Two 60 seat coaches, three mini buses, four 4-Wheel Drives and two cars plus a water tank trailer, 10 sea kayaks, three x catamaran’s, four x pacers (another sailing boat for the landlubbers) eight canoes plus a safety boat, in addition to the four trailers loaded to the brim with food, tents, BBQ’s, tarpaulins, and somewhere we managed to fit the students personal belongings and 16 even more courageous teachers.
As they say a picture paints a 1000 words. From the beaming grins and the feelings of accomplishment I hope every student feels they gained something worthwhile from the camp experience. To the younger siblings at home I hope they enjoyed being king of the castle for a week To the parents, your children did you proud. All I have heard from the staff is what an amazing group of students we have on both Year 8 and year 9 camp.
Thank you to the students who excepted the challenge of building new friendships, eating different food, attempting new challenges, either abseiling, rock-climbing, sand tobogganing, sailing, canoeing snorkelling etc. and remaining positive when confronted by lightning and sideways rain. For only four nights a year we ask students to open themselves to the new experiences and challenges of camp.
Last week was one the most successful I have experienced.
Well done Year 8 and Year 9.
During their stay, they attended a variety of lessons, enjoyed the Somerset Celebration of Literature Festival and also participated in a range of day trips. Comenius students visited Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, Springbrook National Park, Jellurgal Cultural Center and even had a surfing lesson at Currumbin Alley.
It was obvious by the tears on the day of departure, that genuine friendships and connections had been formed as a result of the exchange and all students were thankful for this advantageous learning experience. Thank you to the Somerset host families, staff and students for welcoming our German visitors and making their stay an outstanding experience. It is safe to say that the Somerset College – Comenius Gymnasium connection remains strong and we look forward to visiting our friends again in Düsseldorf for the 2019 German trip.
We attended insightful seminars about Ancient DNA and ‘Bugs and Drugs’, each hosted by a panel of professors and experts who specialised in these respective fields. We also went through the Brisbane Museum to see the current exhibits on display and walked through ‘Science Street’ which included a range of scientific displays and exhibits.
In the first seminar of the day, the panel discussed the mystery of what happens to DNA after death, which has long fascinated scientists. The seminar explored the biological processes which degrade DNA after death and compared different cases to show how DNA changes in the vastly different climates in our world. We heard everything from how penguins are preserved by the frozen weather of Antarctica (we were even shown bones from a 6000-year-old penguin!) to the dangerous recovery of sacred ibis mummies from the catacombs in Egypt and even heard how DNA was used to uncover the mystery of what killed Tutankhamun. But for any Jurassic Park fans out there, we can regretfully inform you that dinosaur DNA cannot be used to create an amusement park, since the degradation over such a long period of time makes it practically non-existent.
After this we visited the Brisbane Museum, with many students fascinated by the interactive Perception Deception displays, and the live snakes and turtles to pet. We also explored the many stalls of Science Street, lining Southbank Parklands, from looking at robots to the importance of soil. Some students even took the opportunity to take a plant for themselves to bring home. We managed to have just enough time to enjoy a Science Committee family lunch before we were off again to see a seminar about ‘Bugs and Drugs’ at the Conservatorium.
We all know antibiotic drugs have saved millions and millions of lives since their discovery, yet as our students came to learn in the second seminar of the day, this antibiotic era may soon come to end. As bacteria continue to change and adapt to our medical remedies, our pharmaceutical defences have failed to change with them, raising concern about the threats of superbugs and a post-antibiotic era. The panel analysed how the government, industry and science have all affected the escalating war on antibiotic resistance, and discussed what we as a community can do to help.
It is undeniable that all the students involved enjoyed their World Science Festival learning experience. We would like to thank Ms Hyman and Ms Amores, for organising this wonderful opportunity to allow us to further explore our curiosities in science.
There were some outstanding performances through the week for Somerset with many swimmers making individual finals, a great effort in itself, as well as quite a few medal winning performances.
As the South Coast Region is very strong at swimming, many of the swimmers contributed significantly to the medals won in the Regional relay events.
The Junior swimmers who made performed exceptionally were:
The Senior swimmers who performed exceptionally were:
Well done to all of the Somerset swimmers who competed at the Championships over the course of the week and the coaches who attended. At this stage it appears as though Max Allars, Ava Usher, Leon Shirayama, Harrison Smith and Connor Borkowsky have qualified to be selected on the Queensland School Swimming Team to compete in Hobart later this year at the National Titles.
Happy Swimming!
As the Year 7s were eagerly welcomed into the Senior School, their first weeks were characterised by swimming trials held for each house. Up until the main event in Week 4, it really was all hands on deck for all five houses as they squared up to see who would win the 2018 Inter-House Swimming Carnival. After a valiant effort from all five houses, it was ultimately Starkey House that emerged victorious – winning their first ever swimming carnival in a true display of House Spirit. Well done Starkey!
Later in the term, the talented casts from each house showcased the product of their weeks of hard work at the annual House Plays Festival. From the dramatic Veivers House production, to the hilarious performance of Franklin House, audiences on both nights were treated to boats, pasta, a dance sequence, kidnapping and a clearance sale. With the extraordinary standard of performances delivered by each and every house, the adjudicator was left with an impossible decision on the second evening and ultimately, it was Andrews House that prevailed with their tuneful and toe-tapping performance.
Before long, the school was transformed for the 25th Anniversary of the Celebration of Literature. Once again, members from around the College community generously contributed their time and enthusiasm into making this year’s Celebration one to remember! In addition to listening in on sessions from the many amazing authors, who seem to get more insightful and interesting each year, students young and old (as well as some parents) could be seen lining up for the much-anticipated and much-loved Poffertjes and Dippin’ Dots.
In the final weeks of term, the Year 8 and Year 9 cohorts both embarked on their most challenging camps yet, the German exchange students continued onto the next leg of their journey, the Somerset 1st XV Rugby Team faced off against Lord Byng (all the way from Canada), and athletes from around the world have started training in our very own facilities in preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
Now, as we begin to wind down at the tail end of our first term, we wish everyone a lovely break and cannot wait to see everyone’s smiling faces back again for another great term! Term Two will started with, arguable, even more of a bang - with the Inter-House Cross Country being held on the first Wednesday back. This will, no doubt, also be an exciting term for Musical cast-members and Wordsmiths, who will be heading off to camp, in addition to the Graduating Class of 2018, who will have the Senior Ball to look forward to.
Happy Easter!
The focus of the experience was to develop a strategic plan to promote the ideologies of STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics - around the College and in the wider community.
Throughout the conference, we discussed the ways in which we are able to raise awareness and promote participation in the four STEM subjects. As the Science Ambassadors, we decided to focus our attention on Science Week in Term Three. We specifically planned to target middle year students and gain interest through large scale experiments and interactive opportunities so students can experience Science rather than just read or hear about it. We are particularly excited about starting to incorporate the other three strands of STEM, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics into Science week with the help of our Technology ambassadors, Piper and Stephan. At the conclusion of the conference we were invited to watch the “Mathemagician”, Arthur Benjamin, who performed an extremely intriguing show using the combination of Mathematics and magician tricks. We were amazed by his ability to square four-digit numbers in his head and stunned when he explained the simplistic mental maths he used to do it.
Reflecting upon the trip, we believe that it was a very valuable experience where we were able to develop many skills of leadership, which will aid us in the promotion of STEM. We are looking forward to sharing our ideas with the Science Committee and spreading our enthusiasm for STEM throughout the College this year.
Cian unluckily missed out on the semi-final to compete in the “A” or “B” final, but went on to win the “C” final which placed him 17th in Australia and he recorded a faster time than many of the scullers who finished in the higher ranked finals.
Katherine Plume and Jade Mansell rowed in a variety of boats across the week-long competition making the final of the Under 19 women’s four with a couple of other Queensland girls to place them in the top crews in the country. They also competed in the Under 19 women’s pair and the schoolgirl’s single scull events.
Aidan McKeon, Blake Mills, Marc Eksteen, Lachlan Munro and Alexander Taylor-Girdler rowed in the schoolboy’s coxed four. They had a strong lead up campaign as a crew finishing fourth at the Queensland championships and making the final at the NSW state championships. At the Australian Championships the crew were 4th in the B final, placing them 12th.
All of these senior rowers have trained across the summer including the school holidays to compete at the nationals and they showed great persistence in their efforts in Penrith.
In between, there have been community service events, many trainings, photo shoots and our own Canadian Rugby tour to organise. Alongside that, a potential tour to Japan looms as a likely contender next year to coincide with the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
We have 26 excited Year 11 and 12 boys counting down sleeps until they depart for Vancouver Canada on Good Friday. To follow the tour please join our Facebook site: or our Schoolbox page at:
Below is a summary of results across various teams in the school over the past month:
**1st XV **
V Sunshine Coast Grammar School 17-21 loss V All Saints Anglican School 21-7 win
V Lord Byng Secondary 58-0 win
Somerset U10 (Year 4)
V Bond Pirates 25-25 draw
Somerset U11 (Year 5)
V Surfers Paradise 25-5 win V Bond Pirates 35-25 win
Somerset U12 (Year 6)
V Surfers Paradise 0-50 loss V Bond Pirates 10-22 loss
Somerset U13 (Year 7)
V Surfers Paradise 15-7
Somerset U14 (Year 8)
V Bond Pirates
Somerset U15 (Year 9)
V Surfers Paradise 14-29 loss V Bond Pirates 35-10 win
Somerset U16 (Year 10)
V Lord Byng Secondary 2nd XV 17-5 win
We look forward to starting our season proper when we return in Term 2 with games in Week 1 against Trinity Lutheran College.
Samuel competed up in age in the Under 17 division for Flags, Beach Sprints and in the Under 19 Beach Relay at last weekend’s state titles for Lifesaving. He had a very successful weekend and his results were as follows:
All policies and procedures are outlined in the Senior School Sport page of Schoolbox, under “Sport Policy and Dates”. All students and parents are encouraged to familiarise themselves with these.Please note, practices are compulsory for both Winter and Summer Seasons.
Hinterland Trials are for strong performers to trial for representative selection in school sport. These lead to Regional and State teams.
Students wanting to trial for these teams, must email or come to the Sports Department ASAP. All trials are listed on the Sports Page of Schoolbox (“Representative Sport” tile) and announced in Notices during the week.
Every day at 7.00am to 8.15amMeet Ms McKenna and Ms Oppermann at the Track, all welcome
House Cross Country Carnival, Wednesday 18 April:In Week 1 of Term Two, we will host our Annual House Cross Country Carnival. Students will leave class at the end of period four and head to the Track area to prepare for their races (16 Years+ Boys race 6km, all others race 3km). Awards will conclude at the Track by 4.45pm.
Monday 19 and Wednesday 21 March Compulsory APS Practices continue
Friday 23 March APS Winter Sports Practice Round vs ASAS (Years 8 and 9 on Camp)
Monday 26 March Compulsory APS Practices continue
Wednesday 28 March Compulsory APS Practices continue
Term 2: Weeks 1 to 8 Winter Season Rounds 1 to 7 and Finals Day
APS Sport Photos
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.
All sporting details are posted on Schoolbox on the Sports page.
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