Dear Parents,
As the 2024 school year draws to a close, I sincerely hope you are able to reflect on a successful and happy Somerset experience for your family.
Somerset College can claim success in so many areas of 2024.
The completion of our $30 million-dollar Junior School expansion, multipurpose playing field, new carparks and roadworks – on time and on budget.
Academic results maintaining our standards of excellence as one of the top scoring schools in the State.
Excellence in Sport, Arts and opportunities for students to explore so many diverse areas of learning.
However, I am sure you agree with me, the most important measure of a student’s personal success is, are they happy?
As I have said many times, personal success of our students is not just a vision, it is from me, the Board of Directors, the Headmaster, his leadership team and our whole staff an absolute commitment!
There will always be challenges, you may not always agree with our decisions.
We can and will make mistakes. However, we will always strive to learn and do better.
However, I assure you we will always listen to you.
We want to hear from you!
To protect and care and educate our students, we need your communication.
Talk to us!
I see the job of giving our students their personal success as a partnership with parents. We cannot deal with problems not communicated to us. I guarantee you that any concerns, no matter how small or great, will be listened to.
Our culture and values and policies are well documented and established and practiced over the last 40 years.
But if you have concerns you don’t have to rush to a website. Talk to us!
I encourage respectful and honest communication. I assure you that you will continue to receive respectful and honest engagement.
Where concerning situations arise between students, we will always consider the interest and welfare of all young people involved. However, we have never and will never shy away from making the tough decisions to maintain our values and culture.
I thank our retiring Headmaster Craig Bassingthwaighte for his unwavering commitment to the protection and care and support of all our students and his enforcement of our values and culture.
I acknowledge the incredible support given to Mr Bassingthwaighte from Deputy Head Pastoral, Mrs Allison Foster and from Deputy Head Academic, Mrs Michele Sauer. Mr Bassingthwaighte, Mrs Foster and Mrs Sauer have the full support, confidence and appreciation of myself and the Board of Directors.
I’m sorry that is a lot of words!
However, can I ask you to just hold onto and commit to three simple words.
“Talk To Us”.
For the first time, in 2024 Year 11 Business students have been given the opportunity to select a business owned by a Somerset parent for their assignments.
Previously, students would struggle to choose a business that excited them and/or to collect information about but a new initiative organised by Mr Walsh and Mr U’Ren aimed to make Somerset parent businesses available.
The thought was - so many of our Somerset parents are successful business owners, why not link up our students with them? For their assignments, students needed to get good primary data for a chance at top grade, with an interview with a business owner or manager often the best source of information. Mr U’Ren reached out to the parents, while Mr Walsh sold the idea to the students. One parent was David Masters who commented on the students with who he was paired:
"Both students were very well mannered, one of the students was very interested and she asked some excellent questions about strategic advantages, hurdles to break into the market, and social media marketing strategies. I think it was a good experience for them and I would encourage you to do it again next year."
One student, James Kirk, had a very positive experience saying:
"I learned a lot about a local business that I was interested in. My business owner [parent] was really nice and helpful. It has made the assignment feel more ‘real-world’."
Mr U’Ren and businesses teachers Mr Walsh and Mrs Foster conclude that the trial was a success. They hope to strengthen the initiative next year and into the future.
Year 2 friends had been eagerly looking forward to Friday, 15 November… and it had finally arrived – it was “Activities Day”!
This day gave us the opportunity to celebrate our wonderful year together by making connections to many of our units of inquiry.
Students spent the morning rotating around four incursions: they were taught how to throw boomerangs at an Indigenous workshop, built teamwork skills during Gecko sports bootcamp, applied their creative skills building clay artefacts, and were taken to outer space during a captivating VR session.
After lunch, students enjoyed a well-deserved snow cone and demonstrated their amazing dancing skills with a DJ and disco.
Our last activity went out with a bang – the energy was electric in the Roberts Theatre with every student playing their own drum, displaying some remarkable musical talent!
To end the day, pizzas were hungrily devoured back at our beautiful EYC Atrium.
It was a fabulous day, and what a delight it was to see our Year 2 friends relishing their time together!
Using their knowledge of Forensic Science, Investigative Practice, and Legal Procedure, our greenhorn gumshoes documented data and crafted their case over the period of week 7 and 8 of Term 4.
Fingerprinting fundamentals. Blood splatter scrutiny. Dissecting drug presence.
These and many more investigations allowed for the gathering of essential forensic evidence.
Cross examining suspects and witnesses alike. Summoning skills of sketch artistry. Researching realistic sentencing.
Our intrepid investigators brought to the forefront their knowledge of case construction and legal logistics.
Congratulations to the Starkey super sleuths, constructing the clearest case.
Hopefully bringing peace to the populace through their criminalistic considerations.
An Interdisciplinary Unit, a component of the MYP, was completed by over 140 very excited Year 7 students this week.
On Monday and Tuesday, the Year 7s, in their corporate attire, were very keen to ‘pitch’ their very own ‘company’ and state why the Judges, a competent group of Year 10/11 Business Studies’ students should choose their company product or service as the best for 2024.
The students only had 7 school days to prepare and create a solution for a problem that they had brainstormed in their ‘Think Tank” session in the previous week.
Their ‘business brief’ was to create a company name, logo, mission statement, financial background and a code of conduct outlining human rights for their workers, how to lessen the impact on the environment and what charities they were going to support with this new venture.
These were modelled and taught in different subject classes during Terms Three and Four so that the students could then use these skills from IAS, Mathematics, Language and Literature lessons to produce their final presentation.
In teams of four they had to produce slides outlining their Company’s product and policies and present it to the Judges. Heats were held to choose 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each Year 7 Class. The winner of each class would then progress to the Grand Final.
Our Guest Judges were Year 10/11 Business studies students who had the very hard task of choosing the Heat winners.
All the Year 7 Teams, dressed in their corporate attire, produced an amazing array of product creations and their presentations were well articulated and very professional.
The Year 7 Teaching Team would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who made this happen and for their immense involvement in ensuring the students had the knowledge and skills to complete this Interdisciplinary Unit of work. We would also like to thank the Year 11 Grand Final Judges: Mr Baden U'Ren, Mr Jordy Staelen, Emma Warwick and Benji Liu, also the Tech Staff and Events and Logistics staff.
A BIG ‘thank you’ to all the Year 7s who worked very hard together to produce imaginative and creative products and Services and were willing and eager to experience the workings of the Corporate World!
Junior School students collaborated with experts from Seed the Ground to conduct a campus-wide waste audit this term. Sustainable Spartans students participated in sorting and analysing waste, gaining hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of sustainability.
The audit revealed key insights into waste habits and recycling practices at Somerset College, which will be shared during assemblies and other activities to encourage eco-friendly behaviours across the school community.
This partnership with Seed the Ground provided a valuable learning opportunity, equipping students with knowledge to make informed decisions and inspiring a greater commitment to reducing waste and improving recycling efforts within the College.
Somerset Triathlon Academy athletes (POGO, Jakroo) have undergone physical and physiological testing on campus and at Bond University.
Spartan triathletes are gearing up for the upcoming performance season with the help of field tests held at Somerset and advanced laboratory testing at Bond University. The Gold Squad athletes, our National standard squad, are undergoing a series of physiological assessments to fine-tune their training according to individual needs.
“We are advocates of science-based approach and athlete centred training. Instead of offering standardised sessions expecting athletes to adapt to what is offered, we use physical and physiological assessment to offer a unique stimulus tailored for each individual,” explains Glauber Scattolini Correa, Head Coach for Triathlon.
The analysis of the physical and physiological characteristics of each athlete aims to identify what is happening inside their body during endurance performance. Youth physiology is multifaceted and similar performances can derive from completely different metabolic behaviours. The continued biological maturation adds another layer of care. We aim to ensure sufficient training dose is given without unnecessary fatigue that can be detrimental to adolescents.
The data collected from these tests has been correlated to race simulations and will guide coaching staff in creating a highly personalized training environment. With science on our side, the triathlon team is more motivated than ever to achieve their best results. Over the next months the Spartan triathletes will head to Canberra for the Junior Pro Championships, race at the Gold Coast in the Super Sprint Nationals, travel to Hervey Bay for School Sport QLD Championships and Western Australia for AUS School Sport Nationals. The performance season comes to an end in April at Wollongong with AUS Junior Sprint Championship where Lucas Soegaard will have a shot at qualifying to represent Australia in the 2025 World Championships.
The Year 6 Inter-House Netball was a resounding success.
The Students took on the staff, and for the third year running were unable to counter the height advantage or speed of the swift Somerset Staff team. The afternoon rolled on and all students participated either as players, coaches or managers.
Students were awarded as MVPs or Playing in the Spirit of the game and all students came together to celebrate the overall winning House, Franklin.
Thank you to Mrs McLaughlin for organising such a wonderful event and to the Year 11 leaders who did an amazing job of officiating the games and keeping the afternoon on track.
Somerset’s Junior School Futsal teams played Futsal in the Australasian Champion of Champions and Queensland School Futsal Cup
After a successful Stage 1 (Gold Coast Titles) and Stage 2 (SEQ Champion of Champions). Somerset College had qualified a total of six teams for the last and final Stage 3 of the 2024 AFA School Futsal Titles. Please read below the wrap-up from our teams.
This group of Under 10 Girls had just finished a successful football season and then moved into a competitive fast-paced futsal tournament competing against some of the best in the state.
Going into the three days, the girls knew they were up against older opposition, which added a lot of pressure and nervousness throughout their tournament. Despite this obstacle, the girls put in 100% effort and represented the College and themselves at a very high standard.
After a very close final ending in 4 to 1, which was not a true reflection of the game, the girls were disappointed but overall enthusiastic and a privilege to coach. They turned up and left every day with a smile and never gave up which made me very proud as a coach.
This long weekend was a great experience and learning curve for the girls. They left everything on the court and in future years we try to build on this stepping stone.
Charlie Annis, Isabella Jennings, Aneka Mitchell, Scarlett Hasselle, Annie Talbot, Sunny Toomey and Lucinda Sounness.
The Somerset U11 Girls Futsal team put on an impressive performance at the Australasian Champion of Champions, finishing the pool stage with 3 wins and 1 draw which made them the only unbeatable team in the tournament. This strong run earned them the top spot in their division and a direct ticket to the final.
In the final, Somerset College faced St Andrews College. The match started well for Somerset, with Edith scoring the first goal in the 15th minute, giving the team an early lead. However, St Andrews came back in the second half and managed to equalize, making it 1-1.
Both teams fought hard throughout the remainder of the game, and with no winner at full-time, the match entered an exciting extra 10-minute golden goal period. Despite some excellent attacking and defensive play from both sides, neither team could break the deadlock, and the game went to a penalty shootout.
Unfortunately, the Spartans missed two of their penalty shots, and St Andrews took advantage, winning the shootout 4-2 and claiming the title.
While the result was disappointing, the team showed incredible spirit and determination throughout the whole tournament.
Well done to Robin Wang, Emma Corder, Edith Hilbert, Alex Lee, Chloe Li, Gabby Steenackers, and Indy Toomey for their hard work and excellent performances. You all played with great heart, and the future looks bright for the Somerset College U11 futsal team!
The Under 12 Girls were placed in a group with Under 12 and Under 13 schools. With a total of eight matches in three days. The girls were required to rank top 2 from their age category to reach the finals. On the first day, we got one win and three losses. On the second day, we knew that we needed good results to progress. The most important is to develop ourselves as good futsal players. So, we challenged ourselves to get the results by playing futsal with short passes and combinations. And when needed, to take players on in a one-on-one situation. The result didn’t go our way, but we are proud of how we played. This team got rewarded for their good playing style later that week at the QSF Cup.
Emily Barry, Bronte Butler, Mayuko Takahata, Arriana Reading, Frankie Dew, Audrey Hilbert, Imogen Sounness, Lulu Hobart and Luella Zerbst.
The Under 9's had a great start to the tournament on day one, with a win against Peregian College and a draw with Ironside State. The second day saw fatigue and the heat started to set in as the boys battled through a second day of group-stage matches. Results combined from day one and two qualified us for the semifinals on day three. Once again we played against Peregian College. This was a tough and close game, Peregian came out on top with a final score of 6-5. Placing Somerset on bonze overall.
Congratulations to all the whole team: Presley Madden, Harry Corder, Aksel Pitura, Jack Dew, Padra Mostagh, Oliver Hilbert, Axel Wilson, and Ollie Sharples.
The Under 10 Boys returned to the AFA School Futsal competition as the team to beat and had no issue reinforcing this when opening the tournament. I could see they were happy to be back competing. Our well-known opposition had eager plans to dethrone us, with us going through each group game one by one winning fixtures competently and persuasively.
A nail-biting win on Saturday night against Islamic College of Brisbane. They always bring it and are a talented group and we do love playing against a school like this.
A chance for them to cement themselves as again the most promising school team on offer was among us against Peregian Beach College, a well-trained side who in this particular match, were crowned deservingly, but not before our boys gave what they had particularly mentally.
If they could take anything away from this weekend, I hope it is a tweak to the mentality of worrying too much about the outcome of a final, and getting ahead of themselves, to instead approaching it like "I'm going to give it my all, but I don't know what's going to happen and I'll be okay regardless." They must leave space for the fact that things may not go to plan and be okay with that. They mustn't deviate in tough stages of the game, and the adversity we face can bring a landslide of negative thoughts and would be enough to affect the mindset of most players.
Visibly disheartened, you can see how much they care. I felt it too. They'll be back and will channel this into a superpower. The progression they've all made this year is their doing, as people and as players. I commend them for that, and how they conducted themselves this weekend. Absolute legends.
Well done Under 10 Boys Runners Up
Edmund Lee, Hugh Adams, Leo Chen, Denham Barry, Sam Thompson, Zach Sanders, Hunter Sharples and Thomas Chudzinski.
The Under 11 Boys’ Futsal team competed at the recent AFA National School Titles, finishing fourth overall after a challenging and competitive campaign. Competing against top-tier teams from across the country, the Spartans played hard-fought matches against King's, Stretton, and John Paul College. Despite their best efforts, they were narrowly edged out in a highly competitive pool. The weekend allowed our Spartans to develop both technically and tactically, competing against some of the nation's best talent. It is fantastic to see the game's continued development within Australia, with the standard rising each year.
The team, consisting of Louis Hodge, Ethan Kelly-Correa, Knox Black, Sion Kim, Jakub Pitura, Oliver Moir, Sebastian Hall, Johnny Ratcliffe, and Kai Edgley, were praised for their teamwork and perseverance, with each player contributing to the overall success. Stellar individual performances were also recognised with Oliver, Louis and Ethan earning their spot in the tournament's ‘All-Star’ team. Well done to all involved!
Monday 11 November saw the Under 12 boys Futsal team compete in the Queensland Schools Futsal Cup, a tournament that was made up of 16 schools in the state. The boys had a very successful first day, winning all three of their pool games to progress to play the next eight best teams in the competition. On the second day, we proceeded to the quarter-finals, playing Assisi. Assisi have a recognised Futsal program and are known for their talented players. This match was extremely tight, with us coming out to win 1-0. The semi-final was played against Hillcrest, having played this side many times before, the boys knew the challenge they were up against, and impressively they came out to win the game 11-2. Finally, in the grand final, we played St Lawrence. A prestigious Brisbane college with excellent talent. Unfortunately, the opposition was too strong. Our Spartans ended second at the QSF Cup, a fantastic effort!
After being with the boys over the two days, I have to say I was very happy with their display. The style that they played was brave, entertaining and progressive. I felt that they overachieved playing against the best eight schools, but overall deserved it for their efforts.
Well done to our Under 12s Runners Up
Max Bowden, Hugo Hasselle, Andrew Blatchford, Izaak Barclay, Benedict Thompson, Connor Millar-Martin, Zhander Griffiths, Oliver Ng and Paxton Stewart.
- Written by Coach Jonathon
The Somerset Spartans Under 12 girls rounded out a fantastic year of school Futsal, winning the prestigious QSF Cup and completing an undefeated run throughout the tournament. The girls demonstrated impressive attacking prowess, scoring more than 70 goals across the two days of competition- walking through the group stage with ease. In the semi-final, the Spartans overcame a persistent King's outfit, progressing with a convincing 7-4 win and setting the stage for a thrilling final against Westside. Adapting to the opponent's playing style, the Spartans kept their composure under pressure and clinched the title with an emphatic win.
The squad comprising of Arianna Reading, Audrey Hilbert, Bronte Butler, Emily Barry, Emma Cordner, Frankie Dew, Imogen Sounness, Luella Zerbst and Lulu Hobart represented the College with passion and pride. The QSF cup highlighted the continued growth of the women’s games in Queensland, with our Spartans raising the benchmark for school futsal. Well done to all involved- a well-deserved rest to ensue!
Our Head of Football and Futsal want to thank his coaching staff for all the work on Friday 8 November, Saturday 9 November and Sunday 10 November. Our Coaches gave up their weekends to coach our junior school futsal teams.
With our hard work from the last years, Somerset was the only school with having 6 junior school teams at the Australasian Champion of Champions. No other school could achieve this! And with having both U12 teams into to Finals at the QSF Cup is something we can be very proud of. This gave us a piece of information that we have a good vision and philosophy in our Football and Futsal programme.
For any inquiries, please contact Maarten de Kruijf mdekruijf@somerset.qld.edu.au
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