Halls life newsletter 4

Good bye and good luck!Another year has past and it’s time to say farewell to all residents in our halls. We hope you had a fantastic time at both Middlesex University and your accommodation hall. For those of you returning home, we wish you a safe trip and hope you enjoyed your stay in London. For those of you who

are staying in London, we wish you great success in your next endeavours and hope that you enjoy the summer and come back to university refreshed for the new academic year.

To those of you who are graduating this year, we wish you good luck in your future careers.

it’s study timeThis is a very busy period - you all have assessment submissions to prepare, revision to complete and need your sleep so that you can be at your best for exams taking place soon. We encourage you all to respect your fellow students’ right to occupy their accommodation in peace and without undue external distractions. This includes loud noises, music, shouting and general inconsiderate behaviour especially after 11pm at night. A peaceful flat and halls of residence will enable you all to study hard and achieve your best academic results without interruption. Should you be experiencing problems with noise nuisance, please do not hesitate to contact your local halls office.

SShhhhh!

End of year

parrrrrty!!! We want to say farewell to you all in style. So for one last treat before you go, we will be throwing a party at each of the halls for you, the residents. There will be food, soft drinks and music. So why not join us, for one last party before you go? Oh and its free by the way!

Ask at your local halls office for more information, posters will be up around your halls closer to the time.

DepartureS Survey

Halls Life

We try not to repeat ourselves too often in the Halls life newsletter, but fire safety is one thing we don’t mind going on about.We have had a few more small kitchen fires since the last newsletter, so for those of you who missed the information we included in the last edition here it is again.

How to cook safelyThere are several things you can do to prevent fires in the kitchen. Make sure you don’t get distracted when you are cooking, and:

• take pans off the heat or turn the heat down if you’re called away from the cooker, e.g. by a phone call

• take care if you’re wearing loose clothing as it can catch fire easily

• don’t cook if you have been drinking alcohol or taken prescription drugs - you may get drowsy or lose concentration

Safety!

Video message for next

years residents

Would you like to pass on some useful

information or share your experiences

with next years residents?

Well, we have the perfect opportunity for you! We need some

current residents to take part in a video message to be added

to next year’s e-induction.

It won’t take long, and we can do all of the filming. So go on,

get involved.

For your time, we will give you a £50 voucher for any shop of

your choice.

Contact Ewan McLeod for more information

[email protected]

Looking for accommodation for 2013-14 academic year?We still have rooms available at our halls in Wood Green and Enfield for the next academic year. For any information, or to reserve a room for next year please contact the accommodation offices.

Our halls staff will be more than happy to assist should you like to visit either of our halls and view the study rooms and facilities.

Wood Green Hall£134.89 per week standard, and £140.00 per week for self contained flats 020 8888 1596 [email protected]

Robbins Hall£129.99 per week ensuite 020 8804 4402 [email protected]

Need accommodation

for the summer?

Rooms are available over the

summer period at the

following halls:

Wood Green Halls: from £25 pppn inc VAT

Robbins Halls: from £25 pppn inc VAT

Ivy Hall: £121.10 for ensuite and

£111.30 for standard

(apply on Unihub)

2 Halls Life

Every year, thousands of Hindus participate in the festival Holi. The festival has many purposes. First and foremost, it celebrates the beginning of the new season, spring. Originally, it was a festival that commemorated good harvests and the fertile land. Hindus believe it is a time of enjoying spring’s abundant colours and saying farewell to winter. It also has a religious purpose, commemorating events present in Hindu mythology. Although it is the least religious holiday, it is

probably one of the most exhilarating ones in existence. During this event, participants throw coloured powder at each other, and celebrate wildly.

Some of the residents of Platt and Usher Halls held their own Holi celebrations, and some Viridian staff got involved too. Luckily the powder came off easily and didn’t stain!

Holi (Festival of Colours)

celebrations

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Sending your belongings homeIf you have been in the UK for a long time, you probably have more things now than you could carry on a plane or other form of transport. Check with the travel agent or airline about weight or size limits for luggage. Paying for excess luggage on the plane can be very expensive. Sending it by ship or by rail is often cheaper, but be careful to choose a company which has a good reputation and is reliable. Ask friends or your student adviser for suggestions; or consult the British Association

of Removers [www.bar.co.uk] or the British International Freight Association [www.bifa.org]. Check if the price includes insurance to cover any loss or breakages. If you have items you do not need or do not want to take home, such as furniture, textbooks, or a computer, you could sell these to other students, or in the local newspaper; or give them to a local charity shop. (You can find a list of charity shops in the local telephone directory).

Margaret Hilda Roberts was born on 13 October 1925 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, the daughter of a grocer. She went to Oxford University and then became a research chemist, retraining to become a barrister in 1954. In 1951, she married Denis Thatcher, a wealthy businessman, with whom she had two children.

Early political careerThatcher became a Conservative member of parliament for Finchley in North London in 1959, serving as its MP until 1992. Her first parliamentary post was junior minister for pensions in Harold Macmillan’s government. From 1964 to 1970, when Labour were in power, she served in a number of positions in Edward Heath’s shadow cabinet. Heath became prime minister in 1970 and Thatcher was appointed secretary for education.

LeadershipAfter the Conservatives were defeated in 1974, Thatcher challenged Heath for the leadership of the party and, to the surprise of many, won. In the 1979 general election, the Conservatives came to power and Thatcher became prime minister.

She was an advocate of privatising state-owned industries and utilities, reforming trade unions, lowering taxes and reducing social expenditure across the board. Thatcher’s policies succeeded in reducing inflation, but unemployment dramatically increased during her years in power.

The EightiesVictory in the Falklands War in 1982 and a divided opposition helped Thatcher win a landslide victory in the 1983 general election. In 1984, she narrowly escaped death when the IRA planted a bomb at the Conservative party conference in Brighton.

In foreign affairs, Thatcher cultivated a close political and personal relationship with US president Ronald Reagan, based on a common mistrust of communism, combined with free-market economic ideology. Thatcher was nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady’ by the Soviets. She warmly welcomed the rise of reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

In the 1987 general election, Thatcher won an unprecedented third term in office. But controversial policies, including the poll tax and her opposition to any closer integration with Europe, produced divisions within the Conservative Party which led to a leadership challenge. In November 1990, she agreed to resign and was succeeded as party leader and prime minister by John Major.

The end of an eraIn 1992, Thatcher left the House of Commons. She was appointed a peeress in the House of Lords with the title of Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven and continued giving speeches and lectures across the world. She also founded the Thatcher Foundation, which aimed to advance the cause of political and economic freedom, particularly in the newly liberated countries of central and eastern Europe. In 1995 she became a member of the Order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood in England.

In 2002, after a series of minor strokes, Baroness Thatcher retired from public speaking. She died of a stroke on April 8, 2013, at the age of 87.

Margaret Thatcher

4 Halls Life

private rented accommodation?Do you need to start looking for privately rented accommodation for next year? If so have a look at our interactive accommodation search and message board facilities and estate/letting agents list on Middlesexstudentpad. You can access the site through http://unihub.mdx.ac.uk/campus/acco/pra/index.aspx or www.middlesexstudentpad.co.uk.

Email us at email [email protected] or phone 020 8411 5068 if you have any queries.

Moving out check listYou should arrange to leave your room no later than 10am on 1st July 2013.Before you leave, please check you have done the following:

1. Stripped your bed completely (including the mattress cover) leaving the linen folded on the bed. The following items should be left on your bed:

• 1 duvet

• 1 duvet cover

• 1 sheet

• 2 pillows

• 2 pillow cases

• 1 mattress cover

Please note, we will charge you for any missing or unusable items.

2. Emptied any wardrobes and drawers of all items.

3. Removed all your personal belongings from your room, bathroom, kitchen and corridor. This includes food from the fridge and freezer. (Please donate any unwanted non-perishable food, electrical items and clothing to charity)

4. Removed all posters/pictures and cleaned off any blu-tac without damaging the paintwork.

5. Cleaned your room, bathroom and kitchen.

6. Removed any extra furniture from your rooms or kitchens (e.g. fridges/microwaves) and ensure that they are disposed of away from the halls.

We will charge you any costs incurred if we have to do this on your behalf.

7. Removed all rubbish and taken it to the bin/recycling areas.

8. Leave your room as you found it when you moved in (e.g. bed should be along the wall).

9. Finally, please close your bedroom window and lock your bedroom door.

Returning your keys and return of your depositYou must return your keys to the local hall office – staff and security officers are available to take your keys at any time, night or day. Please do not give your keys to a friend or flat mate to return for you in case they forget or lose your keys.

We will ask you to sign for their return and give you a receipt for your keys.

We will charge you for any broken or missing keys. If you do not return your keys you will lose your £200 deposit so this is very important!

At the end of your contract after you have returned your keys, it will take four to six weeks to process the return of your caution deposit. If you do not receive your refund after this time, you will need to contact the MDX accommodation team to see if your student record has been updated with your departure. If necessary you will be referred to the student income team to check on the status of your deposit.

room checksWe will be checking your room/flat on 1st July 2013. We would like to remind you that any loss/damage to the property or any additional cleaning costs will result in deductions being made from your deposit.

This includes damage/cleaning to communal areas. Anything left in your room or communal areas will be treated as unwanted rubbish and removed.We are unable to store any items so please make sure you take all your belongings with you when you leave.

Redirecting your postWe will forward your post for up to one month provided you leave plenty of stamped addressed envelopes (SAE) with us before you go. Post received after the month or for anyone who has not left envelopes will be returned to the sender, so please leave a good supply of SAE so we can help you to receive any of your post delivered in halls.

5 Halls Life

Any questions?If you have any questions about any of the information outlined in this newsletter please

see a member of your local halls team, we will be happy to answer any questions you may have. We suggest you start your move out preparations now, as it will make things

easier when you leave. Tasks such as redirecting your mail and disposing of unwanted furniture and appliances can be started now so that you are prepared when you move

out. You also don’t risk losing any mail or being charged for removal of unwanted items.

We asked... ...you answeredWe were delighted with the results of our mid year survey and thought

we would share them with you.

How was the level of service provided by IT Helpdesk?

95.2% of responses were very satisfied, satisfied or neutral

How did you find the overall service provided by the cleaning team?


How did you find the overall service provided by the maintenance team?


How did you find the overall service provided by the security team?

94.9% of responses stated that they felt safe in halls

How did you find the overall service provided by the local

accommodation office team?


Did you enjoy your stay?


Did you feel safe when staying in the hall?

91.6% of responses stated that they felt safe in halls

How would you rate your overall halls of

residence experience?


6 Halls Life

Halls life newsletter 4

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