Academic Captains book 2019

A cademic C aptains 2019

S omerset C ollege P ersonal S uccess | G lobal O utlook

L eading a L egacy – A cademic C aptains

A word to the Captains from the Captains before...

Marc Eksteen and Grace Kennett

First of all, we’d like to say congratulations on being appointed to the role of Academic Captain. The nice thing about the academic captaincy, is that the role is what you make it. Dr Brohier will give you direction, but ultimately, fulfilling the requirements of the role is up to you and really have the ability to go above and beyond the traditional jobs that you’re required to do. We spent most of our time this year giving presentations to other year levels, presenting awards at assemblies, giving the occasional bit of academic counselling to a fellow student, and liaising with Dr Brohier on any issues.

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

F ive tips for you as successors

• Take every opportunity. As Academic Captains, you have near free license to do anything you wish throughout the year. So, seize every opportunity given to you to present to other year levels or run assemblies or whatever it may be. The more things you involve yourselves in, the more skills you will develop.

• Prepare in advance. Preparing for the presentations that you will give takes longer than you might think.

• If there is something that you would like to do as Academic Captain, don’t be afraid to ask! Dr Brohier can help you.

• Find some people that you can talk to about name pronunciation. When it comes to the Cum Laude assemblies, you will need help with many of the names. Trust us, our sheets were covered in phonetic pronunciations. • Try to always be approachable for any student who needs your help. As Academic Captains people will come to you for advice and you need to be receptive to that. A s academic captains , you get an opportunity to be involved in : Student acknowledgement at cum Laude Assemblies This is quite self-explanatory. Just remember to wear your blazer and polish your shoes, consult your friends on any difficult pronunciations, and don’t rush too quickly through the names, and you will be fine! House Activities Day This event, which we creatively titled “Let’s Get Down to Quizness,” was a lot of fun for us. We ran both the Spelling Bee and the Academic Quiz. Both were split into two components. The Spelling Bee included a group spelling section, and an individual section. The Academic Quiz included a general trivia section and a problem solving section. The questions can be whatever you want! Try to have a good mix of difficulties and subjects.

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

Presentations to other year levels Throughout the year, we were given the opportunity to give presentations to several year levels. While we could have made these presentations just about academics and how much you need to study, we, alongside Dr Brohier, decided to add a little more depth. We spoke about the importance of planning and a few big concepts about self-perception and by the end we’d created something that we were really proud of. Highlight of our Captaincy The highlight of our captaincies has been being given the opportunity to do things that we would not have had otherwise. Being able to hone our presentation skills is something that we are going to carry with us for the rest of our lives and through our positions we have been able to make connections not only with our peers, but with the younger students and the staff as well that we may not have been able to make otherwise. Unexpected things that happened during our Captaincy When Dr Bohier first sprung the idea of giving a presentation to our fellow year 12s, to say we were surprised would be an understatement. While we were prepared to speak to the younger grades about studying and exams and all of that jazz, the idea of standing in front of a room of our peers and giving a 45 minute presentation was daunting to say the least. In the end, everything turned out brilliant and we were both honestly so grateful that we went through with it as it was a brilliant opportunity to improve our presentation skills as well as try out a little bit of our comedy material (gotta keep those options open). Memorable moments with Dr Brohier For both of us, the first meeting with Dr Brohier was one of the most memorable. We were brainstorming for our presentation with the Year 7 cohort and, while we entered his office with no idea as to how we could bring more dimension to our presentation, we left questioning ourselves and our own perceptions of self. The ideas and concepts that he shared with us were so insightful and we were both amazed with the things that he shared with us. L ooking B ack

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

5 things you probably won ’ t know about D r B rohier • You might well know this already, but he is extremely wise! Listen to his advice - it is always very valuable. He has a pearl of wisdom for every situation. • You probably know this as well, but he is an excellent public speaker. He has always understood the challenges that we might face in certain speeches, and has always prepared us to face them.

• He writes beautiful poetry.

• His office is amazing. His taste in artwork is legendary.

• He can bring out some skills when he hits the ping pong table in the Year 12 common room

T he position of A cademic C aptain at S omerset can best be described as : An opportunity to improve your public speaking, counselling and writing skills, while doing your part to enrich the academic life of the Senior School.

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

T hings i ’ ll miss most about my C aptaincy

• Monday meetings with the amazing Dr Brohier

• Learning the names for Cum Laude assemblies and the relief when you actually get them right on assembly

• Having Dr Brohier (the absolute legend) supply coffee and hot chocolate at meetings

M y advice to you is … One of the most important things to keep in mind this year is that balance is imperative. Year 12 is stressful and can become overwhelming at times but it is so imperative that you keep the bigger picture in mind. This year is going to bring its challenges and stresses and you are going to need to balance your responsibilities as Academic Captain with these challenges. Our advice is to keep yourself organised this year and make sure to keep perspective. Most of all, we ask you to take time to enjoy your role as Academic Captain. It really is an opportunity and not a chore and it can be as fun and as impactful as you choose to make it. While it is important to take your responsibilities seriously, don’t think that this means that you cannot have a bit of fun in the role. Working together this year has given us so many amazing memories that we wouldn’t have without our captaincies and it is honestly such a wonderful experience that we hope you grow to cherish as much as we do.

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

A cademic C aptains 2019

Zachary Lai

Joanne Joe

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

G oal S etting 2019

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

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Somerset College Academic Captains Handbook

S omerset C ollege P ersonal S uccess | G lobal O utlook Somerset College ABN 54 010 343 227 CRICOS Provider 00521G Address Somerset Drive, Mudgeeraba, Queensland 4213 Telephone 07 5559 7100 Facsimile 07 5559 7345 Email mail@somerset.qld.edu.au Website www.somerset.qld.edu.au