BAROMETER THE
WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY MARCH 18th 2019 | WEEK 10
CLASSICISTS EXPLORE THE ROMAN EMPIRE!
FROM THE HEADMASTER
Dear Parents, It has been another very busy week for the boys. The Field Day trips scattered boys across London and further afield, from Kew Gardens for Biology and Art to Stratford to look at regeneration with Geography and from the bad lands of the Chilterns for Duke of Edinburgh navigation practice to a number of London universities for Year 12 as they continue to make their mind up about what and where they would like to study next. Life was not so straightforward for the boys of Year 11. A challenging day of tests followed the GCSE Drama boys’ dress rehearsal of their exam pieces on Tuesday night. The extracts they performed ranged from the absurd, to the scary, to the comic and the performances they gave were very polished. Thank you to Miss Twomey, of course, but also to
Miss Kirk for giving vital feedback, Miss Webb for running to sound and Mrs Atkinson for taking charge of the lights. Break a leg for the examined performance on Friday boys. Whilst there is good stuff from the Classics department who have to put up with me teaching Latin and Greek, please make sure you have a read of the reflections on autism by Enlai and Alexei in Year 7. Both boys have a brother with autism, and both of whom have been involved in a project called ‘Let’s Face Autism Together’ which involved institutions, researchers, educators, charities, families, and artists, all of whom discussed what autism means to them and how it affects their lives. There will be an exhibition at the Science Gallery on World Autism Day, 2 April, featuring portraits of all the participants and 1-2 min audio to accompany the portraits.
There is a lot to look forward to in the coming week – inter-Trib Table Tennis, inter-Trib Drama, the Spring Recital on Tuesday evening and both the Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh expeditions at the end of the week. I hope to see you at these events. Have a good weekend,
WEEK A MONDAY
WEEKLY DIARY 25.03.18
Talk for Sixth Form boys - Migration Crisis - Lotte Bridgham - Francis Holland, Regents Park 15:00 Year 12 Biology Trip - London Zoo - 1:30-5:00
TUESDAY
26.03.18 Spring Recital Evening, Music Room, H16, Hannah House 18:00-18:30
WEDNESDAY
27.03.18 Football U16 A WSS vs City of London (A) 14:30 Football U17 A/B WSS vs City of London (A) 14:30 InterTrib Table Tennis Years 11&12 Hannah House Hall 14:00 Dress Rehearsal - Alvin in Wonderland 19:00-21:00 School Play - InterTrib Drama - Alvin in Wonderland 19:00-21:00
THURSDAY
28.03.18
School Play - InterTrib Drama - Alvin in Wonderland 19:00-21:00
FRIDAY
29.03.18
SATURDAY
30.03.17
Friday Lunchtime Clubs and Societies 13:40-14:25 Year Group Assemblies 15:15-15:45 Silver Duke of Edinburgh Practice Expedition for Year 12 - finishes Sunday 31st March
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Practice Expedition for Year 10 - finishes Sunday 31st March
SUNDAY
31.03.17
WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WATER BOTTLE Help reduce our school’s plastic consumption by using this personalised Active Bottle, emblazoned with the Wetherby Senior School logo and your own name. Made from highly durable materials, your Active Bottle is easy to open and close, won’t leak and will keep your drinks hot or cold throughout the school day. Active Bottle supports our planet by donating 10% of all their proceeds to aClean Ocean and what’s more, all remaining profits from selling the bottle will go straight to support your school’s PTA and their selective charities. Can’t get better! You can order online at:
https://activebottle.co.uk/collections/wetherby
Follow the Wetherby Senior Twitter and Instagram accounts to stay up to date with the latest news... Twitter: @WSSHead @WetherbySenior @WetherbySSports @Mrmeyerart @WSSGeography Instagram: Wssmusic Wetherbysixthform Wsssports
IMPORTANT NOTICES
Upcoming Music Events! Tuesday 26th March Spring Recital Evening, Music Room, Hannah House 18:0018:30 Tuesday 2nd April Brass Bash, Hannah House Hall, 18:30-19:30 Wednesday 3rd April Spring Concert, Hannah House, 18:30-19:30
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Main: Beef Burritos
Main: Roasted whole chicken
Meat Free: Tortilla Bean Gateaux
Meat Free: Vegetable pasta bake
Main: Macaroni and cheese with bacon
To Go With: Succotash, parmesan parsnips, Cajun salt baked potatoes
To Go With: Wilted cabbage, cheesy leeks, roasted mid potatoes
Dessert: Strawberry Mousse
Dessert: Flapjack
FRIDAY
Main: Hoi sin chicken stir fry with water chestnuts
Main: Fish finger bap with cucumber, iceberg and tartar sauce
To Go With: Egg fried rice, rice noodles, broccoli in oyster sauce, Szechuan green beans Dessert: Chocolate beetroot cake
To Go With: Broccoli and butterbean crush, grilled courgettes, sables potatoes Dessert: Blackcurrant jelly and cream
THURSDAY
Meat Free: Sweet chili tofu stir fry
Meat Free: Licolnshire Poachers potato croquettes
Meat Free: Grilled catch of the day with parsley and lemon butter
EVERY DAY
Homemade Bread Freshly made yogurt pots Fresh Fruit
To Go With: Oven baked chips, green peas, mushy peas Dessert: Winter berry Eton Mess
MENU
OEDIPUS REX Miss Nash writes... On Thursday 7th February, the Classics department continued its annual tradition of attending the UCL Classics play. 18 boys from Years 10 – 12 made the short journey to Bloomsbury Theatre in order to watch a dramatic production of “Oedipus Rex”. Many of the boys had been unfamiliar with the storyline of the play and were rather shocked to watch the tale of the doomed king Oedipus who inadvertently kills his own father and marries his mother. Although the action of the play was moved from Ancient Greece to the interwar years of the 20th century, the script stuck fairly closely to the original and it was interesting to see how the director had decided to stage the chorus with influences from physical theatre apparent. The boys all enjoyed their evening at the theatre; we look forward to returning again next year! Pip E. commented: “This was my third year attending the Classics department trip to watch a Greek play at UCL and I have enjoyed each play that I have seen! My favourite character in “Oedipus Rex” was the messenger because he brought some light-hearted relief to the tragic nature of the play. I also liked the way in which Oedipus’ blindness was conveyed in the final scene. I can’t wait to see what next year’s play will be!”
YEAR 8 - MOUNT VESUVIUS PROJECTS
Miss Woods’ Year 8 class are currently preparing their project on the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, a topic they have been studying in class this term. They are not only looking at the events of the eruption, but also the archaeologists’ excavations of the town and what they discovered. Although these presentations are currently a work in progress, they are expected to be just as dramatic and riveting as the real events would have been.
Nico F.
Francesco R.
YEAR 7 - ROMAN THEATRE Year 7 boys have been learning about Roman theatre. Over the next few pages, you will find some of the fact files that they have created on the topic. We have also looked at the masks actors would have worn on stage and discussed the reasons behind why they would have worn these masks. These include enabling audience members sitting right at the back of the theatre to work out what sort of character each actor was playing (notice the exaggerated features!); helping to project the voice of the actor (think about how your voice sounds if you’ve ever spoken through
a toilet roll tube!); and, finally, enabling male actors to play female parts (women were not allowed to act!) Can you think of any negatives to actors wearing masks? After studying Roman masks, the boys were given the task of creating their very own masks! A few of the boys stuck closely to the design of the original Roman masks (see Harry S V’s mask which would have been used for the crafty slave character who often appeared in Roman comedy) whilst the majority let their imaginations run wild and came up with designs for all kinds of different characters!
Rufus D. Year 7
Enzo T. Year 7
Callum H. Year 7
YEAR 7 GRAMMAR POSTERS Miss Woods writes... Year 7 learned a new grammar rule this week – plural nouns and verbs! In order to get to grips with the changeable nature of noun and verb endings, the boys created vibrant and attention-grabbing posters to help them remember the most important rules!
BOOK REVIEWS Miss Nash writes….
Tom Staff, Year 8 writes...
I have always been pleasantly surprised by how many boys at Wetherby love mythology and will often choose to read fiction books related to this subject. Three boys, Raphael M., Zachary G., and Tom S., have kindly written reviews of mythology-based books which they would like to recommend to you!
Book I have been reading: Mythos by Stephen Fry
Zachary G, Year 9 writes... I enjoyed this book due to the fact that it incorporates myths ( something that I love) into the modern world. I also enjoyed how the old and new stories in this series are meshed together. This book is the second book in a sequel series to this author’s most famous workPercy Jackson. The books in this series are longer than Percy Jackson all being over 400 pages long. As a fan of myths and books, especially adventure and fantasy, this combination was very enjoyable to read.
I chose this Greek myth book because I particularly enjoy historical stories. Stephen Fry accurately retells classical Greek myths – from Pandora’s Box to Prometheus stealing fire – with his characteristic combination of wit and intelligence. This modern twist on the wonderful classic Greek myths makes them current, relevant and thoroughly entertaining. The book is packed with tales of deceit, fighting, love and important life lessons. This book focuses around a timeline instead of hopping between the main characters. The book feels complete in the aspect that all the myths have references and link to sources that add to or explain the myths in the book. The book is also entertaining and of a moderate size. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in old Greek myths, as strange as they can be.
Raphael M, Year 9 writes... I strongly suggest this book to any young person who wishes to learn about the base of all Greek myths. This book specifically, because the writer Rick Riordan writes this book as if a passionate young narrator of our own age was telling the stories. In this book Rick Rioardan has revealed the truth about the Greek gods like no other book, all the gods’ dark secrets are out for everyone to read, from the beginning of creation to cheating on each other’s wife or husband to Zeus having his tendons stripped out by a giant defeated by music. This book tells the story of dozens of Greek gods, there would be too many gods to talk about even in multiple bibles.
CLASSICS CLUB Miss Woods writes... In Classics Club, Years 7 and 8, with the help of some Sixth Form volunteers, discover a new area of the ancient world that they may not have known about before. This week was dinner parties, and the boys were excited to learn about the different kinds of foods a Roman would eat, and how they were not dissimilar to what we eat today. The boys have created colourful dinner menus in order to invite their friends to their Classical dinner party.
YEAR 9 ALEXANDRIA Miss Nash writes... As part of the Cambridge Latin Course, Year 9 boys are currently translating stories which are set in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. To ensure the boys gained a deeper understanding of what this city was like and why it was so important to the Roman Empire, they were asked to carry out research to find out more about it. We have also been discussing the tensions that occurred in Alexandria between the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans; such discussions regarding tensions between different cultures still feels very relevant today.
Year 9 using iPads to help them with their translation of a story about a riot in Alexandria.
ᵟᶊᶃᶖᵿᶌᶂᶐᶇᵿᴾᵣᶅᶗᶎᶒ
ᵧᶒᴾᶕᵿᶑᴾᶑᶓᶎᶎᶍᶑᶃᶂᶊᶗᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾ ᶄᶇᶐᶑᶒᴾᶃᶔᶃᶐᴾᶊᶇᶅᶆᶒᶆᶍᶓᶑᶃ ᵭᶒᶆᶃᶐᶑᴾᶀᶃᶊᶇᶃᶔᶃᴾᶒᶆᵿᶒᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾ •Alexandria was home of one of the ᶑᶃᶔᶃᶌᴾᶕᶍᶌᶂᶃᶐᶑᴾᶍᶄᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶕᶍᶐᶊᶂ ᵪᶇᶅᶆᶒᶆᶍᶓᶑᶃᴾ ᵡᶆᶐᶇᶑᶒᶇᵿᶌᴾᵟᶐᶁᶆᶀᶇᶑᶆᶍᶎᴾ ᵲᶆᶃᶍᶎᶆᶇᶊᶓᶑᴾᶍᶄᴾ ᶍᶄᴾᵟᶊᶃᶖᵿᶌᶂᶐᶇᵿᴾᵮᵦᵟᵰᵭᵱ ᵟᶊᶃᶖᵿᶌᶂᶐᶇᵿᴾᶇᶌᴾᵑᵗᵏᵊᴾᶕᶆᶍᴾ •Alexandria also owned the ᶁᵿᶊᶊᶃᶂᴾᶄᶍᶐᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾ ᶊᵿᶐᶅᶃᶑᶒᴾᶊᶇᶀᶐᵿᶐᶗᴾᶁᶍᶌᶒᵿᶇᶌᶇᶌᶅᴾ ᶂᶃᶑᶒᶐᶓᶁᶒᶇᶍᶌ ᵓᵎᵎᵊᵎᵎᵎᴾ ᶔᶍᶊᶓᶋᶃᶑᴿᴾᵧᶒᴾᶕᵿᶑᴾᶌᵿᶋᶃᶂᴾ •ᵟᶌᶁᶇᶃᶌᶒ ᵟᶊᶃᶖᶌᶂᶐᶇᵿᵊᴾᵿᶄᶒᶃᶐᴾ ᵲᶆᶃᴾᵥᶐᶃᵿᶒᴾᶊᶇᶀᶐᵿᶐᶗ ᵰᵭᵫᵣᵊᴾᶕᵿᶑᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᵐᶌᶂᴾ •PHAROS ᶕᵿᶑᴾᶀᶓᶇᶊᶒᴾᶍᶌᴾ ᶋᶍᶑᶒ ᶎᶍᶕᶃᶐᶄᶓᶊᴾᶁᶇᶒᶗᵌ ᶒᶆᶃᴾᶃᶂᶅᶃᴾᶍᶄᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶇᶑᶊᵿᶌᶂᴾᶍᶄᴾ •Aristotle was a ᵮᶆᵿᶐᶍᶑᴾᶇᶌᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶆᵿᶐᶀᶍᶐ ᶍᶄᴾ ᶑᶒᶓᶂᶃᶌᶒᴾᵿᶒᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᵥᶐᶃᵿᶒᴾ ᵟᶊᶃᶖᵿᶌᶂᶐᶇᵿᵌ ᵪᶇᶀᶐᵿᶐᶗᵌ •Some believed that Julius •At the PHAROS' time ᵡᶃᵿᶑᵿᶐᴾᵿᶁᶁᶇᶂᶃᶌᶒᵿᶊᶊᶗᴾᶀᶓᶐᶌᶃᶂᴾ ᶒᶆᶃᶐᶃᴾᶕᵿᶑᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶊᵿᶐᶅᶃᶑᶒᴾ ᶂᶍᶕᶌᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶅᶐᶃᵿᶒᴾᶊᶇᶀᶐᵿᶐᶗᴾᶕᶆᶃᶌᴾ ᶏᶓᵿᶌᶒᶇᶒᶗᴾᶍᶄᴾᵨᶃᶕᶇᶑᶆᴾ ᶑᶃᶒᶒᶇᶌᶅᴾᶆᶇᶑᴾᶍᶕᶌᴾᶑᶆᶇᶎᶑᴾᶍᶌᴾᶄᶇᶐᶃᵌ ᶁᶍᶋᶋᶓᶌᶇᶒᶇᶃᶑᵌ •The fire light from the •Alexandria in Egypt was ᵮᵦᵟᵰᵭᵱᴾᶕᵿᶑᴾᶔᶇᶑᶇᶀᶊᶃᴾᶄᶐᶍᶋᴾᵒᵔᵓᴾ ᶒᶆᶃᴾᶑᶒᵿᶐᶒᶃᶂᴾᶀᶗᴾᵟᶊᶃᶖᵿᶌᶂᶃᶐᴾ ᶉᶇᶊᶍᶋᶃᶒᶃᶐᶑᴾᶍᶓᶒᴾᶇᶌᶒᶍᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶑᶃᵿ ᶒᶆᶃᴾᵥᶐᶃᵿᶒᵌᴾᵧᶒᴾᶕᵿᶑᴾᶍᶌᶃᴾᶍᶄᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾ •The PHAROS' structure ᵏᵕᴾᶁᶇᶒᶇᶃᶑᴾᶍᶄᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶑᵿᶋᶃᴾᶌᵿᶋᶃᵊᴾ ᶐᶃᶑᶃᶋᶀᶊᶃᶂᴾᵿᴾᵐᵎᶒᶆᴾᶁᶃᶌᶒᶓᶐᶗᴾ ᶀᶓᶒᴾᶇᶒᴾᶇᶑᴾᶒᶆᶃᴾᶍᶌᶊᶗᴾᶍᶌᶃᴾᶒᶍᴾ ᶑᶉᶗᶑᶁᶐᵿᶎᶃᶐ ᶑᶓᶐᶔᶇᶔᶃᵌ
Raphael M. Year 9
Theo W. Year 9
Gabriel T. Year 9
Zachary G. Year 9
YEAR 11 CLASSICIST INTERVIEWS... Miss Nash writes... As we approach the end of the Spring Term and another set of Year 11 students reach the end of their GCSE courses, I thought it would be a nice idea to ask two Year 11 Classics students to reflect upon their last two years of studying Classical Civilisation and Latin. Harry H. – Classical Civilisation: What have you enjoyed the most about the course? I have enjoyed the Greek side of the course the most, especially learning about all the myths as they help to explain different aspects of Greek society. For example, the myth of Demeter and Penelope and how it relates to the seasons. Another highlight was getting 93% in the mock exam! What has been the most difficult part? The literature side of the course has been quite difficult as there’s just a lot of it! What would your advice be to the current Year 10s studying Classical Civilisation? Make sure you take thorough notes as you never know which bits are going to come up in the exam! Also make sure you learn the specialist terms well.
Tobi A. – Latin What have you enjoyed the most about the course? I have really enjoyed learning the literature off by heart. [Miss Nash can testify that Tobi often bursts into recitations of the various texts we have studied.] My favourite text is by Pliny because of his interesting syntax and his sneering tone towards chariot racing. What has been the most difficult part? Learning all the grammar because sometimes I get a bit mixed up with different word endings. What would your advice be to the current Year 10s studying Latin? Use “Memrise” as it is a fun and effective way of learning your vocab. Check out how many points I have on it! I have really enjoyed GCSE Latin and I’m going to do it for A Level; you should too!
WELL DONE TO YEAR 10 LATIN BOYS! In the previous Classics Barometer issue, we mentioned which Year 10 boys had achieved 20 out of 20 for every vocabulary test up to that point. Well, many vocabulary tests later we still have some Year 10s who have achieved full marks. As we have now completed 18
vocabulary tests, this really is an impressive achievement! These boys are: Nico S., Max P., Seb L., Akshay B., Stefano A., Rani G., Leo M., and William P N. Well done boys! Only 4 more tests to go!
LET’S FACE AUTISM TOGETHER Recently, two Year 7 boys participated in the ‘Let’s Face Autism Together’ project. The project involved institutions, researchers, educators, chariites, families and artists who came together to disccus what autism means to them and how it affects their lives. The project will culminate in an Art Exhibition at the Science Gallery on World Autism Day: 2nd April which has been co-created by the participants.
going to his therapy sessions, and spending time with him. I can’t say it’s been easy, but of course it’s worth it. I feel lucky to have participated in this autism research project as it’s given me a chance to reflect on my own attitude and behaviour, and it’s also given me a chance to hear what life is like from the perspective of a verbal autistic person. Like my mom says, we’re not here to see through one another, but to see one another through.
Enlai R, Year 7 writes...
Alexei M, Year 7 writes...
An autistic person isn’t just a character from ‘Rainman’. He is not only Mozart or Einstein or Steve Jobs. He is my little brother Lumen, who is non-verbal, loves to jump on his trampoline, loves to walk barefoot everywhere and in every season, and has a collection of about 1000 buttons. Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, is just that: a spectrum. Each autistic person is truly precious. Although autism is classified as a disability, our family sees it a beautiful thing, a super ability. My brother has taught me to question everything, including conformity, and to celebrate diversity. He has taught me to be more grateful and not take anything for granted. He has taught me to be patient, empathetic, and resilient. I have learnt so much about autism by visiting my brother’s school,
Autism is like an invisible disability. Autism can be in many shapes and forms, some people are not able to talk, others can but find it really challenging to be flexible. One of the worst things that could happen to somebody with autism is an unexpected change in a routine or not knowing what’s going to happen next. An autistic person may find it extremely difficult to
speak about anything that is outside of their interest area. Their senses could be easily overloaded by loud noises, bright lights and strong smells. They also take everything literally and find it tricky to understand sarcasm. People with autism also struggle to understand body language, facial expressions and find it difficult to make friends. But enough about the negatives. People with autism can also do fantastic things. Once they find an interest in something, they could become very focused with a “tunnel-like” vision, which allows them to quickly shine at it. They can also be very honest about stuff, sometimes too much. I have learned about this because my brother Nicolas has autism. This has made me more patient and understanding and tolerant of other people’s differences and I hope that reading this article has had a similar effect on you too.
SPORTS NEWS
Football U15A WSS vs Hampton School 2-4 U15B WSS vs Hampton School 0-4 U14A WSS vs Hampton School 1-2 U14B WSS vs Hampton School 0-8
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