Heats are held throughout the world with the finals to be held in Singapore in 2019.
This year Somerset had three teams in the Gold Coast heat. Participants were selected based on interest and came from Years 5 and 6. They faced tough competition from Year 7 and 8 student teams from as far north as Bundaberg. Despite this, the girls competed well, answering questions from fairy tales, nursery rhymes, historical novels, non-fiction and fiction, movies of books, superheroes and cartoons, old and new!
Some Somerset participants came home with cash for answering questions on the go, and one team won a book each for scoring the highest in a specific category.
On the eve of Storyfest, it was a timely reminder of the wonderful opportunities our students have experienced over the years, which I am sure have contributed to their love of literature.
Year 7 had fun with our friends in Year 12 with an entertaining treasure hunt on 13 March. We went from room to room participating in video games, quizzes and Chinese whispers, it then ended off with a delicious sausage sizzle. It was a great way to spend our time through lunch having fun and it really got everyone involved and having a great time, except for the running part.
I think it was a great way to put our knowledge and skills to the test. It was very competitive throughout the teams and it was a great distraction from all assessments and classes. I believe everyone had fun and enjoyed it very much.
I would like to say thank you to all who helped out, to Brock, Holly and all the seniors who made this treasure hunt possible, it was a great experience for all of us.
Matilda Guthrie
Dear Diary,
Today was the day OF THE TREASURE HUNT! Brock and Holly began it with a clue. The clue led us to our first destination where we all completed a team activity. I was lucky enough to be in team D! My team smashed all the activities and we all had a blast. After a crazy time running around and completing all the different activities we finished the hunt off with a delicious sausage sizzle.
The next day Brock announced the final results. WE CAME SECOND WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!! (with another two teams). I had so much fun meeting all the captains and hanging out with my friends! I can’t wait for another fun experience, like this one!
Summer Edgley
The Year 7 captains, Brock and Holly organised a special event for our cohort last Wednesday, 13 March. It was a massive treasure hunt! We all started off with a clue to a room and once we figure it out, we went to the room to do a challenge. Everyone was categorised by their last name and into groups. Once you completed the challenge you got another clue to another room and so on. Every time you won a challenge you got a point. The group with the most point WON!
It was super fun and enjoyable and I would love to do it again!
Georgie Kilmartin
The show centres around a girl called Claudia. Claudia hates doing homework. She thinks it’s so unfair that she must stay in on a beautiful day and finish her Italian homework when all her friends are out playing in the park. But little does Claudia know that in her school bag, she has an ancient, magical book that can transport her back in time to learn all about Italy. By singing a simple tune with a few simple dance moves, Claudia is transported back to another time where she experiences these wonderful traditions first hand! From Carnevale to Geppetto’s workshop, the Colosseum and a brief trip to the San Remo music festival, Claudia realises that maybe staying in and doing her homework wasn’t such a bad idea after all!
The show was vibrantly interactive, and all students participated, either by dancing and singing in the audience, or coming up to the front, and assisting in playing a character. The script featured much of the language that the students learn in class, so it was a great opportunity for them to engage with classroom content in a theatrical context.
The Year 5s were eager to see how our trip would connect to our current inquiry Many influences shape a community. The island was a maximum security prison opening in 1867. Originally called Noogoon Island then later Green Island 2, St Helena got its name after Napoleon, an aboriginal who was sent there for stealing an axe. St Helena Island, off the coast of Africa, was the place where Napoleon Bonaparte was banished hence the commonalities between the names.
Our tour guides, prisoners 31, 321, a guard and a superintendent, led us around the island showing us the living and working areas for the prisoners and staff. The most exciting part was the punishments where prisoners 31 and 321 demonstrated the cat ‘o’ nine tails and solitary confinement. We were all happy to see Sarah Cosson marry prisoner 31 to show how visitation was handled on the island and Archie Jones got to test out the cat ‘o’ nine tails. Sadly, Sarah and Prisoner 31 divorced on the ferry ride home.
The excursion taught us so many connections between the past and present. For example, one superintendent brought about change by teaching prisoners to read and write. Today, this is common place and lays the foundation for rehabilitation back into society.
It was an enjoyable and exciting day but exhausting – we were all glad to get home…after a very long bus ride!
But their significance pales in comparison with what all mathematicians (and the US Congress) recognise as Pi Day on the 14th March. (3/14)
The annual celebration of π was again hosted by the Somerset Mathematical Society (∑M∑). Their motto is “Encourage, Enlighten, Entertain” and they certainly lived up to their maxim on the night. The Captains, Zara Smith, Mitchell Hamilton and James Guy directed the evening and somewhere between 31 and 314 people gathered in the SLC to honour this remarkable number, which is both irrational and transcendental.
The event began with everyone receiving free gifts to celebrate the year 2019 which is a Pythagorean triple as follows:
20192 = 11552 + 16562
Zara and Mitchell outlined the program of events and, as an acknowledgement to Storyfest, narrated some mathematical poetry which both rhymed and scanned, going against the modern poetic discourse.
Clare Hong, Vanessa Lee and Ellie Shen then performed some Maths tricks making a playing card disappear and showing that the audience (including some maths teachers), were unable to add up! Another trick duplicated people’s age on their calculator while yet another showed quite convincingly that when you add up all the numbers from 1 to infinity, the result is ⎻1/12. How can that be? Jessica Jeffries, Anna Hodgson and Aadi Rai in Year 6 then gave a wonderful overview of Pi and included another great poem.
Momoe Gondo delivered a biography of Albert Einstein who was born on Pi Day in 1879 and she included a quiz which really tested the audience as there were some surprising answers.Mr Wrigley then discussed some confusing Pie charts and reminded the audience of Mathonyms, an invention of the SMS, which was launched last year and has been a big hit around the mathematical world. Just go to https://mathonyms.xyz/ to enjoy them for yourself.
Anna Georgeson and Cindy Xue then rattled off a number of maths jokes which led into James Guy and the Life of Pi. His presentation was certainly entertaining and gave a very complete history of the number 3.14159… During his talk, former SMS member and pendulum advocate, Matthew White, was beamed into the room via satellite from Sydney and regaled us with his unique recitation about the Grandfather Clock.
Zara and Mitchell then led the audience in a Pi-lates session to stretch their bodies, instead of their minds, using mathematical relations.
Pi reciting rounded off the formal part of the evening and this was ably organised by Mia and Victoria Huang who also presented the certificates.
Pi Reciters (all from Year 6)
Jamison Webber 25, Mia Richards 26, Emily Nickels 26, Holly Hembling 27 and Jessica Jeffries (who recited 28 forwards and backwards).
To conclude proceedings, the audience all sang the Pi song (to the tune of American Pie) and then moved to the kitchen to partake of refreshments (including pies) in the aftermath. One word is enough to rationalize the entire evening; ePic.
The next ΣMΣ public lecture will be held in August and will celebrate another important ratio, Phi (ϕ), known to some as the Golden Ratio. Phi, like pi, is also irrational so start learning those digits for the phi recital exhibition. It will be phi-nomenal.
My thanks go to Mrs White, Mr Turner, Mr Brodar, Mr Grocott, Mr Abdou and Mr Hawtin for their support. It was also enlightening to see former SMS captains Jason Adams and Michael Guy in attendance.
Finally, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge Archimedes of Syracuse, who set the ball rolling in the search for a value of pi over 2000 years ago, and whose last words before being slain by a Roman soldier were “Do not disturb my circles”.
Firstly, former Wallaby Paul Carozza has invited him to train alongside the Queensland Reds Academy squad with an opportunity to play his way into the Queensland Reds Under 18 team. And to top it off the Australian Sevens Talent Development and Recruitment Manager wrote to Sam identifying him as a ‘National Player of Interest’ and inviting Sam to a two-day training camp in April.
Wow! What a week for our amazing captain and we wish Sam all the very best and we know he will make the most of these wonderful opportunities.
The teams we are entering are the Somerset Spartans Under 6, Under 7 Blue, Under 7 Green and the Under 9. After 6 weeks of training the boys and girls are very excited to play their first official game.
Please check next week update to read about Somerset Spartans first football game experience.
Want to know who is representing Somerset Spartans in the Miniroos Competition? Please check the Schoolbox Football Page.
For any questions about the Football Club, please email Maarten de Kruijf.
It was also great to see so many parents around the school at various sporting venues supporting our students and coaches. Marty our Spartan Mascot also had fun walking around to our teams getting them pumped up for their games.
We have our Inter-House Cross Country Carnival coming around very quickly on Monday 1 April. This is a great opportunity for all our students from Pre-Prep to Year 6, to get out and have fun while displaying comradery on the running course. Inter-House Newsletter with the Program of Events will be on Schoolbox in Week 9.
To all those students from Year 4 to 6 in the Junior School who are keen on their Athletics, training for both Track and Field events begins in Week 2 of Term Two. Please keep your eyes on Schoolbox for more specific information as we get closer to the date.
*This is only open to students in Year 4 to 6. Year 3 children will be practicing, training and learning these the events during their HPE lessons at school.
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected into their respective HDSS Team
Boys Touch Football: Darcy Halloran and James KirkBoys Basketball: Declan PartridgeGirls Basketball: Cienna Bailey and Ekheera BirkGirls AFL: Bessie DearBoys AFL: Ethan GrocottNetball: Rio Burns, Marley Burns and Kinari PatelGirls Hockey: Siena Moss and Mikaela Mulheran
Thursday 28 March - APS Season 1, Round 2 vs. Saint Stephen’s College
Monday 1 April - Inter-House Cross Country Carnival
Monday 4 April - APS Sport Training
All information about Junior School Sport can be located on Schoolbox by clicking on the Junior School Sports page.
This week we play King’s Christian College. Let’s go Spartans!
Do not forget that Sport Practice is compulsory, we encourage phone free Friday and only the APS Sport uniform can be worn to the College on Friday (no competition attire until game time).
Jayde (Year 9 Veivers) has qualified for Equestrian interschool states, for combined training.
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