The Barometer Week 5 Summer

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BAROMETER THE

WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY MAY 20th 2019 | WEEK 5

DUKE OF EDINBURGH GOLD AND SILVER EXPEDITIONS


FROM THE HEADMASTER

Dear Parents, With the late Easter and the Bank Holiday, this half term has flown by and we are starting to look to next year. This half term has seen us finalising new staff and pupils for next year. I will write with more detail about staffing in due course. Pupil numbers are looking healthy with around 80 more boys set to join the School, mainly in Year 7 and 9 but there will be new additions to the School in Year 8, 10 and 12. The reputation of our boys and their many qualities continues to be one of the biggest selling points of the School and our feedback from applicants also shows that word of mouth is bringing us a lot of interest. I am very grateful to you for sharing your experiences of the school. We even had one parent come and tour the school based on a conversation she had with a Wetherby parent on a flight. For much of this year we have been running regular visitor mornings which give families considering becoming a part of our community the chance to see the School in action, visit lessons and meet staff informally. These have

proved popular and the Sixth Form tour guides in particular have given a good account of themselves and the school. The oldest boys in the school are able to give back in a number of ways and we have recently started the process to appoint our first school prefects whose role will be to work with the younger boys and support the smooth day to day running of the school, as well as continuing to act as ambassadors. There will be more senior appointments to be made later in the year, as well as a second round of prefects in the Autumn Term. I am sure it will feel a very different school next year when we have boys in every year group and I am looking forward to having boys in senior leadership positions to act as role models for the younger boys. At recent Headmaster’s lunches I have been pleased to hear boys talking about how seriously they are approaching their end of year examinations but also concerned to hear that many are planning to spend their whole half term revising. . I hope that the distractions of family and friends will help boys

find the right balance between revision and relaxation over the course of the week. These examinations are one part of the picture we build of your child over the course of the year and the process of learning to revise, practising taking formal examinations, and learning from the mistakes made, is as important as the final score. I know at the top end of the school it will feel like predicted grades will hang on them and that lower down a poor score may be the difference between set 2 and set 3 but please be reassured, and reassure your sons, that a more nuanced approach is taken to these decisions and the boys’ work is looked at over a period of time rather than just the snapshot provided by a test. Finally, after the success of the Brass Band’s tour to Paris, I wish the staff and pupils who are heading to LA all the best. I hope you all have a good half term.


WEEK A MONDAY

WEEKLY DIARY 03.06.19

Year 9 Examinations (Monday - Wednesday), Drama Studio

TUESDAY

04.06.19

Big Visitor Morning (with 3 start times of 09:30, 10:40 and 11:45) 09:30-13:00

WEDNESDAY

05.06.19 Cricket U12/13 WSS vs Northbridge House (A)) 14:30

THURSDAY

06.06.19

Years 7 & 8 Examinations (Thursday - Friday), Drama Studio Heads & Principals Meeting, WSS 13:00-16:00 Tennis U14/15 WSS vs John Lyon School (H) 14:30 Cricket U14/15 WSS vs John Lyon School (H) 14:30

FRIDAY

07.06.19

SATURDAY

08.06.19

SUNDAY

09.06.19

Pre-hang of Years 7, 8 & 9 Art and Graphic Design Work, Saatchi Gallery Friday Lunchtime Clubs Programme 13:40-14:25 Year Group Assemblies: Years 7 & 8 (HH Dining Room), Year 9 (Drama Studio), Year 10 (HS Methodist Church), Year 12 (HH Music Room) GCSE PE Boys Table Tennis, Drama Studio 15:1515:45 GCSE PE Boys Table Tennis, Drama Studio 16:00-17:00


Follow the Wetherby Senior Twitter and Instagram accounts to stay up to date with the latest news...

SECOND HAND UNIFORM SALE! The next PTA second hand uniform sale will be: Friday 21 June 0800-0900 WSS Bulstrode Street -Reception All proceeds go towards the PTA and nominated school charities. 2019 charities are: Marcos, Will and Maria Bursary, The Walkabout Foundation and The West London Mission - more details please check Wetherby Senior School website.

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Twitter: @WSSHead @WetherbySenior @WetherbySSports @Mrmeyerart @WSSGeography Instagram: Wssmusic Wetherbysixthform Wsssports


MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

Main: Peri-peri Chicken drumsticks

Main: Turkey and prawn stir-fry

Main: Breakfast for Lunch: bacon streaks, sausages, black pudding

Meat Free: Meat-free sausages

Meat Free: Smoked tofu stir-fry

Meat Free: Roasted mushroom and tomatoes, baked beans

To Go With: Mashed potatoes, tender stem broccoli, grilled mixed peppers, meat and veg gravy

To Go With: Sweet and sour green beans and peas, flat rice noodles, steamed pak choy and bean sprouts

To Go With: Scrambled eggs, hash browns, steamed spinach

Dessert: Raspberry Fool

Dessert: Brownie flapjack

Dessert: Strawberry jelly

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

EVERY DAY

Main: Beef lasagna

Main: Southern fried chicken strips

Meat Free: Spinach and ricott gnocchi To Go With: Baby carrots, garlic bread, herb and lemon red quinoa Dessert: Summer pudding

Meat Free: Spring/Summer vegetable pasta To Go With: Sweet potato chips, collard greens, sweetcorn, gravy

Homemade Bread Freshly made yogurt pots Fresh Fruit

Dessert: Chocolate rice krispie squares

MENU


LEARNING NEW LANGUAGES AT KCL On Tuesday 7th of May, the Year 8 boys, accompanied by Mr Pattison, Miss Page, Miss Suarez and Miss Miguez visited King’s College London for a Language Taster Session. By the end of the day, students were able to introduce themselves and have a short conversation in Arabic and Japanese. To congratulate the boys for their effort and enthusiasm, the friendly staff at the university treated us to some authentic snacks. Following this, the boys enjoyed eating their lunch under the sun and playing some board games before heading back to school. Here are some accounts of the day from the boys, written in the languages that they speak!

Ramzi K, Year 8 writes...

Francesco R, Year 8 writes...

Languages are fascinating. The more languages you know the more lives you live in one lifetime. They open doors and allow people that are completely different to communicate. Each language has at least one unique word that no other language has. I feel that there is also a sense of pride. They are all beautiful in their own ways and by speaking a language, you have a connection with it or its country. So, learn as many languages as you possibly can!

My favourite subjects have always been the linguistic ones, from Latin to Spanish to German. I have always had a passion for languages ​​because I have always enjoyed learning about other cultures in the world, another reason is that it is always fun tolearn and spot the various roots of words, whether it be from Latin or Arabic. You never know when a language could be useful, so learn as many languages ​​as possible.

‫ عندما يتعلم االنسان لغة جديدة‬.‫اللغات مثرية‬ ‫ تفتح اللغة‬.‫فهي مبثابة حياة جديدة يعيشها‬ ‫ كل لغة بها كلمة‬.‫ابواب التواصل بني الناس‬ ‫واحدة عىل االقل فريدة من نوعها ليس لها‬ ‫ هناك الشعور‬.‫ترجمة مبارشة يف اللغات األخرى‬ ‫بالفخر فكل اللغات جميلة ومع التحدث بلغة‬ .‫ مبعانيها وببلدها‬ ً‫معينة يكون لك اتصاالً حميام‬ !‫فتعلم أكرث كم من اللغات املمكنة‬

Le mie materie preferite sono sempre state quelle linguistiche, dal latino allo spagnolo al tedescho. Ho sempre avuto una passione per le lingue perche ho sempre ammirato imapare sulle altre colture del mondo, un altro motivo e’ sempre stato imparare e notare le varie radici delle parole, che sia dal latino o da l’arabo. Non si sa mai quando una lingua potrebbe tornare utile, quindi impara piu lingue possibili.


Andreas M, Year 8 writes... We arrived at King’s College around 9:10. As we got out of Holborn Station, the sun was shining. Then the five select groups walked for five minutes to get to the Language Centre, and finally entered the enormous building. As we filled the seats set out for us, we were interested about the day ahead. The professor started to talk to us about the college, its purpose and then moved on to the famous alumni of the school. Then we split up into our separate groups, one group learning Arabic, (my group), and the other learning Japanese. In the session, we learnt how to say where we were from, what our names were, and numbers. In my view, the purpose of the visit was to broaden the view of languages, and different cultures. Then the whole year went back into the hall, ate some snacks, and sat down for the presentations. The other group did their presentation first, telling us how to say hello and what our names were. Afterwards, Raphael and

I stood up to do the Arabic presentation and taught the other group what we did in the lesson. We then went for a Q&A tour with one of King’s Colleges students. We visited the cathedral, then the cafeteria and finally another branch of King’s College. After all this, we ate lunch and then went home grateful for the opportunity to visit such a fascinating learning environment. Φτάσαμε στο King's College στις 9:10. Καθώς βγήκαμε από το σταθμό Holborn, ο ήλιος έλαμπε . Στη συνέχεια, οι πέντε επιλεγμένες ομάδες περπάτησαν για πέντε λεπτά για να φτάσουν στο Κέντρο Γλωσσών και τελικά μπήκαν στο τεράστιο κτίριο. Καθώς πηραμε τις θεσεις μας, ειμαστε γεματοι ενδιαφερον για την υπόλοιπη μέρα. Ο καθηγητής άρχισε να μας μιλάει για το κέντρο, το σκοπό του και στη συνέχεια ανέφερε τους διάσημους αποφοίτους του σχολείου. Αμέσως μετά χωρίσαμε σε δυο διαφορετικές ομάδες, μια ομάδα που μαθαίνει αραβικά, (την ομάδα

μου) και την άλλη για την ιαπωνική μάθηση. Στη σύνοδο μάθαμε πώς να πούμε από πού καταγομαστε, ποια ήταν τα ονόματά μας και αριθμοί. Κατά τη γνώμη μου, ο σκοπός της επίσκεψης ήταν να διευρυνθεί η άποψη των γλωσσών και των διαφορετικών πολιτισμών. Στη συνέχεια ολόκληρο το έτος επέστρεψε στην αίθουσα, έφαγε μερικά σνακ και κάθισε για τις παρουσιάσεις. Η άλλη ομάδα έκανε την παρουσίασή τους πρώτα, λέγοντας μας πώς να πούμε γεια και ποια ήταν τα ονόματά μας. Μετά, ο Ραφαήλ και εγώ, κάναμε την αραβική παρουσίαση και δίδαξα στην άλλη ομάδα τι κάναμε στο μάθημα. Στη συνέχεια πήγαμε για Q και A / περιοδεία με έναν από τους σπουδαστές του King's College. Επισκεφθήκαμε τον καθεδρικό ναό, μετά την καφετέρια και τελικά ένα άλλο παράρτημα του King's College. Μετά από όλα αυτά, φάγαμε το μεσημεριανό γεύμα και στη συνέχεια πήγαμε σπίτι ευγνώμωνες για την ευκαιρία να επισκεφθούμε ένα τέτοιο συναρπαστικό μαθησιακό περιβάλλον.


BRONZE DUKE OF EDINBURGH Mr Dawson writes... The Bronze Qualifying Expedition went very well last weekend with boys showing clear progression from the Practice Expedition. Navigation was much improved as was the boys’ ability to manage themselves independently in the camp site. Despite

a chilly Saturday night the boys’ spirits remained typically high and nearly all groups made it the next day to the final train station for a well-earned ice cream before heading home for some much needed sleep. Well done to all boys who took part, there were some stellar efforts and they should all be proud of their achievement.




SILVER DUKE OF EDINBURGH EXPEDITION Mrs Skinner writes... A large number of Year 12 students have now successfully completed their qualifying expedition for their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award. The qualifying expedition took place near the Peak District National Park, which is arguably one of the most beautiful places in the UK. Over the course of the three-day expedition, the Year 12s walked an average distance of 65km, navigating

their way through some very challenging terrain and climatic conditions. They also had to be completely self-sufficient in carrying the food, camping and cooking equipment that they would need for the duration of the expedition. This was a challenging but hugely rewarding trip for many of the Year 12 students, some of even witnessed lambs being born first hand! Mrs Deedat and I were incredibly

impressed with all of the boys for demonstrating such resilience, good humour and teamwork, making it a really enjoyable weekend. We hope that those boys now manage to finish uploading their evidence onto eDofE and get their assessors reports completed for all the other sections of the qualification, so that the certificates can be handed out by the end of the year.


HONOURABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY OPEN DAY Rufus D, Year 7 writes... The Honourable Artillery Company hosted its annual Open Day last Tuesday night and I went along to find out what it was all about. The Honourable Artillery Company is the oldest regiment in the British Army. The Company traditionally dates its origins to 1537 when Henry VIII granted a charter to the Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handguns for ‘the better increase of the defence of this our realm’ and ‘the maintenance of the science of artillery’. The word ‘artillery’ was used at this time to describe archery and other missile weapons, while bigger guns were known as ‘great artillery’. Today the Regiment consists of volunteers who do normal

jobs during the day and at weekends train as soldiers. It has an active role, deploying patrols in the forward battle area to gather intelligence and identify targets for long-range weapons, and is regularly deployed on operations alongside the regular Army. There were lots of different Army regiments there, besides the Honourable Artillery Company, showing off what they do. For example, Signallers demonstrating the latest Army radio equipment, Engineers and their bomb detection equipment and the Parachute Regiment with their parachutes and weapons. There was a display of all the infantry weapons, food and equipment that they have to carry on operations. All their food seemed like puree! I tried out a sniper rifle with a huge magnification scope, a heavy machine gun, assault rifles and mortars.

They also had demonstrations on a large field. The City of London Police dogs showed off their skills at sniffing out explosives, and then two attack dogs chased people pretending to be armed criminals and managed to bring them to the ground by attacking their arm. The Ceremonial Gun Detachments fired a 6-gun salute. Normally they fire 62 rounds for a Royal Salute at the Tower of London to celebrate the Queen’s birthday and other occasions. There was a mock battle which showed the Army’s military tactics. There were also stands about volunteer organisations for people my age, such as the Air, Sea and Army Cadets and the Police Volunteers. More information on the HAC is here: https://www.hac.org. uk/home/about-the-hac/


THE BIG TRIB

BOOK BATTLE WHO WILL WIN?

Monday 13th May - Thursday 27th June •TRIB WITH MOST BOOKS READ CLAIMS VICTORY• TO BE COUNTED TELL MR MUNDAY IN THE LIBRARY ABOUT YOUR BOOK OR WRITE A SHORT REVIEW (SEE SLIPS ON LIBRARY DESK) FOR BOOKS TO BE COUNTED TOWARDS YOUR TRIB TOTAL THEY MUST BE BORROWED FROM WSS LIBRARY

READ TO WIN!


BRASS BAND TOUR Mr Martin writes... On Friday 17th May, Wetherby Senior Brass band embarked on their first European tour! It was an absolutely fantastic three days which saw us perform on the main stage at Disneyland Paris and in the band stand in the Champs Elysees gardens.

The boys were superb and impressed the 500 strong audience at Disneyland with their rendition of Thriller! More Details will follow in the Music special Barometer in June...



SPORTS NEWS Tennis Boys U15A vs North Bridge House 22-38 ISA Nationals U15B Cup: David T - Round 16 U15B Plate: Lukas S - 4th place Pablo P - 1/4 final George BR - Round 16 U13B Cup: Zac M - 2nd Place Raphael LeB - Round 16 Niam S - Round 16 U13B Plate: Oscar T - 4th place


WSS PTA COMMITTEE MEMBER NOMINATIONS

The WSS PTA supports the School’s leadership and management in providing the best all-round education to the pupils, by providing a sense of community with the school staff, parents and guardians and one another. Specifically the WSS PTA aims to: a) promote and extend productive relationships between parents, guardians, teaching staff and other members of the wider community and support the social well-being of the School Community; b) support the School in the planning of School functions, such as annual balls, parent drinks or sports events, assisting with fundraising for the School’s Bursary Programme and nominated charities and charitable causes, as chosen by the Student Council and the Headmaster/Headmistress from time to time; and c) provide and assist with opportunities to enhance the pupils’ educational experience. The PTA consists of a PTA Committee, Year Group Coordinators for each School Year and Trib Representatives for each Trib in each School Year Group.

The PTA Committee, in turn, is formed by the School’s Headmaster, the Chair/ Co-Chairs, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and up to two Members of Staff. It meets on a regular basis and is in charge of managing the PTA in accordance with the PTA’s constitution, liaising with all the rest of the PTA members. PTA Committee members are nominated at the end of each academic year for the following year. As such, the WSS PTA is now in search of nominations to fill the role of Chair/Co-Chairs, Secretary and Treasurer. Each role is for the Academic Year from September 2019 to September 2020. Interested? Please email your details by Friday 7th June 2019 to Isabella Fateh, Headmaster’s PA, on isabella. fateh@wetherbysenior.co.uk PS. Year Group Coordinators and Trib Representatives are nominated at the beginning of the new academic year, in order to allow for new parents to participate. Please consult the WSS PTA Constitution for further details of what each role entails.


http://www.wetherbysenior.co.uk


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