Welcome to the First Year Blog!
I am clearing my keyboard of little balls of colourful foil to write this last blog of the term, a give-away that I have been tempted away from Lenten abstinence, again, and been eating Easter eggs. Indeed, 1J were romping around the Cloisters yesterday hunting for eggs from the bunny hidden among the daffodils. Other seasonal delights included the Spring Concert which was a spectacular musical finale to the term; we have a report from one of the performers.
I am pleased to be able to congratulate 1F on their success in the Interform Rugby and Football which catapulted them to lead position for the cup at the end of the year. In second place, we have 1W and in third 1L. The other Forms are close behind and still have a good chance of moving up and winning.
Please do enter Project Explore with pictures and a report in a new place you have visited over the holiday (it can be very local).
The message from Mr Hill at this week’s assembly was not to spend your holiday revising for end-of-year assessments. If you do have any catch-up work to do, then the holiday is a good time; there is no need to be revising until you return to School.
Have a splendid holiday!
PROJECT EXPLORE
The Easter holidays are a great opportunity for you all to get stuck into Project Explore. You should visit a local site that you are interested in, tell your Form Tutors about your visit, and with some inspiration from your visit, get busy and produce your own project! There are no guidelines on what you can make: you could choose to write a poem, cook a meal, make a piece of art, record and edit a film, or any other creative piece you can come up with. The deadline for Project Explore is Monday 28 April – just after the start of the summer term. I know all Form Tutors are looking forward to hearing about your visits and projects, so make sure you tell them all about it!
Find out all about it from Mr Hill and Mr Fuldner:
Egg-citing Times
1P have been busy learning all about German festivals in their lessons with Frau Willett-Pecnik this week. In Germany, they often decorate trees or branches with colourful, hand-painted Easter eggs. Take a look at how 1P got on:
1J also enjoyed an Easter egg hunt during break time today to mark the end of term – some tasty choclate eggs their reward!
Chess Interform
Last Friday there were many different Interform competitions including an exciting and competitive one for chess. This was held in S11, and three players were required from each form as an A, B and C player with A being the best and C being the worst. In IJ the players were Luke B, Rohan G (me), and Xavier T. Our first match was against 1W and we all won and were feeling confident for the next round. In the second round against 1F, I won and the other two lost which sadly knocked us out of the tournament.
The competition was a complete knockout tournament that required two wins to get through to the next round and if you lost 2 in 1 round then you were eliminated. After many games of chess, the forms 1F and 1L made it into the final where they were provided with packed lunch. They were supported by volunteers from Chess Team, and a huddle of silent spectator. In the end 1F came first with 1L close behind in second and 1J in third. The last game was a draw but because the A board had won, they took the trophy.
By Rohan (1J)
In the Chess Interform, an intense match between 1F and 1L happened but 1F managed to scrape out on top and won the tournament with 1L coming second. The games were played in a silent room where nobody was allowed to speak. This made every game tense as people watched the games taking place. Everyone who played tried very hard and did very well.
By Axel M-B (1B)
Interform Football
Last Friday, First Year footballers representing their forms rushed to the Sports Pavilion to get changed for the tournament that decided the positions for interform football. The eight forms were divided up into two pools, one containing 1H (my form), 1L, 1B and 1G and the other with 1P, 1F, 1W and 1J. Our first game against 1B was tight, but we won thanks to a well-taken penalty from Filippos M (1H) as the only goal of the game. Our next match was against 1G, which ended as a draw with both teams coming close to scoring.
Our last game was against the eventual winners, 1L. This was the hardest match, and we lost 1-0 despite playing well as a team. We ended up third in our group, so we were matched up against the form that came third in the other pool, 1F. The game was close, but after a header by Theo R (1H) from a corner and a goal by Noah N (1H) just before the last whistle, we triumphed two goals to nil.
After finishing our last games, we all got to watch the penalty shoot-out at the end of the final between 1L and 1J, a thrilling way to end a great afternoon. Everyone who played had lots of fun in a brilliant tournament! I am looking forward to more Interform competitions in the future.
By William J (1H)
Take a look at some of the action from both Interform Rugby and Football here:
Spring Concert
For the first time, First Years were invited to play in both the junior and senior ensembles in a dazzling concert which celebrated women composers. I was fortunate to be playing the clarinet in an orchestra of 30 Hamptonians and teachers in the opening piece on Wednesday evening. The music we chose was The Highland Games which is a fast-paced, stirring piece by the composer, Jesselyn Joy Dudinsky. It was my second big concert at Hampton; I enjoyed this concert more because I think that this piece of music was more interesting and fun to play. There was a lot of rehearsals and, of course, I was a little nervous but it was all worth it.
By James C (1H)
Take a look at some of the photos of the concert here.
Readathon
This week and over the Easter holidays, First Years have been enjoying the Readathon! The Readathon is a charity fundraiser where reading is the focus. Our task is to read as much as possible, and to get sponsors who donate to this year’s Form Charities: Alzheimer’s Society, Shooting Star and UNICEF.
I am finding registrations very peaceful now because we read our books! Many Hamptonians (including me) are really enjoying the Readathon, and I encourage everyone over the Easter holidays to participate. What a great way to spend the holidays and we raise money too!
By Max O (1H)
Special Shout outs!
Shout out for Mohamed T (1H) who had his taekwondo belt grading assessment last weekend and successfully got his blue belt.
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 Mr Fuldner present him with a certificate and a tasty treat to eat!
Congratulations to Kyle O (1W) on being named this week’s Tutee of the Week.
Kyle has been working hard and putting great effort into all aspects of School life since the beginning of term – well done Kyle!
THE HAMPTON HUNT
Each week I will set you a challenge where you need to find out a random fact, number or indeed anything else around the School – you won’t be able to do this from home! Points for the interform competition will be awarded to the Form with the most correct entries over the course of the term! You have until the end of Wednesday to complete the challenge; you will find out in next week’s blog if you’re correct, and you will be given a merit by your Form Tutor the following Monday. And who knows – you might get to know the School better in the process!
Last week’s challenge: How many steps do you have to walk up from the ground floor to get to the Classrooms in the RS Department?
The correct answer was 40
Well done to the following First Years for getting the correct answer: only Raff O’C-Z and Moksha K managed to count the steps correctly! Make sure you collect a merit from your Form Tutor next week!
The Hampton Hunt is having a well-deserved rest over the holidays – lots of Easter eggs to get through!
