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WETHERBY SENIOR SCHOOL WEEKLY FEBRUARY 5th 2018 | WEEK 5

The Maths Department

HEADMASTER’S NEWSLETTER NEXT WEEK’S DIARY IMPORTANT NOTICES SPORTS NEWS

FROM THE HEADMASTER

Dear Parents, On my first visit to the School I can remember chatting with Mr Bray about his recent trip with the Year 8 to Bletchley Park; a Maths Dept trip was not something I had seen at any of my previous schools and I was struck, as I continue to be struck, by both the expertise and enthusiasm which all the Maths Dept bring to their subject. The contrast between that and my own experiences of Maths GCSE are marked.

The enthusiasm that all the teachers bring obviously comes through as Maths is likely to be our most popular A Level, the Further Maths GCSE is a popular option and many of the boys actively look forward to, and do well in, the UKMT Maths Challenge.

Thank you to all the parents who attended the talk on drugs and alcohol earlier this week. It is clear from your comments and questions to the staff and presenter at the end that the parties

to the staff and presenter at the end that the parties some boys are attending are a cause for concern. Some advice was offered in the talk to help make sure the boys keep themselves safe: make sure you have contacted the parents of the party host to ensure they will be there, whether there will be alcohol and whether the party will stay in one place; arrange to pick them up or have another parent pick them up; and, if you have any concerns, say no.

More advice is available here: http://raisingchildren.net.au/ articles/parties_early_teens. html/context/1141 If you are feeling the chill in the recent cold weather, please turn to the page with a message from Stephen Blundell, the Senior Master, at Wetherby Prep School who is selling a bobble hat in support of the Oddballs Foundation, an organisation that raised awareness about testicular cancer. Hats are only ten pounds and are being offered to parents across

all four Wetherby Schools.

Details about how to order are included on the page.

I hope you all have a restful half term. There is much to look forward to in the run up to Easter including the Spring Concert and the Senior Play.

Best wishes,

WEEKLY DIARY MONDAY

19.02.18

Return to School Artist in Residence Event 16:35-17:20 Games Years 7, 10 & 11 14:00-16:00 Year 9 Alcohol and Drugs talk with Peter Hall in the Drama Studio 14:15-15:15

TUESDAY

20.02.18 Games Year 8 & 9 14:00-16:00 Year 10 Teenage Boosters 9:30-13:30 Rugby U13 WSS vs Kew House (H) 14:30

WEDNESDAY

21.02.18

Games Years 7, 10 & 11 14:00-16:00 Football U16 WSS vs Hampton (A) 14:30 Rugby U12 WSS vs WPS (H) 14:40

THURSDAY

22.02.18

FRIDAY

23.02.18

SATURDAY

24.02.17

SUNDAY

25.02.17

Games Year 8 & 9 Auditions for the Lower School Play (Year 7), beginning of lunchtime, drama studio Year 9 GCSE Options evening 18:00-20:00

Auditions for the Lower School Play (Year 8 & 9), beginning of lunchtime, drama studio HM Assembly at Hinde Street Methodist Church 15:00-15:30

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Auditions for the Lower School Play are coming up!

Thursday 22nd: Year 7, start of lunch in the drama studio.

Friday 23rd: Years 8 & 9, start of lunch in the drama studio.

If your son is interested in the chance to star in this production, he will need to learn a short speech and perform it with confidence and expression at his audition.

Please see the email sent to all Year 7, 8 & 9 parents which explains more about the audition process, rehearsals and show.

MENU

MONDAY

TUESDAY

Soup: Tomato

Soup: Parsnip and Ginger

Main: Shepherd’s Pie

Main: Chicken Fajitas

Meat Free: Baked Potatoes served with: Baked Beans Grated Cheese Tuna Mayonnaise Sweetcorn

Meat Free: Vegetable and Cheese Quesadillas

To Go With: Steamed Mixed Vegetables Broccoli

Main: Haddock Fish Cakes Meat Free: Spinach and Feta Pie

Meat Free: Baked Gnocchi with Tomato and Mozzarella

To Go With: Steamed Rice, Jalapenos Salsa, Sour Cream, Guacamole Steamed Sweetcorn

To Go With: Steamed Green Beans Mashed potatoes Dessert: Apple Pie

To Go With: Oven Roasted Vegetables Sautéed Courgette Caramelised Carrots Dessert: Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Freshly Made Bread To Go With: Butter and Parsley Mashed Potatoes Pasta with pesto Garlic Mushrooms with Parsley Dessert: Sticky toffee pudding

Homemade Salads Vegetable Crudités With Hummus Sandwich & Wrap Selection Meat & Cheese Platters Fresh Fruit Yogurt Pots

EVERY DAY

FRIDAY

Meat Free: Ratatouille

Main: Beef and Winter Vegetable Stew

THURSDAY

Soup: Tomato

Main: Minute Steaks

Soup: Pumpkin

Dessert: Lemon Sponge Cake

Dessert: Carrot Cake with Cream

Soup: Vegetable and Barley

WEDNESDAY

YEAR 7 SUMMER ACTIVITIES In the summer term Year 7 will be taking on an exciting array of brain teasers in maths and puzzle club.

The boys will learn about wages and tax, they will try to outdo their peers and become wealthy London property magnates (on the Monopoly board), and will try their hands at creative 3D mathematical “Hexastix� sculptures using just pencils and elastic bands. The question is will anyone make it to level 3?

THE MONTY HALL PROBLEM

Is it better to swap or stick?

At Wetherby Senior School the top set Year 8 boys were introduced to the Monty Hall Problem as part of their probability unit. The idea is that you are on a gameshow and you have to choose between 3 doors. Behind two doors is a goat and behind the other is a car. When you choose your door, the gameshow host opens the other door with a goat behind it, and asks you whether you would rather stick or swap to the other door.

I asked them what they would do. Only Ben W said he would swap whilst the rest of the class said they would stay.

Overwhelmingly, however, the class felt that it did not matter, with Rafael H commenting that at the end you are choosing between 2 doors and so it is a 50:50 chance of winning or losing.

After working as a class, completing a very long online simulation of over 1000 attempts on top of their own attempts, the boys discovered that if they changed their original choice, they won the car 68% of the time. We repeated the experiment, where they could not change their choice and they won the car 33% of the time.

Once we went through that it is actually better to change

from your original choice, they seemed to understand the theory behind the answer.

There were some still very still very strong ideas about the probability of winning ultimately being 50% and some very determined boys continuing with the simulation to see if they could come up

UKMT MATHS CHALLENGE Below is a selection of questions that boys from Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 had a go at in the UK Intermediate Mathematical Challenge last week. The boys carried out problem solving questions involving number, geometry and algebra.

Test yourself below; we have included the solutions for you to check afterwards. (No calculators allowed!)

1

3

4

2

5

EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR MATHS EXAMS • Black pen • Pencil (can be used for diagrams only), sharpener and eraser • Calculator – we recommend the Casio fx991ES for IGCSE • Protractor – we recommend a 360 degree one with a dial • Pair of compasses Boys in all year groups should have this equipment when they do their end of year exams. For Years 7-9, the Casio fx85 or fx83 is an adequate calculator.

Year 11 boys had their mock exams recently and many were challenged by the question below. Had they all had a 360 degree protractor, perhaps some would have found the diagram much easier to draw.

UKMT MATHS CHALLENGE ANSWERS

ODDBALL HATS Dear parents, I have ordered some Wetherby ‘Oddballs’ hats which are available to staff, boys and parents across the four different Wetherby schools. They are excellent quality and perfect for Games and break for the boys and indeed fantastic for keeping warm whilst supporting the boys at their fixtures.

The hats are part of a campaign to raise awareness about testicular cancer.

“The aim of the bobble hats is to get sport and schools teams across the UK wearing our bespoke, personalised bobble hats. We want to get teams talking about testicular cancer and raise awareness, as at the moment it is still a taboo subject and many are uncomfortable talking about it. We are trying to change that and with entire squads and clubs wearing our bobble hats we feel it is a big step in the right direction.”

The hats retail at £10 so if you would like to place an order, please let me know by emailing stephen.blundell@wetherbyprep.co.uk Many thanks Stephen Blundell

On Thursday, the kitchen celebrated Chinese New Year with a special menu!

MATCH REPORT

Football U16 A WSS v Kew House School 1-2 Man of the Match: Joshua G-O and Pip E U15 A WSS vs Kew House School 8-2 Man of the Match: Elis M U14 A WSS vs City of London School 3-2 Man of the Match: Tom C U14 B WSS vs City of London School 3-7 Man of the Match: Jude J

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