Gatton Resident’s Club – Semester 1, 2016 1

It has been a great start to the year! 2016 is shaping up to be a fantastic year to be living at UQ Gatton Halls of Residence. As there was a huge turnover this year in our residents from last year, we filled the gap with wonderfully enthusiastic fresher’s ready for 2016, making it a great community to live and thrive in. Semester one was filled with great events from Shave for a Cure, International Week, Art & Lit Week, Talent Night, Straddie Trip, and we finished the semester off with an outstanding Dinner Under the Stars. The Residents’ Club would like to give a huge thank you to everyone who’s given their all for the first semester of 2016 and we’re super keen for the rest of the year. You can read about the first semester in the following articles written by each halls’ incredible first year reps!

MID-YEAR REPORT

What’s happened in Semester 1 2016:F O’Week

F Shave for a Cure

F International Week

F Brent Sanders Talk

F Art & Lit Week

F Talent Night

F Straddie Trip

F Dinner Under the Stars

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Gatton Residents’ Club – Semester 1, 2016

Gatton Resident’s Club – Semester 1, 2016 2

RIDDELL HALL

Country music and bright pink high- vis vests - these were the two things we Freshers quickly learnt were essential to surviving O- week Gatton style! It was the 21st of February when we donned these fashionable vests, and, those fortunate enough to have made it in to Riddell got the iconic Raging Bull spray painted on our vests too. O- week was one of those “once in a life time” type experiences as we all made plenty of new friends and enjoyed activities such as the Zombie Apocalypse, tug- o- war in the mud and, of course, club nights!

The arrival of the Returners brought more fun and more new friends but also meant we had to crack down and start studying. The Freshers were made to feel very welcome as the Returners were always there to help when we got stuck in our courses.

Riddell started off very strong in Res Sport winning tug- o- war, ultimate frisbee and tying for first place in waterpolo. For most of Res Sport, our greatest competition was Shelton who we plan to take out and take back our winning position in Res Sport next semester!

As well as being successful in our academics and sporting activities, Riddell has done very well in our cultural events too. Anya Gandy managed to take out top spot for the International week photo competition with Olivia Donohue coming in second and Kirra Adams placing third. We were also very successful in Art and Lit week with Olivia’s photo placing second, Anya’s photo placing third, Nicole Archer’s drawing/painting placing third as well as her sculpture placing third and Lianne Mellin’s literature piece placing second. Talent Night allowed Destinee and Larry to show off their great singing and guitar playing skills, Lianne to perform a Maori poi dance and Fletcher and Dory, sorry, Troy and Gabriella to perform a pitch perfect rendition of ‘Breaking Free’. The Boys also deserve an honourable mention for their hilariously choreographed dance in Riddell’s MTV video!

Overall, the first semester in Riddell has been an awesome one. We can’t wait to get out there and let the raging bull loose to bring home first place in everything we do!

Lianne Mellin

Gatton Resident’s Club – Semester 1, 2016 3

The semester started with a mass of unknown faces and names. The staff and res club all did an amazing job in helping the unknown faces become friends. O’ Week was over in a flash and what a week it was! The Returners made an appearance and the fun continued.

Thynne were always enthusiastic and energetic at Res sports on a Wednesday afternoon, and the results at the beginning of the semester do not give credit to the effort and commitment from everyone in the community. We gradually began to improve as we got into our flow through the semester. Our greatest results coming in volleyball which was our first win of the year and strong second places in netball and tug of war. Of course, this was all down to the war cries of the mighty Thynne army.

Club nights were the highlight of many people’s week, and for good reason. It was the perfect opportunity to let off some steam and socialise over a few brevvies, and I stress, it was only ever a few! Each themed night saw someone winning a free drink for best dressed. This was often given to a member of Thynne, Elisa for her “piggy in a blanket” at Pun Party and Chris for dressing as the best mum of the night at “Come as Your Mum”. The stories over brekkie the next morning, or the evidence posted on snapchat always made for a good laugh, if you could make it to brekkie that was.

The semester began to settle down and the work load began to increase. The sense of community was still incredibly strong, and this was down to the effort at res sport and of course the res staffs amazing events throughout the semester. Whether it was Hannah’s Easter egg hunt, which caused a lot of excitement, chocolate and pizza (a uni students staple diet), or Locksley’s blood donation event which drew a lot of attention. You can’t forget the numerous floor pizza parties! The hall community wouldn’t be half of what it is without the amazing work the res staff do, so thank you all for an amazing semester!

Thynnes creative side came out when Art and Lit week started and we saw some amazing pieces from Elisa, who won her category, Layla, and of course, the stand out piece of the exhibition from Locksley and Lala. There were many events on during Art and Lit week, but the biggest saw members of all halls take to the stage in front of a packed main lecture theatre to display their talents.

It ranged from the weird and wonderful, to the amazingly talented. Noah channeled his inner rock star and Emma took the mic and smashed it, well done guys! Lauren and Hannah also participated with an interesting guitar cover which consisted of mainly laughing, none the less, it was entertaining for everyone watching.

MTV was due right around the corner and the whole hall rallied together to produce an amazing final product. Speaking about the result is a bit of a sore spot, but Eddie and Jack had a few words to say about the judging in a very interesting video posted on Facebook.

It was already the last week of the semester and that could only mean one thing, Dinner Under the Stars! You could feel the excitement around the hall all week. MTV was aired and a heart breaking result for Thynne, a result we surely did not deserve! I guarantee everyone still had a class night, shared with amazing people to top off the end of what has been an unforgettable first semester to uni.

We are going to have a tough job topping this semester off when semester 2 comes around, but I’m sure everyone will be revitalised and rested over the holidays, ready to go for another massive semester filled with fun and stories never to forget.

Thank you everyone for making this semester the one it was, and I look forward to seeing you all after the holidays.

THYNNE HALLAlex Ashworth

Gatton Resident’s Club – Semester 1, 2016 4

Semester one of 2016 kicked off with O- ‐Week, which for many was the first taste of the fast paced university lifestyle. Upon arrival we unpacked our bags and said goodbye to our parents, we then chucked on our fresher vests and learnt the fresher dance. After a week filled with lots of fun bonding activities, themed club nights and ‘interesting and informative’ JSAPP sessions, it wasn’t long before strong friendships started to form.

Although we may have no overall wins to show for it, Pitt always displays strong dedication in getting involved and supporting the hall for Res Sport, with some putting their body on the line (Molly) if it meant scoring an extra point. Despite an uncharacteristically slow start, I’m optimistic that Pitt will be able to excel in many of the Res Sports that are run next semester. After Res Sport, the staff would show off their BBQ skills and cook up a mean feed at the pergola (quick shout out to Gramps for cooking the perfect steak).

Wednesday club nights were a great way to temporarily forget about all the mounting assignments and show off your creative costumes and dance moves. Pitt was often the hall of choice among club- ‐goers for pre drinks, entertaining many with mad bangers and world class pool games. Club nights often ended with expensive trips to Maccas or eventful walks back to Pitt, with many being amused by the infamous hedge diver Mitchell Waters.

Throughout the semester it has become apparent that Pitt is the cultural hub of UQ Gatton, raking in many cultural points throughout Art and Lit Week. With literary genius’s Riley Nibbs and Hannah Diebold rivalling the works of Shakespeare and taking out first place in the literary category with their moving haiku ‘Taco’. Natasha Carinus’s ‘farming and chill’ inspired painting took out first place in the painting category. To top it off, we had two Pitt acts placing on talent night, second place Hali Stemmler and Meg and Gramps placing third for their great rendition of Norah Jones’s Nightingale.

The Brolga productions team Clare, Erin and Molly did an outstanding job of producing the Harry Potter inspired MTV video, winning the Most Participation and Most Creative Awards and coming second place overall. Congratulations to the masterminds behind the ‘Moaning Myrtle’ scene winning the prestigious Raunchiest Scene Award and to Banks for putting her body on the line and winning the Bravery Award. Also a big thank you for everyone who chose to get involved!

The semester concluded with Dinner Under the Stars, which was a great opportunity to dress in our finest semi- ‐ formal clothing and take our minds off the upcoming exams. It was an entertaining night, filled with laughter, live music and responsible consumption of alcohol. This semester has left many hilarious memories and stories, I look forward to seeing everyone at Back to School party and having another memorable semester.

PITT HALL Will Neve

Gatton Resident’s Club – Semester 1, 2016 5

Semester one 2016 was an exciting time in Shelton with a new bunch of freshers sweeping the corridors. It all began in O- week when a slightly terrified but excited group of freshers were ushered into the Shelton Commo dressed in our recently acquired bright pink vests. This beautiful new accessory not only had a place on our backs for the entire week but now has a special place in our hearts as a symbol of our Shelton pride.

The week passed in a blur. Once all of our belongings were moved in, we were bombarded by fun but difficult activities which ensured friends were quickly made. During this one week, the freshers climbed a mountain, went for a very relaxing early morning run, participated in our very own Ag- olympics and almost became extinct due to a zombie apocalypse, only to name a few. On the following Sunday it was time for the returners to well… return.

From the very beginning, the freshers became very aware of Shelton’s many wins last year, whether it was res sport or cultural points. Thus, it was critical that we kept the winning streak going. During the semester Shelton have shown their outstanding sporting abilities, coming first in the swimming carnival, water polo, triathlon, dodgeball and netball, along with a great rate of attendance and support at each event. After burning all of our energy in res sport, we retired back to our halls where we were welcomed by a fantastic staff team who cooked us up a mean barbeque every Wednesday night.

Art and Literature week was an amazing week for Shelton to showcase their talent with our very own Ben Vanderbyl taking out the Talent night crown, Nadine Lindblom receiving a highly commended for her amazing horse training abilities, Drew Copeland winning a very well deserved first place in the photography competition and Sophie Donatini coming in third for her literary masterpiece entitled ‘So they moved to Shelton’. The creative side of Shelton was expressed through multiple art based activities such as Theatre Sports.

As semester one was drawing to a close, one of the most anticipated nights of the year finally arrived… Dinner Under the Stars. A night where all of the halls were able to dress in some of their finer attire and have a beautifully crafted dinner with close friends.

The night began with a few beverages, literally, under the stars. From there we found ourselves in the dining hall where dinner was served and the big announcement was revealed: who would win the MTV video awards. It was exciting to learn that we had won a number of smaller awards, however, when it was announced that we had one overall Shelton roared! This outcome was a result of the staff and residents pulling together to form an entertaining video summary of life in Shelton.

A chance to relieve the stress of SWOTVAC was provided in the form of a trip up Table Top Mountain with the friendly hall down the road: Thynne. Many new friends were made along the trek.

Going into the holidays, Sheltonites should look back on the semester and have ‘pride’ in what we have achieved. A fun- ‐filled semester has passed, yet we have many more to come. Shelton... we are well on their way to reclaiming our titles.

SHELTON HALLShania Watson