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sletter 201

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Student Support

Health Service

How does the Health Service enhance the students’ experience? The Health Service enhances the student experience by providing easily accessible, good quality, affordable health care for students. Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of. Sue Ransom organises and promotes the regular visits to campus of the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service collection bus. What was the highlight of the year for your service? The highlight of the year was building alterations that provided us with an extra consulting room, a larger meeting room, and more storage. The additional space has enabled us to increase our services, particularly our mental health services. In addition to our visiting psychiatrist who attends once weekly, our mental health nurse has increased to one and a half days a week and we now have a psychologist working closely with the GPs. What are you looking forward to for 2012? 2012 is going to be a challenging year but hopefully rewarding. At Callaghan we will be undertaking our fifth round of General Practice Accreditation and aiming to meet increasingly rigorous standards. A Christmas Wish! All the Health Service Team would like to wish you a very happy, safe, and especially healthy 2012!

Health Service Staff Member Profile Leanne Neoh—Practice nurse at the Health Service

Best bit of job - Interacting with and getting to know students and their families from different cultural backgrounds.

Most annoying part of job - Definitely the phone that constantly interrupts you. Favourite movie - At the moment, The Help. An enjoyable film to watch. Favourite place to eat in Newcastle - We don’t eat out a lot, my favourite place has to be relaxing at home...especially if someone else cooks for me Best ever travel experience – In 1998 we walked the Cinque Terre in Italy. It was a very memorable experience. If I couldn't do this fabulous job I would be: Food and film critic. My two favourite things - eating and watching films.

Disability Support Service Staff Member Profile Stuart Meldrum - Disability Adviser Best bit of job - Working with students who are really motivated to do well in their studies Most annoying part of job - Only male in the office Favourite movie - Elf Favourite place to eat in Newcastle - Kebab place in Lambton Best ever travel experience - South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup If I couldn't do this fabulous job I would be: A drumming legend or busker playing at Pitt St Mall

Disability Support Service

How does the Disability Support Service enhance the students’ experience? The Disability Support Service works with students to implement adjustments within the academic environment. Our aim is to support students with a disability to become independent learners. Much of what we do assists them to focus on their studies and we try to reduce the stress and anxiety that comes from trying to study and manage a disability or illness. Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of Disability Support Services has its very own Adaptive Technology Centre located in the Auchmuty library. Even though this office is separated by the long walk between the dark and light side of the university, we work together to support students with print disabilities including students with vision impairments and learning disabilities. What was the highlight of the year for your service? It may sound silly, but surviving our first year as a new team would have to be the highlight. This was our first full year together as a team and we were able to work well with each other within our small team, while managing the demanding nature of Semester 1. We have come out of it a stronger team and are well prepared for 2012. What are you looking forward to for 2012? We are looking forward to facing 2012 as a supportive team, with a challenging 2011 under their belt. We are also looking forward to understanding from the lovely staff at the Hunter library café that triple shot coffees are completely normal and most days a necessity, during Semester 1. A Christmas Wish! Enjoy the break and do what you can to make it enjoyable for others.

How does the Careers Service enhance the students’ experience? From student feedback gathered monthly our students tell us that we enhance their student experience. When asked what motivated them to come in for a careers appointment one student said: "A lot of things. Mostly help with graduate jobs; resumes, interview questions and preparation for different types and places, going through the process one last time. A lot of talk and also advice on what to do if/when none of what I was doing came off, where to go to ask questions and make contacts, what to do in the meantime to fill my week with volunteering or other activities that may help". Tall order hey? Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of. That graduates and past students can access our service. What was the highlight of the year for your service? Al's return and the launch of two initiatives: degrees to careers and Prepare for Uni - two excellent online career development learning tools. These are accessible at: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/students/degrees-to-careers/ and http://www.newcastle.edu.au/students/prepare-for-uni What are you looking forward to for 2012? Winning lotto to pay for more staff in the Careers Service.

Careers Service Staff Member Profile - Rachael Howells, Careers Service Information Officer (CIO, hehe) Best bit of job - Helping students who seem a bit lost with their career direction. The people I work with are lovely too. Most annoying part of job - The abundance of lollies available in the office. Favourite movie - I'm partial to a good romcom - Love & Other Drugs was recently on high rotation. Favourite place to eat in Newcastle – Lotus @ The Junction. It never fails, breakfast, lunch & dinner Best ever travel experience - My six month travel stint around Europe in 2009. If I couldn't do this fabulous job I would be: Megan Gale.

Careers Service

How does The Chaplaincy enhance the students’ experience? The Chaplaincy at University of Newcastle enhances the student experience by providing a place of welcome and hospitality - free tea and coffee always and on a good day there might be something nice to eat as well! More importantly at chaplaincy there is always a listening ear and a supportive presence for all staff and students regardless of race colour or creed. We provide pastoral and spiritual support and love to help students and staff in any way we can. Chaplaincy is a great place to hang out! Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of The University of Newcastle Chaplaincy is well respected throughout the university community in Australia for having a truly multi-faith focus and operation. We include among our number Chaplains from many Christian denominations, Buddhist, and Baha'i - and we worked cooperatively and to great effect. What was the highlight of the year for your service? Two highlights among many for this year were moving into our new location and being approached by the University of Newcastle Islamic Society to hold an Interfaith dialogue on campus. This was a wonderful opportunity to work with the Islamic students and we look forward to other such occasions in the future What are you looking forward to for 2012? The Chaplains look forward to further consolidating their new location and making the best use of their facilities and expanding their services to staff and students, especially by continuing to find ways to work more closely with other SSS groups. A Christmas Wish! We deeply wish to each person who forms this eclectic community that is the University of Newcastle love, peace, joy and true presence - the blessings of Christmas and may those blessings sustain each person throughout 2012 and always.

The Chaplaincy Staff Member Profile Rev. Christine Sheppard OAM - Uniting Church Chaplain Best bit of job - Being with the wonderful students’ chaplains and other staff here on campus. Most annoying part of job - Having been here only a year so far, you could say that I'm still in 'the honeymoon' phase, so no annoyances yet. Favourite movie - Toss up between 'Harvey Milk' and 'Meditereanio' Favourite place to eat in Newcastle - Estabars, on Newcastle Beach. Best ever travel experience - Sailing to Antarctica and landing on the islands where the penguins are. Humans are not supposed to get close to the penguins, but somehow, the penguins haven't got that message. If I couldn't do this fabulous job I would be: on the beach with my family, including our wonderful little granddaughter, who reminds me that the world is just 'Wow'!

The Chaplaincy

Student Experience & Transition How does Student Experience and Transition enhance the students’ experience? Our name says it all! Our team’s focus is providing programs that translate across divisions and faculties and are aimed at improving students’ experience at the University of Newcastle. We do more than co-ordinate orientation; other SET programs include PASS, Connect2Success, Friends on Campus and Student Mentors Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of. Our team are responsible for weekly updating of the Current Students ‘This week’ section of the uni’s website. We also write Newie’s Blog. What was the highlight of the year for your service? Coming together as a new team. Successful introduction of PASS and Friends on Campus and positive changes to the Student Mentoring program. What are you looking forward to for 2012? Successfully welcoming commencing students through a great Orientation Program, continued expansion of PASS and Friends on Campus. A Christmas Wish! Have a great break! We look forward to working with you all in 2012.

SET Staff Member Profile Katrina Kellett - Project Officer for Student Experience & Transition Best bit of job Sharing in the journey of the students I meet. Most annoying part of job There aren't really any, I love what I do! Favourite movie Hot Fuzz (starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost) (Favourite Musicians: Ben Folds, Buddy Guy, John Butler, Katie Noonan, Amanda Palmer) Favourite place to eat in Newcastle Delucas in Darby St (they make the best gnocchi in town- I'm there every week!) Best ever travel experience Development visits to urban slums in Egypt and remote areas in Northern Luzon, Philippines If I couldn't do this fabulous job I would be: a Fashion Stylist, Event Manager or (more realistically) in humanitarian aid work.

Counselling Service How does the Counselling Service enhance the students’ experience? Did you know that more than 40 % of students who attend the Counselling service have seriously considered withdrawing from their program during the previous 12 months. Many students face significant personal or mental health issues as well as struggles with their academic studies. Most students find just one or two sessions very helpful in turning around the difficulties they face. Other students with more serious issues need to attend for many more sessions. On average, students attend approximately 3 sessions. Although some students who see a counsellor do end up deciding to take leave of absence or to withdraw, we are confident the students are doing what is best for them at the time. This withdrawal from study can then become a positive decision, without permanently closing the door to a return to study in the future. In our most recent online satisfaction survey, students made many positive comments about how coming to counselling made a difference to their life at University. A typical comment is "without their help I would not have been able to continue my studies."

Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of. Although waiting times for our booked appointments can sometimes stretch out to 3 or 4 weeks at our very busy times we are committed to providing emergency access points at all stages of semester. We run a drop in clinic Monday and Wednesday 2pm to 4pm most weeks of the year. In our extra busy times from week 6 we add an additional clinic on a Thursday same time. If you are worried about a student let us know - every day we also have emergency appointments generally booked close to the time.

What was the highlight of the year for your service? It is always hard to isolate just one thing. However what has been very pleasing for us this year is the spread of our tip sheet collection to different pick up points around the University as well as demand from both overseas and within Australia to 'borrow' our material. Congratulations to the team for their collaborative writing efforts.

What are you looking forward to for 2012? We are excited about the arrival of our new Vice Chancellor and are looking forward to the new vision she will bring to build on the achievements of the past.

Counselling Service Staff Member Profile Karen Sharpham – Counselling Service Admin Assistant Best bit of job Favourite Movie Helping students Midnight in Paris Favourite movie Favourite Place to eat in Newcastle Midnight in Paris Customs House Favourite place to eat in Newcastle Customs House Best ever travel experience - Going to New Zealand If I couldn't do this fabulous job I would be: a teacher

Accommodation Services Residential Life Team How does the Res Life team enhance the students’ experience? Res Life focuses on a sense of community within the colleges, ensuring that all residents find the University a safe and stimulating place to live. We work closely with the live-in student staff team to provide targeted support programs that enhance students’ learning and social development. Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of. In 2011, residents of the colleges raised a combined $14,669.00 through ResLife-sponsored programs and fundraisers (including Wild Endurance, Relay for Life, and Daffodil Day) What was the highlight of the year for your service? ‘Hello Sunday Morning’ was a new program to the colleges that challenged residents to rethink their alcohol consumption. One of our students (who took the test of 3 months of alcohol abstinence) claims that it’s one of the best things she’s done while at University! What are you looking forward to for 2012? Building 780 new beds and enjoying our new pool-side mural: The Diverse View. A Christmas Wish! To maintain our support links with other Service areas – thanks everyone! Operations Team How does the Operations team enhance the students’ experience. Maintenance/Facilities - attend to the many and varied maintenance issues. In consultation with college residents we also look at ways of improving the facilities we currently provide. Administration - we try to ensure that all administrative paperwork is concise and online wherever possible. In particular, we try to make arrival and departure for around 1000 residents to be as stress-free as possible. Accommodation Hub - first point of contact for any enquiries about student. accommodation, both on and off campus. We have an off campus accommodation database which annually has approximately 3,000 student rooms. Students can access the database either online or by using one of the computers in the Hub. We also assist students who have tenancy issues. Tell us something about your service that we may not be aware of. The college caretakers who address maintenance issues within the residences also seem to act as surrogate father figures for a large number of the student community. Based on student feedback this seems to help ‘in preventing conflict and helps college life run smoothly’. We are also active in sustainability actions; setting up herb gardens, compost bins and recycling within the residences has been observed as being the most successful within the campus. What was the highlight of the year for your service? Simply working within a great, positive and cohesive team. What are you looking forward to for 2012? Progress towards major improvements to the existing college facilities as well as the construction of 780 new beds/

Accommodation Service Staff Member Profile - Tim Mullen - College Caretaker

Accommodation Service Staff Member Profile Tim Mullen - College Caretaker Best bit of job The people that I work with and the stu-dents that I work for. The interaction with all the students from all over the world, Australia included, makes the job very satisfying and enjoyable. Most annoying part of job The rain Favourite movie The Man from Snowy River Favourite place to eat in Newcastle The Iron Horse in Cardiff. The steaks are big are so are the meals. I like to eat. Equal first place would be at home, my wife is an exceptional cook. Best ever travel experience A month long trip in New Zealand where we took a helicopter flight up onto the Franz Joseph Glacier If I couldn't do this fabulous job I would be: an unknown quantity at any-thing.