Theme week: Sustainability and the Environment

Green Week

19th – 23rd October 2009

 ‘Green Week’ – a sustainability and environment theme week – runs throughout this week. There will be information leaflets and display stands on the subject across all of Warwickshire Colleges’ sites. Activities on offer include:

•Design and decorate a sustainability t-shirt

•Name the college sustainability frog

Furthermore, students from Moreton Morrell and Pershore centres are invited to apply for the role of Sustainability Champion at: mhtml:http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/cms/content/public/intranet/college_information_and_support/student_association/sustainability_-_go_green/Sustainability_Champion.mht

For further infomation on Green Week and further resources and associated links, follow the links on th intranet: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/intranet/default.asp?cNode=23689

You can find out more about what the college is doing towards recycling and take a look at the college sustainability policy at: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/cms/content/public/intranet/college_information_and_support/estates/recycling_and_sustainability/web_info_dec_08/page_03.htm

posted by Sophie

Say goodbye to the books?

THE FORMER LIBRARY AT CUSHING ACADEMY, NEW ENGLAND, HAS REPLACED ALL THEIR BOOKS WITH INFORMATION AND LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES!

In addition to desktop and laptop computers, they have installed flat screen TVs that project data from the internet and have purchased electronic readers giving access to millions of electronic resources.

Read more  in this article from The Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/04/a_library_without_the_books/?page=1

What do you think? Add a comment…

Posted by Alison

Adult Learners’ Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adult Learners’ Week is all about getting adults back into learning, whether that’s to start a new course and gain the right qualifications for higher education or a new job or discovering a new hobby or skill. Warwickshire College’s activities will include free tasters at our centres, free tasters out in the community and we’re even asking our students to ‘bring a friend to class’ for one lesson during that week. Don’t forget to tell all your friends and family about this great opportunity to try out some of our course tasters.

If you want to see what’s on offer visit www.warkscol.ac.uk/alw

Don’t forget to come to the Learning Resource Centre or go to the LRC intranet pages to find out about all the resources we have on offer to assist learners of any age and ability. For example, why not try:

Learning How To Study Again

By Dr Catherine Dawson

(Currently held at the Leamington LRC)

 

posted by Sophie

‘Minding Your Body’ Theme Week

 27th April – 1st May 2009

Minding your body – stress awareness and physical wellbeing – is this week’s theme throughout Warwickshire College. All this week, students can visit the information stands at all centres and pick up tips and advice on dealing with stress, healthy eating and getting physically active. Further information can be found on the intranet: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/intranet/default.asp?cNode=20661

Plus, don’t forget the great range of books on offer in the LRCs! Why not check out:

Stress Management in Essence

By Jennie Harding

(Copies currently held at Leamington, Rugby and Henley-in-Arden LRCs)

 

Mindful Eating 101: a guide to healthy eating in college and beyond

By Susan Albers

(Currently held at Leamington LRC)

 

posted by Sophie

POLL RESULTS

We asked if you thought whether the LRCs should have separate study areas for HE students.

There were 69 votes in total:

61% voted for ‘All students should have equal access to facilities’

39% voted for ‘HE students need space to work without being disturbed’

Thanks to all those who participated, either by voting  and/or commenting. 

The information we have gathered will be used to inform future decision making.

Colleges On Camera Competition For Students

Colleges on Camera is a national competition to celebrate the major investment being made in creating inspirational college facilities in which to learn. The winner will capture a striking image which brings to life what this ‘Building Colleges for the Future’ investment really means to them and their college. Essentually, students have to capture the spirit of their college in one shot.

A prestigious panel of experts will be judging the entries and the finalist’s work will be published in leading magazine The Architects’ Journal. The Winner will also receive over £2,500 worth of photography equipment, including an Apple Mac Book and a Nikon D90 camera, lens and tripod.

- Why not check out the extensive collection of books on photography in the Leamington LRC for tips!

How to enter: Just send an image capturing how your new building inspires you and your fellow students. Send your images to collegesoncamera@cohnwolfe.com OR Colleges on Camera, Cohn & Wolfe, Lynton House, 7-12 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9LT

All entries must include the entrant’s full name, college name, age, a contact telephone number and 50 words explaining why they decided to enter the image. Only one entry per person is permitted with a maximum of three images per entry. Any image that has been digitally manipulated will not be considered.

The deadline for entries is 5pm on Friday 13th March. For more information, read the Colleges On Camera factsheet in Headlines (edition 476, 2nd March 2009; find Headlines on the College intranet site under ‘Publications’) or alternatively, contact Ali Hicks on 020 7331 5372 or alison.hicks@cohnwolfe.com

posted by Sophie

Brian’s Beard Shaved for a Good Cause

Moreton Morrell Animal Welfare lecturer, Brian Morgan, had his voluminous beard shaved off by dog grooming lecturer Carole Gowers as a sponsored effort to raise money for Children in Need, though it took place a couple of weeks after the official Children in Need day.

The total raised for Children in Need is £286.74.

Brian said: “I’ve had a beard since about 1986 but since then it’s been shaved off about three times for charity, the last time in 2002. First Diploma students do charity events for the open day and for the last couple of years I have offered the beard but it wasn’t taken up until now.

“They went to a tremendous amount of trouble on the day before, dressing up [as animals], no little expense as they hired costumes, but it was very worthwhile.

“I am really proud of the students’ efforts, they really did a good job.

“We had a poll as to whether I should grow it again, which I am doing, and it was quite interesting as the majority said ‘you are not Brian’ without it. I have now discovered my role in college is reminding students of their granddad.”

The LRC Wants To Hear From You! Yes, You.

posted by Brooke

Olympic Delegates Visit Moreton Morrell Campus

As you’ve probably heard by now our Moreton Morrell Centre has been identified by the Olympic committee as a suitable venue to host equine teams from around the world as either a training camp or a holding camp for teams prior to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

This afternoon a delegation from South Africa will be visiting our campus to tour the venue and have a good look at our facilities. The LRC extends a warm welcome to our visitors and hope that you enjoy your afternoon with us!

posted by Brooke

Science Direct Down For Maintenance This Weekend

Elsevier have announced that online database ScienceDirect will be unavailable during the following period for scheduled maintenance:

Saturday 15 November from 1pm – 10 pm GMT.

Set your watches! Mark your calendars! We’re sorry for any inconvenience this causes and check back for information about any future maintenance upgrades.

posted by Brooke

Warwickshire College Student Wins Prestigious Equine Award

Warwickshire College student, Laura Corbin, was named the winner of the Royal Agricultural Society of England’s  (RASE) “Eqvalan Duo Equine Thesis of the Year Award”. (The award is sponsored by Merial, manufacturers of the Eqvalan equine wormer.)

On Friday, before a panel of academic and horse industry authorities, Laura presented her research on riding school horses and described how she developed an objective system to evaluate foot balance.  You can listen to a podcast of an interview with Laura on the RASE website.

She found that horses with chronic foot conditions often had poor scores for foot balance and proposed that maintaining good foot balance could reduce lameness and provide long term economic benefits. Please click here to read more about Laura’s research. Laura is currently undertaking a studentship with the Roslin Institute and is at the University of Edinburgh in preparation for her PhD.

Her winning thesis “Foot Balance and Lameness in Riding School Horses”, was selected from research theses submitted by universities and colleges in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Laura competed against four other finalists in a presentation of her study which the judges described as “fascinating and extremely useful information for the industry”.

Way to go Laura and all the best from the staff at the LRC!

posted by Brooke

Students told to apply for funds

There is an article in  Horticulture Week (dd 02.10.08) about the David Colegrave Foundation who are encouraging UK horticulture students to apply for the following bursaries:

• Wyvale Garden Centre Bursary – Two bursaries on offer of £1500 each for a minimum of five years for students interested in retail horticulture
• Floranova  Ornamental Horticultural Reasearch Scholarship  – An award of £1500 to support a student with a particular interest in ornamental horticulture research and development
• Ball Colegrove Scholarship Award for 2009 – A bursary of up to £2500 to support a young person employed on a commercial bedding plant nursery to fund work/fact finder travel to Europe
• Ed Markham International Scolarship Award for 2009 – This supports a student in the UK or North America to do International work-study experience.  The award is for $4500 (£2500) and will be made to one student annually to work for a minimum of eight weeks in a horticulture business in the US, Canada or the UK.  The 2009 award will be for a British student to work in North America.

If you are interested in any of these schemes go to www.davidcolegravefoundation.org.uk

Kudos to LRC staff members!

A big congratulations goes out to Lucy Thompson at Moreton Morrell and to Julie Steele in Henley for completing their NVQ2 in Information and Library Services. We know how much hard work went into completing the programme and want to say well done!!

If you’re a member of LRC staff and are interested in attaining the qualification contact your line manager or Tracy Dale at Rugby for more information. Also, don’t forget about the opportunity to complete the ITQ for a qualification in IT!! Speak to you line manager for more information.

posted by Brooke

MM LRC – The Times They Are A-changin’

Welcome back to the start of another academic year!! We’ve been busy here at the Moreton Morrell LRC over the summer, working out the best way to deliver our services to you. What kind of changes can you expect to see? First of all, we’ve got a brand-spanking-new library software system that will make loans and renewals easier than ever. 

What that means to you is that your library catalogue has a new look and a new name: it’s called Aquabrowser and can be explored by following the link or visiting the LRC. It’s a real improvement over the old catalogue system and even has photos of the book or DVD’s front cover, a summary and chapter index and information for most items. It also provides a mind-map of alternative search terms to assist you if you don’t find exactly what you’re looking for the first time. Nifty, eh?

You’ve also probably noticed that the LRC looks a little different this year. All the seating has been re-arranged to make working in groups easier. That also means that quiet talking is okay in the whole of the LRC with one major exception: The red zone computer area is still silent study! However, you no longer need to be issued a red card from the help desk, it will be a first come, first serve area. If you know you’ll need a computer in the red zone, you can always reserve one in advance. Just ask a member of the LRC staff for help.

Finally, we’ve negotiated a deal with the suppliers of our electronic resources – like online journals and databases - so that  you don’t need to use your ATHENS login any more! Simply access the site you want, say Science Direct for example, from the LRC page on the intranet and Bob’s your uncle.

You can still find LRC guides on all of our resources in the kiosk next to the help desk, and as always, feel free to aska member of staff for help with any questions you may have. We’re here to help!!!

 posted by Brooke

Bird Flu Precautions

Late last week, Defra confirmed that the Avian Influenza present in laying hens on a premises near Banbury in Oxfordshire is the highly pathogenic H7N7 strain. Investigations are ongoing. Protection and Surveillance Zones are in place and bird gatherings and movement restrictions apply in the Zones. The Moreton Morrell campus is just outside the 10 km protection zone, but only just.  As a precaution, the animal welfare units at Moreton and Pershore have moved to stage 2 risk assessment and has stopped all student and non-essential contact with birds.

 It is vital that all bird keepers, at home and on campus, continue to practice the highest levels of biosecurity and be vigilant for any signs of disease.  Defra has an informative and authoritative website containing everything you need to know about Avian Influenza and can be accessed by following this link.

posted by Brooke