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.
Last term 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 John's 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.
The girls spoke at the Junior School Assemblies asking for help with their ‘Food Drop’. This venture was a great success and the girls 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.
On Saturday, May 4, 14 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 am happy to see now how Hayley’s Cupboard is organised and it is great that there is a place for them to have a shower, get a new shirt and some food.” - Stevie
“I learnt that just 1 person can make a difference. Seeing the place that we helped is super-powerful.” - Roxy
“I think it is amazing how much help is being provided for those in need.” - Emmeline
“I feel like not enough people know about the Crisis Centre and how we can donate.” - Luella
“I’m happy that the Centre provides warm, thick blankets to the homeless.” - Ekheera
“It is really fulfilling to meet amazing people who sacrifice their own time for others.” - Summer
“Before today I thought the Crisis Centre only gave out food, but I know now that many other services are offered.” - Jenna
“It really makes you realise how much we take for granted every day. I am very happy that I got this opportunity to see what was really happening and what these issues really look like and how people CAN make a difference.” -Athena
“I feel proud of our efforts in Year 7 as it has helped the homeless who have very little." - Felicity
“It was heart-warming to see the food we had collected and hear what a difference it would make." - Bella
“We should all appreciate what we have, when others are less fortunate.” - Sofia
“Now that I have visited the Crisis Centre I feel that I have really contributed to those in need." - Esme
"It really does change my perspective on how much 1 contribution from us can affect so many people.” - DJ
"Coming to the Crisis Centre really made me realise how lucky I am.” - Valentina
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 and Edward Eadeh and 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.
Somerset College entered three students in the Junior Division (Years 7 to 9) of Rostrum Voice of Youth this year:
Jaye Samra, Year 7, spoke about overcoming fear of failure under the topic 'A towering achievement'.
Rishi Veeramachineni, Year 8, spoke about racism as the force behind terrorism under the topic 'Be part of the discussion'.
Tanya Nagrani, Year 9, spoke about the value of the Notre Dame under the topic 'Genuine treasure'.
We are delighted to announce that Rishi Veeramachineni, Year 8, won his Gold Coast heat and Tanya Nagrani, Year 9, was awarded Runner-Up in her heat. Both students will progress to a Gold Coast Final on Saturday 18 May.
All of our students performed extremely well, showing promising potential for Somerset College’s future participation in the programme.
We wish Rishi and Tanya the best of luck in their preparations for further rounds.
Year 8s and 9s also join the Year 1 and 2 students in their playground, designing and playing fun games with them.
Each Wednesday we are greeted by enthusiastic, smiling and excited Year 1 and 2 students which can’t help but make you smile. The kids are all so friendly and love to hug and get to know us better; they also love the activities. Active Kids is a great Service Learning opportunity for all Year 8 and 9 students. Anyone interested in participating this term should contact Ms Lee.
Some past Active Kids participants have said the following about their experience:
"Many generous volunteers from Year 9 Veivers house went down to the common oval on a Wednesday lunch time, to participate in the Active Kids programme. During the Active kids programme volunteers set up various activities to entertain the year ones during their lunch break. The activities which were set up were physically challenging and involved collaboration with members of their class. As a group we enjoyed getting to know the children over the term, as well as forming valuable friendships and talking to the younger generations of the Somerset community."
"During the programme I enjoyed cooperating with the children playing games and getting to know many of them. Throughout the course of the term, I began to look forward to the programme every lunch time and meeting up with the kids which I had formed friendships with. From the programme I learnt to collaborate with children much younger than myself, and develop friendships which I would have never had a chance to otherwise. I discovered that it wasn’t as difficult to have a conversation with young children, as I expected it to be and I enjoyed working with young kids. This came as a surprise as I didn’t expect to get along with many kids during the programme. As a whole the Active Kids programme was such a positive experience and a worthwhile activity, which provided me with many skills for the future."
"Active Kids is one of the most enjoyable service opportunities that I have participated in as part of the MYP. Throughout Active Kids, we the job of designing activities and games for the Year 1s. In doing so, we developed new skills such as communication and cooperation as we worked in teams to design the activities. We also got real-life applications to this, we learnt how to interact with kids who were much younger than us and we learnt how to design games appropriate for kids. I thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with people that I haven’t worked with before and it was good to get an idea about the background of other people enabling us to learn more about each other."
As soon as I moved to the Gold Coast in 2015, I was drawn straight into surfing. Surfing is not just a past time to me but a way to relieve stress, meet new people and be part of a community with a rich history. When I first heard about the Personal Project in my first full year of school at Somerset in 2016, I automatically knew that I wanted to shape my own surfboard.
The way a surfboard is able to float someone on top of a wave and be able to move water in way that that it is controllable fascinated me. When I actually started to begin the Personal Project journey last year, I realised that I would have to do more than just make a surfboard, I had to do something else to make it more challenging and relate to one of the MYP’s global contexts. So, I decided to relate my surfboard to the global context, scientific and technical innovation, and make it perfect for my surfing style, body type and surfing ability.
Throughout the design and production of my surfboard I have learnt a tremendous amount about shaping, painting and glassing a surfboard. As a base for my research interviewed a shaper I know of, Dave, who helped me design the specifications of my board and talked through some techniques and skills that I needed to know before I started. Shaping the board through the year, I have taught myself many of the techniques I needed to know by slowly trying different things and figuring out what tools I needed to use in what situations.
Unfortunately in recent weeks whenever I have had the time to be painting and glassing the board, it has been raining. Wet weather is an issue because I need to spray paint and glass the board outside to minimise the toxic chemicals I am surrounded by and I am going to use a catalyst in the resin that makes it only set when it is exposed to sunlight giving me extra time to perfect the glassing stage. I have now started the painting stage and have completed one of the four colours I need to paint.
I am excited to finish my board and be able to test it out in the water.
The Carnival this year will be Monday 3 June and helpers are needed for the canteen and the barbecue.
The P&F are also seeking donations of cupcakes and treats, chips, snacks and drinks. Any contribution for hungry athletes will be gratefully received.
Please deliver donations to the new P&F shed on Monday 3 June or contact Jane on 0402 907 140.
Should you be willing to spare an hour or two between watching your child’s events you can phone head, or just turn up!
Benefits of volunteering, makes you healthier and happier and puts you on a 'Helpers high', sense of belonging.
Tom Betts who, as one staff member expressed, “…is doing a brilliant job of not only managing a team of big characters, but also encouraging the boys to show character and values of which we should be really proud”.
Well done to Maarten de Kruijf and Stephanie Oppermann for coaching our Year 9 Footballers to success. A brilliant result for our Spartans.
The Bill Turner Cup and Bill Turner Trophy are school football competitions.
Around 850 school teams from NSW, Queensland, ACT and Victoria participate each year, with all Under 15 players. The competition is a knockout format with early round matches starting in Term Two each year. The Bill Turner Cup (boys) is in its 41st year. The Bill Turner Trophy (girls) is in its 29th year.
The Spartans U15 boys and girls have played their games on Tuesday May 7 and Thursday May 9. The draw came out versus Kimberley College. Kimberley College have a full football academy in Brisbane.
The U15 Girls coached by Stephanie Opperman played at Somerset College Track & Field.
The Year 9 Girls football team joined by three year 8 girls kitted up in an epic do or die battle in the Bill Turner Trophy. The girls took out an impressive win of 6 Nil!
This is a knockout competition, so the girls have progressed to the next round.
The girls played the Spartan way with a lot of heart and love for the game which showed in their win.
Congratulations to all the girls involved and we are looking forward to seeing how they go in the next round.
The U15 Boys coached by Maarten de Kruijf travelled together with Royce Smith to Slacks Creek Football Club. Here Kimberley College was waiting for us. Kimberley College attended the game with NPL and QPL players in their team. It was too difficult to compete against an experienced football academy. The Spartans could leave the field with their heads up after being beaten with 8 Nil.
Tough conditions on Saturday at Rivermount College. Tom Halloran ended up with a bronze at the Queensland Athletics All Schools Cross Country Championship in the multiclass division.
A huge achievement!
Stephanie Sprague (Year 10) has had a number of recent individual competitions in gymnastics (Regional and State Championships).
On 16 March, Stephanie earned her Level 8 badge and qualified to perform at Regionals in this level. (Gymnastics goes to Level 10).
On 31 March, she competed at Regionals (South East Queensland) and progressed to the Queensland Senior State Titles.
Queensland Senior State Championships took place over two days - 12 and 14 April - where she won the only Artistry Award in Level 8 Queensland for her floor routine.
Stephanie was just shy of an overall high performance result in all four apparatus, narrowly missing out on selection for the Queensland team at Nationals.
She will now dedicate the remainder of the year to Club Teams (she competes for Southport Gymnastics Club) competing at State Level (already selected for June) and National Level (selection pending for October).
Well done Stephanie!
The seven brave players played all a full game. Musgrave was too strong for the Spartans with 4 Nil. Most importantly, the Spartans improved this week playing a full game!
The Under 6 and Under 7 blue won their matches from Mudgeeraba. Coach Cooper and Coach Neil had their teams warmed up together with some shooting practice. This was very helpful, because both teams had lots of opportunities! The Under 7 green travelled to Bilambil and won their game too.
Saturday May 11 all Spartans Football are at Somerset Track & Field.
Please check the Football Club Schoolbox Page for more info.
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