Abingdon News No.56

4 January 2021 Abingdon News As members of the Other Half Physics Factor Research Club, sixth formers Ashwin Tennant, Scott Yap and Ivan Gabestro joined the Institute for Research in Schools Cosmic Mining project, assisting astrophysicists in identifying targets of interest for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope to be launched in October 2021. The boys had to learn the principles of spectroscopy as applied to the analysis of star and galaxy composition, then pass several tests to demonstrate their competence before being allowed to analyse previously unseen data sets. Having completed their analyses and received positive feedback on their results from the science team, they wrote up a report on their work and recorded a remote presentation which can be viewed on the Abingdon School YouTube channel. The boys’ work was submitted to the British Science Association and each of them received a CREST Gold Award. The boys also submitted an article to the Young Scientists Journal which can be seen here: https://ysjournal.com/james-webb- telescope-cosmic-mining-project The first years went off timetable for their Be More Griffen Day in late September. The morning focussed on sessions designed to help the boys develop their organisational and study skills followed by a presentation on the history of the school by Mrs Wearne, the School Archivist, which included an explanation of why the griffen is associated with Abingdon. The day was rounded off with an afternoon of teambuilding activities where the boys had to show a combination of good communication skills and problem solving to meet the challenges set by their tutors. Prestigious army scholarship Upper sixth former, Jayden Zamler, has won a prestigious army scholarship which gives him a place at Sandhurst for officer training after completing his university course. The scholarship also provides some financial assistance for his final year at Abingdon and during his degree course where Jayden hopes to study Natural Sciences. This is the fifth army scholarship in the last four years for boys from the Abingdon CCF. Over 100 candidates competed for the awards during a rigorous selection procedure which involved online interviews and an essay, followed by a two-day assessment. The two-day assessment tested candidates physical fitness, problem solving, leadership and team building skills. Be More Griffen Cosmic Mining The Periodic Table Having been inspired by the periodic table topic in Chemistry, third year Aleksandar Ustic, who was following the lessons via zoom in St Petersburg, went out into the city and took a picture of the Mendeleev monument. Conflict, Deportation and Exile Dr Hubert Zawadzki (aka ‘Doctor Z’), a former history teacher at Abingdon from 1976–2006, has recently published in paperback, his book which charts Europe’s turbulent times in the middle of the last century through the life of his mother. The book can be bought from Mostly books of Abingdon and from Bloomsbury. Irena Protassewicz, A Polish Woman’s Experience in World War II: Conflict, Deportation and Exile