Wear your poppy with pride

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.

This year marks the 93rd Armistice Day, where we can take time to reflect on those brave men and women who fought for our country, in previous wars and in current conflicts. Here at The ClementJames Centre our primary students paid their respects by creating poems which were enclosed in poppies they had decorated. They also had group discussions about Remembrance Day and its significance.  The staff and students respected a two minute silence at 11am.  

As Winston Churchill said

“Never was so much owed by so many to so few’’

KAO comes to visit!

This week we had members of KAO Brands cosmetics’ company come to visit The ClementJames Centre. With the help of The ClementJames Centre staff, they ran a Business Skills day for 36 school students, giving them an insight into the cosmetics industry. The students from Sion Manning and St Charles College had the opportunity to get a unique inside look at the way things are run!

The students were introduced to an industry that they admittedly loved, but didn’t know a whole lot about. The tasks of the day allowed them to gain an understanding of the complex nature of a large popular cosmetic company. The project consisted of workshops in Marketing, Sales, Finance and Supply.  There was also a Dragon’s Den Style competition, where teams of eight designed a future John Frieda product which they had to pitch to a panel of judges (Scary Stuff!). The day was a huge success with many of the students gaining valuable skills.

This project is proof that actions do speak volumes. Large companies are often more keen to donate money to charities rather than offer their time. Although donations are hugely important, their time is priceless and can offer our students a wonderful insight and experience. Let’s hope more companies follow in the footsteps of KAO!    

I’ve got 99 problems and society is one…

There is a growing animosity between young people and the government which is evident in the recent student protests and London riots. Young people feel as though their opinions are ignored… well this is all about to change!

A new initiative aimed at bridging the gap between young people and politics has emerged and it’s not for the conventional!  The government has teamed up with SB.TV to help generate debate about current issues and allow young people to relate to them through the expression of RAP! (yes I said rap… it’s not a typo!)   

SB.TV was found by Jamal Edwards in 2007 when he was sixteen and started filming London rappers freestyling on the street, and now he has filmed the likes of Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars. His site has now racked up an impressive 50,000 subscribers and a total of 39 million video views. So establishing a partnership between the government and a SB.TV was ingenious and allowed the creation of a bridge between the two.    

It allows society to hear the complex opinions young people have towards issues in todays’ society. It gives them a voice, a voice that can be heard. Many young people in today’s society feel excluded and that they are used as scapegoats for a multitude of problems. This new initiative allows them to challenge those stereotypes as it sees the discussion of many topical issues.  One debate was particularly informative. It discussed in depth the issue of whether young people respect society. The debate was heated and convincingly presented both sides of the argument. It demonstrates that young people have opinions on current issues and they are worth listening to.

It highlighted the fact that young people view authority as a good thing and a bad thing. According to the youth of today the way authority is viewed is very dependent on the way it is presented. Young people are keen to emphasize the point that they will respect society if society RESPECTS THEM. Young people need to be given more opportunities like this to express their views, not only that they need people to sit up and listen to them!