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Wednesday 31 October 2012

Happy Halloween!

Hey Everyone! : )
Happy Halloweeeeeen! I hope everyone had an awesome Halloween and celebrated in style... I know I did! October was a month of double celebrations for me because I also celebrated my 21st birthday which was absolutely amazing! Thank you to all the lovely people who made my birthday one to remember! I had a great day!
So following on from my last blog (which I admit was some time ago so I apologise for that), I thought I could give you an idea of all the sports you could get involved in at the University of Greenwich, so you can really keep the spirit of the London 2012 Olympics alive! There are a wide range of societies running on all three of our campuses... all you need to do is find the right one!
The Universities at Medway Student Association (UMSA) are responsible for organising all the societies on the Medway campus and provide a great opportunity for students from our university to interact and socialise with others from The university of Kent, Medway School of Pharmacy and Canterbury Christ Church University who are also based at the Medway Campus. The sports societies currently running at Medway include: Athletics, Men's and Women's football, Cricket, Badminton, Hockey, Netball, Mayhem Basketball, Tennis, Table Tennis, Men's Rugby, Volleyball, Carting, Rowing and Swimming (well...I think that's about it so I apologise if I missed any out). Although I do admit I'm not much of a sporty person  myself, I AM a member of the Badminton Society and love playing badminton with my friends and all the other members of the society in the sports hall every Wednesday and Thursday afternoons ( which just shows that there is something for everyone...so no excuses!)
The Student's Union at the University of Greenwich (SUUG) are responsible for organising societies on the Greenwich and Avery Hill campuses and offer an equally impressive range of sports you can take part in. These include: Men's and Women's football, American Football, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Hockey as well as mixed Hockey, Badminton, Netball, Cricket, Men's Rugby, Cheerleading and Snow sports ( I apologise once again if I forgot to mention any others there may be).
Membership for all the societies mentioned above are valid from 1st of September to the 31st of August each year (you can join at any time during the year). Some do require you to pay a small fee towards your membership but there are a few which are completely free to join. And for those of you who are worried that you'll end up paying for a society you might end up hating soooooo much you will stop attending the society for the rest of the year (which I must admit is rare), there are usually a few taster sessions you can attend for free to try out the sport before you actually join! For the sports fanatics amongst us all who are interested in joining a sports society not just for fun, fitness purposes or want something to mention in the extra-curricular section of their CVS/ portfolio, but also want to play on a competitive level, you will all be pleased to know that most of these societies give you the opportunity to try out for the university teams who have matches against other universities on a regular basis.
So what are you waiting for? Visit the UMSA/ SUUG office or website straight away  and join a society today! If you can't quite find the society you are looking for, why not set up a brand new society of your own? The choice is yours! 

Monday 8 October 2012

Hello again


Hi Everyone!

Hope you're all well and have slowly got back into the daily routine of rolling out of bed early in the morning and preparing yourselves for a long day ahead of you. ( I know I have what with all the 9am lectures and late afternoon lab sessions I've been blessed with this year!)

Summer 2012 was one of the best summers I have ever experienced! Although the weather was not exactly as predicted (then again how can we EVER predict the British weather?) and there was a great deal of speculation in the air about whether London could live up to the high expectations of the events set to take place during the summer,  the city proved to be one of the greatest cities in the world and made us Londoners feel proud of where we live!

It all started off with the Queen's historic Diamond Jubilee Celebrations which took place over an extended weekend between the 2nd-5th of June.  The celebrations included the Queen attending the Epsom Derby, communities enjoying the big jubilee lunch, The Thames Diamond Jubilee pageant, The BBC concert in front of Buckingham Palace where a network of 2012 beacons were lit throughout the UK, a service at St Paul's Cathedral, a carriage procession to Buckingham Palace and a flypast to mark the end of the celebrations.  But the celebrations didn't end there...

It was not so later that the summer of sport was officially underway! The annual tennis tournament, Wimbledon, held between the 25th of June- 8th of July  did not disappoint one bit! Though Andy Murray didn't quite manage to clench the gold medal in his epic final against Rodger Federer, we were thrilled that he  was the first British male player to reach the Wimbledon finals for 74 years and that he is now on point to become one of Britain's greatest champions ever! And then it was time for the long and eagerly awaited Olympic games (27th July- 12th August) and Paralympic games ( 29th August -9th September)! With people from all over Britain coming together to work/ volunteer in the games or just enjoy the games with their family and friends, as well as thousands of tourists coming to London to watch the games, the city was thriving like never before! Great Britain came a respectable third place in the Olympic tables with 29 gold medals and amazing talent being displayed across all the sports, including Jessica Enis (hepthalalon gold medallist), Mo Farah (5000m & 10,000m double gold medalist , Andy Murray (Tennis gold Medalist  and Chris Hoy ( Cyclist gold medallist). Great Britain were equally successful in the Paralympics, securing third place again in the tables, winning 34 gold medals in total. Ellie Simonds ( swimming gold medalist , Jonnie Peacock (gold medalist in the men's 100m - T44 Final), David Weir ( 4x gold medalist) and Sarah Storey ( 4x gold medalist) were just a few of the incredible athletes who inspired us all!

And now that it's all over...should we forget about it all and carry on with our daily lives as if it never happened? I truly believe that this year's summer of sport is one never to be forgotten and one which will continue to inspire us for many years to come! 

Monday 1 October 2012

My First Blog!


Hi Everyone!

Having never really done blogging before, I thought this could be one of the new challenges I set for myself this new academic year... so here goes... my first official blog...hope you all enjoy reading it!

I thought I'd start my first blog by just sharing my experience of my first year at the university and giving you newbies some tips on how you can have an amazing first year too! First year at UNIVERSITY may seem quite daunting for some of you...I know I certainly felt that way when I first started, but I can promise that you will certainly find yourself at ease and enjoying every moment of your university life in no time at all! Just remember that all the other first year students are in the same boat as you are and all of the older students in their second, third, fourth ( you get the idea) years, who may seem a little intimidating, are actually really lovely down to earth people, who have all been through the first year too. There are so many people around the university who are more than willing to help, be it your lecturers, student ambassadors, the student support team, or just anyone around on campus... so don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it!

A great way to make friends is to attend the Fresher events that will be running throughout the first two weeks of term. There will be a range of activities and events that will be advertised on the GET website as well as around the university so keep a look out for them! There will also be a chance to sign up for societies at the Freshers Fair, which I thoroughly recommend you do! Last year I signed up for a few, including St John's First Aid Training and Badminton, which was a great way to meet new people and relax after a long day of lectures. Living in halls is also a great way to meet new people and get a real feel for campus life! I was very lucky to have had great flatmates last year and I'm sure you will love halls just as much as I did!

Now time to get serious! Learning at university is totally different to learning at sixth form/colleges and it does require you to work more independently and manage your own time well. Make sure that you stay on top of your work throughout the year. Attend induction week because that's when you will get the all important pieces of information about your course. Make sure you attend all lectures and complete the online tutorials on time. Don't leave bits of coursework until the last minute and most importantly don't be afraid to ask your lecturers for help when you need it. ( Hope I didn't scare you all too much!)

Good Luck!