We could not have had a more perfect Gold Coast winter's day to hold the carnival on. It was fantastic to see our younger students competing side by side with our senior school students, all striving to do their best for their house.
There were significant PB’s on the day and a huge number of new college records which is hardly surprising.
Athletics carnivals are a great spectacle and a marvellous way for the college community to come together and congratulate athletic endeavour. It is important never to lose sight of why we engage in such pursuits. While the ribbons or making the college representative team are a great reward relatively few will achieve that honour.
The real goal of these major events is to build house spirit and a sense of purpose for the common good of the team. To strive through fear, adversity, and in some cases just plain old lack of natural ability (that was certainly my excuse at school) and to still give of your best.
The lesson, that in life as in sport, we are often confronted by challenging obstacles. Unfamiliar environments where perceived failure may be a more likely prospect than winning, however success comes in many forms as does winning.
On Saturday, I didn’t witness students practising task avoidance but rather a profound dedication to try their best and be content with the outcome regardless of the objective finishing place. The fact so many young athletes give 100 per cent in even ‘E” and ‘F” division 100m races, filled me with more pride than all the record breakers.
I thank the P&F for the magnificent food stall that added to the carnival atmosphere.
I thank Mel Framp for stepping in to organise the Junior school events, the Heads of House who through their passion ensure that all events are filled and special thanks to Shane Lunniss, who organises and co-ordinates all aspects of the three day carnival.
Congratulations to every student who participated on Saturday!
First of all, what is an eminent individual? Well, it is someone who has changed the world for the greater good. For example, Marie Curie - she created the portable x-ray which saved countless lives during World War One. Another example of an eminent individual is Malala Yousafazai, who stood up to girl’s rights and education.
For this inquiry we had to do a number of tasks. To begin with, we had to do an amazing mind map, then we had to find a quote from our chosen eminent individual and write why this quote was special to us and what it means to us. Next, we had to create a timeline of at least 10 important dates in their life in any creative way. We also had to create an information report and a page in Italian. Lastly, we created and planned a special event for our eminent individual.
Of course, all of our hard work culminated in one very well anticipated event: the Afternoon of Eminence itself. As soon as the school bell rang, a buzz of excitement came across all the Year 5 students. We were given some time to get into costume and make final adjustments to our displays. The parents arrived and then, it was show time!
Everyone who attended the event saw amazing displays, from Liam Kiddle’s uncanny David Attenborough voice, to Sienna Taylor’s intricately designed display honouring Audrey Hepburn and Anna Thomas’ perfect replica costume of Indira Ghandi. The list didn't stop there.
We all represented our eminent individuals with pride and enthusiasm. We learnt so much about the individuals we had chosen to research, that all the parents who attended the afternoon, left knowing something new. Teaching our parents was extremely enjoyable and by the end of the afternoon we were all in a fantastic mood, topped with a great sense of pride.
Congratulations to Franklin House for their victory in the Senior School, Andrews in the Junior School and Starkey for the combined trophy.
Great weather, excellent parental support and typical Somerset Spartan spirit made it a great three days of competition. The Saturday commenced with all students (eight years to 18 years) running 100m before breaking out to field events. Our typically high participation rates kept the level of performance at an impressive level, with many records broken.
Many thanks to all those parents who attended, staff who officiated and most of our students, who always manage to turn these days into memorable ones.
Selected students now continue to prepare for the APS Carnival on 9 August, where the Senior School Team defends their title, aiming for three-in-a-row.
The Kokoda Challenge provides growth opportunities for students to participate in. A challenge to honour the fallen soldiers who walked the real trail in Paupa New Guinea during World War Two as the Imperial Japanese forces were approaching Australia.
The team consisted of Kydra, Sam, Caroline and Lauren.
While you must be physically fit (and the fitter the better), your fitness alone won’t see you to the finish line. It’s your mental toughness, your determination, your preparation and your team. No one will ever understand this Challenge, until they walk these miles and the hundreds of training miles prior to the event, in their own shoes.
We were fortunate to have experienced some of the biggest thunderstorms I have seen hit the event. For some sections of the Challenge, the students and I skied down the hill into massive mud bowls. All the while the group laughed at how ridiculous the situation was. Our team maintained a positive, never give up attitude throughout the event.
It is an incredibly humbling experience to hear the last post played at the beginning of the event; to lead our young people on a challenge that would change them forever; to laugh and cry with our team and our support crew; to feel overwhelmed and utterly exhausted, as we crossed the finish line at the 52 kilometre mark.
However, what was even more humbling was that we came to understand this challenge was not even close the skirmishes that the Australian soldiers experienced during 1942, and we were humbled by their courage, mate-ship and endeavour.
A very special thanks to Mickell Walden for being our support crew for the event. He prepared all our meals and supplies for each check point we came in. A job that usually is done by three to seven people for the past events I’ve competed in.
Congratulations to the team for completing the adventure in 14 hours and 30 minutes. As a teacher, I was able to see some very exceptional students take on some extreme conditions and share in some wonderful “growth experiences”.
Truly a fantastic event.
See you on the trail.
Kimberly competed at the Kids World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Championships in California over the holidays and won the world title. She is also the Queensland, Australian and Pan Pacific Champion. Congratulations to Kim on an amazing achievement.
The world’s most versatile teenage athletes are going for glory in Prague. Somerset's Hamish Boyd is there, competing at the Under 19 World Tetrathlon Championships.
He has had three fabulous weeks at the training camp in Hungary in preparation for the World Championships. The team ran 80km a week and had access to world class fencing coaching and training partners. They met other teams from around the world also preparing for the Prague event and are now collaborating with the US team to host a training camp at the Gold Coast and to attend a reciprocal event in Colorado.
Hamish competed in the Men's Individual Qualifier on Friday. Hamish knocked an incredible 27 seconds off his PB for the 200m swim and managed eight victories in his fencing. There was 90 athletes who competed for 36 places in the final, and while Hamish and his team didn't make the final, he did have a fantastic experience. He commented, that it is a first for Australia to have a team at the world youth championships, they are just the beginners there and will be using the experience to learn and improve. Hamish competes again tonight in the mixed relay.
Tetrathlon is a variant of the modern pentathlon, without fencing. Thus it comprises the four disciplines of shooting, swimming, riding and running.
Casey competed in the Queensland Surf Lifesaving Pool Rescue Championships at Southport Aquatic Centre on Saturday 22 July 2017.
The Year 9 Laver was one of 470 surf lifesavers from around Queensland competing.
Casey achieved great results finishing:
Students meet at 7.00am at the Track and practices are daily:
Students of all abilities and experience are welcome and all events are catered for with excellent coaches. Come and join Somerset’s biggest team.
Athletics Practices: Every day 7.00am at the Track
Athletics Practices: Every day 7.00am at the Track
Friday 4 September:
All sporting details are posted on Schoolbox on the Sports page.
One of Zuckerberg's main messages is to have an authentic identity online and to reject anonymity online. She counsels that we need to consider that as we speak as ourselves online, we have to be mindful that our voices can carry further and have greater authority or influence, so this means we have a greater responsibility to be mindful of what we say online.
Another very relevant message, is that we are the both the artists and the curators of our online selves. We need to consider our digital footprint and that our values are consistent with both our online and offline selves.
In many ways, the same messages of respect for the sports field, equally apply in the digital arena and our students were reminded of some of these messages. To Know the Code and behave with integrity, respect and responsibility. Many of the messages around sport and no abuse tolerated, respect all participants, conduct yourself courteously and treat everyone fairly are the same messages that we discuss with our students in regards to all aspects of their lives, both offline and online.
The format this year was different to that of the previous years, instead of one match per week, all the games were played in one day. A total of 21 teams (84 students all up, four on each team) took part, with seven full teams (28 students) representing Somerset.
Our top team handled the pressure very well, ensuring the perpetual Premier trophy went back to Somerset for the fourth consecutive year. James Kay (6.5 points on Board 1), Ben Atia (6 points on Board 3) and Matthew McConnell (6 points on Board 4) each won individual and team gold medals in the Premier.
Talia Varcoe (co-captain for 2017), was the stand-out individual performer, winning all seven games. She also displayed her excellent leadership skills, helping the team claim second place.
Other strong performers included Kabilan Manuneedhi (6 points), Callum Munro (5.5), Sean Nguyen (5.5), Lyanna Chan (5 points), Jason Li (5 points) and Ethan Chant (5 points).
Links to full results:
Coming up this Friday 28 July, we have the Inter-House Championships for Senior School (12.30pm to 3.30pm) and Junior School (3.30pm to 6.30pm).
A reminder, lunch club is open every day and I would encourage all keen students to come for a game and pick up some tips. The Chess Room (Toohey 2.6) is located above the Knowledge and Information Precinct.
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