Meetings are open to all staff Please note that on 03/07/13, 17/07/13 & 18/03/13 there will be no service available from DIS (Dept. of Information Services) as they will be attending training. On 04/07/13 there will be limited service due to training. Please contact them in advance if you have any matters that need to be dealt with. Thank you.

WEEKLY Diary Events, Meetings

Welcome to the 120th edition of Inform. Welcome back to our Principal after her successful ascent to the summit of Mont Blanc. I’m sure that Saboohi can relate to the quote below : “Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb” - Greg Child I’m sure colleagues join me in congratulating Saboohi on her successful ascent and are pleased that she has returned home safely! Well done - a great feat and truly inspirational. Barbara Eayrs - Editor

PRINCIPAL’S POINT

Climbing for me is about challenging your perception of your ability and pushing yourself further. This time I climbed Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Western Europe 4,810m (15,781ft) - it was not one of the highest mountains that I have climbed so far! I did this climb in order for me to get the much needed training in harsher winter conditions and on icy mountains. The climb was much harder than I anticipated or had time to prepare for. The three days pre-summit training involved much of the training I had hoped to receive. We made the summit attempt a day earlier to maximise our chance of reaching the summit when we had a better weather window. At just above 4000m the choices were between giving up approximately 800m below the top or carrying on. I chose to carry on and see how far I could push myself. The aim was to reach the highest point that my body and mind was prepared to take me to and then some more. Unusually high winds above 4000m meant extreme cold so despite the conditions, you had to keep moving to stop the cold setting in. I divided the remainder into three stages and took each stage one at a time. After each stage I realised I had already achieved more than what I thought I could and then carried on. Before I knew it, the summit was at a reachable distance and there I was on top of Europe! Exhausted, cold and extremely fatigued, having had to fight every step of the way against freezing wind, and yet full of a sense of achievement. The rewards were the magnificent views from the top.

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Issue 120 28 June 2013

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Please note that the deadline for articles to be published on a Friday is 5pm on the preceding Thursday. Thank you.

INFORM

How wonderful it was to return home and you find SCOLA students celebrating their achievements. It makes you feel so humbled! Thank you for making my life and work unanimously beautiful! Well done to you all for your hard work and congratulations on your achievements.

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PRINCIPAL’S POINT CONT.

The climb for me resembles real life and what we are capable of achieving if we believe in ourselves and take each step, not as granted, but as earned - celebrating each milestone whilst still keeping an eye on the summit. In the meanwhile taking care not to fall off the ridges or slip off the glacier, which are challenges we face in our personal and professional lives. For us at SCOLA we have achieved another milestone. With 98% of our tutors having been observed, and 82% of them receiving grades good and above, our financial status being much stronger than before and having a structure that is much more agile and flexible we are almost done with our acclimatisation for the summit! Over the summer we will be working on the 2013-14 plans for SCOLA aiming at the highest point we can reach and then some more. Knowing we are not alone as we are in our supportive SCOLA family, we keep encouraging each other as we take that step forward to be the best we can be for our learners and for those we serve. A caring, loving yet aspiring family that believes in its potential and is not afraid to train hard and overcome the challenges ahead. I would like to extend my thanks to Jenny Sims - Deputy Principal, who represented me at the celebration for Mavis Peart on her retirement as Chair of Governors of Orchard Hill College, as well as representing me at SCOLA’s Arts & Crafts 2013 End of Year Show. Whilst I am sad that I missed the opportunity to personally thank Mavis for her support of SCOLA over the years, I am glad that I will be able to enjoy the work of our students which will be on the show in the Europa Gallery in the Sutton Library until 4 July. This is yet another superb example of what we do so well - Celebrating our students’ successes! Thank you to those of you who have supported my fundraising attempts on this trip. Every two minutes a person in the world is told they have cancer. With your help I hope to be able to raise funds to find a cure for this vicious illness. You can donate by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/Saboohi-Famili1/ Have a great weekend and hope to see you at the Local Enterprise Day in Sutton High Street which starts at 10:00 tomorrow!

Saboohi Famili Principal

To make a pride nomination please email pride@scola.ac.uk

Dot Rolfe will be leaving SCOLA on 10th July. If you are around on that day you are welcome to join her for a ‘leaving’

drink in the Ivory Lounge, Sutton High Street, from 5pm. Hope to see you there!

A copy of the SCOLA Internal Telephone list can be found in Area 33 of the Bulletin Board on Moodle

A UCU Branch meeting is being held in on Monday 08/07/13 at 15:00 in order to obtain members views on the Curriculum Review. (please contact chrisjackson@scola.ac.uk to check where the meeting is being held).

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CHARITY QUILT RAFFLE The draw for the Charity Quilt Raffle took place last week. The wining tickets were: First prize: pink ticket 606- January, Snowflake quilt - Mandy Baker (Wallington). Second prize: blue ticket 366 - February, Cold as Ice quilt -Marilyn Hargreaves (patchwork student at Wallington who was involved in making the quilts) Third prize: blue ticket 590 -December, Christmas Tree - Angela Winstone (Tutor at Sutton) £364 was raised for the Neo-natal baby ward at St. Heliers Hospital. Thank you to all who supported the SCOLA Quilters and the Charity. In addition to the above, the SCOLA QUILTERS have been making quilts for babies and children providing security and comfort to those who are sick and traumatised and in need of a hug, supporting Project Linus UK . The Quilts are currently displayed in the Brian Starkey Gallery at the Sutton Centre. Amanda Paul Curriculum Manager

SCOLA Arts & Crafts 2013 End of Year Show Once again it was a real pleasure to be invited to be at the Art Exhibition in the Europa Gallery this week. We were pleased that the Mayor - Sean Brennan opened the exhibition and once again spoke warmly about the College and particularly the achievements of the staff and students whose work was on display. it was great to see all the students and their families/friends admiring the work and commenting on their favourite items. Truly this year the efforts have been fantastic - it was clear that students have been encouraged to submit what they are proud of producing and there was a massive sense of the exhibition promoting the core values of inclusivity and PRIDE. All present commented on the high quality of work and how hard all had worked to produce the work and display it. Once again the efforts of so many staff were recognised behind the scenes. The exhibition could not happen without all the staff working as a team. Thanks to Natalie G, Angela , Jo, Amanda, Jon, Yvonne, Michael, Audrey who all spent so much time making the work shine! Another fantastic example of what students do so well at SCOLA, ably encouraged/ supported and guided by a talented , committed team of professionals. Well done to all involved! Jenny Sims - Deputy Principal

Visit the Europa Gallery! The Creative Studies End of Year Show of Arts & Crafts 2013 is up!! We hope you can visit the Europa Gallery, Sutton Library and see our celebration of student achievement. Jenny Sims & The Worshipful The Mayor of Sutton Councillor Sean Brennan OBE did a brilliant job of opening the show on Tuesday night. The show runs until Thursday July 4th. We do hope that you can make it! There are paintings, photos and jewellery for sale. Creative Arts Department

Curriculum Manager - English & Maths. Advert has been published above Issue 118 of Inform - closing date Monday 01/07/13 at 12:00 (noon)

Curriculum Review Drop-in Sessions with the Principal 02/07/13 from 15:30 – 16:30 in the Principal’s office Please contact barbaraeayrs@scola.ac.uk if you will be attending. Thank you.

May and June 2013

Yvonne Wyatt for keeping up with her teaching hours whilst dealing with difficult family problems. Putting her students first and showing remarkable strength in not allowing personal circumstances to impact on learners.

Sutton Caretakers for the alterations they did on the staff kitchen area. This was done without any fuss and very quickly. It is appreciated by all the staff that use this area.

Mandy Baker. She works incredibly hard for our department and is professional and dedicated, always going the extra mile for our areas. She regularly takes work home to do at weekends and in evenings and manages to keep all our heads above water even in the busiest of times. We really think she should get some recognition for all her hard work and it would be great for her to get a PRIDE Award!

Jenny Campbell as with her commitment and dedication she has continued to keep the SCOLA HR section going. (Pride values – Delivering excellent service, Exceeding ex-pectations).

IT Team for the excellent service they provide and for the smooth move of all the IT equipment during the office moves whilst continuing the day-to-day running of the IT department – they continue to deliver excellent service! Well done!

Janice Scott as she continues to work tirelessly ensuring the College and it’s facilities are well maintained, clean and tidy, as well as working incredibly hard with the office moves. Pride values – Rewarding relationships, Inspiring people (to clean and clear up), Delivering excellence, and Exceeding expectations.

Barbara Eayrs always goes the extra mile but this time she did it whilst driving a huge van! Nothing is too big or too much trouble for our wonderful Barbara. She takes pride in doing a good job and getting the job done! Recently without hesitation she volunteered to drive up a huge van to collect some furniture that saved the College lots of money. She epitomises PRIDE in everything that she does. She deserves to be acknowledged for her hard work and dedication to SCOLA.

George Skillen for the help and assistance he gave with the Health & Safety Audit and ongoing help and tasks he carries out. Pride Values – Rewarding Relationships, Delivering Excellence, Exceeding Expectations.

Receiving the awards for May/June 2013 are Janice Scott, the IT Team and Mandy Baker

South London Colleges’ Teaching & Learning Conference – 9th July All established Curriculum staff need to register online (please choose INVOICE as your payment method although you do not have to pay a fee!) so that we know which sessions you would like to attend.

Marketing Hotlines Claire and Rob can now be reached on 0208 770 6905 and Pam and Kasumi on 0208 254 0830.

BIG Event stalls We still have stalls available at the bargain rate of just £20 for SCOLA staff and students so please let Pam know ASAP if you would like a stall.

Local Enterprise Day - Saturday 29th June -10am – 2pm Sutton High Street Please pop along and show your support.

Course Guides If you see we are out of Course Guides in any of our Centre Offices, please help out and top them up! Boxes of Course Guides are always located next to the photocopier in the Sutton Centre. If you would like to take some to centres, let us know and we will help load up your car. Rob Springgay Design and Marketing Officer

Greetings from sunny Portugal!! 

A friendly reminder to all staff to complete a 

marketing request form for work requests ‐ available 

from: 

http://www.scola.ac.uk/marketingrequestform/ 

Dance Class Medals & Certificates Another event I was fortunate to be invited to was Jean Arrol’s Monday evening Dance class. Many of the students had volunteered to enter for medals and certificates and it was a great pleasure to see the group applaud each other's efforts and see the commitment that so many adults had put in to achieve such high standards. Individuals had their achievements recognised by official IDTA medals at different levels. All the students were highly complimentary of their tutor, Jean, and her assistant, Laura - a superb team who have worked together for many years teaching dance. Congratulations to Jean and Laura as well as all the students! Jenny Sims Deputy Principal P.S I have some video of the evening and me copying the moves in front of the mirror - watch out Jean!!!!!

Marketing update…