To quote Mustafa Ataturk, Turkish Army General and, later, founder of the Republic of Turkey:
Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives ... You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmet’s to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours ... You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are at peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.
What we can interpret from this quote by Ataturk? We should not dwell on the result of this colossal battle, whether it was a win or loss; rather, we should focus on the heroism, sacrifice, courage and, ultimately, friendship shown by these men.
Deprivation of food and water, something that could be identified as a crisis to us, seemed of minimal importance to them. Diseases such as tetanus and dysentery were part of their everyday lives. All just the tip of the iceberg to the true horrors of war.
What we know as ‘heroism’ was ultimately redefined by these brave soldiers who, despite the cruel conditions they faced, fought for the future generations of their countries. They were left with no choice but to search for the courage to risk ever seeing their families and loved ones ever again. The horrific fear of knowing that your life will come to an end at any second became an inescapable reality. Yet, these soldiers still held their ground and fought for their country.
After the battle had ended, there were captured ANZAC soldiers on enemy ground. In that instant, the soldiers were most likely wishing they lost their lives to the battle? Some of the Turkish generals suggested they should kill the ANZACs but Ataturk did not approve of such action. He gave the ANZACs shelter and food instead.
What is to be remembered about this battle is the fact that, despite the sacrifice, there was no sign of hatred – only courage, mutual respect and true brotherhood. There is a sense of peace, humanity and friendship which has developed between our countries. What an amazing thing it is that we could decipher such amazing traits of humanity from this battle.
May all soldiers rest in peace as they gave their today, to save our tomorrow.
Whilst the weather did not cooperate this year, with rain falling for the duration of the march, our students were incredibly respectful during this time and the moving service that followed.
Our thanks to Mudgeeraba RSL for organising the event and to the students, parents and Somerset staff who attended.
While it may appear to be over an extended period, simply put, “NAPLAN tests require less than four hours over three days, four times during a student's time at school. It is a point-in-time snapshot assessment of a student's achievements in the areas of literacy and numeracy.
"We all understand there's a lot that goes into a student's education. NAPLAN doesn't test everything happening in the classroom or a school and isn't designed to assess a student's diverse and creative learning, entrepreneurial skills or risk-taking ability.” Robert Randall, ACARA CEO. The intent of this national testing program is to provide a measure of how all Australian school students at these year levels are performing in Literacy and Numeracy.
The performance of each child will be reported to the College community using six bands of achievement at each year level. These bands enable all students across Australia at these year levels to be compared. One of these bands will represent the national minimum standard for students at that year level. We certainly view the rich data we receive from NAPLAN as an opportunity to review our annual goals for teaching and learning at the College.
The actual content NAPLAN tests is informed by the National Statements of Learning in English and Mathematics. Test questions therefore cover aspects of Literacy (Reading, Writing, Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling) and Numeracy. In years 3 and 5 these elements will be assessed through four separate papers whereas students in years 7 and 9 will sit a total of five test papers. These tests range between 10 minutes and 65 minutes depending on the year level and will consist of a combination of multiple choice and short response questions.
While preparation for NAPLAN occurs every day through our normal teaching and learning, we do recognise it is important for students to feel comfortable in sitting this style of testing. As such, leading into these tests, students at the College will be exposed to sample questions and have explanatory sessions to become familiar with the format and the expectation of each paper.
Further information about NAPLAN can be found here.
Near the end of Term One, the traditional Junior Masters were held in the Hinterland Hotel, Nerang. The winner was Eason Wang with 5.5/6. Oliver Yang was second (on countback) with 5, and Raff Atia was equal second (also 5 points).
Results from Junior Masters.
In the One Day Challenge (always held on the same weekend as the Junior Masters), the winner was also from Somerset, Aditya Naik (7/8). Ken Wu won second place for the unrated group (4.5 points) and Advait Naik, younger brother of Aditya was third place unrated (4 points).
Results from the One Day Challenge.
Over the Easter long weekend, Gardiner Chess took a group of children to Canberra for the Doeber Cup, one of Australia’s most prestigious and popular annual Chess tournaments. There are four sections (divided by rating), totalling over 200 players: Premier, Major, Minor and U/1200.
The Premier section featured six Grandmasters (the highest title in chess), and many international players. Our Somerset Spartans played very well! Congratulations to all the students on doing a superb job of representing Somerset and Queensland.
Byron Morris held his own in a very competitive field in the Major, finishing on 3/7. Oliver Yang was the star of the tournament, finishing on 6/7 and winning the Minor section. Other Somerset players in the Minor: Ben Atia 4.5, Eason Wang 4.5, Jason Li 4/7, Lyanna Chan, Jennifer Yeung, Charlie Liu, Anson Qu, Raff Atia, Melody Yang, Mayuri Yamaguchi and Sophia Ahern.
Results from Doeberl Cup.
Brothers Ben Atia and Raff Atia competed in the Bangkok Open, one of the strongest tournaments in the Asia-Oceania region. The field included players from all over the world, and 12 Grandmasters. Ben did very well, scoring 4/7 and a performance rating of 1691.
Gold Coast Junior Championships Under 10 - Under 18 (28-29 April)Gold Coast Junior Championships Under 8 (29 April)Gold Coast Secondary Inter-School Term Two (Wednesday 23 May)Gold Coast Primary South Inter-School Term Two (Wednesday 13 June)
This term, lunch club for Years 3 to 12 is open every day in Toohey 2.6 (above the KIP). Lunch club for Years 1 to 2 is on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the Year 1 classrooms. You don’t need to be signed up, and all levels are welcome.
We hope you all had a good deserved break and kept sustainable over the holidays.
This term is filled with fun and exciting projects. I learned some interesting things during the holiday break:
If you would like to raise the profile of your business within the Somerset Community by donating give-aways or raffle prizes suitable for the attendees, please contact Suzi Costello or deliver them to the Events Office.
The Minutes of P&F Meetings will be posted on the P&F section of the website, for those interested. If you would like to contribute to the P&F, please come along. All parents and carers are members of our P&F and you will be made welcome.
Our next meeting is 15 May 2018 at 6.30pm in the Boardroom. We have Andrea Lewis speaking at the next meeting on the future of the Celebration of Literature Festival, so do join us.
Date Claimer – Somerset 35th Anniversary Ball – Saturday 4 August.
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