It was very challenging for the young rowers and they did a great job to make it through the day without any major mishaps.
Year 8 students Nathalie Brown and Emily Macbeth both started their Rowing careers with a win, with each of the girls taking a win in the novice single sculls event. The two girls made it through the day undefeated also racing in the double and quad sculls. Emily teamed up with Mackenzie Cadman to win the division 3 double scull. Nathalie teamed up with Eden Dovrat to win the Division 2 double event and along Katherine Jordan, Jessica Velloza, and Emelia Fink, they also won Division 1 of the Girls Year 8 Quad Scull.
Some of the Year 8 boys also had a winning start to their rowing careers with Xavier McMullen, Timothy Hornsey, Zak Van Den Brink, Harrison Jordan and Callum McClure all taking out first place in their novice single sculling events. Raffi Anderson, Riley Bust, Harrison Jordan, Callum McClure and Zak Van Den Brink were narrowly beaten by Trinity Lutheran College in Division 1 of the Boy’s Year 8 Quad Scull whilst the crew of Thomas Gray, Timothy Hornsey, Xavier McMullen, Jasper Mansell and Lachlan Hartley took out victory in Division 2.
In other highlights the Somerset senior rowers won both the Boy’s and Girl’s open eight races. Katherine Plume and Jade Mansell Mansell won the open Girl’s Double Scull and the Boy’s Open Quad Scull of Blake Mills, Marc Eksteen, Lachie Munro, Cian Muenster and Jasper Mansell took first place. There were many other strong performances across the day including second places in the Girl’s Year 10 Quad Scull and also the Boy’s Year 9 Quad Scull.
As always the Somerset parents and supporters were fantastic in their running the catering and the logistics for the Regatta. I would like to extend a thank you to all of the volunteers including the Rowing Queensland boat race officials and all of the Somerset staff members who helped to make the day a great success.
The rowers will continue to race the Gold Coast regattas throughout Term Two.
The first film we watched was Jeffrey, a documentary set in the Dominican Republic that chronicles a young boy’s dreams to become a reggaeton star. Filmmaker Yanillys Perez spent four years documenting the life of Joselito de la Cruz and his neighborhood, whom she first found cleaning car windshields for money. After this, we had a session with a professional film reviewer in which we found ourselves critically analyzing some hit films and possibly reconsidering them.
We then watched Window Horses, a Canadian animated film about a young girl who is aspiring poet unexpectedly being invited to a poetry festival in Iran and finding out her family history along the way. We then had another session where two Brisbane animators who own a group called Like a Photon, who have made many successful children’s TV shows, taught us about animated character design and gave us examples from some of the all-time greatest animated movies.
We are extremely grateful to Somerset for giving us this great opportunity to learn from some experts in this field. We all left with some new knowledge and were excited about the future opportunities we had.
The Screen Smart Parent Tour is designed for parents of 10 to 14 year olds in particular. It’s an age where your child may be becoming more involved online and a time when the more proactive we can be with having conversations around online use, the better. We have ongoing eSmart sessions at school – this week, it was the turn of Year 7 students. We encourage parents to also be actively talking about aspects at home - be it staying safe, balancing online time, communicating respectfully, or, as children move into their teens, social media use.
The Tour helps parents to identify areas that they aren’t as comfortable or confident with discussing with their children and then read up on these areas, with succinct advice and practical tips. Essentially, a parent survey, it allows you also to see some trends and give some insight into what other parents think about these issues.
Overall, the aim is to remind parents of the types of conversations they should be having with their children, and provide practical tips and advice. The tour covers six important online areas and doesn’t take long to complete. At the end there are a list of useful resources within the iParent section of the website for further reading.
On the eSafety website, you’ll find a wealth of useful information about different online environments, including social networking sites and online games, including information about age restrictions, how to report and privacy controls. Taking some time to explore the website is recommended and it is a go-to in this space with a real commitment from the government to constantly updating the information within.
The Trans Tasman Cup is a tournament when Australia versus New Zealand in Golf. In order to qualify I had to rank in the top in Australia for my division.
I feel privileged because there has never been a 10 year old Captain before. As the captain of the Australian Trans Tasman Cup Team, I have the responsibility to make sure the team keeps motivated, positive and encourage good sportsmanship.
My goal as Captain for the entire team, is for all participants to have fun and enjoy themselves, whether they are a Kiwi or a Wallaby! I want Australia to try their best and give 100 per cent to the competition. I’m looking forward to reporting back on how we went at the tournament.
Students were provided with the opportunity to explore the way objects move in different ways through both observation and participation in a variety of scientific experiments incorporating the concept of movement. Prep friends discovered objects move in different ways because of their shape and what material they are made from.
In the classroom, children have displayed curiosity when they have been busy planning and building with a range of equipment including; marble runs, gears, toolo and duplo. This construction helps promote questioning and further consolidates student’s new knowledge in relation to forces. Here’s to our future engineers and designers!
Future Filmmakers is aimed at Year 11 and 12 students who are considering a career in film. Students were given a taste of the many aspects of and jobs available in the film industry, with speakers covering all aspects of the filmmaking business. This year we heard from screen editor, Dan Rice; pop-culture commentator, Maria Lewis - who you may have seen on SBS; location scout Duncan Jones - the man responsible for turning Brisbane into NYC for Thor: Ragnarock; directors; producers; actors and writers to name just a few.
We even heard from Bond Alumni, Elizabeth Cullen, who the Year 12's were fortunate enough to meet and see in character on set last year, when we visited the set of TV series "The Bureau of Magical Things". Elizabeth won a scholarship to study at Bonds' Film School after entering and winning BUFTA, which has opened many doors for her. All the more reason for Somerset students to enter this years' competition!
Breakout EDU allowed us to work in an interactive and cooperative learning environment, all whilst learning new French vocabulary and revising existing content.
I can confidently speak on behalf of my class in saying that this was one of the most beneficial activities we have played in French since starting it in Junior School. This is because everyone in the classroom was working together to solve the problems and were enjoying themselves. It did not even feel like we were revising content and everyone learnt in a more kinaesthetic and entertaining way.
Leaving the classroom, I even heard one of my classmates saying, it "was the best French lesson ever".
We all look forward to taking part in this game again and continuing to learn in this hands-on, collaborative environment.
To clarify, Somerset has had girls Cricket in the past – but it was a condescendingly watered down affair, played with soft balls and giggles. The gender assumptions behind this travesty has long rankled – those who think that girl sportspeople are somehow delicate flowers who need to be protected have never seen, for example, Katrina Howard take a cricket ball in the throat and still have the presence of mind to still take the catch. [n.b. Ritcho has informed me that there was a one-off side in the past, but I have not been able to verify this through archives]
The 11 girls in the squad were a pleasure to coach. They were unflaggingly energetic and enthusiastic. They turned up for non-compulsory training and were prepared to work on their game. They were happy to take suggestions and be coached by the hoary relic whose cricketing skill reached its acme in Gymea Bay B3s somewhere in the 90s.
We hosted St Stephen's College on Wyangan, where our beloved groundsman Pete did his best to prepare a pitch in the middle of Rugby season. Thanks must go to him and to Roger for prioritising this job, as it gave the girls from both teams a thrill to play on turf and to see the Wyangan electronic scoreboard feature a girl’s cricket team for the first time.
Thanks must also go to our Headmaster who gave up some time in his busy schedule to support the girls. I would expect no less, as all know how committed he is to see women’s sport take its rightful position.
Our other two supporters must also be mentioned. Ms Green came down to watch an over or two (thanks to the high representation of Starkey girls perhaps) and Janine Ardill-Walker, whose association with Somerset Cricket has not ended with her son Rory, who skippered the First XI in 2015.
Performances from the girls were shared almost equally on the morning, with Emma McTaggart bagging two wickets, and with Holly Clements and Alex Halloran bowling well and giving away little. Ashleigh Childs seems to be a born wicket-keeper, and I suggest that she starts taking glucosamine now if my knees are any indication (note that I am not a doctor – this is not to be taken as medical advice). Alex Grgic could not be dismissed in an innings in which our batters struggled against some St Stephens bowlers who did have some cricket experience.
Despite the best efforts of our girls, we could not get over the St Stephens team. I must mention that our girls had zero cricketing experience going into the match and just four training sessions under their belts. Aside from watching with humour as they tried putting on unfamiliar equipment, I have to marvel at the progress they have made in this short time. They made me proud, to be honest. I hope that this is the first step in a long tradition of women’s Cricket at the College, and should my fantasy of becoming Australia’s oldest poet laureate come to fruition, being part of this journey will still be something I will treasure.
Casey Wilson- Life Saving
Casey had a successful Aussie Surf Titles campaign in Perth where his Surf Teams ran 2nd in the Surf Race, Cameron Team a 6th and individually he finished 10th in the Surf Race out of a strong field of 32 finalists.
For the past two weeks, Year 10 student Kipp Thrupp has been competing at the Australian Championships, playing for Queensland.
With two pools made up of teams from every state, a team needed to finish first or second in their respective pool to make the cross-over semi-final matches. Kipp’s team won the tournament! Kipp was equal third highest goal scorer for this national tournament and received player of the match in one of the 8 round games.
While there is no Australian team selected for Kipp’s age group, there is selection into the National Talented Players Group for Development. Based on Kipp’s performance in this national competition, he has again been selected into this elite development squad.
We congratulate Kipp on his outstanding achievements in hockey. We see first-hand his arduous training schedule on top of his schooling and have the utmost respect for this young man as he strives to achieve in a very demanding and competitive sport.
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 Sports Trials
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.
Team TrainingEvery day at 7.00am to 8.15amMeet Ms McKenna and Ms Oppermann at the Track, all welcome.
APS Cross Country - Tuesday 8 May
All students selected for the APS Squad will be notified by email, along with their parents.
In Week 4 the Annual APS Cross Country Carnival will take place at Runaway Bay. The programme will soon be posted on Schoolbox. Students will also have the opportunity for a practice run at the venue 1 week prior, afterschool on Thursday 3 May.
Monday 30 April- No compulsory APS Practices – Parent Interviewscoaches will inform teams
Wednesday 2 May - No compulsory APS Practices – Parent Interviews_coaches will inform teams _
Friday 4 May - APS Winter Round 3 vs St Stephens(1st XV to play at a later date due to State Titles)
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.
This run along the beach was the first of many to come, but not nearly the most gruelling. That came the next morning at 6.00am, when we ran eight-kilometres to the very top of Pat Morton Lookout. We weren’t sure if the rain made things easier or harder, but it certainly made it more interesting. As hard as it sounds, we did have some time to relax too, enjoying kayaking, stand-up paddle boarding, and swimming in the beautiful tea-tree water of Lake Ainsworth.
That night we loaded back up on carbs after two more tough runs around Lake Ainsworth and a circuit session at the campsite to prepare for our final day. The weather didn’t prevail and we were kept in rain on a cold morning to finish off our camp with a light two-kilometre run and a focus on goal setting and nutrition.
This camp was such an amazing experience as it showed the potential of our younger athletes, and how people back each other up to keep them going. We must thank Mrs McKenna for her dedication to the team and programme as well as Mr Sayer, Mrs Hodge and Miss Oppermann for making it happen and for running with us all the way. We have already told these amazing staff members that we’ll be back to assist at the 2019 camp as co-coaches.
The 2018 Junior School Inter-House Cross Country Carnival was held at the College Wednesday 18 April. Each student tried their best, attempted to run the whole way without stopping and displayed excellent sportsmanship.
Well done to the following students who placed on the day:
Congratulations to Veivers House for winning the Carnival.
The placings on the day were as follows:
A huge thank you to all the Junior School staff who contributed to a successfully run Carnival.
Good luck to all our students who have been selected to compete at the Junior APS Cross Country Carnival at Runaway Bay, Tuesday 8 May.
Team training is every Monday to Friday at 7.00am on the track.
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