I hope that all families have managed to enjoy a break from school daily routines.  It was wonderful to welcome students back to school on Monday, refreshed and ready to engage with this term’s learning challenges and co-curricular activities.

I also extend a warm welcome to new families and students joining Somerville House this term.

Staffing Update

Following return from Parental Leave, it is my pleasure to welcome these returning members of staff:

• Mrs Emma Mackay, Year 1 classroom teacher and Mrs Jessica Hegerty, teaching Middle Years classes.

We also welcome back Christian Education teacher, Mrs Sandy Pfingst, who returns after Long Service Leave in Term 2.

I am happy to introduce the following new members of staff joining us on contract as Parental Leave replacements:

• Miss Shiyi Xu - Teacher of Chinese (replacing Ms Susan Xue) 
• Mrs Felicity Addison - Teacher of Music and Drama (replacing Mrs Daniela Clever)
• Miss Sophie Dodd - Acting Director of Strength and Conditioning (replacing Miss Freya Greensill)
• Ms Kate Ashwood - Teacher Aide in the Junior School

It is also my pleasure to introduce our new corporate staff members to our parent community: 

• Mrs Alison Maklary - Administration Assistant - Senior School, and in the Boarding House, we welcome: Senior Boarding Supervisor, Miss Sophie Witts and Residential Boarding Assistants, Miss Isabella Giles, Miss Grace McLauchlan, Miss Bree Tully, Miss Isabelle McGaw (a Somerville House Old Girl). 

We also welcome two new staff members taking up the position of Housekeeper - Ms Paulina Alvarez and Mrs Michelle Baker.  We farewell Senior Boarding Supervisor, Ms Stephanie Moran and on behalf of all boarders, I thank Ms Moran for her care in the Boarding House.

Newsletter Update

Recently, we gathered feedback from parents regarding the format and frequency of The Honour Roll - our school newsletter. Thank you to all who responded to our survey. Interestingly, we note that 84.62% of survey respondents access their newsletter edition by clicking on the email sent by the School. The survey results have helped us glean important insights regarding the frequency of the newsletter, accessibility preferences, readability and usability. Following a review of your feedback, we have made some improvements to the newsletter, including the decision to trial a fortnightly newsletter format. We will rely more heavily on the Somerville House app for sending out information via notices. 

From a parent’s perspective, it will be important to download the app to a mobile device. If you don’t have the app, please use https://www.somerville.qld.edu.au/parent-resources for instructions. As a key strategic priority, it is imperative that we look to digital platforms for improved communication.  I look forward to updating you on further developments on our plans for transition to new digital solutions, as we move through 2020.

Enrolment for 2021

In Term 3, we do our serious planning for the following year, including planning for staffing, the number of classes required and associated learning spaces.  I remind parents that if your child is not returning to Somerville House in 2021, we require one full school term's written notice (or one school term's fees in lieu of notice) when withdrawing a student from the School. Please notify the Principal’s Office by Tuesday 6 October, with your written confirmation of a planned withdrawal. We are about to commence work on the 2021 timetable and staffing, and so, it is important that we have accurate enrolment numbers. In some year levels, we have waiting lists, and we need to be able to contact those on the list who are hoping to secure a place at the School. Thank you for advising [email protected].

PMSA Communique to our school community

Early in each term, we provide families an update of activities and relevant information from the PMSA. Click here to read the PMSA Communique.

Thank you for taking the time to read these updates from my desk.  At regular intervals, I will continue to provide COVID-19 updates from the Principal’s Office. I wish all families and students a successful term ahead.

Mrs Kim Kiepe
Principal

I was in a Zoom meeting recently and found myself constantly checking that I was smiling enough but not too much, sitting at the right angle to the camera, and wondering why I hadn’t spent more time trying to tame that stray strand of hair that was sticking up from the side of my head!

How do you see yourself? Beautiful? Ugly? Ordinary? Research tells us that the vast majority of teenage girls are not happy with how they look, and have a list of things they would change if they could. 

In Philip Larkin’s poem, Born Yesterday, he lists his wishes for a baby just born – not that she would be exceptionally beautiful, but that she may be ordinary, “not ugly, not good-looking … nothing uncustomary” to pull her off-balance. In the Old Testament book of Esther, we meet a young woman whose life was pulled off balance by her exceptional beauty.

Esther was chosen by King Xerxes to be his new queen because of her beauty, having been identified by one of the officials sent out by the king on a nation-wide beauty pageant. We may see it as a great gift to be born beautiful. I am sure most of us at some time have looked enviously at someone truly gifted with natural beauty, but when you think about it, how sad that this was how Esther was judged. What a pity the King didn’t go looking for a new Queen who was really smart, or of strong character, or morally upright, but rather one who was known instead for her great beauty. 

It turned out that not only was Esther an attractive person, she was also very courageous and intelligent, willing to put her own life on the line to see justice done and her people saved from being slaughtered in a genocide. 

Next time you are tempted to wish that you were more beautiful than you judge yourself to be, remember that beauty has a downside. Beauty can draw unwanted attention, and for people who are shallow in character, it can blind them to the true value of who you are - your wisdom, your character and the good choices you make to contribute positively to the communities and groups in which you operate.

Ms Chris O'Gorman
Senior Chaplain

I welcome everyone back to school, and to the commencement of Term 3. I hope you had some refreshing family time over the mid-year break. Please take a moment to peruse the dates for important Junior School events this term, as listed below.

We warmly welcome back from maternity leave Mrs Emma Mackay, who will resume her position as a teacher of Year 1. Mrs Mackay will be taking class 1C Mondays to Wednesdays, with Mrs Janine Thompson continuing on Thursdays and Fridays. I take this opportunity to thank Mrs Danielle Davies for her professionalism, expertise and unwavering support and care of the students in her role teaching 1C during Mrs Mackay’s maternity leave. Mrs Davies will be missed by both the girls and the Junior School staff, but we look forward to seeing Mrs Davies around the School as one of our regular supply/contract teachers.

We also welcome our new Teacher Aide, Ms Kate Ashwood, and Ms Eden Tauhore, Acting Service Co-ordinator for OSHC while Ms Maggie Jacobs is on maternity leave. We wish Maggie all the very best for the safe arrival of her first baby and this exciting new chapter in her life.

Additionally, we have some updates to specialist teachers in the Junior School, as noted below:

• Mrs Felicity Addison, covering Year 5 Drama and Year 6 A/D Music, and Mr Shannon Leonard covering Year 6B/C Music as Mrs Daniela Clever is now on maternity leave.
• Mrs Avril Cross taking over Information Literacy for Years 3, 5 and 6. Mrs Cheryl Toohey continues teaching Information Literacy for Prep, Years 1, 2 and 4.
• Ms Shiyi Xu taking over Years 3, 5 B/C and 6 B/C Chinese following the departure of Ms Susan Xue.

Welcome also to four new students, and their families, who joined the Junior School this week - Maya T in Year 1, Jiahui (Ariel) L in Year 2, Lindsay Z in Year 4 and Jessica J in Year 6.

On Tuesday, all students in the Junior School joined together in their classrooms to celebrate those students who have now completed a semester at Somerville House, receiving their school badges. Although this assembly was unable to be conducted in the customary manner in VPAC (it was pre-recorded at the end of last term), it was a very special one for the students who commenced at Somerville House at the beginning of 2020. These girls are now proudly wearing their shiny new Somerville House badges.

A reminder that, as communicated when school recommenced on-campus last term, parents and carers are asked to note the ongoing requirement for adults to maintain physical distancing of 1.5m at all times while on school grounds. Parents and carers should not gather in areas around the campus, such as carparks, at the School entry gates or outside classrooms during this time. Please make use of our stop, drop and go zone on the driveway loop via Gate 1 entry.

Mrs Louise McGuire
Head of Junior School

There are several students in the Junior and Senior Schools who suffer from life-threatening allergies to nuts. These students will suffer an anaphylactic reaction if they come into contact with even the smallest trace of certain types of nuts. Passing contact with another student who has been eating nuts or products containing nuts can trigger a reaction. 

We ask that parents and children avoid any products containing nuts when preparing lunches or snacks for school. This will assist in reducing the risk for these students. We thank you for your support in this matter. 

Please be reminded that the Semester 1 reports will be issued at the end of Week 3. Parent-Teacher Interviews are scheduled for Weeks 5 and 6, and further details will be emailed to you this week.

I like this quote as it reminds us that happiness is not something that we can find, but rather it is something that we create. The pursuit of happiness is something that people have strived for throughout time, but it is often in the simplest actions that we find true joy. 

Marc Chernoff writes about seven habits of highly happy people which include:

1. Being part of something you believe in
2. Sharing time with friends and family
3. Reflecting on the good things in our lives
4. Using available resources to increase positive feelings
5. Creating happy endings in our lives whenever possible
6. Using our strengths to get things done
7. Savouring the joy of simple pleasures.

You can read the full article at https://schooltv.me/newsletter-article/3699/3621

As we begin a new semester, I encourage all families to create happiness in their own lives by making time every day for positive health and wellbeing.

Mr Tim Smetham
Assistant Head of Junior School - Pastoral and Administration

Following our return to school from Somerville@HOME, each Year 6 student was invited to write a letter to a Somerville House Old Girl to ask how she had fared during the COVID-19 lockdown. This task started students thinking about what school was like when these women attended, and brought up some intriguing questions and interesting discussions. One student was puzzled by ‘OAM’ noted after a name on the list, so she researched what this meant and included some questions about it in her letter. This project also provided an excellent opportunity to revise how to set out a letter and address an envelope.

Replies to the students’ letters have been arriving over the past weeks. Delighted squeals of excitement and the joy of sharing the funny snippets written in the ‘old fashioned handwriting’ can be heard resounding throughout the Year 6 corridors. Letter writing to our Old Girls has been a wonderfully rich and joyful undertaking, and something we would like to continue next year. 

The Junior School Support Group (JSSG) will hold a meeting next Thursday 23 July (Week 2), commencing at 6.30pm in the Honour Room. 

If you plan to attend, please email JSSG Secretary, Mrs Shannon Stork, at [email protected]. If you have a matter to raise for discussion or would like a copy of the agenda, please let Shannon know.

Students finished Term 2 learning about German culture and putting their new language skills into practice. In Year 7, students learnt about school in German-speaking countries. Classes were given the opportunity to make Schultüten.  A Schultüte is a large cone traditionally given to school students on their first day of school. They are filled with toys, stationery and chocolate. In Year 8, students have been learning about fashion and how to express opinions about clothing items. They put all of this together in a Modeschau (fashion show), where they were able to display different styles of fashion and critique what others were wearing!

Mr Clayton Forno
Head of Department - Languages

Senior School Mid-Year Reports will be released to parents early in Week 3 of this term. The later than usual release date is due to required changes to Term 2 assessment timelines following Somerville@HOME. Mid-Year Reports include an interim subject result and teacher recommendation for further progress. Parents will be advised via email when Reports are available.

Ms Laura Duffield
Dean of Teaching Practices

Year 12 confirmed results for the first internal assessment task are now available in student learning accounts through the QCAA Student Portal.  The Student Portal allows students to track their progress towards their QCE and includes all learning which contributes towards the QCE, such as AMEB examinations and the Duke of Edinburgh award.  To access the Student Portal, students need their LUI number and the password they set when first registering their account. The Student Portal can be found on the MyQCE section of the QCAA website.

Year 11 students also logged into their learning accounts prior to the holidays.  Any students who need their access details should see their AIM teacher.

Mrs Wendy Jurss
Dean of Academic Programs

The QCAA issued additional information in June regarding modifications to the process of calculating ATAR scores for 2020.  The factsheet can be found here.

The QCAA have clarified that the external examinations in Maths and Science subjects will still contribute 50% of the overall result, and the external examinations in all other subjects will still contribute 25% of the overall result.  The two internal assessment tasks (IAs) in each subjects will make up the remainder of the result.

Mrs Wendy Jurss
Dean of Academic Programs

This term, the Parent-Teacher Interviews in Weeks 3, 4 and 5 will be conducted via Microsoft Teams to support our school community with physical distancing. Years 11 and 12 Parent-Teacher Interviews were conducted successfully by phone in Term 2, and conducting interviews online this term will enable both teachers and parents to have a more face-to-face experience.

The day prior to booked interviews, parents will be emailed a link for teachers with whom they have requested an interview. Parents will not need to download any application, nor will they need to use their daughter’s Microsoft Teams access.

At the designated interview time, parents will simply click on the relevant teacher’s link to enter an online ‘waiting room’ where the teacher will admit them to the interview as soon as possible.

Parents of Years 7 to 10 students will be able to make bookings for interviews via Parent Lounge from 5.00pm on Wednesday 15 July until 9.00am on Thursday 23 July. After this time, bookings can only be made by contacting the Middle Years office. Further instructions will be emailed to parents.

Ms Laura Duffield
Dean of Teaching Practices

There are several students in the Junior and Senior Schools who suffer from life-threatening allergies to nuts. These students will suffer an anaphylactic reaction if they come into contact with even the smallest trace of certain types of nuts. Passing contact with another student who has been eating nuts or products containing nuts can trigger a reaction. 

We ask that parents and children avoid any products containing nuts when preparing lunches or snacks for school. This will assist in reducing the risk for these students. We thank you for your support in this matter. 

We are excited to begin returning to normal activities in Term 3.

Rehearsals for all Co-Curricular Music Ensembles and Choirs have recommenced this week.

A reminder of the Combined Choral Weekend beginning this Friday 17 July through to Sunday 19 July. Cantamus, Camerata and Cantrice Choirs will be involved in the Combined Choral Festival featuring local clinician, Mr Paul Holley, with the festival culminating in a collaborative concert or recording (TBC depending on physical restrictions).

Thank you to those students who have completed the online form already.

Please confirm your daughter's availability by completing the online form below.

https://somerville.wufoo.com/forms/2020-somerville-choral-festival/

Please direct any enquiries to Mr Shannon Leonard via [email protected].

Mr Will Eager
Director of Co-Curricular Music

Welcome back to Term 3. There were a number of staff involved in co-curricular activities over the holidays - special mention must go to the following Sports Directors and Co-ordinators:

Miss Jess Price – Netball Clinics
Mrs Samara Quinlan – Rowing Clinics
Mr Andre Sinclair – Athletics Training
Miss Sky Hilton – Volleyball Clinics
Ms Sharyn Simpson – Hockey Clinic
Mr Tyrone Barrett – Tennis Camps
Mr Tim Lane – Swimming Training 
Ms Freya Greensill and Miss Sophie Dodd – Strength and Conditioning Clinics
Mr Allan Legge – Badminton Clinics

This term will be our busiest Sports term of the year with QGSSSA Winter Fixtures each Saturday for eight rounds (round 1 cancelled), BSRA Rowing regattas, and the Junior and Senior School Interhouse Athletics Carnivals in Weeks 2 and 3. We also have the QGSSSA Athletics Carnival later this term, and Andrews Cup Netball and Athletics Carnivals.

Round 2 of the QGSSSA Winter Fixtures commences on Saturday 25 July against St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School. Hockey will be played at UQ, Netball and Volleyball at Nissan Arena, and Tennis at the Queensland Tennis Centre. 

We wish all of our girl’s trialling for teams this week and next all the best. If you have any questions please contact the Sports Co-ordinators listed below.

Mr Andrew McCabe
Director of Sport

Our Rowers were very happy to see the skies clear on Saturday (11 July) morning in time for their car wash to raise funds for Jack’s Last Gift. We estimate the group washed forty-five cars (and one bike) across the morning and raised over $1,350 in the process. We are very grateful for the support of the Rowing parents who helped direct the chaos and keep the girls on task, and to all the wonderful people who trusted the girls with their vehicles. 

Mrs Samara Quinlan
Director of Rowing

A very busy few weeks for the equestrian team, with a training weekend taking place at our coach's property near Toowoomba. 

Rain never stops play when riding, as shown by Pippa L and Billie L jumping at Warwick.

Also riding in the rain is Phoebe M, completing some cross country and showjumping at Toowoomba Jump Club.

Finally, preparations are in full throes for our annual competition. The Somerville House Equestrian Team would like to invite all supporters to our annual event, taking place on the Sunday 2 August at Fig Tree Pocket Equestrian Club.

Dr Gemma Dale
Equestrian Co-ordinator

We had such a great turn out for our return to sport holiday training.

As Strength and Conditioning is back to full capacity in Term 3, if you wish to register your spot please do so ASAP.

Senior School sessions

Each session includes full-body strength, power, mobility and conditioning, plus performance testing twice per year.

Cost: One session per week is $315 per term, or two sessions per week for $450 per term.

Junior School sessions

This squad will focus on active play, using fundamental movements that are used in all sports. Exercises will include a range of bodyweight push-pull exercises, obstacle courses and games.

Cost: One session per week is $250 per term, or two sessions per week $350 per term.

• Please note squad participants have one opportunity to make up sessions available throughout the term if they miss a session due to illness.

One-on-One sessions

We have thirty-minute sessions for girls of all ages that need some extra attention. Students that might be suited to these sessions include injury rehabilitation, or girls simply wanting some more specific attention to achieve their goals. These sessions run from 7.45am to 8.15am, or by appointment.

Cost: $50 for 30 minutes

To register please email me via [email protected].

Miss Sophie Dodd
Acting Director of Strength and Conditioning

Congratulations to the following Years 10 and 11 students on successfully completing their AMEB (Australian Music Examinations Board) Speech and Drama examination in June.  

Year 10 - Voice and Communication 

Grade 4
Hannah L - A
Georgie W - A
Ellse W - A
Zara G - A+

Grade 5
Millicent S - A
Annika S - A+

Year 11 - Voice and Communication 

Grade 6
Lauren G - B+
Hellen N - B+
Alyciana A - A
Claire H - A
Lucy H - A
Ella L - A
Annie R - A
India C - A+
Dinethra E - A+
Georgia N - A+
Hayley P - A+
Maya R - A+

Georgia N (Year 11) is invited to attend the Barbara Sisley Awards for achieving the highest result in Queensland for AMEB Drama and Performance Grade 5 examinations in 2019.

The printmaking techniques of etching, lino printing and embossing were used to embellish a garment design by Year 9 students last semester.

The designs were based on elements which the students observed in an artwork by a female Australian artist of their choice. Ella's artwork is based on a woodblock print by Cressida Campbell.

The Somerville House Uniform Shop has opened for normal business from the start of Term 3 this week, however, its trading hours have changed slightly.

Its trading hours from Monday 13 July are:

Monday, Thursday and Friday - 7.45am to 2.00pm

Tuesday - Closed

Wednesday - 10.00am to 4.00pm

Students and parents are asked to adhere to the 1.5m social distancing rules by standing on the blue crosses in the shop. As COVID-19 requirements continue to change frequently, the number of customers allowed in the Uniform Shop at any one time will be displayed on the shop door and must be adhered to at all times.

We wish to advise staff, parents and students that over-the-counter sales are still unavailable from the Tuckshop, due to COVID-19 restrictions. All orders for breakfast, morning tea, and lunch needed to be submitted online via Flexischools. The Tuckshop will advise staff, parents and students of any changes to its arrangements as soon as they happen.

The Term 3 menu is available on the School website and Flexischools.

We invite you to Save the Date for this year's Speech Night.

The 122nd Speech Night for the School is scheduled to take place on Thursday 14 October.

This event may be subject to change due to the evolving COVID-19 situation. As we approach this date, the School will assess the suitability of the event and provide confirmation to our community as soon as possible.