Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
Well done everyone for completing your first full week of e-Hampton in 2021! The Second Year team have been very impressed with how well you have all adapted to working from home. Please remember to keep in contact with your teachers and let your tutors know if you are having any difficulties. Our weekly blog will continue as normal, and I hope that it will help you all to still feel connected as a year group!
Let’s hear what Avi (2H) has to say about his experience of e-Hampton:
At the start of the year most of us thought we would not be back here again, taking lessons from home, and even though it’s not ideal classes have been running successfully. All subject teachers have managed to make home learning as interesting as possible, from DT to Maths, and make it feel like we are still together in the same classroom. Sports challenges help pupils stay active and make sure the day is not spent staring at a screen, and some clubs have started to run during lunch time in the form of MS Teams meetings. On the whole, even though we can’t be at school, life is still running in more or less the same way as before, joining lessons, talking with friends and staying active.
MERITS
Please all keep collecting merits! Write them in your diaries as you get them and let Mrs Owen know when you get each 10.
Maneet Bedi – 10
Trivikram Prashanth – 20
Avi Bhatt – 50 (Fantastic!)
LETTERS TO HORACE
During the summer term, boys in 1B (2019-20) wrote letters, contributing to the ‘Letters to Horace’ project at Strawberry Hill House. The boys were invited to ‘write to Horace’ to describe how their community came together over the first lockdown. The Letters Exhibition is part of the celebrations for the 10th Anniversary of the reopening of the House to the public. The exhibition shows all letters received from pupils at local schools and visitors to the House, and has been curated by local artists. All their letters can also be viewed digitally via the ‘Library of Letters’ red tab on the website (see below). The exhibition also features on social media.
A big well done to Ben Robinson (now in 2B) who was also selected by Strawberry Hill House to be featured in their promotional film for the exhibition, and was filmed reading out his letter. What a great experience! You can read Ben’s fantastic letter below:
CLUBS
Whilst we are all learning from home there are still some great clubs that you can take part in at lunchtimes via MS Teams. If you would like to get involved, simply email the relevant teacher to ask for an invite or if you would like more information!
MUN Club
When: Tuesdays 12:40 – 1:15pm
Contact: Miss Field (J. Field)
Psychology Club
When: Mondays 1:00 – 1:30pm
Contact: Miss O’Connor (R. O’Connor)
Philosophy Circle
When: Mondays 1:15 – 1:40pm
Contact: Miss Ferreira (L. Ferreira)
Blog Meeting
When: Wednesdays 1:10 – 1:25pm
Contact: Miss Kugele (R. Kugele)
PE & SPORTS
The PE & Sports Department are working hard to keep you all active whilst at home! Here are a few key reminders.
PE Lessons
Attend your normal timetabled lesson, where Mr Clarke & Mr Hooper will check-in with you and set you a PE Challenge (mainly indoor based) to complete.
Sports Afternoon
Attend your normal Sports Afternoon, on a Monday, where Mr Hurst, Mr Clarke, Mr Mills & the rest of the Sports department can check in with you and pass on any key messages. You will also be set a Sport Challenge which will be related to the upcoming Saturday Sport topic for the whole school (which will be mainly outdoors based).
Activity Diary
Remember to complete your activity diaries to chart your exercise whilst you’re not at school. Being at home, highlights just how much exercise you get during a normal school day, whether it is walking in between classes, running around on the 3G at lunch or PE and Sport. Keeping active is really important for your physical and mental health! Remember that there are merits up for grabs if you keep your diary up to date!
Please let us know how you get on, and share any photos or short videos of your PE Challenges so that we can feature these in future blogs!
Looking for a workout to do this weekend? Here is Mr Hooper with a challenge for you to try:
COMPETITION TIME
Year group competition time! Throughout this period of home learning we will be running a variety of competitions for you to get involved in. This week we want to encourage you to get thinking about the environment!!
Thank you to our Environment Reps from 2W and 2L for coming up with these two fantastic competitions.
2W: Design the best birdfeeder from recycled materials
All you need to do is create your own birdfeeder using recycled materials, and send in a picture of your finished design, ideally hanging in your garden! Here is an example from 2W:
The following websites might be useful for some ideas and tips!
2L: Grow a plant from seed
Ben (2L) tells us more about the idea, and how his attempt is going.
For our Form environment project, me and my fellow environment rep Billy decided to grow our own plants. At first, we struggled to make our idea into an action and soon realised that growing plants outside would be difficult due to the climate during winter. However, we were able to continue with our idea and instead decided to germinate chickpeas at home. We thought that it was a great way to grow plants at home and was incredibly easy to do so. So far, the chickpeas have not grown into plants yet, but in a couple of days or a week I’m sure they will be. If you would like to have a go, read the following information on how to germinate chickpeas.
This is a fantastic idea that I am sure many of you can give a go! It doesn’t have to be chickpeas, you can grow anything! Send in your progress and any photos to the blog!
MUSIC COMPOSITION COMPETITION
This week the Music department have kicked off a music composition competition – details below and on Firefly. Entries are due in by 22 January, so if you’re feeling creative, get composing!
TRIVIA
Have a go at our weekly trivia questions – send in your answers for a merit!
This week’s questions have been set by Eddie (2J)
- What is the capital of Ecuador?
- What is the most sold flavour of Walker’s crisps?
- In what year did the Beatles split up?
- How many countries are in Central America (including Mexico)?
- Who won 2020 sports personality of the year?
- What are the three green properties in Monopoly? (UK standard edition)
- As of 13/01/2021, which three clubs are in the Premier League relegation zone?
- Which song was played the most on the radio in 2020?
- What are you afraid of if you have cryophobia?
- Which three UK mountains make up the three peaks challenge?
Come back next week and find out the answers!
Have a great weekend!
Back to All Articles
