Notre Dame Fam - Student Briefing - Monday 29th June

STUDENT NOTICES MONDAY 29TH JUNE

Message from CLT This is the last Student Briefing document of the academic year. We want to thank all Notre Dame Students and Staff for your patience, resilience and positive attitude during the last 3 months. Together we have kept our community strong and been there to comfort each other through a difficult time. It is a measure of how deeply we believe in the power of education and the uniqueness of each individual that we have been able to strive onwards under the confines of ‘lockdown’. We should be rightly proud of the progress we have made, what we have achieved and the optimism we have about our future together. Use the ‘Notre Dame Fam – Keeping Busy’ section of this briefing document to give direction and purpose to your summer break so that you come back to College in September refreshed and ready for new challenges.

Sending you and your friends and family Hope, Love and Faith from the Note Dame community.

Stay Safe, Helen Pattison. Head of Students This week’s good news story: 5k Running Challenge The Psychology Department are raising money for Cancer research by running a virtual 5k. Organised by Clare O’Connor, students and staff will be getting their running gear on and getting out there to run down some cash for this charity whose work touches so many lives. The whole event will be done virtually, using running apps to log each person’s run and we look forward to some pics of the individuals with the fastest 5k, best novelty hat whilst running and the most money raised.

If you would like to join them, contact CO@ndonline.ac.uk

NOTICES U6 Library Books To those in U6 with library books to return, there is now a returns bin available Monday - Friday 10am-2pm to the right of the main entrance. You are able to drop your books into this bin during those days and times only; please follow the usual social distancing rules to help keep everyone safe. Please keep the books for now if you cannot safely return the items.

Travelling by bus If you are invited into college to attend a meeting, please check your bus routes for amended service times. Please follow the government guidance on using public transport - this information is also on the college website.

Virtual Work Experience Keep checking Moodle-Careers- Topic 3- Virtual Work Experience for a range of resources focusing on different careers and sectors; there are plenty of ideas for activities you can engage with at home until “real life� work experience is possible again. Remember to update your ILP on Cedar with everything you do.

Virtual Work Experience 2 Speakers For Schools have a brilliant range of virtual work experience opportunities and virtual talks from employers.

If these can fit into your college timetable, make sure you apply or sign up. Explore the website by following this link: https://www.speakersforschools.org/ EE UCAS Applications If you are applying to Oxford or Cambridge or for Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science, your final full draft application (including the online form and the personal statement) is due 11th September 2020. This means you should spend summer getting them as perfect as possible.

Applying to a top university?

Please ensure you have read all of the EE briefings from Kitty and that you have sent a first draft of your personal statement to your tutor before the end of this term.

Prayer from Andrew Prayer by Charles De Foucauld: Father, I abandon myself into your hands: do with me what you want.

Whatever you may do, I thank you.

I am ready for all, I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me and in all your creatures.

I love you Lord, and so need to give myself to you,

to surrender myself into your hands, without reserve and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father.

Notre Dame Fam - keeping busy!

This week is our final week before College closes for the summer break. Here are some top tips for boosting your skills, CV and UCAS personal statement by making the most of summer!

1. Brush up on your reading There are hundreds of books out there on topics related to your studies and which can be accessed online, or in print from libraries and book shops (which are reopening soon). For example, Mrs Lowe recommends The Immortal Life of Henriette Lacks or The Body: A Guide for Occupants for her Biology students.

You can talk about books you have read in your personal statement and in university interviews, provided they are relevant to your studies!

2. Check out a podcast If reading isn’t your thing and you prefer listening or watching things, why not try out a podcast? The BBC has a wealth of podcasts on different topics ranging from The Life Scientific to The Media Show: Rethinking Advertising. You can access them here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts Again, you can talk about podcasts you have listened to in personal statements and interviews to show that you are engaging with the subjects you study outside of the standard curriculum.

3. Learn a new skill If you like to broaden your horizons and want to learn something new, why not check out the free courses available on Future Learn? Topics include: Computer Programming, Global Health, Business Fundamentals and much more. You will receive a certificate of participation or completion for the courses too which is great to add to your academic record or CV. 4. Try a new sport If you are looking to keep active during the summer break, you could try something like the Couch to 5k training and

then take part in a virtual 5k race. The app starts from absolute beginner and gets you up to running a distance of 5k within 9 weeks.

5. Complete virtual work experience Lots of companies are currently offering virtual work experience to students during the summer break. Check out the options online and consider giving one of them a go. Need some help finding a virtual placement? Email Heather Taylor in Careers for support.

This is something else you can talk about in interviews or application form - just because it was a virtual experience, doesn’t mean you won’t have gained skills!

6. Do something meaningful Right now, lots of people could use the help of those who are fit and healthy. This could be a relative who needs their garden taking care of, or a neighbour who needs a dog walker. Consider volunteering to help your local community if you are fit and healthy as an opportunity to give something back and gain experience for your CV or UCAS application.

7. Rest and recuperate The last few weeks have been hard work for lots of reasons. Remember to spend some of the summer break enjoying some down time and relaxing. You could get out and about on a bike ride, go camping, explore a new city and much more (all following Government guidelines of course). Allow yourself some time to enjoy the break to help you feel refreshed and raring to go in September!