BAROMETER THE
WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY JUNE 3rd 2019 | WEEK 6
FROM THE HEADMASTER
Dear Parents, As you know it has been a busy week with the School having a visit from the inspectors, and I apologise that this letter is not as long as normal. It was a compliance inspection so only focused on our regulatory obligations and the outcome will be a simple pass or fail. At some point in the future we will have a fuller inspection that looks at educational quality and these two forms of inspection are part of a cycle. I am very grateful to those of you who took the time to respond to the survey and for responding so positively. The inspectors have a short time to build a detailed picture of the school and your survey responses were very helpful to them; the survey painted a picture of a very supportive community around the school. As last year, I will send a more detailed survey in the next
couple of weeks to inform future planning. Unfortunately I am not allowed to give more details until the final report is completed but it was certainly a positive experience; it will be published in 6-7 weeks and it will be shared with you when it is available. Despite the boys largely being focussed on either doing or preparing for our assessments this week, they have been remarkably upbeat. I have enjoyed conversations with Year 9 and 7 boys sharing the ups and downs of exams season. For the younger end of the school the result is, of course, important but the reflections these exams are prompting on the importance of revision and organisation are perhaps more valuable as the boys build up to the important public examinations they face in the future.
I do recommend both the Year 7-9 Art and Photography Exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery and the Summer Concert, both of which take place next week. Enjoy the weekend,
WEEK B MONDAY
WEEKLY DIARY 10.06.19
Year 7,8 & 9 Exhibition in Memory of Marcos Burnett, Saatchi Gallery 16:00-18:00
TUESDAY
11.06.19
WEDNESDAY
12.06.19 Cricket U12/13 Cricket vs Radnor House (H) 14:30
THURSDAY
13.06.19
Translation Bee Regional Final, Dulwich College 16:15-18:15 Cricket U14/15 WSS vs Radnor House (A) 14:30 Summer Concert, Hannah House 18:30-19:30
FRIDAY
14.06.19
SATURDAY
15.06.19
SUNDAY
16.06.19
Athletics U12/13 Competition at Epsom Year 11 Art & Graphic Design pre-hang, Drama Studio Friday Lunchtime Clubs Programme 13:40-14:25 HM Whole School Assembly at Hinde Street Methodist Church 15:15-15:45 INSET 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: Grilled chicken breast with tarragon and mushroom cream sauce
Main: Spaghetti Bolognese
Main: Beef rice bowls
Meat Free: Falafel pittas with tzatziki and pickled cabbage
Meat Free: Vegetable and edamame bean noodle stir-fry
To Go With: Herbed couscous, carrots and peas, onion bhaji
To Go With: Vegetable nuggets, miso aubergine, steamed Pak choi
Dessert: Banana chocolate custard
Dessert: Carrot cake
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
EVERY DAY
Main: Coastal fish pie
Main: Beef or chicken burgers
Meat Free: Tomato, mozzarella, basil, pasta bake
Meat Free: Beetroot and feta burgers
Meat Free: Summer vegetable casserole To Go With: Creamed polenta, Steamed carrot rounds, Herbed dumplings Dessert: Strawberry mousse
To Go With: Ratatouille tian, French beans, cauliflower and broccoli florets Dessert: Raspberry mirror
To Go With: String potato fries, burger garnish, corn on the cob, boston baked beans burger buns
Homemade Bread Freshly made yogurt pots Fresh Fruit
Dessert: Chocolate sweet potato brownie
MENU
LA DRAMA AND ART TRIP 2019 Miss Twomey writes... Whilst our London based drama trips offer boys the opportunity to see and experience professional acting and staging from a theatre perspective, the LA trip was a fantastic opportunity to see the other end of the spectrum; the TV and movie industry. Throughout our trip we saw thousands of infamous silver screen sets, visited infamous movie star destinations and heard ‘backstage secrets’ from filming first hand! We began our tour by seeing iconic locations from the film industry on our visit to Hollywood Boulevard. We had great fun exploring the hand and footprints of all our favourite actors and measuring our own hands against them. Miss Twomey most enjoyed seeing the Tom Hanks hands, Miles H liked seeing Robert Downey Jr’s and Mark loved seeing the fictional character of Donald Duck’s Hollywood star on the ‘sidewalk’. We also had a guided tour and saw the giant hillside Hollywood sign, the theatre where the Oscars are filmed and a brilliant mall which paid tribute to each and every ‘Best Film’ winner at The Oscars.
Our next adventure to find out more about the film industry was to Universal Studios Hollywood. Whilst this is a theme park it also completely unlike any is film park we’d been to before. This is because the theme park’s most exciting attraction is a tour of infamous film sets, such as the coastal town in Jaws, the ‘Bates Motel’ from Psycho and ‘Wisteria Lane’
from Desperate Housewives. Furthermore, this tour had some very special effects as they showed us how to create rain, flash floods and explosions in their ‘weather set’ and 3-D special effects in the King Kong and ‘Fast and Furious’ film experiences! It’s incredible to think that this is a pretend town!
Finally, we had the opportunity to learn ‘behind the scenes’ info at Paramount pictures, where the greatest feature was a maze of ‘pretend streets’ created entirely for filming, with each road created to look like different parts of New York, Europe or London! We saw the ‘Cake Baby’ set/shop from Bridesmaids, the ‘life is like a box of chocolates’ bench from Forrest Gump and the ‘Brooklyn street’ set from 20 different movies- can you identify any of them? At paramount studios we also got to find out how filming occurs for the longrunning American Classic TV Show Dr Phil, see their props and hear about funny stunts and dares actors had taken part in when filming! It truly was a fantastic experience to find out so much about Drama in a film context, to see the sets, to experience the special effects, to hear the backstage secrets and to ‘live the movies’!
LA DRAMA AND ART TRIP 2019 Mr. Meyer Writes‌ Now in its fourth year, the Drama and Art Trip moved for the first time from the East to the West Coast: Los Angeles. This was a varied and wide ranging international residential trip giving the boys a rich experience and memories that will last a lifetime. Day One: After a delicious breakfast at the Sportmen’s Lodge Hotel, Day 1 saw the boys experience a tour of Hollywood taking in the many delights of Tinsel Town from Sunset Strip to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They closed the afternoon, by going to the Griffith Observatory, allowing them to see LA in all its glory.
Day Two: Day two saw the boys have a full day at Universal Studios. This started with a 60 minute tour of the studios and sound stages used for all Universal filming, providing them with an opportunity to go behind the scenes of working film locations. Thereafter, they immersed themselves in Harry Potter World as well as other iconic Hollywood backdrops.
Day Three: Day Three saw boys have a more leisurely start to the day by having a swim in the outdoor pool. The mid-part
of the day allowed them to experience a walking tour of Paramount Studios, which has played host to filming iconic cinematic masterpieces such as Titanic and Forest Gump.
The day concluded with boys enjoying the many pleasures of Santa Monica Pier.
Day Four: Day Four allowed boys to walk the majestic grounds of the Getty Centre allowing them to see an impressive array of art from Moore’s sculpture named, ‘Bronze Form’ to Van Gogh’s painting entitled, ‘Irises’. Their cultural experience didn’t stop there and they went to Venice Beach where they enjoyed seeing the iconic Muscle Beach Gym.
LA DRAMA AND ART TRIP 2019 Miss Webb writes... When looking for an American city that offers up a rich historical experience, Los Angeles is not usually at the top of people’s lists, often being dismissed as superficial or basic. I feel that this is a grave error, as it ignores the fact that LA is at the very heart of America’s cultural heritage, playing host to many important social and political developments. As the representative for the History Department, I was keen to ensure that the boys recognised this during the trip. Exploring the sights of LA
transported the boys back to the Golden Age of Hollywood. They visited the Walk of Fame, the handprints at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and the iconic Dolby Theatre that has hosts the annual Academy Awards. The list of every Best Picture winner was displayed in the entrance to the theatre, showing the boys how changing events and issues have impacted the film industry – the 1967 winner In the Heat of the Night was reflected the growing Civil Rights Movement, while the 1978 winner The Deer Hunter showed America trying to come to terms with the legacy of the Vietnam War.
Our tours of Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures showed the boys how the film industry transformed Los Angeles from a small, coastal town into an economic powerhouse. Founded in 1912, Universal Studios is one of the oldest film studios in the world, and our backlot tour gave us an insight into how historical events affected the creative direction of the studios. In the 1930s, Universal produced a slew of horror films, such as Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy, but the reason for the studios darker direction was that America was struggling through the Great Depression,
and horror films were much cheaper to film than their typical epic or musical productions. At Paramount, our guide showed us how small changes to their iconic sets, such as swapping out a streetlight or even something as subtle as a doorknob, can turn a 1980s New York street into a quiet road in Victorian London. Throughout the trip, the boys were given countless insights into America’s history, and the relationship between current affairs and the films we see in the cinemas was clear. Be sure to add LA onto your next historical tour of the US.
YEAR 7 ART LESSONS
Mr. Meyer writes... Following their experiments and emoji designs created using Adobe Illustrator in the Autumn Term, Year 7 have developed their characters through lino printing and ceramics.
YEAR 8 ART LESSONS Mr. Meyer writes... The overarching theme of Year 8's first unit of the year was, ‘Sculpture – Looking at the work of Tony Smith’. This provided the boys with an opportunity to look at a wide range of techniques and skills from developing an understanding of isometric drawings to then going on to construct a cardboard considering the geometric appearance of one America’s most popular 20th century minimalist sculptors.
YEAR 9 TYPOGRAPHY Miss Bradley writes... Last term, Year 9 boys focused on typography and communication, creating both digital outcomes, using Illustrator and Photoshop, and hand painted placards inspired by the work of Bob and Roberta Smith. Boys were encouraged to choose words or phrases that meant something to them, and try to emphasise their meaning through their choices of colour, composition and typography.
YEAR 10 GCSE ARTWORK Mr. Murphy writes... Year 10 have been looking at the topic 'Cityscapes' and
have been exploring the unit through a range of media, including sculpture and a multitude of printmaking
techniques in order to achieve a range of two-dimensional and three-dimensional outcomes.
YEAR 11 GCSE ARTWORK Mr. Meyer writes... It has been a busy last 10 weeks for Year 11 as they have been immersed in creating their preparatory work for their ESA (Externally Set Assignment) this year entitled, ‘Reflection’. From sculpture to etching the boys have utilised the skill-set that they feel is their strongest at this stage of the course. Make sure you come to the GCSE Art & Graphic Design Exhibition on Thursday 20th June to see the final work!
ART CLUBS! Mr. Meyer writes... The Art & Graphic Design Department continues to provide the boys with a busy and thriving co-
curricular programme with Open Studio being run Monday to Friday as well as A-level Plus classes, Friday lunchtime ceramic club and Print Studio on a Monday
evening. The images below provide you with an overview of what has been created during both the Spring and Summer terms.
COMPETITION NEWS Mr. Meyer writes... It has been a busy time for the department with both internal and external competitions running concurrently since the beginning of the year. For the third year running, the Fourth Plinth Competition inspired Year 7 boys to design and create a piece of Art for the Fourth Plinth School’s Award which will be judged by a panel of leading artists and designers. New to us this year is the Royal Academy School’s Award for which we have put forward some the finest work produced from the department this year. Keep your fingers crossed for all the entrants! A small selection from both competitions can be seen below:
CHILDREN'S BOOK PROJECT DONATIONS Miss Murray writes... On behalf of the London Children’s Book Project and the English department, we would like to thank all the parents and pupils who so generously donated books last term for World Book Day. We received a wonderful email this week from a primary
school in Harlesden who had recently received the hundreds of books donated by Wetherby Senior; she said it was one of the best days of her ten year career as the pupils were so excited. I have shown some of the Year 7 boys who donated photos of the children receiving their donated books; it was
clear that they felt proud and humbled at their donations and will hopefully continue to involve themselves in the many charitable events that Wetherby Senior run each year. If you have any more books that you would like to donate, you can contact Miss Murray or hold on to them until the next year's event!
WSS PTA COMMITTEE MEMBER NOMINATIONS
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. Please consult the WSS PTA Constitution for further details on the roles of the Chair/Co-Chairs, Secretary and Treasurer. Interested? Please email your details by Friday 7th June 2019 to Isabella Fateh, Headmaster’s PA, on isabella. fateh@wetherbysenior.co.uk Nominations for Year Group Coordinators and Trib Representatives are taken at the beginning of the new academic year, in order to allow for new parents to participate.
SPORTS NEWS
Tennis U15 A WSS vs John Lyon 36-32
Cricket U15 A WSS vs John Lyon Won by 11 runs
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