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jan2011
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jan2011 3 Ali Hadawi CBE
11 Health Bus Visits the Dunstable Campus
4 Sugarcraft Success
12 Creative Arts YCN Visit
5 Library Ranked 2nd for E-Book Usage
13 Catering Students
6 Leighton Buzzard Skills
14 CBT Roadshow
7 Vocational Students Enterprise
15 Fashion Show
8 Launch of CBT Business News
16 Performing Arts Musical
9 Launch of the Official CBC Facebook Group
17 IT Update
10 New Ladies Football Academy
18 Feedback from the Student Conference 2010 19 Creative Arts Masters Success
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Ali Hadawi CBE Ali Hadawi has been awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours list. Having recently joined Central Bedfordshire College as the Principal, this is a great start to 2011 for Ali. His previous role was as the Principal of Southend Adult Community College, where he was responsible for improving the College to achieve ‘Beacon status’, the first in its sector. Having obtained a BSc(Hons) in Electronic and Computer Engineering from the University of Birmingham, and a PGCE from the University of Huddersfield, Ali has gained extensive experience working within the IT industry, Further and Higher Education. Ali has achieved this prestigious award for his services to Further Education in the UK and Iraq. He is a founding member of the Rawabit steering group, which is a UK-Iraq strategic partnership aimed at developing the education sector within Iraq. By providing an insight into how the further education sector is run within the UK, College Principals from Iraq educational establishments are able to adopt elements to help their students and provide them with the skills base needed for rebuilding the Iraqi economy. Ali commented, “I am really delighted by the honour and the recognition from Her Majesty the Queen and also for coming to lead Central Bedfordshire College. So 2011 has been a really good start for me! I am looking forward to serving the people and businesses of Central Bedfordshire by delivering the best education and training in the area”.
4 Sugarcraft Success Central Bedfordshire College Sugarcraft students have again excelled on a national level, with Samantha Harris being awarded a City & Guilds Medal for Excellence for Outstanding Performance. The City & Guilds Medals for Excellent recognise and reward inspirational and exceptional work in both learners and their Tutors. The coveted medals are awarded annually to those who have shown outstanding talent through the learning / teaching. Samantha has shown an excellent flair for Sugarcraft techniques and has worked hard to ensure her work is of a high standard. Having been awarded this medal, Samantha has now been shortlisted to win one of eleven Lion Awards, which is a prestigious annual awards ceremony taking place at The Roundhouse in London on 26th May. Denise Connor, Course Tutor, commented “This is an exceptional achievement for Samantha and we wish her luck at the Lion Awards and every success in her future�.
5 Library Ranked 2nd for E-Book Usage The College library have ranked second in the country for student use of e-books. The online resource ‘ebrary’ is a digital library that allows students and staff to read books online, and it has proven to be a very convenient and environmentally friendly way to study. The College came in at number two in the top 350 list of academic e-book users, with nearly 15,000 page views in December alone. The most popular subjects were business, child care, psychology and teacher education, with some students even logging on on Christmas Day to read the books. Staff and students have been invited to inductions on the use of the e-resources, including on a one to one basis. We tell users about how the e-books can support their studies when they are in the library. Library staff have visited the smaller sites to give a practical demonstration to staff and learners using Smartboards. It is also important that prospective users are offered a ‘hands on’ training session. The books are acquired through JISC Collections http://www.jisc-collections.ac.uk/News/e-Select-launch The books can be accessed 24/7 from home or college. A certain amount can be copied and printed. Searches for more information on a selected word can link to Google, YouTube and BBC amongst others. This allows the tutor or student to find other relevant information and when used in conjunction with a Smartboard can extend the learning outside the classroom. We would like to encourage more staff to use ebrary, if you have any questions or would like to find out more information, please contact Liz Leighton or Malcolm Jackson.
6 Skills put to good use at the Leighton Buzzard Campus College students Christopher Brewster and Dale Kane are currently studying Level 1 Plumbing at the Leighton Buzzard Campus. The campus itself gave the students an ideal opportunity to practice the skills that they have gained to date. A damaged toilet in the building needed to be removed and replaced, and the students volunteered to undertake the task. Some minor problems were encountered but these were resolved in a competent manner. Once they had replaced the toilet it could be seen that it had been completed to a very professional standard. Dale and Christopher were very proud of their achievement and this will remain as a permanent testimony to the skills and achievement they have gained on this course. Tutor Graham Fensom commented; “Dale and Christopher thrived on this challenge and I would happily have paid a professional plumber if this work had been undertaken at my own home. Many thanks to the Estates Department for supplying the materials, but more importantly, putting their trust in the students�.
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Vocational Students Enterprise The Vocational Studies students will be running an enterprise from February for approximately 10 weeks. The students are planning on selling selections of doughnuts, with an offer of 5 doughnuts for the price of 4. Please support the enterprise in Reception, 1-2pm every Tuesday.
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Launch of Chiltern Business Training Business News Business News has now been launched, and is sent out to local companies to help raise awareness of the training on offer at the College, as well as inform them about Apprenticeships. The Newsletter can be read by clicking on the link below: http://www.centralbeds.ac.uk/chilternbusinesstraining/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/cbt-jan-20101.html
9 Launch of the Official Central Bedfordshire College Facebook Group After being given the go ahead to introduce the College to social networking, a new Facebook group has been set up. The group will be a resource for potential and existing students to find out about future events at the College, as well as give prospective students a place to meet before they start at the College. Click on this link to ‘Like’ the group and access the resources available: www.facebook.com/centralbeds
10 Central Bedfordshire College launch Bedfordshires only Female Football Academy Central Bedfordshire College are to provide Bedfordshires only Female Football Academy. Students in the Academy will have the option of studying BTEC Extended diplomas or A-Levels whilst training on outstanding facilities for up to 10 hours per week. The Academy will be open to all female players who are currently in Year 11 or 12 at school. All players are required to attend an interview before attending the practical trial on the 1st June 2011. More information on the trial will be given at the interview stage. The College already hosts a highly successful male programme that has been running for over 8 years and the female academy will follow the same protocol. Last year 14 of the 17 students on the male Football Development Programme gained university placements in this country and abroad, and we hope that the female students will be able to follow suit and achieve their academic and career ambitions whilst training and enhancing their football attributes. This evidence shows that this course can meet the needs of all students allowing them to really enjoy their college experience and be very successful on all fronts. Colin Sharpe, Football Development Manager, commented �this is fantastic opportunity for all female players to study at these levels which will allow them to pursue their career aspirations whist receiving top class training. The players will receive sports psychology lessons, nutritional advise, regular fitness testing, which will all enhance their performance. It really is a fantastic opportunity for female players within Bedfordshire. We are also very pleased to have the full support of the Bedfordshire FA with this programme�.
11 Health Bus Visits the Dunstable Campus Central Bedfordshire College students and staff benefitted from a visit from the free NHS Health bus on Thursday 20th and Friday 21st January. Based at the Dunstable Campus, the bus provided an opportunity for visitors to receive a free health check from NHS advisors The advisors on the bus were able to offer advice and support for those who would like to quit smoking, are feeling short of breath or have developed persistent coughs. The lung age test proved very popular with visitors who following the test were able to benefit from a full explanation of the results mean and any actions that needed to be taken. The bus is touring the area and provides an excellent opportunity for the general public to receive a free health check and receive expert advice.
12 Creative Arts YCN Visit Creative Arts students from all years of the BA(Hons) Graphic Design for Print and New Media course visited YCN to find out more about the broader work of the agency, and to talk about the YCN Student Awards programme.
13 Hospitality and Catering Update Hospitality and Catering Students have now successfully completed 3 weeks of experience serving a variety of dishes to the customers of Chiltern Business Training. The 3 course meals were prepared and served by the students themselves, and proved to be a hit. The Bistro is open for lunch tomorrow (Tuesday 1st February): To Start: £1.75 Cream of mushroom soup Or Salmon fishcake with lemon salad To Follow: £2.95 Red onion risotto in baked tomatoes with crispy vegetables Or Fresh beef burger served with Galette potato cakes and mustard sauce Or Sweet and sour pork balls served with fresh noodles and sweet pepper salsa To Finish: £1.95 Chocolate and orange mousse served with Chantilly cream Or Spiced choux fritters with diced fruit and apricot sauce Tea: 60p Filter Coffee: 80p Fruit spritzer: £1.25
14 Chiltern Business Training Roadshow Chiltern Business Training are hosting an Apprenticeship Week Roadshow; an informative and educational Roadshow for potential Apprentices, to highlight the many options available to them. The Roadshow will begin on Monday 7 February at Central Bedfordshire College’s Leighton Buzzard Campus and tour the Central Bedfordshire area throughout the week.
15 Fashion Show Creative Arts will be hosting the annual College fashion show on Thursday 31 March. This event is an exciting opportunity for students from different departments of the College to get involved in the event and for the Creative Arts students to showcase their work. The show will be held at 2pm and 7pm, and will be held on the same day as a College Open Day to encourage the wider community to attend the event.
16 Performing Arts to put on first ever Musical Production Winner of the Outer Critics Circle award for Best off-Broadway musical in 2001 and seen in a super production at the Menier Chocolate Factory in 2005, TICK, TICK… BOOM! is a musical about the courage it takes to follow your dreams. This is Jonathan Larson’s (author of RENT, pictured right) autobiographical (and posthumously produced) tale of a young composer on the brink of turning 30 and falling into oblivion. His girlfriend wants to get married and move out of the city (TICK,), his best friend is making big bucks on Madison Avenue (TICK…), yet Jon is still waiting on tables and trying to write the great American musical (BOOM!). Containing fourteen songs, ten characters, three actors, and a band, TICK, TICK… BOOM! takes you on the playwright/composer’s journey that led to the Broadway blockbuster, RENT. Set in 1990, this traditional book musical is filled with instantly appealing melodies, and a unique blend of pop and musical theatre styles. Everyone, regardless of age, will love this youthful, endearing, and thoughtful piece, and will surely embrace the universal ideal of holding onto your dreams through life’s most difficult challenges. In our spectacular production, James Rathbone (ND2 Performing Arts) takes the lead of Jon, supported by Abbie Mead as Susan (First Diploma) and Daniel Fortune (Extended Diploma year 1) as Michael, alongside a cast made up of First and National Diploma Performing Arts students. The production is directed by Laurie Asher, choreographed by Lyn King and will also feature a superb rock band Musically Directed by Peter Dodsworth (Royal College of Music).
17 IT Update Here is a list of recent IT Investments throughout the College since October 2010. ·
IT Workshop had all of their old PC’s replaced with new computers, 49 in total
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C308 has had 16 New computers installed
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A207 has had 9 new computers installed
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A new Smartboard was installed in the HE Centre
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A new Smartboard has been installed in the Electrical classroom in New Construction at Kingsland
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A new Smartboard has been installed in the E2E classroom at Kingsland, which is part of CBT
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A further 4 new Smartboards will be installed during February/March around the main college campus.
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The majority of Student PC’s are now running Windows 7 and Office 2010
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There are still some projects being finalised where Student IT Labs and Staff PC ‘s will be replaced.
18 Feedback from the Student Conference 2010 Below is a list of feedback and facts from the Student Representative Conference on 15 December: • • • • •
Organised by the Learner Voice group Third event of its kind that we have held now. Approximately 40 student representatives and student leaders attended from 3 sites Students gave feedback about their experiences in the College Workshops about the role of a student representative, understanding the student council budget, improving communication with students, promoting the green agenda and money week - all led by staff from across the College • Lots of good ideas and suggestions which have been passed to the Senior Management Team • Feedback from ET to the students is scheduled for the next Student Council meeting
Creative Arts Student Completes Masters Degree Recent graduate from the College, Ravinder Follhea, has just achieved a distinction for his MA in Applied Imagination from Central Saint Martins. Ravinder took part in the MA Design Studies 2010 Degree Show ‘63 Degrees Exhibition’, where he has exhibited his thesis The Unlawful Economy, and the developed digital media education tools for ex offenders. Ravinder’s work can be viewed here: http://www.theunlawfuleconomy.info/
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