Welcome to the First Year Blog!
With the arrival of December, the countdown to Christmas has begun! We’ve been listening to Christmas music, the Christmas trees have gone up around School and 1L had a (very unfair!) snowball “fight” – more about this next week! Next week all First Year Hamptonians will perform in the Christmas Concert on Thursday 8 December, which I hope you are all looking forward to!
With only eight days to go until the end of their first term, we are also getting to the point where the First Years (and teachers!) are finding it harder to find the final bits of energy to keep going. Make sure you approach the final week of term with the same organisation, effort, positivity, enthusiasm and kindness, boys, and it will be Christmas before you know it!
MEET The TEACHER
This week, Jai K (1J) interviewed one of his Form Tutors: Mr Ferrier!
What inspired you to become a teacher?
I am incredibly lucky to spend my day talking to talented pupils about a topic I Iove – one of the main reasons that I got into teaching was that it gives me the opportunity to convince people that music is one of the most amazing things in the world. I remember some of the fantastic musical experiences I had when I was at school, and I think if I can create just a few of those moments for the pupils I teach then I will have done my job!
What made you go into music?
It took me a while before I realised I wanted to study Music at university – I thought about going into the legal profession, but in the end I decided to pursue the subject I enjoyed the most. I haven’t regretted that decision in the slightest, and if I could give one piece of advice to Hamptonians who are planning their future careers, it would be to bear in mind that if they’re going to spend eight hours a day doing their job, they might as well enjoy it!
What is your favourite musical instrument?
I absolutely love the sound of the cello – I am always very envious of anyone who can play it well!
What musical instruments do you play?
Pupils who I have taught will know that I love playing the piano, and as a teacher it is such a valuable skill to have, as it lets me get my point across very easily in lessons. Over lockdown I started to learn a bit of organ, which is very similar to the piano but you have an extra keyboard at your feet! The first instrument I learnt to play was the flute, which I still play in ensembles outside of Hampton when I get the chance. I am also a very mediocre guitarist, but I prefer not to mention that to anyone, at risk of being roped into a band!
Did anyone inspire you?
This is a bit cliché both as a teacher and a musician, but I’d have to say that one of my first music teachers is probably my biggest source of inspiration, even to this day. I don’t think it’s an understatement to say that without her I wouldn’t have discovered my love of music, and I’ll always be extremely grateful for her encouragement and motivation.
Who is your favourite singer?
Good question! I’m a big Musical Theatre fan, so I think I’ll go for Lea Salonga. Most people would probably recognise her as the voice of Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, but she is also a phenomenal stage actress with an incredible vocal range.
HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY CLUB
History and Archaeology Club takes place on Tuesday lunchtimes. I think that History and Archaeology Club is one of the best clubs that you can do out of the range of clubs at Hampton. This is because it is so unusual and yet so fun! Last term, we wrote letters to historians about magazine articles that they wrote. And, if that isn’t good enough for you, this term we are digging up some of the sports field to find archaeological items.
This week, with the help of Mrs Willcox and Mrs Arnott (who lead the club), I worked with two other pupils at the dig site and in our allocated strip of land we found three pieces of terracotta clay from around the 1870s (we think!). We also found a copper wire and some blue and white ceramic. The only problem with digging up the sports fields though, is that it is very, very muddy!
For this reason, if you would like to join, I recommend bringing waterproof (and mud-proof) trousers and a jacket. We meet at 1:00pm outside the Pavilion. Maybe see you there and perhaps you will strike gold! By Oscar S (1F)
Take a look at our young archaeologists in action out on the School fields:
PH-ABULOUS PHYSICS
This half term, we will not only be sharing experiences from outside the classroom, but also highlights from interesting lessons:
This week, during Physics, we were learning about refraction. We started our lesson with a starter which was about reflection. We tried to label and complete everything on a diagram. We then marked it out of 16 and I got 15 so I got a merit! Yay! We then went through a presentation explaining how refraction worked. So how light is slower in denser materials and why that causes light to “bend”. After that, we completed a practical exercise. We took a piece of plain paper, an LED laser, and clear plastic cuboid. We put the cuboid on the piece of paper and then drew around it. After that we shone the LED laser at an about 45 degrees angle relative to the cuboid. We then saw how when the light went through the box it “bent”. We then drew three x’s before the light hit the box and after the light hit the box. We drew a line through the x’s and then connected the two lines to see how much refraction affected that. Finally, we drew a normal – a normal is a dotted line that is perpendicular to a reflected surface and found the angles of refraction and incidence and noted them down. Right as we finished off the lesson ended! By Gabriel K-S (1B)
LUNCHTIME RECITAL
Informal concerts are a great way to get used to performing on stage, Joshua A (1J) tells us about his first experience:
After my final period before lunch ended, I rushed to the Hammond Theatre to perform my piece for pupils and teachers. I was second to play my piece and after I had heard the first person perform, I bravely but nervously stepped onto the stage and began to play my piece. I started of nervously but after that I was comfortable, I felt as if I was in my own world. When my piece ended, I stepped down from the stage and watched other people play from Grade 1 Piano to pieces by Beethoven with a nice guitarist in the middle. It was an amazing recital and I managed to show off my skills again.
11+ EXAMS
I’m sure the School entrance exams will still be fresh in the memory of many First Year Hamptonians, and last weekend many pupils helped out at our 11+ exam day – thank you all for your help! Shishir V (1J) writes about his day:
Me and few others were invited to help with the 11+ examination on the 26 November. As we arrived, so were the hopefully soon-to-be First Years. We escorted them to their rooms. Some were confident, some were nervous, but an amalgamation of emotions was evident. My examination area was the last one, so we had to wait quite a long time. Since there were five classrooms amongst us four, I took responsibility for two classrooms and the rest took one each. One of my friends was actually doing the exam in one of the rooms (although, of course, I didn’t play favourites!) I remembered back to when I did the exam and how I felt back then. We took them to the toilets when needed, but then came the biggest job: entertaining them for 25 minutes. As I had two classrooms, the Sixth Formers helped with one. They all ate their snacks and did their final exam, before going home
LUNCH WITH THE MENTORS
Over the course of the last few weeks, First Year teachers have started to organise lunches with the mentors. The mentors are pupils in the Sixth Form who support First Years in their first few terms at Hampton. These lunches develop and strengthen the friendship between the pupils. Mentors can help pupils with their homework and give them advice on how to manage their school lives.
Overall, the mentors really help the First Years and these lunches help these bonds. By Zac C (1H)
STEM Fair
The STEM fair is jointly run between Hampton and LEH. The aim is for you to design and implement your own project in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics. Projects should aim to answer a question and should produce some sort of physical object (artefact). This is a team activity and each project should have a team of three people. You will have to ask a member of staff to supervise your project, and you should keep that teacher up-to-date with your progress. There is no paperwork or report required. You will need to make a poster (single A2) and you will present your poster and artefact at the STEM fair which is the week after the February half term holiday. Projects should take around 20 hours to complete.
This year’s fair will be launched on Tuesday 6 December at breaktime in the Lecture Theatre.
If you are interested in completing a project, please do come along. Or if you cannot come, at least one member of your team comes to the presentation.
SOUND BATH
Breathe and relax! Ms Garrido-Soriano will be running her final Sound Bath session of the term on Wednesday 7 December in The Hammond Theatre at 1pm. Come along and let your thoughts float blissfully away!
SPORTS REPORTS
Last Friday, it was the first rugby match for Hampton where the Cs would play. We skipped part of period 6 and headed to the changing rooms. We exited and made our way to each of our picthes (mine being the Cs) and where we were playing. We all trained during the time we waited for Hampton’s adversaries. Hampton faced our opponents Caterham. We played with an amazing start but then soon lost our focus as we were drawing 3-3 (15-15). During the interval, we discussed our team tactics and soon we were ready to play again. The score progressed 4-4 (20-20) and eventually we scored again and made it 5-4 (25-20). As the match continued, I managed to score a try for our team, making the score 6-4 (30-20). Unfortunately, we dropped concentration and Caterham scored once more to make it 6-5 (30-25). But with five minutes left, the score didn’t change again and Hampton’s rugby C team claimed their victory. My first rugby fixture for Hampton was an incredible experience and representing Hampton was amazing. By Louis C (1J)
On Friday the 25 November Hampton’s Under 12s played a match against a rival team. The As, Bs and Cs all played a match against Caterham School and the results were in our favour. With this game being the first that we have played as a C team, this match was many of the player’s first time out representing the school. With the As, Bs and Cs all winning their matches, most would say that it was a big success. By Zac C (1H)
SWIMMING SUCCESS
Nathaniel O (1B) raced in his first county qualifier meet last weekend at Wycombe. The meet was attended by 13 swimming clubs with 518 swimmers participating. Nathaniel has successfully achieved 12-year-old county times for all his eight events and went home with five gold medals, two silvers and a bronze at the end of the meet. Congratulations, Nathaniel, what an impressive achievement!
TUTEE OF THE WEEK
Every week, the First Year Tutor team nominate a boy who they have been particularly impressed with, and Mr Hill and Mrs Peattie provide him with a football to use on the fields for the week!
This week’s tutee of the week is Zac C (1H) as Mr Barber, Mr Jimenez, Mr Hill and Mrs Peattie have been very impressed with his attitude and his enthusiasm for Hampton life – well done Zac!
SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS!
We love to hear about what you have been getting up to outside of school and to celebrate your successes in the First Year Blog! Please do send any information about any of your achievements through to Mr Fuldner (d.fuldner@hamptonschool.org.uk).
FIRST YEAR FIVE QUESTIONS
An impressive 48 First Year Hamptonians had a go at last week’s quiz, well done to everyone who had a go! 1J are crowned weekly champions once again with an fantastic 12 entries. Merits go to:
1P: George V, Lev S, Lucas T, Alp O, Julius M, Ollie B, Oliver Y, Jonathan A, Lucas B
1J: Louis C, Shishir V, Ollie S, Finn R, Siddhant S, Henry S, Jai K, David W, Josh B, Joshua A, Devan D, Rohan K
1L: Macsen B, Willoughby E, Edison Y, Neev G, Konrad G
1W: Brooklyn N, Huw C, Dean B, Laurie L-T, Esa S, Isaac d Q, Shiv V
1B: Alexander K, Alex G, Fred O, Devam K, Joe B, Neal H
1H: Matthew K, Joshua D-L, George S
1F: Oscar S, Eeston Z, Oscar F, Daniel S, Aiden F, Jack P
Take a look at this week’s questions – have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer.
- What is Joe Root’s ODI shirt number?
- Name the 2022 winner of the Great British Bake Off?
- What is the capital of Finland?
- How many elements are there in the periodic table?
- What is the longest Harry Potter film? (non-extended versions)
Merits are awarded for everyone who has a go! Just click on the link below and enter your answers; points for the Interform Competition will be awarded to the form with the most entries every week.
Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here.
Take a look at next week’s blog to find out the answers and here are the answers to last week’s 5 questions:
- What is Collins Dictionary ‘s Word of the Year 2022? Permacrisis
- In what part of the body would you find the fibula? Leg
- Rafael Nadal has won all four majors at least once in his career – true or false? True
- Who authored The Hunger Games book series? Suzanne Collins
- Who discovered penicillin? Alexander Fleming
Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits!
