This year the book was Alpacas with Maracas by Matt Cosgrove, so we invited some very special fluffy friends along to Somerset to join in the fun.
Ms Rebecca Collie, Head of Junior School, read the story to our Prep friends who all waited very patiently for the word ’maracas’ to be spoken so they could shake theirs.
Four alpacas on the Somerset Towers Quad was a sight to behold!
With thanks to Pauline and Col Glasser from Wahgungurry Alpacas in Grafton, our Junior Students all had the opportunity to get up close with Suri alpacas Aristo and his sister Beersheba, and Huacayas Marquisette and Mr Gigilo.
Pauline taught us that Suri alpaca are the ones with long dread-locked fleece (like Al in the book) and Huacaya are fluffy (like Macca).
We learned that alpacas are very different to their cousins, llamas; their fleece is a soft as cashmere and as strong as silk and they are very sweet, curious creatures that rarely spit at people. Nevertheless, our young risk-takers shone and curiosity won out and a few of our lucky Seniors managed to get a quick cuddle too after their exams.
The aim of National Simultaneous Storytime is to promote reading aloud to children as it is so important for every aspect of their development. Shaking maracas and cuddling real, live alpacas prove it’s also a lot of fun!
Throughout the war, she’s assisted by an ex-soldier, trying to help her hold on to her old self.
Before starting my Personal Project, I took a keen interest in writing. As an avid reader myself, I loved the idea of being able to create entirely new worlds and being able to share them with others. It was clear that my Personal Project would contain some sort of writing element, but for a while I wasn’t sure what it would feature. It was that time that I started to become interested in mental illnesses and specifically psychotic disorders.
Whether it was the cloud of mystery that surrounded it or simply the number of movies I’d watched where characters would go insane, the idea of hearing voices and believing outlandish ideas seemed to be an area of interest. It was from this group that I chose schizophrenia, an illness most well-known for vivid hallucinations and delusions. For months over the Christmas holiday, I dedicated my free time to educating myself about the symptoms and science behind schizophrenic disorders, watching Ted Talks, researching symptoms and reading up on real life experiences from both individuals themselves and onlookers.
In terms of writing my novel, I found it hard work but ultimately rewarding. There was lots of editing involved with constantly going back and changing certain parts or events, but ultimately the knowledge of knowing I’ve completed my first book is something I never thought I’d be able to do. I think that in terms of mental illnesses, there is a huge stigma still hanging around them. By writing about them, I realised I’ve not only got the chance to educate readers but also to educate myself. I’m grateful for having the opportunity provided by the college to create something important to me and while the process has been long, I couldn’t be more pleased with how it’s turned out.
One more win from the next two debates will place them in the Quarter Final – an exciting achievement!
Round 3 sees most teams enter the short preparation phase of the competition, with less than two hours to prepare a case with no outside assistance, notes or scaffolds. Best of luck to all teams!
On the night, the Club recognised a host of achievements including Club Age Champions, Club Points winners, the growing number of State and National representatives within the Club and their achievements as well the Club’s Major awards for the year. This year, two of the top awards were Swimmer of the Year - James Roberts, and Rookie of the year - Tara Newton.
Immediately preceding the awards the Club held its AGM with an excellent turnout and full committee instated to help guide the Club through the 2019/2020 season.
I would like to thank the outgoing committee for their great work this past season as well as the helpers that provided assistance with setting up, running and packing down the venue for the Presentation evening.
The students have been wearing GPS devices, which are used to collect data on specific aspects of the game, such as the distance covered in a game, the number of sprints, accelerations and decelerations, and the time spent running in high intensity speed zones. The data obtained from these devices provides valuable information regarding the demands of competition. This information can be used by the coaches and sport science staff to monitor player performances and ensure that training is preparing the players for the demands of the game.
These devices are used by elite Rugby, Football and AFL teams to monitor players during training and competition.
This is the first year that Somerset First XI Girls participating in the cup. Our first game versus All Saints Anglican College was played 2 May. With missing key players Georgia and Serenity, the girls worked hard and played to the best of their ability. All Saints had the luck on their side and scored twice. Somerset scored once. Final score 2 to 1 to All Saints.
The second cup game played at Somerset's Track & Field on 16 May. Emmanuel College travelled from Carrara to Mudgeeraba. Emmanuel had the better start and came on 1 nil. Somerset didn’t give up and that resulted almost in a last-minute equalizer, but the Emmanuel goalkeeper had a great safe.
We will see First XI Girls back next year in the Uhlsport Cup.
Thanks to all parents for supporting the girls during their games.
Round 7 has been played in the Football Gold Coast Miniroos Competition.
The Under 6 had a 5 to 3 victory versus Burleigh. Their passing was good and they showed great teamwork.
Under 7 played at Tally. They showed their passion on the pitch scoring seven goals among them. It was a great game to watch and ended 7 to 4 to Somerset Green.
Somerset Blue played Palm Beach for the third time and came out strong scoring three goals and only conceding two goals. Although they held on, there were some tense moments when we could have scored more.
The Under 9s played versus Southport and put in a great team effort. We can see the players improving week by week. Keep this up! Spartans won 8, Nil.
Good job team! The coaches looking forwards seeing you next week again.
Saturday May 25 all Spartans Football teams play at Track & Field.
Please check the Football Club Schoolbox Page for more info.
Staff Spartan of the Week
Thank you to Spencer Attoe and Stephanie Oppermann for always offering to support their colleagues and for willingly getting involved in both Junior School and Senior School Sport.
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