Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
Happy half term, Hamptonians! I can’t believe we’ve made it to the end of our first half term; it has gone by so quickly! Well done on such a fantastic start to your Second Year. It’s been an exciting week for Second Years, with lots of sport, recall auditions and a stimulating Physics trip – I’m sure you’re all very ready for the break!
I hope you all have a fantastic half term, and don’t forget to let me know about any special achievements over the two weeks so we can celebrate your success when we return!
Merits
Well done to the following boys for reaching their merit milestones this week!
Svajan Ganesan – 10
James Phillips – 10
Lorenzo Ingrassia – 10
Leonardo Falcone – 10
Atulya Sahi – 10
Kian Windley – 10
Oliver Scott – 10
George Eggleton – 10
Ph-abulous Physics
The Physics trip was so exciting we had to break it into three sections so we could hear all about it! A huge thanks to Mr Fuldner for organising the trip, it sounds like the Second Years had an amazing time.
On Tuesday we went to Winchester Science Centre. It was a long trip but once we arrived we were taken to the planetarium. This was my favourite part as it felt like we were flying through space. It was a great experience. We saw all the planets and many other amazing almost unfathomable objects. We felt like an insignificant speck of dust compared to the universe. My favourite part was the dwarf planet makemake! Later on we went to the space: explorer. It was like a free arcade! There were many activities and games and also we could enter an astronaut suit. By Umair M (2L) and Dominic N (2L)
Planetarium
During the trip to Winchester Science Centre, the Planetarium (in my opinion) was the best part. When we went inside, we were all instantly amazed by the incredible 360° screen above our heads, that was spherical and covered our entire field of view! During the journey, we first explored the constellations in the sky. We looked at the Saucepan constellation and used it to locate Polaris. Using Polaris, we were able to locate Ursa Major (Great Bear) and Ursa Minor (Little Bear) and the stories associated with these, along with the North Star!
Next, we literally flew off the Earth, looked at it one last time, and went to Mercury. I noticed that, during our flight, it looked like the Planetarium seats were spinning but the screen wasn’t, and this created a feeling that we were flying above the Earth in an actual rocket! We went to the other planets, and learnt a lot about them (including that Venus had a very thick atmosphere that could melt spacecraft) and flew off to the Kuiper Belt, then the absolutely massive Oort Cloud (it now seemed like Earth was smaller than a grain of sand). Outside the Oort Cloud was the Milky Way, along with the many, many other galaxies – making us realise that space is so absolutely massive and incredible that even light is not able to quickly travel that far….By Theo L (2B)
Rockets!!
On our Physics trip on Friday, we had the task of designing rockets from plastics bottles! We first had the chance to create whatever we wanted, in groups, and then we tested them! The bottles had a purple liquid, which they called ‘spirit liquid’, which when shaken, produced a vapour.
When it was our turn, they took the cap off, poured the liquid out, and replaced it with another cap which had a hole in it. Then, the vapour that was slowly coming out of the cap, was lit on fire which propelled the bottle forward. The first time, our rockets didn’t go very far, but we discussed the physics of the bottle, and found a way to reduce drag, weight and aerodynamics. This was applied by creating skids at the bottom, and taking away any items that would create friction. As anticipated, we cheered in triumph, as our bottles travelled even further than before. It was a very fun experience, and we enjoyed it a lot. By Krishang T(2B) and Guradaes S (2H)
Joseph Recall Auditions
After making it past the first audition stage, tension was high. The second song had been released and all of the remaining budding actors had high hopes of making it into Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat production. They called us up one by one and the pressure was on, as we sung in front of teachers and pupils from both Hampton and Waldegrave. Talent beamed across the room making the teachers choice extremely hard. I found it really fun and a bit nerve racking and I am really hoping I make it through to the play. By Josh G (2L)
Meet Miss Winstock!
Our weekly interviews, are a great opportunity for you to find found out a little bit more about your Tutors! So, thank you to Guradaes S who interviewed Miss Winstock Classics Teacher and 2H’s tutor!
What is your favourite football team?
Brentford FC – come on you bees! It was my local team growing up, and I have fond memories of attending Boxing Day matches at Griffin Park. I haven’t been to the new stadium yet though!
What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
Chocolate. Controversial, I know. I also like coconut. Someone needs to join their forces and make a bounty-flavoured one!
Favourite Roman myth?
It’s based on the Greek one, of course, but I love the myth of Ceres and Proserpina. It’s a beautiful example of how the Greeks/Romans tried to make sense of their world. How fitting that the cold and lack of crops in autumn and winter could be explained by a mother’s grief while her daughter was trapped in the Underworld for six months.
What is your favourite aspect about teaching?
I am a huge grammar nerd (and proud!), so the fact that I get to teach it and (try to) get others excited about it every day is such a joy. Another favourite of mine is certainly every other teacher’s favourite too, so forgive my lack of originality: it’s the lovely pupils I get to teach!
Eat a Kit Kat whole or break it?
Break it, obviously – unless it’s a Kit Kat Chunky.
If you could go to any planet, which one would it be?
Probably Mercury – small, but speedy!
What radio station do you listen to the most?
I’m afraid my radio listening is confined to one minute of LBC in the mornings when my alarm goes off! But BBC Radio 4 has some fantastic ‘episodes’ on the ancient world which are available online. I’m not sure if it counts, but I love the podcast ‘Something Rhymes with Purple’ which is about the history of the English language.
CLUB OF THE WEEK
There are lots of clubs to choose from at lunchtime, Rory M (2B) tells us about just one of the activities that Second Years have had a go at this week:
Sinfonia Orchestra
Sinfonia Orchestra is a fun club where you can play an instrument in an orchestra. It is on Thursday during the first half of lunch and is a great way to immerse yourself in music at Hampton School. You should be a Grade 4-5 standard to attend but all instruments are welcome. We are currently playing Hungarian Dance No.5 by Brahms.
NBA
Looking for a new sport to get stuck into and watch at home? Jaime (2L) absolutely loves Basketball and with the new season of the NBA coming up, he’s giving us an overview of what we might expect to see this season.
The start of the NBA season is commencing in just a few days time and is kicked of by the first regular season face off of the Boston Celtics Vs the Philadelphia 76ers. An electrifying match between two championship contenders. Philly, the runners up in 2019, lost to Kawhi Leonard at the buzzer. But in the build up to their 7th game they had a riveting finals series. They lost promising rookie Ben Simmons but are assembling an excellent all round team with Center, Joel Embiid leading the march. They have made consistent playoff appearances in the past three seasons. As for the Celtics, they have a lot of pent up frustration after losing the championship finals just last season. The new 2022 champions, the Golden State Warriors led by ‘splash brother’ Stephen Curry managed to clinch the victory from the Celtics in six games (to my pleasant surprise). Jayson Tatum, the Eastern Conference finals Most Valuable Player managed to lead the sub-par Celtics to superstardom this season and both teams are favourites to perform well. The question is, which of the two teams will top the other? Joel Embiid’s unstoppable inside play or the Celtics’ versatility led by do it all forward Jayson Tatum? Watch to find out!
SPECIAL SHOUTOUTS
Dylan C (2L) won first place in a fencing tournament called The Northern Youth Challenge (he’s the one in the blue socks). Congratulations, Dylan!
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s quiz. Form 2J have the honour of being named this week’s champion. Merits go to:
2J: Harrison G, Josh M-J, Jake O, Ben G, Lucas Z, Jack H, Kian IB
2L: Max D, Oliver P, William O’S, Alex C
2W: Oliver S, James P, Freddie T
2B: Ethan G, Kiran G, Habib T, Rory M
2F: Siddharth S
2P: Ozan B, Ryan W
Take a look at this week’s questions, have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer. Points for the Interform Competition will be awarded to the form with the most entries over the term.
Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here.
Here are the answers from last week’s quiz:
- What is special about the 21 September? International day of peace
- Second Year Trivia: What football tournament did last years U13A team win? ESFA cup
- In which Harry Potter movie does Dobby die? Deathly Hallows part 1
- Which football player has won the most ever Ballon D’ors? Messi
- How many times does the average person laugh in a day? 13
Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits!
