This program is Australia’s biggest school initiative, and in 2017 celebrated its 10th year. Over 600,000 students from 2500 schools joined to be part of the united ensemble, where students sang the same song on the same day, at the same time. The musicians and students reflected on the lyrics and how music allows us to shine together, as we work collaboratively to create beautiful songs.
Music Count Us In works to help bridge the gap in music education across the country, by celebrating the benefits of music and providing resources for schools. Did you know research shows that learning to play a musical instrument enhances verbal memory, spatial reasoning and literacy skills? Some of the other benefits include that performing raises self-confidence, self-discipline, improves social and team work skills, helps lift student engagement in school whilst at the same time being a lot of fun, extending creative minds and providing children with a means of self-expression.
We are so lucky to have quality music education at Somerset, and passionate young musicians who not only excel in their chosen music path, but participate and share their talents through performing within the schools ensemble programs. It is so much fun to play and sing alone, but performing in a group is really something special. We are fortunate to have quality music lessons which are developmental, sequential and continuous across the Junior School. Thank you to students in the Cool Cats Choir, Melodic Mynahs, Junior Chorale, JSO1, Junior Concert Band and Recorder Ensemble for your beautiful singing and playing. A big thank you to Mr. Owens, Mrs. Rowe, Mrs. Little and Mrs. Moffatt for performing, conducting and preparing ensembles for this event.
If your child enjoyed the performance, perhaps they might be interested in joining one of our ensembles to join in next year’s performance. Music is for everyone and is so much fun when we can shine together!
Students took part in three swimming races; Kickboard, Backstroke and Freestyle. Their faces beamed with joy as they showed off their swimming skills, which they have been practicing this year in their weekly swimming lessons. The students were lucky enough to have in-water support from our Year 6 House Captains, as well as a number of Year 6 Helpers.
At the end of the carnival it was Andrews who took out first place with 70 points, followed by Starkey in second place with 62 points. There was only one point separating third and fourth place. Laver took out third place with 56 points and Franklin came in fourth with 55 points. Veivers closely followed in fifth place with 45 points.
A special thank you to all who came out to support this wonderful morning. To Ms Oppermann, Ms Ritson, Mr Butcher, Gap Students, Brittany Childs (Year 11 student) and our wonderful teaching staff, thank you for your dedication and tireless efforts on the day.
When the boys arrived at the Stoten farm camp we immediately began setting up beds for the night. This allowed both the Year 10s and Year 11s to bond with each other before dinner. After bellies were filled and a quick wash off in the pond, it was time to head down to the shed to gain knowledge of Somerset’s rugby history. After being shown the legacy of what is expected in Somerset rugby, the boys were willing to accept the blood sweat and tears required to progress in our next year of rugby.
Early on in the morning the boys (to their delight) were surprised with a well needed cardio session. However, the boys didn’t grunt and moan but rather took on the task ahead and got the hard yards in. This proved the hard work the boys are willing to put in for each other in our road to success. After the hard work was over, it was time to receive our reward. The water slide provided not only endless fun for the boys in the rain but also a good proactive bonding activity. After packing up we set off to train on Casuarina’s rugby fields for our first skills session as a full team. This provided the coaches with knowledge of the variety of work needed to be done for the next season of rugby.
The Stoten family camp provided effective bonding activities, outstanding food and important knowledge for the season to come. Special thanks to the Stoten family for hosting the Stoten family camp, Ian and Amy Pye for their help throughout the camp and the coaches Mr. Attoe and Mr. Anderson for skill, knowledge and character building activities.
Students from Somerset College achieved excellent results and those students whose achievements were outstanding were rewarded with Certificates of Merit, Credit, Distinction and High Distinction.
In Year 12 one student achieved in the 100th percentile and was awarded the prestigious Medal for ICAS-Mathematics in recognition of her efforts. Congratulations to Melantha Wang. Melantha has been invited to the ICAS medal presentation ceremony at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in December.
In total, 10 students achieved scores in the top 1 per cent of both the state and nation and were awarded High Distinction certificates. We had 44 students achieve results in the top 6 per cent of the state and were awarded Distinction certificates. The names of these students appear below.
Year 7 - Jorminna Ma, Kei Naito, Nathalie Brown
Year 8 - Miku Adachi
Year 9 - Desmond Chuah, James Guy, Marcus Ibsen
Year 10 - Kevin Song, Harry Ko
Year 12 - Melantha Wang
Year 7 - Jason Li, Anna Georgeson, Marc Hagan, Aaron Lim, Joe Wright-Smith, Lan Xue, Amaani Bhasin, Morgane Garrier, Katherine Jordan, Emily Mai, Arimasa Uchida
Year 8 - Elaine Wang, Chloe Ming, Sofie Smith, Maito Yamaguchi, Angus Cheung, Momoe Gondo, Vincent Chen, Joy Jeng, Nada Ann Wilson, Will Barry, Roy Hsu, Felix Jackson-King, Troy Turman, Tris Zhou
Year 9 - Peter Harris, Jack Hellier, Jack Luke-Paredi, Joanne Ryu, Monish Chand, Tim Lee, Shige Xu, Benjamin Agnew, Nikita Khari
Year 10 - Ray Cheng, Matthew Sprague, Adam Gornitsky, Brock Hudson, Manfridi Bondi, Zara Smith, Alan Wang, Zachary Lai, Ainsly Mccarthy
Year 11 - Scott Sang
In total, six students were awarded Distinction certificates and six students were awarded Credit certificates. One student achieved in the top 100 percentile rank and was awarded a High Distinction certificate.
The names of these students appear below.
Year 12 - Melantha Wang (100th percentile rank)
Year 12 - Jina Hong, Kelly Park
Year 11 - Jason Zhang, Scott Sang, Jason Adams, Grace Kennett
Year 12 - Lauren Sprague, Ashraf Docrat, Clayton Kennett, Joshua Redfern
Year 11 - Uni Kyeong, Kirsty Brodbeck
Year 11 - Tiffany Yuen
I would like to recognise the participation of students from Somerset College with certificates and congratulate them on their efforts and achievements.
The Year 5 students, on the other hand have a much deeper understanding of the market place and how it works. Students in this year level take great pride in the fact that all profits are distributed to charities that have been identified through their Exhibition, earlier in the semester.
The recent Art Show highlighted the amazing talents and creativity of budding artists. The standard of the work was such that much of it now adorns the walls of the Junior School staff room and it proves to be a topic of interest to all who visit. Plans are afoot to display more of this work in the adjoining Reception area and main Administration Building. Semester Two camps have provided a whole new outdoor experience for all those who participated. Observing students outside the College environment never ceases to surprise; it adds a whole new dimension to a teacher’s knowledge of an individual student. Our Year 2’s deserve special recognition as this was their first BIG sleepover with lots of friends in the gym; an exciting time for the students and a very long night for the teachers. Fortunately, all involved, teachers and students made it through the Friday activities and consequently slept very well on the Friday night!
This week our younger students in Years 1 and 2 participated in the Lower Junior School Swimming Carnival. A strong contingent of parent supporters were there to support, despite it being Melbourne Cup Day. Veivers proved too strong on the day and took home the trophy. Meanwhile our Pre-Prep friends were busy making bow ties and fascinators in preparation for the day and celebrated with hobby horse races.
Pre-Prep to Year 2 are starting to get ready for the end of year concerts. Maximum participation and enjoyment is the priority. These early year’s concerts provide a lovely springboard into the world of theatre. Speaking parts are spread over as many performers as possible, students are highlighted in smaller performance groups in Prep, Year 1 and 2 and at all times there are developmentally appropriate considerations in place. Be prepared to enjoy these wonderful moments in your child’s journey through life.
If you happen to wander past out Year 6 rooms you will hear singing and you might even see dancing as our students in this year level prepare for the culmination of their years in the junior School at the Year 6 Dinner. This is such an exciting time as transitioning to the Senior School becomes a reality and another part of life’s journey begins. The next couple of weeks at the College are very busy.
Please check Schoolbox regularly for scheduled events and updates.
I look forward to seeing many of you during these very special times in the College calendar.
Meeting at Sara Carrigan Gate we were handed our wrist bands for our camp groups; I was in yellow group with three of my friends. Our suitcases were all packed and on the bus already so all we had to do was grab our small bag and board the bus for Tyalgum Ridge Retreat.
The drive went for an hour and a half and when we finally got off the bus, we grabbed our suitcases and went over to the boys' cabins, put our suitcases down and went to our first activity. The first activity was rock hopping and we jumped from rock to rock and got ourselves all wet. After that it was morning tea and we had watermelon, oranges and a piece of cake.
After morning tea we went to low ropes and archery (my favourite). I scored 25 points in archery, and in low ropes I got to do the wobbly log. After the second round of activities, we had lunch which was hot dogs and cordial, with oranges and watermelon. We went to our cabins after that and sorted out who you are with and to set up your cabins. After that a bit of free time, it was dinner. We had a delicious meal of chicken and vegetables followed by an evening of talent.
The next morning we got out of bed and had breakfast (my favourite meal). We had scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, spaghetti and baked beans. I didn't choose baked beans or spaghetti but I chose everything else. After breakfast we put on our shoes and went to go hiking. It was a six to eight kilometre walk but when we got there, there was a waterfall, which everyone went in and got wet (even Mrs Grigg went in), Austin got a leech on him and he called it trouble.
After hiking, we did camping skills where we made a fire in a group of boys and girls. Then we cooked damper, which is like dough that you fold on a stick and you cook it until it is hard, then we put this sweet honey sauce in it to make it taste delicious. We then had lunch, hot dogs with BBQ sauce. After lunch we went to the flying fox and it went so high up! We didn't have a seat but we sat on a harness instead. We went back to the hall after our day for free time. Shortly after we had dinner, spaghetti! Finally, after an exhausting day we had time to relax and watch an animal show. We saw so many different reptiles. It was so cool!
When we woke up the next morning, we got all our things ready and headed off to pat animals, including baby goats that were really small which we got to feed, and an Alpaca. Just after we had morning tea, we went canoeing. We t-boned tones of people and it was so much fun. At the end we got to do a race and we came second.
We went back to our cabins to change into clean clothes, then get our bags to sit down for a meeting. Someone had to make a speech about thanking the teachers and the Tyalgum People for what they've done, and that was me! On the way back I timed the drive. For a coincidence, it was the exact same time as before, which was one hour and thirty minutes.
It was sad to say that camp was over but I am so excited for the one next year!
A highlight this year was having all the students involved in the evening come together in song. The students enthusiastically performed the 2017 Music Count Us In piece - Shine Together. It was an emotional, powerful and very special performance as the students joined their hearts and voices as one in harmony, bringing a few tears to the audience’s eyes.
The lyrics came to life as the Pre-Prep to Year 6 students sung:
"I’ve never been the kind to stand in the spotlight…But everyone is here and we all shine together…Let the music take control, find your rhythm find your soul. If you ever feel you’ve lost your spark, listen to the beat within your heart."
A great big thank you to Mrs Roberts for her wonderful accompanying skills; Mr Roberts for his stage managing and assistance; Miss Morley for technical support; our dedicated conductors and directors - Mr Pearce, Mrs Moffatt, Mr Mitchell, Mrs Little; all the Junior staff who assisted on the evening; the parents for your continued support and of course, a thank you to the dedicated students who have worked so hard to polish and prepare pieces for the event.
His team then went onto Nationals where they placed eighth and ninth and individually took out 18th place in the Snowboard X
A massive effort and an amazing achievement by this young and upcoming star.
Congratulations.
The goal of these events is to give all students their first taste of a tennis tournament. With all of our students having some tournament experience, both teams ended up becoming champions on their Red and Orange ball events.
For the Red event three awards were handed out:
For the Orange event 3 more awards were handed out:
This event is the last competitive event of the year. Please join me in wishing our Red, Orange and Green ball teams’ good luck in competing in the annual State championships at the Brisbane International in January.
During the Carnival the Old Dogs played matches against Trinity Lutheran College, Kings Christian College, All Saints and Marymount College. Throughout the day the team showed glimpses of running rugby, strong defensive efforts and accurate individual skills. However, all four of the games proved to be close encounters with strong opposition teams contesting the U18 division this year. It was fantastic to see the graduating Seniors display their skills learnt while at Somerset and play one more time in the College jersey prior to leaving in a couple of weeks.
The Young Guns played the first game against Miami, Somerset College and displayed some promising signs, ending the game with a 15 to 15 draw. We then went on to the second game, which was a better performance, with Riley scoring a hat trick of tries in a dominant performance against Kelvin Grove. Emmanuel College was the next opposition and being one of our APS rivals we knew we were in for a hard match. The first two games seemed to effect a number of players and the Young Guns went into the half time break trailing Emmanuel College.
The boys then showed courage and determination to make a comeback in the second half with the result being a draw and both teams scoring four tries a piece. The final game of the day was against Saint Stephens, which all the boys knew would another physical encounter and we knew the intensity needed to be lifted. Saint Stephens proved too good in the end for the Somerset boys with the ending result being four tries to three. Overall there are a lot of positives including individual performances by Rhian and Riley that we can take to the Canada tour and APS season next year.
Type on the line above then press the Enter/Return key to submit a new search query