It was a joy to escape the Principal’s Office throughout the first week of term to move around the campus, as well as join in with some of the off-campus happenings. We were blessed with a busy, but brilliant start to Term 3 last week. Of course, there was regular teaching and learning happening in classrooms, according to the prescribed National Curriculum for Prep to Year 10 and the QCE courses for Years 11 and 12. However, an array of programs across the year levels meant that our students were honing their skills in complex problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, people management, collaboration, emotional intelligence, judgement and decision-making, as well as cognitive flexibility. They also got to fine-tune their skills in interpersonal emotional intelligence, including empathy, co-operation, negotiation, leadership and social awareness.

This was evident in Monday’s very first session in the Honour Room. Our Year 9 Enterprise Education students were involved in the User Experience Design Sprint in partnership with QUT Entrepreneurship. The Year 9 students were able to use the Design Thinking Process, and in working together, they were able to brainstorm ideas, refining options through their discussions and then settling on an idea to test.

Tuesday in the Honour Room welcomed visitors from yLead to teach our Year 11 cohort over two days for their leadership workshop. The students developed their understanding that leadership is not defined by a badge, but by the actions that create their legacy.

At Wednesday’s assembly, we were able to present 136 Senior School students with their Somerville House Badge. Right back to October 5, 1899, when Miss Eliza Fewings founded the School, it has been a long-held and special tradition at Somerville House that the School Badge is issued to students after their first six months as a Somerville House student. Our Junior School students, who joined at the start of 2022, will receive their badges on Tuesday morning in Week 2 at a special Badge Presentation Ceremony.

Students in the Senior Years drew benefits by listening to Paul Dillon on Thursday. As the Director and founder of Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia, Dillon is passionate about ensuring that the community has access to accurate and up-to-date alcohol and other drug information.

Friday was the day to be out in the fresh air, running around Yeronga Memorial Course for the Interhouse Cross Country Carnival. Students in Junior School ran in the morning session, while our Senior Years students ran in the middle session of the day, with Middle Years students running in the afternoon session. Thank you to Mr Andre Sinclair, the Coaches, the teachers and the Cross Country Support Group parents for contributing to a wonderful day of house spirit for Somerville girls.

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Ceremony

It was an honour to attend the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Presentation Ceremony at Brisbane City Hall on Friday afternoon. Molly Young (Class of 2021) and Alice D. both received their Gold Award, while Physics Teacher Mr David Haliczer was recognised via a Volunteer Recognition Award for his ten years of service with a Long Service Medal.  I congratulate our students and “Ranger Hal” on reaching this pinnacle of achievement.

Saturday Round 1 Winter Fixtures

Being able to play Netball and Volleyball at the Nissan Arena venue is always special, and our first round of Winter Fixtures versus BGGS was exactly that.  I took this photo of our Open Volleyball team with the score advantage in the first quarter.  I am looking forward to supporting our Somerville teams through the Winter Fixtures in 2022.

Rowing Blessing of the Fleet

Saturday was a brilliant day for being out on the water! Parents, coaches and staff were pleased to join together at the Water Sports Facility out at Yeronga, so we could bless the latest boat named “Osburn”. We honoured the twenty-five years of service by Coach Jeffrey Searle. Great food and a special cake for Coach Searle marked the occasion.

Middle Years Support Group

Saturday afternoon was a great opportunity for parents with daughters in Years 7 to 9 to join together in the Honour Room for a social gathering. Members of our leadership team were pleased to welcome parents to this social event, especially because we have lived with such uncertainty since January 2020.  Of course, this event was scheduled to be held last term, but with the impact of the pandemic, our calendar has coped with yet another rescheduled calendar date. Community building and parent engagement continues at Somerville House after a COVID-19 hiatus.

I hope that gives parents and carers a snapshot of the first week of term that was!

Mrs Kim Kiepe
Principal

As the end of school approaches for Year 12 students, the recent article by Dr Judith Locke, psychologist, resonated with me. Titled Don’t let your help make your child helpless, the article outline steps we can take so that our children step up to their responsibilities, helping them to be better prepared for what life throws at them. An unexpected benefit is the pride they will feel when they accomplish something independently.

Dr Locke suggests that if we help our children too much, we are Sherpa’ing them through their childhood and adolescence. She suggests the following as some steps towards fostering responsibility.

In late primary and high school, children should be making their breakfast and lunch every morning.

As often as you can, get your child to pack and unpack their school bag. If they’re too young, they should be involved a little, ‘What else do you need for school tomorrow?’

If your child forgets to bring something to school, then they face the consequence. Parents shouldn’t be their back-up luggers.

Older children should be sorting out the issues with their phone, such as calling the provider if there are any problems.

Click here to read the full article.

Mrs Jo Matherson
Deputy Principal

Faith and Hope

What an exciting game last week’s State of Origin decider turned out to be! Whether you are a Blues supporter or a Maroons tragic, you would have to agree that it was a game played with passion, intensity and at times, desperation. As a dyed-in-the-wool Queenslander, I was certainly backing the Maroons, but with the best player from the previous two games missing, and given the recent club performances of most of the NSW team, I must admit, I think I watched this game more with HOPE, than FAITH.

What is the difference between faith and hope? Secular dictionaries tell us that hope is “the expectation of something desired”, whereas the Bible tells us that: “To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see”. (Hebrews 11: 1).

Now when it comes to State of Origin, Coach Billy Slater said recently, that he goes into every game having faith that the Maroons are going to win. Sports Psychologists talk a lot about the need to go into a competition with a positive mindset about winning, but of course if everyone is doing that, inevitably there will be disappointment for some.

When we pray to God, we are encouraged to pray with faith, not just a vague hope that someone somewhere or even the universe itself might be listening and hear us. Our faith is in God, the one we cannot see, and faith is about being sure and certain that he exists and that he hears us. Now this is a bit different from believing that he will grant whatever request we bring to him, because as most of us have discovered, this doesn’t always happen, even when our requests seem very reasonable. He is the Creator of the universe, and he is not obliged to do everything we ask of him, that is his prerogative. However, it DOES mean that we can have the confidence that God is real, that He cares for us and that he hears even our most timidly whispered prayers.

The other great thing about faith is that Jesus tells us that we only have to have faith the size of a mustard seed to see great things happen. In other words it is not about how much faith we have, but rather in whom we have put our faith.

Ms Chris O'Gorman
Senior Chaplain

At Somerville House, we promote and ask our students to be servant leaders. This style of leadership was identified by Robert F. Greenleaf in 1970.

Year 11s enjoyed a powerful leadership conference with many poignant moments on campus over two days this past week. This marked the commencement of the leadership selection process for School leaders in 2023.

At Somerville House, all Year 12s are leaders.  They are easily identified and are role models to students in younger years. We rely on our Year 12s to set the standard, to do the right thing when no one is looking, to overtly enact our values of courage, compassion, integrity, inclusion, gratitude and respect. We don’t need a badge or title to lead with honour, and some students worthy of these roles will not receive a badge. Many of our Year 12s will stand up and live our motto, Honour Before Honours without a title. We honour our Year 12s for their consideration of others, our traditions and our community reputation without entitlement and look forward to the Year 11s taking on the reins in Term 4 this year.

Cyber Safety

Please see below for valuable advice from our Director of Technology Services, Mr Peter Yeates, given the increase in cyber threats to us and our children. We thank him for creating this for us. 

Mrs Julie Brunckhorst
Dean of Student Wellbeing 

Cyber Safety - Cyber Security for Parents and kids

Learn cyber security
It’s easy to improve your cyber security! Take these simple steps today to protect yourself - Learn | Cyber.gov.au

The Internet has enabled kids to learn, share and create like never before. It has also become a space for cyber-criminals to cause trouble and steal from others.

It’s important to instil cyber secure behaviours from an early age to help children learn how to identify cyber threats and how to mitigate them on their or your personal devices.

Calling Parents and Carers!
Parents and carers play an important role in helping children stay secure online.

What can you do?
Protect your self from cyber-criminals by being secure online by implementing these 5 simple steps, and protect your family from cybercriminals by teaching your child how to be secure online by implementing these 5 simple steps especially on personal devices:

Step 1: Update your device
Updated devices are harder to hack and have newer features. For Somerville provided Windows 10 devices use Microsoft Windows Update or Microsoft Office updates

Step 2: Turn on multi-factor authentication
Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA) to protect your important accounts with extra login steps. For Somerville provided Parents and Student accounts MFA is currently not enabled at this time.

Step 3: Back up your device
A back up is a digital copy of your most important information.  For Somerville provided devices use OneDrive.

Step 4: Use a passphrase
Passphrases are the more secure version of passwords. Passphrase uses four or more random words as your password. For example, ‘purple duck boat sky’.

Step 5: Recognise and report scams
Beating cybercriminals takes teamwork.  If you receive a fishy email or message, report it to Scamwatch straight away. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Cybercriminals are crafty and might use a name and address you know, but follow your instinct. The faster you report the scam, the quicker we can act. Go to Scamwatch and visit the ReportCyber page on our website.

Source: Cyber Security for kids | Cyber.gov.au The link to the website includes some additional resources.

If you have any concerns with your Somerville House accounts or devices, please don’t hesitate to contact Technology Services by logging a job here.

Last Thursday 14 July, as part of our Pastoral Care program, Senior Years students engaged with age-appropriate and educational workshops run by Paul Dillon, the Director and founder of DARTA (Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia). Paul is a leading expert in drug and alcohol education.

Teenagers are wired to take risks, and their exposure to drugs and alcohol increases as they get older and begin to broaden their social networks, attend parties (or gatherings as Paul calls them), and experiment more with their identity formation. The role of social media platforms and influencers is also a factor in increasing young people’s experimentation with drugs and alcohol, including vapes.

Paul began his presentations by acknowledging that some students in the audience will never engage with drugs or excessive alcohol consumption.  He challenged all students to stay safe by keeping informed and planning ahead if they were going out to a party where there would be alcohol and other recreational drugs. Know the risks and be prepared.

The  messages, for students, included some myth busters  around alcohol, such as:

• Putting someone under a cold shower will sober them up. NEVER do this. Hard edges, tiled floors and glass are a recipe for real disaster and injury.  Instead, take the water to the drunk person.
• Feeding bread to a drunk person will sober them up.  This is a myth and  DOES NOT WORK; in fact, it can kill.

Other key messages included:

• There is little quality control around disposable vapes, many of which are mass-produced and sold on the ‘black market’. As a result, the vapes can be extremely dangerous once heated and cause significant burns and damage. When they are activated, a vape heats up to 350 degrees.
• There is very little known about the long-term impact of vaping.  As such, it remains a high-risk activity.
• Vapes which include nicotine are illegal. The penalty for using a nicotine-filled vape in Queensland is $9752
• If you are drinking alcohol, you must ensure you have a ‘fistful of food’ before you go out. 
• If you make the decision to drink, ensure your first drink is a glass of water.
• Download the emergencyplus app that will tell you the specific details of where you are in case you need to call for help.

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

A 30-minute online survey will help researchers from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, understand how young people aged twelve to seventeen feel about changes taking place in the earth’s environment. Participating adolescents can go in the draw to win an Apple iPhone SE. Parental consent is required to take part.

Please complete the form at the following link so that your child will be invited to participate in the survey: bit.ly/surveyforclimate

Badge Presentation Assembly

Today, our new students from Prep to Year 6 who have completed a semester at Somerville House received their school badge. The proud look on their faces as they received their badge from Mrs Kiepe was delightful.

Our Crest appeared for the first time on the cover of the June Magazine in 1902.  It was designed by the architect Robin Dods.  It represents "Wisdom standing on the Book of Knowledge bearing the Lamp of Truth", over the School motto "Honour before Honours" which dates from the School's foundation.

The colours of the School badge are blue, green and white.  Each has its significance for those who wear the badge.

Blue is associated with Loyalty, and so is a reminder of the need to be faithful in all things - to be true to the high standards of conduct traditional in our School, in work, in games, in living together.  The blue of the badge challenges us to conscientious work, sincere friendship, considerate behaviour and responsible attitudes.

The Green of the badge, because of its association with the foliage of a plant, and hence with growth, makes us aware of our need to develop in body, in mind and in spirit, so that the fulfilment which is the purpose of growth may be achieved in mature womanhood, alert, gracious and thoughtful.

White traditionally represents purity. To us this means wholesomeness of mind, purity of heart and sanity of outlook, made evident in words that are controlled and true, in actions that are upright and kind.

The central figure represents Wisdom standing upon, or emerging from, the open book representing Knowledge. In her hand is the lamp, representing Truth. The close association of these three reminds us that Knowledge alone is barren unless studied by the light of the lamp of Understanding; that these two, combined with the experience life brings, enable us to acquire a Wisdom to be placed at the service of others.

Our School Motto, "Honour before Honours", presents a challenge in a competitive and materialistic society to maintain the highest personal standards of integrity, and to keep before us as our goal ideals of behaviour and achievement, which always remain more worthwhile and important than the plaudits of the crowd.

We know our new students will join their cohort in wearing their badges with pride and striving to exemplify all that the badge represents. 

Interhouse Cross Country

Congratulations to all our Years 3 to 6 students for participating in last Friday’s Interhouse Cross Country. Whether long-distance running is something loved or one of those activities rather avoided, having a go is what this event was all about. Our Junior School students excelled in both their efforts and their community spirit, and are to be commended.

Sincere thanks to everyone who was involved in the organisation of the day.

Junior School Family Worship – Sunday 24 July

Junior School families are warmly invited to attend our Family Worship on Sunday 24 July, on Level 7 of the Foundation Building, from 9.30 to 10.30am followed by morning tea.

Please click here to RSVP.  

The service, themed ‘Christmas in July’, is an interactive time of worship and activities, featuring songs, Bible Stories led by the SupaClub monitors, a performance by the Poco Poco choir, hands-on activities for the whole family, and beautiful music played by the Junior Strings Consort upon arrival.

We look forward to this opportunity to celebrate together as a community.

Mrs Louise McGuire
Head of Junior School

All of us know, science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills are important for occupations in the future. It might sound daunting, but there is good news: you don’t have to be a scientist to help your daughter develop these skills. Just follow these tips.

Encourage

Like any subject area, having a positive attitude to STEM will make a big difference to your daughter’s learning. If you hear her say, ‘I’m no good at maths’, help her to remember the areas she has become good at—and praise the effort that helped her get there: ‘Do you remember how you worked hard on your times tables and mastered them? I’m sure you can do the same with division’.

Show the Relevance

Mathematics and science are part of everyday life, so there are lots of ways you can draw connections between the classroom and home. Remember that kids love to achieve, and the more they can demonstrate their knowledge, the more motivated they are to learn: ‘You are so good at fractions now, why don’t you help me divide the leftover cake fairly.’

Exposure

Your daughter can pick up a lot of STEM learning without even realising it. Do they love reading books about planets or volcanoes? Great, they’re connecting with science and technology. Do they create bridges or buildings using blocks in computer games or apps? Excellent, they’re using physics and engineering concepts. Do they watch TV programs about animals, scientific myths, or space exploration? Fantastic, those are rich in STEM too.

Inspire

There are lots of occupations (and pastimes) that require STEM skills and knowledge, including most of the fastest growing ones. Even in primary school, you can help your daughter see the connections. For example, when she learns something new in science, talk to her about where that knowledge might be useful, or who might use it: ‘I wonder who needs to understand the water cycle in their job? What about farmers? Or weather forecasters?

STEM Club for students in Years 1 and 2 begins in Week 4 after a very successful STEM Club for Year 3 and 4 students in Term 3. Registrations were quickly filled for this popular extra-curricular activity.

Please keep Thursday 28 July clear if your daughter is interested in STEM. The ‘Fearless Future with Technology and Engineering’ evening is specifically targeting to girls in Years 5 and 6. There is a workshop from 3.15pm to 6.00pm and then the main event is from 6.00pm to 7.30pm. Please click here for more information.

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

Donna Marcus joins us as a visiting artist in both the Junior School and Senior School for a fortnight of artist talks, workshops and inspiration as she practises her art-making on-campus.

Donna Marcus is an Australian artist (and South Brisbane local) best known for her use of vast collections of discarded aluminium kitchenware. Constructed from discarded kitchen utensils – plastic and aluminium teapots, lids, jelly moulds, steamers, colanders, egg poachers and bottle-tops – her sculptures draw viewers into a world of kitchens both remembered and imagined. Marcus is engaged by the stories evoked by these objects, and by the familiarity they engender in many viewers. Their original uses in post-war kitchens are recalled and extended by the process of assemblage, as they are combined into the repetitive forms of modernist grids and spheres. The materials themselves generate another layer of reference, and further extend the modernist impulse to regularity, repetition and dream. Marcus’ work has been exhibited extensively in Australia and internationally;  she also has created many large-scale permanent public artworks including Steam (2006) just across the river in Brisbane Square, and Plant (2018) located at Gasworks, Newstead. 

While Donna is in residence in our classrooms, students will have direct access to view and engage with Donna as she works and discusses her practice. Not only will we witness her processes and techniques as she makes artworks but this experience will provide an insight into her critical and creative thinking, how she makes aesthetic decisions and the concepts and ideas being expressed through her work. This is a valuable learning experience for each of our Visual Art students.

Donna is also offering an after school workshop for Years 10 to 12 students on Monday 1 August from 3.30pm to 5.30pm. Details will be provided to students and parents very soon – make sure you sign up quickly as places are limited!

Ms Kylie Dell
Head of Department - Visual Art

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

RoboCup Junior International Competition 2022

Last week, the 2022 RoboCup Junior International Competition took place in Bangkok. Representing the OnStage challenge of Team Australia was the Somerville House team Snuffleupagus, consisting of Jocelyn B (11O), Alexandra D (11F), Annabel R (11O), Sofia L (12D) and Yifei Z (12F). The International Competition is the highest level of RoboCup Junior competition, with competitors consisting of high school and tertiary students from around the world.

The team was required to create an interesting robotic dramatic performance, pushing the limits of their technical creativity, mechatronic and software engineering skills. Drawing inspiration from the children’s show Sesame Street, the team incorporated a number of sophisticated technologies – such as robotic arms, Bluetooth and machine learning – to tell the story of Cookie Monster and Gonger cooking up a batch of chocolate chip cookies. The team was not only required to show off their robots performing, but also were required to prepare a technical paper and video outlining their project, as well as demonstrate and explain their knowledge and project progression via a technical interview.

Fourteen OnStage teams from across the globe competed both in-person as well as virtually, with Snuffleupagus competing virtually from the Robinson Science and Robotics Lab, K501. In the end, Snuffleupagus won second place in the overall individual teams.

Well done to team Snuffleupagus on your fantastic achievement!

You can watch the team’s efforts during the competition on Youtube:

• Snuffleupagus – Technical Video Demonstration: an explanation of the team’s robots, technologies, technical capabilities and challenges
• Snuffleupagus – Performance 2

Dr Daniel Tuazon
Teacher - Digital Design Technology

The Wizard of Oz 

Congratulations to Harper B (10G), who, over the recent school holidays participated in the Australian Youth Talent Academy’s production of The Wizard of Oz. Harper auditioned with over fifty other students and was cast in the lead role of ‘Dorothy’.

Nuova Musica 

Congratulations to Edie S (8B) who won the annual Nuova Musica competition. The finals were held on the School oval at the end of Term 2, with Edie’s winning performance and trophy presentation featured on assembly in Week 1 of Term 3. We look forward to hearing Edie’s recording of her winning song later in the year.

Mr Will Eager 
Director of Co-Curricular Music 

Tennis

Over the weekend, students played their first round of Matches against Brisbane Girls Grammar School (BGGS). They played hard and worked well as a team, but unfortunately, we were unable to come away with any wins. Thank you to all the parents who came out to support the girls. I hope to see you all at this week's game for Round 2.

Miss Alexandra Roberts 
Sports Co-ordinator

Netball

Round 1 was a great opportunity for our teams to come together and put our skills to work against BGGS. Our Senior As had a great win that came down to the wire, with the final score 33-31. Opens narrowly lost a tough match, going down on the final siren 39-41.

We look forward to a full week of training before taking on Moreton Bay College this Saturday 23 July.

Miss Lucy Bellinger
Sports Co-ordinator

Hockey

Congratulations to the Open team, who started the season with an epic win against the BGGS 1-0.  The BGGS team, who have won pennants in the past, had no answer for the determined efforts of the Somerville House team. It was a great game to watch, and it was our teamwork that ultimately was the difference between the two teams.  The Somerville House defence lead up by Captain Olivia B (12M) was outstanding. Sasha P (12M), our new Goalkeeper in the team, did an amazing job saving all shots that came at her.  Evelyn W (11F) and Isabella C (11G) also worked tirelessly in defence.  With the score still at 0-0 with less than five minutes to go, Somerville House attackers led a charge at goal earning their first Penalty Corner for the game.  Once again, it was Olivia who made no mistake and slammed the ball in the back of the net past the BGGS Goalkeeper.  It was a nervous and frantic last few minutes of the game with everyone defending to the end with the final result 1-0 to Somerville House. A historic win to Somerville as it has been ten years or more since we have won against BGGS.

Ms Sharyn Simpson
Sports Co-ordinator

Rowing

The Somerville rowing community came together to celebrate and remember on Saturday at the annual Blessing of the Fleet. We were very lucky to have perfect weather, fabulous food (thanks to the Rowing Support Group) and great support from the School and rowing families to talk about the fast approaching racing season, christen our newest quad ‘Osburn’ and for Ms OG to give her traditional Somerville blessing for our boats, crews and coaches. We also had the chance to present our past captains Alice Ready and Annie Roughan with a gift to recognise their time and contribution to the shed and to celebrate our longest serving coach, Dr Jeffrey Searle, who has been a vital member of our family for over twenty-five years. The first regatta is this weekend out at the Queensland State Rowing Centre, Wyaralong, and while we are still managing our way through some sickness the crews are really looking forward to getting out to race. We wish all the rowers the best of luck for this regatta and look forward to sharing our results and memories.

Mrs Samara Quinlan
Sports Co-ordinator

Strength and Conditioning

SomerStrong Junior Squad 2022

Strength and Conditioning (S&C) complements girls' training schedules by offering external sessions that target aspects such as strength, power, speed and agility. The S&C program offers best practice coaching that aims to enhance their athletic development.

The Junior Squad is a fun-based training group that works on all things strength and conditioning to help develop well-rounded junior athletes.

Who: Years 3 to 6

When: Sessions are available Wednesday afternoons (3.15pm to 4.15pm) and Tuesday and Thursday mornings (7.00am to 8.00am) term time, all year.

Training venue: The upstairs gym located at the Murray Evans Sports and Aquatics Centre

Uniform: Sports Uniform

Fees: Junior Squads - $285 per term for one session per week or $400 per term for twice per week

Please click here to register and contact Mr Malachi McPhail via email [email protected] for any questions.

SomerStrong Squad 2022

Who: Years 7 to 12 (any student not participating in a S&C sports program)

When: Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6.30am to 7.45am and Monday 3.15pm to 4.30pm (sessions depend on numbers)

Training venue: The upstairs gym located at the Murray Evans Sports and Aquatics Centre 

Uniform: Sports Uniform

Fees: Squads - $365 for one session per week or $500 for twice per week (billed at end of term school fees)

Please click here to register and contact Mr Malachi McPhail via email [email protected] for any questions.

Mr Malachi McPhail
Acting Director of Strength and Conditioning

Clayfield College’s beloved Jazz on the Green is back with the Katie Noonan Trio headlining this year’s event.

The event will be held at Clayfield College on Sunday 31 July. The oval opens at 1.00pm, preshow at 1.30pm, with the event starting at 2.00pm.

Bring your family and friends, your lawn chairs or picnic rugs and soak up the perfect combination of live music and a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Round it off with a drink from the bar or Champagne marquee and enjoy some food and treats from the vendors' area.

Ticket Prices (prepay in advance):
Adults - $20
Students (under 18) - $5
Family (2 adults and 3 children) - $40

For more information and to purchase tickets please click here. 

How do volunteer Parent Aides help? 

• Visiting their assigned family on a weekly basis 
• Being contactable by phone or text message 
• Assisting parents to attend appointments and other community activities 
• Enabling children to thrive by supporting their parents 
• Helping new parents understand and respond to their child’s developmental needs 
• Offering suggestions, parenting tips and most importantly, encouragement 

What do we offer volunteer Parent Aides? 

• Five days of initial training, with catering and parking provided, at no cost 
• Opportunities to access ongoing training and development every fortnight (during school terms) 
• Support from a skilled clinician in their work with families 
• An exceptional opportunity for personal development and meaningful contribution 
• Monthly lunches and special events to enable peer support and friendships 
• Reimbursement of travel expenses 

An information session will be held on Friday 12 August from 10.00am to 11.00am. RSVP by Tuesday 9 August. Attendance at this session can be in person or via video conferencing. 

Training will be held from 9.30am to 2.30pm on following days: Tuesday 23 August, Wednesday 24 August, Wednesday 31 August, Thursday 1 September, Thursday 8 September and Friday 9 September.

Morning tea and lunch provided.

If you are interested and would like further information, please contact us: 
Parent Aide Unit Phone: (07) 3163 2234
Email: [email protected] 

Thinking about a career in Medicine, Law or Business? Studying Technology or Engineering at school will enable you to face the future within these industries fearlessly.

Parents, carers and students in Years 5 to 12 are warmly invited to attend Fearless Future with Technology and Engineering — a night of insight into how to maximise career opportunities in the future and understand how the skills gained in technology and engineering are all pervasive across all careers paths and industries.

WHO: Parents, carers and students in Years 5 to 12 
DATE AND TIME: Thursday 28 July, 3.15 to 6.00pm workshops for Years 5 and 6 students
6.00pm to 7.30pm MAIN EVENT
VENUE: Harker Auditorium, Valmai Pidgeon Performing Arts Centre (VPAC)
RSVP: 5.00pm, Friday 22 July 
ENQUIRIES: Please email any enquiries to Education Consultant – STEM, Mrs Cynthia Nolan via [email protected]

We will hear from the medical industry with our Keynote speaker, Alastair Sharman, Chief Digital Officer from the Mater Hospital, along with perspectives shared from the world of finance, business and law.  We have a relatively recently graduated Somerville House Old Girl sharing her early career journey and how technology is playing a bigger role than she ever anticipated.  

You will have the opportunity to have one-to-one discussions with industry and university professionals, including QUT, UQ, Cisco, BDO and Women in Engineering, about specific career paths and opportunities related to technology and engineering.  

Students in Years 5 and 6 will participate in workshops by Micromelon, where they will learn how to program robots and participant in dance-offs.  

We are providing afternoon tea before the event and dessert after.

• This event is free of charge
• There is limited parking in the VPAC and Foundation Building through Gates 1 and 6. 

Follow the call of the disco ball and join parents from all year levels, staff and Year 12 students and partners at the Somerville House Ball.

In addition to wonderful food and entertainment, the gala event offers a great opportunity for our school community to join together and celebrate in true Somerville spirit.

Get a table together with friends, members of your co-curricular group, or let the Ball Committee help place you at a table.

DATE AND TIME: 7.00pm Saturday 10 September 
VENUE: The Plaza Ballroom, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane
DRESS CODE: Black Tie
TICKETS (includes three-course meal, beverages and live entertainment): Adults $200 | Students and Partners $160
RSVP: Friday 12 August 

Click here to read frequently asked questions.

Enquiries: [email protected] 

The Ball is proudly hosted by the Somerville House Parents and Friends Association with thanks to our Event Partners:

• Place Estate Agents
• Wiley
• Ord Minnett
• The Prop House 
• Allclear Print and Signs

Year 5 students completed a self-portrait at the end of Term 2. Their brief was to create a portrait that went beyond being merely a descriptive representation of their physical self. Through the use of colour, line, shape, symbols, pattern and the composition of these elements, they created an image that gave some insight into who they are and what they feel. Mia has used watercolour, paint and Posca pens to create this vivid portrait of herself gazing out into space.