Welcome to the Second Year Bulletin

Happy New Year! I hope everyone has returned refreshed and raring to go. Let’s start by celebrating a few things that Second Year pupils got up to over the holidays:

Piers M passed ABRSM Grade 5 Piano – Well done!

Milo B built his own PC!!! Here is a photo of it.

Tutor Profile

I’m sure there are many more hidden talents out there and I would love to hear about them so do please email me and let me know.

Before we kick off, I wanted to let you know about a new feature we will be starting shortly in which we will be interviewing and profiling a different Second Year Form Tutor each week. You can ask them ANYTHING you want to know (within reason!) so please send me any questions you think would be good to ask.

And if you want to interview your Form Tutor, suggest it to them.

Merit Milestones

Congratulations to the following boys on reaching these merit milestones:

Aryan K – 10

Dylan R – 20

Charles B – 20

Jago D – 20

Theo MJ – 20

Adam S – 20

Adam J – 30

Rex B – 30

Theo W – 30

Aaron H – 40

Findlay B – 50

Thomas B – 50

Josh H – 60

Henry A – 70

Vishal S – 80

Language Taster Lessons

This week, boys have taken a break from their regular language in order to try out the other languages (Mandarin / Russian / German / French / Spanish) which they could opt to study next year. I’ve had lots of submissions on this, thanks to all who have sent them in. Let’s begin with this overview from Thomas B:

This week, 2B enjoyed some educationally stimulating, yet incredibly fun language ‘taster lessons’, with the intention of introducing the principles and general idea of four new languages, whilst depicting the opportunities boys at Hampton can look forward to if they are to take up another language at the end of this academic year. So far, 2B have been given the pleasure of three such lessons: Mandarin, Russian, and German. We look forward to Spanish tomorrow, which Mr Aucutt promises will be by far the best lesson we have had! In Mandarin, we learned about the culture, holidays and basic language of predominantly Mandarin speaking areas. The first ten letters of the alphabet were taught to us through the incredibly catchy tune of a rap! This song was stuck in our heads for the rest of the day! (A song like such is referred to in German as an “ohrwurm”). The next day, we dived straight into Russian. In this lesson, we learned (or at least tried to) learn the Russian alphabet, and the class dived straight into some Russian dialogue. This was followed by a conversation about Russia in the news, and the recital of some famous places in Russia, in Russian! The final taster lesson to date was German. This lesson featured lots of fun games, including zwölfs, a game like einundzwanzigs, or ‘twenty-ones’ (but only up to twelve, and all in German!) We also learned some dialogue situations, and went through the ample opportunities that face Hampton Boys studying German. Overall, it has been a really great week, and we are all ecstatic for our Spanish taster tomorrow. 謝謝你的閱讀 (Thank You For Reading)

…don’t let him down, Mr. Aucutt! And here are a couple of reports on specific lessons which boys enjoyed. First, Harry M and then Josh H tell us how they got on with German, and finally Abhishekdev R reports on Mandarin:

On Thursday, 2L had a German taster lesson with Miss Willett. We learnt about the county’s culture and some simple phrases in German. It was a good opportunity for us to experience this unique language before selecting our options in the coming months. We also watched a funny video on how different German sounds to other languages!

On Wednesday, 2W did German with Mrs McGreevy. The lesson kicked off with a few facts, celebrities from the nation and reasons why we should pick the language (including some very fun looking trips). We then learnt some simple phrases like ‘Hallo, ich heisse’ – hello my name is. Soon, after a bit of practice with our partners, we were ready to give a performance of a basic introduction to the class in our pairs. Which was then of course followed by the word guidance being taken away, meaning that pronunciation was no longer the only challenge. After some very cool, calm but not always collected conversations we moved on to yet another game. A game, which involved being quick and knowing your numbers from 1 to 12, was played. Incorrect answers, pronunciation or even hesitation meant that you had to sit down. It was fun and definitely kept you on your toes. This concluded the taster session and made sure that I considered German as a language to pick up in Third Year.

On Tuesday, 2L had a Mandarin lesson. At first I was wondering what to do since I didn’t know much about Mandarin apart from one word ‘neahow’. Our teacher, Miss Zhang, told us that China has the world’s biggest industrial factories, making items and objects that we use in our everyday lives. She also told us that even though Mandarin is a really old language most of China still speak it. The most incredible thing I learnt was that in food markets in China they use a mini tablet so all they have to do is click a button and what they ordered will come as soon as possible. I was really fascinated that China had a lot of great technology. Their civilisation is further advanced then most countries. In the last 10 minutes of the lesson the teacher played us a song which had the Mandarin numbers in, it was a really upbeat and cheerful song, everybody loved it. At the end of the lesson I felt that Mandarin was a great language and maybe I should take it.

 Zehr gut! And… however you say that in Mandarin. There will be a special assembly next week briefing boys on Third Year Options which should answer any questions you might have.

Clubs and Activities

Mr Agulian has been very impressed with the Second Year pupils who have participated in Model United Nations this year. Hal L is one of those who has got involved:

On Monday, I participated in my first M.U.N. conference representing Iran in the DISEC committee who were debating the use of child soldiers. We arrived at 11:30am just in time for opening ceremony and we left Benenden School at 6pm getting back to school at 8pm. I learnt a lot about Iran and the other countries in the UN. It was a great experience and I can’t wait till the next conference.

Thanks Hal. A special mention also to Ben H who had his resolution selected for debate by the committee.

SPORT

No fewer than five football teams were in action against Dulwich this week. Our featured game turned out to be an absolute goalfest. Last time we featured the E Team on these pages they had won 10-0. Ten more goals this week, but which end did they go in? Mo O tells us all:

The U13E team match was a roller coaster of goals. Unfortunately, our goalkeeper couldn’t make it to the game however it was an outstanding performance from the team. We started off the match slowly, in the first few minutes they scored a goal making it 1-0 to Dulwich. They continued to score goals until the half time. It was a very unlucky first half with the score standing at 5-0 to Dulwich. The second half our squad turned on and managed to score almost immediately. Ayoub K scored one and Finlay managed to score two making it 5-3. Before long Zac D managed to whip it in from just outside the penalty box changing the score 5-4. We were incredibly close to pulling the match back together however they managed to sneak past the defence and whip it past the cover keeper, Max. The final score was 6-4 to Dulwich. Nevertheless, the boys played amazingly and were rewarded with a tasty match tea!

 It sounds like football was the winner. The B team also put on quite a show for the spectator. Let’s hear all about it from Matthew B:

On Saturday, the U13Bs travelled to Dulwich to play them. It was an early start and the journey was long but in an intensive match filled with chances and good plays, Hampton came out on top to win a thrilling match 6-3. Goals were scored by players all around the pitch with amazing goals from Alpha B and Saganan T. We are very excited for our next cup match coming up soon.

Well done and good luck in the cup!

Science Fair

First Year boys are invited to participate in the School Science Fair. Competitors may work individually or as a team on a Science Project of their choice. Competitors will present their experiment and/or findings at the Science Fair during lunch time on Tuesday 26 March. Entry forms are available from the Physics Department. Entries to be handed to Mrs White in the Physics Department by Friday 1 February.

Prizes for the best entries…speak to your teacher for more details!

TRIVIA & JOKES

This week we have a riddle sent in by Max M. Merits awarded for the first correct answers I receive:

Joke of the Week

And finally…

 

 

Thanks to Adam S –  an oldie but a goodie.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

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