We welcome Miss Anna Perry who will teach Mr Greg Juniper’s classes as he takes well deserved long service leave. Mr Stephen Henderson will act as Year 11 Common Room Co-ordinator.
Mr Bassingthwaighte (Headmaster) at the exhibition for Year 12 student, Elaine Fei, whose artwork will be on display at the Synergies Exhibition in Term Four.
I look forward to sharing with you the wonderful events ahead; Day of Dance, Celebration of Entrepreneurship, Vicki Wilson Cup Netball finals, Cultural Collage, the Foundation Garden Party, State Finals in Chess, Junior School Showcase, Synergies Exhibition, Sports Awards Evening, Valedictory Chapel and Dinner, Year 6 Dinner, the Christmas Service and of course Scholars’ Day. Exhausting just to list them!
You will have seen numerous articles about the funding debate for education. It would be hard to know where to start. What is important is that we are well informed about any changes and have adequate time to plan. That has been past practice and we trust it continues. We all deserve a transparent and fair system, unfortunately that has not existed for many years as successive governments on both sides have cut deals to avoid upset at the ballot box. Your Board is well informed and remain prudent stewards of the College.
Your support, and the unprecedented demand we are experiencing, means Somerset is well placed to weather any winds that blow.
Over the course of the three days the students rotated through the six sessions and were led by instructors and teachers through an Eco –walk, archery, rock climbing, orienteering, and canoeing on the beautiful Clarrie Hall dam, Team challenge and Problem solving. The students were great ambassadors for the College during these sessions and they all offered their assistance to each other as they creatively attempted to solve scenarios presented to them.
We also saw the creative sides of the students during the performance evening on the last night, when the Barn turned into a Year 4 talent show during a very heavy passing shower of rain.
It was a wonderful camp with many happy, but tired campers, returning to the College on the Friday afternoon to their families.
The students were fortunate enough to be visited by Mrs Eades who happened to be an authentic Egyptian. Her story of fleeing the country and the traumatic events she had to overcome, truly touched us all. Mrs Eades also taught the students to speak five words in Arabic and rewards were given to those who had the ancient tongue.
There was also a games session, which needless to say, was enjoyed by all. The board games and Pick up Sticks were the favourites, along with creating their own marbles games.
The documentary was interesting in its own way, as it revealed what was under the bandages of a mummy when using technology today. Mummification was a fascinating process in preserving bodies that were over 3000 years old.
Over a few weeks in Term Three, students have been writing and reading about a chosen Egyptian topic based on their own research question. Whether it be about the Gods or the way Egyptians lived their day-to-day life, everyone was immediately fascinated by this culture and how resourceful they were.
Overall, I found the students enjoyed the day. The 3-D Models were amazing and it was great to see the creativity and the time and effort put into these final products.
On behalf of the Year 7 cohort I would like to thank all who helped to make this fascinating day possible.
This year, Kevin Song, was successful with his application to attend the QUT STEM camp. In his words:
Kevin Song, was successful with his application to attend the QUT STEM camp in 2018
I was given the opportunity to explore research around bio-fabrication and medical engineering. Our project involved 3D printing of a viable scaffold that would repair a fracture to the scull using different types of medical imaging. It was a valuable experience and I learnt a lot.
The camp is free to attend. Applications for the 2019 camp will open in April 2019. Information will be posted to Schoolbox.
Somerset College is notorious for its success in the Gold Coast Debating Competition; however, it is undoubtable that students participate out of sheer adoration for the intellectual activity. None of this would be possible without the immense commitment by the parents and coaches. Special mention must go to Mrs Wheeler, Mr Henderson (JUN B), Ms Lee, Ms Hyman (JUN A), Ms Coombs, Dr Margerison (INTER B), Mrs Moore (SEN B), Mr Wrigley (OPEN A) and of course Mrs Hossy, our incredibly devoted and enthusiastic Debating co-ordinator.
In terms of performance, this year the Somerset debaters once again prevailed in 2018. There are two Open A teams, both of which fought admirably and made it to the latter stages of the competition with both teams competing in the Semi-Final. Following tough-fought debate, the Somerset 1 team succeeded with the negative side of the topic “Refugees Deserve Better from Us”, putting them in the final against St. Hilda’s at Bond University. Somerset 1 fought their most gruelling debate yet with the topic “We Most Condemn More and Understand Less”, in which they were the affirmative team.
Unfortunately, in their second and final year competing for the crown in the final, they were unable to win the chocolates on the night. However, the team consisting of Jason Zhang, Charlotte Roche, Olivia Hammond, Chloe Oxnard and Uni Kyeong remain as one of the strongest teams within Gold Coast Debating. The Somerset 2 team, which consisted of Kurt Grigic, Riley Cameron, Josh Hamlin, Jason Adams, Cian Muenster and Michael Guy, were labelled the ‘dark horse’ of the competition, as they had little experience before competing. They proved that experience does not guarantee success when they defeated the All Saints 1 team during the primary finals. It goes without saying that coach and mentor, Mr Wrigley, led both the Somerset Open A Debating teams into the Semi-Finals and without his guidance it remains unseen if either of the teams would have moved past the group stages.
Credit must also go towards Somerset 1 in the Junior B competition who managed to be the only Somerset team to win any division of the Gold Coast Debating Competition. During their first year of debating, they have fought hard and given their absolute best to each debate, which is evident in the successful result. The team consisted of Tanya Hsieh, Mian Huang, Victoria Huang and Isabella Seymour. Well done to them and we look forward to more success by these young debaters in the future.
We hope many of you participate in Debating in 2019, as it is an enjoyable co-curricular competition that is highly valued by both students and the wider community. We do not doubt that the 2019 season will be as successful as 2018, and the years preceding.
Water3 has created a network of convenient water refill stations throughout South-East Queensland that dispense fresh chilled spring water – in still or sparkling and reusable stainless-steel bottles and provides you with the opportunity to buy your own Water3 reusable bottle.
Water3 refill stations are cashless, providing the choice of using your own bottle transacting via a Debit/Credit Card or registering your own Water3 bottle and using the contactless payment system. Visit the ‘How to Video’ link to see the Water3 refill station in action.
For further information on Water3, including registering a bottle or finding your nearest water refill station please visit Water3.com.
The Senior Girls had an exhausting schedule, playing five games before 1.00pm. Despite a lack of preparation and a limited amount of knowledge on the intricate rules of Rugby Union, the girls played with extreme courage and determination. With each game the girls advanced their knowledge and skills and despite playing some very adept teams they never shirked and were extremely competitive up against teams like Miami State High and Keebra Park High who have had upwards of 50 games this year alone. A good win over archrivals All Saints was one of the many highlights of the day.
Special mention must go to Madizen Wilkins who has been asked to join a girls development squad after completing a stellar tournament which included three tries, numerous try assists and some crunching tackles, one against a certain Saint Stephen’s girl that left the crowd wincing after a cacophony of ‘Oooohhhs’. Notable mentions also go to Alice Neale, Abigail Kavanagh and Solange Paige Stephens for their excellent level of play.
The Senior Boys did not quite have as intense a schedule as the girls, nevertheless their level of play was exceptional and they showed the other teams at the tournament how to play an expansive and skilful game of 7’s Rugby. They dispatched both Kings Christian College 2 and All Saints Anglican School in pool play by margins of 30 plus points. This qualified them for the final against Kings Christian College 1. The game was a much closer affair than the prior games but the team still cruised to victory with a 24 to 5 win. Sam Dalton and Rhian Stowers were at their elusive best bamboozling their counterparts at will with fancy footwork and excellent acceleration. The Senior Boys team gladly accepted the winner’s trophy, completing a hot and tiring but very successful day for both teams.
The training schedule and draw for Term Four can be found under the Summer Sports Icon on the Junior School Sports page on SchoolBox.
Click on link below to find out where and when each team play each round throughout the term. This information can also located in weekly notices.
Junior APS Summer Sport Training Schedule 2018
Early bird swim training sessions are now up and running on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7am to 8.15am at the College Pool. This is open to all students from Year 3 to Year 6.
The aim of the Early Bird Swimming Sessions is to help increase confidence in the water and will also specialise in ways to improve technique.
A Somerset College Junior Swimming Training Squad (The Somerset Snappers) will be invited to train at the same time. Junior APS Swimming Team Manager, Mrs Kate Grigg and Mr Forrest Butcher, Head Coach – Somerset Swimming, will supervise and lead both of these sessions under the guidance of nationally accredited expert coaches and qualified Somerset Sport Staff.
In the first week of the school holidays, River Edgley (3B) competed in the Queensland State Championships at the Sleeman Centre, Chandler. He came third overall for the 10 years and under Level 4 category. River is only eight years old and was competing against children 18 months older. He was able to place in five out of the six apparatus.
The following week he also competed in the National Club Championships held at Carrara, Sports and Leisure Centre. The Gold Coast A team which River was a part of, came first overall (out of 33 clubs and 145 gymnasts).
He then placed five out of the six team individual apparatus events:
River is a busy young boy training three, one-hour sessions 5 days a week. All this hard work has definitely paid off and we wish to congratulate him for all of this success.
Thursday 18 October - Round Two, Junior APS Summer Sports v A.B. Paterson
All information about Junior School Sport can be located on Schoolbox by clicking on the Junior School Sports page.
James (Year 8) recently competed in two days of Men's Artistic Gymnastics at the National Clubs Championship held over the holidays at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre on the Gold Coast. Over 5000 competitors from all gym sports (Men's and Women's Gymnastics, Rhythmic Gymnastics and Trampolining) spent three and a half weeks competing in their individual sports.
James, who has done 13 years of gymnastics, competed in Level 7 Open and had two days of successful competition both with his team and individually finishing with a personal best score against athletes from all over Australia.
All students are required to practice with their APS Summer Team once each week and attendance rolls are taken. If students are unable to attend, parents must make contact with the coach, in advance, so we can maintain our “duty of care”.
Week 1: Practices as usual and Round 4 vs St. Stephen's College
Week 2: Practices as usual and Round 5 vs A.B. Paterson College
All students are required to practice with their APS Summer Team once each week and attendance rolls are taken. If students are unable to attend, parents must make contact with the coach, in advance, so we can maintain our “duty of care”.
Click here to access photos of your sport or your team.
All Season details on Schoolbox Senior School Sports page. (“Winter Sports” tile for all season dates, and training schedules of the APS Season).
Student Injuries: If your son or daughter is injured at school sport, it must be recorded at the time by the school nurse/medical person present if parents wish to apply through the school insurance policy. If delayed signs or symptoms arise over the weekend, students must notify the school nurse on Monday morning.
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