To the Somerville House Community 03/1

CHAPLAIN'S CORNER
Ms C O'Gorman
Trivial Pursuit question: Which army has as its war-cry „blood and fire‟? Answer: the Salvation Army. This seems
to be a strange motto for a Christian denomination! These words refer to the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to
save all people from sin and the fire of the Holy Spirit which purifies Christian believers. The Salvation Army is one
of the most respected Christian denominations in Australia today, although they do not see themselves as a
separate denomination, just a group of Christians taking the love of God to needy people around them, in a nondiscriminatory
way. They feed the poor, comfort marginalised people often living on the streets, provide shelter for
those who need it, visit and minister to criminals in prison and all of that before they preach anything.
Recently the 100 th anniversary of the death of William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army was
commemorated. The metaphor of an army may seem to be a rather strange one to choose for a Christian
organisation; even today, members of the Salvation Army can often be seen in their uniforms, and instead of
ministers, bishops and youth leaders, they have captains, majors and lieutenants. It is helpful to remember that
Booth established this Christian movement at a time when Britain controlled a great empire and military action and
concepts were much more a part of daily awareness and language than they are for us today.
Local woman Eva Burrows, a graduate of Brisbane State High School, at one stage became the world-wide leader,
the General of the Salvation Army, thus making it the only Christian denomination that has so far allowed a woman
to rise to that level of leadership. General Burrows was indeed an inspirational leader whose life was one
dedicated to the service of others.
When William Booth died, 150 000 people filed past his coffin as he lay in state and 40 000 attended his funeral,
such was the impact of this man and the army which he founded. When we read what the Bible says about faith
without works we can see why this is the case. People are not inspired by a faith that does not lead to practical
actions. When the love of God is shared in practical ways, especially with those who are not the easiest to love,
then people see the reality and the integrity of that faith and only then are they willing to listen to the message of
the cross, which William Booth understood was central to the message he was seeking to convey. Long may the
Salvation Army serve the world!
HEAD OF MIDDLE SCHOOL
Dr K Williamson
NAPLAN
Student reports for NAPLAN were delivered to Somerville House just before the vacation. The results are being
checked carefully by Middle School teachers for any obvious discrepancies across numeracy and the four areas of
literacy. Each of the reporting scales, which span Years 3, 5, 7 and 9, describes individual student performances in
relation to their respective national averages and their distributions.
General information about the national literacy and numeracy assessments will be posted to parents this week
along with the student reports. In particular, descriptions will be provided on how to interpret student reports, the
scales that are used and their significance. For more information which may assist you with the interpretation of
the report or more generally about NAPLAN, please refer to www.naplan.edu.au
Students‟ results at Somerville House for the NAPLAN tests were again excellent this year. A full summary of the
School‟s results compared to the distribution and averages of the national and state results will be published on the
School website once the official results are officially confirmed on 12 October by ACARA.
STUDENT LEADERSHIP
The Middle School endeavours to develop a strong student culture that focuses on the foundations of leadership
and service from the early to later years, and this is reinforced both inside and outside the classroom. Student
leaders are provided with on-going support through opportunities to be involved in a wide range of decision making
within the School. The process of choosing student leadership positions in the Middle School for 2013 will
commence next week and will continue for the following three weeks. Initially, Middle School Captains will be
chosen and this will be followed by the selection of House Co-Captains.
During pastoral care sessions, students will discuss the essential qualities deemed desirable for effective student
leadership. They will work through issues of leadership styles and the requirements of each role. Subsequently,
voluntary voting by Years 7, 8 and 9 students (weighted for different Year levels) will produce a short-list of
candidates. Teachers will then vote on and provide further information about this selected group.
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