From the Headmaster

It has been wonderful to see the smiling faces of our students and staff as we return to classes for Term Three. While Term Two was a learning curve for many, it was also a time where the true Somerset spirit shone brightly.

Our students, staff and parents have successfully navigated Somerset@Home and learnt much about ourselves and each other and have learnt and exhibited so many fantastic 21st Century skills during this time.

In this week’s Somerset Times I would normally report on the success of Founders’ Day which was scheduled for Friday 17 July and due to COVID-19 was postponed. While COVID-19 has dictated the cancellation of many of our treasured events, there were some that refused to be corona affected! In true Somerset style we will find a way to celebrate some of those events as best we can:

• Inter-House Athletics Carnivals concluded this week with the Senior School completing their events on Wednesday and the Years 3 to 6 students finishing on Thursday. Congratulations to Starkey in the Senior School, and Veivers in the Junior School. The Bassingthwaighte Cup was won by Veivers House.
• The main event, the Olympians of 2040, the Pre-Prep to Year 2, will break all egg and spoon records next Tuesday. Congratulations to Ms Lisa Thomson and the Information Technologies team for the live streaming, a world first!
• The Inter-House Rowing Regatta will be held on Saturday 25 July at 8.00am at the Somerset Boatshed.
• Storyfest is hosting their inaugural Bubbles, Books and Brunch with Holly Ringland on Wednesday 29 July from 11.00am to 2.30pm! See our resident host, Ms Tilly Ryan in conversation with Holly Ringland as she shares the story of her award-winning novel – The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.
• Our students are busily preparing for the Gold Coast Secondary Schools Drama Festival with the performances of the Junior and Intermediate Plays to be held on the evenings of Tuesday 18 August and Thursday 20 August respectively. They will be recorded and submitted for online adjudication.
• The Year 11 QCE Exams will be held from 24 to 30 August and the Year 12 QCCA and Year 12 IB exams will run from 31 August to 14 September 2020.
• Storyfest@Home will run for two days: 16 to 17 September for Somerset students only.
• Founders’ Day will be held on Friday 18 September, the last day of Term Three, enabling us to celebrate as much as we possibly can. Particularly we plan to hold the Founders’ Day student events; tug-o-war, all age swimming and track relays, steeplechase, and the courtyard dash. We hope to also dedicate The John Aitkenhead Building, The Dr Dianne Moses Classrooms and Plaza and The Dr Michael Brohier Learning Centre, but this will largely depend on COVID-19 restrictions at the time.
• The Senior Ball will be held on Friday 9 October with details being finalised. I am sure the Senior Class are excitedly awaiting this particular event.
• The Celebration of Entrepreneurship will proceed on 13 and 14 October in a reduced capacity with limited outside attendees. The focus will be on Somerset Alumni and feature a presentation by Queensland’s Chief Entrepreneur.

We are excited to welcome Triathlon Australia’s High-Performance Unit to Somerset. The College has partnered with Triathlon Australia to become its new home and training venue. We look forward to watching the Olympic hopefuls train alongside our Spartans here, a wonderful opportunity for our students at Somerset.