The EPRO8 Inter Whānau Competition was held on Monday 22 June: 10.00 am - 1.00 pm.

It involved teams competing to build large sized structures, solve practical problems, engineer using pulleys, motors, gears, wheels and axles, invent machines that can complete simple tasks, undertake unusual and fun experiments, construct basic electronic circuits and solve interesting problems using practical maths. Each whānau entered 12 students - three teams to compete against the other whānaus.

Each team of four was based at a workstation containing an impressive assortment of easy to use parts and equipment.

Teams chose the challenges they wished to undertake. The harder the challenge, the more points it was worth. There was not enough time to finish all the challenges - so strategy was required to know which ones to go for.

When teams completed a challenge they pushed the "Big Red Button" to be judged and scored.

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Pictured holding our new whānau cup, from left to right, are Aoraki Whānau captains, Alice Zhang, Baljot Singh and Tamsin Low.

The students have transitioned well after lockdown and are to be congratulated for their positive attitudes and diligence in adhering to the Alert Level 2 health and safety practices, while moving around the school. There is a calm and positive tone in the school and an appreciation of being back to 'normal'.

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Thank you to all who came along.

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Her accomplishment was announced by Mr Chris Harris, CEO, Holocaust Centre of New Zealand, at a special assembly about the importance of standing up to prejudice and discrimination - a topic which Rosetta wrote passionately about. She presented her winning composition and received her prize at the United Nations International Holocaust Remembrance Day function in Wellington on January 27, 2020. An outstanding achievement Rosetta - Well done!

Year 7 Boys

Our Year 7 team went really well at the South Eastern Zone Softball tournament earlier this week. We came second overall and the boys all played admirably, showing great teamwork and sportsmanship. The games were exciting and fast paced, some high scoring and some very close.

Our final game was 2-0 to Pakuranga. With a strong team and excellent fast-pitcher, they came away with the win.

The boys are excited about playing even better next year as Year 8's as they will be a little wiser and have other strategies in mind to deal with a fast-pitch like that.

Well done boys!

Year 8 Boys

On Tuesday 3rd March, the Year 8 Boys Softball team competed in the South Eastern Zone Softball tournament held at Howick Softball Club.

We played 7 games in total, each being 40 minutes long, equaling a total of 4 hours and 40 minutes playing time! We played some amazing games, winning against BBI 7-2 and Sancta Maria 7-5 in the first game.

We did lose 3 games - firstly to Farm Cove on a technicality and secondly to Sir Edmund Hillary, due to our inaccurate passing and poor catching. The next game was a tough one against Howick. Their pitcher plays for Auckland and he pitched the ball at around 60 kmph, which is incredibly fast when you're trying to hit it. In the end, it was a 6-0 defeat and definitely not a good penultimate game. However, we were determined to play our last game of the day much better.

It came down to playing Sir Edmund Hillary College again. We smashed 15 home runs over the 3 innings, with no runs conceded. A fantastic effort by all our players batting and in the field. The final score was 15-0 and a very good end to the day!

Overall we came third, which was a really good achievement. It was an amazing experience and a fun day out.

Thank you Mr Knight for coaching us and thanks to my teammates for being awesome to play alongside.

Year 7 & 8 Girls

The Year 7 and Year 8 girls gave it their all at yesterday's SEZ Softball competition in Meadowlands.

Considering they only had a few practices, they played well and showed great sportsmanship and resilience in the face of adversity. There were some very skilled teams in the mix. The Y8 girls came 5th out of 10, and the Y7 girls came 10th.

We were very pleased with their efforts.

These events act as the qualifying round for the South Eastern Zone Swimming Sports, that will be held at Lloyd Elsmore Park Pool & Leisure Centre on Wednesday 18th March.

The two days were run with a large number of timed heats that then produced the final times which decided which pupils would qualify for a place in the Somerville Swim Squad.

In the Year 7 Girls, Poppy Wong had the fastest times for the 50m Freestyle, Backstroke and 100m Freestyle and Alyssa Langford was the fastest in the 50m Breaststroke and Butterfly. In the Year 7 Boys, Samuel Asiata was the fastest in the 50m Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and the 100m Freestyle.

In the Year 8 Girls, Mae Reynolds had the fastest time in the 50m Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Butterfly and the 100m Freestyle, while in the Year 8 Boys, Hamza Al-Ani was the fastest in the 50m Backstroke, Breaststroke and the 100m Freestyle. Lachlan Taylor was the fastest in the 50m Freestyle and Butterfly.

In addition to this, there were also fun events, such as the Whānau “Dance/Chant” competition and “Width Races” that also saw the teachers take part, which provided entertainment, fun and additional whānau points for the school whānau competition.

Bragging rights went to Aoraki whānau, who had the highest number of points when the results for both the Year 7 & 8 events were combined. Kawarau whānau came second, Ruapehu whānau were third and Rangitoto whānau were fourth.

Both days had good weather, with plenty of sun, that made the pool even more inviting.

The events were organised by Mr Bennett, but full credit must be given to all staff involved and especially the enthusiastic parent helpers, without whom this event could not take place.

Year 7

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Year 8

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This event acts as the qualifying round for the South Eastern Zone Swimming Sports to be held at Lloyd Elsmore Pools on Wednesday 18 March. We had a fantastic day, with some great performances in the pool. These results will be published in the next newsletter.

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This event acts as the qualifying round for the South Eastern Zone Swimming Sports to be held at Lloyd Elsmore Pools on Wednesday 18 March. We had a fantastic day, with some great performances in the pool. These results will be published in the next newsletter.

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Thank you for ensuring your child was prepared and ready for their first day. Our powhiri this afternoon provided a special occasion to welcome all our new students and teachers.

We are excited and enthusiastic about the year ahead. The Year 8's are already serving as positive role models for our new students. The Year 7's are certainly looking forward to the new opportunities and experiences available here at Somerville. 

We look forward to working with you to ensure your child's time at Somerville is positive and happy.

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