The Wetherby Senior School
CHRONICLE th
Week 16
15 January
Dear Parents, I must admit that I don’t watch much television but before you think that in our household we religiously sit down to discuss the issues of the day or read books, the truth is that it’s a ‘sit on sofa and open laptop’ kind of house. That said, I do have a television guilty pleasure in ‘Only Connect’; it’s probably the only programme I will watch in its entirety and always pause if someone phones or I get up for any reason. I could watch it on iPlayer on the train but I never do this, I think because if I was ever to get a question right, I need it to be verified by the family as witnesses to the event and for me to get the public adulation I would deserve were I to say the answer before the television contestants. How delighted was I then that, this Tuesday, I got my first ever ‘Only Connect’ question correct. Admittedly, I got it after three of the four clues but I got it all the same. Parents, see if you can get it: the question is what comes last in the sequence. The boys incidentally have no chance as the question pre-dates them and they would have no knowledge of the subject matter. The answer is at the bottom of the Chronicle. “Well done, Mr Baker!” I hear you say. Thank you. I appreciate your warm congratulations… 1:0 was 1
0:1 was 1.5
0:0 was 2
?
No such bamboozling questions at the Prep School’s 7+ and 8+ this past Monday though. With over 300 boys, sitting for 20 places in Year 3 and 40 in Year 4, we do have to make the papers accessible yet challenging to allow for a meritocratic and transparent process. We remain a ‘family’ school and will always promote siblings and our own Pre-Prep children at our main entry point of 8+, as we do and will continue to do at the Wetherby Prep to Wetherby Senior School transition stage. Lots of you say to us, “When are you and Mr Snell going to stop this sibling and PrePrep priority thing? No-one else does this anymore.” Now, you only say that once you are in the Prep or Senior School of course (!) but we both think that it would be a sad day if we ever had to say that, whilst your son had been educated at a Wetherby school for however many years, he could not go onto the next one. We also think that it is one of the things that make all three Wetherby schools so special. The continuity, the family feel, the sense of security as to what values and expectations will be constant throughout a family’s time at the School, together with the loyalty, friendship and support of our parent body are vital factors that define our schools as “Wetherby”.
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
Of course, there is bound to be disappointment to manage amongst those who wish to join the Wetherby Family but, as long as we remain humble, approachable, appreciative and consider every child during an assessment process, we can be satisfied that we have given everyone a fair chance. Have a good weekend‌
Nick Baker
PTA Meeting on Tuesday 19th January at 10am Please can I remind all members of our newly formed PTA that we have our half termly meeting at 10am this Tuesday at the School. We will be discussing the Celebration Evening, Official Opening and Charities amongst other things but I don’t envisage the meeting lasting longer than 30/45 minutes.
From the Art & Design Department Mr. Meyer writes... The beauty of the boys having Art & Design twice a week is they are able to create a firm body of work. Here, for example, Year 9 have created two Barbara Hepworth sculptures each. The second one allowed them to put on a coloured glaze. As you can see below the finishes give their work a striking and vibrant finish. To do this they applied three coats of glaze, allowing a drying time of five minutes between each application, whilst insuring they did not apply it too thickly, resulting in a tear drop appearance or too thinly which would make it appear more translucent.
Sean Masri (Part 1)
Sean Masri (Part 2)
Paul Schell
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
Alan Angert
Tom Zundel
Matthew Monaghan
Manuel Costa
Jack Henniker-Gotley
From the French Department Mrs Diamond writes… On Tuesday morning all the boys and their teachers, enjoyed 'un délicieux croissant au chocolat et un chocolat chaud, pour le petit déjeuner...'
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
“Merci” Alan, for baking over 70 croissants and all of the boys for participating in this new WSS tradition and raising nearly £400 for the 'Walkabout Foundation'.
This is a great result which will enable the foundation to give away 2 wheelchairs and a new lease of life to a person in need. BRAVO ET MERCI BEAUCOUP!
From the Games Department Mr Sullivan writes… Happy New Year! I hope that the year has started well for you and your sons. Thank you very much for all your kind messages and gifts. My wife and I have been overwhelmed and feel very lucky and blessed. A New Year brings a fresh start for the boys. They all have been energetic, productive, hard-working and happy and this was clear to see in the trial games. Well done boys! You have certainly given all the coaches a good selection problem. I was refereeing at Hartbury College over the weekend and stumbled across this poem (below) and I feel this would benefit the boys and I would be grateful to hear if they agree: The Man In The Glass (Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.) When you get what you want in your struggle for self And the world makes you king for a day Just go to the mirror and look at yourself And see what that man has to say. For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife Whose judgment upon you must pass The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
Is the one staring back from the glass. He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest For he’s with you, clear to the end And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test If the man in the glass is your friend. You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years And get pats on the back as you pass But your final reward will be heartache and tears If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
Please see attachments for fixtures next week and the Football Player Profile which the Year 9 boys need to fill out and return to Mr Betts on Monday morning. And finally GOOD LUCK to Matthew Monaghan and Manuel Costa who are representing Wetherby Senior at The 42nd Boys Knole Run, Knole Park, Sevenoaks. Sports Quote of the Week ‘If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life’ Follow us for results and updates on Twitter via @WetherbySSports #teamwetherby
From the History Department Mr Warner writes… Today Year 9 were given a research assignment. Sadly we cannot cover every tiny aspect of World War I; in fact there are some rather big aspects that we will gloss over in class. As such this is their chance to restore the balance. The boys need to choose a topic within the broader context of the Great War and come up with their own essay title. The assignments will be due on Monday 25th January. This is a great opportunity for them to build their skills as researchers and by the end of this weekend they should have emailed me with their broad subject and draft essay title. On an even more exciting note I would like to draw your attention to the attached letter outlining my proposed tour of the Normandy battlefields for Year 10 in October. I have been on similar tours with Year 10 pupils in the past and it is always a fantastic experience.
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
From the IT Department Mr Bray writes‌ 9B have been introduced to the trick below, which you may like to try; but can you work out how it works? It is linked to the property of binary numbers, which all Year 9 boys have studied in their IT lessons. 1. Cut out the 6 cards below. Give the 6 cards to a friend, and ask them to pick a secret number between 1 and 63 inclusive, and to give you back all the cards that have their number on it. 2. You can figure out their secret number by adding together all of the first (top left) numbers on the cards they gave back to you. Alternatively, ask them to give you the cards that do not contain the number they picked. You then need to add up the numbers on the top left of the cards and subtract that total from 63.
From the Science Department Miss Lillington writes‌ The new iPads have arrived in Science! This week the boys have been developing their research skills by finding information on pathogens and other living organisms using a range of different resources available to them. We are looking forward to using some fantastic scientific apps in lessons including 4D anatomy and 4D elements. Do let the Science teachers know if you find any other great apps we could use in lessons.
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
Scientists hard at work.
Grub Club Miss Lillington writes… This week in Grub Club was Italian week! The Boys designed their own pizzas using many different toppings before conjuring up a name for their creation. For their enthusiasm and team work, the Star bakers this week were Maxime Hashem and Jacques O’Connor who created “The Masterpiece”.
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
Quiz Soc Mr Hasthorpe writes … The Wetherby Senior Quiz Soc is happily celebrating receipt of its new “University Challenge” quiz buzzers. The weekly quiz just got a whole lot more competitive after Lachlan, Jack C and Adin became the first team to score over 100 points! In preparation for the Inter Trib Quiz in Summer Term there are now two Quiz Soc meetings each week.
Videography Ben Dye Year 9 writes: This week on Monday the first student led club 'Videography' took place. We started the lesson with an introduction on video making and then we got into filming our first task. The task was to make an advertisement for any company we liked. I was happy to see everyone so excited to be filming. The advertisement included: Beats by Dre, Apple Watch and Lynx Body Spray as well as many others. I'm very excited for next week when we edit the footage on the iMacs!
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
Videography in action.
From the Co-Curricular Department Mr Dawson writes: The school has taken delivery of a new pool table – the common room is shaping up nicely!
15 January 2016
The Wetherby Senior School Chronicle
From the Wetherby Learning Community Miss Valentine writes… Learning to Code While many of the Wetherby staff have decided to challenge themselves with learning a musical instrument as their part in the “Community of Learners” scheme, for me the scheme has presented itself opportunity to do something totally different. I think my colleagues would agree that spending the working week with young people can make us as teachers acutely aware of our age. I never really thought that I would get “behind” with technological advances, and when I talk to my mum who is terrified with the idea of using a smart phone as she can barely cope with her Nokia (which predates most of the Wetherby boys), I definitely don’t want to. But each week, your boys introduce me to new technologies which are second nature to them and alien to me. In such a fast-paced environment the gap seems to grow exponentially. So I have decided to learn to program. I know so little about coding that I currently do not even have an end goal in sight, but with the help of www.codecademy.com I’m already making progress. I have completed their first html course where I designed the Airbnb website from scratch (see picture) and am currently working my way through the lessons on a second language, Ruby. So far it has been very rewarding and quite a lot of fun! If you’re still hunting for a New Year’s Resolution or feel like joining me in learning how to program, get signed up and please keep me updated with your progress. The boys at Wetherby Senior are lucky to have opportunities to learn this vital 21st Century skill both in IT lessons and Code Club so your son may even be able to teach you a thing or two!
And the answer to the Headmaster’s teaser: 1:1 was 3 (it is the old scoring system for the football pools)