Author: Catherine Owen

College Scribbler
By the students for the students!

Santa’s sleigh has pulled away and Christmas (and the holidays) have disappeared again!!
You’re back in college and delighted to be here, so let’s make the best of it!! Before you read on, this term we’d like to mention a couple of issues that are affecting all campuses of the college involving behaviour. As students ourselves, we’d first like to remind everyone in college that in order that your experience here be the best possible, we all have to respect the staff, buildings and equipment we are privileged to use. Please use the facilities here for their purpose and please remember that bins are provided for a reason.
We hope that you’re all recuperating well after Christmas and look forward to a great half term.
W

Joke of the half term!
What do you call a three legged donkey?

Students’ Union (SU).
The National Union of Students (NUS) is a voluntary membership organization which makes a real difference to the lives of students and its member students' unions, whose main aim is to promote, defend and extend the rights of students and develop and champion strong students’ unions, based on 3 critical values: equality, democracy and collectivism. Our SU so far has managed to raise £224.76 during Making A Positive Contribution for Action for Blind, Poppy Appeal and Children In Need, as well as installing braille on the vending machines and running a food/clothing/toy bank for the St Catherine’s appeal. You can get involved in our SU by putting ideas to your representatives, coming along to meetings on a Wednesday afternoon and taking part in events, all of which count towards your PEEP hours.
Your officers are…
Camille Taylor– Haley: President
Bilal Mian: Vice President Castleford
Ania Grudna: Disability Officer
Catherine Owen: Welfare Officer
Jamie Willis: Mature Students Officer
Ebony McNicholas: Activity Officer
Chloe Taylor: LGBTQ Officer
John Standard: Education Officer
Thomas Etchells: Communications Officer
Joshua Senior: HE Officer
Husnaa Khan: Minorities Officer

Mind Your Mind!
Whilst Christmas has only just passed, we are drawing closer to exam season and assignment deadlines and with this comes stress. If you find that you are struggling emotionally, whether it be college-related or otherwise, it is important to remember that you do not have to struggle alone, and that help is at hand. Below is a list of local services to help you get back on track:
> Rightsteps Wakefield - Turning Point - 18+
* Website: www.talkingforwellbeing.co.uk/rightstepswakefield
* Telephone: 01924 234 860 (between 11:00am and 7:00pm, Monday to Friday)
* Drop-in: 11.00am and 7.00pm Monday to Friday
> Rightsteps Castleford – Turning Point - 18+
* Website: www.turning-point.co.uk/castleford-adult-treatment-service.aspx
* Telephone: 0300 123 1912 (between 11:00am and 7:00pm, Monday to Friday)
* Drop-in: 11.00am and 7.00pm Monday to Friday
> NHS – CAMHS - Under 18s
* Lumley Street, Castleford
Telephone: 01977 605526
* Margaret Street, Wakefield
* Telephone: 01924 327604
> Relate (online chat service)
* Website: www.relate.org.uk/relationship-help/help-children-and-young-people/children-and-young-peoples-counselling
* Telephone: 0300 100 1234
Alternatively, college runs counselling drop-in sessions;
* Wakefield City Campus: Wednesday, 10:00am to 11:00am in Student Services
* Castleford Campus: Tuesday, 9:00am to 10:00am in CXL04
* Thornes Park Campus: Thursday, 12:00pm to 1:00pm in TMF39
* For more information on the college counselling service and other useful contacts go to: http://moodle.wakefield.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=891

We Interviewed Debbie Tansley who is the Head of our Health and Social Care and Childcare Department.
Why did you choose to teach childcare? I was very business-like at school, and read an interesting leaflet about children. I trained to work with them and later got a job which included teaching others to do the same. I enjoyed it and was good at it, so I continued.
Why did you choose Wakefield College? I live 40+ miles away, so it wasn’t convenience. It was about expanding my experience and knowledge. I’d been at my last college for 10 years and felt I might not have the chance to change roles or progress my career there; it was a bold jump.
What is it like working at both Wakefield and Castleford? Wakefield is such a big campus it’s sometimes difficult for students to feel a sense of closeness. Castleford has more of a tight knit community. At Wakefield I think people see their tutors more, though; at Castleford staff aren't always on site.
Any funny stories? One place I worked at had a board listing all staff with their job roles, including a lecturer called Hannah Ball. One of my students thought it was incredibly funny, and said “you work with Hannah Ball, Lecturer”. Eventually the penny dropped. You might’ve had to be there.
What is a fun fact about you? I’ve never broken a bone.
Do you have any pets? A Syrian hamster called Iggle Piggle, a cute black furball. And two cats, Kenny and Stefan, who’re 15, they’re quite sweet.
What is your life motto? Be kind to others, everybody is going through some sort of battle that you know nothing about. I think you can be unkind to someone, make assumptions and be awful without knowing how much you’re tipping someone over the edge. So be kind to everyone because they’re dealing with something behind the scenes that you don’t know about, just bear in mind that you don’t know what’s going on in people’s lives. Everyone should live by that mantra and the realisation that you don’t know what you’re adding to.

Staff and students - want to save £££s? Why not buy an NUS Extra card? Only £12 for the year or £33 for 3! Discounts are available in hundreds of shops and online. And the best bit…… £4.70 from every sale comes back to your Students’ Union to spend on activities for students here at college! Don’t’ forget staff and students are eligible to buy. Just log on to www.nus.org.uk/extra to buy today!

Get off to a Flying Start
If you’re a level 3 learner, you’re probably very glad to have just finished PLOTR in time for the December deadline… Well, perhaps. Anyway, time to move on and get on with the next part of the compulsory online learning module of your study programme – Flying Start.
Very soon, your tutors will return to group tutorials with your tutor group and you’ll be told about Flying Start, a programme aimed at developing your transferable skills for higher education or the world of work. Focussing on 5 different areas from identifying your strengths and qualities to developing skills vital within and beyond College, the programme will provide you with online activities and assignments to work through at your own pace. In the coming group tutorials, your tutor will show you how to access Flying Start through Moodle and then it’s over to you!
If you’re interested in finding out more about Flying Start or a little perplexed by PLOTR, please read the information provided on Moodle by going into the “Induction and student planner” area, “Induction documents” and selecting the document called “Online Learning Information for Students”.

Answer: A wonky!