The Wyvern - Issue 17

The Wyvern Issue 17

@DSMS_Wyvern

Autumn 2013

DSMS Spook Fest Darlington School of Mathematics and Science

Watch the latest episode of The Wyvern TV: http://goo.gl/po3wX

The last day before DSMS broke up for the Autumn halfterm the 21 young fundraisers departing to Kenya next year organized various Halloween themed fundraising activities.

Both pupils and teachers were allowed to come in Halloween fancy dress costumes for the whole day.

From bloody surgeons and living zombies to blood sucking vampires and creepy wizards, everyone was amazed with creative and scary costumes.

Bake sales took place at break time and after dinner where pupils could purchase home made cakes, sweets and other goodies. They could also buy a ticket for one of two films which were being screened in the afternoon.

Newspaper

Key Stage 3 watched ‘Hocus Pocus’ in the main hall and Key Stage 4 watched ‘What Lies Beneath’ in the dining hall. Hot Dogs and Cakes were also available to buy

Above: Mr Kipling and Mr Tucker in fancy dress to raise money before the film.

Overall, the enjoyable day was a huge success, Miss N Bane, organizer of the expedition to Kenya, said “The whole school community came together to enjoy the day, with some excellent costumes

and tasty cakes being created. Over £300 was raised and everyone involved in the African Development and Exchange Project is incredibly grateful for the continued support that made this day so much fun. ”

Post-it Art TV

Online

During a grand unveiling at open evening 2013 Joe Tinkler’s piece of art was showed off to the public.

The face, which Joe and friends made on the back wall of the main hall is made entirely out of postits!

cially for his GCSE in art. In the future he plans to create another piece of art made out of post-its based on Marylyn Monroe.

He impressed the public and pupils alike using exactly 1,364 post-it notes which took 20 hours to finish. Joe has done artwork with post-its before and this piece of work was espe-

Joe’s work is a wonderful achievement that allowed him to express his creativity and unique talent, we hope to see more of his work in the future.

Watch Joe and his team make the artwork here: http:// goo.gl/YPPMK0

PAPE“R”MAIL website: www.papermail7.blogspot.com

Why are teenagers Smokefree Action Coalition Briefing so lazy?

Have you ever been in a car whilst an one of the most intriguing people I met adult has smoked carelessly allowing the fumes to linger in the car or have any of your friends started smoking because it looks ‘cool’? It’s time for those things stop and there are many British organisations trying to achieve that goal.

simply because of the results he had from the research he had conducted. He informed me that selling cigarettes isn't as profitable as you may assume, he went on to say that he actually makes more money from selling gum than he does with cigarettes!

“Smoking remains the major cause of preventable premature death killing 100,000 people a year”

Unfortunately, standardised packaging is a touchy issue which not everyone agrees with; many experts informed me that it is unlikely the current Government will implement them with only around 18 months left in power. Standardised packaging is actually quite practical: it is cheap, easy to implement and would require little enforcement.

So, accompanied only by my chaperone, I made the journey down to Westminster on October 15th for the Smokefree Action Coalition Briefing event at Westminster where representatives from many different organisations and groups could mingle and confer about the work they've been doing. The aim of the event was to inform people about where the government currently stands with many matters regarding anti-smoking. From standardised cigarette packaging to smoking with children in cars the dozens of campaigners came out in force from organisations such as the British Lung Foundation, ASH, Fresh NE! At approximately 4PM I was lead through a maze of corridors and staircases in the House of Commons to a compact emerald room overflowing with people. The organisers of the event worked like match makers to try and get certain attendees to talk to certain other attendees which meant I was introduced to fascinating people who had travelled from all over England. They all had a different story to tell and different reasons for their campaign against the tobacco industry.

John McClurrey (independent newsagent from Gateshead and Liberal Democrat Councillor) was without a doubt

Smoking remains the major cause of preventable premature death killing 100,000 people a year, more than the next six causes put together including alcohol, obesity and illegal drugs! 567 children start smoking every day in the UK which is approximately 207,000 a year. In research conducted by the British Heart Foundation, 87% of 2700 surveyed 16-25 years olds found plain packs less attractive and 77% of them believed that people to smoke less or quit.

Stood in front of Big Ben after the conference

Have you ever been angrily woken up by your parents in the early afternoon and been called lazy because they think you sleep too much? Well , according to recent scientific studies, this may not be your fault.

As a teenagers your body clock gets messed up; you don't want to go to sleep early however you love to have a ly-in in the morning, this is because of a hormone called Melatonin aka 'the darkness hormone'. This hormone is produced in the brain and is the thing which helps you fall asleep. In adults, Melatonin is usually produced at around 10PM however among teenagers it is 1AM! Out of children, teenagers and adults, teenagers are actually the ones who need the most sleep because it is whilst we sleep when a hormone is released which is essential if we want to grow. So, technically, the more sleep you get, the more likely it is you will have a growth spurt.

Stereotypical teenagers are seen by both adults and children as moody, depressed and quite impulsive. These are all side effects of being sleep deprived. This is why a few schools in America have pushed back the time of their morning lessons so teens can get a couple more hours in bed.

Not only did the students become more enthused, the school also saw an improvement in grades!

The Pineal Gland where Melatonin is produced

Dry Shampoo may seem like a modern invention however it has actually been around for at least 4 century's in France (however the ingredients were petty simple in the 1700’s). Recently brands like ‘Batiste’ have made it popular however you can make it yourself out of mainly salt and corn. Problems with dry shampoo may lead to dandruff, hair loss and dry hair. On the other hand, dry shampoo comes in very handy when on holiday or camping.

Reviews of the Month Grand Theft Auto 5

Feature on a Teacher Name

Mrs Coleman

Subject

Science

Time at DSMS

3-4 years

Most memorable moment

The day my daughter was born.

Pets

Dog - Border Collie called Sam

Funniest Moment

Doing the 2013 year 11 leavers DVD with Miss Kelly when our Billy Bob teeth kept falling out.

Advice (Words of Wisdom)

Never give up! There is no such word as ‘can’t’.

As most of you know GTA5 (Grand Theft Auto 5) has been recently released. This new addition to the GTA series had already sold many thousands but will it be the game of the century?

Well, the GTA series as a whole has sold more games than the 60’s rock band ‘The Who’ have sold records. As one of the most played games that the Microsoft console Xbox has released, many game and technology reviewers believe that the GTA series has not only changed the development of games but the whole entertainment market.

This game may seem to be a great hit in the gaming market, and it amazingly beat it’s rival COD (Call Of Duty) in sales. Within 15 days of release, COD Black Ops 2 reached £627,463,000 and GTA made just less than £5 million within it’s first 24 hours!

By Adam Plumb

Rush

Teacher’s Pet Name of Pet: Buzz and Woody Name of owner: Mr. Parr Age of Pet: Both 2 years old Interesting event in the pets’ lives: Woody is the dominant Tom Cat. He regularly gets locked in people’s garages, squares up to dogs 3 times his size or more and sleeps on other people’s doorsteps. They hunt as a pair and think they own the street.

Rush is a racy film about the rivalry between James Hunt and Nikia Lauda in the golden age for Formula One, the 1970s.

Based on a true story, the film shows the intense lifestyle that the two drivers lead - and not just when they were driving fast cars.

Films like this can often misinterpret events to make the stories more compelling for the big screen however Niki Lauda, now 64, worked close with the writer, Peter Morgan, to make sure the script was authentic.

The Wyvern talks to the guest speaker at the DSMS Awards evening 2013

Andy is from Middlesbrough, UK and as a school leaver joined the British Army as a Paratrooper in the year 2000. He spent nine years in the military altogether, serving with the 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment as an elite infantry soldier, and The Red Devils Freefall Team as a display parachutist, where he was presented with the ‘Outstanding Red Devil of the Year’ award in 2007.

The Wyvern interviewed him before his speech at the DSMS prize giving evening 2013.

Joshua: How did you start your career in the armed forces?

Andy: When I joined school I sort of knew that the parachute regiment was the hardest regiment to get into. I wanted to see what I was capable of and I wanted to push myself physically and mentally in the hardest way possible, just to see what I was capable of doing.

Joshua: How long did it take to train for the parachute regiment and was it difficult?

Andy: Yes it was! In total I trained for six months and it was absolutely, horrendously difficult! You had to do things like crawling through muddy holes in the freezing cold, running for miles and miles with heavy weights on your back and it may be 2 miles, 10 miles or 20 miles and you had to reach each check-

Andy Braye Interview

point in an allotted time otherwise - you failed.

Joshua: Do you think it helped you build your character?

Andy: Absolutely yes, I definitely would not be the same person today if I hadn’t gone through this kind of stuff.

“If you really want something, it can be achieved. If you go into something like that half-heartedly then you’re likely to miss out” Joshua: How does it feel to actually parachute and do you still get nervous before a jump or are you so familiar with it that it doesn’t affect you?

Andy: It was at first, very scary and for the first one hundred parachute jumps I was very nervous. After that though I just got used to it and you do so much that the fear goes away, you still have to make sure it’s safe and it becomes more enjoyable.

Joshua: How many jumps have you done?

Andy: Almost two thousand! Well I think it’s something like one 1947, I have a log book at home but it’s definitely in

the region of two thousand.

Joshua: Have you had any accidents or things gone wrong during a jump?

Andy: Yes I’ve had many things go wrong. 3 times my main parachute has failed and I’ve had to use my reserve and there’s only one reserve so that’s your last life and that’s happened 3 times. I’ve had incident in the sky yes, but I’ve never been injured from landing.

Joshua: What would you tell anyone wanting to join the parachute regiment and what advice would you give them?

Andy: Make sure you really want it, really want to do it because if you really want something, it can be achieved. If you go into something like that halfheartedly then you’re likely to miss out since it’s that difficult but if you put in your all then you can absolutely make it… and all the best.

Ben Maclean, year 11, won a new trophy named Flight Lieutenant Steven Johnson Shield for Physics at KS4: Ben Maclean

Wyvern Celebrates 4th Birthday

By Liam (editor-in-chief) It was four years ago on November 20th 2009 when a story started which would open hundreds of doors for both the school newspaper team and myself. Most of us were oblivious at the start that the small school newspaper we were working on would become a national award winning paper within only a few years.

I recall entering the library on November 19th and Mrs Armstrong (head teacher at the time) and Mrs Surtees (librarian) offering me the opportunity to start a school newspaper.

One day later, with only a desk in the corner of the library, a computer and less than a handful of writers, we commenced making a monthly A4 newspaper called ‘Read all about it!!’.

2010 gave the newspaper the opportunity for a rebirth which allowed the editorial team to change the name again and have a complete re-design of the paper. This was ‘The Wyvern’ era which will hopefully continue after the current year 11 bunch have left DSMS. The turn of 2012 saw an unexpected twist for the Wyvern as it migrated from the compact corner in the Library to the TV Studio where a monthly news show started to be made called the Wyvern TV (all episodes available here: http://goo.gl/ po3wX)

“With only a desk in the corner of the library, a computer and less than a handful of writers, we commenced making a School Newspaper”

I remember that name because the English department used to pull their hair out over the fact that there was two exclamation marks. The first newspapers included puzzles, word searches, notices and a few brief articles and reports.

In January 2010 the growing group of reporters and I decided at a meeting in the Library that the name should be changed to the ’Branksome Bugle’. By this point enthusiastic friends in my year had offered to write articles about every subject from school productions to sport and politics.

In early 2010 a partnership with the West Cockerton Community was forged where they mailed the newspaper to over 2000 homes in the local area along with their magazine.

As times changed, the newspaper evolved too; Mr Kiplings unexpected arrival in late

In the last year The Wyvern editorial team have been to the Shine School Media Awards again in London where we came runners up for the best online and best community initiative. We have also interviewed Mayors, public speakers and taken part in BBC School Report Day, where we needed to make a news show in a day.

In the coming few months before the current year 11s depart we hope to train up the charged bunch of KS3 pupils who currently work on the Wyvern at the same high standard.

Of course, we couldn’t just let a huge milestone like the 4th birthday go by quietly so on November 20th 2014 the a buffet took place in Miss Bloomers room where pupils could reflect on the past 4 years. There was even a cake which I ceremonially cut. Despite hopes, I didn’t make a speech however I did thank everyone for making school newspaper at DSMS such a success.

Learning Conference 2013 On the October 15th pupils in year 11 of DSMS visited Hurworth school to learn how to learn! This may seem strange but the nature and techniques you use to learn information could be the most important aspect of learning things from recipes to revision for exams. Pupils learnt several techniques for learning information which include; creating stories which involve key pieces of information, making rhymes from the beginning letter of key words and even relating key words to objects in your house. Many pupils found the experience exciting, fun and informative and one pupil, James Allison described it as ‘important as revision, really helpful indeed’.

Children in Need 2013 Every year a nation gathers around it’s televisions to participate in the charity telethon: Children in Need.

Since 1980 the UK has raised over £600,000,000 for children going through a multitude of hard times, the money raised by the telethon, which includes videos from the nation’s most beloved stars and icons as well as musical entertainment, has been used in hospices, hospitals, bereavement counselling and much more! Yet Children in Need isn’t just about a telethon, all around the country organisations and individuals do their part to raise money for this great cause. DSMS is no different. The school had a non-uniform day and a cake sale this raised £52.00 alone and combined with the other fundraising in the school created a grand total of £502, this all contributed to the £34,997,214 raised by Children in Need so far this year! This number is still rising and you can donate by visiting the Children in Need website: http:// goo.gl/otM7XE

Miss Bane’s Sponsored Marathon After the Summer Holidays the pupils had taken a break from the tiring fundraising however Miss N Bane had been training for the Loch Ness Marathon. A few months before Miss N Bane ran the 26 miles in Scotland she posted this onto a fundraising website: In a moment of madness, I was persuaded by a good friend that running a marathon would be a good way to raise money. After months of early morning training in some very cold weather, I'm not sure I agree with her!

Nevertheless, on 29th September 2013, I will be taking part in the Loch Ness Marathon. Not being a natural runner (or a fairly crap runner if I'm being honest) the training has been hard, and I need your money to keep me motivated to the end.

It is all in aid of Darlington School of Maths and Science's African Development and Exchange Project, which involves 21 students travelling to the village of Nakuru, Kenya in June 2014. The students will be there for 10 days of serious volunteering, working on building projects, teaching and working to support the village community centre. This is an amazing, life-changing opportunity for our students to make a real difference to the

rural community we will be working in and experience a completely different way of life.

All of the staff and students at the school are working incredibly hard to raise the funds needed to turn this project into a reality, and this is my way of going the extra mile (excuse the pun). Any donations, no matter how big or small will be gratefully received.

The Aftermath Miss Bane managed to complete the marathon in a time of 5 hours and 39 minutes and helped raise hundreds more pounds for the exchange project.

The fundraisers were also out in force during November when they returned to Morrisons for another bag pack.

They managed to raise £481which took the fundraising total up to £8979.

“This is an amazing, life-changing opportunity for our students”

More about Kenya fundraising here: http://goo.gl/pYKcuc

Watch this:

More articles, reviews and videos on the Wyvern Website: www.wyvennews.blogspot.com Follow us on Twitter: @DSMS_Wyvern If you would like to submit a story or have any feedback for us you can e-mail us at: wyvern@dsms.org The fascinating full interview the Wyvern conducted with the Mayor and Mayoress of Darlington.

Available on the Wyvern Website.

1)

Riddles

The people that make it don’t want to use it, the people that buy it don’t use it and the people that use it don’t know they’re using it. What is it?

Tiring Work: Why do we Yawn?

You’re relaxing at home or doing a boring lesson at school, your mouth opens and you inhale and exhale deeply. But you didn’t ask yourself to do it, you just did. So you might wonder why you yawn. This is what this article is all about.

2)

The more you have it, the less you see.

3)

You are trapped. There are only three paths to go through. The first room is a room full of darkness, second, a room full of sharp sticks eve- What makes us yawn? rywhere you step. The third, a room That title might have made you yawn. full of fire. How do you get out?

In fact thinking about the word yawn

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

or seeing somebody else do it makes you do it too. But why? Well, this is a controversial subject. However, some theories have been made as to why we do this. In this article, we will go over the main theories.

Theory 1: Yawning keeps us awake A 2007 study at the University of Albany in New York found that yawning is supposed to keep us awake for a specific purpose. In this study, researchers guessed that yawns and the contagious aspect of yawning started as an ancient social behaviour that evolved to help groups of early humans stay alert and detect danger.

Theory 2: Yawning cools the brain

Also on the list was the Titicaca water frog found in Lake Titicaca on the border of Peru and Bolivia and called the "scrotum frog" - and the proboscis monkey, from Borneo, whose enormous nose is used to make its deafening mating calls.

By Miss Kelly (Assistant Head teacher)

Yawning and the sinuses exist to cool the brain, concluded researchers from Maryland and Princeton University in a recent study. “The brain is exquisitely sensitive to temperature changes and therefore must be protected from overheating," the researchers wrote in a news release. "Brains, like computers, operate best when they are cool."

Theory 4: Yawning shows empathy If you yawn when a friend yawns, but don’t when you see a stranger yawning, you might want to thank your brain’s capacity for friendliness. A new Italian study connects yawning with empathy. Researchers at the University of Pisa found that people are more likely to yawn in response to a yawn if they feel close to the original yawner. One of the lead researchers, Elisabetta Palagi, wrote that the relationship between the two people was the strongest factor in whether a yawn spread from person to person, backing up other research that has found yawns to be a sign of empathy, not boredom.

So to conclude, we don’t really know why we yawn. However, we are very close to the answer. And with the research we have, we can tell that yawning is most likely a social instinctive reaction rather than your body telling you it’s bored.

By Jonathan Deery

Theory 3: Yawning is a symptom If you think you yawn more when you’re sleepy, this research could prove you’re right. "Excessive yawning appears to be symptomatic of conditions that increase brain and/or

1) Grave Stone, 2) Darkness, 3) Get a stick, put it on fire and go through the dark room.

The Ugly Animal Preservation Society, in partnership with the National Science + Engineering Competition, have announced that the blobfish has been voted as their new mascot after a global online public vote. Milky-white in colour, the blobfish can measure up up to a foot in length and dwells between 600 and 1,200 metres below the sea's surface. Although it is completely inedible it is often caught in fishing nets and as a consequence, is now endangered.

The blobfish topped an online poll of five ugly animals voted for by the public, beating the critically endangered giant parrot the Kakapo and a Mexican salamander

core temperature, such as central nervous system damage and sleep deprivation," wrote Andrew Gallup, one of the study’s researchers.

Sport

By James Allison, Matthew Currey and Ewan Barr More DSMS sport at www.wyvernnews.blogspot.com

New Sports Hall prepares for grand opening at DSMS

Above: The furute changing rooms, the brand new sports hall and new store cupboards below a balcony where spectators can watch from.

After the plans for a new sports hall were confirmed in March work quickly began erecting a huge sports hall on the old MUGA. The 33 acre back field now sits in the shadow of the gigantic, white, modern sports hall which will open officially in early 2014.

During November, The Wyvern got an exclusive first peek at the new sports hall and the stuff which will be inside. As expected there will be male and female changing rooms, offices for the PE teachers and a huge hall which can be used for most

sports. The sports hall also has two storage spaces for equipment (one accessible from the inside, the other from the outside) and a viewing gallery from where spectators can watch activities and games from.

You may be surprised to know that the sports hall is completely unique.

The design and materials it is made from make it stand out from any other sports hall in the country! The roof is especially unusual as it is made from a material which allows sunlight to get through which will save energy

Other interesting technology which the Wyvern discovered was looking over the sports hall from the south

The design and materials it is made from make it stand out from any other sports hall in the country! wall. It was an electric score board which can be controlled remotely and will be used for keeping the score in competitive sports.

Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God's gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences. ~ Freeman Dyson