Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
The end of another busy week, where our summer rowers got out on the water for the first time, and many of you enjoyed seeing the results of intriguing practicals in Science! Also, in PHSE on Thursday, as part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Mr Nicholson introduced the Second Years to Mindfulness, which is the idea of learning how to be present and engaged in the moment.
MERITS
Well done to the following for reaching their merit milestones this week.
Trivikram Prashanth 2P– 60!
TEACHER INTERVIEW
Thank you to Zaid (2P) for his interview with Teacher of Latin, Mr Saunders
What inspired you to become a teacher?
When I was in university I really enjoyed my course. I enjoyed it so much I wanted to share that with others – and make them enjoy it too!
Have you learnt any other languages?
Latin, Greek and some French
Do you see any similarities between all the languages you have learnt?
The concepts are similar and apply to each other.
What advice would you give to an aspiring Latin teacher?
Go for it! Don’t be afraid to talk about it.
SUMMER ROWING
Eddie (2J) tells us all about his first experience of the River Thames:
This Monday, Second Year rowers got to go out on the River Thames for the first time. The key goal of the session was just to get us out on the river and used to rowing on it, with a third of the group being spread across three 8-seater boats, as the other boys either worked on strength and conditioning or went on the rowing machines. For those on the water, the main idea was just for us to get used to rowing on the water, and to practice their stroke, as opposed to working on speed, with synchronisation also being a key aspect of the session.
Summer Sports
As well as rowing, our Second Years have been spoilt for choice as they had a go at Cricket, Tennis and Climbing during their Games afternoon on Monday. Take a look at what they got up to:
Science Fair
Well done to Joshi, Max and Nathaniel from 2P for their Science Fair project on how the worlds of Football and Science are connected. Find out more in the video below:
BIOLOGY
Evan (2L) introduces us to the fascinating world of forensics:
In Biology we are learning about forensic science and we did a practical which involved making a cast. First off, we were given a piece of tire and made an impression on the sand, then we mixed water and plaster mix to get plaster. Next, we poured the plaster over the impression and left it to set for a week. We came back the week after and we took our casts out and using a brush we cleaned out any sand so you could see the cast off the tire.
CHEMISTRY
Avi (2H) tells us more about what Second Years have been up to in the Chemistry labs this week:
This week Second Year classes have been completing an assessed practical in chemistry. The idea is to take a simple displacement reaction and vary different things in it, to get the biggest energy change in it. The actual experiment included putting a metal and metal salt solution in a polystyrene cup, and then measure the temperature difference. Results of energy change are collected in a table, and the experiment is repeated until there are two sets of results for every reaction.
MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK
This week is Mental Health Awareness week and this year’s theme is connecting with nature. In Monday’s assembly boys were encouraged to think about the different ways in which they could connect with nature during the week, and how our relationship with nature is an important factor in supporting good mental health. To help connect with nature, all pupils and members of the Common Room have today, been issued with their own packet of seeds! Please do share with us on our blog how you get on with growing and nurturing yours over the coming weeks!
TRIVIA
Have a go at our weekly trivia questions and send in your answers for a merit!
This week’s questions are all about the Summer Olympics
- An Olympic gold medal is made mostly of what metal?
- How many countries have hosted the Olympics?
- Which country walks into the stadium first in the opening ceremony?
- What is the Olympic motto?
- Approximately how many countries compete in the Olympics?
- What are the colours of the Olympic rings?
- In what sport has the United Kingdom won the most medals?
- How old was the oldest Olympian?
- How young was the youngest Olympian?
- What year did baseball become an official Olympic sport?
Answers to the previous set of trivia questions!
- Which country produces most coffee? Brazil
- After what drink was Java names? Coffee
- How many cups of coffee are drunk each year? 400 Billion!
- How many years does a coffee tree take to mature enough to get its first crop? 5 years
