The Barometer Week 13 Autumn

BAROMETER THE

WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY DECEMBER 10th 2018 | WEEK 13

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

FROM THE HEADMASTER

Dear Parents, I have enjoyed a very varied last few weeks of term and there has been a great deal for the boys to enjoy, from the Hannukah party to inter-Trib sport, from the inter-generational tea party to the fantastic Christmas Concert, from the tense and gripping Frankenstein to the light hearted entertainment of the Staff Panto; some are featured within, some will be included in the forthcoming January Barometers. It has been a fantastic end to a very busy term and I hope that all of you and your families enjoy the Christmas break and I look forward to seeing your sons return refreshed on January 8th 2019.

Best wishes,

WEEK B MONDAY

WEEKLY DIARY 07.01.18

INSET for all academic staff Year 11 GCSE Art and Graphic Design Mock Exam

TUESDAY

08.01.18 Term begins for all pupils NO ACTIVITIES THIS WEEK Year 11 Mock Exams

WEDNESDAY

09.01.18

Year 11 Mock Exams

THURSDAY

10.01.18

Year 11 Mock Exams

FRIDAY

11.01.18

SATURDAY

12.01.17

SUNDAY

13.01.17

Year 11 Mock Exams HM Assembly at Hinde Street Methodist Church 15:15-15:45

The first week back is Week B!

Have a great break!

WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WATER BOTTLE Help reduce our school's plastic consumption by using this personalised Active Bottle, emblazoned with the Wetherby Senior School logo and your own name. Made from highly durable materials, your Active Bottle is easy to open and close, won't leak and will keep your drinks hot or cold throughout the school day.

Active Bottle supports our planet by donating 10% of all their proceeds to Clean Ocean and what's more, all remaining profits from selling the bottle will go straight to support your school's PTA and their selective charities.

Can't get better!

You can order online at: https://activebottle.co.uk/ collections/wetherby

IMPORTANT NOTICES

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Main: Spaghetti and meatballs

Main: Steak and mushroom pie

Main: Chicken curry

Meat Free: Totellini fromaggio with tomatoes, mushroom and spinach

Meat Free: Leek and gruyere tart

Meat Free: Lentil dhal

To Go With: Mashed swede, steamed florettes, parsley potatoes

To Go With: Chana masala, Fennel seed rice, Kachumba salad, mini naan bread, rhaita yoghurt

To Go With: Tomato, red onion and boconchini salad, salad, peas and beans, herbed diced potatoes

Dessert: Chocolate Brownie

Dessert: Orange tart

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

Main: Beef stroganoff

Main: Beef or chicken burgers

Meat Free: Vegetarian pizzas

Meat Free: Falafel and spinach vegetable burgers

To Go With: Pilau rice, French beans Provencale tomatoes, garlic and parsley pasta Dessert: Orange jelly bowls

To Go With: Chips, roasted Mediterranean vegetables, Calabrese with garlic and chilli

Dessert: Chilled Spanish style rice pudding

EVERY DAY

Homemade Bread Freshly made yogurt pots Fresh Fruit

Dessert: Baked jam roll and custard

MENU

CHRISTMAS JUMPERS On Thursday 13th December, Whitestone encouraged boys and staff to wear a Christmas jumper into School to add to the festive cheer and raise some money for the School’s charities.

All money raised will go to The Walkabout Foundation, West London Mission and the Bursary Fund.

The ‘Most Festive Jumper’ Award goes to Alexander and Vangelis F in 7 Serpentine, who added lights and decorations to their jumpers themselves!

Harry H, 11 Tyburn was a close runner up!

CHRISTMAS LUNCH!

CHANUKAH Miss Mendez writes...

Chanukah arrived at Wetherby and everyone was invited to join the party! We learnt about how the Maccabees kept the oil lamps burning for eight nights and then we ate lots of donuts to symbolise the oil lasting so long.

Josh Ruimy lit the menorah and then we all partook in some dreidl games. This involves spinning a wooden top and betting coins on how it will land – chocolate coins only of course!

RUFUS D’S ADVENT CALENDAR Rufus D, Year 7 writes…

I got the idea for my advent calendar design from a Christmas card my Aunt received, which had a nativity picture on it for each day of December.

I thought it was a great original design for a Christmas card and that no one else would have thought of it. I really like Classics lessons and I thought I could create a humorous advent calendar design using Christmassy Roman sculptures, architecture and armour.

I edited the images in PowerPoint using a special tool that allows you to get rid of the backgrounds of pictures from the internet.

I am looking forward to seeing my advent calendar displayed in Miss Nash’s room and I think it will really add to the ‘Romanfactor’ in the room. I am also excited to open the days on which I have Classics lessons.

WSS CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION Mr. Meyer Writes…

The 2018 Wetherby Senior School Christmas card competition gave the Year 7 & 8 students a brief of creating a vibrant and festive Christmas card design with an original ‘Wetherby Twist’ that can be sent out as the official School Christmas card.

Mr. Bolderow judged the work and a selection of these can be seen below. Congratulations to Alexander F for his winning entry.

Clockwise from left: Alexander F, Albert S, Aiden B, Antony S, Callum H, Nima K-A

INTER-GENERATIONAL TEA PARTY Mrs Deedat writes...

On Monday 3rd December, the Sixth Form hosted a tea party for some of our elderly neighbours. Delicious brownies were baked

by Vadim M and Niclas S whilst another team served tea and coffee.

The Sixth Form choir performed in public for the first time with energetic renditions of Christmas favourites and enthusiastic audience participation. Finally, Nicholas, Bennett and Nelson hosted a game of bingo with all the traditional calls including “65, retirement age� which received a friendly response.

CHRISTMAS SHOEBOX APPEAL Grand total: 54!

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Christmas Shoebox appeal; West London Mission were delighted with the number of shoeboxes which the Year 10 Community Service boys delivered this week.

Special thanks to the following members of Community Service for all of their help: Syed H. for designing the appeal poster Henry B. for creating an information sheet for the appeal Aryav L. for speaking in assembly to help launch the appeal Alex Z., Evan H., Joshua A., Aryav L., Bijan S., Misha D., Henry B., and Syed H. for visiting tutor groups to explain the appeal.

Let’s see if we can beat this total next year!

CHEMIST-TREES In Dr. Lindsay's class, the boys have been making

Chemist-trees from different coloured chemical reactions

in preparation for our topic on acids and bases next term.

CINDERELLA Henry B, Year 10 writes...

On Thursday, boys were spoilt with a unique and festive performance from the staff on stage! This year, ‘Cinderella’ was chosen. The show was, no doubt, thoroughly enjoyed by the audience. The marvellous hard work of the teachers was evident, as was the expertise of their director, Miss Twomey.

Over previous years, there has often been a tendency to experiment with some role reversal, with males playing female parts and vice versa.

This year was no exception; we were treated to Mr Chidell’s portrayal of one of the ugly sisters, Mr McFaul’s enactment of the fairy godmother and Miss Webb’s fabulous rendition of the prince, to name but a few. As always, it was very amusing and I can adamantly affirm that we are looking forward to next year’s one!

Have a wonderful Christmas holiday!

MY ITALIAN CHRISTMAS Tommaso S, Year 10 writes...

It’s nearly Christmas and once again at this time of the year pagan and religious traditions mix in an explosion of festive mood.

Firstly, the Christmas tree.

In every main street corner you can find a festive Christmas tree shop where you can pick your favourite size of fir, if you are not lucky enough to already have one in your private patio. Decorations for the trees are either bought from shops or people use simple everyday objects from Murano glass baubles to papier-mâché.

The “Presepe” translating to Nativity scene is famous throughout all of Italy. Even though it has religious roots with the birth of Jesus, there are millions of different forms varying from shapes, sizes, materials… to a living recreation, famous all over the world, which can be seen in Greccio.

Every region has more than a dozen different Christmas delicacies like the Panettone from Lombardia and the Pandoro of Veneto. I can say from personal experience that one of the most unusual Christmas dishes is the Neapolitan tradition of boiling a long eel in a pot to eat with the family. (I confess that even I have never managed to fit a one metre long freshwater eel in a cooking pot but, what can I say?)

After eating the best delicacies of the regions and partying all night, families and relatives join with friends to play the traditional game of Tombola, or game of luck that is similar to Bingo. They also sometimes wander the streets singing Christmas Carols.

When the festivities end, no one is unhappy since a few days later there’s the New Year’s Eve celebration which is the largest celebration of the whole year!

One of my favourite traditions is the “Notte dell’ Epifania” (Night of the Epiphany) which takes place on the 5th

January when a ragged old lady called “La Befana” flies on a broom searching for stockings in the homes of sleeping children. Legend has it that she met the three wise men on their journey to visit the baby Jesus, but decided not to travel with them. Later on she changed her mind, but couldn’t catch up, and so to this day searches, leaving sweets for well-behaved children and coal for badly-behaved children.

However I have never met one so unlucky so I think tradition skips some rules once in a while! I hope everyone has a lovely Christmas break in their very own way!

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