In the Loop – 21 Apr 2022

Can you believe it the summer term is here! As the Easter holiday comes to a close there is still time to sign up for some summer term courses and activities.

Last chance to book! – these courses are starting very soon…

Art and Textiles courses:

• Acrylics-Absolute Beginners – Tuesday 1pm to 4pm, 5 sessions from 26 April with Mary Kelly
• Dressmaking and Textiles-Intermediates – Tuesday 6.30pm to 9pm, 5 sessions from 26 April with Lorraine Joseph
• Watercolours – Beginners – Wednesday 1pm to 3pm 5 sessions from 27 April with Roma Widger
• Oil Painting-Absolute Beginners – Wednesday 10am to 12.30pm, 5 sessions from 27 April with Warren Sealey
• Drawing Skills – Mixed Ability – Thursday 1pm to 4pm, 5 sessions from 28 April with Jenny Ibrahim
• An Introduction To Drawing And Painting British Birds In Watercolour – Friday 10am to 12.30pm, 5 sessions from 29 April with Andy Gray
• Mixed Media Painting – Thursday 1pm to 3pm, 4 sessions from 5 May with Mary Kelly

Language courses:

• Get by in Italian – Wednesday 1pm to 3pm, 5 sessions from 27 April with Marika Parisi  
• Get by in Spanish on Holiday – Wednesdays 9.45am to 11.45am, 8 sessions from 27 April with Gorka Diaz   
• Brush up your French – Thursdays 10am to 12noon, 6 sessions from 5 May with Magali Vidal
• Get by in French – Thursdays 1pm to 3pm, 6 sessions from 5 May with Magali Vidal
• Spanish Day: Un dia con el cineasta Pedro Almodóvar – Saturday 10am to 3pm, 1 session on 7 May with Gorka Diaz

Plus – Philosophy, Family History, Film Studies, Wellbeing and Photoshop:

• Introduction to Philosophy – Part 3 – Thursday 7pm to 9pm, 10 sessions from 28 April with Leopold Chaligha
• Family History – Stage 1 – Thursdays 2pm to 4pm, 5 sessions from 28 April with Rosemary Caldicott
• Masters Of Neorealism – Friday 1.30pm to 3pm, 5 sessions from 29 April with Davide Ariasso
• Body And Mind Awareness For Better Health – Thursday 10am to 11am, 5 sessions from 28 April with Stella Squadroni
• Get Started with Photoshop Elements – Wednesdays 1pm to 3pm, 5 sessions from 27 April with Carmel Zapata
• Covid changes

As you will know the government are no longer providing free lateral flow tests for covid and social distancing measures are no longer required.

After the Easter break we will be returning our classrooms to their pre covid layouts.  We will continue to have sanitising materials in each classroom and will continue to ensure the rooms are regularly ventilated.  Face coverings are no longer mandatory but are still advised in large groups and where ventilation is limited.  Staff and learners may of course continue to wear masks in the building and for close contact work.  Whilst legal restrictions have been removed, we ask everyone to be mindful of others as we navigate the next phase of the pandemic.

If you have symptoms of covid the NHS advice remains to stay home and avoid contact with other people.   If you believe you have covid (or any infectious illness) please do not come to class.
the latest NHS information on covid can be found here

The return of the tea trolley

Many of you will be pleased to know that after Easter the tea trolley will return to Stoke Lodge!
You will once again be able to grab a drink and a biscuit in your class break.  We don’t do contactless for a cuppa so time to rummage around for those £1 coins if you want to secure a coffee and a custard cream!

Can you help?

We are looking for volunteers to help staff our tea trolley.
Can you sign up to a tea trolley slot? Mornings are 10.30 – 12.00 or afternoons 1.30 – 3.00.  Volunteers will prep the cups biscuits and get all the tea and coffee ready, serve drinks in the foyer and clear up and stack our dishwashers ready for the next slot.

This is a volunteer post but we offer a £20 Adult Learning voucher each ½ term as a thank you for their help.

If you would like to help us please contact stokelodge@bristol.gov.uk or talk to Sam or Maria in the office on 0117 903 8844.

No room for hate

We understand that some far right organisations are distributing leaflets and posters containing some very unpleasant messages of hate – these messages often claim to be patriotic or standing up for Britain and what it means to be British and British culture.
Sometimes these groups make claims about migrants and refugees that just don’t stand up.

This ‘fake news’ can make many of our friends and neighbours feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in our communities or even promote hate and violence.  Vulnerable people can be taken in by the claims and drawn into believing things that just aren’t true.

We all want to be proud of our country, to value our heritage and our culture and to be able to enjoy and share that with our friends and neighbours.  For me this doesn’t mean I need to worry about someone else having a different background and culture to me.  I want to know more about other cultures, I want them to be able to enjoy their values and traditions, to share them with me, and for them to share in mine with me.

With all that is going on in the world right now we really don’t need these campaigns spreading hate, fear, and lots of misinformation.
If you receive a leaflet like this, please let us know by emailing stokelodge@bristol.gov.uk

We will report any information on leaflets like this to our colleagues in the PREVENT team – that’s a combination of the Police, Home Office and Counter Terrorism teams.

I look forward to seeing many of you at Stoke Lodge over the summer months

Kindest regards
Jenny