ISSUE 353 12th March 2021 Good t o Great Talk: Secret s of a Digit al World Good 2 Great students in Year 9 to 11 had the opportunity to attend an online maths enrichment event - "Bits and Pieces: Secrets of a Digital World", led by Dr James Grime. Dr James Grimes is a mathematician who runs the Enigma Project and travels the world giving public talks on the history and mathematics of codes and code-breaking. James is also a presenter of the YouTube channel Singing Banana. During the event, James talked to students about the hidden maths behind the digital world, covering from World War II to WiFi. The event highlighted fun and interesting applications of mathematics, while increasing students' awareness of mathematical pathways after GCSE. In School Covid Test ing Cent re Video Click here t o view our Yout ube video t o see t he full process of in school t est ing. English Depart ment : Work of t he Week Year 7 Year 7 have been studying Animal Farm this half term. Jemima Zahoor has written a fantastic message to convince other animals to join her in rebelling against the humans. Dear patient friends, At last we have gained victory that is rightfully ours and shall be ours - hopefully. We have courageously rebelled against the cruel Mr Jones and have eventually taken the farm in our hands, and have proudly renamed the farm, ?Animal Farm.? The farm was an unpleasant place to live in; it was extremely dreadful and unforgettable. They starved us for days and kept us in a cage like prisoners, we felt suffocated and depressed as we were unlucky at that time. Thankfully, now we live by our own will and breathe with our own will. We now know how it feels to breathe the air of freedom. We are now living a comfortable, acceptable, righteous and equal life that carries out justice and fairness. Join us at 10:00pm to celebrate our victory. We will have a feast and will enjoy the moment, while it lasts. Year 8 Khadijah Patel has creatively summarised the plot of Blood Brothers. Year 9 Here is a fantastic movie review written by Michael Marsden-Price. Tenet - Time well spent Christopher Nolan?s sci-fi, action blockbuster is a must watch film for lovers of the genre. Tenet offers an engaging, suspenseful film, with amazing action sequences and phenomenal acting. With an enormous budget of 360 million pounds, Tenet delivers in every aspect. Tenet is set in a future where dangerous technology has developed to a threatening degree. Our unnamed protagonist, an ex-CIA agent, is hired by an elusive group called Tenet - who introduce him to a hazardous type of ammunition that travels backwards in time, causing immense damage. These bullets are believed to be manufactured in the future, sent back to the present and need to be intercepted before they get into the wrong hands. The protagonist is played by John David Washington, who gives a phenomenal performance and really makes you believe that he is this character. Robert Pattinson also makes an appearance in this film, who portrays his character with great skill and believability, and I fully believe that this is one of his best roles yet. The dynamic between these two actors is entertaining and engaging to watch; Tenet will never have you feeling bored. The film's psychotic villain, Andrei Sator, is played by Kenneth Branagh, who offers a powerful performance, and steals the scene. Tenet is not without fault however; the film has an astounding runtime of two and a half hours, and if you're not paying attention it?s likely you will miss an important plot point and lose track of what's going on. Despite that, the stunning visuals, exhilarating action, and great character dynamic make it worth watching. ? Year 10 Maria Ehiamen has written an outstanding report on reducing waste! Reducing Waste at Sharples School I know that here at Sharples we are eager to reduce waste and by doing so, help the environment and save money. Over the last month, I have carried out a study into how we could reduce waste and would appreciate you reading through my findings and taking my suggestions on board. After all, we all want the best for our school and environment. As a student in this school, it has been easier to find out things teachers may not be able to and I would like to share some of my findings with you. These findings include: paper resources; food waste; E-waste and how to solve the problems in our school. Paper resources The first area I investigated was the amount of paper that we waste in school. I observed our posters around the school and the printed work that students do and noticed that much of the paper that we use is unnecessary. Teachers print out sheets and proceed to stick them in our books and that is wasting not only paper, but also ink which can be quite expensive. Recently, I had a question sheet that I had to complete. However, the questions were simple and I would have personally preferred to write them down and use the space in my book instead of wasting paper. In addition to that, our school has many posters advertising clubs and activities but is it really a necessity to use so much paper to advertise these things? Our school should encourage others to verbally advertise and reduce the waste of money and paper. This might also help students with their advertising and communication skills which I believe is very important for an individual to learn. Food waste The second area I explored was the amount of food that is wasted in the canteen. After observing lunch time, I noticed that the canteen was in disarray as food was scattered all over the floor. Some students did indeed eat their food however there was a large number of pupils who did not consume all their food and simply threw it away. After musing, I have come to a solution. To solve this problem, I suggest that students should get to choose their portion sizes to a certain extent as this could ensure that no food is being wasted in our canteen, as it can be a waste of money and difficult to clean up. E-waste Another way the school could be more environmentally friendly and save money is by reusing and recycling electrical items. Research reveals that 20% of the school's expenditure is on buying new laptops and computers. However, only 10% or less is used on recycling these items and the result of this is that there are a lot of expensive electrical appliances that have to go to waste. This does not only waste money, but it also happens to be extremely harmful to the environment and puts our planet in danger. Dr Dann, professor of Environmental Studies at Oxford University, explains, "Millions of electrical items are dumped in landfill sites each year. Many of these items contain toxic substances so are very dangerous for the environment." Instead of throwing electrical items away, I recommend we reuse them for other reasons or we sell them so that they can be used by others and the school makes a profit. This would benefit others and ourselves and would not only help the environment but would also help others. This solution is tentative as people may not be interested in these items however, we could always simply recycle the appliances and ensure that we are being eco-friendly. In conclusion, our school should take actions in some of the things I have mentioned. It will benefit us greatly and will also highlight the importance of taking care of the Earth to students, teaching them how to save money and reduce waste when they grow up. I appreciate you taking the time to read this report and I hope it provides you with ways to reduce waste and make Sharples School an even better, greener community. Year 11 Here is a brilliant review written by Ismail Bhikha. Dynasty will have you creating your own empire. This brand new, feel good series of summer was released on the weekend and within a blink of an eye became the ?Top 1? show on Netflix. Unless you live in a mansion, own a multi-billion dollar corporation, have a personal chauffeur and a private jet, you're unlikely to have anything in common with the characters in Dynasty. And that's what makes the show so great ? it's fun, amusing and diverting drama lets you escape from normality. Personally, it would be ridiculous for you to not join in on this binge watching, action packed show. Set in the 21st century, this ?society based? series is no different to what you would find 100 years ago. Two wealthy families, both alike in dignity are portrayed as being at war with each other. You will feel pleasure and misery, tears and joy as you become emotionally attached to all the characters. This show will always manage to obtain your attention as it always takes a turn when least expected. Romance, drama, action, investigations and much more will have you sat at the edge of your seat as you eagerly wonder what will happen next. Once you start watching this, it will have you as captivated as a child with a toy. Dynasty begins with heiress Fallon Carrington unhappy to find her billionaire father Blake engaged to Cristal, a rival employee at the family company.