing workshop for our learners with Severe Learning Difficulties and Disabilities . The project obviously aimed to introduce the learners to a new life skill and also to foster a sense of belonging to the community as several had expressed that though they felt fine in College they sometimes felt isolated at home.

The group were encouraged to make Tibetan prayer flags and then to either write or sew an affirmation onto the fabric which would then be sewn together as bunting. The bunting would then be used to decorate the Student Common room in time to host the Refugee Week Celebration event for all to see and admire.

The Student Life Team felt that the overall aims of the project were successful, namely that it helped to: 1. Develop and enhance community cohesion by fostering positive relations within the school and wider community.

2. Develop an overview of origin and (Tibetan) historical culture 3. Promote feelings of pride and self- understanding.

4. Explore participant identities and creativity.

5. Create artistic work to be displayed.

6. Develop students independent learning skills.

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STUDENT FEEDBACK WAS POSITIVE; What was the end result?

We made a quilt.

What skills did you learn?

We learned how to make our own design.

What was difficult?

Threading the needle through.

‘I would like to do it again’.

Suzanne (SLDD)

Students exhibit their acquired sewing skills.

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FG M FE M A L E AD V OC A T E S

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S TUDE NT RE P R E S E N T A T IV E

STUDENT ELECTIONS - RESULTS The Student Life Team are pleased to announce that the results of the Student Election are as follows;

Student President; Soraia Barbosa (Tourism & Events Management L3)

Vice Student President; Emmanuel Oben (ESOL, ABLE 3)

Vice Student Activities Officer; Mahdi Choudury (Tourism & Events Management L3)

Student Activities Officer; Ioulia Kaloudi (Science, L3)

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FO R THC OM IN G E V E N T S

— The Enrichment Fair — The College Stomp — The Worlds Largest Lesson — Health Awareness Week — House of Lords Student Event — Safer College Week — Course Representative Elections — Cultural Awareness/ Black History Month — AGE UK Tea and Fun — UNICEF UK U Report — Prevent Student Training

The Student Life Newsletter is collaboration between students the Student Life team, staff and external partners who have written and designed it.

Design by Michelle Mwikali