Hey everyone! 👋
Welcome to the February Edition of the Students' Association Update!
Our Presidential Team have been hard at work ensuring that they are meeting the needs of every student at the college. After a busy year, it's almost time for the new set of Presidential candidates to be selected! In this edition we cover the Presidential Elections, HBHM, Green Impact and lots more including our brand new feature, 'Student Spotlight'.
We're also very excited to announce our new CitySA website will be launching in the very near future... Keep your eyes peeled! 👀
We are on a quest to find our new Presidential Team for 2019/20. Exciting times! 🎉
We have four different roles available and so there is something to suit many different interests. You are able to stand whether you are finishing at college this year or continuing after the summer – depending on the role. Once you've decided what role you'd like to stand for, all you need to do is to complete our simple nomination process and we'll support you through the process of standing for election. The four positions are:
- Student President
- Vice President Learning and Teaching
- Vice President Social and Activities
- Vice President Diversity and Wellbeing
To find out more information on how to apply click here You'll find the full job spec and your guide to applying for one of the roles. Nominations shut next Friday so please ensure you get them in on time.
Good luck! 🤞
Students from Journalism, Travel and Tourism and Creative Industries have been taking part in a Dynamic Learning Initiative with overseas Nautical groups to map out a travel guide for students arriving in Glasgow for the first time. The completed City Goes Exploring guidebook will highlight students' favourite and most affordable destinations across Scotland - tried and tested by the students who attend these trips! Get ready, Scotland - we're coming for you! 🏴
The NUS Healthy Body Healthy Mind Award is a college wide initiative that promotes positive mental health, the benefits of doing physical activity and proactive reduction of smoking on the body and mind for all students. This initiative is led by Student Engagement, the Students’ Association and the Student Services team. The aim is to deliver a series of online awareness campaigns and events to promote these benefits to all students. Previously the project has promoted awareness of mental health at sea, suicide prevention and world kindness for all. Larger events include You Matter and Beat The Blues.
We also offer free Yoga classes and Mindfulness sessions which are open to all students. You can book a spot on one of these courses via My City.
Look out for No Smoking Week and Chill and Achieve events in March to help students during stressful times while studying. The college has a Student Counselling Team who can help you, contact them via the My City EasyBook system or pop along to Student Services to ask for support. You can access the Healthy Body Healthy Mind module on My City for further mental health, sport and smoking advice.
For the chance to win £50 retail vouchers, complete the Healthy Body Healthy Mind Survey by clicking on the module on My City.
We've had an amazing year for societies and we now have ten societies at City and two at Riverside. They're FREE to join and available to all students at City of Glasgow College. With societies ranging from BSL Learning Society to Perilous Expeditions, there's something for everyone!
Calling all Mature Students!
Rachael, VP Social and Activities is looking to set up a society for mature students. As a mature student and a lone parent herself, she understands that her life at college is a completely different experience in comparison to other students. She wants to set up a group that will give mature students a platform to voice their opinions and ideas on how to give them the best college experience. There will be food, tea and coffee and a chance to meet up with some great students in relatable situations. If this is something you'd be interested in, please fill in the survey to let Rachael know your availability here
LGBTQ+ History Month
To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month, the LGBTQ+ Society are having a Pride Week from Tuesday 12th - Thursday 14th February. This is a great opportunity to have a chat with members of the society and grab some freebies!
If you'd like to attend the LGBTQ+ Society, they meet every Thursday from 4pm-5pm in C03:100.
City Goes Green is a college-wide project led by Student Engagement in partnership with college departments including Estates, Baxter Storey and the college external recycling partner Enva. The initiative aims to improve and raise awareness of recycling, environmental and sustainability issues impacting on student life. The initiative is working toward winning a NUS Green Impact Award for the college.
Student Engagement worked with Women In Construction and Personal and Social Development 2, Supported Learning students to build and paint wooden birdhouses to be hung around City Campus to raise awareness of wildlife that habitat around the grounds. Students who worked in the project all agreed the project built their confidence and enjoyed working with a different group of students.
Student Engagement have collected nearly 1500 Strathmore water bottles donated by staff and students to help Joinery Students and City Works, Supported Learning students to build and maintain a greenhouse made from the plastic bottles to be located on the 4th Floor at City.
If you'd like the chance to become an Environmental & Sustainability Champion, you could be in with a chance of winning £200 worth of vouchers. All you have to do is complete the Green Impact Award Module on My City Good Luck!
Nico’s Story - a 21st Century ( Access & Inclusion) Recipe for Success
In this edition of the Students' Association Update, we're looking at Nico's Story, one of our inspirational students here at City of Glasgow College.
To quote Nico’s family, his inclusion into a HNC level course would probably not have been considered possible before the Millennium.
Nico’s Access & Inclusion journey at the City of Glasgow College is a very real success story. However, a number of additional support planning factors were always going to be necessary to make successful ‘inclusion’ possible.
Planning for a student with additional support needs (ASNs) has to start early, to allow sufficient time to put everything in place. Consideration of all factors (e.g physical access to the building and course materials, transport, medical requirements, health and safety) needs to start far in advance to make a smooth and successful transition from school into College and progression between courses. As a ‘new build’, the City of Glasgow building is well placed to support many of these requirements.
To return to Nico’s learning journey at City of Glasgow College’s City campus so far, Nico needs to have a team of support workers who help him. They are funded by his local Council’s Self Directed Support (SDS) scheme. Nico’s parents also regularly liaise with College Lecturers and Learning Support and remain Nico’s main advocates in his learning journey so far.
Identifying funding and long term planning made Nico’s transition from school to college possible. Last year on his NC ‘Gaming’ course the College Bursaries department paid for Nico’s taxi transport to College. Now on his second course studying an HNC in Web Design and Development part time, Nico is in receipt of DSA ( Disabled Students Allowance) from SAAS.
On-going liaison with Eileen (McCrory), Nico’s named Learning Support contact at College, helps ensure that any additional College support Nico needs continues to go smoothly. Nico and his family also appreciate their ongoing contact with the Computing, Digital Technologies team who throughout have worked in partnership with Nico and Learning Support, to enable Nico to study and be assessed more flexibly. Nico with an NC qualification in Games Design and Development already, continues to study part time at City of Glasgow College, with the goal of attaining the full HNC In Web Design and Development in the year 2020.
Last word must surely go to a very determined and hard working student Nico who when asked about studying at City of Glasgow College describes it as ‘Awesome’!
You can get in touch with us by email, phone or pop into your nearest Students' Association Space!
milea.leone@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk | 0141 375 5624 alex.robertson@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk | 0141 375 5322 rachael.gilchrist@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk | 0141 375 5322 jennifer.gordon@cityofglasgowcollege.ac.uk | 0141 375 5322