by Nina Chauhan
ow many of you have got a problem that’s really bugging you? Any of you got an idea to improve the college? Well don’t keep these things to yourself! Get them off your chest - go and tell the Student Association!
But who are they I hear you cry…
Well this is my point exactly, as it seems as though half of you don’t even know the Student Association exists! Particularly the Year 12’s who are new to the college.
So, I’m here to put it right in this, the quick bluffers guide to the Student Association.
I interviewed Zoe Duck, the President of the Student Association to get the low down on who the Student Association are, why we need them and what they’re all about.
As well as Zoe, there are other vital people who form the SA. There’s the Vice Principal, Kim Lo, the Treasurer Andrew Creamer and Liam Maguire who is the Secretary. Usman Juwaid is the Student Welfare Officer, Stephen Creamer is the Entertainment Officer and Shajna Rashid is the Equal Opportunities Officer. In addition to this there is a teacher member, Dave Goodfellow.
Zoe told me that the main function of the SA is to come up with ideas to improve the college for students, and to act upon any ideas from students themselves. The SA then take suggestions to various teachers and Zoe herself can put forward ideas to the Senior Management Team at the college during meetings with the Governors.
So far the SA have been responsible for several things that have made the college a better environment for its fellow students. Take for example last year’s successful attempt to introduce a CD player into the common room ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Zoe told me that the main function of the SA is to come up with ideas to improve the college for students, and to act upon any ideas from students themselves. The SA then take suggestions to various teachers and Zoe herself can put forward ideas to the Senior Management Team at the college during meetings with the Governors.
So far the SA have been responsible for several things that have made the college a better environment for its fellow students. Take for example last year’s successful attempt to introduce a CD player into the common room in College 1.
There’s loads of things you can do to contact the SA. Get in touch with your Form Rep who’ll tell the SA your suggestions at Form Rep meetings held every month. You can even turn up to meetings yourself! Due to the wonders of modern technology, there’s also the opportunity of emailing Liam, the Secretary on [email protected]. You can even post suggestions online on the SA homepage on the Intranet.
So what can the college expect from the SA in the near future? Well there’s going to be yet another treat for our common rooms - this time in College 2. For all you football fans out there a football table is hopefully soon to be placed in Common Room 2. Additionally, they are aiming to set up a 5 a side football league for boys. At Christmas we can look forward to lots of students taking part in ’The Jellybeans Variety Show’ - a talent contest that’ll end the term with a bang.
So you see people, the SA DOES exist and they’re there for a reason – to make the college a better and exciting place for YOU!
By Nichola Evans
H
enna painting, the ancient art of body design is a fascinating and creative form of “expression through art.” It was used originally across a range of countries such as India, Pakistan and North Africa who used them for special occasions. During Weddings, the bride would wear a henna design on the palm of her hand to signify the beauty and importance of the occasion.
The Henna paste is created from a plant called Lawsonia inermis. The leaves of this plant are dried and ground into a powder. Other materials are then added, for example, lemon juice to make it into a paste, which can then be applied to the skin.
One reason why people especially like henna is because it is a safe, secure way to produce body art. The materials used are natural and organic and unlike tattoos, are not permanent but will not rub off. They last about a week depending on the intensity of the henna paste. It can be made stronger by using black coffee or tea and can be made to last up to four weeks.
Left: A design sketch transferred onto skin using henna.
How Does it Work?
The Henna paste is applied onto skin often by squirting it out of a tube. After the design has been made the paste is left on the skin until it begins to crack as it dries. When this has happened the paste can be wiped off, leaving a brown/orange imprint on the skin.
Henna painting not only looks good, but can also be used to help charities. The henna team will be soon sharing their designs and painting hands for a small fee. All the proceeds are going to charity, so you can wear your design in style!
If you are interested in getting a henna tattoo, the team will be available the bottom of the college ‘street’, near the large lecture theatre entrance. They will begin on Wednesday 6th of November at 3.00pm and will be there every week at the same time. So get creative, and do a good deed!
And the winner is…
The National Poetry Day Competition
by Jamie Barrow and Rachel Wood
Oldham Sixth Form College recently set a competition for Poetry Day which offered the chance to win £10 in HMV Vouchers and have your work published for the masses!
The competition was organised by English tutor Philippa Gell. The entry fee was 50p, which went to the Children’s Society, so even if you didn’t win, you’ve still achieved something!
The competition involved answering ten questions on poems displayed on the walls of the English department. As a tie-breaker you had to write a poem no longer than ten lines and the best poem would win the competition.
The theme for the poems was the celebration of childhood and the winner was judged by members of the English department.
On the next page is the winning poem by Rachel Winterbottom. However, there were others that were highly commended by the judges, and a selection have been reproduced below. WELL DONE to all who took part!!
By
CONFESSIONS!
Dawson’s Creek’s Kerr Smith (Jack) Trivia!!
confesses!! Which of the following
“One of my first kissing scenes was on a musical instruments
soap with Jordana Brewster (From the can Pop Idol, Darius play?
Fast and Furious). Afterwards, the director (A) Piano
pulled me aside and said, ‘Kerr, we can see (B) Saxophone
your tongue, buddy, keep in it your mouth!’ (C) Guitar
……..Oh the shame!
Answers on page 10
Who said that……?!!!!!!!!! Who Am I?
‘I’ve never knowingly sacrificed a ‘My band is on the same record
sheep in front of the family.’ Label as ‘Backstreet Boys’ and
we got together in 1996. One
- Psssst: Did you know that recent hits was with an R’N’B star
Rapper ‘Nelly’ has only ever had and it reached number two in the
3 girlfriends?!! charts. I was 26 in January, and my
- Josh Hartnett has supposedly been proudest moment was when I met
offered the part of Superman in an up Superman actor, Christopher Reeve.
and coming new flick! My long-term girlfriend and I
- It’s been said that Will Smith’s wife also split up, after I discovered that
decorated his last birthday cake to look she was not a girl, not yet a
like Jennifer Lopez’s famous rear end!! woman…….
Now that’s what we call love!
Answer this question for a chance of winning £20 in HMV vouchers! Give answers with your name and tutor group in at reception:
- How many classrooms are there at Oldham Sixth Form College?
(Including college one and two!)
By Rachel Wood.
Philippa’s Trek Challenge
By Roy Hendley and Nina Chauhan
Philippa Gell, our English Tutor is aiming to raise money for the Children’s Society this Easter. Philippa is planning to raise the money by raising funds in order to take part in a trek in Chile. The Children’s Society is a charity that aims to tackle the root causes of the problems that face young people.
It was founded by Edward Rudolf in 1881 who opened the first “Safe House” refuge for runaway children. The Children’s Society runs other treks across Britain and the rest of the world. Their latest trek in London attracted 2,500 walkers and raised £100,000. This trek involved walking London’s streets and bridges.
Philippa’s endeavours should hopefully raise even more money to help children to have a better life.
- The opportunity of visiting a penguin colony
- Trekking through forests and crossing many gushing rivers
- Walking on sandy beaches
- Walking across flat pampas and open grassland
- Enjoying the sights and sounds of Santiago
- Visits to mountains over 2400 metres high
- Visiting the spectacular Grey Glaciers – one of the largest permanent icecaps in the southern hemisphere
- A visit to the Cerro Paine Grande - a huge rock standing 3500 metres high!
- A drive through spectacular Patagonian Scenery
- And finally…lots of early mornings!!!
Language Conference
By Nina Chauhan and Nichola Evans
On Wednesday the 13th of November, the Modern Languages Department held a conference for Year 11 pupils who are considering taking languages one-step further.
A range of language experts offered secondary school students from the Greater Manchester Area a flavour of what it would be like to continue studying either of the modern languages at college.
The sessions lasted from 1:00pm to 3:45pm, each consisting of earfuls of information to help these foreign talking youngsters of the future, on their paths to success.
Each lecturer gave a 40-minute talk on languages on various fields, including, languages in University, Teaching Languages, Languages with Law and Languages in ICT.
We asked a number of these students, what they thought of the seminar, and many of them felt it was a very positive and informative experience.
‘I feel a bit more confident about the decisions I am going to make for the future.’
by Roy Hendley
Our Geography students have recently returned from an enjoyable fieldtrip to the Isle of Arran, Scotland.
They went for five days, from Monday 4th November to Friday 8th November, to carry out different investigations.
The investigations were in aid of the work the students have to do in their coursework and exam paper at the end of the year. This work then goes towards their final AS level grade.
The students stayed at the Loch Ranza field Study Centre in the north of the island.
Although students were drenched after walking through rivers and ended up working to as late as 8:45pm, a good time was had by all.
One geography student, who wishes to remain nameless, said ”Despite spending three days constantly wet, cold, and tired I enjoyed some of the work we did during our stay in Loch Ranza. However, I was extremely pleased to get back home and dry.”
A DAY OUT AT DOVESTONES
by Sadia Bano and Saima Arif
While most students were winding down and looking forward to a relaxing summer, a group of approximately 50 PE students from OSFC were hard at work raising money for the charity Sport Relief. The day began at Dovestones reservoir at 10 am and went on until mid afternoon on Friday 28th June. The students were sponsored to run 5 miles around the reservoir in Greenfield.
A number of students including Marc Cambell ran an amazing 6 laps around the reservoir, which is around 13/14 miles. Furthermore, Richard Hill unicycled a distance of 2 ½ miles.
Richard commented that he took part because he wanted to socialise with new people and to “test my self” he also explained that he enjoyed bonding as a group and perhaps most importantly, had lots of fun while raising money for a very worthwhile cause.
The day raised about £300 for Sport Relief, which works to raise money for young people in the UK and across the world. The charity is based on the idea of helping young people who have tough lives. It is envisaged that the money will be split into two halves. 50 % will go towards the UK and the other half will be donated to international countries.
To find out more about Sport Relief go to:
What have you done today?
by Claire Orriss
- Are you 17 years old (or over)?
- No body piercings in the past 12 months?
- Weigh over 7 stone 12 lbs?
- Not donated in the last 16 weeks?
If you fit the above criteria, you can save a life! Everyday, ‘normal’ people desperately need blood. They are involved in traffic accidents, need transplants or develop potentially life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Even seemingly straightforward procedures such as childbirth require blood. Every year, one in three leukaemia and cancer victims die. Without blood, this statistic could increase dramatically. Only 33% of this years year thirteen students would consider giving blood, even though just one pint of blood can help to save a life.
Every donation session that takes place at the college will be held in memory of Patrick Wells, a former work colleague of Maths teacher Andrew Preston. Patrick was a leukaemia sufferer for over ten years, and a great supporter of the blood donation scheme. Sadly he passed away prior to the April event, but his death wasn’t in vain. Honour his and the many thousands of other leukaemia and cancer victims memories and make the most of these donation days.
For more information on donating blood in the future, contact Andrew Preston (maths) or see your personal tutor.
The Art Department ‘Van Gogh’ Away!
THE FULCRUM CHALLENGE
By Jenny Donnellan
Last October Oldham Sixth Form A-level student Hayley Donnellan was lucky enough to experience a “life changing experience” in Mongolia. Hayley had previously endured a gruelling qualification weekend, which included a range of outdoor activities with other young adults from the North of England. She began to go to car boot sales on Sundays, selling anything from videos to clothes. However, her hard work soon paid off and over the ensuing months Hayley prepared to journey from Manchester to China, then onto Mongolia. Along with 20 other young adults, Hayley was accompanied by people from the organisation that made it all possible, ‘The Fulcrum Challenge.’
Hayley slept in a traditional Mongolian ‘Ger’ tent and a motel. During the day she helped orphans at the local orphanage, which involved teaching them bits of English, colouring, drawing and other creative activities. Each Fulcrum Challenge participant was to be, for two weeks, a mother or father of an orphan child.
How long was your trip to Mongolia and what was the weather like?
I went for two weeks. It was very cold. At night it was as low as -30 degrees and in the last week it snowed heavily.
What was your accommodation like?
I spent a few nights in a cockroach-infested motel, but most of the time I stayed in a traditional Mongolian Ger (tent) in the mountains.
What was the aim of your visit?
I went to help out in an orphanage and also to develop my ability to work as a team and leadership qualities.
How did you get involved?
I heard about it through college and they suggested that it would be an asset to my UCAS form.
Describe a typical day.
We got up at six o’clock every morning to wash in the ice-cold stream and run up the hill to watch the sunrise. We ate a type of hot rice pudding for breakfast and then got ready to trek for the day. One day we trekked through an ancient forest to visit a hidden temple, which was built in 1316 in memory of a dead princess. Then we trekked back to the Gers and took the van (which just about stayed in one piece) to the city, to spend the rest of the day helping out at the orphanage, giving piggyback rides to the children.
What type of children were you working with?
The children had been battered and usually came from parents who were alcoholics or prostitutes. There were also disabled children who had been rescued from a mental asylum.
Were there any other students involved from college?
I was the only person involved from Oldham Sixth Form College but there were others from Manchester and Liverpool.
Were you able to keep in contact with your family?
I didn’t get homesick but I did send a postcard, but I got back before it arrived!
What did you gain from the experience?
I gained a valuable experience of another culture, made new friends and developed a new outlook on life.
Were you sad to leave?
Yes, definitely.
Would you go back?
Yes, I’m trying to arrange another visit for a few months before I go to university.
Would you recommend the experience to other students?
If you love travelling, meeting new people and having new experiences then you must do this. It puts everything into perspective.
Visit the Fulcrum Challenge website if you would like to know more. You never know, next time it could be you going on an amazing trip!