Consultations and Spoilers!!

Another week has past already and it looks as if we are still in the grips of winter, but Stow hasn’t let this stop it and we have had another busy week, so let’s get you up to date.

Consultation Events

This week has seen the three colleges hold four consultation events to discuss the merger of John Wheatley, North Glasgow and Stow Colleges.

The first 3 events were held on Monday the 18^th of March, the Principals hosted these three workshops to discuss, with staff, what their thoughts were in regard to the vision of the new college, any concerns they might have and any suggested names.   These events were attended by over 100 staff.

On Thursday the 21^st of March, the Communication Workstream hosted the fourth consultation event for staff at John Wheatley College.

The fifth event is being held today (22^nd of March) at North Glasgow College and further days will be held over the next couple of weeks to allow more staff the opportunity to have their say.

Flash Mob 2013 – Spoiler Alert!!

Stephanie Letham has contacted us to let us know that a Flash Mob is being arranged – 1 Love 1 College Flash Mob 2013.

It will officially be held at the new riverside museum.

Want to join in?  Then follow the 1 Love 1 College Flash Mob 2013 Facebook page to be kept in the loop and get further details.

Hub Open Day

The Hub will be hosting an Open Day on Tuesday the 26th of March in Café Connect.  This is a drop in session and will run from 10.00 am until 2.00 pm.

Hub staff will be on hand to discuss any issues that students may be having.  They will also be able to chat to students about any skills they wish to develop, e.g. report writing, C.V. building or time management.

Please drop in for a cup of tea or coffee and a chat.

ILS News of the Week!!

Still busy in ILS!  First up, we now have access to another new online resource: Carl Giles Digital Archive.  This new resource is an archive of British newspaper cartoons, and a key resource for British political and social history, providing access to 15,000 cartoon images, with some 5,000 pages of related paperwork.  The archive dates from 1790 to present.   Images can be used in reports or essays providing the source is acknowledged.  Access Carl Giles Archive via Athens – get in touch if you need an account setup.

Next up – another updated guide is now available in the Information Skills series – the Writing Skills booklet.  You can pick up the updated version in print format in the Learning Centre (Room 3/14), or download it from the Learning Gateway or Moodle (ILS page in the Student Area).

Finally, it’s Resource of the Month time again – aiming to highlight an online resources you may have forgotten about! There are now 39 online resources available and this month, we are focusing on BFI InView.  There is a poster on the Learning Centre noticeboard and slides on the plasma screen to highlight this resource.  BFI InView is over 2,000 non-fiction film and television titles from the 20th to the early 21st century.  There are 6 main themes covered by the films: Education; UK Industry and Economy; Health; Law and Order; Environment; and Immigration, Race and Equality.

Please get in touch to find out more about anything in this article, about online resources, or any help with study skills.

HE Funding Workshops

Will you be progressing to an HNC, HND or degree course next year?  If the answer is yes then you need to apply for funding through the student awards agency for Scotland (SAAS).

SAAS will be holding workshops on HE funding on Wednesday the 17^th of April.

Please contact your curriculum leader or learner services as soon as possible to book a place.  Don’t miss out spaces may be limited.

Better Futures Bursary

The Better Futures bursary is available to students who currently reside in a Glasgow Housing Association or Cube Housing Association Property who are following a degree route in college at HNC / HND level or studying a University Degree.  It aims to support tenants to achieve their educational goals and sustain education.

An application can be made for up to £1,500 per year for full-time (£750 part-time) study for up to 4 years and can include funding for the cost of books, equipment, travel or other study and living costs that will help you complete your course.

For an application form and further information, please contact:  Neil McIntosh on 0141 274 6751 or by email to: bursaries@gha.org.uk

Comedy Night

Lastly for today a small heads up for an upcoming event.  Douglas Thomson has told us that the Comedy course will be ending soon with a final performance on the 24^th of April at Maggie Mays.

The doors will open 7:30pm and the show will run from 8:30 to 10:30 pm.  Entry will be by a nominal fee, which will be donated to charity.

We will bring you further details closer to the time, but for now mark it in your diary as a night to attend.

That’s us for this week, but hope to see you all back here next Friday.

Courses and Open Days!

Another week has passed already and we are as busy as usual with new courses and visits to schools.  Let’s catch up.

Steps to Social Science and Care

Are you a mature student thinking of coming back to college in 2013 – or perhaps a school leaver looking for the next step? If you’re interested in the world around you and ‘what makes people tick’, Steps to Social Science and Care might be just the course for you.

This part time course runs for 12 weeks from March – June 2013. The course is spread over four days and you can do as much or as little of the course as you want – from one SQA credit up to four credits.

The course will introduce you to key social issues in the UK and to important care concepts such as needs and wants, and ‘equalities’. You’ll have the opportunity to do some ‘hands on’ research into a contemporary issue, and we will also give you guidance and training to prepare for volunteering opportunities.

Successful completion of this course can lead on to further full or part time study from August 2013 in either the Social Sciences (studying subjects such as Psychology, Sociology, History and Politics) or Care, including practical work experience in the Care sector.

If you are in receipt of benefits or on a low income you may well qualify for a fee waiver and for help with travel and childcare.

Places are limited so apply now – you don’t know where it might take you!

For more information and to apply online visit the Steps to Social Science and Care page.

Computing Open Day

Pupils from years S4 – S6  are invited to attend our Computing Courses Open Day here at Stow College. We look forward to welcoming prospective students and parents to our Creative Industries Faculty on the 13th of February between 10am and 4pm..

Find out what it’s really like to be a student at Stow College.

The Open Day will include:

• A chance to speak to current staff and students.
• Information about the computing courses we have to offer.
• Information about applying for a place at Stow and all aspects of student life.

Any pupil who would like to apply for an August place will be assisted in completing the forms and the applicants will be interviewed and, if suitable, offered a place on the day!

ILS News of the Week!

It is Poverty and Homelessness Week 26 January – 3 February, and to compliment this, ILS has a mini-exhibition of poverty, social issues and homelessness related materials on display from Tuesday 29 January until Wednesday 6 February.  Why not drop in to see the display and find out more?  You can also find out more about Poverty and Homelessness Week – http://www.actionweek.org.uk/

Victim Support Glasgow

Learner Services have arranged for Victim Support to come in and do a presentation on the services they offer.

They are looking to engage and work directly with local communities to promote their services to ensure victims of crime have access to support services should they need them.

They are meeting with Learner Services, on Monday 18^th February 2013 at 10.00 am, to give us information on the services they provide to victims and witnesses and how our students/staff might access this service in times of need.

To see some of the services offered by Victim Support, visit the Victim Support Scotland site.

School Career Events

Learner Services staff have attended several career events at various schools over the past few weeks.  Ryan Gillen attended 2 schools last week during the day and this week Ryan and Muhammad have visited 3 schools for evening career events.

At the events Stow staff, along with the other colleges and universities as well as the Police, Fire Brigade, Army, Navy etc. and recruitment companies for apprenticeships or construction work etc all set up stalls  to offer information to the school children (or at some big events members of the public).

The students range from S2 who are thinking of their future and what classes they should be picking in school to S4, 5 and 6 pupils who are possibly thinking of leaving school.  The students generally attend with their parents and along with giving information we give out the college mini prospectus’s, Stow pens and Stow chocolate.

Well that’s us finished for another week, hope to see you back here soon.

Merging and Progressing For the Future!

It has been an exciting week here at Stow, so let’s get straight on with our news.

Merger Announced

A statement was released on Tuesday concerning the merger between John Wheatley, North Glasgow and Stow College (you can read the statement here).

We are merging because it is believed that by developing a regional basis for colleges it will make the sector more efficient and responsive to the needs of students and local economies. This approach was proposed in two Scottish Government consultations last year.

The sector has been divided into 13 college regions, from the previous structure of 43 independent colleges. In June 2012 the 7 Glasgow college principals signed the Glasgow Regional Outcome Agreement with the Scottish Funding Council.  These 7 colleges were City of Glasgow College, which is a product of a merger by Nautical, Central College of Commerce and Glasgow Metropolitan Colleges, and Cardonald, Langside and Anniesland Colleges (these three colleges are currently merging) and John Wheatley, North Glasgow and Stow College which will have merged by the end 2013.

The ‘new’ college will become one of three large colleges based in the Glasgow Region.  It will be business as usual for students and staff of all three colleges.  The current curriculum will continue to run and all three colleges will accept applications for the courses they will be offering in 2013/14.

It is an exciting time for the education sector and we are energized by the prospect of becoming a bigger, stronger college with more opportunities to offer all of our students.  If you would like to know more there are several ways you can keep yourself up-to-day

The E-Merge website

The E-merge Facebook page

The E-Merge Twitter ID – @EMergeGlasgow OR

Read our E-Merge Newsletter, keep an eye out on Facebook or Twitter for new versions.  See the latest edition here.

Graduation 2012 Update

You will all remember our Graduation Ceremony in November of last year, which was held in the Royal Concert Hall.  Well Fraser Purdie has been putting together some videos of the event and these are now available for viewing on our YouTube site.

The following is a video of highlights of the evening.

Other videos available for viewing are

Academy of sound jazz band

Academy of sound band

Dancers

Young Aviators

Will You Be Progressing At Stow Next Session?

If you would like to continue your studies at Stow College you will need to apply again as an Internal Applicant.  You must also apply if you are progressing from the 1^st year of your course into the 2^nd year.

As a current student YOU WILL BE PRIORITISED for consideration before we open up places for external applicants.  However you must apply before the deadline of the 8^th of February.

You must apply online through the Stow College Moodle website – moodle2.stow.ac.uk – login, click on the green Learner Services logo and then the Internal Applications  and follow the instructions.

SAAS Event

If you are applying for an HNC or HND course or are planning to progress to a degree you should be aware that your Funding will be provided by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS). They will be holding an Event at Stow College on the 17th OF April to provide you with all the information you need about Fees, Loans and Grants.

This is an invaluable opportunity for you to hear directly from them and to ask any questions you may have to ensure your funding is all in place when you start your new course.

Please put this in your diary and we will update closer to the date.

For more information on course progression and other Learner Services news, look at the Learner Services E-Bulletin.

That’s everything for this week, but join us again next Friday for more news and updates.

Agreements Signed and Events Attended

Welcome to another Stow College Blog update, we have lots of news and pictures for you this week, so let’s make a start.

Further Education & Volunteering Event at Forth Valley College

Estera and Muhammad from Learner Services went to Forth Valley College (Falkirk), on Monday the 14^th of January, for a Further Education & Volunteering Event.  This event was being organised by Skills Development Scotland for schools and anyone considering further education or volunteering.

A range of Further Education colleges (include Stow) within traveling distance from the Falkirk area and a variety of Voluntary Organizations went to talk about courses and opportunities available.  The Events started at 9.30 am and finished at 3.00 pm for schools, but later on was open for public until 5.00 pm.

During this event we used a projector and we played the college promotional video which attracts a lots of attention from the visitors.  It was a busy day for us, we even met some former Stow students who used to be our students back in 80’s.

The Death of a High Street Record Shop

The following video was made by our very our Fraser Purdie along with the music business staff and students.  They give their thoughts on the demise of HMV and the high street record shop situation.

The students involved did very well and  provided us with some great material!  Thanks also to Ken, Douglas and Graeme for participating.

Easter Holiday Childcare Cover

Students are being contacted in regard to them being offered the opportunity to receive childcare funding during the Easter holidays.  The students can either get cover during week 1, week 2 or both weeks.  However students must complete an ‘Easter Cover’ form which the college has supplied them with and this form must be approved by yourselves (i.e. signed/stamped).

The Easter holiday weeks are as follows:

• Week 1 – 1^st-5^th April
• Week 2 – 8^th – 12^th April

If you think you should have received a Easter Cover form, but haven’t them please contact Learner Services.

Stow College and AMEY Agree to Continue Working Together

Scotland’s Minister for Youth Employment, Angela Constance MSP, has witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between StowCollege and Public Services Provider Amey. The official signing took place on Thursday the 17^th of January at StowCollege.

The memorandum was signed by both parties entering into an agreement to continue working together in supporting young engineering students through the New College Learning Programme. By signing this agreement the partnership will continue to help ensure learners receive a level of teaching and frontline work-readiness required by employers.

The Programme, launched by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) in 2012, is aimed at 16-19 year olds and offers students a balance of real, frontline work experience alongside classroom time, which provides them with the essential skills to continue into employment.

The layout of the Programme requires students to take part in 192 hours of class based learning as well as 192 hours or work experience. This gives learners the opportunity to work alongside current Amey employees and to experience, first hand, what the real working environment will be like after college. It also offers Amey the chance to meet and monitor the development of students who may one day become full employees of the company.

Commenting on the establishment of the partnership with Amey, Stow College Principal, Dr. Robert McGrory, said:

“I am delighted that StowCollege and Amey have been able to work so successfully in partnership on this Programme and look forward to sustaining the working relationship for many years to come.

“Amey have been keen to be involved in many aspects of the development of this Programme and have treated our students as if they were real employees. They have given our learners a real taste of what employment will be like, including the finer details. For example, they’ve paid for full disclosure checks; put them through Health and Safety inductions as well as providing uniforms. Amey have also said they will provide employer references for all the students who complete the Programme, thereby giving them a substantial ‘leg up’ when it comes to looking for employment after college.

“Signing this agreement is recognition of both StowCollege’s and Amey’s commitment to providing the best possible service to students in paving the way from education to work. We are grateful that the Minister for Youth Employment, Angela Constance MSP, has chosen to be  part of today’s ceremony and are hopeful that she recognises the benefit this initiative could offer to learners all over Scotland.”

For the full story, please visit the News and Events page on our website.  Some photographs of the event are shown below, however Fraser Purdie has also produced a slideshow and this can be viewed on our YouTube site.

What Presence!

On Tuesday the 5^th of February Ken McCluskey, co-curator of the Harry Papadopoulos exhibition “What Presence!”  will discuss the work of Harry Papadopoulos and the insight they give us to a great era of music.  Ken will give a personal interpretation of the exhibition and bring to life the images exhibited.

The Curator’s Talk will take place between 2 and 3 pm in Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road.  This event is free.

That is everything for this week, but we will be back next Friday with more news and updates.

The Graduates and Other News!!

We have reached the end of November already and the Christmas holidays are rapidly approaching, along with all the ice and freezing temperatures we expect at this time of year.  No slowing up for us though, we have had yet another busy week, so let’s get caught up.

Graduation 2012

The following piece was submitted by Billy McEwan, a TUC Graduate.  Billy graduated at our ceremony in the Royal Glasgow Concert Hall, on the 23^rd of November.

Friday 23rd November a date that will be forever etched in our minds….Stow College graduation. On arrival at the Royal Concert Hall we met up with old friends (fellow graduands), put on our robes and had our photographs taken by the resident professional. Then family and friends were able to take even more photographs ( this seemed to continue throughout the night) …..no one complained truth be told we enjoyed it.

We entered the hall sat in our seats and were entertained with dancers, singers and live bands ……what a performance!!

Then it was time for the ceremony each student went up to rapturous applause. The ceremony seemed to fly by……but what an experience!!

A special part of the night for us was to meet up with our tutors especially Hugh Higgins and Gus Grubb who received a M.A in Employment Law.

As for our Diploma a big thanks to George Waldron. George’s catchphrase throughout the course was “you are where you are” and here we are graduates.

Photos shown were kindly submitted by students, check back next week for some official Stow pictures.

Graduation Performance

One of the performances at our Graduation Ceremony was by the Young Aviators, fresh from this performance at the concert hall on Friday they have released a new single which is out this week and here is the video to go with it.

Young Aviators – Hollywood Won’t Feed The Kids by Young_Aviators

The single is out on the Electric Honey label and is called “Hollywood Wont Feed the Kids”

New articulation route agreed with Glasgow Caledonian University

Staff from the Faculty of Science, Health and Care have been working on a collaborative curriculum mapping project with their counterparts from Glasgow Caledonian University, City of Glasgow College and Cardonald College to develop a ground-breaking articulation route taking HND Social Science students directly into Year 2 and Year 3 of the BSc Psychology programme at GCU.

While a longstanding arrangement is in place for direct entry to the BA Social Sciences, and a curriculum mapping project was completed last year to promote this route and ensure learners were fully prepared for the transition to University, finding a route for Psychology has been more challenging.

Psychology programmes in UK universities require British Psychology Society (BPS) recognition if their graduates are to progress to professional psychology programmes, leading to careers in Clinical Psychology, Educational Psychology, Counselling Psychology or work as a Chartered Psychologist. In the past, HND students wishing to take a BPS recognised degree had to start in Year 2 in order to meet the requirements, with HNC students forced back to the start of Year 1.

One of the major stumbling blocks for college-based candidates has been lack of access to SPSS, a prohibitively expensive software package used extensively in Psychology for statistical tests. However, with the use of modern technology and opensource software, a suitable alternative has now been identified (for free!). The added bonus is that students will no longer have to undertake laborious calculations by hand…

After identifying and resolving curriculum ‘gaps’ through careful planning of the HND curriculum, and changes to the GCU timetable to allow direct entrants to pick up additional credits in Biological Psychology, guaranteed direct entry places have now been agreed and will take effect as early as September 2013, benefitting the current cohort of HND 2 students at Stow.

Psychology has been a consistently popular option among HND students and we are delighted that our learners will have the opportunity to further their studies while gaining full recognition of their achievements at college. The articulation route will be launched on Wednesday 12 December at GCU.

ILS News of the Week!!

Copyright is a very important issue in education and the wider business community. All those creators of printed or electronic works, software, music, video etc. must be protected from intellectual property theft and plagiarism.  The College has copyright licences from CLA, NLA, PRS, PPL and ERA which allows staff and students to photocopy printed works, digitise selected materials, record television programmes to show in class, play music,  and more – legally.  There are copyright handouts available on the staff portal and Learning Gateway to provide the basics of what you can, and cannot do, under the licences.

A new feature of the CLA website – CLA licence covers text and still images – allows you to search for a particular title to see what you can legally do e.g. photocopy, scan and save to Moodle, use excerpts in presentations.  The search tool is easy to use and the permissions are clearly indicated.

The CLA FE licence includes the rights to re-use and copy digital original material, including websites, in addition to photocopying and scanning rights.  Rights are granted by publishers on an ‘opt-in’ basis and the list of participating publishers can be found on the CLA website.

If you have any queries about copyright or about how to legally use materials in the classroom, please get in touch.  Linda Vaughan, lvaughan@stow.ac.uk ext. 651

Forced Marriage Help

Arranged marriages are a part of everyday life in Scotland for many communities, but being forced to marry is wrong.  Every human being has the right to choose their own partner and Scottish law now supports that right.

You can take out a Forced Marriage Protection Order to legally prevent anybody from forcing you to marry against your will.  This is a big step, but please don’t be afraid. It’s your first step on the road to a happier future.

For advice, support and protection, call 0800 027 1234 in complete confidence, or visit yourrightscotland.org

Mary’s Meals – Week 7 Update

We now come to our 7^th week of our appeal.  It has been an interesting journey and very much challenging at time but we have certainly enjoyed every bit of it.  Students have started to backpack and have now completed 113 backpacks which brings us over our target so well done all.

Week 8 will be our last and final week of our project and to celebrate this we are having a tombola stall on Wednesday 5^th December in Cafe connect on the fifth floor from 10.00am – 12.30pm.

This week we are looking for any unwanted Xmas items, wine bottles, chocolates, perfume, flowers, cakes etc.  We need these items to help us top up our donations and help us to buy more items for children supported by Mary’s meals.  Please see Enterprise staff or you can hand into Pamela McKinlay room 5/9 Monday and Tuesday. Every bit helps!

Well that’s us again for today, have a great week and we’ll see you back here soon.

College Challenges and Student Participation!!

It’s Graduation Day today, so congratulations to all our Graduating students, we hope you have a fantastic time.  We will tell you more about this event next week, but for now let’s catch up with college activities over the past weeks.

One Day Challenge, a Students View

The following was written by Rachael Gibbons one of our HND Events Management students.  She recently attended our One Day Challenge, which was held on the 16^th of November in The Lighthouse.

When we arrived at the one day challenge we were put into teams and each team was aided by a business mentor.  The idea was each team had to come up with an original business concept and then expand to create a brand name, full business plan, marketing strategy, conduct market research and so on.

Each team was given advice from their allocated business mentor and then were given the chance to pitch the idea to every other business mentor and apply their constructive feedback to our business plans.  The teams then allocated one person to give a 60 second presentation to a panel of tough judges and this decided whether you would be one of the four able to give a four minute presentation to the judges and the best business idea would win.

I enjoyed the one day challenge as it allowed me to discover skills in myself that I never knew existed but it is a different, creative way of learning outside the classroom. It also allowed us to socialise with other students and the staff at Stow which I think is important with creating a sense of community between everyone. I also was able to meet my business mentor Alison who we loved and will stay in touch with.

I hope the staff who created the one day challenge receive the recognition they deserve for organising such a great day and I would advise every student to attend events like this in the future. I loved every second of the one day challenge experience and hope there will be more like it in the future.

Artbox Presents … Stow Winterland

Looking for a night of fun and entertainment all in aid of a good cause? Come along and join us on Wednesday 28th November at The Griffin Bar located on Bath Street in Glasgow City Centre for a night to remember! Have a few drinks, relax and be ready for a few surprises!   The doors will open at 7.30 pm and the official start 8.00 pm.  There will be a £5 entry fee at the door.

The line-up for the night includes Colour Cells, Letitia Lam, Asian Persuasion, Chuck Tsang and more.

There is a Christmas themed dress code so wear the colours red, white and green and don’t forget your Santa hat.

All money raised will be going to Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) so get along to this great night out.  For more information visit the Facebook Event page.

Learner Services E-Bulletin

Learner Services has developed an E-Bulletin and the first edition of this available online now.

This issue focuses on the Hardship Funds and cover topics such as who is eligible and when payments are made.  To read this new issue visit the Learner Services November E-Bulletin

ILS News of the Week!

Resource of the Month time again! There will be posters on the Learning Centre noticeboard and slides on the plasma screen to highlight Issues Online.

Issues Online is an online reference source for those who need up-to-date information on contemporary social issues. There are hundreds of articles on issues such as abortion, euthanasia, alcoholism,

refugees, poverty, terrorism, bullying, and disability.  Each topic has key facts (short pieces of information)and key statistics (charts, tables or data analysis) available which provides a great one stop resource for information on topics for essays and reports.

You can search using a simple keyword search, or via topics such as Crime and Justice ; Drugs and Alcohol; Environmental and Global Issues; Health and Well-being; Media; Rights and Discrimination; and Science and Health.

Ask in the Learning Centre about Athens access to this resource.

Glasgow 2014 … Do You Want to be Involved?

Glasgow 2014 are looking for up to 15,000 friendly people to volunteer at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

From now, people can register their interest on our new volunteering site before the online application process opens mid-January 2013.

For full details of the process, including how the application process works, the types of roles available and the benefits of taking part, please visit the 2014 website.

You can download our volunteer digital toolkit which will provide everything you need to begin talking to your networks, members and/or staff on how to get involved and “be the Games”.

If you’d like to discuss further details please feel free to get in touch with our contact centre on 030 3333 2014 or email them at contactus@glasgow2014.com.

Mary’s Meals – 6 Week Update.

Week 6 has been a mission.  All students have been working really hard sorting, counting and bagging items into categories so that backpacking will be made easier.  We had another 4 lucky draws this week and I am pleased to say it is winners from the Enterprise programme this time so congratulations to: Katie Barton – student, Alison McInally – staff, Nancy Man – parent of student and Debbie Kelly who is one of our helpful carers.

Backpacking in the Enterprise is under way and it has been a great achievement seeing the backpacks filled and tagged, ready for shipment.  All students have been really excited about this knowing that a child in Africa will be using it to help them in school.  We now have 2 more events coming up; graduation (Fri 23^rd Nov) and also Tombola event (Wed 28^th Nov).  These events will round off our appeal and hopefully we will achieve our targets of:

• Backpacks filled: 100 +
• Donations: £1,000

Please Note from our charts, we need lots more children’s clothing (T-shirts/shorts/thin trousers/skirts/dresses – ages 4-12 years), backpacks, hand towels and shoes/sandals (sizes 10 – 5).  Your help at this stage would be much appreciated.  We can do this!

That’s us again for this week, but make sure you come back next Friday for news on how our Graduation went.

It’s All Go At Stow …….

Its quiet in the college buildings this week, but life at Stow continues as all our students have a relaxing time on their October week off.  We still have some stories and updates for you so we will make a start.

First this week we have a feature from Margaret Cairns.

Black History Month 2012 (Sept 27^th – Oct 27^th)

Why the bus?  On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks boarded a Montgomery City bus on her way home from work. As the bus filled and a white man entered in need of a seat, Miss Parks quietly refused. News of this incident spread quickly and led to a city-wide bus boycott led by a young Martin Luther King, Jr.  This courageous action of one woman on a bus helped spark the modern American civil rights movement.

It’s hard for us today to believe that this wasn’t that long ago; but Rosa Parks is just one of many individuals whose accomplishments and contributions are featured during Black History month.

Black History Month had its beginnings in 1926 in the United States, and is now celebrated annually in the United States and Canada in February and the United Kingdom in October.

This event marks the beginning of a month long celebration of the accomplishments and contributions made by black men and women to our heritage. These include heroes, politicians, sporting heroes and entertainers. You can follow their story and even vote for your Black History Month Hero on the Black History Month site.

Glasgow Black History Month  But there is so much more going on.  As well as the web site linking to videos and features there is a programme of events including visits, talks and workshops.  This year’s diverse range of events will provide individuals from all cultures and ethnicities with an opportunity to learn and understand the positive role that black/minority ethnic men and women have played in shaping both Glasgow and Scotland’s history.  Check the Black History Month site for events in Glasgow or download a Programme of Events.

P.S. What became of the bus?   After sitting unprotected in a field for 30 years it’s now in the Henry Ford’s museum with some prestigious passengers on board – anyone you know?

We will have more on Black History Month next Friday.

Discretionary Hardship Fund

Now an update from Chris Greenshields on te Hardship Fund.  The Discretionary Hardship Funds are designed to assist students cope with the financial demands of coming to College.

Over 120 students at Stow last year received awards which helped them with living costs, manage debts or make payments towards the costs of rent or mortgages.

We are now taking bookings for our first four information sessions where we will explain the applications process and eligibility criteria. These first information sessions took place this week on Thursday the 18th of October and Friday the 19th of October, but more sessions will be held.

Contact Learner Services in person or enquiries@stow.ac.uk to book a place on one of our Information sessions.  Please note attendance at an information session is mandatory before applying for the funds.

ILS News

Linda Vaughan has let us know that the ILS now have 51 eBooks available through one of our eBook platforms – Dawsonera.  There are 2 new titles just added this week:  Social policy for social work, social care and the caring professions and The impact of devolution on social policy.  Both are listed on the library catalogue, the Learning Gateway and in Dawson Books when you log in via Athens.  Drop-in to the Learning Centre to find out more about these new eBooks and the other  eBooks available.

Be Safe

A quick message from Strathclyde Police.

As your local police force we’re here to keep you safe.  Whether you’re a fresher embarking on your studies for the first time, a foreign student, or you’ve been enjoying student life for some time now, we can all do with a reminder from time-to-time on how to keep safe.

Check out our useful tips and advice on staying safe while you’re studying and socialising at http://tiny.cc/faevlw

Find out the contact details for your local police office and your Community Policing Team at http://tiny.cc/3devlw

To keep up to date with what’s happening across Strathclyde, you can also follow us on Twitter (@keeppeoplesafe) and ‘like’ us on Facebook – www.facebook.com/strathclydepolice

Good luck with your studies – have fun and stay safe!

Strathclyde Police – Keeping People Safe

Spooky Draw

News now from Pamela McKinlay on the Happy Halloween Raffle they are holding.  You can win Halloween Pumpkin Flowers for only £1 a ticket and all proceeds go towards the Mary’s Meals Back Pack Appeal.

Tickets go on sale on Monday the 22^nd of October, see staff in the Foyer or in the Enterprise Room (G/24) to buy yours.  Draw will be held on Wednesday 31^st October.

To see what you have already raised for the Mary’s Meals Backpack Appeal, see the below images

Lucky People

Pamela has also given us an update on the Lucky Square draws that were held on Friday the 10^th of October in aid of Mary’s Meals.

There were four Lucky draws and each winner received a £25 gift from the Body Shop and Mary’s Meals received £25 for each draw completed, this meant that a total of £100 was raised for the charity.

The winners were as follows

• Draw 1 – Eddie Docherty
• Draw 2 – Gary Blair
• Draw 3 – Rita Glackin
• Draw 4 – Margaret Thomson

Congratulations and thank you for supporting the appeal.

Take The Challenge

Finally for this week, how do you fancy winning £500 in Amazon vouchers… Then get a team together, come up with a business idea and present it to a panel of judges.

Be part of 100 students competing in Stow College’s FIRST One Day Challenge.   Twenty teams of 5 will compete to win a prize of £500 of Amazon vouchers.  The event will be held in The Lighthouse, Mitchell Lane, 9.00 am – 5.00 pm on the 16^th of November 2012.   The challenge will involve coming up with ideas and pitching to business advisors.   All will be explained on the day.

If you are interested then contact Audrey Miller by Friday the 2^nd November 2012 at 12 noon.

That’s us finished for this week, but join us again next Friday for more news.

MADE in Sheffield, a Fund and an MOT!!!

Its all go here at Stow this week, our Peter Jones Academy launched with all the anticipation and excitement you would expect for such a momentous event, but that’s not all we’ve been up to so let’s catch up.

Our main story this week is from Ken McCluskey who has sent us an update on last week’s MADE Festival in Sheffield.  Mick Slaven and Ken McCluskey from the Faculty of Creative Industries travelled down south last week with 14 Stow students in the college mini bus to attend the MADE entrepreneur festival which was being held in Sheffield City Hall.

Arriving on the Wednesday evening, students were invited to a reception at the City Cathedral where various entrepreneurial types including “Pants  to Poverty” man Ben Ramsden and Clare Young, a finalist from TV’s “The Apprentice” performed the introduction duties by inviting the various groups to the city . After some lovely canapés and light refreshment the students were invited to join the various breakaway sessions to inspire the students for the next day. Speakers from the Gazelle  College Group rounded off the evening and after a nightcap all headed for an early(ish) night at the rather splendid Jurys’ Hotel.

Rising early for breakfast the Stow party then headed to the nearby Sheffield City Hall where students and lecturers took part in a debate concerning new initiatives in further education.

Following a coffee break, students were encouraged to network with other colleges as well as visit the various businesses and initiatives represented in the stalls situated throughout the building where there was an exciting programme of bespoke fringe events.

The magnificent main Oval Hall played host to a vast array of guest speakers including Prince Andrew, Business Secretary Vince Cable, TV Dragon Peter Jones and an excellent and inspirational talk from designer Wayne Hemingway from the label “Red or Dead”.  All in the trip was very enjoyable and both students and lecturers gained from the MADE experience.

Now a wee bit from Ron Dillin about our next upcoming event – Health MoT: Find out how healthy you are and get advice if you wish – FREE health check.  Next week is Health MoT week where you can come along for a free health check.  This is entirely painless and involves: taking your height and weight and calculating your body mass index (BMI); measuring your lung capacity, flexibility, percentage body fat and blood pressure (a qualified nurse will be on hand to take your blood pressure).  Members of the Healthy Working Lives team will complete a scorecard for you.  They can offer advice on healthy eating, exercise, smoking cessation and so on if you wish.  Then you can make adjustments to your lifestyle if you wish, and come back in 6 months time to be tested again.

Interested?  Of course you are!  Then come along between 10 am and 12.45 pm on Wednesday 3 October at Cafe Connect on the fifth floor of the City campus, or Friday 5 October between 10 am and 12.45 pm  on the ground floor of Stow West.  Healthy Working Lives is essentially a staff initiative but students are more than welcome to come along too.  Hope to see you at the Health MoT!

Ron has also given us a short update on one of the Learning and Teaching workshops held on Wednesday of this week (26^th September). David McDade delivered an excellent CPD session on using the Mahara aspect of Moodle to create ePortfolios.  Kirsty Lambert ran a session on Moodle basics while Derek Steven presented the Turnitin system for learners to submit assessments.  Look out for further learning and teaching Workshops soon.

Next this week is news from Chris Greenshields in Learner services about a new fund which is available to our students.  It is called the Better Futures Fund and is a non-repayable grant.  Students can apply if they are …………..

• Living in a Glasgow Housing Association or Cube Housing Association property.
• Studying an HNC or an HND course.

If the answer is yes then you could be eligible for an award of £1,500 this year or £750 if they are studying part-time.  To get more information and an application form, contact Learner Services urgently.

Lastly for this week, a quick update from Linda Vaughan.  Did you know you can access over 3,500 eBooks via Athens?  A new title just purchased is Construction Maths which is available via Dawson Books.  Why not drop-in and ask about this and other great eBooks for your curriculum area?

Well that’s us for now, but come back again soon for more Stow news.

Open Mic, Open Day and a Glad Cafe!!

Well we hope everyone has enjoyed their first week back at college and that you are all enthusiastic about the coming year.  Even though we have only just started with  the new term we have been busy, so we have plenty of news for you.

First this week, Ron Dillin ran an open mic session (acoustic music) in Café Connect on Wednesday of this week to raise funds for Cancer Research UK under their Busking for Cancer banner.  The session has raised £51 so far, with donations still coming in.

Ron says: “I really enjoyed playing the guitar and ukulele but I don’t enjoy singing in front of an audience too much – I usually just play at home or at a friend’s house.  The audience of students and staff were really great and donated generously.  I guess the session was a success since we raised a tidy sum, nobody booed or threw things at me, and some people even clapped!  I managed to get away with playing Brown Eyed Girl four times since I had left my main song book at my friend’ house – d’Oh!”

Ron is planning more events in the future such as karaoke, general knowledge quiz and a music quiz.  He has been talking to some of the Creative Industries staff about having students perform songs from the musicals and dance routines.  As he says, “If we entertain the students at lunchtime, they entertain themselves and we make some money for charity, then everyone wins.”.  Watch the blog for details of future events.

Next up, The Glad Cafe, southside Glasgow’s new arts hub and cafe, is delighted to announce the start of a year long project with partners Stow College. As part of their sponsorship deal with Glasgow based company SSK Conferences & Live Events, the Glad Cafe will be offering placements to six students from the Sound Engineering and Production department.  The students will be given the opportunity to shadow the Glad Cafe’s sound man at gigs in the cafe’s dedicated venue space, and be given practical experience to validate their college course.  At the end of the year the student who has shown most promise will receive an award from SSK at a ceremony at the Glad Cafe.

SSK, which specialises in the production of live events for business clients at home and abroad, sponsored the Glad Cafe by providing and installing sound, lighting and projection equipment for the cafe’s venue. This in turn was matched by a New Arts Sponsorship grant funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by Arts and Business Scotland. The fund aims to build private sector sponsorship for the arts and is administered in partnership with Creative Scotland. The grant of £10,000 supports the salary of the Glad Cafe’s Venue Manager.

The Glad Cafe can be found at 1006A Pollokshaws Road. Check out up-coming gigs and events on their website, Facebook page and Twitter.

News from Linda Vaughan in  ILS now!  We now have 34 online collections available for staff and student use to help you in your research and studies.  There are over 3, 500 ebooks, 400, 000 images, 40 film collections, 100 UK newspapers, over 30, 000 journals and a whole lot more available at your fingertips!  Why not drop in to the Learning Centre and ask about Athens access to these resources?

Learner Services has let us know that Skill Development Scotland are holding a Higher Education Convention.  This will be on the 18^th (9.30 am – 4.00 pm) and 19^th (9.30 am – 3.30 pm) of September in the Glasgow Science Centre.  Admission is Free and many colleges and universities, including Stow, will have representatives that you can talk to and discuss your future.

If you are looking for something a little more immediate, then Stow College still has some places available in certain courses including: Cert HE Animation and Multimedia, HNC Healthcare and HND Electronic Engineering.  If you are interested in these (or other courses available) then use our online application process or contact Learner Services on 0844 249 8585.

Another quick reminder now about Stow’s Peter Jones Enterprise Academy.  As you know The Peter Jones Enterprise Academy (PJEA) at Stow has been set-up by Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones CBE. PJEA offers further education courses in enterprise and entrepreneurship, where students are required to set up and run their own businesses as part of the learning process. Stow College is bringing the Boardroom into the Classroom with the introduction of the first PJEA course in Scotland. If you have ambitions to be the next Peter Jones, Richard Branson or Alan Sugar, the PJEA Diploma in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Stow College will set you on the fast track to success!

Interested? Then come along to our Open Day to find out how you can join the PJEA at Stow!  It will be held on Thursday the 6^th of September from 4.30 until 7.00 pm at our City Campus in Shamrock Street.  If you want to find out more about the course then check out our website and then come along to the Open Day.

Finally for this week, Alan Hetherington would like you to know that Stow College Students’ Association is meeting on Tuesday 11 September in the Boardroom 5/1, 12.15 until 1.00 pm.  All Class Reps and any other interested students are invited!!  The mini bus will leave Stow West at 12.00 pm, if you need transport and a buffet lunch will be provided.

That’s us for now, but we will be back here next Friday as usual.

An Award, An Academy and Some Skills Profiling.

Another Friday, another Blog update for you and we have some great news for you this week.

First this week, Stow College has been honoured, for the second time, for their commitment to mental health and has received a Commendation Award for Mental Health and Wellbeing from The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives.  This honour makes Stow College the first further education establishment in Scotland to retain both a Commendation Award and a Healthy Working Lives Gold Award.

The driving force behind a range of successful initiatives is the College’s Healthy Working Lives committee – a group of staff members working together to make sure everyone is happy and healthy. Projects have included Health MOT days, corrective breathing courses and advice sessions with health and fitness experts.  Congratulations to everyone involved in securing this commendation award!!  If you would like to read more on this story then our News and Events page on the website.

Next up some information on Core Skills Profiling from Margaret Cooke in the Hub.  We are now in our third full year of using the Tribal software package to profile the core skills of our FE learners.  Core Skills Profiling will once again be carried out by Hub staff prior to the start of term.  Every learner who has been accepted for an FE course (NC, NQ, Pathways, Access, etc.) will be profiled.  The learners will complete 2 profiles, which will review their numeracy and communications skills.  The results are given using SCQF credit ratings.

Last session we managed to profile in excess of 650 learners before the beginning of term.  Hopefully we will be able to accomplish a similar feat this session, as data shows that more learners were identified or approached the Hub for support at an earlier stage than in any other academic year.  This meant that learners accessed appropriate support at a time when it is most beneficial to students, helping in the improvement in retention.   A further benefit for the students and indeed staff, is that the profiles will provide a basis for a learning plan and will also highlight ESOL issues.

When the learners have completed their profile they will be directed to appropriate top-up materials.  It is vital that all tutors encourage and support students in the completion of the top up activities.  Tutors can have access to the results and suggested resources for their learners, just pop into the Hub if you do not have a username and password for the package.  Tutors and support for learning staff can also check learner progress and review how often a learner uses the system.  All top up materials can also be used in a classroom environment and in group work.

To date feedback from learners and staff has been extremely positive, all are impressed by the ease of use of the package and also with the resources which are available to enhance and improve learning.  The support materials which are signposted for all learners, also give them the opportunity to take control of their own learning.  If you would like to try the profiling software, please contact Margaret Cooke in the Hub, Ext 611, mcooke@stow.ac.uk for a demonstration and trial.  Go on, have a go and try to beat the scores of your students!

We have some exciting news for you now, Stow College will be running a one year BTEC Diploma course in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship through the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy (PJEA).  This scheme has been running since 2009 and there are over 30 PJEA centres south of the border, however Stow will be the first academy in Scotland.  The course will start on the 25^th of September and will have places for 20 students at our Stow West building.

The Peter Jones Enterprise Academy at Stow has been set-up by Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones CBE and offers further education courses in enterprise and entrepreneurship.  Students are required to set up and run their own businesses as part of the learning process so gain hands on experience as well as classroom learning.  The students will also take part in masterclasses, which will be run by various businesses.  This will be a fantastic opportunity for all the students involved.

Finally for this week Chris Greenshields from Learner Services has requested that that students refer to Learner Services for the most up to date Funding information to avoid any confusion on what is and is not covered by your grant/bursary/EMA.  This includes the completion of Council Tax forms.  So if in doubt contact Chris and his team.

Well that’s us again for this week, hope to see you back again next Friday.