Welcome to the First Year Blog!
It is hard to believe the First Years are already halfway through their first year at Hampton! Another busy half term has now finished, and the boys have certainly earned a well-deserved rest! This week’s highlight was the Junior Musical Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat – the boys involved performed the show five times this week and it was obvious to see that they enjoyed every second of their performance. Well done to everyone involved! Have a great break everyone!
JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOUR DREAMCOAT
This week’s production of Joseph was an incredibly fun show to watch – all First Years got the opportunity to see their fellow Hamptonians perform on Monday, and I know lots of them have been to one of the evening performances to support their friends. Gabriel K-S (1B) and Devam K (1B) have written about their experiences watching, and performing in the show!
Yesterday, I had my final performance for the junior musical – Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat! We had three main performances taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It was a joint musical with Waldegrave School, and it was a fantastic experience! I was a part of the children’s ensemble in the musical.
All of our hard work started in November. We stayed back after school every week to rehearse for the show. By January, everyone had learnt all the songs, and we just needed to practise. After lots of rehearsing, we were shown the extraordinary stage made by the tech crew and some of the fabulous staff at Hampton. We also started rehearsing with the amazing band, who were led by Mrs Esser. As the curtains were opened to show us what the team had put together, we were amazed to see a large sphinx head and a raised stage on which we would be standing.
We practised our songs with the flashing lights which were controlled by the tech team, and before we knew it, it was the show night…At 7pm, we stood in the wings, ready to run on stage for the first scene. The band started playing, the curtains opened, and we ran onto the stage for the opening act. The lights were on the narrator, who started to sing, and soon the children’s ensemble, the narrator, the brothers, the wives and the lead role Joseph, were all singing in unison. By the end of act one, we all felt amazing, and the second act went just as well.
Now that we had already performed once, we knew what to do, and by the time the next performance came, I knew we were going to be even better. On the final day of the performance, we used whatever remaining bits of energy we had left, and we did our best. I think that the musical couldn’t have happened without Mrs Jones, the Director of Drama and the person who helped us reach our full acting potential. It also couldn’t have happened without Mrs Esser, who conducted an amazing band and who made our singing sound better than ever. Finally I think that Mr Thompson was also an integral part of the show, as he guided the tech crew and allowed us to look stunning. What a show! By Devam K (1B)
On the 6 February we went to see the junior production of Joseph. I was very excited as one of my classmates – Devam – was acting in the play as well as some people I knew from Rugby. The play was absolutely amazing! The work that they put in showed! The acting, music and lighting were perfectly timed and done to the highest of standards. My favourite bit of the play was the Pharaoh scene. It was very funny as it was made to seem like Pharaoh was Elvis. He had the stereotypical Elvis haircut and was parodying a song by Elvis. It told the story of Joseph in a very funny way, and I think that the cast should be very proud of themselves for putting on such an amazing play! By Gabriel K-S (1B)
MEET THE TEACHER
This week, Shishir V (1J) and Joshua A (1J) interviewed their Latin teacher: Mr Hall!
What inspired you to become a teacher?
I just enjoyed Latin all the way through school, and wanted others to like and appreciate it as much as I did.
What inspired you to work here at Hampton?
To see what is like in an all-boys school in London
Why did you choose Classics as your subject?
It was always the subject that I was best at, so perhaps I was a bit lazy choosing it as I found it easier than my other subjects. Also because I like the variety of things that you can study when you do Classics, such as literature, philosophy, art etc.
If you weren’t a teacher, what would you be?
A lawyer
What is your favourite hobby?
Sport, I enjoy cricket, running and cycling.
What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?
Mint Choc chip and Stracciatella
What is your favourite book?
Metamorphoses about Latin myths, by Ovid
How many holes does a straw have?
One, you wouldn’t say a doughnut has two holes
You are next to a lever. A runaway train is coming and will kill five people. If you pull the lever, it will kill one different worker. Do you pull it?
Push the lever, save five lives, kill one.
You are next to a man. A runaway train is coming and will kill five people. If you push the man, it will kill him instead. Do you push him?
Yes, I am quite utilitarian.
PROJECT EXPLORE
A reminder that Project EXPLORE launched this term; this is an optional project for boys to make a piece of creative work based on a local landmark. With half term now upon us, this is the perfect time to visit a local site and get some inspiration!
English in action
Take a listen to Form 1W as they recite Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s iconic poem. A brilliant way to learn all about different techniques and structures in poetry.
Rock Concert
Catch up on some of the highlights from this year’s Rock Concert:
INTERFORM QUIZ
Next half term we will begin the Interform Quiz – all seven forms battling it out in multiple rounds for another set of interform points! More information to follow from your Form Tutors, but you may want to start practising your quizzing skills over half term…
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 Alex F (1W) as Mrs Ziegler, Miss Jacobson, Mr Hill and Mrs Peattie have been impressed with him always being kind and considerate to others, working really hard, and being a superstar in PSHE lessons. Well done, Alex!
SPECIAL SHOUTOUTS!
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 44 First Year Hamptonians had a go at last week’s quiz, well done to everyone who had a go! Form 1J are crowned weekly champions with a fantastic 11 entries. Merits go to:
1P: Oliver Y, Ollie B, Lucas T, Alp O
1J: Sam D, Ollie S, Henry S, Danyal P, David W, Josh B, Rohan K, Devan D, Joshua A, Shishir V, Ishaaq A
1L: Armaan V, Macsen B, Rajvir S, Edison Y, Willoughby E, Neev G, Konrad G
1W: Kiran L, Dean B, Alex P, Brooklyn N, Isaac d Q
1B: Neal H, Sebastian W, Joe B, Alex G, Jiashan L, Devan K, Gabriel K S, Dennis H
1H: Lucas T, Joshua L, Joshua D-L
1F: Oscar S, Daniel S, Eeston Z, Oscar F, Aiden F, Yule O
Take a look at this week’s questions – have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer.
- Which river flows through Glasgow?
- In 1990 who created the World Wide Web?
- Which Scottish actor played the 10th Doctor in Doctor Who?
- Circles sharing the same centre are called…?
- How many permanent teeth does a dog have?
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 questions:
- What’s the chemical symbol for silver? Ag
- Which is older: the pyramids at Giza or Stonehenge? Stonehenge
- For what film did Steven Spielberg win his first Oscar for Best Director? Schindler’s List
- What is the highest active volcano in Europe? Mount Etna
- In which sport do competitors refer to ‘catching a crab’? Rowing
Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits!
