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Student Voice Conference!
Hi everyone, it's Georgia here, welcome to November's Newsletter! I hope you're all having a great month and are excited to the lead up to Christmas. I'm looking forward to the festive break myself, I hope you all are too. It has been an extremely busy month, packed full of so many exciting new things.
Last Friday, it was great to bring together all of the new Students' Union Officers in a lunchtime meet for everyone to have a chat and eat pizza. It was lovely to see the officers greeting each other and getting along, and hearing everybody's ideas about the ways they want to get involved at college showed how keen officers are to make impactful changes.
Not only this, but we've had a Student Voice Conference this month, where all of the Student Reps from each classroom came together. Seeing students interacting and getting to know eachother so early on throughout the icebreaker was a great way to start the event, full of lots of students who got to sit down and eat lunch together in groups. I feel as though what stood out to me most in this event was how students could share similiarities and differences from their college experiences, some going to the same college, and others going to different campuses.
Student Reps were able to do this whilst learning about the responsibilities in their role, and how they can be a voice for their classroom to provide feedback to college. I'm looking forward to seeing more meetings and conferences taking place in the future!
✩ Sign Language and Accessibility... Our first campaign! ✩
✩ Sign Language and Accessibility... Our first campaign! ✩
Our Sign Language club is currently running every Thursday at Hillsborough College, so if you're interested, then feel free to come along!
This month has been my first campaign of the term! I was really nervous, but realised there was no need to be, because the campaign was extremely successful, running over two days of the week in November. Myself, Kate who works with the SEND team and Adam Hedges who is a hearing impaired student were a huge part of the involvement on the stalls around City and Hillsborough College, where we were able to effectively promote sign language and its accessibility to students. It was fantastic to see how many students were interested in engaged in learning, and I was surprised by the amount of students who had knowledge on how to use sign language prior to the campaign!
Students often brought to my attention that they knew how to sign their name, or shared their experiences of how people in their families are impaired of hearing, as well the way that they communicate. We provided a range of resources for students to take with them, such as A-Z alphabet cards for finger spelling, posters with words and phrases to sign and ear buds, to emphasise that when you put these in your ears, the reduction in sound is what hearing impaired students experience. I was able to see how eager students were to want to learn sign language further at home or through clubs that we run at our college.
A big thank you to everybody who got involved and showed enthusiasm. I feel as though running these campaigns allowed us as a college to achieve the goal of breaking down barriers between students and hearing impaired students, and enhance students' communication skills whilst highlighting the importance of sign language and bringing people together.
Clubs and Societies
Make sure to look out for our Clubs and Societies around college! We are beginning a LGBT+ Society next week across City and Hillsborough College, so come along and get involved in these clubs if you're interested to find out more!
Health and Wellbeing Event
For the Health and Wellbeing Event throughout Safeguarding Week that ran across City, Hillsborough and Pennine Five, the Students Union ran a smoothie bike in order to promote a healthy lifestyle and exercising to students. Students were able to create their own smoothie by choosing what they would like to include in their own drink, and then cycling on a bike that blends the smoothie mixture together.
This event was extremely successful, engaging several students who were willing to take part. I really enjoyed running this and speaking to students about our Students Union and what they can get involved in around college. There were smoothie samplers provided for students to try, and the chance to blend a variety of fruits into their smoothies, resulting in a range of smoothie drinks and flavours being created!
Students stated how they felt that the concept of this event was creative and intrigued them to make a smoothie to try. This meant that they got to take this with them, for themselves and their friends. Thank you so much to everybody who got involved!
☆ ANXIETY TIPS AND TRICKS ☆
Katherine Wright - Environmental Officer
Now its important to know that it's ok to be anxious over situations since it shows you care about the thing that is causing this panicking you. Especially over these next two years that you are at attending Sheffield College you will experience: exams, revision, turning up to class on time, friendship problems, costs of resources and interacting with peers and teachers. All of these that I have listed above may trigger anxiety especially exams since they will contribute to catapulting you to the next stage in your life, but the important thing to know is you’re not as alone as your anxiety tries to make you believe. Here is my top 8 tips to help you feel calm and de-stress.
A- ASK FOR SUPPORT: In college, we have a variety of support networks set up if you need someone to talk to or ask for some advice. These are: Student Union, Student Rep, Careers team, teachers, library sta It does the mind good to let out what is causing you stress or even talking to someone to try and distract yourself from your anxiety. This could be talking about your favourite film, book, music genre or to what you d at the weekend or your favourite memory that brings you positivity and optimism. Furthermore, talking about your family such as your parents, siblings, grandparents or someone you call family can help to relax your mind by receiving comfort and support from those you trust.
N- Night's rest: It may help ease your mind by having a good nights rest since this will keep your energy levels stable for the next day and you are less likely to lose focus as the day goes on. By not having a good night sleep could lead to burn out which will be detrimental to your health since it will cause headaches, feeling faint, nausea and change your mood to a more low mood. To solve this create a sleep schedule for example reading 10 minutes before going to bed and putting your phone to one side can distract you from anything that you see on your phone that may trigger your anxiety such as social media.
X- Create an eXam revision timetable: If you start to feel overwhelmed which is very natural when it comes to exams by the workload you receive and you feel like you won’t be able to fit it all i then here is the solution. Creating a timetable can help you map out when, what and where to revise the content you want to do that week. But always make sure to leave gaps in your timetable for relaxation and quality time with yourself and with others to reward you for all the hard work you have accomplish within the day and week.
I- Identify Triggers: It may be useful to figure out what is causing your anxiety to interfere with your day to day activities. Whether that is writing it down or talking to someone you trust or even going to a specialised therapist who will help guide you to figuring out the triggers of your anxiety.
E- Emotional Journal: This is a tip I highly recommend to mediate your mind and that is keeping an emotional journal to track when your anxiety starts to increase or even when you feel totally relaxed and marking it in your journal. In addition, this may help identify what triggers your anxiety. Keeping a journal can be so fun since you can personalise it to how you want it to look
T- Take Deep Breaths: Taking time for yourself whether it’s at home, in class or in an exam, those deep breathes can help you relax and refocus your mind away from your anxiety. A good breathing technique is the box technique: breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, repeat until you feel ready to continue the day ahead in a relaxed headspace.
Y- Yoga: Exercise such as yoga or even going for a walk in the fresh by yourself or with someone can help relieve stress by doing meditation exercises that are cognitively made to calm down your mind. There are apps you can download which offer free yoga 10 minute sessions to help you feel calm and treating yourself to some well earned self care.
Visit from MP Abtisam Mohamed
On the 8th November, Sheffield College had a Q&A session with Sheffield Central Member of Parliament Abtisam Mohamed, where students had the opportunity to ask her questions about her role in parliament and what she has and would like to achieve. Attending as the Students' Union President allowed me to gain an insight into students views, and what they believe should be improved about Sheffield to make it a safer, more accessible place. I feel as though it was important for students to attend this Q&A session and meet with Abtisam, who was very open about the time spent in her role and why she was drawn towards working in politics, based off of her previous experiences in work. This is something that I believe will inspire students who want to advocate on behalf of what they believe in throughout their future careers.
Sport Enrichment Sessions
Hillsborough Sport Enrichment Sep 2024.pdfCity Sport Enrichment Sep 2024Christmas Football Competition
Red & Green Simple Christmas Party Poster (3).pdf1625 Outreach - Drug & Alcohol harm reduction
1625 Outreach are holding drug and alcohol advice drop-ins across the college.
You can come and talk to us about anything drugs and alcohol-related, no matter how big or small. Whether you’re worried about yours or someone else’s drug or alcohol use, or just want to know about how to stay as safe as possible!
No need to book, just come for a chat.
The next drop-in will be on 3rd December @ Hillsborough Campus, 13:30-15:30 in the Higher Education Room, LRC.
Look out for us also giving out anti-spiking drinks covers around campus and in your tutorials!
If you have any questions or want to find out more in the meantime, get in touch with us on Instagram: @1625_Outreach
Free Environmental Sustainability training opportunity for students!
The college is offering a great opportunity for students to take part in Carbon Literacy Training. More information about the project can be found here
Join our 2 half-day online training sessions designed to supercharge your sustainability knowledge and empower you to make a real impact on climate action. The next course takes place online on 2 half days on 3rd and 10th December, from 1.30pm-5pm. The course will be led by Change Agents UK.
Why You Should Attend:
Upskill Your Sustainability Awareness: Gain cutting-edge insights and practical skills to drive sustainable practices in your professional and personal life.
Contribute to Climate Action: Be part of a global movement working towards a greener, more sustainable future.
Receive a certificate from the renowned Carbon Literacy Project, showcasing your commitment and expertise in sustainability.
To sign up for the training, email sustainability@sheffcol.ac.uk - don't miss out!
Guest Speakers to help build your employability skills!
The Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Business Enterprise Employer Skills Academy would like to invite you to the next Employer Insight Talk!
Make It Happen: Set and Smash Goals with Stewart Mcshane, CEO of Smarter Training and Consultancy
City Campus - Lecture Theatre
Thursday 12th December 10-11am
Stewart joins us for out last Employer Insight Talk of the year.
Setting realistic and achievable goals that can push and challenge you is an essential skill for success. People who implement goal setting into their lives are generally more motivated and as a skill we want you to embed this into your employability practice. Whether you have academic or personal goals; setting targets can help you to plan out your short and long-term achievements, giving you the tools to effectively organise your time and energy to get the best results. This month’s theme is designed to help you understand the importance of setting goals, learn how to stay motivated when you miss out on your targets and how to increase the likelihood of making dreams into reality.
Do you wonder what it is like to run your own business? Have you got a business idea that you would like to develop? The Start Up programme could be for you!
In the lead up to our START Up programme launching in January, we invite you to express your interest below and you will be contacted by a member of the Careers Team to discuss further. There is also a taster session which you can go along to to find out more - details are below...
The Start Up programme is an 8-week enrichment programme in self-employment and entrepreneurship delivered by business experts and entrepreneurs.
You can take part alongside your study programme.
Each week delves into a different subject about business with a different speaker to inspire and educate you on what it is really like running your own business and how to get there.
There are also opportunities through the membership of the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce Business and Enterprise Employer Skills Academy for business mentoring!
START UP participants can also enter external competitions to get funding and support to get businesses started!
You don't have to have a business idea or plan to join START UP you will get support to do this through the programme.
Even if you don't end up starting a business you will develop a wide range of employability skills and experience to help you in your future career - whether this is as an entrepreneur or not.
Sessions take place on Wednesdays, 1.00-2.30pm in the City Campus Lecture Theatre.
Check out the Careers Service site for more details.
START UP Taster Session: How to think of a successful Business Idea? With Chris Dalrymple and the Careers Team
Wednesday 27th November – Lecture Theatre- City Campus- 1pm -2pm
We will look at how to think if a successful Business idea and talk about the self-employment programme: Start Up. Being able to think of a business idea is sometimes the easy part; taking the first steps to starting the business is the hard part. We will think about USP's, Market research and how to test whether your business idea will work. Come along to learn more about Business and the Start Up programme and hear from Chris who is a serial entrepreneur.
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