Welcome to the First Year Blog!
What a fun week it has been! After last week’s Cooking Week. the First Years had a very enjoyable tea party on Monday, with some incredibly tasty treats being shared, and certainly some sugar highs and lows during the rest of the day! With the weather finally warming up a little, the 3G has also been more appealing than ever, and lots of impressive projects are being finished in the final few sessions of clubs this term. This week’s culmination of the Interform Quiz also brought plenty of excitement for the Forms that were still involved, and after two very impressive wins in the semi-final and final, 1B have been crowned well-deserved winners! Well done to all involved over the last few weeks, and you’d best start practising for next year!
Only one week to go now until the Easter break – it has been great to hear about some of your exciting plans, although I am sure many of you are also just looking forward to not having to get on the coach as early as usual – only five alarms left to set now! Make the most of next week and it will be midday on Friday before you know it!
MEET YOUR TEACHER
This week, Gabriel K-S (1B) interviewed one of his Form Tutors and Maths teacher, Miss Alishaw!
What made you become a teacher?
At school I always enjoyed helping my friends with their maths homework, so I’ve always done it. I did some tutoring after school as well, mostly in university.
Do you prefer tea or coffee, and what type?
Tea. Decaf, as I don’t like having caffeine in my system.
What is your favourite topic to teach?
Gosh… that’s a hard question. I don’t know they’re all great!
Do you have any role models/people you want to be like?
I only heard about her after school unfortunately but someone who’s inspired me is Hannah Fry; she’s a great role model and mathematician.
What is your favourite mode of transport?
Walking. Specifically speed walking.
Gabriel K-S: It is true that speed walking is much more efficient.
Did you always want to become a teacher? If not, what other profession
It always something that was there, I was always surrounded by teaching. I loved helping my classmates with their maths homework, but I also did some tutoring on the side in university. I also love music and do some on the side.
Do you have a favourite movie or book?
…Not really.
Guess How many bricks there are in London?
Gosh… This is going to look bad if I get it really wrong! I guess 5 billion.
Gabriel K-S: Quite close 25,600,000,000.
MEET YOUR MENTORS
This week, Shishir V (1J) and Joshua A (1J) interviewed one of their form’s mentors: Kai K (U6DCW)
Why did you decide to become a mentor?
When I was in First Year, I had an amazing mentor and I wanted to give back to the School.
What would you do differently if you had to do First Year again?
Keep doing what I like to do.
What are you studying?
Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry.
What career do you want to take on?
I’m not sure, I’ll decide when I go to uni.
What is your favourite hobby?
I play the baritone horn, and I enjoy rowing.
What is your favourite book?
Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall.
What is your favourite ice cream flavour?
Chocolate.
Can you speak any other languages?
Japanese.
How many holes does a straw have?
Two, one at each end.
TEA PARTY!
On Monday, the First Years brought in their own culinary creations to share with the rest of their Form during Tutor Period. There were some incredibly tasty and creative treats and everyone certainly had enough sugar to sustain them for the rest of the week!
IT WAS THE TEA PARTY! We all came into school with our goodies and were continuously talking about what we had brought in! We could not wait. Time passed and soon P3 arrived. The moment we all had been waiting for. THE TEA PARTY! I had brought in pani puri which is a famous street food snack in India. Pani puri is essentially a deep fried, crispy flatbread which consists of fillings such as potato. One of our classmates had brought in oreo brownies which were scrumptious. In the end, we all complimented each other for the food we had brought in. By Jai K (1J)
On Monday, everybody brought in some home cooked food so that everyone could try what they’d made over cooking week. People brought foods from all over the world like cookies, cake, sushi and pakora. I brought in halwa, a traditional Indian dish made of semolina. My favourite, however, was Jai’s pani puri, an Indian street food savoury snack made by filling a round ball with sauces, potato and chickpeas. Everybody’s food was amazing and I think everybody would agree on that. By Shishir V (1J)
INTERFORM QUIZ
This week’s semi-final and final decided the Interform Quiz results for this term, with the final results as follows:
- 1B
- 1P
- 1J
- 1H
- 1F
- 1W
- 1L
Gabriel K-S (1B) has written about his experiences during the semi-final and final, which his team managed to win – congratulations 1B!
On Thursday, we had the Interform Quiz which is a general knowledge quiz for the whole of First Year. On Wednesday we had a very tense election to select our best quiz team. My classmates Dennis and Fred were auto selected because they were in the quiz team and then we needed two more people, so we did a vote and the top two people were me – Gabriel – and Joe. The Interform Quiz was very, very tense. Surprisingly, the semi-final was more tense then the final because we were against 1H and, you see, last week on Friday they beat us in Rugby and Football. We were last place in both and needed to show that we’re as good or even better then 1H! It was quite close at the beginning in both score and people who buzzed, sometimes I buzzed, sometimes Fred buzzed… but then, at the end, Fred was really fast on the buzzer, and we managed to win by over 50 points! After our first win I think we got more confident, especially Fred, he was buzzing all the questions before we even knew what the question was! In this game we also managed to win by over 100 points!
Take a look at some of the action from the final rounds:
INTERFORM RUGBY AND FOOTBALL
Last Friday afternoon the First Years competed for their forms, rather than their usual teams, in Interform Football and Rugby. Although the interform points that come with winning the competition were hotly contested, the afternoon was an enjoyable one regardless of the results!
Interform rugby was an enjoyable new experience. Enjoyable because I felt I did well, and new because I would usually do Football, but I wanted to try something different. The games commenced, we lost three games, and we won two. In the end we came fifth place which was not the greatest of scores, but one of the greatest experiences. By Danyal P (1J)
It was Friday afternoon, and we were at the Pavilion at 1.45pm, five minutes before our normal registration. It was a special opportunity to be outside for our Interform Football competition. We were registered and then Mr Burke explained the rules to us. It wasn’t about winning but having fun. I was the only manager in our team, so I had a important role. I led the team to the 3G, and the games began. It was a lot of fun as a manager (although we came sixth) but the most important thing was that we had lots of fun. We won one, drew two and lost three. I had an amazing time during and I enjoyed it to my fullest. By Joshua A (1J)
Rugby results:
- 1F
- 1H
- 1W
- 1L
- 1J
- 1P
- 1B
Football results:
- 1L
- 1W
- 1F
- 1P
- 1H
- 1J
- 1B
MUSIC TECH CLUB
Every Wednesday, I go to a fantastic club called Music Tech Club. It takes place at the first half of lunch, and is an amazing chance for pupils to compose their own music using the technology we have at School. Using the computers and the pianos connected to them, the things you can create are limitless.
Recently, I have been working on a pop song on logic, and using a series of different layers with different instruments, I am pleased with the results of the song. You can change the different volumes using automation, and you can also change how much reverb you get with a certain instrument. The club is run in the Garrick building, and there are teachers there to help you make the best composition possible.
In conclusion, I think you should definitely come to Music Tech Club if you are a musician or you just enjoy composing music. Using the amazing technology they have at the Garrick, you can have fun composing whatever you want! By Devam K (1B)
TALK! PROFESSOR LLOYD PECK
In the final Talk! of the term, leading global scientist Professor Lloyd Peck joins us on Tuesday 21 March at 1pm in the Hammond Theatre. It’s a unique opportunity to hear from Professor Peck on his 30 years studying Antarctic life and the environment for the British Antarctic Survey.
Find out more here.
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 Isaac d Q (1W) as Mrs Ziegler, Ms Jacobson, Mr Hill and Mrs Peattie have been impressed with him really putting top effort into everything, and always being polite and kind – well done, Isaac!
SPECIAL SHOUTOUTS!
Neal H (1B) has shared his experience of Holi, and some impressive fundraising efforts with us – well done, Neal!
Holi, festival of colours, was celebrated on 8 March this year. Holi is a Hindu festival that celebrates spring, love, and new life. Some families hold religious ceremonies, but for many Holi is more a time for fun. It’s a colourful festival, with dancing, singing, and throwing of coloured powders on each other.
Secondly, Neal had participated in a charity event volunteering and raising funds few weeks back and we have just received the certificate. It’s for an Indian based charity called Akshaya Patra.
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 whopping 14 entries. Merits go to:
1P: Lucas B, Alp O, Oliver Y, Sion K
1J: Shishir V, Henry S, Charlie M, Ollie S, Devan D, David W, Kevin K, Josh B, Finn R, Thomas H, Louis C, Joshua A, Siddhant S, Neil T
1L: Konrad G, Macsen B, Rajvir S, Patrick H, Willoughby E, Armaan V
1W: Alex P, Huw C, Dean B, Anthony S, Shiv V
1B: Fred O, Jiashin L, Alex G, Dennis H, Sebastian W, Joe B, Ari E
1H: Matthew K, Joshua L, George S, James G
1F: Oscar S, Daniel S, Oscar F, Ben J
Take a look at this week’s questions – have a go yourself or challenge people at home and see if they know the answer.
This week questions come to you from Neil T (1J):
- Tashkent is the capital of which country?
- What was the lowest ever score for a cricket match?
- How wide can an adult hippo open its mouth?
- Who is the Egyptian god of cleanliness?
- What year was the LEGO brick invented?
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:
- Which national club won the World Cup in 1986. Argentina
- Who played Mariano Guzman in Encanto. Maluma
- What is the capital of Niger. Niamey
- Where did Sir Arthur Conan Doyle live. Crowborough, Sussex
- Unscramble the following letters to make the name of a famous board game: p, r, e, o, o, n, I, t and a. Operation
Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits!
