We hope you’re enjoying your Bank Holiday (and kudos for reading this on publication day if that’s correct!). This fortnight, our closure day has overlapped with a day where our friends and families are more likely than usual to have no work planned, so I’m sure I can speak on behalf of the Student Hubs team when I say we’re certainly enjoying ourselves! We have had a busy month wrapping up term two across our Hubs – there’s lots to reflect on and celebrate.
big challenges bring big rewards!
Southampton Hub volunteers worked closely with Bitterne Park School Behavioural Unit this semester to help the young people in this school connect with their work in a more holistic way. The volunteers said that working with this school was one of the biggest challenges they faced this year but Schools Plus volunteers, and committee members for Invent Plus and Inspire, Debate, Change, all said whilst they had to adapt their programme working with these students was the most rewarding. One of the teachers at Bitterne Park reflected how fantastic it was to see young people who aren’t usually interested in engaging with traditional school systems taking part in lessons and activities because of our brilliant volunteers. We aim to be back in some ways next semester and are sparking new ideas on how we can work together moving forward next year!
Connecting to nature
If you’ve been keeping a close eye on our social media channels, you’ll know that last week the Student Hubs team took part in our first Nature Connection Week. The Sustainability team planned this to coincide with the start of Spring, and we took part in an activity each day to connect us with nature. The most popular activity by far was designing a postcard, which was shared with another member of the team at the end of the week, showing a natural space that holds importance to us. On the reverse, we wrote a couple of paragraphs about why we feel connected to this space with the aim of transporting someone else there for a couple of minutes. We got to share our favourite places and learn about everyone else’s – we’d highly recommend trying this out with friends, family or colleagues!
It was a wonderful reminder that nature is more than just a backdrop to lots of lovely memories: it is a meaningful part of our lives – it triggers emotions and represents a larger world that we are part of. If you’d like to learn more about connecting to nature, have a look through the University of Derby’s research on pathways to nature connection.
We’re going on an egg hunt..!
Well – actually – we have already been on one… Last Saturday was a fantastic success in Southampton as we hosted our Easter Branch Up. The young people of Branch Up loved getting involved with solving clues and riddles in the morning that would take them to a beautifully decorated second Easter egg with an activity on the back.
Once they completed the challenge they’d find another egg… Great problem solving from the children and fun and adventure was had despite the rain coming down right at the end!
In the afternoon they made Easter baskets, Easter masks and decorated eggs as well as making chocolate nest cakes from rice crispies. There was an absolute sugar overload as each team was rewarded for the earlier egg hunting with lots of chocolatey goodness. What a way to end a fantastic day!
In the spotlight
March’s spotlight is on Southampton’s new Hub Manager, Kate! We are very excited that Kate has joined the team this month and we’re sure she is going to do some fantastic work. Hear from Kate in her own words below:
My career path so far has been a mixture of working in University Widening Participation and charitable organisations. Most recently, I was a Project Coordinator for the Southern Universities Network. I am passionate about making a difference to people in the community on a local and national scale. Therefore, I am thrilled to be joining the Student Hubs team.
I have an academic background in Education. My undergraduate degree was a BA(Hons) in Education Studies (Special and Inclusive Education) from the University of Winchester. I recently graduated from the University of Oxford with an MSc in Education (Higher Education). My research focus has been ‘Post-Incarceration Experiences of HE: New Perspectives on Inclusion’. I truly believe that knowledge is power, particularly regarding understanding individuals’ various lived experiences which can support addressing the most prevalent social issues.
Volunteering has been embedded in my life from a young age. As a teenager, I volunteered in schools to help children with their reading comprehension which was the catalyst for my volunteering journey in the education sector. I have been a governor at my local infant school for the past two and a half years. My governor roles mainly focus on student voice, student and staff wellbeing and safeguarding. I obtained the position of Vice-Chair at the beginning of this academic year.
I live just outside of Southampton in a small market town. I love to spend my time in the beautiful countryside taking my dog on long walks. I also caught the running bug at the beginning of this year, I am looking forward to running the Oxford Town and Gown race and Race 4 Life in May.
If you’d like to say hello to Kate, you can reach her on manager@southamptonhub.org.
What to look out for
hub book club
Our next meeting is on April 8th at 7pm – we’ll be discussing Bread For All by Chris Renwick. If you’d like to join the discussion you can Register Your Interest on our Alumni page, or email Amy at amy.bond@studenthubs.org, and we will be in touch with joining instructions. If you don’t have time to read the book by the 8th – fear not! Our next book has been decided, and in May you will be very welcome to join us in reading Women, Race and Class by Angela Y Davis.
Paid alumni opportunity
Write for us! We want to showcase your thoughts and ideas on our blog, and are currently seeking proposals which explore actions that we can take to be active citizens. If you’re interested, register your interest via the link in our bio or airtable.com/appzS1VCkMwZIMbK1/shrDUcqYad0itZIiI, and a member of the team will be in touch to discuss your ideas. We pay £40 per blog as we know how much work goes into writing wonderful copy!