WELCOME TO THE SECOND YEAR BLOG!
It’s the first full week of the summer term and my only wish is that someone would tell the weather that! There are still lots of activities and clubs this term for you to get involved in, so make sure you explore all the fantastic opportunities available to you and take a break from the 3G every once in a while!
This week we had the Charity Bake Sale – there were so many delicious cakes, biscuits and cookies made all for our well deserving School Charities – well done to everyone who made something.
In PSHE on Thursday we covered three different revision techniques – Chunking, Mind Maps & Mind Palaces! Give these a go at home when revising a particular topic and see if they work for you!! Remember that now is the time to experiment and find out which revision techniques are best for you! If you would like more information on how to revise, head to this page here for lots of handy tips.
Tutor Question Time!
This week the pupils wanted to know what colour pen the tutors prefer to do their work in!
- Team Blue Pen: Miss Bryant
- Team Black Pen: Miss Mattinson, Miss Holt, Mrs Owen, Miss Tiller, Mrs Hill, Mr Worral
- Team Whatever They Can Get Their Hands Onto: Mr Hooper
Have you ever had a burning question you’ve always wanted to ask your form tutors, then please send your suggestions for next week’s Tutor Question Time to b.tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk.
MERIT MILESTONES!
Another bumper week for merits! Well done to the following Second Years:
Ben Whiteley – 20
Jake O’Reilly – 20
Isaac Hurst – 20
Jack Haynes – 30
William Denmark – 30
Ben Griffin – 30
Alex Lapidus – 50 (super!)
Eric Paqvalen – 60 (fantastic!)
Charity Bake Sale
Arshan N and Joel S (2F) had a very busy weekend as they made the most humongous cake for the Form Charity Bake Sale. Let’s hear all about it:
Once we heard about the charity bake sale, we were determined to make the biggest and greatest cake of all! We went out and purchased a lot of ingredients, in preparation of our colossal cake. Kilograms of flour and sugar, litres of milk, dozens of eggs, kilograms of butter, and a whole 5 kilograms of icing and fondant too!
It took seven whole hours to finish the cake, and once we got the first layer out it was mostly raw; so it had to go back in, setting us back quite a while. We made buttercream, kneaded the fondant, and let it to set overnight. Putting on the berries in the morning.
Overall, we think it was a great success! Many people loving our cake, and having tens, maybe even more than a hundred £1 slices made out of it!
Well done to all our Second Year bakers who contributed to the success of this week’s Charity Bake Sale, you raised a whopping £543.20 for our Form Charities, which is more than double the amount raised last year. Fantastic!
Stunning Snowdonia!
Recently, I was lucky enough to be selected to take part in the Adventure Society Trip to Snowdonia in Wales. The trip was one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had. There was a lot of fun and enjoyable experiences to be had every day. For example, we went on a six hour hike through rain and mud but despite the conditions, it was a genuine experience to bond with all of my peers and teachers. I especially enjoyed navigating and hiking through an old coal mine. Another notable highlight was the day of climbing that we did at Crazy Climb — I thoroughly enjoyed scaling the tremendous walls with my friends. Something else that simply cannot be overlooked is the Ice Cream Challenge. This involves cycling up one point five kilometres of brutally steep hills in order to win a free ice cream. Overall, the trip was a wonderful experience that I would not have traded for anything.
By Zen N (2L)
Second Year Summer Rowing
This summer, rowing became an option for Second Years and we had our first lesson on Monday. I was excited to do rowing as I enjoy water sports. This week, we did circuits and learnt how to use rowing machines to practise. I discovered how physically testing rowing could be but I was up for the challenge. Next lesson we will go on the water. Then, on Tuesday, we had a swimming test where we had to swim four lengths and tread water. I again enjoyed the change from ball sports to water sports. Overall, rowing was a great new sport to participate in and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I also encourage you to try it in the autumn term in September this year.
By Umair M (2L)
Competitive Cricket
On Saturday, the U13A cricket team played their first fixture against Merchant Taylors’ School. I checked the weather, hoping that it would be great to play in. No rain – that was a good sign, but when I saw the temperature, it showed 3 degrees. 3 degrees in mid-April! With such cold temperatures, I knew that I had to be prepared for the ball to sting my hands, and us having to earn every run, as hitting boundaries on such a slow outfield isn’t so easy.
We arrived at school at 8:30am, ready to hop on our coaches to travel away to Merchant Taylors’. After a 45 minute journey, we finally reached our destination. As we were approaching the ground, we noticed that it was very damp, so we had decided that if we won the toss, we would bowl first, so the outfield would hopefully dry up more, which would make chasing easier. Unfortunately, we lost the toss, but we were still sure that we would try our best to put on a decent score.
And then the game began. Although we had a slow start, our batsmen did well to see the strong bowlers off. When we decided to up the level with our run rate, a few wickets fell together. Despite this, our middle order batted well towards the end and we put on a total of 107 runs. A few runs short of a par score, but still a defendable total.
This meant that the opposition needed 108 runs in 25 overs. This wasn’t a very difficult task, which meant our bowling and fielding needed to be tight. Their start was strong with no wickets to fall, but as we changed the pace of the bowling and put on spin, wickets started to fall. The game was well within our grasp now. However, the opposition started to close the gap; it was getting tighter now. We knew we had come so far – we could not lose it now. So with one big final push, we came back with a few wickets, and won by 12 runs! Overall, it was a challenging and great game, and an ideal start to the season.
By Guradaes S (2H)
Outstanding Organ Exam!
At the start of the Easter holidays, my ABRSM Grade 5 organ exam was just around the corner. Much of my preparation and experiences so far had really helped to give me that final boost of confidence I needed to know that I can and will do my best.
Experiences ranging from playing in services at my local churches where I am a Junior Organ Scholar since October last year, competing in the London Organ Competition and winning the Best Rising Star trophy in December last year, Masterclass with David Goode (one of the UK’s leading organists) in February and practising at Chichester Cathedral, just to name a few. Also, my extremely supportive teacher Mr Whatton has made sure I am well prepared and ready in every part of the exam, from the three exam set pieces to aural tests and sight-reading tests.
On the day of the exam, I felt sure and confident after rehearsals on the School Organ. During my warm-up time, my pieces and scales were ready as I waited for the examiner. The nerves started to fade as my music took over, the Main Hall resonating with sound of the ‘Rare Beast’. As the exam ended, I felt good.
A few days later Mr Green’s email arrived and confirmed the Distinction result I was hoping for, which is very rewarding, especially as the examiner is an ex ABRSM Executive Director with 34 years experience! As this was my first ever organ exam, I am pleased to have made a good start and will try to improve myself to reach the next level.
By Theo T (2F)
Karate Bronze!
During the holidays, I travelled to Malta to compete in an international karate competition. The competition was split over two days and over 15 different countries took part.
Day one of the competition was for kata. Kata is the non-fighting side of karate, and focuses more on technique and stances. I competed in three kata events: solo kata, pairs and three person teams. Unfortunately, I didn’t win any medals from these events, but it was a lot of competitive fun.
Day two was the kumite day. This is the fighting side of karate, and my best event. In total, I won four matches before losing on my fifth, which secured me the bronze medal. I was very happy with my performance and getting a medal in such a large, prestigious competition.
Overall, it was an amazing competition with lots of great competitors, and I am really looking forward to the next one.
By Kai W (2L)
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 Daniel M (2B). Congratulations, you’ve won a Merit!
What is the most common Halloween outfit for a pig to dress up as?
Frankenswine
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!
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
We absolutely love being able to celebrate your achievements, so please make sure you send anything you’re proud of to: b.tiller@hamptonscool.org.uk
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s quiz. Merits go to:
2J: Ben G, Nihal B, Jack H
2L: Olly P, Kai W
2H: AJ C, Guradaes P S, Darhan S
2B: Rory M, Kiran G, Daniel M
2F: Ishaan A, Manraj G
2W: Atulya S, Oliver S, Lorenzo I
Take a look at this week’s questions below, 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 the physiological disorder where patients believe they are a cow? Boanthropy
- What famous structure can grow up to 15cm every summer? Eiffel Tower
- How many times can honeybees flap their wings per second? 230
- What two animals can sleep standing up? Horses and cows
- What farm animal cannot look directly up? Pig
