The class of 2021, led by School Captains Nicholas Tan and Hannah Kennedy and Vice Captains, Leigh Amores and Patrick Sowerby, encouraged their Pastoral Care Group members in Years 7 to 11, to join them on the Quad at lunch time for food, games, music and fun! It was a pleasure to see students from a range of year levels socialising together in this engaging, supportive setting.
Nick, Hannah, Leigh and Patrick collaborated like true leaders with myself and Mr Nicholas Brice to make the ’12 Time’ launch a great success. Along with the whole cohort, I am very proud of their efforts.
To demonstrate this concept I have travelled to the past and explored the lives of my great uncles who each served in the military during World War II and have portrayed the days from when they were young men working in the bushland of Toowoomba, to the day they came home from serving their country.
The initiation of my Project was a gruelling task, as long days were spent researching my family history. To make matters less confronting, I was fortunate enough to have access to photos, a dairy written by one of my great uncles whilst in Changi prison camp, and military telegrams, all of which have been brought back from the war, as well as newspaper articles and novels that are dedicated to the Sullivan brothers. This array of antiques have been preserved in my family for generations and has profoundly assisted me in discovering the lives my great uncles lived. However, as time progressed my initial goal of producing a novel based on the topic of the Sullivan family evolved to a more artistic approach. This pivot in my intended goal was made without regrets and is seen as the right decision for me to continue further.
Despite the struggles I have faced, every passing day I see the progression. Currently, I have completed 80 per cent of my artwork and am determined to strive for a high standard of completion to fully encompass the skills and lessons I have learnt from the Personal Project journey. Additionally, I have recognized the importance of self – management through the utilization of planning, project outlines and goal setting.
I am beyond proud of my efforts and am ecstatic with all I have achieved presently. This project must be approached with diligence and the student requires an open mind that is adaptable to change. The staff of Somerset College has taught me this across the months I have been emersed in my Project and I am appreciative of their assistance.
My mind is filled with eagerness to see where I take my project and to provide a better understanding of family history.
I have decided to create my Personal Project in relation to my future aspirations of the application of engineering and an everlasting recreation of mine, chess. The technical complexity of this project requires various skills, and a sheer determination to ‘do well’, which is the mindset for any individual to tackle any task at hand.
The 2020 global pandemic, COVID-19 swept through the world wreaking havoc amongst nations, communities, and essentially everyone. This epidemic was overcome by humanity’s morals to help those who are in need… and Netflix. The release of the popular Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit inspired many in the world to take on the game of chess. For me, I have been playing chess since the age of six and have had a real passion for it until recently, where I would focus more on my academic studies and co-curricular activities. Knowing that I would never be a professional player, why not construct a robot to play at the ‘professional’ level?
This resulted in the beginning of an exhausting and gruelling experience; the thorough research and taking endless courses to understand the process of creating a robot which can detect chess pieces and the board, evaluate the position to play the best possible, and move the piece to the designated square is something a normal 15 year old teenager like me would have no idea of what was happening. But going into this project, I knew I had to persevere until a successful completion of the robot. Currently, I have completed around 50 per cent of my project, where the AI development on Unity (A C# cross-platform game development software) has been completed, and designing/engineering the robotic arm will be the next section to complete. Throughout this experience, I have learnt various new skills including: C# Self-Learning AI Programming, Mechatronic Engineering skills (knowledge and understanding of engineering concepts) , Inventor (CAD program) to design the robot. I will also be learning how to use power tools and the specific technical skills to meticulously construct the tool-point and the general mechanism.
This journey has been demanding but rewarding at the same time. The skills which I have currently acquired have many uses for the future, and without the Personal Project, I would have never taken the time to learn this on my own time. Exploring these unfamiliar areas is a perfect opportunity in preparation for adulthood. Without this project, I would have still be sitting on the couch watching the never-ending series and movies on Netflix.
The latest Queensland Junior Chess Ratings have dropped with some fantastic increases for Somerset students.
New ratings were obtained by Arthur Chou, Zhander Griffiths and Hayden Li.
One notable commonality with the above players is that most of them are attending the Friday afternoon tournament sessions that run from 3.30pm to 5.30pm. Playing regular is absolutely key to continued improvement and I know we will get many more rated players through these afternoons!
See information on the Somerset Chess Schoolbox Page.
A number of Somerset students participated in the prestigious Doeberl Cup in Canberra this Easter. This tournament is the biggest on the Australian chess calendar. Byron Morris and Eason Wang took on the major division, scoring well against some very strong opposition whilst Jared Consiglio-Cockle took on the Minor.
On the Labour Day weekend, there was a strong tournament held up at Redcliffe. Eason Wang and Harrison Qu flew the flag for Somerset with some good results amid solid performances.
Upcoming Events:
The top two events are external events but are recommended for players with ratings or those seeking ratings. If you are not sure if this is suitable for your child, please contact Andrew via email.
The Secondary Interschool event is for students in Years 7 to 12, with registration required by Wufoo form.
The Primary School Competition will also determine House Champions and information will be forthcoming shortly for those students who might like to be involved.
The annual contest between the two schools has been played for since 2016 which was won by All Saints that year but Somerset has held it in the trophy cabinet every year since.
Somerset were dominant throughout the game with the height and accuracy of Elsa Sandholt to much to handle for the opposition. The speed and agility of our midcourt players Atlanta Horan and newbie Shemeah Poloai and the calm head of Jemma Clements was a joy to watch. Amaris Toia combined well and showed off some slick moves in the Goal Attack bib with ever reliable Charli Pearse.
Defensively the tight trio of Trinity Toia, Bayley D’Hotman De Villiers and Georgia Wilson continued to gain valuable turnover ball and chip away at the All Saints attack. Lucy Millar and Marika Ransfield were solid in their minutes off the bench and add much value to the team.
Final score 48 to 31 to Somerset.
Congratulations to the team for their impressive performance and bringing the trophy back home for the fifth consecutive year.
Somerset College elite netballers Bayley d'Hotman de Villiers and Amaris Toia played an integral part in the South Coast 19U team that competed in the Queensland School Sport State titles in Bundaberg last week.
The team were undefeated throughout the tournament winning the title for the first time since 2004.
Bayley d'Hotman de Villiers was rewarded for her outstanding performances at the Queensland SS State Netball titles last week by being named in the 19U Queensland team. Bayley played in both the Wing Defence and Goal Defence positions throughout the tournament and is definitely a player to look out for in the future.
Bayley is also currently in the 2021 Queensland 17U squad alongside her talented Somerset team-mate Elsa Sandholt.
Huge congratulations girls!
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