First stage of Assignment Part 2

     After a successful visit to the National Botanic Garden of Wales, St. Fagans and the Natural History Museum in Cardiff, Carl, Lucy and myself came up with an innovative scientific idea for our second assignment. We have chosen to discover how certain plants can create medicine. We thought it would be an interesting topic and relevant to today's modern world. Whilst getting together at the library, we discovered many of the powerful drugs used in today's modern medicines originated from plants. We wrote down names of some plant-based drugs and I was given the doc leaf and the daffodil. The three of us now has two chosen plants which we will research individually.

Suzie Pugh - design a brand

As a task to be completed over the Easter Holidays, Suzie wanted us to meet as a group to design a brand and advertising poster. Lucy, Sophie and I met up and thought of food as a theme. We then came up with a "fruit and veg store" (grocery) as there's one in every town. This will attract all types of customers and it is open everyday. We decided on the name "FRESH". Each of us took pictures of fruit and vegtables in our kitchens. I'm lucky enough to work in a restaurent so got some awsome images. As I have Photoshop we then came over my house to create the poster. We decided on a green theme as its neutral, then went on to edit the pictures. We thought of slogans such as "let's eat smart" and "best of British" to draw attention. The poster also had the website and address on, which we made up. This is how the poster looked: (sorry poor quality)

Suzie Pugh - sense of place

In this session we got given our assignment title - "sense of place". This confused alot of us as we did not know exactly what the phrase meant. After examples and explanations were given to us by Suzie, most of us had a rough idea what we were going to focus on. I thought of fashion and art, I hopefully will combine both to make a portfolio and final peice. To understand in more detail Suzie gave us a huge sheet of paper, magazines and newspapers. In partners we had to cut out pictures that meant something to us and present it on the board like a collage. Lucy and I's collage consisted of pictures of holidays (beaches), cupcakes (making cakes with Gran) and the Welsh flag.

Suzie Pugh - objects of significance

In this seminar we had to bring in objects that showed specific significance in our lives. We had to bring in 3-5 objects, then get into groups of 3 and explain what they meant to us. After discussing we then had to pick 1 object and explain again in detail to the whole class. I picked my cars keys as I had my car for my 17th birthday. I received it off my parents and it was the best gift anyone could have ever given me! It has made me feel independant and more of an adult. Other people's included photographs, charm brakelets and a lot more crazy things. The stories behind the objects were very interesting and touching.

Steve Gullick (guest speaker) ASSIGNMENT

On the 6^th Feb 2012, Steve Gullick a previous Head Master came in to give us a lecture on Governors. Mr.Gullick explained that there are 23,000 Governors in Wales today. The majority are white, middle-aged and belong to a middle-class family.

     There are four types of Governing bodies:

·         The abdicators – these tend to believe that you should leave the work to the professionals such as the Head.

·         The adversaries – these visit the school often and keep a very close eye on all aspects of the school.

·         The supporters club – these offer advice and support the head.

·         The partners – these are the best Governors, they share everything good and bad by working in partnership with the head and staff.

Governors have many roles. The must meet up adleast 3 times a year to discuss results and plans for the school. The governing body is usually made up of parents of pupils, LEA (local education authority), teachers, other staff, community and the Head. A major duty the group have, is to employ staff. Governors interview employees and decide as a group who they will take on. They also decide whether or not to exclude pupils. The Governors approve the school budget, the more pupils in the school the money coming in. Mr.Gullick told us from experience that the Head Teachers cannot stop inspectors or Governors from coming into the school at any time. After explaining his perceptions on Governors, Mr.Gullick gave us a hand sheet with more in depth details. I now know that Governors:

1.    Conduct the school to promote high standards of educational achievement

2.    Set appropriate school targets for pupil achievement at Key Stage 2, 3 and 4

3.    Managing the schools budget – this includes staff pay

4.    Making sure that the National Curriculum is being taught

5.    Participating in the appointment of the head teacher and deputy head teachers and other staff and regulating staff conduct and discipline

6.    Finally drawing up an action plan after an inspection.

Mr.Gullick then gave us real world examples of Government Statements that he had heard.

“I expect local authorities to participate in consortia arrangements, including shared consortium services, or suffer financial penalties.”

Leighton Andrews, Written Welsh Government statement, 2^nd Feb 2011.

Mr.Gullick explained to us the contact between the school governors and the teaching staff. The only way both will meet each other is through job interviews, informal visits to schools and celebrations such as school concerts and productions. Some staff will see Governors at governing body meetings and staff disciplinary meetings. This means Governors have seen evidence of poor teaching, therefore will arrange training courses to progress.

     I thoroughly enjoyed Steve Gullicks talk on Governors, as my mum was a Governor in my Primary it is interesting to see exactly what they did and what they have achieved at my time in the school.



Ken Jones (guest speaker) 9/1/12

    

Ken Jones came into our lecture to talk to us about education today. Mr.Jones  gave us some background knowledge of education. He told us that Leighton Andrews is the current Minister for Education in Wales. Today in education international tests are run called “PISA’s” these were brought out in 2006 to compare results throughout schools.

“The PISA results confirm that we have made progress across the board”

The Welsh Assembly

Today there are PLC’s these are Professional Learning Communities. They bring teachers together and focus on specific challenges.

Graham Allen (guest speaker) ASSINGMENT

    On the 21^st February 2012, Graham Allen the Environmental Manager at SMU came into our lecture to talk to us about “Education for sustainable development.” As I did Geography at A level this particularly interested me as I had learnt about sustainability last year at college.

    Mr. Allen gave us a quote from Kofi Annan. It read:

"Our biggest challenge in this new century is to take an idea that seems abstract –   sustainable development - and turn it into a reality for all the world's people".

Kofi Annan is a diplomat, the “Kofi Annan Foundation works to promote better global governance and strengthen the capacities of people and countries to achieve a fairer, more secure world.” (http://kofiannanfoundation.org/)

    Mr. Allen explained that there are 300 definitions of sustainable development. Which quotes are accurate we ask ourselves? The most commonly quote however is from Gro Harlem Bruntland. Bruntland is the Director General of the World Health Organisation. In 1987, he said:

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

After showing us many quotes from very important people and what they meant to him, Mr. Allen went on to tell us what Universities should be doing to help the environment. To improve he explained we should come together to make target goals and commitment. By doing this we all need responsibilities and effective communication so we can share our learning and knowledge. We should then monitor systems to access and report progress.

    As many think the rise in the worlds population is a bad think for pollution there are many benefits of growth:

·         More people = More companies = Creates employment

·         Better goals = Higher incomes

·         Hopefully a decrease in poverty as the world is getting richer

Today The National Assembly for Wales has a duty under section 121 of the government of Wales Act 1988 to promote Sustainable Development in the exercise of its functions, that is, in everything it does. This includes recycling, re-using and reducing! This is something I learnt in my Primary School. By learning this at a young age I understood the environmental problems and wanted to take action. “Action is our only hope.” (Allen)

I thourghly enjoyed Mr. Allens lecture and thought it was very relevant to today's society. It has made me want to do more in order to help the environment to tommorrows generation!