Spring 2012 Newsletters

The newsletters from the Spring 2012 term are listed below.

Scroll down the page to view this terms newsletters or click one of the links below to jump to that weeks newsletter.

16th March - Week 10
8th March - Week 9
5th March - Week 8
24th February - Week 7
17th February - Week 6
10th February - Week 5
3rd February - Week 4
30th January - Week 3
20th January - Week 2
13th January - Week 1
6th January - New Years

The previous terms newsletters can be found here.

16th March 2012

Dear all,

I am beginning to dislike this time of the term when the campus becomes really quiet and all I can hear is the distant sound of suitcase wheels being dragged away for pastures new. I hope for those of you who are venturing away from Goodricke heading for home, for friends or for holidays that you have a thoroughly deserved break and return feeling rejuvenated.

I am aware that many students are remaining in York preparing for exams and assessments over the holidays so I wish you all the best of luck with your revision. Please check out the Easter vacation arrangements on campus information in the GCR/JCR and Ron Cooke Hub for services open during the holidays.

Accommodation allocations for continuing students

For those of you who have applied for accommodation in Goodricke next year, allocations will be started next week. Please keep an eye on your University e-mail and e-vision accounts to view your room offer. The Accommodation Office are offering a window of 7 days to accept your room before expiring the offer so if you think this will be an issue because you are trekking in a desert with no access to the internet, please e-mail me at Sarah.hay@york.ac.uk

Sheldon Tutor update

Oliver Sheldon residents, please welcome your new block tutor Mihai Cocuru who will be moving into the Sheldon tutor room GSH/A1/215 from next week. Mihai is currently a Janet Baker Tutor and has nobly stepped into Steve Eyre's very large shoes and taken on the role of Sheldon Tutor - a huge thank you to Mihai for agreeing to swap courts.

As we are so far into the academic year, we have decided to continue to the end of the next term with our three very excellent tutors Mihai, Rosa and Suzy supported by the rest of the College Welfare Team.

Use of Goodricke outdoor barbeques

Now that the weather is warming up, feel free to make use of the outdoor barbeques in Goodricke. Please take care when cooking and dispose of any charcoal remains sensibly in the bins provided.

Keeping your house safe over Easter

Hello, I hope you've had a great term, and are looking forward to having well-deserved break over the holidays!

If you're moving back home over the holidays, please do check out this blog post for some tips to bear in mind to keep your house and belongings safe, and to keep your landlord and neighbours happy at the same time!

http://www.yusu.org/blog/entry/791

Thank you, and have a good break! If you need to contact me, I will be working for most of Easter, so contact me as usual at r.hughes@yusu.org

Bob Hughes, YUSU Welfare Officer

New international travel awards for students and staff

All University of York students and staff are invited to apply for an exciting new grant programme, Santander International Connections, thanks to a generous grant from Santander Universities.

The fund will support travel to the following countries:

In the Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and the USA.
In Europe: Belgium, Germany, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
In Asia: China, Russia and Singapore

The programme offers both small (up to £1,000) and large (up to£5,000) grants and is available to individuals and groups and can support travel for study (including studying a foreign language),research, teaching or career development. Travel must be complete by the end of September 2012.

Deadline for receipt of applications: 5 pm, Monday 30th April 2012 Application forms at University of York Santander grants Or contact paul.tyack@york.ac.uk for an application form or furtherinformation.

30 second survey

We are second year Management and ABFM students, and we need to collect primary research for our Business Planning module.

We would really appreciate if as many people could fill this out as possible. The survey is not long and will take you less than 30 seconds.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ZXBGHH5

All information collected is confidential.

Many thanks
Group 14

That's all from me for this term. The newsletter will return at the beginning of the new term unless I have anything urgent to relay to you during the Easter break. The office will be closed for one week during the Easter break from Monday 9th - Fri 13th April. Enjoy your Easter bunnies and don't forget its Mother's Day this Sunday!

Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

In 1971 a Cadbury Creme Egg weighed 54g. Now in 2012 it weighs only39g. I say just buy two then.

8th March 2012

Dear all,

Apologies that your newsletter is a day earlier than usual but the office will be closed from tomorrow until Wednesday of next week. If you need anything urgently, please contact a member of the College Welfare Team (see kitchen posters for contact numbers) who will be able to point you in the right direction.

'Goodtimes' - Tomorrow night

I am hoping to see lots of photos from tomorrow night's event 'GOODTIMES' - Goodricke's FIRST College party event in the college nucleus from 8.30pm till 1.30am organised by the JCRC.
It's totally free of charge with a RUBIX CUBE theme.

Dress in six different items of clothing, which are the colour of one of the sides of a Rubix cube, each colour only being used once, then swap items of clothing throughout the night until you are dressed in a single colour.

The JCRC are hoping this event will set a precedent for a college party event that will last for years so make sure you come.

Recycling Facilities

Have you ever thought of an idea for improving the recycling facilities in your kitchen or reducing electricity usage? Or have you been working on a plan to reduce wasted water? Well now is your chance to have your green ideas put forward and potentially see them brought into action!

Send your ideas to eco@goodricke.co.uk and the creator of the best idea will win a £50 Tesco Voucher! However you must make sure that it is an idea that CAN be implemented (i.e. we can't install an offshore wind farm on the lake as cool as that would be!)

After the competition has closed the ideas will be judged by Tom Price and the Derwent FM staff. Send any questions you have to the same email address.

You have until Midday on the 21st March to come up with your ideas!

Good Luck!
Eco love x
Dean & David, your Environment & Ethics Officers

Toilets

Estates have reported that there are some problems with the sewage pumping system on Heslington East due to pumps being blocked by a mix of blue cleaning towel and rags. Please do not flush paper towels or anything else that shouldn't go down a toilet as this is causing significant problems across campus.

Football

Please can we remind you that football should be restricted to the open grassed space to the rear of Janet Baker Court, on the other side of the lay-by and not within the college or surrounding grounds due to risk of windows breaking and damage to newly planted trees. Thank you!

YUSU Support

Mel Fox from YUSU will be available every Thursday from 12-2pm in the college nucleus meeting room for a confidential chat to discuss anything welfare or academic related such as academic misconduct, personal issues etc.

Nightline

Don't forget that Nightline are also present here on Hes East every Monday evening from 8pm till 11pm in the nucleus meeting room to support you should you need somebody to talk to.

That's all from me, I am skipping off now to enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation. For those of you leaving early for Easter, enjoy the long break and I will look forward to welcoming you back in April.

Enjoy!
Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

If the third finger of your left hand is longer than your index finger, you are more likely to be really good at sports.

5th March 2012

Dear all,

Apologies for the late newsletter, I'm afraid I was out of the office on Friday.

Thanks to all those who came on the Goodricke Gallop last Sunday. We had an amazing turn out and the weather made it all the more lovely. Make sure you sign up for the next one due next term if you fancy going to the seaside!

Use of the JCR & GCR

The JCR has been locked off by the cleaners for the 2nd time recently due to it being left in an unacceptable state for them in the morning. We encourage you to have parties and enjoy yourselves but ask that you please tidy up after yourselves, clearing empty bottles and rubbish into the bins and respecting that the cleaners try hard to maintain these rooms so you can enjoy yourselves in a safe and clean environment.

It always ends up being one person clearing up the mess who wasn't even in attendance at the previous night's escapades so please respect your fellow students and the use of these rooms.

Accommodation Allocations

Accommodation allocation offers for continuing students in Goodricke hope to be started mid March. Before rooms are allocated, please can you advise me if you have applied for accommodation on-line but now no longer require a room? Please e-mail me at sarah.hay@york.ac.uk.

Library Book Drop-off in the Hub

The Library book drop off provision is now up and running. The book drop off box is situated in the HUB atrium, near to the water fountain, rail ticket facility, copy and print facility, which are all located near to the back entrance of the HUB.

For Sale - 2 packages for the Olympic Games

August 2nd and 3rd
Package includes:

Thursday 2nd August - 1 nights- accommodation in a twin room near Heathrow Airport.
Thursday 2nd August - Beach Volley Ball 19:00 - 23:00
Friday 3rd August - Athletics 10:00 - 14:00
Oyster Travel Card

Area 'D' Seating
Price £350 each - no offers please contact Nick at the Hub Reception or on 01757 630238/07706047939

Good Food Market

Come down to Market Square on Friday 9th of March 10:00-15:00 to the Good Food Market where you can buy delicious cakes and soup for lunch, local meat and vegetables for the weekend, flour, bread and crafts. A great chance to meet the producers, support local businesses and stock up on good food for the weekend!

People and Planet

As you may know, the university's record on sustainability is poor, both in general and in comparison to other universities- we have no dedicated member of staff, no targets and many promises have not been kept, for example in the development of Hes East.

However, on the 7th of March, the senior management group will be holding a meeting to decide on the university's sustainability strategy, and this is our chance to show them that students want sustainability to be taken much more seriously!

This is an issue which affects everyone at the university, regardless of whether you want more energy efficient accommodation, more water fountains or are just concerned about the university's national standing.

Please sign our petition:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/sustainability-at-york-university/ .

Thank you very much!
People and Planet

That's it for now.
Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

According to a study by customer watchdog Consumer Focus, UK householders expecting a package are routinely left 'Sorry you were out' cards without so much as a knock on the door.

More than half of customers - 55 per cent - claim to have received one of the cards despite being at home when the postman called and nearly a quarter - 23 per cent - say that this has happened at least three times in the past year. Another reason to worship your Porters!

24th February 2012

Dear all,
Thank you to all who came to the Eating Disorders Lecture on Wednesday night. The speaker Katie Cullinane was extremely engaging whilst speaking about her personal experience of an eating disorder which we all agreed was truly inspiring.

Goodricke Gallop

Don't forget it's the Goodricke Gallop this Sunday and there are still a few spaces left since due to popular demand we have increased the size of the coach.

Please e-mail sarah.hay@york.ac.uk if you would like to reserve a place. Please meet at 9am at the lay-by behind Janet Baker and Kenneth Dixon blocks.

Please wear sensible walking footwear (not heels) as it could be muddy. The indoor exhibitions at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park are closed as it is out of season but there is still plenty to see and do outdoors.

Feel free to bring a packed lunch and snacks or you can eat in the indoor caf? where we have a lunchroom reservation between 1pm-2pm.

It takes just over an hour to get there and it is likely that we will leave the park around 2.30pm. The weather is forecast to be mostly dry with bright spells (overcast) so bring something to keep you warm in case it turns cold.

I am really looking forward to it, hope you are too. See you there!

Rosa Yoga

Please note that Rosa Yoga has returned to its usual Tuesday as of next week.

Personal Alarms

If you would like a personal alarm to take out with you at night, please come and collect one from my office.

Short and sweet this week.
If I don't see you on Sunday, have a great weekend.
Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

One out of ten children in Europe are conceived in an IKEA bed

17th February 2012

Dear all,

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to those of you who joined us for

the visit from the Vice Chancellor Brian Cantor on Wednesday. There

was such a great turn out with lots of offers of help and you were all

very positive in promoting Goodricke as a great place to live and as a

supportive college so thank you to you all.

Extra huge praise should also be made to Emily Miller and Megan Cross

for playing the VC with such a fine hand of ping pong, something we all

won?t forget in a hurry!

Onto the news?

Continuing overseas postgraduates ? Accommodation for 2012-13

Continuing overseas postgraduate students are being given another

opportunity to apply for University Accommodation for 2012-13.

The online accommodation system on e:vision will be open to overseas

postgraduates from Monday 27th February 2012 for 7 days.

Details of the room types and colleges available will be published on the

accommodation website shortly.

https://www.york.ac.uk/students/housing-and-

money/accommodation/continuing-students/

If you have any queries regarding this, please do not hesitate to

Accommodation Services

YUSU Find a Housemate Event

Langwith Upper Common Room

In week 6, YUSU is hosting an event to give you more information about

housing and a chance to meet more housemates, whether you've got a

house and need some people to fill it, or whether you're looking to join

with other people.

And in the mean-time, feel free to join the new house-hunting facebook

group at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/102511383208951/

Hope to see you there!

Bob

Goodricke Public Lecture ? Raising awareness of Eating Disorders

Wednesday 22 February 2012, 6.00PM to 8:00pm

Speaker: Miss Katie Cullinane

A public lecture on raising awareness of eating disorders will be delivered

in the Ron Cooke Hub Lakehouse on 22nd February. All students, staff

and members of the public are invited to attend.

A drinks reception at 6pm will precede the lecture.

Location: Ron Cooke Hub Lakehouse

Admission: Free (All welcome)

Postgraduates - Apply now to be a Goodricke College Tutor

Deadline ? Friday 2nd March 2012

Postgraduates are invited to apply for the post of Goodricke College

Tutor for Oliver Sheldon Court for the remainder of this academic year.

Applicants for the role must be a postgraduate at the University of York

when they take up the post.

PLEASE NOTE: applicants must NOT be in their writing up year or

studying for a PGCE.

College Tutors are members of the College Welfare Team. They are

expected to work an average of 15 hours a week for the college. Tutors

are required to live in College accommodation and are provided with a

room in college. Unfortunately no family accommodation is available.

To apply for an application form, please e-mail Sarah Hay, Goodricke

College Administrator (sarah.hay@york.ac.uk). You will also be asked to

send an up to date copy of your CV.

To prepare to complete the application form you should consider the

skills and experiences that you bring to the role of college tutor. You

can submit up to 550 words on "your skills, experience and qualifications

for the post" and "how you will enhance the College System if

appointed." There is also space for any other information you would like

a selection panel to know. Please be aware you are required to provide

details of two referees that can be contacted quickly.

Interviews will be conducted during the week of 12th March 2012.

Please be aware that the successful applicant must complete a one

month probation period before their appointment is officially confirmed

and may need to reapply for their position for the 2012-13 academic

year.

For further information please contact Paul Summers (College Dean) at

paul.summers@york.ac.uk or telephone 01904 322935

JCRC Events

Check out the attached timetable to see what the JCRC have planned

for you this week.

Build a website project

Is there anyone out there interested in building a website for a local

charity? Could it be incorporated into your degree? York Women?s

Counselling Service really need a volunteer(s) to start from scratch and

help to build their profile on-line. If you think you can devote some of

your time to this project, please e-mail sarah.hay@york.ac.uk

Graduation

Graduation Registration

Undergraduate students will be invited to register in anticipation for the

graduation ceremonies. Taught postgraduate and research students will

be invited to register when their award has been processed by the

Examinations Office. Students should complete their on-line registration

no later than 09:00 on Monday 4 June 2012.

Graduation Tickets

Eligible graduands must have paid all outstanding debts and fines owing

to the University by 17.00 on Friday 29 June 2012. Graduands will be

able to collect their graduation guest tickets from the Exhibition Centre

from 07:30 on Wednesday 11 July 2012 when they collect their

academic dress for graduation.

UYCU presents ?Life. Discuss? ? Week 7

Ever wondered about life? Where is life leading me? What does it mean

to truly be alive? And the big one? what?s the meaning of life?

The Christian Union is running a week full of events to help explore what

students at York think *LIFE* is all about. Everyone is welcome to come

along and share what you think with us.

Richard Cunningham is our guest speaker for the week to help lead

discussions, and to help tackle some of those big questions we all face

at points in our lives.

For all the information, please check out and ?like? our facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/UYCU-Events-Week-

2012/384273898254078?ref=ts

Or get in touch at: socs25@york.ac.uk

Absolutely everyone is welcome, so bring your friends, housemates,

course-mates and come to discuss *LIFE* with us.

Thanks York Christian Union

Photography Competition

James College have opened up a Photography Competition to all

colleges. There are 3 categories ? Global, My Life in York and Food to be

judged by the Fiesta public. To enter, send 3 photos to

jamescollegeyork@yahoo.com by Thursday 23rd February.

Cash Prizes in all categories. Rules: www.york.ac.uk/colleges/james

That?s all for this week.

Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

Eating a curry can help ward off dementia. Tests on fruit flies found that

those given curcumin, the key chemical in turmeric, lived 75 per cent

longer. The findings, published in the journal PLoS One, could help

explain why rates of dementia are lower among the elderly in India than

in their Western peers

10th February 2012

Dear all,

I?m sure you are all looking forward to the big RAG parade in the city

centre tomorrow which will raise thousands of pounds for charity, good

luck to you all, I?m sure you will do Goodricke proud! Now, I know I

sound like an annoying parent but PLEASE wrap up warm because it is

literally freezing out there and dressing up in next to nothing in the snow

for hours is potential hyperthermia, so please look after yourselves and

your friends. Cops and Robbers wear hats and gloves so make sure

you?re authentic too! I will look forward to seeing the photos next week,

have fun!

Onto the news for the week;

Sheldon Tutor ? Steve Eyre

It is with deep regret that we are going to be saying goodbye to our

lovely and much worshipped (by his Sheldon residents) Tutor at the

beginning of March. Steve is leaving us to pursue a career change and

we wish him all best for the future. He has been a fantastic Goodricke

College tutor for 3 years and he will be greatly missed by us all here at

Goodricke. I?m sure you will all join us in wishing Steve good luck in his

pursuits; we know you?ll be brilliant!

Find a Housemate Event and Facebook Group

If you're looking for a housemate to fill your house, or a house to join up

with, there are a couple of ways where you can find people!

Firstly, on Friday of week 6 (February 17th) from 6-8pm, there will be a

YUSU Find A Housemate Event in Langwith's Upper JCR (above the

Courtyard), where you can meet other people in a similar situation and

see if you'd like to live together, as well as picking up some more

information about housing and house-hunting! The Facebook event is

here: http://www.facebook.com/events/356780317673214/

Also, in the meantime, there is a Facebook group where you can post

what you are looking for (whether its housemates or the kind of house

you'd like to be in, including your preferred price range), so please join

the group and see who else is out there!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/102511383208951/?notif_t=group_r2j

If you have any other questions, or don't use Facebook, please feel

free to email me at r.hughes@yusu.org, and I can look at trying to set

something up. Also, don't worry if you can't make the event in week 6-

there will be other events coming later in this term and next. Also, for

the event on Friday, feel free to pop in for as long as you need- you

don't need to stay for the full 2 hours. The venue also has a lift by the

Langwith corridor in case of access needs.

Thank you, and I hope to see you there! - Bob Hughes, YUSU Welfare

Officer.

Computer Room available 24/7

Did you know that the huge computer room in LMB/008 is open 24/7 and

is available for you to use. If you find it easier to work somewhere

quiet, this might be an option you may wish to consider.

Heslington Village Sports field

We have been notified that there has been some considerable damage

to the Heslington Village Sports field recently where students from the

University occasionally play rugby.

The sports field isn?t a University sports field and has therefore raised

some complaints from local residents. The field is run by a charity for

the benefit of local people and is open between dawn and dusk for all to

use. The sports pitches can be booked for use for football in the winter

and cricket in the summer.

Please contact Sally Brabyn if you wish to book

(sally.brabyn@york.ac.uk). It may be that the recent damage was not

caused by our students but just in case, please refrain from using the

sports field especially for rugby. Thank you!

Found

A silver necklace pendant was handed in by another student. It is

engraved and looks like it may be of sentimental value to somebody. If

you have lost this item and can identify the engraving, please come and

collect it from the admin office in the Nucleus.

That?s it for now, keep warm and don?t forget to sign up to the

Goodricke Gallop on the 26th Feb!

Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

Wrapping up warm really CAN help stop you catching a cold.

Your granny was right. You can catch a chill from being out in the cold

without your vest on. Staff at the Common Cold Centre in Cardiff took

180 volunteers and asked half of them to keep their bare feet in icy

water for 20 minutes.

They found 29% developed a cold within five days, compared with only

9% in the control group not exposed to a chill.

3rd February 2012

Dear all,

Happy February! The temperatures have dropped below freezing so

make sure you wrap up warm when venturing out and prepare to dig

your wellies out of the back of your wardrobe as I've heard it's due to

snow this weekend.

Whilst it might be cold outside there are lots of activities planned for

you inside so check out what you need to know for this week:

All years can apply for University accommodation

The final year application process has now closed. As there are still

rooms available in your college, I am pleased to inform you that you that

it has been decided to allow single undergraduate students of all years

to apply online for accommodation.

Please note that students who will be on placements for part or all of

the 2012/13 academic year will not be eligible to apply.

If you are due to continue on a full time course in 2012/13, you will

have access to the online application system in e:vision to apply for a

room in Goodricke College from 8.30am Thursday 2 February

Thursday 2 and Friday 3 February ? students will be able to apply for a

room in their own college.

Monday 6 February onwards ? if there are any rooms remaining, all

members of all colleges will be able to apply for rooms in Halifax,

Goodricke, new Langwith and Derwent.

Applications will be ?first come, first served? . If you are able to select a

room, you have been successful and you will receive an offer of that

type of room. All rooms will be for 41 week let length from October to

July.

The application system will be open from 08.30 hours to 16.30 hours

each weekday until there are no rooms left. The system will not be

available at weekends.

Please see https://www.york.ac.uk/students/housing-and-

money/accommodation/continuing-students/ for further information on

the room types, prices etc. available.

Private Sector Accommodation System Opens Today!

The University's Private Sector Accommodation system will open on

Friday 3rd February, to provide information about landlords who have

signed up to our Code of Best Practice.

Please see the Accommodation Services website for further information.

www.accommodation@york.ac.uk

Goodricke Goes Greener

Fancy winning some epic prizes and making your friends GREEN with

envy?! If so, get yourself down to the GCR at 5pm on Wed 8th Feb and

get involved.

We're going to be holding our Eco-Challenge quiz to get you guys

thinking about some of the issues effecting both Goodricke and our

planet as a whole. The most green-savvy team will be whisked off

(literally) for a free dinner in the hub.

We are also asking all flats and houses in Goodricke to come up with the

best workable idea/initiative for either reducing waste or increasing

recycling in Goodricke. The flat that comes up with the best idea

(judged by Derwent FM) will be a massive ?50 Tesco voucher.

We will also be awarding some serious cool ?Bobble? water filtering gym

bottles as spot prizes to 3 lucky Goodrickers.

Free tea/coffee (fair-trade obv), biscuits and other sweet calorific

things ?

Eco love x

30th January 2012

Dear all,

Apologies for the late newsletter, I?m afraid I was confined to my bed

with flu all of last week so I didn?t manage to get your newsletter out

this week but here it is now, better late than never?

Damgood Amsterdam trip!

Goodricke and Langwith hits Amsterdam 15-18th March (last week of

term). Interested? The trip will cost ?125 all in, which includes: travel,

accommodation, drinks deals and bar crawls. It will be an amazing trip

to explore the culture of Holland. We need a good turn out to show

Langwith what we are made of, since they are going to be our new

neighbours.

Tickets are being sold now, if you would like to book, you only need to

put down a deposit of ?40. Go on to www.outgoing.co.uk and type the

search word 'gooddam' and book away! You only have two weeks to

book so ensure you book asap!

Fancy a free ticket to Amsterdam? Well the JCRC are giving away one

free ticket, to be in with a chance book your ticket and if you are the

lucky one we will refund you the cost of the ticket!

Let?s end this term with the ultimate trip in Amsterdam

Social love,

Mason Gurney

Goodricke Public Lecture ? Raising awareness of Eating Disorders

Wednesday 22 February 2012, 6.00PM to 8:00pm

Speaker: Miss Katie Cullinane

A public lecture on raising awareness of eating disorders will be delivered

in the Ron Cooke Hub Lakehouse on 22nd February. All students, staff

and members of the public are invited to attend.

A drinks reception at 6pm will precede the lecture.

Location: Ron Cooke Hub Lakehouse

Admission: Free (All welcome)

Goodricke Gallop ? Sun 26th Feb

Not the Goodricke Gallop - more a cultural crawl"

This term rather than a muddy hike on the moors we are taking a trip to

the Yorkshire Sculpture Park on Sunday 26 February. The coach will

leave at 9am from the lay-by behind Janet Baker Court and return about

5pm.

YSP (http://www.ysp.co.uk/) is a fascinating place with an exciting

range of large sculptures in extensive grounds with a number of small

inside galleries. Well worth a visit.

You are free to wander the grounds as you please but a group of us will

tour the perimeter which takes in a number of sculptures that have been

incorporated into the landscape and the Longside Gallery. The walk is

about 5km and ends back at the centre where there is a cafe,

restaurant and shop. The restaurant has a good menu and some fine

food for a reasonable price (http://www.ysp.co.uk/page/restaurant-

menu/tc).

The grounds can be muddy if it is wet so sensible footwear is

recommended so is a camera.

There is no charge for the trip but a ?5 booking fee is required, this will

be returned on the day (you will lose this if you do not turn up). To

book a place, please contact Sarah Hay in the college office.

Go Green Week

Go Green Week is People & Planet?s annual national week of action on

climate change in from Monday 6th Feb ? Friday 10th Feb 2012. Please

see the following link for a list of the week?s events around campus:

https://www.facebook.com/events/317796174925827/

Into the Woods

Central Hall Musical Society presents 'Into the Woods' by Stephen

Sondheim. Please see the facebook link for more information on the

event: http://www.facebook.com/events/167004856735909/

Thursday 9th Feb ? 7.30pm

Friday 10th Feb - 7.30pm

Saturday 11th Feb ? 2.00pm/Saturday 11th Feb ? 7.30pm

Buy your tickets for ?7 at www.yusu.org/shop

Calling all Scientists!

This Thursday, from 8:30pm onwards in D-Bar TeachFirst will be

organising a gigantic Pub Quiz between all science departments to

determine once and for all which science subject is superior. The event

is open to all students from any science related department (including

psychology, computer science, engineering and any others). If you

fancy testing out what your degree has (or hasn't!) taught you, meeting

some new course mates or just the chance to let off some steam and

have some fun please do come down, it should be a fantastic evening.

For more information please see our facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/events/228666263882199/

If you have a team, please write the name down on the group wall to

make sure you receive the drinks deals.

If you would like to come and be part of a team with your department,

please email york@teachfirst.org.uk to register your interest.

TeachFirst will also be showing their recruitment video at the end, giving

you a chance to learn more about the scheme and perhaps learn about

how you can use post-graduation employment to make a real difference

in children's lives.

The event should be a fantastic evening, with ?50 worth of drinks deals

to be won. If anyone has any questions, or would like to know further

information please email york@teachfirst.org.uk and we will get back to

you asap.

Hope you all have a fantabulous week!

Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

Today is Bubble Wrap Appreciation Day - everyone loves a bit of bubble

wrap.

20th January 2012

Dear all,

Hopefully most of the exams and assessments have been completed and

you can breathe a sigh of relief - Well done!

Apologies in advance as it?s quite a long newsletter today ?

JCRC By-elections

The by-election nominations have closed at midday today and there is a

campaign briefing at 5pm this evening in the JCR.

Hustings will be tomorrow night (Saturday) at 7.30pm in the JCR

Good luck to all those running.

Goodricke & Langwith hosts Chinese New Year

The Chinese year 4710 begins on Jan. 23, 2012. The year of the Dragon!

Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar, with each month

beginning on the darkest day.

New Year festivities traditionally start on the first day of the month and

continue until the fifteenth, when the moon is brightest. In China,

people may take weeks of holiday from work to prepare for and

celebrate the New Year.

Unfortunately that would not be possible in York! :( However, we at

Goodricke and Langwith will be hosting a superbly traditional Chinese

New Year event in the Goodricke JCR, 7:30pm onwards, on the 23rd of

January which is a Monday (week 3)! Do pay a visit to experience the

oriental culture, to meet new people, eat some Chinese nibbles and most

importantly to enjoy the diverse Chinese culture! Everyone is welcome! :)

The colour red has always been associated with happiness and good

fortune in the Chinese Culture. Also it is a symbol of celebration, fire and

has power to ward off evil spirits. So if possible do try to dress up in

red! :D

Students are most welcome to bring any form of food which they would

love to share. They can also bring cards or Chinese board games if

possible to make this evening very eventful and most importantly

authentic! :)

Cantonese:

Gung Hay Fat Choy! (may prosperity be with you)

Mandarin:

Xin Nian Kuai Le! (Happy New Year) :D

Goodricke Gallop ? Yorkshire Sculpture Park

A date for your diary - Sunday 26th February is our next Goodricke

Gallop, an opportunity to blow away some cobwebs and take a walk in

the Yorkshire countryside. This time we are going to the Yorkshire

Sculpture Park which is set to be a brilliant day out. The coach will set

off at 9am from behind Janet Baker block and return around 5pm. To

book your place on the walk, please submit a returnable deposit of ?5

into the admin office where I will add your name to the list.

Help with dissertation please

My name is Alice Stephens and I am a former Goodricke College resident

and third year Sociology student. I am currently writing my dissertation

on the domestic division of labour in shared mixed sex student housing

(Who does the housework/cleaning when there are no obvious gender

roles). I think it is important to represent the views of first year

students in my dissertation as I think living in halls can often be very

different from living in privately rented accommodation.

All names shall be anonymised in my final dissertation and interviews

should take between 10-30 minutes If you are interested in participating

in my study please let me know my email address is as767@york.ac.uk

Thank you.

Calling all Final Year Students

The 2012 National Student Survey is running from 23 January until 30

April 2012.

The survey can be found at www.thestudentsurvey.com Please note:

when you go to the survey you will be asked to put your institution.

Please put 'York'. The University will then be available as an option.

The 'University of York' is not recognised.

If you are a final year full-time or part-time student studying at York

you are eligible to take part. If you are eligible to take part you will be

contacted by Ipsos Mori via email during the early weeks of the survey.

If you have not completed the survey you may later be contacted by

post or ultimately by telephone.

Please complete the survey: your feedback is valued by your

department and the University and is used to inform improvements and

changes to the courses and support services offered by the University.

Please be aware that only a score of 4 or 5 will be counted by the

national survey as indicating satisfaction. A score of 3 (?Neither agree

nor disagree?) is counted as indicating dissatisfaction.

If you do give a score of 3, 2 or 1 we would welcome an explanation in

the open comments so we can make improvements to the course.

For every survey completed the University will donate ?1 to the student

hardship fund.

The results of the survey will be made available from August /

September time on the Unistats website www.unistats.com

Thank you for taking part.

Student Laundry Service

A couple of Goodricke students are exploring the possibility of setting up

a student laundry service and are extremely keen to receive feedback

from you regarding your current laundry habits. It only takes 1min to fill

in!

WashBox - The student laundry service:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RJK7HNZ

Wow, well I think that?s enough from me, well done if you have made it

this far.

Happy New Year to all those celebrating Chinese New Year!

Love

Sarah xxx

Did you know?

There is a legend associated with the celebration of New Year in China.

There was a monster named Nian who used to harass the villagers by

eating their crops, cattle and taking away their kids. The villagers had

no other option but to place food at the entrance to their homes so

that the monster would eat it and go away without harming them. One

day, the villagers realized that the monster was scared of red colour.

So, they adorned their doors and windows with red paper cut outs and

spring scrolls. The villagers also burst crackers to frighten the monster.

Since then, Nian never came again to the village. Hongjun Laozu, a

Taoist monk, was the one who captured the beast later on. Since then,

the Chinese have been celebrating the capture of Nian on their New

Year's Day.

13th January 2012

Dear all,

Welcome back!

It's so good to have you here on campus again. I know many of you have had essays to submit and exams to sit so good luck to all and don't forget our wonderful tutors are here if you need a cuppa and a chat.

So, what news?.

Accommodation Applications 2012/13

Don't forget to make your accommodation applications on the accommodation website from Monday 16th Jan till 20th Jan if you are an international Undergraduate/Postgraduate requiring accommodation on campus next year.

Also, anyone requiring a room due to a medical or additional requirement reason can also apply from Monday 16th till 27th Jan.

Continuing students entering their final year can apply from 23rd Jan.

Chinese New Year Celebrations

The Wentworth Graduate Common Room Committee have organised a Chinese New Year event to take place on Sun 22 January, from 8.30pm in The Edge, Wentworth.

Enjoy traditional Chinese musical instruments & singing and dancing Enjoy fruits, snacks & dumplings

Watch CCTV New Year's Gala

All welcome! This is an important time for friends to get together - you can't miss it!

Ticket price is £3.50 and tickets can be bought online from the GSA: http://www.yorkgsa.org/site/events/chinese-new-year

Tickets are sold on a first come first served basis - hurry, don't miss out!

Toasties

Hi everyone! Just to let you know that toasties will be starting up again this Wednesday (18th). Come along to the GCR and pick up your FREE toastie from 10.30pm till 2am courtesy of the Goodricke Christian Union! Why not stay for a chat afterwards and talk about God? :) lots of Toastie love, Goodricke C.U

GIVE A SPIT, SAVE A LIFE - This Saturday

Marrow, (the student arm of Anthony Nolan) are running a recruitment event in the GCR on Saturday 14th January from 13:00 - 16:00 so come along and GIVE A SPIT!

Every 23 minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer such as leukaemia. For many of these people, their only chance of life isa blood stem cell (or bone marrow) transplant.

Anthony Nolan is a pioneering charity that helps save the lives of people with blood cancer by matching them with potential donors from their register. These potential donors are remarkable people who are willing to give up their time to donate their blood stem cells to help save the life of someone with blood cancer.

It's really simple to join the register and anyone can, so long as they are over 18 and are going to be in the UK for 3 years or more. All you have to do is come along to a recruitment event, fill in a form and then, so long as you pass the medical criteria, spit in a tube. This saliva sample is all that we need, just don't eat, drink anything (even water), smoke or chew gum for 30 minutes before you come along.

The criteria are different from blood donation so even if you've been turned down for giving blood, you may still be able to join.

Good Food Market - Today!

Come down to Market Square on Friday 13th of January 10:00-15:00 to the Good Food Market where you can buy delicious cakes and soup for lunch, local meat and vegetables for the weekend, flour, bread and crafts. A great chance to meet the producers, support local businesses and stock up on good food for the weekend!

That's it from me this week, enjoy your weekend everybody!

Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

Nick Clegg (the leader of the Liberal Democratic party and currently the Deputy Prime Minister of the UK), has a Master's Degree in European studies.

(In fact he has some European connections: He is multilingual, and speaks English, Dutch, French, German, and Spanish. He also spent agap year working as a ski instructor in Austria, and when he was 16 he served a community service sentence in Germany, when on an exchange trip in Munich, he and a friend got drunk and set fire to two greenhouses full of exotic plants.

6th January 2012

Dear all,

Happy New Year to all our Goodricke students!

I hope you all had a fabulous break and are looking forward to starting your next term. It's been too quiet over here so I am looking forward to seeing you all return over the weekend sporting your new Christmas jumpers.

Welfare Outreach

Mel Fox from YUSU is here every Monday from 3-6pm in the meetingroom in the Goodricke Nucleus to give advice and discuss anything student related. Please drop in even just to say hello, I'm sure Mel would love to see a friendly face!

Job Opportunities Available

There may be some job opportunities coming up within college forstudents if you are interested in earning a few extra pennies. If you areinterested, please pop into the admin office and register your interest.

Student Volunteering - feature in Local Link

Are you a student volunteer? Are you enthusiastic about helping others and encouraging others to do so?

Your Local Link magazine is hoping to celebrate National Student Volunteering Week (20-26 of February) by highlighting several students from the University of York and profiling them within our magazine. We'd like to know why you're interested in volunteering, how you got involved, and what projects you're actively supporting.

Please note that we're only looking for students who volunteer in and around York itself, rather than volunteering within the university or for one-off fundraising. We'd like to let all of York's residents realise that students really are doing some brilliant work to make life in York brighter. Don't be modest - we're especially interested in unsung heroes!

If you're interested in talking about your voluntary work and being profiled, please contact Joe Burnham at Joe@Yourlocallink.co.uk or call 01904 767881. If you're chosen to be profiled you'll need to provide a picture for the magazine.

Our deadline is Jan 12th, but (due to time restrictions) we'll put priority on students who contact us earlier.

Enjoy your last couple of days break and I wish you all safe journeys back to college and I will look forward to seeing you soon.

Love Sarah xxx

Did you know?

This week, staff at London zoo are doing an annual stock check of alltheir animals. Apparently there are an estimated 18, 500 animals.