Dean Stewart joined the Tourism programme at the Dunedin Community Colllege in 2007,
leaving the College at the end of the year he moved to work in Queenstown. Currently
Dean is the General Manager for the 'Barmuda Group' comprising of three top bars in the area,
Barmuda, Minibar and Barup.  Dean popped in to visit us in April when he was in Dunedin
representing Queenstown Bar Owners/Managers in the High Court to appeal the new Liquor
Licensing Law. 

Dean with Tourism tutor, Lesley

The Bermuda Group have had great success in the cocktail making comptetitions recently
held in Queenstown.  We congratulate Dean on his achievements and hope his career
continues to go from strength to strength.

December 2007 saw Southland Community College hold their Gala Day, fundraising
for the Cancer Society's Relay for Life.  The event was held in Wachner Place in the
heart of Invercargill's CBD.

Caregiving students enjoying the day

Students and tutors really got into the spirit of things with each course contributing
their skills and talents. This included a sausage sizzle from Cookery, a cake stall
from Cafe Culture and hair ups and manicures from Hairdressing. 

Hairdressing at work

Work 'N It Out, Community College's transition to work service for school leavers
joined in with their own second-hand stall.


The Work'N It Out team

With a seasonal theme, staff dressed up as Mr and Mrs Claus with the odd elf
thrown into the mix!

College Recruitment and Support Coordinator, Christine Brown

Enthusiasm and effort paid off with just under $3,000 raised for Southland
Cancer Society from the Gala and from previous fundraising events run by
Southland Community College.  As Christine say's,
"events like this demonstrate why we have Community as our middle name".

Ho-ho-ho!   College tutors, Fiona and Nic.

Lucy Dunn is taking over the Systems Support role from Kristie,
who is leaving to have a baby. Lucy has a background in administration
and has spent the past five years working as both a support person and
employment consultant in the field of mental health.  She is originally from
the UK, moving to NZ 11 years ago.

The recent review of Comcol’s Strategic Plan, originally devised in July 2006,
saw Tony, Doug, Sue and Beryl hit the road in September to participate in
Strategic Planning Days with the staff from each of our five sites.

In preparation, the day prior to their arrival, each College conducted their
own planning session, pooling ideas for feedback to the visiting team.
Staff had the opportunity to give their perspective in reviewing the Plan's
goals and objectives with a focus on SWOT analysis, community engagement
and stakeholder needs. This was a constructive precursor for the following
day’s session which,in addition to expanding on these areas, also included
a review of tertiary reforms, their impact on the Colleges, advances in the
quality audit and the purpose and process of strategic plans. The latter led
us to consider the “Purple Cow” concept – what makes Comcol stand out
from a herd of black and white Friesians?

The Roadshow has proved to be a worthwhile event and a valuable
opportunity to engage with our talented and thoughtful college staff.

In October, the College Council will meet to consider the revised
Strategic Plan which continues to be a work in progress.

As part of our ongoing commitment to quality improvement, the ComCol Service
Centre conducted an Internal Quality Check of each individual college which
took place over April and May.

Three major areas were checked - Management, Delivery and Assessment and
Administration.

Over all five Colleges we found that all had their own uniqueness, strengths
and individuality, yet still expressed the core values and vision the Community
Colleges Network aim for.

Overall, we were happy with the result, but offered ideas and recommendations
to further improve our systems and procedures.

On the whole we feel our systems to achieve our goals and objectives stand
strong.  This gives us confidence for another positive NZQA audit in 2008.

A Celebration of General Manager's 20th Year with Company

Doug Reid - General Manager of Community Colleges New Zealand has just
celebrated 20 years with the company. Doug started at the Christchurch Academy
in 1987, which later split into two companies.  Now based in Rangiora, Doug
oversees five Colleges in the South Island. A celebration dinner was held on
Thursday night with staff organising songs, games, and presentations that went
well into the night.

When pressed for comment he said "Twenty years might seem like a long time to
be in one place, and it would be if things didn't constantly change. Since the
beginning I have been attracted by the simple approach of assisting people gain
practical skills.  The daily challenge lies in cutting through the constant
complications put up by our partners (government and other), our students and
ourselves to try to keep things simple. I think we are almost there"

From left: Adelaide (Doug's daughter), Lizzie (Doug's wife) Tony Hall (Director

CCNZ) Doug, Geordie (Doug's son) & Hugo (Doug's son)

The Managers singing "Doug's our Man"

Doug sporting his new bee-keeping overalls - in which all 80 staff members
signed.

CONGRATULATIONS ON 20 YEARS!!!!

At the end of April, Core Skills tutors from Southland through to Marlborough
got together in North Canterbury for a 2 day workshop. Sue Brookes from the
Comcol Support Office facilitated the event.  They covered areas of assessment,
moderation, shared resources, explored ways of motivating students discovered
horse riding, and most importantly networked with each other.

Sue said "It was a very productive workshop with everyone leaving with new
ideas".  Geoff from Dunedin Community College said "We've all had a ball, I
wish we could have these workshops more often".

According to Doug Reid (General Manager) "These worskhops are excellent.  It’s
great to see tutors from all colleges working together.  Congratulations to Sue
for her innovation & energy and making it all happen!"

Below are some photos of the tutors on horses.  The Equine students worked with
the tutors one on one.

Geoff - Dunedin ComCol

Daina - Marlborough ComCol

Sue - Facilitator ComCol

Bronnie - Southland ComCol

Sally - South Canterbury ComCol

Danny - North Canterbury ComCol

Staff of Dunedin and Southland Community Colleges met at the beautiful setting
of the Greenpark Scout grounds near Balclutha recently for a day of
professional development under the guidance of Eric Schusser, well-known
coordinator of Project Adventure Training.  They undertook a range of mainly
practical and problem solving activities with theoretical and de-brief sessions
providing the staff with the reason and focus behind the activities.  Southland
Community College manager Beryl Wilcox says the tutors gained a lot of value
from the day. "The aim of the professional development day was to provide staff
with experiential learning relevant to the courses and activities we offer at
College.  They brought back a number of new ideas from the course which are now
being applied to their teaching, and communicated to the students."  Both
Beryl, and Dunedin Community College manager Dawn Williams agree the
interaction between the colleges was particularly valuable.  "Our staff gained
a lot from joining with the Southland team, and also enjoyed the opportunity to
bond as a group on the journey down." Dawn says Dunedin Community College has
also "enthusiastically" applied the ideas learned during the day, to their
courses.  "It was a fun day that both reinvigorated the staff, and reinforced
the importance of our kinaesthetic learning principles."