28 March 2012 - An introduction to Pétanque

After class last Friday the French Level 6 Conversation class had a most enjoyable introduction to Pétanque in Manor Park, marked more by enthusiasm than expertise. Cynthia (one of the students) said: "Danièle, Mille fois merci pour la chanson de Brassens (une partie de pétanque) - j'y tiens beaucoup." It gave the class a real insight into the importance of the whole measuring business and how it could give rise to heated debate (as in the film clip seen in class earlier). An experience of French culture and also a fun and friendly way to mark the final class.

Heather, another student, had this to say - "Merci Danièle pour l'après-midi où nous avons appris à jouer à la pétanque dans le parc au soleil.
Répéter les règles du jeu et bavarder ensemble sont de très bons moyens d’apprendre le français surtout dans une atmosphère reposante en plein air.
Depuis, je m'exerce à lancer les boules pour ensuite enseigner à mes petits-enfants comment y jouer. Cela m'a fait très plaisir, et j’espère renouveler cette expérience très bientôt.

A great time was had by all!

27 March 2012 – Principal attends Social Return on Investment Development Day

At a time when available resources for revision are highly constrained, providers have increased freedom to define their activities. This makes it more important than ever to demonstrate the full impact of what we do as an organisation, and justify decisions to invest in one area of provision as opposed to another.
LSIS is working with the new economics foundation (nef) to help providers in the sector to measure outcomes which are traditionally difficult to measure – the value as experienced in communities and by learners. By the end of the year, with the involvement of several partners in the sector, LSIS will have developed an adapted Social Return on Investment measurement tool for the FE and Skills sector. Organisations who participate in this workshop will be invited to be part of the pilot cohort that will benefit from calculating the social value of the role they play. SCOLA’s Principal, Saboohi Famili, is attending this event in Coventry today.

25 March 2012 – Praise for SCOLA course held at Seears Park!

Recently SCOLA received glowing feedback from a student who had attended a ‘Gardening for Beginners’ course held at Seears Park. The course facilitator was praised for the way in which he presented the course and the student had this to say – “May I congratulate the facilitator Kevin on an excellent course - it was bursting with information and transformed my confidence in dealing with my garden. His style was exactly what you would expect from a tutor - brimming with enthusiasm for his subject and able to steer a group of different participants through the day. I will be recommending this course to all my contacts at work. Well done on having this option - these courses should be compulsory for everyone with a garden!”
So glad that this course has had such a positive effect!

22 March 2012 – Principal attends HOLEX Network Event

SCOLA’s Principal, Saboohi Famili, is attending the spring term HOLEX Network Event which will be held, as usual, at Woburn House, Tavistock Square, today Thursday 22nd March 2012. HOLEX is the national network of local adult learning providers.
The day has been designed to allow for extensive discussion and member input. Funding issues, inspection related issues and short and focused inputs on new developments will be part of the programme. The usual round-up of key messages from national meetings attended by HOLEX representatives, including updates from the Information Authority, on workforce development issues and sustainable development will also be on the agenda.

16 March 2012 - Raising funds for charity!

The SCOLA Line Dancers raised over £900 for the Diamond Riding School at a charity line dance held at SCOLA. More than 100 people enjoyed the evening and supported this worthy cause.
 
The Diamond Riding Centre is a charity providing riding lessons for disabled children and adults, who not only gain confidence physically, but also emotionally in their close contact with the horses.
 
The Riding School receives no government or local authority funding, and depends upon fund-raising events, donations, and a team of volunteers to keep the school going.

14 March 2012 - Mobile Learning Environment (MoLE)

SCOLA's Principal, Saboohi Famili, is attending a two day MoLE Workshop in Windsor. The MoLE project aims to leverage the global cellular network infrastructure and mobile technologies to build a mobile learning (m-Learning) capability. The project has been put together to demonstrate that participants can conduct training through the use of mobile devices. Twenty-two countries around the globe are being represented at this event.

No doubt, an interesting and stimulating time will be had by all!

10 March 2012 - Graduation at Canterbury Christchurch University

I was privileged on Saturday 10 March 2012 to be invited to attend the Graduation Ceremony at Canterbury Christchurch University (CCCU) to see SCOLA students awarded their Diplomas and Professional Graduate Certificates. Daniele de Mori Calderon (SCOLA Tutor) also attended the event.

It was a wonderful occasion with everyone wearing their academic gowns and hats and being supported by their children and other halves.

It made me feel so proud of what our College provides and how the services offered impact on lives. It was particularly special to see three SCOLA tutors rewarded – Louise Blundell , Dipa Ganguli and Julie Norton who all passed their courses and should feel very proud of themselves. Both Daniele and I witnessed first-hand the pride their families felt and we were humbled by the event.

Equally rewarding was the warmth and compliments from the staff at CCCU for the SCOLA staff. I also want to acknowledge the tireless commitment and skills of their tutors, Daniele de Mori Calderon and Nilufar Rahim who supported the group and were fully part of their journey to success.

Thank you to all who are involved in supporting this year’s groups – please invite me next year too!!!!

Jenny Sims
Deputy Principal

10 March 2012 - Celebrating Life!

On Sunday 11th March 2012 Japan Cultural Activities, Sutton, is hosting a memorial concert for Utoya(Norway) and Fukushima(Japan) entitled 'Celebrating Life' This concert brings together old and young, professional and non-professional musicians who wish to celebrate their own precious and unique lives through music.

The event is being held at the Sutton Friends Meeting House, 10 Cedar Road, Sutton, SM2 5DA from 13:45 - 16:30 and admission is by donation only. The doors open at 13:30.

If you can, please go along and support this worthy cause as this concert is about the expression of happiness through music, and not just the music skill.

09 March 2012 - Stress Relief!

Staff have been invited to have a relaxing massage on Monday 12th March between 11.30am and 1.30pm as another way of treating staff and celebrating International Women's Day. There are six slots available and will be on a first come, first served basis.

08 March 2012 - International Women's Day - A Taste of Literature

Yesterday, as part of SCOLA's International Women's Day celebrations, staff were given a taste of literature on the plasma screen in the Staff area at the Sutton Centre please visit http://youtu.be/3EYufxWD5io to enjoy the two poems that were read by one of SCOLA’s tutors. One is an inspirational poem by Jan Koene about an inspiring colleague, Fiona McDonnell, and her journey when running the London Marathon and the other by Maya Angelou, an American author and poet. Hope you enjoy them!

06 March 2012 – Former SCOLA student Front Cover Artist

Former SCOLA student, Sally Pestridge from Banstead, Surrey, is the March 2012 front cover artist in ‘Paint – the magazine of the SAA (Society for All Artists)’.

The painting that appears on the front cover of this publication was one of her earlier paintings, done while she was studying at SCOLA (then known as the Sutton College of Liberal Arts). Sally describes herself as an amateur painter as she paints for enjoyment, but she does sell quite a few paintings at local art club exhibitions and through word of mouth. Sally started painting when she was about nine years old when her parents bought her a ‘Painting by Numbers’ set. She took A level at school and later when her children were babies, took classes at local adult education, then evening classes at SCOLA. Sally had the following to say “When my children were babies I took classes at local adult education – life drawing, painting and drawing, then evening classes at SCOLA. There I started botanical painting and then tried a watercolour course with a fantastic tutor called Angela Williams, and my life changed. I was totally hooked!” Angela is currently a Senior Lecturer (Creative Studies, Art & Design) at SCOLA and still inspiring students!

Congratulations, once again, to Sally for being featured on the front cover of Paint magazine!

05 March 2012 - SCOLA at Professional Beauty 2012 show in London!

Jacqui McElwee (Senior Lecturer – Performance, Health, Fitness & Hospitality) left this morning with a group of tutors to attend the Professional Beauty 2012 show at the Plaza in London, which is the UK’s largest show for health & beauty professionals. This year’s show is set to break all records in terms of size, brands and exciting show features! The show will feature all sections of the beauty industry including skincare & aromatherapy, spa, equipment, nails, tanning, professional supplies and even a dedicated aesthetic medicine section.

Professional Beauty 2012 will see more new products and treatment launches than any other show and most exhibitors are coming with a huge range of special offers and show discounts to make budgets go further. There are also conference and seminar programmes running alongside the show!

An exciting time will be had by all those attending!