Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
Welcome to the last blog of 2022! We only have two and a half days left at School and I’m sure all of you are very excited for the break. It’s been a busy and festive week, with multiple Christmas concerts, as well as the Middle School play The 39 Steps, which treated us to some fake snow at the end of the performance, what a nice surprise! A huge thank you to everyone that has contributed to the blog this term, you have done a fantastic job and I think it’s been a huge success. I wish you all a lovely Christmas and a happy New Year!
All that’s left to say is Happy Christmas from the Second Year team!
Merit Milestones
AJ Coady – 10
Ethan Roberts – 10
Rufus Lawless – 10
Leo Shah – 10
Jake O’Reilly – 10
Alexander Marshall – 10
Jamie Rabie – 10
Thomas Graham – 10
Daniel McCahearty – 10
Oliver Champkin – 20
Paul Isalan – 20
Svajan Ganesan – 20
Alex Lapidus – 20
Xavier McGuire – 20
Ben Griffin – 20
Ethan Geiger – 20
Kiran Grover – 30
Harrison Gilbert – 30
Eric Paqvalén – 30
Anton Chetvertkov – 30
Josh Millington-Jones – 40
Theo Liang – 50 (first to visit Mr Knibbs – congratulations!)
Christmas spirit!
The Second Years have been really embracing the Christmas spirit with Christmas decorations galore and even a Christmas themed song…
On Thursday registration, December had arrived, we all wanted as a form to get into the Christmas spirit. Miss Bryant had the idea of making a 2F Christmas song and I was very excited because I have a music studio at home and I could try to write a song for the class. Alfie and I teamed up to make a 2F Christmas song outside School – we wrote the lyrics together and I did the music. We tried to have a line or two devoted to each person in the class, and a 2F song wouldn’t have been funny without any inside jokes. When Alfie and I brought back our finished song on Friday, it was a great success. We loved making this song, and we hope you love listening to it.
By Harry S (2F)
This week, in the run-up to the Christmas holiday, many forms have been decorating their form rooms with anything Christmassy. In my form room, myself and four other classmates bought in some Christmas decorations on Tuesday: red and white tinsel, mini present decorations, a very mini plastic Christmas tree and more mini decorations! Firstly, we intertwined the red and white tinsel and hung it over the whiteboards and the projector screen, making sure to not cover anything that might be used. Then, on a spare table in the corner, we placed the mini-Christmas tree, and surrounded it with mini presents, laying a red piece of red fabric around it. Finally, we stuck the spare tinsel, using sellotape, over the notice board. At last, it was all finished – and it looked very Christmassy!
By Josh MJ (2J)
The 39 Steps
This week saw the first Drama production of the year, and what a fabulous play it was!
On Tuesday 6 December, I entered the Hammond theatre, excited and willing the show to start and once the lights came on, I was not disappointed. The story: Richard Hannay, an English gentleman, is approached in a theatre by a woman who reveals herself to be a spy. She stays the night in Hannay’s flat, but is murdered. Hannay, now on the run, heads to Scotland, where he encounters the villainous head of ‘the 39 Steps’. Fleeing the police and falling in love, Hannay attempts to stop the devious villain from smuggling top secret Air Defense secrets out of the country.
This performance was incredibly funny and the actors were brilliant. It was certainly a Hampton performance to remember. A big shout out to Miss Bryant, who directed the play and all actors involved in the Third, Fourth and Fifth Year, along with Hampton High. Also a huge well done to all of the stage crew, who helped set up those brilliant scenes and thank you to all those involved in making the play.
By Rory M (2B)
Meet Mr Hooper
Our weekly interviews are a great opportunity for you to find out a little bit more about your Tutors! So, thank you to Charlie E and Farhan A (2W) who interviewed Mr Hooper, Acting Head of Specialist Sports and one half of 2W’s tutor team!
What is your favourite sport?
Playing, currently it is golf, I’m not very good but enjoy the challenge of trying to improve. It is also a great way to catch up with friends. Another sport I’ve recently started playing is Padel tennis which is a great game. I love to watch all sports. Being a Leeds fan I don’t tend to have much to shout about on the football front so like to follow England in the cricket and rugby. At the moment I’m obviously enjoying the World Cup. Wales in the 2W sweepstake made me question my loyalties but that didn’t last for long!
Favourite Movie?
Great question, this tends to depend on what type of mood I’m in. I have a big thing for disaster movies and like to tap into all of my emotions so really enjoyed The Impossible but my favourite movie would have to be Remember the Titans which I’m sure you will have already been exposed to or you will be exposed to in the Lecture Theatre if there’s ever a rained off or snowed off games afternoon.
Do you have any pets?
We don’t, my wife and I have a 3 year old son and a 6 week old daughter so we have our hands pretty full at present. I’m a big dog lover though so maybe in time we’ll explore that… Marley and Me… there’s another cracker of a film!
Do you have any hobbies?
Sport is obviously a big passion of mine but I also really enjoy puzzles and problem solving… not that my chess in the recent interform chess would suggest I have the right mindset for it!
If you weren’t a sports teacher, what would you be?
Obviously, if I was good enough I’d like to be a professional sportsman but decided to do the selfless thing and take up teaching as I felt I would get more from teaching than rubbing shoulders with the likes of Joe Root and co!
What were you before you were a teacher?
Before I was a teacher I had a number of different roles from being a cricket coach in Australia to working in the City and working for a tech start-up.
Hampton World Cup!
In the F team and rec squads we are having a model World Cup with four teams: France, Brazil (my team!), England, and Spain. I played as a very aggressive left wing for Brazil. Our first match was evenly matched against England until half time. After a very productive and strategic team huddle, we began playing at our best and soundly scored 3-0 against England. The next week, we lost in a 5-4 thriller against Spain thanks to Spain’s temporary E team transfer. And last Monday, we played France in a 0-0 thriller. Highlight players were Rory M (2B) and Alex B (2F) and Dylan C (2L). Now this Monday, Brazil is playing England once again in a third place playoff while France are playing Spain in the finals.
By Umair M (2L)
!Drumstixxx Performance Success!
It’s great to hear what you get up to outside of School, let’s hear from some our musicians.
Recently Drumstixxx, the Second Year Hampton band performed on Saturday. The three band members had a major success playing two songs: Immigrant Song and Sweet Child O’ Mine and encore song: Smells Like Teen Spirit. Xavier. Myles and Ryan played perfectly from the beat to the lyrics. The crowd loved it, applauded and screamed for an encore. Drumstixxx hope that they have another gig and that it can be featured in the blog again
By Xavier M (bass guitarist of Drumstixxx)
JOKE COMPETITION
The Second Year Joke Competition continues to bring those who come to Blog Club a good laugh, thank you for all your submissions! This week the winning joke was submitted by Mrs Jones (4C) congratulations, you’ve won a Merit!
What is the best cheese to get a bear out of a cave?
Come-on-bear (Camembert)
We will be continuing the competition next week, you can enter by emailing b.tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk . If your joke gets a mention in the blog, then you can collect a merit from your form tutor. Remember to use your name and form otherwise you won’t get any credit for entering.
Try your best to crack us up – good luck!
STEM Fair
Grab the opportunity to get involved in the STEM Fair at LEH in February. Your aim is to work in a team to create an artefact and a poster explaining your project. You have freedom to choose from any area of Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics.
The advice is to come up with a title phrased as a question that you are capable of answering. The ‘artefact’ is a loose term and can range from:
- A model/prototype
- Computer program
- Experiment
- Artwork inspired by your research
If you missed the meeting last week and would like to find out more, click here.
If you would like to take part in the 2023 STEM Fair then complete the form by following the link here.
Important dates to remember are:
Monday 12 December – Initial Ideas
Friday 13 January – Project Proposal
Monday 20 February – Poster Submission
Friday 24 February – STEM Fair at LEH
If you have any questions, email Mr Wilson in the Physics Department.
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s quiz. Merits go to:
2J: Josh M-J, Harrison G, Lucas Z, Jake O’R, Nihal B, Daniel T, Ben G
2L: Jayden C, Alex C, Umair M, Haadi H, William O’S
2H: AJ C, Henry W
2W: Leonardo F, Oliver S, Abhideep S
2B: Ethan G, Rory M, Kiran G
Here are the answers from last week’s quiz:
1. In 1986 quarter final, Maradona did the hand of god, but against which team? England
2. Brazil have won the most world cups, but which two teams are joint in second? Italy and Germany
3. Where was the first ever World Cup held? Uruguay
4. What’s the record time for someone to score in a World Cup? 11 seconds
5. What’s the only team to have qualified for every World Cup? Brazil
We’ll be back with more perplexing questions in 2023!
