BAROMETER THE
WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY SEPTEMBER 17th 2018 | WEEK 3
COMPLEX NUMBERS IN THE MATHS DEPARTMENT!
FROM THE HEADMASTER
Dear Parents, Thank you so much to all of you who came to the new Parents’ Drinks on Wednesday. The staff and I really enjoyed the opportunity to talk with you socially. It was also nice to hear that your sons are settling in well and enjoying life at Wetherby Senior. The two week timetable and the walk between the buildings have not knocked them off their stride and it has been nice to hear from parents, old and new, that the fresh air is making for more awake boys at the end of the working day! It has been a busy week with lots of events and we also had a very successful Sixth Form information evening on Tuesday. Joining the Sixth Form is an exciting transition for all pupils as they are able to focus on the subjects they really enjoy and have more opportunity to take on leadership and additional responsibility within the
community. The Year 11 boys and their parents that I spoke to are focussed and many have a clear idea of what they want to study for A Level and what their goals are beyond Wetherby Senior School. For those who don’t as yet, don’t’ worry, there is still time to make up your mind.
alcohol and we are joined next week by Fiona SpargoMabbs from the The Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation who will talk about her own story and also give practical suggestions for what parents can do to support their children to stay safe; I hope you will be able to attend.
Whilst we work every day at Wetherby to build an environment in which the boys feels supported and encouraged, there is no doubt that the boys do feel pressure in a number of areas. Yesterday, the boys all received a talk on managing peer pressure and parents had an opportunity to attend the same talk in the evening. The influence of your peers can have positive benefits, boys can be influenced by their friends to try new activities, but it can also lead to more risky behaviour. The most harmful of behaviours which can be brought about by peer pressure or influence is involvement with drugs and
As you may have noticed in the calendar, next Friday we have the whole school photograph. This will take place first thing on Friday morning so, if possible, do not arrange any appointments for your son at that time. All boys should come to school in full school uniform; those with games later in the morning will be able to change after the photograph. I hope you have a good weekend.
WEEK A MONDAY
WEEKLY DIARY 24.09.18
Year 12 Tests All Week Artist in Residence Even (Afternoon Club) Talk for Sixth Form Boys and Sixth Form Parents - Pat Capel - Anxiety and Stress, Hannah House 18:30-19:30 Football WSS U16 A vs Rutlish (H) 14:30
TUESDAY
25.09.18
Rugby WSS U14/15 XV A/B vs Harrow School (H) 14:40
WEDNESDAY
26.09.18
Rugby WSS 1st XV vs St Columa College (H) 14:45 Football WSS U13 A/B vs WPS (H) 14:30 Year 7 Parents’ Evening, Hannah House 17:30-19:30
THURSDAY
27.09.18
Drugs Awareness and Making Safer Choices- Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, DSM Foundation: Year 10 8:35-9:35 Drugs Awareness and Making Safer Choices- Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, DSM Foundation: Year 11 16:05-17:05 Drugs Awareness and Making Safer Choices- Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, DSM Foundation: Parents Seminar, Hannah House 18:15-19:45
FRIDAY
28.09.18
SATURDAY
29.09.17
SUNDAY
30.09.17
Second Hand Uniform Sale, Hannah House 08:00-09:00 School Photograph, Bryanston Square 10:00-11:30 HM Assembly at Hinde Street Methodist Church 15:15-15:45 HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEE, Hannah House 16:00-16:45
WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WATER BOTTLE
Please ensure all uniform, games kit and equipment is clearly named.
Please remember to come to school in full school uniform on Friday for the whole school photograph! If you have games, bring your kit with you to change into afterwards.
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 company 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
On Friday 28th September, Tyburn will be organising a charity cake sale for our chosen school charities (West London Mission and The Walkabout Foundation). If anyone from 9-12 Tyburn would like to contribute a cake to the sale, that would be brilliant! All you need to do is bring your cake to Hannah House on Friday 28th before registration. The cake must be nut free and brought in either disposable or named Tupperware. The cake sale is open to everyone and will start at 1:15pm. Please encourage all your boys to bring in some money, in small denominations, as change will be limited. Any left-over cake will be donated to the West London Mission.
IMPORTANT NOTICES
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Soup: Courgette
Soup: Minestrone
Soup: Tomato
Main: Roasted vegetable spaghetti sauce
Main: BBQ chicken drumsticks
Main: Pork/chicken sausages
Meat Free: Vegetable and cheese pizza
Meat Free: Warm cauliflower couscous
To Go With: Vegetable cous cous, sweetcorn, sweet potato wedges
To Go With: Caramelised onions, mashed potatoes, steamed green beans, gravy
Dessert: Sticky toffee pudding
Dessert: Jelly bowls with whipped cream
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
EVERY DAY
Soup: Mushroom
Soup: Chicken Noodle
Main: Beef Lasagne
Main: Fish fingers (gluten free) or steamed fish with garlic & lemon
Meat Free: Baked potatoes To Go With: Garlic & parsley spaghetti pasta, courgette spirals, garlic bread, sweetcorn, tuna mayo, baked beans Dessert: Chocolate mousse
Meat Free: Tomato, courgette, aubergine lasagne
Meat Free: Farfalle pasta, grilled peppers & basil
To Go With: Grilled mixed vegetables, sautéed aubergine with salsa verde & goat’s cheese, carrot rounds
To Go With: Chips, garden peas, mushy peas, tartare sauce
Dessert: Eton Mess
Dessert: Chocolate fudge brownies
Freshly Made Bread Homemade Salads Vegetable Crudités With Hummus Sandwich & Wrap Selection Meat & Cheese Platters Fresh Fruit
MENU
MR ASTBURY-PALMER My name is André Astbury and I am delighted to join Wetherby Senior School this year as second in the Maths department. I feel privileged to join what is already such a strong department and I look forward to imparting my teaching experience to the department. Following on from last year’s excellent GCSE results, I hope to have a positive impact on this year’s results and across the School.
I attended the University of Bristol and read Mathematics. I enjoyed my time there and, whilst tutoring students after I had graduated, I found a love and desire to teach. To this end, I attended The Institute of Education in London and obtained my PGCE. I have worked as a teacher of Maths at both a boys’ prep school and a boys’ senior school. Having had this experience at both levels in my teaching career, I totally
understand what the transition from a prep school to a senior school entails. My passion for maths is always growing. Only this month I came across the following question (see picture) whose answer astounds me. Can you work it out? Follow this link for the solution, but be prepared to be amazed! https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=0DSclqnnC2s&t=133s
MATHS ON FIREFLY Boys new to the school should explore the Maths resources on our VLE, Firefly. We know that it isn’t always easy to learn Maths from reading textbooks, so you’ll find many videos of Mr Bray covering key topics. There is practice material that covers the entire IGCSE specification, but it is not simply about exam preparation; boys in any year group can improve their problem solving skills by using the clicking on the links under UKMT Maths Challenges.
MATHS CLUB Miss Veerapen writes... Mathematics Club is a new addition and with only a few weeks in, we have looked at UK wages whilst briefly discussing tax bands and finance as well as delving into the exciting world of cryptography before looking at how statistics can be used. The Caesar cipher session was an interesting experience as some of the boys sang the alphabet whilst completing a Caesar wheel and then looked stumped when faced with a split pin for the first time. Once they learnt the art of putting a wheel together they then had to overcome the
challenge of knowing which wheel to move and in which direction when performing the shift. It was good to see them realise quickly when they got something wrong and the Year 7 boys, in particular, did really well when having to code a short phrase given a shift. The Year 8 boys were a more competitive group who enjoyed the challenge of deciphering a message and were very quick to pick up the art of correcting an obvious mistake in their answers: showing strong literacy and debating skills amongst each other in the process. We also briefly spoke of frequency analysis and how it
could be used to break codes; the most common letters in the English alphabet are E, T and A. With the Year 8 students poised to do a field day in Bletchley Park, I hope today’s insight helps them crack codes during the workshops.
YEAR 8 MATHS Year 8 are making a wonderful start to the new academic year. With their usual enthusiasm and drive this week they have been focusing on solving tough challenges including finding the perimeter and area of 2D shapes (sometimes with a little help from Pythagoras).
YEAR 12 FURTHER MATHS This year Wetherby welcomes the first group of Sixth Form mathematicians and the Year 12 Further Maths boys have started studying complex numbers. In class, we have introduced the imaginary number i which represents √(-1). Sums of real and imaginary numbers, for example 7 + 4i, are known as complex numbers. Complex numbers have many uses; particularly in Engineering, Applied Mathematics and Physics. For example, they allow us to model light waves in and alternating currents. Complex numbers can be displayed on an Argand diagram (the x – axis is called the Real axis and the y – axis is called the Imaginary axis). We have been multiplying complex numbers and have used the software above to display the resulting complex number.
Fancy trying one yourself? Can you show (4+i)(2+4i) = 4+18i ? (See worked solution below) (4+i)(2+4i) =8+16i+2i+4i^2 (now remember i=√(-1) , so i^2=-1 ) =8+18i+4(-1) =8+18i-4 =4+18i Year 12 can be seen here multiplying and dividing complex numbers in modulusargument form.
MyMaths Boys have been given log-ins to mymaths.co.uk for online prep, support and revision purposes. After reviewing alternative providers, with help
from some boys, we decided that this platform offers the best mix of online lessons and task, which are mapped to the IGCSE specification. We will
be setting some of the tasks for prep at times, but boys can access all of the lessons and tasks so they can use it for revision, or even to work ahead.
SIXTH FORM LECTURE SERIES This week's Sixth Form lecture was from Sharon D'Souza of the NHS on blood donations and organ transplants. The Sixth Formers from Wetherby and Francis Holland Regents Park learnt that only 4% of the population regularly donates blood and specifically there are not enough young donors. They learned about what happens to the blood after the donation and received some tips on what to do before and after donating. Finally, Sharon shared some of the stories of people who benefit from blood donation and urged everyone to consider becoming a donor.
We hope that our Sixth Formers will consider donating when they turn 17
and visit blood.co.uk to get the ball rolling.
DR. LINDSAY’S RESEARCH Dr. Lindsay writes… During the holidays I spend a significant amount of my time at the National Institute of Standards and Technology Centre for Neutron Research (NCNR) in the USA and the Institut Laue–Langevin (ILL) in France. My research is focused on material chemistry, designing inorganic compounds to discover new materials for uses in batteries, memory storage and gas capture. These are all thriving fields of interest due to our growing demand for better, stronger and more sustainable products. Neutrons can tell us a lot about materials, everything from the structure to the magnetic interactions within. The specific structure of a material is related to the ability of that material to be used as a useful battery or gas capture storage, whereas the magnetic properties can dictate how useful they are at producing binary code for memory storage that you have in your smart phones or computers. The holy grail of research in Physics and Chemistry is finding what is called a room temperature superconductor. We are all aware of the term conduction from lessons in Chemistry and Physics, but what is a superconductor? One of the unwritten rules of Physics says you can't get something for nothing; at best, you can manage a fair exchange rate between how much energy you pump into a system and how much you coax out of it. Enter superconductors. If the three
laws of thermodynamics say that there's no such thing as a free lunch, then superconductors have their cake and eat it, too. Send current through a superconducting wire, and it loses no energy to resistance. Bend the wire into a loop, and it will hold charge indefinitely. Levitate it above a magnet, and the sun will devour the Earth before it will fall. Superconductors require very cold temperatures, on the order of 39 kelvins (-234C, -389F) for conventional superconductors. Even so-called high-temperature superconductors only work their magic below 130K (-143C, -225.7F). To make matters worse, superconductors leave their resistance-less state if they are exposed to too large a
magnetic field -- or too much electricity. The discovery would change the world. From power grids that never lose energy to magnetically levitating trains, finding a material that is superconductive at room temperature would bring a range of fantastical technologies to life. And it is not as farfetched as it sounds. Although superconductors—materials that can transmit electricity with zero resistance—exist only at extremely frigid temperatures today, there is no physical reason why they cannot also work at room temperature. It could simply be that no one has stumbled upon the magical formula yet. But that might be about to change…
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