Thirty years of literature were celebrated at Storyfest this week.
The event saw a remarkable turn out of approximately 13,000 students from over 70 schools flock to Somerset from across the Gold Coast and as far as west as Longreach, South to Warialda and North to Kingaroy!
Storyfest Patron, Jacqueline Harvey and Tristan Bancks were just two of the many notable authors who delivered presentations and held workshops over the three days.
Bluey and Bingo added to the festivities and helped draw a large crowd to the Parents' and Friends’ Prologue Party following Day 1’s action.
The festival’s longevity was recognised earlier in the term with organisers welcoming returning founders to Somerset.
Well done to the Storyfest organisers and their teams of student and community volunteers.
Our Year 8 camp to Moreton Island was an exciting and adventurous experience that will not be forgotten. Moreton is a beautiful island situated one and a half hours away from Brisbane, with calm, clean beaches, beautiful wildlife, and many activities to immerse yourself in. The sandboarding experience was a student favourite, with all of us going out to the Moreton Island desert, and then shooting down the tall dunes on wooden planks. The snorkelling was just as amazing, letting us experience the amazing marine life up close. Some groups were even lucky enough to see turtles! This camp helped us create new friendships and improve on others. Overall, our Year 8 camp let us step out of our comfort zone, expand on our relationships, and make memories that will stay with us for life.
We started off the camp with an hour-long drive to the ferry taking us to Moreton Island. The ferry took 90 minutes, from the Port of Brisbane to the sandy beaches of Tangalooma. Once we arrived, we separated into our groups and took a bus straight to our campsite. After we unpacked, our groups moved straight to the first activity; the lighthouse walk. This short trek was enjoyable, with all students being able to swim and play, along with walking up to the beautiful Cape Moreton lighthouse. By the time we were finished, it was time to continue to unpack and eat dinner. Groups 3 and 4 also got to experience night kayaking. The first day of camp was great.
As we woke up the next morning, all tired from the day before, we went straight into our second set of activities. My group and I started with the hike, which was a short climb up the summit of Mount Tempest, the third highest sand dune in the world, where we experienced an astonishing view across Moreton Island. After this hot and tiring hike, we then went to the Blue Lagoon to cool off. Here, we played a variety of games, and enjoyed ourselves in the cold water. After these two sensational activities, Groups 1 and 2 went night kayaking. This activity was beautiful with my peers seeing a variety of marine wildlife throughout the artificial reefs on Moreton’s beaches.
The next day was my personal favorite, with breathtaking sandboarding and snorkelling. We first had to make the short drive out to the Moreton Island desert, a small desert with tall dunes. As we arrived, we were given long wooden planks that we would be using as our boards. We then had to climb to the top of the dunes, where we set up a boards for the ride down. This was absolutely thrilling, with sand hitting your face and wind rushing through your ears. After this amazing activity, we ate lunch and then went snorkelling. The sheer number and diversity of fish that we saw was astonishing. Along with this, some groups’ members were even lucky enough to see more exotic marine life, such as dugongs and turtles. These two activities were an incredible part of our Year 8 camp.
On the final day, we had breakfast and started the cleanup of our campsite. This camp gave us many opportunities to build and shape our leadership skills, along with expanding upon friendships and even making new ones. Year 8 Camp to Moreton Island is one of our memories that will last us a lifetime.
Once again our, “When I was at school...” sessions were held in our Early Learning Precinct during Storyfest.
Approximately 16 Somerset grandparents, staff (current and past) or community members visited our youngest students to share their stories.
Listening to the conversations and watching the interactions between the children and special guests was a delightful moment. Both age groups benefit in so many different and unique ways.
On the 22 March, five Year 10 students from the Science Committee (Jolina Zhang, Ava Henson, Noa Chester-Haviv, and Nadia Wu and myself) participated in the 2023 Griffith STEM Ambassador Conference held in Brisbane. Due to limited seats, Luke Oishi who is also an ambassador was not able to join us. It was an amazing opportunity to receive leadership training and to develop an action plan for the school’s STEM community. The exciting day began in the Brisbane Convention Centre where we listened to another school showcase activities that they have done to develop the STEM field at their school. We gained huge inspiration from the unique and clever ideas, and they helped guide our STEM agenda for the College in 2023.
The engaging and informative introduction to the STEM conference was followed by a quick morning tea, and then we were straight back into action with a leadership workshop starring Dr Bridie Schultz, the founder of Sativus, a company made to assist those who create, manage, and invest in science with the skills and support needed to launch science careers. Dr Schultz provided us with extremely wise and useful information on the importance of communicating with impact. Using this new information, we were able to work collaboratively to develop a realistic and achievable action plan for our school’s STEM movement. It was a fantastic opportunity to spark our creativity and critical thinking skills.
After an intense period of strategic planning, we walked over to QPAC while enjoying the nice weather to view an ecological extravaganza. A trio of Griffith University STEM experts showcased the living systems around us and the interactions that drive them. It was an entertaining experience where we gained an insight into biological systems, and evolutionary change through interactive demonstrations. Overall, the 2023 STEM Ambassador Conference was an extremely helpful, opportunistic, and insightful event for the Year 10 Griffith STEM Ambassadors, and the College’s STEM community.
The first Gold Coast Junior Council meeting of 2023 took place February 22, in the Council Chambers and was an especially exciting event for our Somerset College student representatives!
The City of Gold Coast Junior Council is a two-year civic leadership programme which gives two students in Years 10 and 11 the opportunity to actively participate in their local community.
Some key components of the Junior Council programme include developing an understanding of local government, networking with peers and city council members from across the Gold Coast, and actively participating in important decision-making processes. The students are also offered various volunteer opportunities throughout the year.
Our two new Year 10 representatives, Emma Warwick and Abigail Brinkworth, turned up for their first ever meeting bright and early on the rainy Friday morning, accompanied by our returning Year 11 students, Hayeon Byun and Avie Rounsley.
As is tradition for the first meeting of the year, the event began with a handover ceremony in the Council Chambers. Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate farewelled the 2022 Executive Committee and inducted the new 2023 committee into the chambers.
We were delighted to watch our very own Hayeon Byun be presented with her badge and be inducted into the 2023 Gold Coast Junior Council Executive Committee. This prestigious position will allow Hayeon to support the new Junior Mayor and Junior Deputy Mayor in the implementation of the Junior Council program, promoting opportunities for students and being a mentor to the other representatives. Congratulations to Hayeon!
The rest of the day was spent welcoming the new Year 10 representatives, and explaining all of the opportunities that will be available throughout the year. It was enlightening to hear that some recent state legislation was originally based on proposals from past Junior Councils! It really shows that this program is making a difference for our community.
Congratulations again to our four student representatives – we cannot wait to see your local impact throughout this year!
Over the weekend, 17 of our Spartans competed at the first Future Stars Tennis Event held at Mudgeeraba Tennis Club. This is a four-part series scattered throughout the year where our Spartans will face a total of eight different clubs across the Gold Coast in Red, Orange and Green Ball.
Starting out the day were our green and red ball students. After being on court for two hours in 36-degree heat, our green ballers placed fourth and our red ballers placed second. The youngest competitor on the day and our very own spartan Ollie Brown in Prep took out the Sportsmanship Award in Red Ball, and our Year 5 Spartan Benedict Thompson received the award in Green Ball. Well done to these two students and the rest of the team:
Next, our Orange Ball Spartans took the court in what were even hotter conditions. Our eight Spartans managed to place third in what was a great display of tennis. Again, Somerset had the youngest competitors and still managed to bring home an amazing result.
Jack Dew in Year 2 took out the Sportsmanship Award. Well done to the following Spartans:
Thank you to all the parents for supporting our spartan’s and our Somerset Tennis Community. We are looking forward to the next event and can hopefully take out the competition!
During Term Four of 2022 and Term One of 2023, 28 of our Spartans competed weekly in the Tennis Summer Fixtures Season. A total of nine teams competed across the Gold Coast, battling it out for the top spot, and a spot in the finals.
On Saturday 18 March, four of our teams competed in the finals, and brought home some amazing results.
A total of 14 rounds were played across the season. The top four teams in each division would then qualify for the semi-finals, and if they were successful, they would reach the final. We had another successful season, with five of our nine teams making the semi-finals, with two of our nine teams finishing the season at the top spot, taking home the minor premieres with both teams taking out their respective divisions. After the semi-finals, four of our teams were successful and progressed to the finals.
Students Lennox Foster and Krish Bhasin played a hard-fought battle against second place in their division and won 2 to 1. Our top division students, Orion Burdett and Huw Hoffman put up a great display of tennis, winning their tie 3-nil. The boys also managed to finish the season undefeated. Tima Korin and Hamish Kennedy went down 1 to 2 in their final after playing some tough opponents, whilst Dylan Aspinall and Zavier Iseppi shared the same fortune.
It has been another successful season of Tennis Fixtures and we hope to continue this success in the Winter season starting in Term Two.
Thank you to all the parents for their ongoing support this season!
Our Spartans were invited by the Brisbane Roar to participate in the Half Time Heroes activity. On Saturday March 18, Somerset Students attended the A League Football Match between Brisbane Roar and Western United at the Kayo Stadium, Redcliffe.
All students received two tickets to attend the match. The Somerset coaches waited for all students at the stadium entrance and once all had arrived everyone entered the stadium together.
For most of the students it was the first time being in a football stadium.
At the end of the first half, we made our way to the field entrance. For 10 minutes the students had the experience to be the hero. Playing on the football field in the middle of the stadium. During this time the students felt how it was being watched by six thousand people.
The A League match ended in 1-nil for the Brisbane Roar. The students had a great day out to see professional football up close.
After the match the students had the opportunity taking photos and receiving signatures from the Brisbane Roar players.
Thank you to Coach Kydra and Coach Keita to give up your free time and made this day unforgettable for our students.
Thank you to all the Parents for joining us and we hope you enjoyed the day!
For any questions about Football and Futsal, please contact our Head of Football and Futsal Maarten De Kruijf.
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