During the afternoon over $51,000 was raised for the Foundation’s Scholarship Fund to assist students, who for financial reasons would not be able to attend Somerset, share in the Somerset Experience.
Special thanks go to our major sponsors. CONDEV again contributed most generously as did Bel Air on Broadbeach. The event would not have been as successful without this support. Similarly, we thank those members of the College Community who generously donated items to the online auction.
Congratulations to Catherine Lee and Harvey Young who were successful in bidding for the Seat of Knowledge. Thank you both for your support.
This was the third Garden Party held by the College and once again Dr Annette Allen chaired the committee who put the day together. Her determination, generosity and enthusiasm seem to have no limits and the success of the event is testament to her work. Thank you Annette. Idy Chan, Penny Walker, Marcelle Small, Therese Bourke and Bede Young worked tirelessly for over six months to ensure auction items were available. Just as importantly they encouraged families to join us for this wonderful afternoon. Thank you all.
I also extend my thanks to my colleagues, Siân Daniel and Suzie Frawley whose co-ordination and logistical support ensured the Garden Party ran smoothly on the day.
Catering this year was provided by Somerset’s chef Martin Furlong. We thank Martin and his team for providing us with a sensational meal.
An important part of the Garden Party, is an In Conversation session with Alumni conducted by the Headmaster. This year Natalie Smith (Class of 2015), Chantal Ward (Class of 2013) and Liam Rawson (Class of 2013) spoke of the impact their scholarships made to their education and life experiences. I thank them for their wonderful words about their time at Somerset.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2018 Garden party and we look forward to another successful event in 2020.
It surely was a magnificent demonstration of the talent of so many of our students and gave us all the opportunity to recognise and reward the time and effort that goes into perfecting these performances.
The night also recognises the individual achievement of our performers with the awarding of Colours and Honours in the Arts. It was impressive to see so many students being recognised.
We congratulate all our award winners and thank all students for their efforts throughout 2018. A very special thank you to all the Performing Arts Staff for their tireless efforts in helping our students perfect their art.
Five hours driving, a Maccas run and several card games later, we rolled into the Drought Angels warehouse in Chinchilla. Greeted by an amazing team of women, we briefly observed their charity shop filled with donated sundries, before heading out to Di and Andrew McIntyre’s black-angus cattle farm.
Driving along the gravel road, many of the students’ eyes were drawn open in a perplexed state. Along either side of the road were long ditches filled with murky water, but beyond that (other than the odd puddle) were dry, barren fields. After meeting Di and Andrew, they explained to us that a super cell had stormed through the town four days prior, bringing a vital downpour for most of the farms. However, they went on to say that follow-up rain was needed to actually break the drought and that the incredibly dry nature of the ground meant that a large portion of the water would evaporate before being absorbed by crops.
After some lunch and an interesting demonstration of the branding process, we headed over to a Watermelon farm run by father and son Darrell and Terry O’Leary. They had been thrilled by the forthcoming prospect of rain, but cruelly, they received kiwifruit-sized hail instead. Within half an hour, $600 000 worth of freshly planted watermelon crop (which was not allowed to be insured) had been destroyed. Commonly, people believe that farmers who are struggling with conditions are always just poor planners. However, when looking into the beaten eyes of Darrell O’Leary, whose watermelon crop had been ravaged by hailstorms or drought for four of the past six years, we understood that farmers in these circumstances are often completely at the mercy of Mother Nature.
Following this visit, we met Hayden, the drover, who had travelled from Bingara (his hometown in Northern NSW) to Chinchilla, in order to shift and feed 800 cattle. What truly astounded the group was the mental toughness Hayden showed to be living away from his wife and children for six months, whilst living out of a tiny horse float. Eventually, we managed to pull ourselves away from the temptation of the affectionate cattle dogs and headed to our accommodation at Columboola Country Homestay. Around the campfire, we were told shocking stories about wild dogs that often tore through farms, killing upwards of 100 sheep in a night, leaving us frightened for the night ahead.
The work of Drought Angels is so important; they provide the much-needed support and voice for rural farmers. Such is the quality of their social work, that we have invited them to the Somerset Entrepreneurship Festival for next year. Overall, this trip was an incredibly eye-opening experience that truly exposed the group to the struggles that farmers experience, and the amazing support that the Drought Angels consistently provide to assist them.
A huge thanks to Beth and John Hall from Birdlife Southern Queensland for helping us to identify 26 bird species in just under an hour. Highlights included a flock of around 70 Little Corellas feeding in the trees, with one checking out a tree hollow wildlife box as a possible nesting site. In addition to the bird species commonly seen around the sports fields, we spotted Australasian Figbirds, an Olive-backed Oriole, Red-browed and Double-barred Finches, Mistletoe Birds, a Tawny Grassbird and a Superb Fairy Wren.
The creek is the most important wildlife habitat at Somerset. All around the world, riparian areas such as this provide critical corridors for the movement of native animals, particularly frogs and the small, secretive birds that have been most impacted by urban development. The MYP Sustainable Spartans group is committed to increasing the habitat value of our creek by planting local native vegetation for wildlife to feed, shelter and rear their young.
Somerset College has engaged local bushcare consultants Regen Australia to prepare a plan for the creek regeneration project. This will provide a framework for our ongoing conservation and environmental education efforts.
yLead is an organisation which strives to teach young people to become leaders.
yLead stands for:L- Learning from mistakesE- Encouraging othersA- Acknowledging strengthsD- Developing connections
They used engaging games and a variety of activities to help us learn different aspects of teamwork. We started off with a simple handshake between two people. The handshake had to show our different hobbies and personalities. This taught us how we could develop connections with other people via simple methods such as handshakes.
An activity we did that helped us learn about learning from our mistakes was ‘Cops and Robbers’. This was definitely one of the highlights of the morning. It was also a time to have a run around and get involved. Through this game we learnt valuable skills: to cooperate with others, to learn from other people’s mistakes and encourage each other to do the best we possibly can. This also helped acknowledge our use of problem-solving skills and finding strategies to succeed in the best way possible.
Another activity we did was group work. We realised that each member of the group has unique abilities and strengths. When each strength is combined, the team is more powerful when we work together as a whole and not individually. Through this activity, we learnt how to lead the group with each of our strengths to perform the best we can as a team. The highlight of this activity was designing and creating a futuristic school uniform out of rubbish bags, including useful gadgets. Our captains for that specific area had the honour of modelling the ‘outfit’.
Through these games and activities, we learnt the true meaning of the acronym, and just how important each letter is and how each letter is important to us. Throughout the morning, we definitely realised there is much more to leadership than just a shiny badge. You don’t have to be in Year 12 or be a captain. Leadership can start from any age and continue to apply throughout our lives.
On behalf of the Year 7 cohort, we would like to thank the yLead team for this entertaining morning and amazing messages we will take with us for a life time. We would also like to thank Mrs Rowe for organising this lovely session with the yLead team. It was a delightful experience and we hope that they will visit again.
Last week Albert represented El Salvador in senior men’s Rugby League. Playing against Columbia Albert scored a try in his first ever international game, playing alongside his brothers Anthony and Michael.
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”.
Monday 29 October: Year 7 to 10 Practice *Year 11 and 12 Exams - 7.00 to 8.30am or 3.30 to 5.00pm
Wednesday 31 October: 7 to 10 Practice *Year 11 to 12 Exams - 7.00 to 8.30am or 3.30 to 5.00pm
Friday 2 November: APS Round 7 vs KCC (Girls Home) - 1.00 to 3.00pm
Monday 5 November: No Practice *Year 7 to 12 Exams (practices optional) - 7.00 to 8.30am or 3.30 to 5.00pm
Wednesday 7 November: PM Practice *Year 7 to 12 Exams (Exams end: am pracs optional, pm pracs compulsory) - 7.00 to 8.30am or 3.30 to 5.00pm
Friday 9 November: APS Summer Finals Round - 1.00 to 3.00pm
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”.
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.
Spots are limited for this tournament next year. This is the middle weekend of the Easter school holidays. For more details click here.
Early bird training sessions are now up and running on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7.00am to 8.15am at the College Pool. This is open to all students from Year 3 to Year 6. The aim of these sessions to help increase confidence in the water and specialise in learning how to improve technique.
The Somerset College Junior Swimming Training Squad (The Somerset Snappers) is also busy training at the same time under the supervision of Junior APS Swimming Team Manager, Mrs Kate Grigg and Mr Forrest Butcher, Head Coach – Somerset Swimming. So far this term the numbers have been excellent and it would be great to see some new faces come along to these training sessions.
Please stay tuned for information about Summer Swimming Camps during the Christmas School Holidays.
Queensland Cricket will be hosting an In2 Cricket Make up session on Wednesday 31 October from 3.30pm to 4.30pm on Lower Sands Oval. This is for those who participated in this program in Term Three.
Are you a Junior School student in Year 4 to 6 and have achieved success in a chosen Sport? If so, you may be eligible for a Somerset College Junior School Half Colour, Full Colour or Honours Award. To qualify you must have represented a sport with honour and pride at Hinterland, South Coast or State level/competition through the normal sport pathway for the College. If you meet the criteria for any of these awards, please contact Mr Mark Pitura: mpitura@somerset.qld.edu.au before Friday 2 November, 2018 (End of Week 4).
A summary of Junior School Colours for 2018 can be located on Schoolbox here.
These awards will be presented to students on Scholars Day, Saturday 1 December.
Thursday 1 November Round Four – Junior APS Summer Sports v KCC
Tuesday 13 November No Junior APS Summer Sports Training (Junior School ART SHOW)
Wednesday 14 November Lower School Swimming Carnival – Year 1 and 2
All information about Junior School Sport can be located on Schoolbox by clicking on the Junior School Sports page.
To begin our project, we first completed the Brisbane Kokoda challenge in 2017. We all thought the next best step would be to raise awareness of the Kokoda Trail and the Kokoda Youth Foundation towards our younger students, by creating a miniature version of it at school.
The generous Year 6 participants each made a donation towards the Kokoda Youth Foundation before stepping out onto the course. It was 1.5km long, going around the track and Wyangan with colour stations set up at various points. The Year 6s were sprayed with food colouring as they ran by, which they all found fun as their white shirts became rainbow coloured. At the end, there were prizes for those who finished quickly as well as lolly bags for everyone. It was a really hot day but everyone enjoyed themselves!
Thank you to all of the Year 6s for participating and the teachers who helped make our project possible!
In addition a number of passionate mathematics students in Year 12 participated in the Australian Mathematics Competition as well as ICAS.
In Year 11 two students achieved the top scores in Queensland and were awarded the prestigious Medal for ICAS-Mathematics in recognition of their efforts. Congratulations to Kevin Song and Harry Ko. Kevin and Harry will be invited to a special ICAS medal presentation ceremony in Brisbane later this year.
In total, eight students achieved scores in the top 1 per cent of both the state and nation and were awarded High Distinction certificates. We had 35 students achieve results in the top 6 per cent of the state and were awarded Distinction certificates. The names of these students appear below.
Year 7
Isabella Ong, Max Deffenti, Aditya Naik, Helen Zhang, James Bindra, Tatiana Leon and Nikita Rubis
Year 8
Daleep Bains, Charlie Liu, Nathalie Brown, Aaron Lim, Lauren Chan, Zhoumina Ma, Katherine Jordan, Amaani Bhasin, Vivian Song, Raffi Anderson, Shromm Gaind and Marc Hagan
Year 9
Miku Adachi, Vincent Chen, Angus Cheung, Momo Gondo, Maito Yamaguchi, Anna Hori, Roy Hsu, Kevin Bao and Victor Schinasi
Year 10
Desmond Chuah, James Guy, Marcus Ibsen, Alexander Krueger and Jack Hellier
Year 12
Jason Zhang and Scott Sang
In total, four students were awarded Distinction certificates and three students were awarded Credit certificates. One student achieved in the top 97 percentile rank and was awarded a High Distinction certificate.
I would like to recognise the participation of all students from Somerset College and congratulate them on their efforts and achievements.
Type on the line above then press the Enter/Return key to submit a new search query