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Inside this issue

Eddie’s Editorial pg 2Christmas pg 2Youth SVP pg 4Reading challenge pg 5Japan Speech Victory pg 6Student Ambassadors pg 8Accounting victory pg 10Euroweek 2012 pg 14Romania pg 18Top 20 colleges pg 23Leavers ball pg 24Drama awards pg 26Chester Zoo pg 30NUS Extra pg 33Equality & Diversity pg 34Careers Day pg 36Art show pg 38Student Council pg 42Election Results pg 46Sports Awards 2012 pg 48Sports Results pg 50

AquinasCelebrates

Film Success5 official selections & 2 awards Aquinas

film students celebrate success atScreen Stockport 2012

Pg 28

issue 13Aquinas College ejournal December 2012

ejournal

We wish all of ourreaders a happyChristmas and

prosperous new year!

Thank you for downloading thelatest issue of our e-journal.

Christmas seems to have comewith a rush this year and the end ofterm is packed with events andactivities. As usual we have afantastic range of activities andnews to record.

With the greater involvement ofthe Student Council of College lifewe feature Student AmbassadorsNUS and the election of RachelBircher as President and AlicePerry as Vice President.Congratulations to both of themand in fact to all the candidates inthe election, the standard of thecampaigns was impressive. All thearticles and photos that followshow some of the fantastic

diversity at life at Aquinas fromtrips to success in Languages,Accounting, Drama, Film and Sportto name but a few. Collegeactivities such as Equality &Diversity and Careers Day are alsoincluded in this issue.

Our designer Alan Bebbington,who was instrumental in gettingthis e-journal established, hasdecided to move on to pasturesnew, so I would like to take thisopportunity to thank him for hisexpertise and professionalism andwish him all the best for the future.At the same time student, JoshuaOst, has stepped in to fill the gapfor which we are really grateful.Josh has done a brilliant job at amoment’s notice and maintained

the high standards of layout anddesign. Thank you Josh.

As always Carol has pestered andbadgered colleagues forcontributions. So don’t hide yourlight under a bushel let us haveyour news, stories and photos forour next issue. These can beemailed to carol@aquinas.ac.uk.

And finally we wish you peace andjoy at Christmas and health andhappiness throughout the NewYear.

Eddie

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Find Aquinas on Facebook

Eddie’s Editorial

Aquinas college has an office Facebook page. You’ll find all the latestnews, information & photos from Aquinas College.

wwww.facebook.com/Aquinasmis

Christmas 2012

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Similar to every year the College celebrates Christmas. This year isbigger then ever with a whole college carol service planned. TheStudent council is getting in the mood as well with a range of eventsand India project are hosting a Christmas fair as well.

Wednesday 19th December:

College Carol Service - 11.20am, Our Lady and the Apostles R.CEdgeley.

Fancy dress charity netball - PE department for more info

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Thursday 20th December:

Aquinas Christmas fair - in aid of the India project, Main street.

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Friday 21st December:

End of term assembly - 11:25am, sports hall

College closes - noon

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Stories from youth SVP

I joined the Aquinas CollegeYouth SVP in September of lastyear and have enjoyed every

minute of it.

Once a week a couple of students,our leader and I spend an hour atan old persons home in HazelGrove. We go there to spend timewith the people who don’t alwaysget visitors and who just want tospend some time talking or playinggames instead of spending theevening in their rooms like they domost nights. We take cards andvarious board games along and play

games with them, but mostly wetalk to them. We find out whatthey’ve done during the week,what they think about the news,their favourite things to do, discusstheir childhoods and comparethem to our own and just generallychat about anything and everything.

My experience with the Youth SVPhas changed my outlook on life andhas only further motivated me tohelp more people. I have learnedso much from the ladies who cometo the common room to chat andplay games and they have helped

me to grow as a person, shown menew ways of looking at things in mylife and have made me laugh.

I think the really great thing aboutYouth SVP is that even though weonly spend an hour a week it hassuch an amazing impact on us, thestudents, and the elderly that itmakes every little thing a big thing.I am so grateful to God for openingthis door for me and for allowingme to make a difference tosomeone’s life.

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Challenge complete!

Building on thesuccess of theprevious Six

Book Challenge, a groupof Pathways studentstook part again in thereading event last year.The students spentweekly sessions in theLearning Centre wherethey were able tochoose from a widerange of books andreview what theythought of them.

Everyone who tookpart enjoyedthemselves and felt thatthey had developedtheir reading skillswhilst growing inconfidence, which wasgreat news. Many of thestudents exceededtheir target of sixbooks and theirachievement wascelebrated at the endof the year with apresentation ceremony

and a certificate fromthe Learning Centre.

Julie Garner

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Aquinas’s upper sixth Japanese student, Tom Rodriguez won 1st

place at the Embassy of Japan, speech contest on Saturday 16th

June.

Speaking ofwinnersThe prestigious Nihongo (Japan)Cup Speech Contest is an annualspeech contest organised by theJapanese Language Committee ofthe Association for LanguageLearning in association with theJapan Foundation London and theEmbassy of Japan in the UK.

As well as winning a fantasticlaptop, Tom will now travel toJapan to compete in the JapaneseSpeech Awards Finals with 15other contestants coming from allover the globe and participate inthe Cultural Programme from 22nd

to 29th July.

Tom’s comment:

“I can’t wait to finally go toJapan after studying thelanguage for around 4 yearsnow. I still can’t believe Iactually won what with the highstandard of competition. I wasextremely nervous standing onstage speaking to around 150people, but the judges seemed toreally understand my messageand points I was making. Whenthey called out my name I didn’tquite register it and it was onlyafter a few minutes of standingon stage, getting my phototaken, that it clicked that I’mgoing to Japan!”

Emi’s comment:

“I am delighted for the Japanesedepartment and mostimportantly Tom who has beenan amazing student. His talk inJapanese showed what adedicated student can achieveand put across such animportant message for all youngpeople: that learning languagesis essential for life. With the Alevel languages he has got atAquinas (French, Japanese, andSpanish) he really has a brightfuture.I am very proud of him. Welldone!!”

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Say hello to theStudent Ambassadors

This year the Student Council have assembled ateam of Student Ambassadors to supportdepartments on Open Evenings and Taster

Days, as well as forming part of Aquinas’ marketingteam and visiting feeder schools careers evenings andassemblies.

Every subject has nominated 2 ambassadors who havebeen selected for their enthusiasm and interpersonalskills, as well as their talent for the given subject.

Student Ambassadors have risen admirably to theresponsibility and have conducted themselves in anexemplary fashion providing a fantastic advert for thecollege and student life at Aquinas.

The ambassador scheme is coordinated by thestudent council and the students involved should becommended for giving up their free time to supportthe college.

Andy Bailey

The logo of the Student Ambassadors

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Each year many staff take leave for the birth of a new child.

Welcome to the world,Babies of Aquinas

Ethan John Harris(And his big sister Amelie)

Born:13th October, 940pmWeight:8lb 303

Jake Daniel Conlon

Born:23rd SeptemberWeight:9lb 203

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On March 22nd 2012 a teamof six accounting studentsentered the regional heat

of the Business, Accounting andSkills Education (BASE)competition ran by The Institute ofChartered Accountants. Thecompetition, now in its third year,was held in Whitworth Hall atManchester University. There werefourteen teams from differentschools and colleges around theregion including teams from HolyCross Sixth Form, WithingtonGirl's School, Poynton High Schooland Wilmslow High School. Thiswas the second time Aquinasstudents have been regionalwinners.

What is BASE?

BASE, is a nationalbusiness/accounting competitionfor sixth form students. In theirteams they address activities andprovide recommendations on abusiness scenario. Assuming therole of an ACA charteredaccountant they analyse, debate,conclude and present their case toa panel of highly regarded judgesfrom national accountingorganisations. This year 254 teamsentered the competition fromacross the country. The winningteam from each regional heat wenton to compete in the prestigiousnational final held at the Hilton

Metropole Hotel in Birmingham, inJune. The team performedbrilliantly at the national finals andwere up against some very stiffcompetition. Unfortunately theydid not win but had a greatexperience and enjoyed thecelebratory gala dinner in theevening.

Our accountingstudents winagain!

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Liam Aylwin, Rob Hodgkins, Yiyuan Tian, Nicole Shaffi, Stefan James, Ryan Alderson.

The Gala dinner

~

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Aquinas students span theglobe in 2012

Every year Aquinas students travelacross the world as part of Aquinasstrong international links.

Over the next few pages you’ll seearticles from places our studentshave visited over the past year.

You can always get involved ininternational visits to a range ofcounties. Ask your form tutor formore information.

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1 - INDIA : The annual Indiaproject trip visited Mumbai inFebruary (Previous e-journal)

2 - JAPAN: Tom won the Nihongo(Japan) Cup Speech Contest andnow gets to visit Japan. (Pg )

3 - ITALY: Classical studies visitedRome & Pompeii earlier this year(Previous e-journal)

4 - WALES: Earth sciencedepartment field trip. (Pg )

5 - GERMANY: Part of theexchange programme. (Pg )

6- CZECH REPUBLIC: Euroweek2012. (Pg )

7- POLAND: Annual history trip toPoland to visit Holocaust sites.(Next issue)

~

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Students on exchangeThe beginning of term has

been amazingly busy for inModern Languages with a

succession of exchanges takingplace involving students from Japan(Fukuoka), Germany (Luebeck) and then France (Andernos lesBains) all visiting Aquinas.

It was the first year that we hadhad an exchange from Luebeck andwe hope that it will prove assuccessful as the ones to Japan andFrance which have both now runfor many years. Students on allthese trips have had a great timeand learnt a huge amount aboutthe language,  cultures and customs

of the respective countries and inmany cases made lastingfriendships. Many thanks to all thestaff involved - they have provedthat exchanges do involve a hugecommitment on their part and andthat they are really worthwhile.

French ExchangeStudents enjoyA meal out

Euroweek 2012In all honesty I can say that Euroweek has been the best experiencethat I have ever done with Aquinas College.

Meeting many differentpeople from across theEuropean Union in a

fusion of language, culture, foodand of course dancing compares tono other exchange offered. Settingout to the Czech Republic it hitsyou that you are not onlyrepresenting Aquinas, but also theUK. Our first day donningnumerous Union Jacks we flew theflag for Britain throughout theOpening Ceremony and Parade.Without boring you with all the

details the Team experiencedtraditional dances form acrossEurope, our favourites beingAustria with their Lederhosen!Visits to Prague, Pilsner Urquell’sbrewery, castles, water hammers,parties, debates, internationalbuffets and more have all helpedshape the teams views and opinionof Europe, what it stands for, andcrucially the peoples of Europe.

Many of us will never forget thepeople we met reaching far and

wide from the Netherlands toAustria to Slovakia and Estonia. If Ican leave one message with thestudents of Aquinas it would be toseize the Euroweek opportunitywhilst you can! It is well worth itand the memories you will treasurefor a life time.

Scott Thomas, Vice President

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Euroweek 2012 opening ceremony

UK Delegation on parade

Visit to the world famous Pilsen brewery

RomanianExchange 2012

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Students visit a breakfast news studio

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Forensic Geology ‘rocks’

I thought attending the lectureon Forensic Geology at StBede’s College was very

worthwhile and I gained a definiteinsight into the possible careersinvolving Geology.

Before attending the lecture, I hadno idea that Geologists wereinvolved in solving crime andhelping the police. I particularlyenjoyed seeing examples of casesthat Forensic Geologists are partof, as it gave me a much widerunderstanding of how Geologycomes into many careers. I am surethat the information from thelecture will come in very usefulfurther into my A2 Geology courseas Forensic Geology is a topic I willlearn about and the lecture was

fantastic as it gave me an overviewof this.The lecturer, Laurence Donnelly,was very good and clearly veryexperienced in the topic he wastalking about. I believed that insome parts, the terminology andconcepts were difficult tounderstand as an A2 student,however this did give me a realisticinsight into the level ForensicGeologists work at.

I found it very interesting learningthe role in which Geologists playedin helping to investigate crimes thatI had seen on the news, such as theApril Jones case.

Throughout the lecture I noticedideas and terminology used that Ihave already studied at AS level

and at the beginning of A2 and thismade me realise that the course isvery holistic as it uses the samebasic ideas through AS, A2 andbeyond.

Overall, I am very glad I attendedthe Forensic Geology lecture as itadded greater breadth andunderstanding to my ideas aboutGeology. I learnt that Geologydoesn’t just lead to a career as aGeologist, but in fact there aremany other careers that Geologycan lead to.

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Aquinas one to top 20 collegesin the country (again)

Aquinas has been in the top 20since league tables wereintroduced. Only Winstanley(Wigan) and Holy Cross (Bury)among the Greater Manchestercolleges join Aquinas in thiscategory. Unlike these collegesAquinas is not selective.

Danny Pearson, Principal, said,

“I am absolutely delighted both forour students and their teachers.The students’ hard work and thededication and professionalism ofmy colleagues has producedoutstanding results.” He added that"As we've always said at Aquinas -

our basic aim is to care forstudents, that good examinationresults follow is no surprise."

The Sunday Times Schools Guide published last week includesAquinas College in the top 20 State Sixth Form Colleges yet again.Colleges are ranked nationally on the aggregate level 3 points 2009- 2011.

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The Student Council organised the annual leavers ball. Hosted inthe midland hotel; Staff & students enjoyed a spectacular evening toend there careers at Aquinas College.

Leavers ball2012

The Leavers ball is organised annually by the Student Council.

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Aquinas Youth TheatreCompany Sweep the awardsat Buxton Fringe!

In July 2012 the recently set upAquinas Youth TheatreCompany took their own

unique physical theatre production,Eugene Ionesco’s one act absurdcomedy ‘The Bald Prima Donna’, tothe Buxton Fringe Festival forseven performances.

The talented young cast,comprising of Gabbi Monaghan,Ruth Bowler, Jake Martin, JoeThompson, Georgiana Oddyand Joe McGrath, worked veryhard out of college hours to

produce an exceptionally highquality piece of physical theatrethat kept the audiences alert; thesheer hard work and commitmenttruly paid off as the productionwon not one, not two, but threeawards at the closing ceremony:Best young actress (GabbiMonaghan) Best young Actor (JakeMartin) and overall Best YouthTheatre Production!

This was a fantastic scoop for theactors and gave them a real boostof confidence and certainly goes in

their favour when it comes tofinding their way into a highlycompetitive business.

As the director of the production, Ifelt genuinely proud of theircreative achievements and havenothing but praise for theircommitment to their craft. Thiswas the premiere production forthe newly established youththeatre company and I am keen tostart looking at possibleproductions for next year’s festivalin July 2013.

(L to R) Ruth Bowler, Joe Thompson, Gabbi Monaghan, Jake Martin, Joe McGrath, Georgiana Oddy,This photograph was taken at the venue for the Buxton Fringe, July 2012.

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To add to this, the company hasalso been selected from thewhole of the UK to perform inthis year’s NATIONALTHEATRE ConnectionsNew Writing programme; theywill get the opportunity to workwith practitioners and aprofessional writer linked to theNational Theatre and perform abrand new play in college andalso at The Lowry Theatre inSalford in March with thepossibility of taking the piece tothe National Theatre in Londonin June. This is an incredibleopportunity and we will beauditioning for this very soon;keep an eye on the bulletin orcheck the notice boards outsidethe Performing ArtsDepartment.

Jason Hudson Director AQYouth Theatre

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The Aquinas film department has already had a successful term asthey walked away with 5 official festival selections of which 2 wonawards at this years Screen Stockport Film Festival.

Aquinas FilmSuccess

Students from schools,colleges and universitiesacross the North West

gathered at Stockport Plaza toshowcase their short films andpick up some tips from the pros atthe independent short film andtelevision festival which is now inits second year.

The festival is run entirely byformer Aquinas student and‘Young Citizen of the Year’ JoeBarrett and is fast becoming one ofthe most talked about events inthe North West film industry. Joe,who is now studying Drama andScreen Studies at ManchesterUniversity, said “I know that for ayoung film maker there is nobigger buzz than seeing your workprojected onto a fifty foot cinemascreen and being able to offer this

amazing opportunity at The PlazaSuper Cinema was the best part ofrunning this year’s Student FilmFestival.”

Former student Tom Walters,whose comic spoof ‘Winnie thePooh’ was crowned best in theSchools and Colleges Category,said “The whole experience wasamazing, seeing something we’dmade on the big screen, with anaudience cheering, was justincredible”. Tom and co-directorJoe Lynn collected their award onstage from Denton born IMDbfounder Col Needham whoreserved special praise for the highstandard of work on show fromthe region's young film-makers.

Joe and Tom were also joined onstage by Runner-up Rick Battagliawhose short ‘Digging for Oil’,made as part of his A2 Film Studieslast year, came joint second. JoeMcGrath, Sam Hamilton, DanOllerhead, Tom Barrett, RobWragg, Dan Golden and AndrewEspley collected certificates tocongratulate them on having theirfilms included in the OfficialSelection.

The Festival came to a close withan inspiring talk from HelenBullough, Head of CBBCProduction at Media City and TomClarke from The Sharp Projectabout the best ways for youngpeople to get a career in themedia.

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You can watch all the films which won the awards and other selectionsonline. Visit www.aquinas.ac.uk/news and click on the Screen Stockportarticle

You can also follow Aquinas Film department on twitter at@AquinasFilm

Photos: Aquinas Media Technician

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A wild day out!The Applied Science A level

group went to Chester Zooon October 10th.

The day included a workshopdelivered by the education officers,Adam and Sean. We learnt aboutsome of the science used in thezoo, including animal conservation,behaviour, nutrition and health.

The highlights included seeing the 9day old baby giraffe, stroking thehissing cockroach and seeing thespectacled bears. The studentswere great ambassadors for thecollege, asked lots of questionsduring the workshop, took notesfor their projects and thanked thebus driver and education officers.

Students enjoy there trip out to Chester Zoo

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Into the valleysthey wentThe Earth Science department took around 100 students to CwmIdwal and Betws y Coed over two separate days in October.

On the Wednesday our busdriver, a cross betweenEvel Knievel and Phil

Mitchell, managed to avoid aconfrontation with a lorry driver.Our students were on the otherhand were models of decorum andpoliteness. Stuart took somewonderful photographs and theweather was idyllic. Lunch lookingdown the Nant FFancon Valley wasextremely picturesque.

After visiting Swallow falls wewalked the two miles downstreaminto Betws y Coed. I was at thefront with the fit enthusiasticwalkers, I believe that Stuart andFiona (herding at the back) had asomewhat different experience.Will stoically kept them going inthe middle. Our timing wasdefinitely off and we had no timefor a cup of tea before catching thebus home!

Desperate not repeat the ‘no cupof tea’ mistake again I changed theplans slightly for the Thursday.The weather was not clement andwe ate our packed lunches huddledin the shelter of a rochemoutonnee at Cwm Idwal. Soniaaccompanied us instead of Stuart

and we had a spectacular view ofSwallow Falls as the heavy rainfiltered downstream. Once againour students were a credit to thecollege with other visitors to thefalls commenting on their goodmanners. We were lucky on bothdays to have a former studentMichael Kelly with us. He is nowstudying for a fully funded PhD atKeele University having completeda degree in Geosciences (with sucha high mark he was invited to do aPhD without first completing aMasters).

“Desperate not torepeat the ‘no cup oftea’ mistake again”

Michael was fantastic with thestudents and the A2 geologystudents particularly enjoyed hisguided tour. The rain and lack ofteacake on Wednesday gave rise toa bus ride rather than walk toBetws y Coed.

After we looked at the rivercourse the students had around 30minutes to explore the town.Sonia, Will, Fiona, Michael and I allenjoyed our tea and cake though

Will was a little disconcerted bythe painting of an ape on the wallwhich he felt was staring at hismuffin. (We did buy a gingercookie for Stuart who missed outbut left it on the table –sorryStuart!).

Staff:

● Angela Bentley

● William Dawson

● Fiona Mochrie

● Stuart Greenhalgh

● Sonia Smith.

GET YOURS FROM THESTUDENT COUNCIL

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Equality & Diversity week was celebrated from the 5th-9th ofNovember 2012 and included a special range of tutorials andassemblies. Both the college and Student Councilcontributed to what has been another successful year.

Equality & Diversityweek 2012

Equality & Diversity Week2012 was held in the WeekCommencing November

5th. Students took part in a widerange of activities from tutorialmaterials to ethics lessons coveringEquality & Diversity.

The Student Council takes anactive role in the week along withthe Equality & Diversity Working

Group. This year Brian Smith-Walters led the Assembly onHomophobia and the wider issueof bullying in powerful and movingassemblies, which were wellreceived by all students.

Student President Natalia Dawsonand Vice President filmed theirEquality & Diversity Messageshowing the Student Council'scontinued commitment to Equality& Diversity.

Finally we would like the thank allthose who took part in helpingmake Equality & Diversity Week2012 a success.

Student Council

You can watch the StudentCouncil Equality & Diversity

message online on the StudentCouncil You Tube channel:

youtube.com/AQstudentcouncil

Student President Natalia Dawson & Vice PresidentScott Thomas on set of the video shoot.

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Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg’s

Miss Saigon

Tuesday December 18th @ 2.15pm & 7pmWednesday 19th & Thursday 20th December @ 7pm

TICKETS: £5.00 from student information or pay on the door

AQUINAS DRAMA PRODUCTION 2012

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We are very fortunate atAquinas College that wehave the support of

many local businesses who give uptheir time to come and speak tostudents on our annual CareersDay held in July each year.

The aim of the day is for studentsto hear about a job from someonewho is working in that field.

Staff from businesses in the localarea give up an hour of their timeto deliver a short presentation onA Day in the Life of ..... andanswer any questions the studentsmay have. The presentation givesthe student a little insight into aparticular career, what employerslook for in their employees, theimportance of employability skills

and what students can do toimprove their chances of gainingemployment in the future.

“What a fantastic opportunity.We had nothing like this when Iwas at school.”EmployerThis year was bigger and betterthan ever. Over 50 organisationstook part representing manydifferent career sectors including,Law, Retail, Business, IT, Art andDesign, Health, Finance,Engineering, Leisure, Media,Architecture, Public Relations andthe Armed Forces.

“The students were very keenand asked some good questions”Employer

We believe that it is important foryoung people to have exposure todifferent types of careers in orderto help them come to a decisionabout their own future. Givingthem the opportunity to hearabout a job, makes theirunderstanding real and is far betterthan reading about that job on awebsite or in a book. Havingsomething to aim for not onlymotivates students but also givesthem something to aspire to. Thefeedback from both employers andstudents has been very positive.

“It was a good day and wasvaluable at informing me aboutcareers that have influenced mein my choice of course atUniversity."Student

Careers day 2012:The Butcher, the Baker andCandlestick Maker.........There are so many different careers to choose from, how can ayoung person decide what to do?

Royal Air Force

Careers day 2013 will take place on July 3rd

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"I was amazed at howmany students came tohear me speak - biggerroom next year please"

Employer

Police presentation

STEM

John Lewis Partnership

Teenage Market & Screen Stockport

Aquinas art onshow!The annual Art and Design Exhibition returned bigger than ever -but was its usual great success!

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The night itself was busy withnot only Upper 6 studentsand parents, but also Lower

6 students seeing what they’ll beexpected to do next year, and evenprospective students from Year 11,who were keen to ask questionsand find out about the work onshow.

There were also visitors fromother schools such as AlderleyEdge School for Girls, and OurLady’s School in Oldham. AquinasGovernor Tom McGee dropped inas did many colleagues; Those

unable to attend the evening wereable to visit during the day onThursday and Friday.

With only a day to set up, therewas a hive of frantic activity in theArt and Design Department, asusual working right to the 11thhour! The group of Upper 6thstudents who had volunteered andtook ownership in organising andsetting up the exhibition were acredit to the college and stayedcalm and focused throughout theday!

Every Art and Design student inthe Upper 6 had at least one pieceof work into the show and thisyear we were able to showcaseeven more, with the studentsinvolved in the organising havingroom to set up whole displays ofexemplar work.

All those involved deserve amassive thank you, as all those whovisited on the night and the nextfew days were impressed with allthe work; we have very talentedstudents!

39Photos: Gráinne Williams

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Local artist impressed byAquinas artLocal artist Rob Wilson visited Aquinas on Friday 9th November todo a demonstration and talk to students about his work

Art and Design studentswere captivated to see Robworking and talking through

his techniques. Rob also answeredthe students' questions about hisown journey to becoming aworking artist, time demands,commission demands and howexhibiting in galleries has helpedraise his profile.

Afterwards some students stayedbehind to ask about the final stagesof his work where he cuts up thecanvas and sews into it in stagesbefore reconstructing it forframing.

Students said they found thedemonstration "brilliant" and"inspiring". The Lower Sixth will beusing Rob's techniques in thepainting development of their Unit

1, and Rob has asked if he cancome back in to see how they haveresponded to his work.

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Update from the

Aquinas StudentCouncil

2012 has been the biggest year in recent Aquinas Student Councilmemory. We have transformed and adapted to become one of themost thriving and successful student unions in the area. Providingthe best services for fellow students.

First of all lets begin with thebasics. In case you don’tknow the Aquinas Student

Council is the Students Union ofAquinas college. That's right aStudents Union, the same you’llfind at all universities.

However only some colleges haveStudents Unions. Stockport &Cheadle and Marple have studentunions whereas likes of Wilmslowdo not.

So whats with the name studentscouncil? It’s the name we have usedsince Aquinas opended and we firstformed. And as since we all onlyjoined in 2011 and not 1980 (whenthe college opended) we did nothave much of a say. However don’t

be fooled. Just because we arecalled a Student Council like yourold high school might had. We area fully functional Students Union.

So what does a Students Unionprovide? If you have been to aUniversity of some kind you’ll havea general idea. At universityStudents Union often provide bars,gigs, events, musicals and loadsmore. Often in their own multi-million pound buildings. They serve10,000’s of students daily both forrecreational & student politicalneeds.

Since Aquinas does not have10,000’s of students instead weoperate on a much smaller scale.But we offer the same kind of

services. We both Represent &Entertain.

As a Student Council we want tobring students together moresoical and make Aquinas more fun.That's why we have a range ofsocial events across the year. In thepast we host things like Take MeOut, Open Mic Night etc….. Itmakes our college lives andhopefully your (the students) lives alittle more fun.

Also we are responsible forstudent government. We are anindependent organisation from thecollege and set our own agendas.All influenced by you. We are leadby the elected Student President &his/her aid the Vice President.

Student Presidents Harriet Wicks & Natalia DawsonFilming for the 2012 Election videos Aquinas Student Council 2012/13

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We influence college policy withStudents views. One of the mostrecent examples was the blueprints for the new building wentfor approval by the StudentCouncil before construction couldbegin.

Our experience andprofessionalism at the job has

created a strong workingpartnership with the college oftenallowing for more things to getdone.

Over the next few pages you’ll seewhat we have archived and failed atover the past year. Plus other news& info from your Student Council.

To concluded, we are the studentsunion of Aquinas college and weare here to Represent & Entertain.

Joshua OstDirector of Communications,Aquinas Student Council

Aquinas Student Council 2012/13

Summer BBQ

Take Me Out

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Students Enjoy a free BBQ,thanks to the Student Council!

To make a great term eventbetter the Student Councilthought what best way to

kick of the summer: Food andMusic.

The Student Council providedstudents on UCAS day a free BBQ

lunch, with the choice of burgers,hot dogs or Kebabs.

The weather played in our favouras the sun shone of a corwd ofstudents thanking staff for therehard work before the academicyear closed.

We also provided some summertracks and hung up the bunting tomake sure that the little amount ofsummer we spend in college,would be a good one.

Students from Aquinas College tooka break from UCAS day and enjoyeda very special BBQ lunch courtesy ofthe Student Council.

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Fresher's fair & NUS ExtraAfter what was surely a summer to remember the StudentCouncil refreshed and ready to get back

The Student Council was onfull display at the fresher'sfair. Introducing the Student

Unions to new students.

We also pushed our NUS Extracards, the only student lifestylecards.

An NUS Extra card is the officialdiscount card for students from

the NUS (National Unionof Students) it providesdiscounts at 100’s of highstreet & online stores.Something which no Librarycard could do.

The NUS Extra card is onsale all year and funds raisedgoes back to the Student Council Get your NUS Extra

Card online 24/7 at NUS.org.uk

Talent show dazzles thecollege!Our first event of the 2012/13 year. success.

The StudentCouncil wentall showbiz in

September to host itsfirst event of the2012/13 year,

A special FREE eventwas hosted towelcome the new

Students and to showoff what talentAquinas has! But withonly a short time toget the acts togetherwill it work?

Thankfully with theexperience & skill ofthe Student Council

it was a success!With a fantasticcrowd watching someamazing talent!

Also donations weremade to go towardsthe Student Councilcharity of the year.Comic Relief!

Keep up with the latest news & events from theAquinas Student CouncilFollow us on twitter at @AQstudents

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New Student Presidentselected!The 2012 election has been one of the most exciting elections ofAquinas and has reflected both the interest and credibility theStudent Council has among fellow students.

Every year the StudentCouncil holds elections likeall students unions across

the NUS. This is to fairest way tofind the new Student President andVice Student President. Who’s jobsare to lead the Student Council.

This year has been very excitingand has been one of the bestturnouts recorded. With anamazing 75%+ voting this year.

The election ran from the 26th -30th of November 2012.

8 candidates ran for election andpresented a presentation to votesand a weeks campaigning.

Each tutor group from both yearsgot a chance to vote during theirweekly tutorial.

At the end of the week all ballotswere counted twice and then bythe follow week a winner wasconfirmed.

Rachel Bircher StudentPresident

And

Alice Perry Vice StudentPresident

The two winners will now lead theStudent Council from February2013, and in the meantime willlearn a lot from the currentPresidents who step down to focusof exams & the leavers ball.

The elections was closely watchedby staff and students. And studentsfrom outside of Aquinas.

Ashton Student Council used this ainspiration to decided how to runtheir upcoming elections.

Overall it was a tight race and allcandidates deserve a hugecongratulations. They’ll take otherroles within the Student Council ininternal elections.

To watch the candidatespresentations and other electionvideos visit our You Tube Channelatwww.youtube.com/user/AQstudentcouncil

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Student Council open up!Many university student unions have buildings which they operatein. However Aquinas does not due to funding. But to improvecommunication the Student Council have opening the ASC Pointin the Learning Centre.

The ASC Point is a help deskand study area which ismanaged by the Student

Council. Its the first place studentsshould come if they need or wantanything related to the StudentCouncil or NUS.

The area which is open daily from11am - 2pm was opened after adeal was struck with the college.

Current the ASC Point is new andplans are in place to improve its

appearance and services its offers.Including a student shop.

The ASC Point is located onthe ground floor of theLearning Centre

Building a partnershipIn September of this year the Student Council was introduced to theStudent Council of Ashton Sixth Form. It aim was to create astudent partnership, and we are glad to say…it works!

The college enjoys being amember of the V-CC FiveCollege Consortium. A

working group of colleges inManchester & Cheshire. Currentlyonly senior staff enjoyed thebenefits from this.

However the Student Councilthought why can’t Students see thebenefit of this working group. So a

meeting was arranged between thetwo Student Councils of Aquinas &Ashton. It soon became clear ofsome differences. Ashton had acouncil membership of 10, whileAquinas was 40.

It partnership aims to share ideasand build links with other colleges.We’ll update with more progressin the next e-journal

The logo of the app partnershipAquinas Ashton Partnership

The New ASC Point is on the ground floor Learning Centre

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Sports awards2012In May we celebrated the past academic years sporting success atour annual Sports Awards Presentation. The award winners were asfollows:Football 2nd Team – LEAGUE WINNERSCoaches Player of the Year – James HowardPlayers Player of the Year – Callum Farrell

Football 1st Team – North-West CHAMPIONSCoaches Player of the Year – James BadrockPlayers Player of the Year - Sam Grimshaw

Netball Team – North West CHAMPIONS(represented the NW in the British Colleges Sport atthe National Finals at Bath)Coaches Player of the Year - Rosie RatcliffPlayers Player of the Year - Claire Armstrong

Rugby TeamCoaches Player of the Year – Lewis FarrowPlayers Player of the Year – Keir Merrick

PathwaysSports Person of the Year - Nicholaus Msindai

INDIVIDUAL TALENT RECOGNITIONIndividual awards were made to recognise studentscompeting outside of college at an outstanding level.

Jordan Sharples – SWIMMING – competed at thejunior Olympics

Josh Turner – LACROSSE – selected for EnglandU19’s

Judith Browne – ICE HOCKEY – selected for GBU18’s

Jennifer Aiton – LACROSSE – Scotland International

TEAM OF THE YEAR – Netball Team

SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR –Megan Francis-Hill

Our thanks to Jordan Raynes from StockportCounty Community Foundation whopresented the awards.

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Competitive Sport 2012-13Round up of this years results so far:

Football 1st Team

Aquinas 3 v Winstanley 2Aquinas 4 v Xaverian 2Aquinas 2 v Cheadle and Marple 1 (GreaterManchester Cup)Aquinas 8 v Hopwood Hall 1Aquinas 1 v Cheadle and Marple 0Aquinas 7 v West Lancashire College 1 (BritishColleges National Cup)

Football 2nd Team

Aquinas 3 v Winstanley 2Aquinas 2 v Xaverian 3Aquinas o v Loreto 1 (Greater Manchester Cup –after Extra Time)Aquinas 4 v Hopwood Hall 1Aquinas 0 v Cheadle & Marple 1

Netball Team

Aquinas 47 v Winstanley 30Aquinas 64 v Xaverian 18Aquinas 84 v Hopwood Hall 7Aquinas 76 v Cheadle and Marple 5Aquinas 74 v Priestley 26

Basketball team

Aquinas 46 v Oldham 57Aquinas 58 v Xaverian 26

Rugby Team

We’ve had a good turn out for games this year. Thehighlight being when we took a 20 man squad away toAshton Tameside college and beat them 42-12. If wewin the development league we get entered into theyouth games and we have various regionaltournaments coming up. Most of the lads play for thevery successful local clubs for example Stockport andManchester so all is good.

Well done to everyone who has representedthe college so far and was successful in thetrials

British Colleges Sport

We are looking forward to competing in the regionaltournaments our the next few weeks in the followingsports – Football 5-a-side male and female, Netball,Basketball, Rugby , Tennis and Trampolining. Welldone to the following students who have alreadyrepresented the college this year.

Table Tennis – David Conor

Golf - Vinny Shanaghy (handicap 7) Sean Jowett (6),Liam Garry (8), and Matt Robinson (8)

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Congratulations to our NorthWest champions!

If you wish to send an article for our newsletter email it to:carol@aquinas.ac.uk. and please remember to send images and text asseparate files.

Following on from the success of thenetball team, it was the football team'sturn to shine by becoming North-westChampions in the British Colleges Sport-North West Tournament.

The team played brilliantly all day- first winningthree games and drawing one to win the groupstage.

The girl's team also entered and although theydidn't qualify for the knockout stages they playedreally well especially considering it was the firsttime they'd played together.

The men's team will now go on to represent theNorth-West in the National Finals over Easter.

The Aquinas Netball team have been crowned the champions in the British Colleges Sport-North-West tournament - for the 2nd year in a row!

Team coach Dave Conlon said "All the girls were fantastic all day". The team will now go on to represent theNorth-West in the National Finals over Easter at Bath University.

The winning team -Dominic Simpson, James Perry, Josh Broadbent,Luke Walker, Tom Webb, Andy Mottershead,Andy McKernon and Tim Parker

The winning team -Abbie Revill, Rebecca Pearson, Kate Meagh, Rosie Ratcliff, Hannah Slaouti, Gabriella Marshall, Jess Shaw, Natalia Tavini, Claire Armstrong and Emma Taylor

© 2012 AQUINAS COLLEGE, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED