Welcome to the First Year Blog!
This week has absolutely flown by, and there is now only one week left until the end of term! This week’s trip to the zoo was undoubtedly a highlight, and next week should finish the term nicely with an activity afternoon on Tuesday, an exciting final morning on Friday and plenty of fun last lessons coming up too! Have a great final week of First Year everyone!
MARVELLOUS MARWELL ZOO
On Thursday we had an extremely fun trip to the zoo with the biology department. When we got off the coach – after the rush of people who had a talk 5 minutes before we arrived – we walked to the penguins where we started filling in our booklet about conservation, and certain animals. Unfortunately, the penguins weren’t there that day, so we had to fill in the adaptations from memory. After this, we walked for a short distance and saw flamingos, giraffes and rhinos. This was amazing as – even though they were quite far away – they still seemed so alien, big and strange compared to pictures from the internet. After taking a short break at the rhinos to fill in our booklet, we walked past some oryx and then the tiger enclosure! However, they were not there so we swiftly went to our talk! This talk was about conservation, what zoos do and the role of governments in stopping illegal animal trade. This was fun as we learnt many interesting facts and had some interactive activities. We then went to see some otters however, some pupils had taken another path, so they missed these wonderful and extremely cute otters swimming in their pool. After we had met up with the rest of our group we went and had some lunch where – after I finished – there was a reptile room which I went to look at – I loved the turtles and snakes in there! We then swiftly made our way through a maze of paths before arriving at the tropical house. This was my favourite part of the trip! There were exotic, colourful and fluffy birds like I had never seen flying throughout and other exotic animals, but my favourite was the lazy sloth who was sleeping on top of a tree. As well as seeing this, we also saw a crocodile – just before we left the house. Finally, we went through the path and saw hippos; almost saw ice leopards; and many other exotic creatures before having to leave this amazing place! By Gabriel K-S (1B)
Today is the day we go on our final trip of the year to Marwell Zoo. We were all glad to have a break from school to see endangered animals. We arrived at Marwell at 10.15am. We were the last people to get off as the other groups had to dash of for a talk. I was in Mr Ferrier’s group with eight other classmates from 1J. We walked around the zoo for an hour, filling in our worksheets and then, at 11.25 we had out talk. The talk was interesting and nice. After, we tried to see some snow leopards but failed so we headed off to lunch. After lunch, we walked around the zoo and then, the trip came to an end. The trip went by really quickly and I couldn’t believe it was already 2.30pm when it felt like it was 5 hours ago. We got on the bus and then drove home. It was a nice experience and a trip that I shall cherish. By Joshua A (1J)
Marwell Zoo was a very calm and tranquil trip. When we arrived at the zoo we headed towards all the animals such as the tapirs, giraffes and many more animals. The zoo was a very wide and free roaming area. Looking at the animals fascinated me about questions such as: how can they adapt to such a warm environment? Do they have enough space to roam around? After looking at some of the animals, we went to the lecture theatre in the zoo, they told us all about how they classify animals as: extinct, extinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable, near threatened, least concern and data deficient. They also told us about the reasons they keep zoos in order to conserve and preserve animals. After listening to the lecture we all went to the lizards area where we saw a turtle with a flexible neck which could bend. We then got an ice cream from the café and then we boarded onto the coaches. By Danyal P (1J)
Feel the rhythm
In music we’ve been doing group reggae projects. I’m doing percussion on the drum kit, playing the one drop, where every beat other than one is accented, creating a laid back and relaxing feel, to calm people in times of depression in Jamaica. It’s a song called Three Little Birds, by Bob Marley, which is about telling people not to worry. Each group has four to five people playing percussion, vocals, chords, baseline and the hook. Our hook and baseline are on the piano, while the chords are on guitar. We are practising twice a week and it has been a very fun experience to work in a band. By Shishir V (1J)
SUPER SWIMMER
Nathaniel (1B) has been selected as part of the swim team representing Richmond at the prestigious London Youth Games. The event is this Saturday, 1 July at the London Aquatics Centre. Nathaniel will compete against swimmers from 27 London boroughs. As a representative of Richmond, he will have the opportunity to proudly showcase the talent that exists within the local community and hopefully serve as an inspiration to aspiring swimmers in Richmond.
Get ready to make a splash, Nathaniel, and represent Richmond with pride at the London Youth Games!
SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS
Yusuf A (1W) achieved an exceptional score in his Mensa test last week; what an impressive achievement, Yusuf – well done!
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 23 First Year Hamptonians had a go at last week’s quiz, well done to everyone who had a go! Form 1B crowned weekly champions with seven entries. Merits go to:
1P: Lucas B, Sion K
1J: Henry S, Shishir V, Devan D, Joshua A, Josh B, David W
1B: Joe B, Alex G, Sebastian W, Dennis H, Gabriel KS, Devan K, Neal H
1H: James G
1F: Aiden F, Daniel S, Ben J, Bretton C
1W: Brooklyn N, Shiv V, Yusuf A
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 animal symbolises good luck in Europe?
- Bill Gates is the founder of which company?
- How many cards are there in a deck of Uno?
- When is Canada Day?
- How many British women (singles only) made it through to the quarter-finals of Nottingham Open 2023?
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.
This week’s questions are set by Oliver Y (1P). 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 two countries share the longest international border? Canada and the USA
- On Saturday 18th June 1815, which famous battle took place? The Battle of Waterloo
- The Roman God of War inspired the name of which planet? Mars
- When was the company Nike found? 1971
- How many eyes does bee have? 5
