Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
This week was our first five day week in a while but luckily the sun has been shining to help us get through! Last Friday the U13 Athletics team took part in English Schools’ Track & Field Cup – well done to everyone involved. Other important news is, of course, the return of the School ducklings – it’s been lovely to see them back in residence in the Cloisters.
In PSHE this week our focus was Dream Careers – each pupil did some research into careers of interest to them and it seems we have some aspiring doctors, athletes and even an accountant or two in Second Year!
Next week is the assessment week that all of the Second Years have been working hard towards – good luck to all and make sure you take some time to look after yourselves! As a reminder, all Second Years are expected to wear uniform on Monday and sports kit on Tuesday and Friday. As always, no non-Hampton kit is allowed.
MERIT MILESTONES!
Another bumper week for merits! Well done to the following Second Years:
Thomas Duffy – 10
Thomas Duffy – 20
Ethan Roberts – 20
Nileeth Gwalla – 20
Grigory Dobrynin – 20
Luke Taylor – 30
Charlie East – 30
Sam Coupe – 40
Ethan Price – 60 (fantastic!)
Leonardo Falcone – 60 (wonderful!)
Oliver Champkin – 60 (super!)
James Phillips – 70 (fabulous!)
Tutor Question of the Week
This week the pupils wanted to know… Do you think a burger is a sandwich?
No – of course not: Miss Holt, Miss Tiller, Miss Bryant and 2F, Mrs Hill, Mrs Owen, Mr Hooper and half of 2W, Miss Mattinson (but she’s not sure why…)
Yes – obviously: The other half of 2W – they were very undecided.
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.
Awesome Athletics
Joe Timba (2L) gives us a report of the recent Track and Field Cup held at Lee Valley Stadium:
All of the boys involved in the Athletics trip got up earlier than usual to make the trip to School. As we met up at 8:15am spirits were high, and the music was loud as we made our way to Lee Valley Athletics Centre. After a hyped minibus trip, we finally reached our destination. Walking through the gates we saw all of the other schools warming up, everyone was ready to win. As the day went on all the boys competed in track or field events. Leading up to lunch we had no clue of the standings. Then came the verdict; the senior boys were a whopping 50 points ahead of the pack. The junior boys however were only ahead of Orleans house by three points, less than one second difference. But the day was not over yet, we still had a full afternoon’s worth of running, jumping and throwing to go. Everything could change. After a gruelling four hours of more events, we finally got our place. WE CAME FIRST. We had made it; all of our time working had paid off. Our heads were held high, as we made our long way back home as victors.
We also hear from Mr Mills about the events of the day:
I’m delighted to report our U13 Athletics Team performed excellently in round 1 of the English School’s Track & Field Cup.
I was very pleased with how the boys performed; each athlete had to compete in two events and in such horrible weather conditions, cold, wet and windy! We had three First Year boys who joined up with the Second Years to form the U13 team, gaining valuable experience. It was lovely to see the age groups work so well with each other.
This will now see both teams through to the Regional Finals, well done!
Wonderful watersports!
It looked like the sun was shining in Dorset, as a group of Second Year Hamptonians headed to Poole Harbour for an exciting weekend of watersports, Kai W and Umair M (2L) tell us all about it:
On Saturday and Sunday, roughly 30 Second Years went to Rockley for watersport activities. The bus left at 7am, so many of us had to wake up very early – on a Saturday as well! Once we arrived, we almost immediately got changed into our wetsuits and we headed out onto the water on our canoes. The tide had come out and the coast was very muddy. We had to push the heavy canoes out onto the water through the sticky mud, and many of us lost shoes. After lunch, I did sailing, which was my favourite activity, as I learnt how to sail well and was very fast across the water. That night, there was Interform football with no referees… it did not go well. The next day, we did paddle boarding and windsurfing. I preferred paddle boarding as it was quite peaceful. Afterwards, we went home. It was a very fun experience and I hope to go on more trips like this one!
Take a look at some of the photos here
Return of the Ducks!
At Hampton we get a visit from a duck and around a dozen ducklings every year and they live in the Cloisters near the Hammond Theatre. They are given a little swimming pool (so cute!), food, and water. They are given a shelter made from a Hampton tent for shade from the hot sun and as protection from the nasty crows. They are around all week and even though you can’t touch them I am sure they would appreciate a visit at break or lunch time!
By Max D (2L)
More Tips for Revision and End of Years
As we near the end of year assessments, here are some useful tips for wrapping up your revision!
- Test each other and yourself – get your family and friends to as well
- Don’t overthink the assessments! But don’t neglect them…
- Have enough sleep and try not to get too far past your normal bed time
- Plan your last revision sessions well – but give yourself a lot of breaks as well!
- Don’t be too tough on yourself. Take a break if a question is taking too much time; maybe have a small snack to give yourself some energy
- Motivate yourself – maybe arrange a fun activity after the assessments
- Remember to use acronyms and other techniques to remember – not just reading!
- Don’t overwhelm yourself with revision and thoughts – this might cause anxiety. If this happens, take a break! Focus on one subject at a time and try not to get distracted.
Good luck!
By Theo L (2B)
Subject of the Week: Marvellous Music!
Music is divided into two different classes: a class where we learn how to play on a keyboard and learn about musical topics; and a class where we go on the computers and compose pieces on the subject which we are studying. In music we study a variety of topics such as: opera, musical theatre, romantic music, classical music, Indian classical music, dance music and folk music. Yesterday we had our first end-of-year exam, which was our theory and keyboard assessment. As a proud Grade 4 pianist and a Grade 5 music theorist, I can safely say the test was one of the easier exams.
By Dominic N (2L)
Club of the Week: Psychology Club
Psychology Club takes place on a Thursday at 1:15pm for Second and Third Years, at S41 in the Psychology Department and is hosted by Mr Dow. In Psychology Club, we talk about the brain and how it functions. We learn about various different things like phobias, how different animals think and hypnotisation. At the club you can really get yourself thinking about hard topics. There are lots of spaces for people to join the club at the moment so it would be nice to see some new people coming. It was a worthwhile experience for me on my first time and it would definitely be one for you to!
By Zachariya I (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 Kai W (2L). Congratulations, you’ve won a Merit!
What do you call a group of cows with a sense of humour?
A laughing stock
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!
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s quiz. Merits go to:
2J: Lucas Z, Nihal B, Jack H
2L: Olly P, Max D
2H: AJ C, Guradaes PS
2B: Rory M, Kiran G
2W: Oliver S, Benedict B
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.
Take a look at this week’s questions. Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here.
Here are the answers from last week’s quiz:
- How wide are cricket stumps as a set in inches? 9
- What is the capital of Tuvalu? Funafuti
- Who was the Prime Minister of England when the joined the EU? Edward Heath
- What is the national flower of India? Lotus
- What was the old name of Istanbul? Constantinople
