The Senior Team Won the overall Team Percentage Trophy (first time since 2009) and we also finished fourth in the Aggregate points Trophy (only 3 points off third place). The Junior Team finished second in the overall Team Percentage Trophy and fourth in the Aggregate points Trophy. These results are a great indication that our Cross Country programme is improving well and, on the way up.
An overview of our Age Teams and best performed Spartans is as follows:
*All Spartans who placed in the Top 7 places will now continue onto the South Coast Cross Country Championships in a few weeks’ time.
Some of our Spartans were outstanding and in the Junior Squad our 12yrs Boys Won their Team event thanks to three top 10 placings and an excellent win from Aaron McQuaid (first), who ran the second half of the entire race with one shoe after losing the other one in the mud! Very impressive. Other placegetters in the Juniors – Ella Carson (second) ran a tough race; Jacob Moir (second) is a superb talent coming through and Jorja Grocott (third) continues to perform when it matters most. Special mention to Cooper Rana-Smith and Kasia Pitura for a couple of excellent (fourth) places.
For the Senior Squad our placegetters where the highly impressive and talented Aspen Anderson (first) who dominated her age group and seemed to just glide over the heavy track to victory. Indie Seccombe (second) and youngster Zac Moir (second) were equally impressive being beaten only by very high-level athletes; Starr Scott (third), James Gell (third), Cru Scott (third), Alex Halloran (third) all achieved podium finishes and this highlights the work they have all put into their consistent and disciplined training. Special mentions to Erin Shepherd (fourth), Georgie Zerbst (fourth), Miku Adachi (fifth), William Warwick (fifth) and Ryan Hisco (fifth) for some excellent performances and finishing in those valuable top five placings.
As Head Coach of the Cross Country and Athletics Teams it has been so great to work with these students in conjunction with our other coaching staff. I would like to especially thank Glauber Scattolini (Triathlon Coach) for being so accommodating and supportive of our programme, Glauber has worked hard to build up the Triathlon programme and this has become a great asset to our Cross Country Team. Also, a massive thank you to Natalie Nugent and Claire Walker for all their early morning coaching support to assist myself at every session and again on the day of competition, your support really makes such an important positive difference, thank you, I really appreciate the support! Thank you also to Kate Webb for organising and looking after the Junior Spartans throughout this journey, all of the Somerset staff who came out in the terrible weather to officiate and supervise the students and a big thank you to our amazing logistics staff, who do so much behind the scenes – setting up and removing all of our tents and equipment without us ever knowing they were there.
Lastly, a massive thankyou to all our fantastic students and their parents, for turning up to all the training sessions week in week out. We are really building a great team culture at Somerset College and we still have so many positive things to improve upon in the future.
Congratulations to everyone who participated on the day!
A further update, last weekend we had the Queensland Schools Cross Country Championships in Ipswich where seven of our Spartans competed. Aspen Anderson (15yrs) and Indie Seccombe (18yrs) both won their events and our now the Queensland State Cross Country Champions! Starr Scott (17yrs) placed fourth with another excellent performance. Congratulations to these athletes and all the Spartans who participated.
The class of 2021, led by School Captains Nicholas Tan and Hannah Kennedy and Vice Captains, Leigh Amores and Patrick Sowerby, encouraged their Pastoral Care Group members in Years 7 to 11, to join them on the Quad at lunch time for food, games, music and fun! It was a pleasure to see students from a range of year levels socialising together in this engaging, supportive setting.
Nick, Hannah, Leigh and Patrick collaborated like true leaders with myself and Mr Nicholas Brice to make the ’12 Time’ launch a great success. Along with the whole cohort, I am very proud of their efforts.
To demonstrate this concept I have travelled to the past and explored the lives of my great uncles who each served in the military during World War II and have portrayed the days from when they were young men working in the bushland of Toowoomba, to the day they came home from serving their country.
The initiation of my Project was a gruelling task, as long days were spent researching my family history. To make matters less confronting, I was fortunate enough to have access to photos, a dairy written by one of my great uncles whilst in Changi prison camp, and military telegrams, all of which have been brought back from the war, as well as newspaper articles and novels that are dedicated to the Sullivan brothers. This array of antiques have been preserved in my family for generations and has profoundly assisted me in discovering the lives my great uncles lived. However, as time progressed my initial goal of producing a novel based on the topic of the Sullivan family evolved to a more artistic approach. This pivot in my intended goal was made without regrets and is seen as the right decision for me to continue further.
Despite the struggles I have faced, every passing day I see the progression. Currently, I have completed 80 per cent of my artwork and am determined to strive for a high standard of completion to fully encompass the skills and lessons I have learnt from the Personal Project journey. Additionally, I have recognized the importance of self – management through the utilization of planning, project outlines and goal setting.
I am beyond proud of my efforts and am ecstatic with all I have achieved presently. This project must be approached with diligence and the student requires an open mind that is adaptable to change. The staff of Somerset College has taught me this across the months I have been emersed in my Project and I am appreciative of their assistance.
My mind is filled with eagerness to see where I take my project and to provide a better understanding of family history.
I have decided to create my Personal Project in relation to my future aspirations of the application of engineering and an everlasting recreation of mine, chess. The technical complexity of this project requires various skills, and a sheer determination to ‘do well’, which is the mindset for any individual to tackle any task at hand.
The 2020 global pandemic, COVID-19 swept through the world wreaking havoc amongst nations, communities, and essentially everyone. This epidemic was overcome by humanity’s morals to help those who are in need… and Netflix. The release of the popular Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit inspired many in the world to take on the game of chess. For me, I have been playing chess since the age of six and have had a real passion for it until recently, where I would focus more on my academic studies and co-curricular activities. Knowing that I would never be a professional player, why not construct a robot to play at the ‘professional’ level?
This resulted in the beginning of an exhausting and gruelling experience; the thorough research and taking endless courses to understand the process of creating a robot which can detect chess pieces and the board, evaluate the position to play the best possible, and move the piece to the designated square is something a normal 15 year old teenager like me would have no idea of what was happening. But going into this project, I knew I had to persevere until a successful completion of the robot. Currently, I have completed around 50 per cent of my project, where the AI development on Unity (A C# cross-platform game development software) has been completed, and designing/engineering the robotic arm will be the next section to complete. Throughout this experience, I have learnt various new skills including: C# Self-Learning AI Programming, Mechatronic Engineering skills (knowledge and understanding of engineering concepts) , Inventor (CAD program) to design the robot. I will also be learning how to use power tools and the specific technical skills to meticulously construct the tool-point and the general mechanism.
This journey has been demanding but rewarding at the same time. The skills which I have currently acquired have many uses for the future, and without the Personal Project, I would have never taken the time to learn this on my own time. Exploring these unfamiliar areas is a perfect opportunity in preparation for adulthood. Without this project, I would have still be sitting on the couch watching the never-ending series and movies on Netflix.
The latest Queensland Junior Chess Ratings have dropped with some fantastic increases for Somerset students.
New ratings were obtained by Arthur Chou, Zhander Griffiths and Hayden Li.
One notable commonality with the above players is that most of them are attending the Friday afternoon tournament sessions that run from 3.30pm to 5.30pm. Playing regular is absolutely key to continued improvement and I know we will get many more rated players through these afternoons!
See information on the Somerset Chess Schoolbox Page.
A number of Somerset students participated in the prestigious Doeberl Cup in Canberra this Easter. This tournament is the biggest on the Australian chess calendar. Byron Morris and Eason Wang took on the major division, scoring well against some very strong opposition whilst Jared Consiglio-Cockle took on the Minor.
On the Labour Day weekend, there was a strong tournament held up at Redcliffe. Eason Wang and Harrison Qu flew the flag for Somerset with some good results amid solid performances.
Upcoming Events:
The top two events are external events but are recommended for players with ratings or those seeking ratings. If you are not sure if this is suitable for your child, please contact Andrew via email.
The Secondary Interschool event is for students in Years 7 to 12, with registration required by Wufoo form.
The Primary School Competition will also determine House Champions and information will be forthcoming shortly for those students who might like to be involved.
The Under 14 Blue team was representing our College with Lilli Hodge, Sarah McSwan, Summer Wilkinson, Ava Stephens, Jade Lee, Natalia Zotti and Emiti McNamara. The Under 14 Green team played with: Emily Nickels, Chloe Miller, Sophia O’Leary, Sasha Henrison, Pearl Shipley, and Zoe Perry.
The Blue and Green team played in two separated groups. In both groups there were very strong opponents. Both teams ended third in their group and missed out for the Finals. The girls played well and the Somerset coaches were pleased with their positive mindset and teamwork. We will keep improving and come back much stronger!
The Under 13 girls defended their South East Queensland Champion Title and gave added pressure. They needed a few minutes to get into it but the longer the tournament went on, the better the girls played. The side was undefeated in its group stage and were facing Assisi Catholic College in the Semi Finals. The Spartans won!
Our biggest rival King's Christian College waited for us in the Final. King's played some excellent Futsal in the first half, with many opportunities to score but thanks to Ari Thake, we stayed on top of King's with scores at 1-all. The second half Somerset played much better, and we found the net, taking the final score to 2 to 1 to Somerset. Well Done Livi Budd for scoring both goals.
Congratulations to Ari Thake, Georgie Zerbst, Zara Ryan, Havana Lopez, Livi Budd and Sarah Nickels.
We hope to see our girls continue their training with Coach Nigel in preparation for the QSF (Queensland School Futsal Cup).
For any information, please visit our Schoolbox Futsal Page.
If any questions about Futsal at Somerset College, please contact our Head of Football and Futsal on mdekruijf@somerset.qld.edu.au
The annual contest between the two schools has been played for since 2016 which was won by All Saints that year but Somerset has held it in the trophy cabinet every year since.
Somerset were dominant throughout the game with the height and accuracy of Elsa Sandholt to much to handle for the opposition. The speed and agility of our midcourt players Atlanta Horan and newbie Shemeah Poloai and the calm head of Jemma Clements was a joy to watch. Amaris Toia combined well and showed off some slick moves in the Goal Attack bib with ever reliable Charli Pearse.
Defensively the tight trio of Trinity Toia, Bayley D’Hotman De Villiers and Georgia Wilson continued to gain valuable turnover ball and chip away at the All Saints attack. Lucy Millar and Marika Ransfield were solid in their minutes off the bench and add much value to the team.
Final score 48 to 31 to Somerset.
Congratulations to the team for their impressive performance and bringing the trophy back home for the fifth consecutive year.
Somerset College elite netballers Bayley d'Hotman de Villiers and Amaris Toia played an integral part in the South Coast 19U team that competed in the Queensland School Sport State titles in Bundaberg last week.
The team were undefeated throughout the tournament winning the title for the first time since 2004.
Bayley d'Hotman de Villiers was rewarded for her outstanding performances at the Queensland SS State Netball titles last week by being named in the 19U Queensland team. Bayley played in both the Wing Defence and Goal Defence positions throughout the tournament and is definitely a player to look out for in the future.
Bayley is also currently in the 2021 Queensland 17U squad alongside her talented Somerset team-mate Elsa Sandholt.
Huge congratulations girls!
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