BAROMETER THE
WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY MAY 14th 2018 | WEEK 5
WETHERBY BOYS OUT AND ABOUT FOR FIELD DAY!
FROM THE HEADMASTER
Dear Parents, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend the League Managers Association awards ceremony earlier this week. Unsurprisingly, Pep Guardiola’s achievements this year were recognised by his peers and he was voted both Premiership Manager of the season and also League Manager of the Year. Throughout this season, he has grabbed the headlines and Tuesday evening was no different. The most enjoyable part of the ceremony for me though was the recognition of the work of John Coleman, manager of Accrington Stanley, who led his side to the League 2 title despite having the second smallest budget in the league. The glamorous setting contrasted with the down to earth nature of John’s acceptance speech which made it clear that their success had been down to the commitment and effort of his players and the coaching team with whom John had worked for a long time. Without the big budgets of many football clubs, John’s philosophy has been clear – set your sights high, work hard and work together.
In the accompanying video reel, John’s commitment to his team and their success was uplifting and inspiring – his motivation was bringing out the best in those around him. Two very different challenges present themselves to the boys this week. Year 10 will spend the weekend in the Chilterns on their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition. This award continues to be a fantastic opportunity for the boys and whilst for many the highlight is the challenge of this expedition, the opportunity to help others and to learn a new skill are also valuable parts of the award. As we move into the Sixth Form, the challenge will increase as boys have the opportunity to take on the Silver and Gold awards. I wish them and the accompanying staff the best for the weekend. The inter-Trib drama competition reaches its climax next week with an evening open to parents. A large number of boys have represented their Tribs in the preliminary rounds and I am looking forward to seeing the finalists perform on Wednesday evening.
I thank you all for your comments and wishes that have continued into this week. The School is in conversation with Papyrus, a charity that works to prevent suicide in young people. I will let you all know the details once plans are confirmed but it is important that before we embark on this next phase, we allow everyone some space and time to grieve and process what has happened. Best wishes,
WEEKLY DIARY MONDAY
21.05.18
GCSE Latin 3 - Roman Civilisation Games Years 7, 10 & 11 ISA National Tennis Championship (Year 10) 10.00-16.00 YAD Group 1 – One10 – 2:20pm – 3:20pm YAD Group 2 – Fitness First – 2:20pm – 3:20pm
TUESDAY
22.05.18
GCSE Geography- Physical GCSE English Literature - Poetry and Prose Duke of Edinburgh Award 15:30-16:30 Games Years 8 & 9 14:00-16:00 Cricket U14 A WSS vs John Lyon School (A) Second Hand Uniform Sale 17:30-18:00 Year 8 Parents’ Evening
WEDNESDAY
23.05.18
GCSE Physics 1 GCSE Italian Listening & Writing Games Years 7, 10 & 11 14:00-16:00 Tennis U16 A WSS vs St. Benedict’s (A) 2.30pm Cricket U16 A WSS vs St. Benedict’s (A) 2.30pm YAD Group 2 – One10 – 2:20pm – 3:20pm YAD Group 1 – Fitness First – 2:20pm – 3:20pm Trib Drama Finals for all competitors (event open to parents to watch at 18:00)
THURSDAY
24.05.18
FRIDAY
25.05.18
GCSE Maths 1 Games Years 8 & 9 14:00-16:00 Cricket U13 A/B WSS vs St James’s (A) 2:30pm Tennis U15 ISA National (Reserve Day) GCSE Art and Design Exhibition 18:30
GCSE English Literature - Unseen GCSE English Literature - Macbeth HM Assembly at Hinde Street Methodist Church 15:00-15:30 Half Term: Monday 28th May - Friday 1st June
SATURDAY
26.05.17
SUNDAY
27.05.17
IMPORTANT NOTICES
The PTA is holding a second hand uniform sale on Tuesday 22nd May. If you have any donations, please bring them to reception, clearly labelled as second hand uniform.
A date for your diaries: Speech Day Thursday 5th July, 2:00pm St Mary’s Church, W1H 1PQ
MONDAY
TUESDAY
Soup: Tomato
Soup: Mushroom
Main: Whole Roasted British Chicken
Main: Chilli Beef Tacos
MENU WEDNESDAY Soup: Summer Vegetable and Barley
Meat Free: Pasta Bake To Go With: Yorkshire Pudding Herbed Diced Potatoes Broccoli Gravy
To Go With: Steamed Rice Cheesy Nachos Salsa, Sour cream, Guacamole Sweetcorn
Dessert: Berries and Cream
Dessert: Ice Cream
Meat Free: Pasta with Tomato Rose, Pesto or Alfredo Sauce To Go With: Sweet Potato Mash, Carrot Rounds, Green Beans
THURSDAY
Soup: Minestrone Main: Smoked Haddock Fish Cakes or Steamed Pollock Fillet
To Go With: Garden Peas Mushy Peas Steamed Basmati Rice Tartar Sauce
Meat Free: Pasta Bows with Mushroom Sauce
Dessert: Summer Fruit Pancakes
Dessert: Rocky Road
Freshly Made Bread
Main: Breaded Chicken Goujons
To Go With: Oven Roasted Chips Garlic Mash Baked Vegetables Grilled Peppers
Meat Free: Creamy Mushroom Risotto
Dessert: Strawberry Panacotta
Homemade Salads Vegetable Crudités With Hummus Sandwich & Wrap Selection Meat & Cheese Platters Fresh Fruit Yogurt Pots
EVERY DAY
FRIDAY Soup: Chicken Noodle
Main: Chicken Drumsticks
Meat Free: Mexican Bean Burritos
FIELD DAY: YEAR 7 VISIT THE NATIONAL GALLERY Miss Kirk writes... As Year 7 bounded through Trafalgar Square, the sun beating down upon them and tourists buzzing left, right and centre, there was a palpable excitement in the air: the day ahead did not disappoint! On arrival, the boys met the Art Historian who explained that the focus of their tour around the National Gallery would be ‘Narratives’. Beginning with Holbein’s ‘The Ambassadors’, the boys explored, often contributing perceptive and insightful interpretations, the painting’s ‘clues’ and inferred the ‘story’ which it could be seen as telling. A highlight for all was learning about the unique optical illusion of the skull, which has made this painting so world-famous. Moving onto a series of mythological paintings, the boys became increasingly confident in offering their own personal interpretations of the paintings and if we hadn’t mentioned a picnic in the sunshine, I think that the boys could have spent all afternoon touring the remaining rooms of the gallery! After some well-deserved running around over lunch, the boys returned to the gallery in small groups for the English-focused part of the day. Guided by a teacher, each group explored a
different collection of new paintings, discussing what sort of characters the people within them might be, looking for clues in their body language and in the scene surrounding them. The boys were informed before this activity that they would be producing their
own stories based on the people, places and things within the paintings they saw. Therefore, as each group toured the gallery, the boys pieced together ideas about the setting, characterisation and plot of their stories. Once fully inspired, the boys produced detailed character
profiles, which encouraged them to consider things such as what their protagonist’s greatest fear and ambition was, or who they were closest to in the world. It was delightful to observe the boys enjoying a hot-seating activity as their characters, as it was easy to identify the extent to which the paintings surrounding them had influenced their ideas. Finally, the boys produced a story plan, which they will be writing in the English lessons this term. A huge thank you to Miss Bradley for organising such a fantastic trip and to Mr Meyer and Mr Chidell for supporting us and the boys.
FIELD DAY: YEAR 8 LEARN LANGUAGES AT KCL Miss Suarez writes‌ As part of Field Day, Year 8 boys, accompanied by Mr McFaul, Mrs Atkinson and Miss Suarez visited King’s College London for a language taster session. The boys had the chance to learn some Russian and Japanese and by the end of the day were able to introduce themselves and have a short conversation in both languages. The boys were rewarded for their effort and enthusiasm with some authentic snacks supplied by the university staff. Thanks so the great weather, they were also able to enjoy eating their lunch in the sunshine and fit in a few games of giant chess before heading back to school.
FIELD DAY: YEAR 10 PHYSICS TRIP
FIELD DAY: YEAR 10 PHYSICS TRIP Mr Dawson writes... As part of Field Day, some of the Year 10 physicists took part in trip to HMS Belfast and the Imperial War Museum where they got a chance to put some of their GCSE Physics calculations work into practice. Boys worked out how much of HMS Belfast needs to submerged in order to supports its weight and also how fast a WWII warship would recoil when it fired one of its 15'' guns. The boys also had a chance to tour both of these superb museums as well as sample the delights of Borough Market!
FIELD DAY: YEAR 10 HISTORIANS VISIT KENILWORTH Mr Warner writes‌ On Field Day the Year 10 Historians struck out for Kenilworth Castle. As part of their GCSE, they will be
doing an independent research project on this castle over the summer and what better way to launch such an undertaking, than to visit the castle in the flesh?
On arrival the boys had a brief window to have a picnic and look around, before we met up with our guide, Sonia, who proceeded to give us a very detailed account of the castle’s history as she showed us around the site.
For those of you not familiar with Kenilworth, it is a fantastic old ruin. The remaining walls and towers are all made from the same pink sandstone and the whole
edifice still imparts a powerful sense that it is physically massive and would have been both an imposing presence within the landscape and a formidable fortress to besiege.
Following their tour, the boys should now be reading through their handouts on the castle and beginning to work on their summer projects.
YEAR 6 SCIENCE WORKSHOPS AT WSS On Friday 4th May, Wetherby Prep School sent their entire Year Six to a Science Workshop Day at the Senior School. The 62 boys were divided into four teams and given a general introduction to Senior School life, followed by four workshops, on rotation. These were Chemistry (looking at states of matter and the chemistry of food), Biology (dissecting a real lamb’s heart), Forensics (taking fingerprints and investigating gathering and comparing prints), and Physics (how to make things fly, making gliders as part of the RAF 100 anniversary). The boys stayed for lunch, at which the sushi was a particular talking point! It was great for the staff at WSS to meet the new boys, and the boys certainly seemed to enjoy themselves.
DRAMA TRIP: BLOOD BROTHERS Miss Twomey writes... The infamous Blood Brothers by Willy Russell is the required set text for the boys studying GCSE Drama, and so it was with great anticipation that we travelled to the theatre to see their touring production. The plays follows the lives of the Johnstone twins, Mickey and Eddie, who are separated at birth and brought up on opposite sides of the economic divide. After reading and performing the play in lessons the boys were intrigued to see how the professionals would approach the script. The boys’ enthusiasm for the play and their excellent behaviour was complimented by members of the public, who were particularly impressed by their knowledge of the script! Watching this play raised interesting discussions about the ways in which the characters and scenes were presented and seeing the large cast performing complex scenes was exciting. We especially enjoyed the ‘I got ya, I shot ya’ playground scene and the final climactic moment which featured sound effects that made us all jump! The boys left with a great sense of pride, feeling that their interpretations of the play haven’t been too far off. Alex G even said, ‘I think our staging of the play in class was just as good!’
SPORTS NEWS
Cricket U12 A WSS vs Radnor House WSS: 236/5 Radnor: 264/3 WSS lost by 36 runs Man of the Match: Edward H.
U14 A WSS vs St Benedict’s WSS: 73/7 St Benedicts: 74/4 St Benedicts win by 3 wickets Men of the Match: Jude B for his batting performance Finlay W for his bowling and fielding
TRIB DRAMA
TRIB DRAMA FINALS Wednesday 25th May at 6pm
http://www.wetherbysenior.co.uk