Coverage magazine issue 9 - April 2016 by Reaseheath College

The reaseheath college student magazine

Issue 9

r e v o e k a m h c n re F a ts e g RAG Ball

Over £12,000 raised for British Heart Foundation so far! Also inside Lambing Weekends • Picture This • Careers Fair Sports Update • Job Interviews - The Lowdown

YOUR STUDENT

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED WITH THE STUDENT ASSOCIATION KEEP CHECKING THE FACEBOOK PAGE TO SEE WHAT WE’RE UP TO. WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/REASHEATHSTUDENTASSOCIATION

CONTENTS RAG Week 2016 (4) Lambing Weekends

(8)

Job Interviews – The lowdown (10) Dissertation Selfies (11) Picture This (12) Latest Events

(14)

A few words from Rob

(16)

Students explore future careers (17)

Hey, my name is Sam and as you know I am this year’s Press Officer. Joining me this term is Gemma Williams. Together we are working on Coverage as well as attending events across the campus to gather interviews and photos. This term we have presented you with a bumper edition featuring all the exciting events running from January-Easter holidays. It’s been a busy one! Hope you enjoy the issue

Sports Update

(18)

The Final Word

(19)

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10% T DISCOUN

Sunday 15th May 10am - 5pm

Sam Field and Gemma Williams

Keep updated with all the latest student news - follow the Reaseheath Student Association on Facebook reaseheathstudentassociation or read the student blog, Coverage Xtra

The

Gorillas

Team Extreme

reaseheath.ac.uk/familyfestival Reaseheath College, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 6DF

The Knights of Middle England

Tickets

Family £ 15 Adult £5 Children and Con cession s £4

reaseheathblog.org/coverage

RAG Week 2016 RAG week 2016 brought an array of events, ranging from dodgeball competitions, cake sales, an amazing hypnotist (in which students were made to dance around on stage and had no idea what was going on!), tractor pull and inflatable games in the bar. We then finished the week off in style with a glamorous Moulin Rouge themed RAG Ball. It’s easy to say that with the humongous efforts and support from members of the Student Association (SA), staff and students of the college, this year’s RAG week was a huge success. Over the week, a total of £907.84 was raised, bringing the RAG total so far to (approximately) £12,240!!! The RAG Ball alone raised £350, with all proceeds from ticket sales going towards The British Heart Foundation. Four of the girls from the SA team (pictured) bravely dressed to the theme of the Moulin Rouge style wearing cancan dresses throughout the evening, and managed to raise £188 between them by going round and collecting money in their RAG buckets! Check out our favourite pictures from the week collected by the SA!

A few words from Tom

I have been RAG chair since November. It has been a privilege raising money for the British Heart Foundation and seeing how Reaseheath pulls together to support the cause. Two RAG socials had the highest turn out this year with all the money going towards the total and RAG week was well attended, raising over £500 in one week. The best part of RAG week for me is cycling from one end of the country to another, the Land’s End to John o’ Grotes challenge. Together we have covered 575 miles, so that’s only 150 miles to go! Keep an eye out for posters and come cycle the remaining leg. Another fun part was the bar being taken over by giant inflatables and the RAG Ball. I would also like to thank the departments for getting together and organising numerous events and rasing lots of money. As of the 30th March the total for British Heart Foundation is £12,240.72 which is amazing. For me my time is up with work experience approaching I will be out of college now until the end of the year so I’m glad to hand over the reins to Dan Lee to see if we can make the £25,000 target. So yet again thank you to all that have got involved and supported us and let’s see if we can reach the total! TOM ALLEN RAG Chair

£25,000 £20,000 £15,000

Introducing Dan!

£10,000 £5,000

Totalizer

The total raised so far £12,240

My name is Dan Lee, and I am 19 years old. I’m studying the FdSc in Animal Behaviour and Welfare and I’m the RAG Vice Chair on the Student Association. Due to Tom (RAG Chair) going on his work placement, I will now be taking over the RAG committee until the end of the year. After a successful RAG week, we have got many more events coming up including Family Festival and ‘CPR week’ – involving training as many people as possible to perform CPR. We also have other events around campus, including a car wash, cake sales and a zombie run. Please continue to help us raise as much money as possible for the British Heart Foundation and I’m sure I will see you all around at events soon. DAN LEE Vice RAG Chair

Families flocked to Reaseheath for lambing weekends Sandwiched either side of RAG week was two huge weekends of lambing events on campus. Thousands of local families flocked to the college over the weekends to experience lambing and visit Reaseheath Zoo. The Student Association were busy throughout both weekends supporting the events by helping with car parking (with a little help from staff and their dogs), offering face painting and selling merchandise – collecting £1,571.95 for the event. Our mascot Daisy the cow also made a number of guest appearances to entertain visitors. The lambing weekends have been a major draw to the college over the past 20 years, with many visitors returning each season to meet the lambs and hopefully experience a live birth! Thanks to the efforts of the SA, staff and our four legged friends we raised approximately £1,000 for RAG over the two weekends.

Job Interviews - the lowdown Job interviews can be a nerve-wracking experience for the applicant and a time-consuming exercise for the hiring company. However, they play a key role in determining whether the company and candidate will make an effective match. As such, the interviewing process provides a great deal of value for the company and candidate alike.

Making an Impression

Exchanging Information

Selling Opportunity

Narrowing the Field

Though the candidate’s CV, cover letter and job application give interviewers an overview of their background and skills, the interview may be the best chance the candidate has to make a favourable impression. For better or worse, the candidate’s physical appearance and ability to handle themselves during the questioning will leave a lasting impression and play a vital role in the interviewer’s decisionmaking process. The interviewer also uses the process to assess the candidate’s personality to determine if they would be a good fit for the organisation.

The interview provides a selling opportunity for the organisation as well as the candidate. The interviewer can highlight the positive aspects of working for the company, such as how plans for growth can lead to future opportunities or how the company is recognised as an industry leader. Candidates can expand upon their skills and positive personal attributes to demonstrate how they can help the company achieve its short-term and long-term objectives.

The job interview serves as a two-way street for the exchange of information. The interviewer has the opportunity to learn more about the candidate’s background and can also impart more in-depth information about the company and the various duties the job entails. The candidate also has the chance to ask questions to gain additional insight regarding the expectations of the job and to get a better feel for the organisation’s culture.

In situations where companies receive a heavy volume of applicants for a job opening, interviews are a valuable tool for narrowing the field. In particular, a round of preliminary interviews helps the company to weed out unsuitable candidates so it can then pay closer attention to the “cream of the crop” in subsequent interviews. For job seekers fortunate enough to possess skills that are in great demand, they can use the interview process to help determine which company would ultimately be the best fit.

For further information or to book a careers advice appointment or CV workshop email

CAREERS@REASEHEATH.AC.UK

DISSERTATION SELFIES On Thursday 17th March final year degree students across campus handed in their dissertations after working hard for the last 6 months, perfecting their projects and developing independent research skills. The dissertation supports a good chunk of our undergraduates’ final degree classification – so a huge amount of effort has gone in to this work to give them the best chance of top grades! Here’s a few undergraduates celebrating their success.

PICTURE THIS

WHAT’S COMING NEXT? 28th April Silent Disco 5th May ABC Social 12th May Oldies Party 19th May UV Foam Party 12

26th May TBC

Latest Events The 24th April saw members of the Student Association embark on a 10 mile hike of Hadrian’s Wall, all in aid of the British Heart Foundation. The participating students created their own individual ‘Just Giving’ fundraising pages where they have collated sponsorships and have already reached a £500 total in just a few weeks! The next big upcoming event to get involved with is the annual Reaseheath Family Festival. Set for Sunday 15th May, it will see a day full of different activities for everyone to get involved. Some exciting features will include big inflatable bouncy castles, face painting stalls, tombola and much more. The zoo will also be open to members of the public with a wide array of species to appeal to every visitor. We will also be attempting to break a world record this term! Our challenge will be to train the largest number of people in CPR in a week. Students and staff will be initially trained and then we’ll be training members of the general public at Family Festival too!

Reaseheath Summer Ball 2016 The big exciting event which is always the pinnacle point of the academic year is Reaseheath’s Summer Ball.

Buy your tickets via Reaseheath Online Store:

store.reaseheath.ac.uk

Date confirmed is 28th June and this year’s theme is ‘beach party’. Headlining acts include Radio One DJ Scott Mills, Dixon Brothers and Chris Peers

Tickets are LIMITED so don’t miss out!!! Keep an eye on the Student Association Facebook page for all the latest updates: https://www.facebook.com/reaseheathstudentassociation

A few words from Rob… Dear all, As the President of the Student Association I am pleased to announce how proud I am of this year’s SA team. The past month has seen an array of events which have involved all their efforts and a lot of their free time, in which they have willingly given to large events such as lambing weekends and RAG week. The rest of the year poses many more exciting events which requires more of their help, particularly with the build up to our Summer Ball #RHSummerball16. Remember - it’s not just the SA that can get involved, any student of the college can act as a member of the Student Association - we always need your help! You can easily get in touch by visiting the office in the bar during the week, or contacting myself Robert.Sparkes@reaseheath.ac.uk or Lisa Harris (Student Liaison Officer) lisah@reaseheath.ac.uk to find out more about how you can give us a hand. Many hours are put in to ensure that the events Reaseheath represent are always fantastic. The lambing weekends saw over 3,000 cars parked, that’s a lot of visitors which our SA team were responsible for greeting – a very big thank you to all our volunteers! Furthermore, thank you to Jane Clegg (Farm Secretary) and Amy Dunbar (Head Keeper) for their kind donations of £2,000 for RAG. The next few months are exciting and full of amazing events in which you can get involved with. Don’t hesitate to get in touch!! Robert Sparkes Student Association President

Students explore future careers March 10th saw the return of the National Careers Fair at Reaseheath, in conjunction with the biggest week for careers in the UK, National Careers Week. This year’s overarching theme was ‘future jobs’. The careers event saw a range of local and national employers engaging with students throughout the day, sharing lots of careers advice and guidance. The event was held in our brand new National Centre for Horticulture, the Environment and Sustainable Technology and proved a great opportunity to showcase this state-of-the-art facility. Stall holders were impressed with number of students signing up for activities and volunteering opportunities and expressed their gratitude for students’ support. Reaseheath Careers Fair has grown phenomenally over the last few years, progressing from four stalls of local employers in our main reception to nearly 40 stall holders, seeing almost 1,000 students participating in the event this year. Rob Icke Careers Coordinator

Sports Update New activities Responding to student feedback we have started to introduce some new activities into the offer that we provide. Yoga started on Monday 14th March and we are looking for this to continue for the remainder of this academic year. Yoga takes place on Mondays from 5:45-6:45pm in L3/L4 and for more information please speak to Sarah (College Sport Maker) or email sarahr@reaseheath.ac.uk. We are hoping to introduce a climbing club very soon, so please keep a look out for that and if you have any more suggestions please speak to Sarah.

Rugby The rugby team have continued with their success despite the lack of games this year with a convincing 34-5 win over Christleton on 9th March. The team will be playing against Crewe and Nantwich RUFC Colts in an evening game soon, so please look out for a confirmed date and come along and show your support for the college.

Make sure you check out the Reaseheath Student Association page on Facebook and @RHC_SportMaker on twitter to keep up to date with all of the activities on offer at college

Get involved 18

Netball training Monday evenings 7-8pm in the sports hall Football training Monday afternoons 4:30pm in the sports hall Rugby training Tuesday evenings 5-6pm in the sports hall

The Final Word By the time you pick up this magazine, we will be three quarters of the way through the academic year and you will be preparing for submitting your final assignments or cramming for exams. There will still however be time for socialising and enjoying the company of your friends and also undertaking the fantastic fundraising events that have continued throughout the year. The way our student body pulls together, works together, plays together and supports worthy causes together never ceases to amaze me. Once again the Student Association, supported by Mark, Jared, Lisa and other colleagues from across the college have led the way and inspired fantastic staff and student fundraising activities for a very worthy cause – The British Heart Foundation. The summer term will fly by and we will soon be celebrating your achievements either at the further education presentation of awards ceremonies at the end of June or at the October graduation ceremony if you have been studying on our higher education courses. I know that our evening social activities will continue at pace with the events culminating on the Student Summer Ball which is a phenomenal event with close on to a thousand people “enjoying”! Make sure you book your tickets early and I look forward to joining you in your celebration! Meredydd David Principal

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