It is time to lose the 5th week blues! Thank goodness for the snow last week because it had been a while since a good ol’ snowball fight. On a brighter note, you can now kick a ball till about 6pm. I hope you are well and haven’t been snowed under with work.

You should also have received your collections.

There are a couple of important events this week.

The entire week is Jolly Johns!!! From 2-6pm, there will be tea, coffee and biscuits in the JCR. Do stop by for a cuppa and a chat.
Nominations for the positions of Access and Equal Opportunities and OUSU officer positions close on Tuesday,12 noon. The nomination form and description of officer roles are attached with this email.
The Careers Advisor will be coming in for a drop-in session on Wednesday, 2 – 5 pm. For more information, email Ruth (jcr-acaffairs@sjc.ox.ac.uk)
The house ballot (groups balloting for a house) is on Thursday at 8:30pm. For all ballots, remember to check your ballot details. Missing your time slot is losing your ballot position.
The Housing and Games Room Forum is on Friday, 5:30pm at the JCR. The JCR room grading system is outdated and needs to be changed. This forum will inform the criteria for room grading and fine tune other aspects of the housing ballot process.

This week’s video was made by some of our students. Simply put. “Hitler + Vac Res” = Hilarious. Check it out! http ://www . youtube . com/watch?v=R9C-tqxc_eo&feature=youtu . be

As always, if you have any questions, suggestions or videos, do not hesitate to contact me..

Best Wishes,

Uche

Happy fourth week!!! I hope you are having a great weekend. Oxford looks so beautiful covered in snow. Please take extra care when you venture outside to prevent any falls, slips and trips to A & E.

There are a number of important notices this week:

· The Bar Quiz is tonight at 8pm. It is a good time to take a break, chill with friends, form a team and show off your knowledge of oxford and Trivia. Better still; join us for a cheeky procrastination pint. More information is available on https://www . facebook . com/groups/156638327783873/#!/events/275603599172834/

· The National Student Survey is still on. This is an opportunity for finalists to give the university opinions on how the Oxford University experience can be improved. You and your answers remain anonymous at all time. For more information, visit http ://www . thestudentsurvey . com/

· There are a number of opportunities to be Representatives and Officers of the JCR. This offers valuable experience for anyone who would like to contribute to the St John’s experience. No previous experience is required and you will be part of a team that will support you every step of the way. More information on officer and rep positions to follow shortly.

This week, I’ve got something cute and funny. http ://www . youtube . com/watch?v=ikTxfIDYx6Q&feature=related

As usual, if you have any questions, suggestions or videos, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Have a great week

Uche

Welcome to Week 2! I hope you are well and that your Week 1 has been good. Tomorrow, the rabbit makes way for the water dragon. I’m talking about the Chinese New Year which begins tomorrow.

A couple of important notices in the bumper package of news bulletins below:

An important message from Helen, JCR Disabilities Action Rep
Welfare Lunch which details the new Welfare Lunch booking system
Academic Feedback Sessions which lists all the Academic feedback sessions this term
Weekly Discount Bulletin

This week, I have two videos to aid procrastination (only a tiny little bit of procrastinating)

A little poke here: http ://www . metacafe . com/watch/410397/dilbert_the_knack/

How many people can you get to play the guitar simultaneously and get a good track too?http ://www . youtube . com/watch?v=d9NF2edxy-M&list=FLvML5jyZnAWoDN3kO7wCc3g&index=3&feature=plpp_video&fb_source=message

As usual, if you have any videos, questions and suggestions, do not hesitate to get in touch.

Have a great week,

Uche

It’s 1st week already! Hopefully, you’ve aced collections and ready to have a cracking term ahead. It was good to see you at the bop last night with many good efforts at recreating Lamb & Flag , Head of the River, Eagle and Child and other Oxford Pubs.

The first JCR meeting of the committee is TONIGHT at 8:30pm in the P & L rooms. There will be plenty of free food so come along, a bit peckish, with lots of love for our JCR.

Here are a few reminders for the week

Guest Dinner Sign Down

Sign down will be Wednesday of 1st week at 6.30pm in the Graves room. Please bring your £5 deposit (cheque OR cash) as well as £5 for each of your guests (up to 3 guests per person) with you to sign down.

Academic Feedback Session
These will be running from 1st Week, subject by subject. These sessions are important to ensure that St John’s has the best academic provision. More information will be provided by me or the senior tutor. Please endeavour to attend.

Here is a treat from Beardy Man with some insane beat boxing. http ://www . youtube . com/watch?v=K7NIxKseRus&list=FL8hbjhfX0GBsgR-u939_5zw&index=31&feature=plpp_video

As always, please get in touch if you have any questions, suggestions and video clips.

Best Wishes,

Uche

Happy New Year 2012!!!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas break and you are feeling relaxed, refreshed and ready for the Hilary 2012. If you missed this, relive the moment we entered 2012 in Olympic style.

http ://www . youtube . com/watch?v=q1yLRK2M8YQ

There are lots of exciting events this Hilary but here are some important reminders:

JCR By-election and Rep ratification
Nominations for JCR Access and Equal Opportunities Officer and the NUS/OUSU officers are already OPEN. Reps will be ratified at the first JCR meeting of Hilary Term will on Sunday 1st Week at 8:30pm. For more information please read the contents below. 

Academic Feedback Session
These will be running from 1st Week, subject by subject. These sessions are important to ensure that St John’s has the best academic provision. More information will be provided by me or the senior tutor. Please endeavour to attend.

Change to Junior Dean Office Hours
They are now from 5:30pm to 6pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Booking forms for events that require decanal permission can be obtained from Lynda Morgan and need to be brought to office hours at least one week before the event.

If you have any event for the JCR Term Card, please email Madeleine Ward (madeleine.ward@sjc.ox.ac.uk) with the details of the event (Date, time and location). Here is a video to set some rhythm for Hilary term.
http ://www . youtube . com/watch?v=t6OeNwrU5_8

Any questions, please feel free to contact me. I hope you have a great start to Hilary 2012.

I look forward to seeing you.

Uche

Interested in getting involved in SJC’s Environment and Ethics debates & events, maybe even sitting on a working party or two?
Do get in touch at jcr-eande@sjc.ox.ac.uk
Ed Love

8th week is upon us! The end of term is approaching and it’s also the last few days of Movember! The JCR Committee and others across College have been taking part, with varying degrees of success! Congratulations to Jack Clift on magnificent epic effort. If you haven’t donated and would like to, there’s still time and info can be found here http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=305971389428602. With a nod to Movember, here’s a collection of some of the more unusual recent news stories… http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/15880129.

With term drawing to a close, please let me know if you have any feedback on the new Library loan period. The term-long loan was changed to a two week loan at the beginning of this term as a result of JCR proposal. There were initial teething problems with the system, but these should now have been overcome. If you have any feedback or thoughts on the new loan period, either critical or positive (or maybe both?), please email me and I will pass them on when I meet with the Librarian.

On a related note, could you please email me if you are the college subject representative for your course committee? These are usually called Joint Consultative Committees (JCCs), but may have a different name or system for your course. I am trying to find out who our college reps are, so that the JCR can support in addressing the concerns in your subject, and better involved course reps in the Academic Feedback sessions which take place in Hilary term.

For all who live in Tommy White, I am keeping in touch with the Estates Manager about the continuing water problems. If you can ensure that any taps are turned off this will speed the plumbers’ work in fixing the pumps if they fail again. The Estates office are looking into a longer term solution, hopefully during this week. In the meantime, they would appreciate our patience and ask that students email works@sjc.ox.ac.uk if there are any problems.

Last but not least, today is the JCR General Committee election! Polling is open in the JCR until 9pm. Directly afterward the Christmas Entz kick off, with cocktails at the Duke of Cambridge at 9pm, and the XXXmas Bop beginning at Freud’s at 10pm! End 2011 on a high with the final evening from our wonderful Entz Officers!

Thanks for reading!

All the best,

David

It’s fifth week! Today is the election for JCR President, with polling running in the JCR (Bar Ex) from 9am – 9pm. Make sure you get your say. Results will be announced by email and at breakfast tomorrow morning. The canidates manifestos are once again attached.

Tuesday evening is the central husts for OUSU elections (see email from Martha for details), and so an electoral them, here’s a summary of the national leaders’ debate.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwgkyJh0yrs.

The penultimate JCR meeting of term took place last night. Decision of the JCR included approving a subsidy for Women’s Dinner, the creation of an Entz Team, and the placing the Housing Ballot as the first of the room ballots next term. Minutes will be online soon.

Have a good week, and get in touch if you’ve got any questions or queries or just want to talk.

All the best,

David

I hope this email finds you well! If you’re looking for a quick distraction, these amazing photos are worth a look http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/15359263.

Below is news from St John’s and beyond this week. Just a couple of things to add from me:

Heating I have been speaking to Ian Stokes, the Estates Manager, regarding College central heating. Heating is now being turned on across the College – there are a few teething issues as it fires up after the summer. If you have issues of central heating not working, please contact the works department at works@sjc.ox.ac.uk. I will be sending out a guide later today regarding reporting persistently cold room and getting battels repayments for use of booster heating.

JCR Meeting – Second meeting of this term is on Sunday evening at 8.30pm. Come along for pizza and democracy! Agenda to follow.

Thanks for reading!

David

First week’s almost over – I hope it’s been a good start to term! As ever, Oxford has kicked off with a bang and there’s already lots going on in and out of St John’s! If you’re a Blackberry aficionado you’ve had some extra stress, so here’s one just for you… www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAG39jKi0lI

We have two brand new DVD Reps, ratified at Sunday’s JCR meeting. Take a look at the new facebook page here www.facebook.com/pages/St-Johns-DVD-Collection/301873383159602?sk=wall, and see which DVDs you’d like to borrow! There are a few DVDs that have gone amiss : Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, The Sweetest Thing, Goodfellas, Walk the Line, Notes on a Scandal, There Will be Blood, Enemy of the State, Pulp Fiction, The Devil Wears Prada, Kill Bill, I-Robot, Casino Royale. Please email Maddy Ward or Amanda Yu if you know where they might be!

Art stores are opening tomorrow! The JCR is privileged to have an extensive art collection, and highlights can seen here sjcjcr.wordpress.com/art. Come along to the Larkin Room at 2pm tomorrow with you Bod Card to reserve your masterpiece!

Ed Love, our Environment and Ethics Officer, has a stock of Magic Whiteboards, which can be yours for £1! They’re A1 size and attach to a wall by static, and provide a handy and paper-free way to record notes etc. If you’d like one, email Ed (edward.love@sjc.ox.ac.uk). In other E&E news, the Buttery will be stocking fairtrade snacks and wine from the start of next week.

Finally, a big plug for the Flashmob described below. This is a chance to take a few minutes to be part of an Oxford-wide statement on a very real issue! It’d be great to have a big John’s group together on Tuesday at 1pm to make an impact against trafficking and slavery!

Have a good weekend, especially if you’re Welsh!

All the best,

David