Edition 14 | Term Four, Week 3, 2022

More than 340 dancers from Pre-Prep to Year 12 leapt, skipped, tapped, pirouetted and spun in 45 performances over a weekend, for Somerset's annual Day of Dance.

Three concerts were presented to audiences over two days in this year's event. Concert featured Senior School students of our dance community, dancers from Year 7 to Year 12, with a sprinkling of Junior School students in our Cheer routine.  

Our Junior students performed a variety of styles of dance, including ballet, hip-hop, jazz, tap, contemporary and cheer.  

Concert 3 saw RAD Intermediate, Open ballet classes, Senior and Advanced classes in Hip-Hop, Jazz, Tap, Contemporary, cabaret with our Senior and Advanced Performers’ Group. The culmination of our boys’ programme was highlighted from the Senior and Advanced classes. Cheer dance performers and Senior Eisteddfod group, Xchange also took to the stage.

During the programme audience members were treated to solos from two of our exiting Year 12 students, Kaye Amores and Emily Mai. To all of our exiting Year 12 students, Amaani Bhasin, Kaye Amores, Emily Mai, Lauren Chan, Eliza Young, Thomas Gray and Hamish Folliott, we say thank-you for your support of the dance programme throughout the years and we wish you all the best for wherever your future leads you but we hope that dance will always hold a special place in your hearts.

Thanks must be given to our stage manager, Noa Chester-Haviv, our Theatre Manager, Ms Josephine Flynn, Mr Sam Cash for his amazing lighting design for the show. 

Many thanks to Ms Melissa Parkinson – our Dance Co-ordinator, and our dedicated dance team, Miss Phoebe Young, Ms Corina Burgess, Mrs Christine Flint, Ms Hayley Wallace, Ms Lucy Hourn, Ms Isabella Scanlan, Ms Maddi Sintome, Ms Tara Beyne and Ms Mackenzie Ecob – Encore!  

It was announced during the final performance, Miss Phoebe will be leaving us at hte end of the year to move onto the next adventure in her life. Phoebe is an alumnus of the College who spent 13 years at Somerset, from Prep to Year 12, starting her foray into dance at this time. She returned to the College to teach dance and has been part of the dance team for the past eight years.  We thank Phoebe for her time and dedication to the dance programme at the College and wish her all the best for the future.  

The event closed with a very special performance choreographed by  Year 12 student, Xiaoxiao Wang. We could well be seeing Xioaxio following in the footsteps of alumni Kate Wormald, whose recent work has included the choreography and movement on the recent Elvis film. 

You’ve gotta dance like there’s nobody watching,

Love like you’ll never be hurt,

Sing like there’s nobody listening,

And live like it’s heaven on earth.

The class of 2022 have made their final semester of school, one to remember. College Captains Thomas Gray and Riley Davenport led the cohort with their inspiring speeches and calming presence in the BLC common room, as they supported and motivated their peers to embrace College life together. 

“In a world where we will inevitably face adversity, I’m glad to be so supported by my friends. I am around peers who value connection and thoughtfulness, an environment I am constantly grateful for.” (Riley Davenport, College Captain)

Semester Two saw the continuation of the revamped 12Time student initiative, led by Vice Captains Charlie Liu and Emily Mai. Charlie and Emily moved the ‘12Time’ programme to the Ray Dining Room, where students in Years 7 to 10 formed teams to play games like Wordle and Somerset-themed trivia on Kahoot, whilst enjoying the party food provided. 12Time proved to be a huge success throughout the year, thanks to Year 12 students, who created this fun and inclusive environment for the Senior School. 

“It’s a great opportunity to chat, mingle and form closer bonds with other year levels.” (Charlie Liu and Emily Mai, College Vice Captains)

Ahead of their external examinations, Charlie and Emily saw an opportunity to connect as a year level one final time, by hosting a wellbeing evening for the Year 12 cohort. They co-ordinated fun-filled events for all, reminiscing about their primary school days by playing ‘throwback games’, such as, the egg and spoon race on the Common oval, and finished the evening with pizza and a movie in the BLC common room.

It is pleasing to see the Class of 2022’s final semester, and indeed, year, has been characterised by leadership, inclusivity, friendship, and comradery from inside the BLC and beyond. 

“The number of memories which I have made and will cherish from my time at Somerset are endless and I will carry them with me for a very long time.” (Thomas Gray, College Captain)

In recognising and celebrating the final stretch of their schooling journey, we thank staff and students’ Pastoral Care Groups for creating a ‘Good luck’ wall for Year 12 in the BLC, filled with hand-written messages of support and well wishes. We wish the class of 2022 the best of luck for their final examinations, and every success in their future endeavours.

After a two-year hiatus the prestigious Somerset Gift returned in full swing with over 100 athletes taking to the Somerset College athletics track in a bid to stake a claim of the $23,000 in prize money on offer.

There were several highlights throughout the day including:

• The coveted Michael Brohier Cup was taken out by first time Gift entrant Adam Evans. In a nail-biting finish, Evans finished the stronger over the illusive Scott Walsh, with David Thornton finishing in third (Thornton was later overheard on the phone to his mentor Alex Beck, questioning whether his technique advice given the previous day had really helped).

• The Under 13 100m Male Final was closely contested with Somerset students Thomas O’Brien and Jackson Yeung finishing second and third respectively.

• Aidan Mackie and Harrison Georgeson finished second and third in the Under 14/15 100m combined male race.

• Lucy Twigg capped off a stellar afternoon by finishing fifth in the Open Female 100m Final. Despite coming off the back marker in most of her races, Twigg showed her capacity to finish strongly and continued to back up well all afternoon.

• Alumni Ryan Neale finished second in the 300m Open Final and was joined on the podium by fellow Alumni James Arnold who finished second in the Open Mile.

• The Georgilopoulis brothers dominated the Pole Vault Competition with Marcus and Liam placing first and second in the Open competition and Alex Arbuthnot third. In the Open Female comp, Dash Newington claimed the top prize while Somerset student Kassia Brown finished second, and Sienna Clare third. Many thanks to Howard Arbuthnot for his time in overseeing this competition on the day.

In our two main races some great stories came to light. Despite being one of the oldest competitors on the day, Ramona Casey made the trip up from Newcastle worthwhile by taking out the Open Female 100m Final. In the Open 100m Final, 2022 Commonwealth Games Triple Jumper Julian Konle snuck home him in a tight finish. The pair – first time winners of the Somerset Gift, each collected $5,000 for their effort.

The Gift epitomises College, Community, and Competition, and these traits were once again highlighted throughout the day. Our friends from the Mudgeeraba Special School were of great support and assistance and their 50m race reflected the opportunity to be included means for these students.

A special moment also occurred when it became evident our youngest competitor and current Somerset student Arabella Delzoppo lined up for the Under 12 100m Girls Heat. Despite competing against much older athletes, Arabella – a prep student wasn’t overawed by the occasion, giving her all from start to finish. Her attitude and effort are to be commended and she is definitely an athlete to watch out for in the future.

Many thanks to those who assisted on the day especially Bruce Duncan and the Queensland Athletic League, Jacqui and Olivia Sina, John Bacon, Stephanie Oppermann, and Sherry Wilson. The Logistics Team for their support in setting up, Tayla Haynes for her assistance in putting the programme and marketing materials together, and of course all our sponsors who – without them the day wouldn’t be possible.

Click here to watch Channel 9’s coverage of the event.

Our Year 1s enjoyed a celebration of their inquiry day on the Common recently. Their unit, 'Food sources influence what is consumed and created' was lived through a cooking day experience. 

The cohort cooked pikelets and jam drops, juiced fruit and made fruit skewers, popped corn, created hummus and sandwiches. All of this food was shared with the parents at an afternoon tea. 

The Smith Family's student2student programme matches an older student (Buddy) with a younger student (Reader) who is behind in their reading. The Buddy (our student) provides support and reading assistance to the Reader so that they can improve their confidence and skills in reading.

S2S was an incredible service activity that I participated in this year. It enabled me to connect with a young reader somewhere in Australia, helping improve her reading skills over the course of 18 weeks. I committed to an hour a week of calling my reader over the phone and sharing a book with her. I loved being apart of the adventure and hearing my reader improve her skills so much over the time period.

Before our dancers took to the stage for this year's Day of Dance, our ballerinas enrolled in extra ballet lessons at Somerset College, completed their exams with the Royal Academy of Dance.

Jeff Brown is the Fitness Member of the Month for October.

Jeff has been a regular member of the Somerset Gym for many years. He has worked diligently over those years, initially doing his own thing, before starting to attend classes, which he truly embraced.  

Our October Fitness Member always brings such life and energy to the classes, ensuring none of us have a boring session.

For the first time at Somerset College 200 athletes competed against each other on rowing machines at lunch time of Week 3 this term. In what turned into the loudest Inter-House event of the year, teams were cheered and pushed to their limits for House Glory.

Monday saw the Year 8 teams kick off with Starkey taking early points, but the highlight was State Champion rower Angus Riddle anchoring the Andrews Boys team to an outstanding win.

Tuesday was the Year 9 athletes turn to test their resilience with Holly Hembling from Veivers bringing them back from third in the last leg of the relay to snatch the win from Laver and Andrews who crossed the line within ten meters of each other.

The Year 10 athletes took their turn on Wednesday with Andrews and Veivers tied on points but it was Veivers who struck early with a win in the Girls team. Callum Miles set the pace early for the Franklin Boys team and they never looked back with Franklin holding off Veivers for their first win of the competition.

To win the Roberts Family Trophy Veivers House needed to hold off a strong Andrews House who started with a win in the Open Girls team on Thursday closing the gap to just 20 points. With everything coming down to the last race it was Laver standing up and winning their first race of the week with Thomas Gray setting an unbeatable pace. Andrews finished second in the Open Boys, but it was Veivers in third which meant they held on to their lead and took out the Interhouse Indoor Rowing Competition for 2022.

• Veivers 195
• Andrews 180
• Laver 150
• Franklin 135
• Starkey 130

The Somerset Tennis team of 12 students in Years 3 to 8, made their way to Sheldon College to compete in our annual Somerset versus Sheldon Tennis Event. Despite having some heavy early rain, play was able to go ahead, in what was the closest tie to date.

Green Ball students Inca Burdett, Ailin Zhao, Paxton Stewart and Abraham Saffuri competed with high-level tennis and yielded some great results. The girls played some of their best tennis, wiping their opponents off the court to win their tie five sets to nil. It was a great start for Somerset. 

The boys fought hard against some of the best green ballers in Brisbane, narrowly losing each set, eventually going down nil to 5. The conclusion of Green Ball saw both schools at a dead tie.

Our Orange Ball students Audrey Hilbert, Stacey Yang, Hudson Harley and Henry Pevy had similar results, resulting in another dead tie. The girls managed to come back from nil to 3 down to bring it back to 2 to 3. They were left with two very important sets to win back. The boys managed to scrap away a 3 to 2 win against their opponents with a great 6 to nil win in the doubles. Once again, the overall score was all tied up.

Orion Burdett, Timofey Korin, Sabastian Mainali and Ethan Stewart competed in what was the best tie of yellow ball we have seen at this event. Both teams were tied up at two sets a piece and it came down to the final singles matches. Orion and Sabastian fought incredibly hard in the final singles until rain halted play. Due to its persistence, play had to be cancelled, resulting in yet another draw.

At the end of the day, the coaches decided to call the day a draw. A result that both teams deserved.

On behalf of the Somerset Coaching Team, we would like to extend our thanks to Jake Alchin at Sheldon College for hosting this year’s event, and we are excited to see you next year here at Somerset. We would also like to thank the parents of our Somerset Students for making this event possible, and we look forward to bringing home the shield next year.

Spartans Football entered Under 9 and Under 10 teams to the Premier Invitational in the holidays.

Both age groups were dealt a tough draw on Day 1 and were headed to fourth place in the group. The highlight from Day 1 was playing against advanced football clubs, which is great for development and experience. At these tournaments we play against Football Clubs and Football Academies at a higher level than school football competitions.

For Day 2 and 3 the Under 9 and Under 10 were placed in the Plate competition.

For the Under 9, Day 2 of the competition saw the Spartans efforts rewarded with some impressive performances against Magic United. Some exciting build-up plays led to great goals. Relentless pressure from defence ensured Somerset held on, to walk away with their first wins. Looking to continue their fine form into Day 3, the boys fell just short, going down to Tallebudgera 3 to 1 in the tournament’s final game. Despite the result, the Spartans final game rounded off a positive three days of Football, with noticeable improvement from start to finish.

For the Under 10, Day 2 was the perfect group for our team to show our skills to all spectators. The side's teamwork led to great results and end first in the group.
Day 3 we versed the other Plate group winners. A spectacular quarter final against Corinthians was followed by a loss in the semi-final against Gold Coast Knights. We played a third game versus Palm Beach to decide the overall ranking. Out of a total of 40 football teams, our Spartans ended 27th.
Seeing other Somerset Students playing for their own football clubs was great to see. Zhander Griffiths and Harper Loon, Oliver Moir and Knox Black at Gold Coast United, Evie-May Coates at Gold Coast Knights and Alex Pourre at Robina City.

The tournament proved to be a valuable learning experience for all involved and one the coaches were immensely proud to be a part of. The boys displayed tenacity when faced with adversity and created a positive team culture for years to come.

A big thankyou to all the students who took time out of their holidays to represent the College:

Under 9

• Abhiveer
• Jesse
• Edmund
• Kai
• Zach
• Denham
• Franklin
• Dylan
• Sion

Under 10 

• William
• James
• Danny
• Liam
• Henry
• Hugo
• Benedict
• Andrew
• Edward
• Paxton
• Connor
• Liam
• Jesse
• Abhiveer

There has been plenty happening in Chess with Term Four being one of the busiest times of the year.

The biggest event of the year – The Queensland Interschool State Finals – was held at the end of Week 1, and Somerset students were very successful across a number of divisions.

On the Friday, the Girls State Finals were held and Somerset went into the Secondary division as the defending champions having won the last two years, including last year’s nailbiter on count-back from Brisbane Girls Grammar School. By ratings this year, Somerset were the favourites, but with the amount of school work currently on, the girls hadn’t been that active which always makes things tricky. The top team of Lyanna Chan, Jennifer Yeung, Melody Yang and Ruhara Mapabandara started strongly, but then hit a flat spot for a few rounds. The girls gathered and rallied, and came home strongly to finish =1st with our biggest rivals, King's Christian College, with Brisbane Girls Grammar a point further up. Luckily for us, Somerset again won on count-back and this will see the girls represent the state once again at the Australian Schools Teams Championships – being held in Cairns, December 3 and 4.

Individually in the secondary division, Lyanna Chan scored 6/7 (2nd on count-back, =1st overall), whilst Ruhara Mapabandara, Melody Yang and Annika Lim all scored 5/7 for =5th position.

In the Primary divisions, the top primary team had a tough time in the Championship division but will have learnt much from the experience and will come better for it next year. Somerset also fielded two teams in the Primary Open A division who did well, just missing out on some individual awards with Evie Wilson being the top player with 4/7. In the Primary Open A division, two Somerset girls scored 4.5/7 to earn Merit ribbons – Kelly Lau and Alex Lee.

Overall there were many positives from the day, with many younger girls taking the chance to compete and learn whilst having fun!

The Open State Finals were held the weekend of October 8 and 9, with Somerset fielding one team in the Secondary division and two in the Primary division. Our secondary team of Byron Morris, Eason Wang, Kenny Ming and Oliver Yang started brilliantly to take an early lead after defeating Bundaberg SHS and The Southport School 4-nil to be the only team on 8/8. Ipswich Grammar in Round 3 proved our equal with the match ending in a 2-all draw, leaving Somerset with a 1 point lead going into the second day, when we would face the top seeds Churchie in Round 4. In a see-sawing battle, it was Churchie who got the best of things and ended up winning the match 3 to 1. Round 5 saw Churchie dispatch Ipswich Grammar easily, whilst Brisbane Boys College provided some stiff competition but was seen off 2.5 to 1.5 in the end. Going into the final round, we needed an upset from Brisbane SHS over Churchie to stand a chance. This nearly happened but not quite as Churchie held on despite Somerset accounting for Centenary Heights from Toowoomba comfortably 4-nil.

This left Somerset in second position across the two days of competition. Individually, Oliver Yang was the top performer with 5.5/6 on board 4 as he scooped the board prize.

In the Primary division, we field two teams. Team 1 consisted of Calen Tang, Alessandro Martinese, Harrison Qu and Paris Liu, whilst Team 2 was a younger team featuring Sanaaya Mapabandara, Paul Sang Yum, Dylan Hu, William Zhao, Kitty Pallister and Sehaj Gill.

Somerset 1 started the event strongly with 4-nil wins against Somerset 2 and King's CC 2, before being brought back to earth by Citipointe CC in Round 3 where they were outplayed despite some really tough games. Round 4 saw the team take on Sunnybank Hills SS who are known to be a tricky team – which they proved once again, getting the better of us. Round 5 saw us paired against Brisbane Grammar who proved stronger than their rating to just get the better of us in another tough match, whilst in Round 6 the team outclasses Toowoomba Grammar 2 to finish strongly and finish =7th.

Somerset 2 started with the tough match against the top team, before getting another couple of tough pairings against up and coming schools Sunshine Coast Grammar and Toowoomba Grammar 2, each match unfortunately finishing in defeat. Round 4 saw us matched with Matthew Flinders AC from the Sunshine Coast which went the same way, before the team secured a draw with Rockhampton Grammar in Round 5 and then took apart Townsville Grammar to finish off.

The individual highlight for the primary teams was undoubtedly Harrison Qu who finished =1st on board 3 and narrowly missed out on the board prize. Out of all the players in primary that took part, there is only 1 player who moves to secondary next year so I am sure everyone will be ready to come back and have another crack next year!

Various events Somerse students participated in across the holidays

• Leo Wilkinson Memorial Weekender:

Kenny Ming finished with 4.5/6 for a massive tie of =6th, whilst Calen Tang scored 3.5/6.

• Nell Van de Graaff Classic:

In the Open division, Kenny Ming scored 3.5/6 whilst Calen Tang scored 3/6. In the Junior Under 1200 division, Oscar Credland-Ballantyne scored 5.5/6 to take out 1st place.

• Gold Coast Chess Club Championships:

This event was won by Somerset coach Kerry Stead with a score of 8/8! Finishing with 5/8 and =1st in Rating Group A was Jared Consiglio-Cockle

• Gold Coast Spring Cup:

In this junior event a large number of Somerset students participated. William Zhao, Theo Appel and Jeremy Zhang all scored 6/9 in impressive performances. Sehaj Gill, Paul Sang Yum, Kelly Lau all scored  5/9 with some other young players including Alen Zeng and Taya Liu scoring 4/9.

A great way for students to continue their learning and improving is by coming along on Fridays to the after school club from 3.30pm to 5.30pm. Students in Years 1 to 3 need to be registered via The Hub, while other students can come along after emailing me on: afitzpatrick@gardinerchess.com.au.