Our Master Plan represents a twenty-year vision for the School to 2040. As a reflection of the School’s strategic plan, it aims to position Somerville House as one of the premier girls’ schools of its time by establishing a new standard for educational facilities synonymous with our pedagogy and culture. Over the past decade, pedagogy has changed substantially, particularly because of the use of technologies in the classroom. 

As an Independent School, Somerville House receives Government funding but also relies on school fees, Voluntary Building Fund contributions and other donations. The School welcomes donations from past and current families, the Somerville House Foundation, the Parents & Friends Association and the Old Girls’ Association to underwrite the ongoing investment in the development of the facilities for our students’ learning and enjoyment. We look forward to the ongoing support of our community, in helping the School realise its twenty-year vision.

You can learn more about building for our future for 2022 and beyond by accessing our school website here. Over the coming weeks, I will provide you with an update on three of our current projects:

• A Block refurbishment (the 100-year-old building adjacent to our Chapel)
• Development of SomerFields (located at Dunn Road, Rocklea)
• Senior School Precinct (the new building to replace B and C blocks)

This week I share a snapshot of what is happening with the A Block refurbishment. The project will restore the building to its former grandeur, with its characteristic brick and lintel construction, retaining the original design of the timber weatherboard façade. Renovations are progressing according to the timeline, and we expect to begin teaching and learning in the refurbished classrooms from Semester 2, July 2022.

Here are three images of our plans for the interior of A Block:

School Traffic and Driver Courtesy

Traffic management in and around Somerville House continues to be a challenge at morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up periods. The School encourages all parents to adopt a community-minded approach to ensure the safety of all students. The Brisbane City Council has advised they intend to undertake proactive patrols and enforce illegal parking within parking zones around Somerville House throughout this coming school term. Regulating parking activities is necessary to promote safe driving practices during pick up and drop off times, as competition for parking spaces can lead to poor driver behaviour and potentially dangerous parking practices. Parents are able to read about parking legally in Brisbane to avoid unnecessary parking fines by visiting the Brisbane City Council’s website.

Further, I respectfully request that parents are mindful of speed limits around the campus and appropriate interactions with other road users. Recently, the Principal’s Office has received a number of complaints from the public about driver behaviour. As an additional mechanism to monitor and record traffic management interactions at Gate 1 set-down loop, our security personnel and staff will use body-worn cameras, to help provide a safe and secure environment for students, staff and visitors.

SomerLink Notifications

Last Wednesday (16 February 2022) a SomerLink post invited parents to change/update their SomerLink notification preferences. If you are like me and cannot remember how to do this, please click here for instructions on how to change your preferences. To access the video ‘How To’ guides for SomerLink, please click here for more information. 

If you have not already done so, we would strongly recommend you download the SomerLink App to ensure you do not miss any important information from the School. SomerLink profiles can only be linked to one primary email address for each family. As such, the SomerLink App will provide the ability for each parent to receive SomerLink notifications relevant to their daughter/s. 

Parent Guide to Examinations

With the Year 12 exams starting Friday 25 February 2022, I share some tips for parents to assist in the study period throughout the exam block:

• Plan a short break between chunks of study, to refresh both the brain and the body.
• Help map out a study program that leads up sensibly to each subject exam.
• Encourage the use of revision methods they have been taught like mind maps, brief notes, pictures, spider diagrams, self-testing. Just reading things through does not usually work. The more they process information, the more likely it is to stick.
• Television, devices and loud music do not help revision, but quiet background music might.
• Working with a friend can help by testing each other and talking about the work. Find out what teachers have recommended for study as different subjects may take different approaches.
• Encourage them to explain something to you. If you can understand their explanation, then they will be able to produce a good answer in the exam.
• Stay positive and reassuring to build their confidence and calm any nerves.

Good luck to our students embarking on these exams!

Mrs Kim Kiepe
Principal

Each year, Australian Schools Plus in partnership with Commonwealth Bank offers a suite of awards to recognise excellent teachers and school leaders who are making a transformative impact on their students and school communities. 

The awards aim to showcase Australia’s inspirational teachers, celebrate their achievements and show appreciation for the important work they do. 

Twelve successful teachers or school leaders (known as Fellows) will be selected to receive a twelve-month Teaching Fellowship, which includes $10,000 for professional development, $25,000 for a strategic school project, and the collegiality of the Fellowship group. 

In 2022, an additional category will be introduced for Early Career Teachers. The award includes $5,000 for further professional development and a unique leadership and mentoring program. 

The awards consider success in four criteria: 

1. Transforming Learning Outcomes - able to demonstrate initiation of, or contribution to measurable, significant and ongoing improvements in student learning, achieved through identifying students' needs and applying high impact, effective and evidence-based teaching or leadership practices. 
2. Collaborating and Sharing Knowledge - demonstrate significant contributions to and/or leading a culture of collaboration and connectedness within and/or beyond the School. 
3. Engaging with the Community - demonstrate why and how you have fostered family and/or community engagement which has led to improved outcomes for students through purposeful and meaningful connections. 
4. Attributes of a Teaching Fellow - demonstrate leadership in education, teaching and learning that stimulates the thinking of others and leads to significant educational improvements in classrooms and schools. 

We have some wonderful teachers and more than ever, inspirational and dedicated teachers deserve recognition. A nomination is a great way to celebrate the wonderful teachers who are shaping a bright future and helping students thrive. 

For more information and to nominate a teacher, please click here.  

In the latest edition of SchoolTV, parents can learn how to guide and best support their child as they transition through adolescence. Additionally, there is a wealth of information for parents on this valuable site, providing advice from national experts on a range of parenting topics including: 

• friendship and belonging
• school refusal
• blended families
• trauma
• grief and loss
• sleep
• body image
• surviving final year
• school transitions
• impact of gambling
• internet addiction
• sexting, and more.

Adolescence is the transitional stage of development usually associated with the teenage years. In 2018, the Australian Curriculum Assessment Authority redefined adolescence as affecting young people aged between ten to twenty-four years. During this time, they experience rapid physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth, affecting how teenagers feel, think, make decisions, and interact with the world around them. During adolescence, a child's brain can be considered "under-construction". The rate at which this progresses will vary depending on the individual and their gender. As a result, some parents may view adolescence as stressful or difficult. However, it does not need to be. Setting boundaries, implementing consistent monitoring and maintaining a strong and loving connection will help families adjust during this time.

It is also an important time to keep communication lines open through clear and age-appropriate conversations. Speak openly about changes adolescents are experiencing and be conscious of their mental health as many of the conditions people confront in adulthood can begin to manifest in adolescence.

We encourage you to access these resources through the Student Wellbeing Parent Resources page on SomerLink. Please click here for more information.

If you have any concerns about the wellbeing of your child, do not hesitate to contact the Student Wellbeing Centre for further information or seek medical or professional help from your GP or psychologist.

Additional information can be obtained from Kids Helpline, Beyond Blue and ReachOut.

Mrs Julie Brunckhorst
Dean of Student Wellbeing

Over the past few weeks, I have been privy to conversations framed by the broad concept of “the sisterhood”. Taylor Swift might have made famous the idea of a #squad for Generation Millennial, but sisterhood, as both concept and practice, carries historical weight in the history of women’s rights and feminism. Sisterhood encourages connections that enable girls to develop a strong sense of belonging and connection.

Some of these conversations around sisterhood are being heard in Year 11 English, where students are currently challenging popular media tropes that represent girls in ways that aim to disempower them by classifying them into caricatures of “mean girls” and “frenemies”. Some of these conversations have happened in the Boarding House where our Senior students enjoy their leadership role as big sisters, taking the younger boarders under their wing at family tables, escorting them to Woolworths for “Friday essentials”’ or sometimes just to Southbank for a walk and talk.

Many of these conversations have been with our current Year 12 students around the occasion of our recent Academic Honours Assembly, live-streamed to students in Years 7 to 12. The tradition of this assembly holds a special place in the aspirations of many students who, as they progress through Senior School, imagine themselves as a participant.

 Below I share with you a snapshot of how our current Year 12 students explained the importance of this occasion:

The opportunity to be what you can see and celebrate the power of the sisterhood is surely one of the great fundamentals of a girls’ school education. In her book The Good Girl Stripped Bare, journalist Tracey Spicer highlights the capacity for the sisterhood to uplift, empower, and strengthen girls’ resilience and fortitude.

As we head towards the celebration of International Women’s Day on Tuesday 8 March, we celebrate girls’ capacity to stand together and lift each other.

Mrs Kathryn Emtage
Associate Dean of Student Wellbeing and Deputy Head of Boarding

Acknowledgment:
Spicer, Tracey. (2017) The Good Girl Stripped Bare. Sydney: Harper Collins 

On Boxing Day last year, the world lost a great human being. Aged ninety, South African Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu, great friend and colleague of Nelson Mandela and recipient of a Noble Peace Prize passed away peacefully, leaving behind an amazing legacy. Commentators who knew him well described him as courageous yet joyful, humble yet humorous, all bound together in irrepressible love. He is probably best known for his work chairing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the body that was set up to deal with the dismantling of Apartheid in South Africa.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was set up as a court to investigate the various atrocities that occurred under Apartheid. Instead of punishment, it had restorative justice at its heart. The aim was to seek healing between the various factions within society, and forgiveness was the key.

If we reject the cry for retribution as Tutu did, how can we avoid slipping into weak sentimentality and passivity in the face of terrible injustice and evil? Tutu’s solution was a combination of truth and grace. People had to be given the opportunity to tell their stories and bring all the injustices to light, and they did. Forgiveness follows the admission of fault. Tutu described forgiveness as not only benefitting the person being forgiven, but as the best form of self-interest for the one doing the forgiving. Forgiveness means one is no longer locked into victimhood and bound to the perpetrator by bitterness and unforgiveness.

This grace, returning good for evil, goes deeper still. As Tutu said: 

Judgment leads to judgment, but what if we are so closely bound by our common humanity that the enemy is in reality actually another member of our tribe or family? 

In incredibly difficult and unjust circumstances, Desmond Tutu managed to live out the truths expressed in 1 John 4:

His life and actions show us that forgiveness heals us personally, and has the power and potential to restore broken relationships. Enemies can become friends. In this way, Tutu is a tremendous example of what Jesus lived and taught, expressing God’s grace to those who do not deserve it and do not have the ability to earn it, which in the end is all of us.

Ms Chris O'Gorman
Senior Chaplain

Popcorn is prepared in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil and yet… the kernels do not all POP at the same time.

Don't compare your child to others. Their turn to POP is coming.

As human and social beings, we are conditioned to measure and mark every sign of success, achievement and progress.

As parents, from the moment of conception, we start measuring – the baby's weight, height, and growth percentile. Beyond that, there are the milestones. You can find countless articles and apps helping you assess and progress every physical, emotional, social, and cognitive function at each week of their life. We evaluate and measure because we love our children and want nothing but the best for them. But as we tally the points our children are earning each day, we need to remember and trust that there is much happening below the surface, "ready to bloom" in good time (remember the image of the two plants from last week). 

Of course, there are expectations and real pressure on children to meet specific achievement benchmarks at school. The analogy of the popcorn, however, reminds us that our children are unique - they have different emotions, interests and talents. As parents, we must accept that each child will develop at their own pace, just as children take their own time to crawl, walk and talk.

Please encourage this uniqueness in your child. Remember to concentrate on your child's strengths and develop those while working on areas for development.

As educators, we also celebrate individual differences, and we factor these differences into the care and the learning approaches provided. The ultimate success is when we all work in partnership to allow children to be their own person – to grow and learn at their own pace.

Rather than focussing only on official milestone markers and academic benchmarks, let's celebrate that children do 'pop' at different times for different reasons. When they do, their 'pops' creates joyfulness for learning and times for sharing and celebration.

Junior School Support Group

Thank you to those parents who joined us online last Thursday morning (17 February) for the first Junior School Support Group (JSSG) parent meeting of the year. The JSSG is currently calling for volunteers for class representatives. Please email [email protected] if you are able to be a representative for your class or have any queries.

Please click here for the information shared at the meeting last week, including details of events planned for 2022.

SomerLink

We are keen to support you in using SomerLink, fine-tuning the set-up of notifications and accessing information to ensure you stay up-to-date with your daughter's activities and progress. We are planning information sessions to run online and in-person (when restrictions allow) and will share details in the coming week. Please email [email protected] if you have any specific topics you would like covered or have any suggestions of how we can best assist you.

School arrival and departure  – important reminders

Morning routine:

• Use both undercover and outside Turning Circles for drop-off in the morning.
• Drop-off is between 7.45am and 8.20am. Students arriving before 7.45am should be at a supervised school activity or attending OSHC.
• Roll call and daily notices are from 8.25am to 8.35am in the classroom. Students arriving after this time should go to Main Reception for late sign in.

Afternoon routine:

• Arrive no earlier than the start of the Year Level collection time for your daughter.
• Early arrival in Graham Street causes congestion and unnecessary delays.
• A reminder that staff are on duty until 3.15pm in the afternoon if you miss the optimum Year Level timeframe for your daughter. Your daughter will be supervised throughout the waiting time.
• Students not collected by 3.15pm are taken to Main Reception and families contacted regarding after school care arrangements.
• Students not collected after school should be attending a supervised school activity or registered for OSHC.

We appreciate your efforts in helping to make the arrival and departure in the Turning Circle as efficient as possible.

Mrs Louise McGuire
Head of Junior School

While your daughter will be engaged in various reading activities at school, it is also important to encourage her to read outside the classroom.

Here are some ideas that may help you support your daughter's reading development:

• Talk with her about the things she likes to read - picture books, books about dinosaurs, 'how-to-make' instructions, catalogues, signs, computer games.
• Ask her to retell her favourite stories.
• Read with your daughter each day if you can — before bed, first thing in the morning, whenever it is convenient for the family.
• Ask questions while reading to check she understands what she is reading such as Why do you think that happened? What do you think will happen next? and Why do you think the author included that part in the story?
• Give her time when she gets stuck on a word — take it slowly — encourage her to sound out each letter in the word.
• Let your daughter see you reading.
• Read and write with your daughter in her first language.
• Create your own stories from pictures and images in your daughter's first language, if books in your first language are unavailable.
• Visit the local library and encourage your daughter to choose reading material that she will enjoy.
• Collect books and display reading materials in your home such as books, newspapers, magazines.
• Point out printed words found at home and in your daughter's local environment, including long, short, funny or interesting words.
• Share with your daughter a range of electronic materials such as websites, email, text messages, computer games.
• Share a range of visual texts such as photos, illustrations, cartoons, comics.
• Make books or other reading materials with your daughter about topics of interest or shared experiences, including a holiday photo album, a book about insects, signs for her bedroom.
• Create a special place for her to read, write or draw.
• Make a message board or space at home and encourage your daughter to read and leave messages for other family members.
• Create word walls in places where your daughter spends a lot of time, such as her bedroom.
• Carry a book or magazine with you when you are out — waiting at the doctor, waiting for the bus. 

Reading should be an enjoyable experience for everyone in the family.

Mrs Gaye Ryan
Assistant Head of Junior School- Teaching and Learning

Please click here to view a list of upcoming Junior School events and activities.

Last week, we celebrated with our graduates from 2021 who achieved Academic Honours, Top of Subject, Second to the Dux and Dux. Congratulations to all of these students. We are so proud of who you are and what you have achieved.

As a cohort, this group of young adults demonstrated persistence, flexibility and determination whilst still showing humour and having fun. Although they faced several lockdowns throughout their Senior years, they still achieved outstanding results. The median ATAR of the graduates of 2021 increased to 91.85, and a larger number of students graduated with an additional qualification.  

During our Academic Honours Assembly, I spoke to students about the importance of mindset and focussing on what is within your control when working towards goals. If you have not already, I would strongly encourage students and parents to listen to the recent ABC podcast, where Ash Barty’s mindset coach, Ben Crowe, discusses one of the key factors to Ash’s success. Crowe says that by focussing our attention on what we can control, such as who we want to be as a person, rather than things outside of our control, such as expecting a certain outcome, we can focus our goals without fear, anxiety and stress. 

As students are setting and reviewing goals for the year, I would encourage all to focus not only on what they want to achieve but who they want to be.

Congratulations to our graduates of 2021 for the following awards

Mrs Wendy Jurrs
Dean of Academic Programs

Acknowledgements:
Berry, S. (2021, September 5). Sydney Morning Herald.
Crowe, B. (2022, January 31). Ash Barty's mindset coach Ben Crowe shares insight into Aus Open champion's headspace. (V. Trioli, Interviewer) Melbourne: ABC Radio.

Last week, Seymour Library celebrated Library Lovers Week. Library Lovers Day is an important feature of the Australian Library and Information Association's (ALIA) yearly calendar, and in Seymour Library, we like to extend this celebration for the entire week. As ALIA states, 

Seymour Library certainly fulfils all of those crucial roles for our students and staff.

Love heart craft

On Monday 14 February, students created paper hearts. We had a huge turnout, and it was delightful to see lots of the new Year 7 students participate.

Blind Date with a Book

Students completed an online questionnaire throughout the week, answering questions about what kind of reader they were. Responses from the questionnaires were utilised to select books from the library collection that matched their reading style to be set up for a "Blind Date with a Book". We had an enthusiastic response, and we hope students enjoyed their "book dates".

Below are some of the books selected for students, based on their responses.

Senior Years students

Middle Years students

'Love your Library' love quiz

The week culminated with a Kahoot quiz, with students answering questions related to Valentine's Day, love and books. Congratulations to Jade S (12G), Monique S (12C) and Cheryl S (10C) for winning the Kahoot!

Mrs Avril Cross
Teacher Librarian

Acknowledgement: 
Australian Library and Information Association. (2022). Library lover's day 2022.

Australian Football League News

Saturday 19 February saw the inaugural first round of QGSSSA Australian Football League (AFL) – what a day! Over 240 students and nine QGSSSA schools made their way to Springfield Sporting Complex for the start of the competition.

Our Opens team kicked things off against Brisbane Girls Grammar School (BGGS), with our new AFL guernseys standing out from the crowd. Our students competed hard and showed great strength across the board.

Senior As started their campaign against St Hilda’s School and finished with a draw against Moreton Bay College (MBC), with a game that went down to the wire. Overall, it was a great start to the season.

Basketball News

With QGSSSA basketball trials completed, students attended their first round-robin tournament to put their competitive skills to the test. Teams were announced with a slice of cake and players took to the court with their new teammates. The benchmark has been set high this season.

Miss Lucy Bellinger
Sports Co-ordinator

Equestrian News

Congratulations to the following students on their achievements.

• Tamika M (7C) seventh in the Secondary Novice Test 2A and eleventh in the Secondary Novice Test 2B at Stuartholme School’s Interschool Queensland (IQ) Dressage Event
• Phoebe M (11D) eighth in the Secondary 80cm AM5 at Stuartholme School's IQ Showjumping Event
• Rose B (6D) sixth in both the 60cm and 70cm classes at the Equestrian Gold Coast Club's Showjumping Competition

Dr Gemma Dale
Teacher - Biology and Science, Equestrian Co-ordinator

Gymnastics News

Congratulations to the following students on their amazing achievements.

• Brianna L (12C) made the National Squad for 2022.
• Leyla D (7A) was named in the Team Future Squad for Trampolining.

Ms Sky Hilton
Sports Co-ordinator

Softball News

Week 2 of softball saw more wins on the board for the School. Our Opens defeated Clayfield College 2-1 in their first game, going down to BGGS in the second. Senior As recorded their first win for the season, defeating Brisbane State High School 3-1 in a thriller. The Senior Bs fought hard and showed great fight and resilience throughout their three games. Bring on next week’s games.

Miss Lucy Bellinger
Sports Co-ordinator

Due to production and delivery delays caused by COVID-19, we are experiencing difficulty obtaining uniform stock on time. In light of this, we will be introducing purchasing limits for all new and existing families during the 2022 back to school and winter uniform period, including –

• Day students will only be permitted to purchase two of the same items, and
• Boarding students will only be permitted to purchase three of the same items.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and hope to be in a position to lift these limits once stock supply improves later in the year.

Mrs Linda Connor
Somerwear Manager

The Somerville House Old Girls’ Association warmly invites Old Girls who are current families to celebrate our school community.

DATE: Friday 18 March 
TIME: 6.30pm to 8.30pm
VENUE: Chambers Room, Somerville House
TICKETS: FREE - Tickets are limited.
RSVP: 4.00pm, Friday 11 March. Registration is essential.

REGISTER NOW

Nibbles and drinks will be provided. 

Parking will be available in the VPAC carpark via Gate 6 on Graham Street. 

Click here for more information, and for any enquiries, please email [email protected].

The Middle Years Support Group invite all Year 7 students and their families to the Year 7 Welcome Function Pizza and Pool Party. 

DATE: Sunday 27 March
TIME: 3.00pm to 5.00pm
VENUE: Murray Evans Sports and Aquatic Centre, Somerville House
TICKETS: Family of four - $20 + Booking fee (BF)
              Parent and Child $10 + BF
              Single $5pp + BF
RSVP: 4.00pm, Friday 18 March 
Limited parking available under the Murray Evans Sports and Aquatic Centre.

Book now.

The JSSG, MYSG and SYSG, with the support of the P&F, invite all parents from Pre-Prep to Year 12 to celebrate the commencement of the new school year at the 2nd Annual All School Welcome.

DATE: Saturday 26 March
TIME: 3.00pm to 6.00pm
VENUE: Foundation Building – Level 7, Somerville House
TICKETS: $25pp + Booking fee. Ticket price includes hamburger or hotdog, gelato and drink (dietary options will be catered for).
RSVP: 4.00pm, Friday 18 March 
DRESS: Casual attire. Please wear only non-slip shoes and no heels to protect the Tennis Courts as the function may spread into this space.

We look forward to celebrating with you!

BOOK NOW

For any enquiries please email [email protected].

Please note the following:

• This is a parent only event, please no children.
• Unless the event is cancelled due to changes in Queensland Government COVID-19 restrictions, refunds will not be available. 
• Parking is not available on school campus. 

Transforming Brisbane into a sea of pink.

On Sunday 6 March, more than 15,000 people will come together to form a special part of the RACQ International Women's Day Fun Run 2022.

Together, we aim to raise more than $1.5M for personalised, practical support services and life-saving breast cancer research at Mater—to show women with breast cancer that they're not alone.

It would be great if we could support this initiative. While we will see the sea of pink, we hope to see many lime green Somerville sports hats running around this course. Please click here to register to run, and do so as soon as possible, as there are only a few spots remaining. We will arrange to meet at school and walk down to the South Bank Parklands for the start. Sign up as an individual or select the family option. Select the 'run' option so that we can all start together, run but walk if need be.

Pricing:
Adult (16 years+) - $60
Child (under 16 years) - $50

Mr Andre Sinclair
Director of Athletics and Cross Country

Year 2 students completed a Somerville@HOME drawing activity where, after looking at works by artist Henri Rousseau, they were asked to do a drawing of their own garden or one nearby.

They were encouraged to “zoom in” so that the garden filled their viewing frame with very little sky. The students were also encouraged to notice overlapping and hidden foliage and to include some imaginary surprises in their drawings.

Ivy has completed this lovely, colourful drawing of her garden with layered images, different textures and some little surprises.