Our athletes provided great moments, rivalry, memories and records that we were able to share. From our very youngest in Pre-Prep, competing in their first sprints, to our Year 12s, competing in their final events. With up to three cameras providing feeds to choose from at any time, the challenge was often which event to share.
What initially started as our response to COVID and the need for these events being spectator free, has now turned into something more. We have received some many messages of thanks from parents that would have been unable to have attended and that now could watch – be it working parents, parents working away from home, grandparents living inter-state or internationally. Our location list included viewers from Sri Lanka, United States, Japan, Brazil, New Zealand, Greece, India and so many more. Its been a first of its kind but certainly will not be the last of its kind.
Special thanks go to our camera operators over the various days. They walked many kilometres, and in some cases, ran alongside athletes over the days to try to capture the best views of our athletes across a range of activities. Certainly, we learned that the two more challenging events to try to capture on camera in a live stream are 17+ Javelin, where watching the camera too much could be disastrous and no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to pan the camera fast enough, and the Pre-Prep Egg and Spoon relay – trying to keep track of who was still going and where on the track was real challenge.
Thanks also to Mr Phil Shapcott and Mr Grant Peel for their experience and expertise with Easylive.io and their set up of all the livestreaming technology and production over multiple days, mixing different camera feeds and overlaying with information to add context to our viewers. Our guest commentators and interviewers, James and Brooke, our Senior School Sports Captains, both did an amazing job.
They began in Term Two isolation, zooming their way through revision of Greek Theatre conventions and bravely participating in practical workshops through the lenses of their devices. Once back on campus they explored the many conventions of Contemporary Theatre and considered the possibilities that could exist in order to re-imagine and transform the classic Greek text, Antigone by Sophocles for a contemporary audience.
Emma Lekich showed Antigone immortalised into the realm of the gods, immersing the audience into the universe through her use of multimedia, object puppetry and symbolic imagery. Thomas Liu and James Enwright bombarded the audience with sound and projection as they transported the audience into the not too distant future. A surveillance driven Creon slowly unravelling as he is challenged by the ideals and decisions of his son, Haemon.
Finally, Dom Bensley, Anna Boone, Ella Hammond and Lilly McCoomb drew inspiration from the protest movement of the 1960s. Leading their audience to multiple locations for their site-specific piece, they skilfully fragmented the text to focus on the meaning existing within the line, “I was born to love, not hate”.
On behalf of the Year 12 Drama students I would like to thank our skilled technical team, led by Mr Sam Cash and our audience for attending to support their work.
Congratulations Year 12 on presenting three transformative pieces that would make Dionysus proud!
Crostoli are the traditional Italian pastries sprinkled in sugar that are enjoyed in Venice during Carnevale – and they are delicious! Our Junior School students in Years 3 to 6 and our Senior Students in Years 7,8,11 and 12 absolutely enjoyed sampling this authentic Italian delight!
The Junior students have been creating calligrams in class themed to connect with topics currently being inquired into. The Year 3 students have made calligrams based on pencil-case items, the Year 4 students are working on maps of Italy, and the Year 5 students have been making calligram representations of the Learner Profiles as they embark on their PYP Exhibition journey.
This task took several weeks of preparation but has turned out incredible! Not only do we know our eminent person inside out, we have learnt and improved so many skills as well. For example, research skills, self-management skills and more.
Now what is Afternoon of Eminence? This is a process of lots of research, creative thinking and fun. We create posters, form reflections, construct timelines, script poems and the list is quite long. And after we do everything, there comes the night when the Year 5 students transform into their eminent person.
On this night we showcase all of our hard work and a special event. The special event is when you make a model, something like a dinner party, and invite 3 eminent people and your eminent person to the model. The night of Eminence was such a wonderful experience. You got to talk to many people about your person and answer any questions about your eminent individual. During the process of Afternoon of Eminence, we displayed all learner profiles, whether it was in school or out. These learner profiles contribute to the making of our future and we all hope we can be leaders like these Eminent people. That is the 2020 Afternoon of Eminence.
The main aim of this initiative is to encourage students to develop awareness and empathy whilst making a contribution to people and organisations in our wider community.
Over the last two terms a group of Year 7 students formed a committee to fill Hayley’s Cupboard with food stores for those in need at the Crisis Centre. They took the initiative to instigate a ‘Food Drop’ collection in the Junior School after hearing about the desperate needs of the Crisis Centre which is affiliated with the St Johns Anglican Church in Surfers Paradise. This centre has direct contact with the homeless people of the Gold Coast and are always in need of food stuffs, toiletries and clothing.
Two Year 7 students spoke at the Junior School Assemblies asking for help with their ‘Food Drop’. This venture was a great success and the Hayley’s Cupboard Committee were overjoyed with the response.
Diann Eadeh, a volunteer at the centre, organises many activities and has a group of volunteers who help with cooking meals, distributing food items and even some who offer their professional services for free. She stated that they offer cooked breakfasts every Saturday. Some of the items they give to help people who are struggling to make ends meet, are Go-Cards, part pay bills, food hampers and children’s school uniforms. However, this year has been very tough with the COVID restrictions.
On Saturday 25 July, eight Year 7 students met at the Church to view Hayley’s Cupboard with all the food items that had been so generously donated by the Somerset College Community. They were very excited to see how they had personally transformed the practically bare cupboard and that many, many people would benefit from it over the next few weeks, as it was now overflowing. Some reflections from the students are as follows;
"I think it is sad that all these innocent people and children have to go through such hardships and lengths to provide for themselves and their family.” - Ella Simmons
“This has made me a lot more self-aware on how hard people have it whilst I’m alright just a corner away.” - Anika Lu
"With such small numbers of volunteers, its incredible how they make enough food for the less advantaged. I think they should have a pat on the back for putting this together.” - Hana Chandler
“I feel proud of myself that I was able to help the clients with their essential needs. I hope to do this again.” - Sania Gill
“Everybody must appreciate what or who they have in their life and the Crisis Centre helped me learn that.” - Riddhi Athota
“It made me stop and reflect on how fortunate we are at Somerset College and how lucky we are to have such fortunate lives when there are some that can’t afford to even eat.” - Raahul Ramani
“I think it is wonderful that the Crisis Centre is doing so much for our community and giving to those in need. Although I may not fully understand how much they suffer on a daily basis, I will still continue to do as much as I can to help these people." - Jasmine Small
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all the parents in the Junior School who gave so generously to this very worthy cause and we would like to thank Diann at the Crisis Centre for sharing their cause with us and showing us the different aspects of their centre. Their endless support to help those less fortunate than ourselves is admirable.
Starkey House took out the overall points trophy with a formidable victory at the Senior Inter-House Athletics Carnival. There were many outstanding performances throughout the day in what was perfect weather for competing and generally having a great time. Due to Covid-19 our event was live-streamed the entire day. Many people tuning in from countries around the world. Viewer numbers peaked at 150 watching at one time during the day.
The Age Champion medals are always hotly contested, and this year was no different. There were so many outstanding performances that is was a shame that only the Top 3 receive medals.
There were also many NEW Records achieved on the day which was a great indicator of the training so many of the students had been completing during the Covid-19 lock down period and into the lead up to the Carnival. Over the mid-year holidays, we had more than 290 students attend training which is very encouraging for the school athletics programme.
Girls – Steph Aguinaldo 12yrs Shot Put 9.50m, 100m 14.27; Diaz Henry 17yrs 100m 12.35; Mia Richards 13yrs 200m 28.30; Britney Ingr 15yrs 100m 12.30sec, 200m 25.17, 400m 1.01.74, Long Jump 5.27m; Starr Scott 16yrs 400m 1.01.86, 800m 2.19.11, 1500m 4.57.38; Erin Shepherd 13yrs 800m 2.39.27; Girls 15yrs 4x100m Relay (Laver House) 57.02. Boys – Felix Jackson-King 17yrs Triple Jump 14.20m, High Jump 1.96m; Jake Iles 14yrs 100m Hurdles 15.38; Prosper Nwoko 17yrs 100m 10.95; Elijiah Hill 13yrs 800m 2.23.47; Bradley Shepherd 15yrs 800m 2.11.01; Jake Giltrap-Good 14yrs 800m 2.14.38, 1500m 4.31.93.
Standout athletes on the day were many. Multiple record breakers achieved some impressive performances spread throughout a very long day. Felix Jackson-King, our Senior Athletics Captain led by example winning the 17rs Age Champion and breaking both the High Jump and Triple Jump records. Jake Giltrap-Good also achieved the same winning the 14yrs Age Champion and breaking records in both the 800m and 1500m. for the girls it was the record breaking performances of Britney Ingr 15yrs 100m, 200m, 400m and Long Jump and Starr Scott 16yrs 400m 800m and 1500m that really shone through.
Congratulations to the students, the coaches, and our wonderful school staff members for ensuring the day ran smoothly. Thank you to Mr Bassingthwaighte for giving the green light to run the Carnival and a big thank you to Stephanie Opperman, Kate Webb, Issy Garland and our Director of Sport Candice McKenna for making the day happen and being such a success.
For all the results of the day, please look on the Athletics page on Schoolbox. Our next event is the Somerset College Invitational Athletics Meet on Wednesday 19th August. Best of luck!
Thursday 23 August we held an excellent day of Inter-House Athletics where a lot of fun was had by all involved. Veivers House took out the overall points trophy with a strong display of depth and teamwork. There were many outstanding performances throughout the day, in what was perfect weather for competing and generally having a great time.
Due to Covid-19 our event was unfortunately ‘parent free’ however thanks to all the Somerset staff we were able to deliver an amazing livestream of the entire day which went out to many countries around the world.
The Age Champion medals were highly sought after by the athletes who have been dedicated to their training with 10 out of 10 of the Champions being keen members of the regular Athletics Training Squad. There were so many outstanding performances that is was a shame only the Top 3 receive medals.
There were also several NEW Records achieved on the day which was a great indicator of the training so many of the students had been completing during the Covid-19 lock down period and into the lead up to the Carnival. Over the mid-year holidays, we had more than 290 students attend training which is very encouraging for the school athletics programme.
Girls - Ava Webber 8 to 9yrs Discus 12.06m; Kasia Pitura 8-9yrs High Jump 1.06m.
Boys – Aden Webber 11yrs Shot Put 13.36m, Discus 33.83m; Liam Seymour 8-9yrs Shot Put 6.77m.
Congratulations to the students, the coaches, and our wonderful school staff members for ensuring the day ran smoothly. Thank you to Mr Bassingthwaighte and Ms Rebecca Collie for giving the green light to run the Carnival and their as always, wonderful support. A big thank you to Kate Webb, Stephanie Opperman, Issy Garland and our Director of Sport Candice McKenna for making the day happen and being such a success.
For all the results of the day, please look on the Athletics page on Schoolbox.
The premise being to increase our students opportunities and experience in rugby and hopefully reap rewards for the future by having more battle-hardened and knowledgeable rugby students.
The game itself was a torrid affair with torrential rain and a pitch more reminiscent of a 100 metre swimming pool rather than a grass rugby playing surface. At best, most kickoffs went a mere two to three metres before the referee wisely opted for a punt style kick to start and restart the match. The Somerset team started well with a good grubber through by Outside Centre, Fergus McKeon for flying Fullback, Ashton Govenlock to pounce on the slippery ball just inside the dead ball area.
The difficult conversion attempt was waived away and the team led 5 nil against their more fancied opponents. Bond Pirates quickly levelled the score-line and then edged ahead with a fine conversion from out wide. The half ended with a narrow 7 to 5 deficit.
The positive halftime chat and watermelon from Jack Helliers dad, Stuart was welcomed and the team capitalised on the renewed enthusiasm to score from close range, with Patrick Sowerby diving over after continued pressure on the Bond try line. Will Lynch, slotted the conversion from out wide and Somerset had a defendable lead, 12 to 7, given the atrocious conditions. The remainder of the second half was a topsy-turvy affair as each team struggled to mount any continued pressure with the weather conditions making handling incredibly difficult.
With time up on the clock Bond Pirates were awarded a penalty and elected to kick for touch. The ensuing line-out was only 20 metres out from the Somerset try line. Bond won the line-out cleanly and then retained possession for what seemed like an eternity. The Somerset defence was resolute and kept repelling their forward runners attempting to drive over the line. However, the eagerness of our defenders eventually succumb and Bond were awarded a penalty right in front of our posts. The Bond Pirates captain smartly chose to shoot for goal to win the match. The penalty sailed over the uprights and the Pirates celebrated a lucky escape, 13 points to 12.
The disappointment did not last long as our boys were congratulated on their history making feat and the spirit in which they played the game was also the prominent focus. Needless to say our first foray into club rugby was an undoubted success and we look forward to our next match against Nerang Bulls at Griffith University Knights on Saturday 1 August at 11.40am.
All eyes were on the new young rowers as the took to the start line for the first time and showed off their newly learnt skills.
The Junior Boys started the regatta with a single scull race with Alex Jordan from Starkey taking the first win of the day. From there the leading house changed several times. Laver had some great wins in their quads, but it was the senior races that started make the difference. It was neck and neck between Starkey and Veivers, with the final result coming down to the last race. The Year 10 boys single scull saw Callum McClure cross the line first with Xavier McMullen close behind locking in a Veivers win by only three points. Well done Veivers!
It was great to see the whole rowing community come together and a big thank you goes out to all the helpers who did everything behind the scenes from setting up the tents, driving the tinnies, cooking the BBQ, selling uniform and putting on the catering to feed the hungry mouths.
Thank you also to all of those that came out to support our rowers and well done to everyone for rowing so well. The focus now switches to preparing to race other schools, and it will be great to show the Spartan spirit as we all compete together as one team:
1st Veivers
2nd Starkey
3rd Laver
4th Andrews
5th Franklin
The project will also be used to raise awareness within the school community about threats to native wildlife and the ways everyone can help to keep them safe.
These include:
Firstly, to acclimatize to altitude, they take a six-day trek up the Kanarli River valley in NW Nepal to the Tibetan Border. Once in Tibet, they have the huge challenge of the ancient ritual walk around Tibet’s sacred mountain - 52km, at up to 5,700 metres altitude. They attend Buddha’s birthday party with thousands of Tibetans – before travelling across Tibet to experience the capital Lhasa.
Sonam Ongmu Denzongpa, from the Gold Coast and film-maker Mark Gould from Sydney lead the group on a rare journey during Saga Dawa 2019, the summer month celebrating the birth death and enlightenment of the Buddha.
Music:- Tenzin Choegyal, Ani Choying Drolma, Toshi Tscuhitori Producers mark Gould
Our Characters
The members of the group come from a range of ages, backgrounds and experience levels. They are: four men and four women, ranging from 31 to 68 years of age. This makes for compelling viewing as they each have different motivations for undertaking the journey, offer unique insights and have different struggles along the way. It is an ensemble story, but inevitably some characters feature more strongly. Our core group are:
● Sonam Ongmu Denzompa, originally from Sikkim, married an Australian and has three daughters and lives on the Gold Coast. Sonam is a cultural Buddhist having grown up in a devout family. She speaks 5 languages including Tibetan and Nepali. For her this pilgrimage into Tibet is an act of cultural affiliation with Buddhism.
● Mark Gould is filmmaker and storyteller who has made seven films in and around Indian and Himalayan subjects. He seeks to go ‘beyond the far pavilions’ and bring back a story.
● Freeman Trebilcock is a young man from Melbourne who was raised Tibetan Buddhist and spent nine years as an ordained Buddhist monk. This journey has been a life-long dream, but he’s worried that a lifelong association with the Dalai Lama will mean they turn him back at the Tibetan border.
● Adrienne McRae is a midwife and avid bushwalker. She knows nothing about Tibet. Her simple and warm-hearted approach make her receptive to new experiences and always up for a laugh.
● Carmel Thew is a retired school principal with a passion for Tibetan Buddhism she discovered later in life. She’s an adventurous spirit who loves being outside her comfort zone. Although this time she may just reach her limits.
● Murray Cox is a Bondi landscape architect and poet who loves ocean swimming. He is as fit as a fiddle. Having just gone through a marital separation he hopes this pilgrimage will give him perspective.
● Charles Dodgson is a journalist, writer and teacher who is completing a book on Buddhism and its counter-narratives. He brings a wealth of historical knowledge.
● Dzung Price is a Vietnamese Australian medical practitioner from the Gold Coast. She thinks of herself as ‘spiritual’ but not religious. For her this walk is a personal challenge in grappling with the interaction of mind and matter.
The U6s braved the unsavoury weather conditions and put in a great team effort with Thomas earning player of the match for his great kicking skills. We kept up our defensive effort, but the opposition was just too good, and the end score was 8 nil.
It was a very wet Saturday with lots of rain for the boys to enjoy! Somerset played Robina with a win for Robina. The final score, 7 to 6.
Jacob scored three fantastic goals with Knox having a great game also securing two goals. There was no one Player of the Match this week but awarded to all players who put in a solid effort.
It was a tough team, but the boys did an amazing job keeping the game one for one until the last goal was scored.
This Saturday Under 7 White played home against Robina Green in the rain. Boys tried very hard and played a difficult game, experienced the first defeat with final score 3 to 5.
Sion scored two goals and Hamish contributed one. Franklin tried hard in midfield to break loose and Louise had a solid defence, breaking up many attacks from Robina Green.
Mums prepared fruits and snacks for each game. Many thanks for the support.
Under 7 Orange played Robina Blue on a rainy third Round of the Series. The boys showed great improvement in their teamwork with plenty of passing and maintaining of formation. Hunter impressed the crowd with his fancy footwork on show, particularly with a backheel pass to Jakub who in turn struck hard on the fly finding the back of the net. The result was Somerset 6, Robina 2 with Jakub and Hunter proving formidable attackers scoring three goals each.
Kai, Sam, Ruben and Louis were unwavering in the mud and rain fighting for possession of the ball and defending from a talented opposing side. A big thank you to Louis and Jakub for filling in to bolster our numbers on the day.
Unfortunately the opponent did not show up due to the bad weather. Coach Ryan has organised a 4 versus 4 training game.
The Somerset U8 Green had another win 5 to 3, this time playing Nerang White.
Despite the very wet conditions, Izaak got the team off to a great start by scoring the first goal in seconds of the match starting.
Nerang White put up a great defence and an excellent effort put in by both teams.
We had two goals scored by Ollie, two goals by Izaak and one goal by Max.
Player of the Match went to Vaughan but the whole team played so well, keep it up boys.
The U8 Blue team was the last team to kick off on this very wet and cold Saturday morning. Secretly all the soccer mums and dads were hoping that the game would be cancelled. Not the boys. They were eager to get out there no matter what the weather brought.
The more it rained the more waterlogged the ground became, causing a bit of frustration amongst all the players because they found that the ball was not going too far. Some worked out that you need to try and kick the ball up in order for it to travel in these conditions. Playing Palm Beach White on home soil our boys again dominated the match winning the game 4 to 2.
After a great win last week, the Under 10s were presented with a new challenge this week to play against Musgrave.
Musgrave was strong scored a total of five goals. Spartans did not give up and can be proud of the effort to have put in.
Harry played as striker in the second half and scored a great goal. Also, he took the Player of the Week. Congratulations Harry!
We have also hope Dash is getting better soon. Thank you to Elliot and Ashton for being in goals.
Boys had a good win against an under manned team from Ormeau. Nice to see different goal scorers such as Josh and Magnus. After the first eight goals Coach Maarten implemented a minimum requirement of passes to bring all the team into the game. The focus became more on quality passes and finding space than scoring goals.
All players did very well and Congratulations to Josh our Player of the Week. Well done U11 Spartans.
If any questions about Football at Somerset College? Please contact our Head Coach - Football and Futsal, Maarten de Kruijf. mdekruijf@somerset.qld.edu.au
All Futsal players met the coaches at the drop off zone to get ready for the School Futsal Titles. This year Somerset College presented themselves with the following teams: Under 8, Under 9, Under 10 and Under 11.
Arriving at Oxley Futsal Centre we found a great base to drop our bags and come together for meetings and taking rest between the games. After having set up rules in regards of behaviour, the teams were ready to kick off.
The Under 11s started their game against Saint Stephens College. The boys were not ready and lost their first match. After the game, Coach Maarten had a good chat with the boys about their performance and how to improve for the next games. The boys played St. Stephens again in the afternoon and showed some class. They dominated the game and scored many goals. The other opponent in their group was Cedar Creek. By winning both games versus Cedar Creek, the boys have been invited back for the next round, 21 August.
Congratulations Sabastian, Bailey, Nicholas, Caspar and Nash.
The Under 10s without much experience in Futsal played a total of six games. Winning three games and losing three was a good performance.
We hope to see many of these players back in the Somerset Futsal Club that will commence later this year. Jacob, Eli, Zac, Elliot, Harry, and Darcy well done!
The Under 9 team was mixed from Year 3 and Year 4 students. Under the supervision of Coach Ryan, the boys and girls mixed up their performances with wins and losses.
It was great seeing students playing together from different year levels. Well done Evie-May, Liam, Sehaj, Elijah, Hugo, Liam and Max.
The Under 8s performed very well. Most of our Under 8 Spartans played last year in the Varsity Futsal League. During the day we could see that playing for the Somerset Spartans Futsal Club has benefited their performance.
By having the experience of playing official matches, we were better prepared than our opponents.
Congratulations Paxton, Harper, Zhander, Danny, Connor, William, and Oliver. Also, a big thanks to Coach Sean that was looing after the team during the day!
For any questions in regards of Futsal at Somerset College. Please contact our Head of Football and Futsal Maarten de Kruijf. mdekruijf@somerset.qld.edu.au
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