Welcome to the Second Year Blog!
With frosty mornings and crisp air sweeping across the 3G, our Second Years have been layering up and powering through an action-packed week that has been anything but chilly in spirit.
First up, the much-loved homework holiday gave everyone a well-deserved break from the books. No homework meant more time to relax, recharge and, most importantly, dive headfirst into No Limits Week. Pupils were encouraged to try at least two new clubs – and wow, did they rise to the challenge! From mastering the art of knitting to debating cures for deadly diseases in Biomedicine and from launching hot air balloons in Physics Club to spiking volleyballs, our Hamptonians have been discovering new hobbies and hidden talents. If you did not manage to fit them all in, do not worry – it doesn’t have to be No Limits Week to give something new a go!
As if that was not enough, every Second Year pupil took on the Bebras Challenge, a global competition that tests logic and problem-solving skills. It was all about patterns, puzzles and perseverance – and judging by the smiles, it was a hit!
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, 2J, 2L and 2W enjoyed a cultural treat at LEH, when they got to watch a Spanish performance of Romeo and Juliet. Some brave Hamptonians even stepped onto the stage to join the cast, proving that confidence is not just for the classroom but for the spotlight too.
However, the fun does not stop there. Next week, First and Second Years will be teaming up for the launch of Interform Wordle, so sharpen those vocab skills and get ready for some friendly competition. Who will be crowned Wordle champions? Time will tell!
So grab a hot chocolate, settle in and scroll down to see what our Second Years have been up to during this frosty, homework-free, action-packed week. From Bebras to balloons, knitting to knowledge quizzes – it has been yet another week to remember!
Merit Milestones
Wow, you’ve been keeping Mrs Owen busy with merits this week! Big shout out to the following Second Year Hamptonians:
Jia wen Xie – 10
Harri Chapman – 10
Alex Shah – 10
Thomas Larkin -10
Logan Travis – 10
Diego Cubria-Garcia – 10
Alec Hutchison – 10
Jake Lee – 10
Lucas Hodgson – 10
David Mitchell – 10
Arjun Dudhe – 20
Alexander Murphy – 20
Peter Rey-Raab – 20
Jesse Galustian – 20
Kyle Osborne – 20
Ishaan Jain – 20
Jia wen Xie – 20
Logan Kent – 20
Thomas Larkin – 20
Poyraz Dirik – 20
Harry Turle – 20
Ali Eisenstein – 20
Yuchen Liu – 20
Benjamin Allen – 20
Philip Vatchev – 20
Kamran Cathcart – 20
Seb Goode – 20
Ashveer Chohan – 20
Daniel Fitzpatrick – 20
Alexander Chen – 20
Noah Neoh-Arhbi – 20
James Cao – 20
Rayan Amiri – 30
Jia wen Xie – 30
Luca Dhaliwal – 30
Edward Robinson – 30
Monty Smith – 30
Rohan Ghugari – 30
Thomas Larkin – 30
Isaac Li – 30
Timothy Mountain – 40
Benjamin McCune – 50 (He’s off to see Mr Knibbs!)
Sebastian Young – 60 (Fantastic!)
Sebastian Young – 70 (Double fantastic!)
LION merits
Reyansh Krishnan – 10
Busy as a Bebras: Cracking the Code
Yesterday we took part in the Bebras Challenge. This is a challenge designed to promote computational thinking for pupils aged six to 18. You do not need a coding background to do it, as it is all about pattern and logic problems. You can get to a second round if you score enough points, but this round is mainly about coding, so you do need some experience. The reason why you see beavers everywhere is because ‘Bebras’ means beaver in Lithuanian. Bebras originated in Lithuania in 2004 and was quickly picked up by different countries. Overall, it operates in 80 countries, with millions of pupils taking part worldwide. I hope I did well and hopefully did not lose too many marks.
By Luke W (2F)
Deck the Desks with Boughs of Holly
Christmas is coming closer and closer so, with the weather finally getting colder, my class, 2B, have started getting festive for the holiday season. Many of us have become elves to help with decorating the classroom, and we are planning to bring in decorations from home to fill the classroom with Christmas cheer, having already added a train with very professional conductors, the class mascots: an axolotl and a capybara. I hope that more decorations will come into the classroom and that other forms join in. I am very excited to see how many forms end up adding things. We have also prepared Secret Santa, which will be starting soon. I am sure everyone is excited to get (or, more importantly, give) their gifts.
By Asa L (2B)
Knitting Know-How for No Limits Week
This week was No Limits Week – a chance to try out new clubs and something new in general. Personally, I think that No Limits Week is a great idea as pupils have an opportunity to try out new clubs which they never knew they might enjoy! I have tried several new clubs, but the one I enjoyed the most was Knitting Club.
Knitting Club is a club where you can learn to knit (I am pretty sure you would have guessed that from the name) or finish a piece of work that you might have started a few weeks ago. Knitting Club is an exciting and fun experience which anyone can enjoy! Knitting Club takes place every Wednesday during the first half of lunch. Anyone can attend as the club is open to all. The teachers are all nice and they help you if you ever get stuck (which happens quite often for me). Knitting is a very complicated process, especially at the beginning where you must tie a double knot and do a sequence of moves that you must keep repeating.
It was my first time going to Knitting Club on Wednesday. Some pupils might think that Knitting Club would not be interesting, but it is quite fun once you attend and get the hang of it. I personally found it very complicated to tie the double knot and do the moves as it takes a lot of focus and effort. Knitting Club is a place where you can release your emotions and fill your body with happiness and good feelings. Knitting can be a bit hard at first as you must understand all the twists and turns, but once you get the gist of it, you realise you can do a lot better than you thought you would. Knitting Club has made me look at my knitting skills in a different way. Perhaps I am good at knitting! You can make a variety of things at Knitting Club, such as scarves, mini carpets, door mats or just random shapes in general. For example, I am in the process of making a red mat for our kitchen to make it look a bit brighter!
Overall, I would recommend going to Knitting Club as you can express your emotions through knitting and you can also find out things that you thought you could never do before!
By Moksha K (2B)
From Smallpox to Big Ideas
This week, I began attending Biomedicine Club, which was an obvious choice for a young biologist such as me. After the first couple of minutes, I was completely enthralled by the captivating conversations regarding important cures for lethal diseases, where I contributed my knowledge explaining how smallpox was cured. This is fascinating, especially since exposure to the relatively mild cowpox virus generated an immune response that also protected against the deadly smallpox virus. If you enjoyed that brief extract of one of our average conversations, then join up! Next week, one of the Sixth Form co-leaders of Biomedicine Club will be giving a talk on anatomy and the immune system: you are welcome to come along! Please come along; I promise you will love it! We normally take part in fun quizzes, interesting research, and lots, lots more.
By Juan A V D S (2B)
Hot Air and High Hopes
It is No Limits Week, and Physics Club is definitely a club I would recommend. From making paper planes to hot air balloons, Physics Club is one of my favourite clubs of the week! It is always exciting to find out what the club is doing for a session, whether it is a short or long-term project.
I enjoy the fun competitions and team challenges (an example was when we were told to build a bridge only using the long one-metre rulers – ours was not that great!). There are also two friendly Sixth Formers who are always helpful whenever an issue or dilemma occurs in a project.
This week in Physics Club was the grand unveil to see if the hot air balloons we made would fly. I was working in a pair with Ashveer C (2H). On Wednesday, when we headed to the Physics Quad (where the giant chessboard is for those who do not know), I was filled with anxiety and exhilaration. I really wanted the hot air balloon to fly! We were chosen to go last and as we watched the other balloons fly, our nervousness grew as we had put in two weeks of effort into this project. When the staff went to get our balloon and place it over the warm air, we made sure we were extra careful with how we gave it to them as we definitely did not want to compromise the flight with some holes in the tissue paper. When the balloon first flew in the air, it immediately dipped down, then, in a dramatic turn of events, the balloon caught a gust of wind and rocketed upwards. It was the highest of the day! We were thrilled! To add a bit of humour, the balloon caught another gust of wind, this time propelling it toward the top windows of the Atrium and all of a sudden, it was gone. We found it for a few seconds on the window of a Biology classroom, but when we came to get it, it had disappeared. If anyone finds the hot air balloon, please let us know! I cannot wait for our next projects and experiments.
By Ansh R (2G)
Net Gains: Volleyball Fun
Volleyball Club is the perfect place to play some sport, learn new skills, and meet new people who share your passion. Whether you are a complete beginner or have some experience, the club welcomes everyone and anyone. Each week, we practise different techniques, from serving and passing to setting and spiking, all while having fun in a friendly environment. Every time, we play fun matches against each other, and it is a great way to pass a Monday lunchtime. If you are eager to try it out, just come along to the Sports Hall in the first half of lunch with your PE kit!
By Isaac L (2P)
Goals, Grit and Glory
Last weekend, we had our first ESFA match. ESFA, if you did not know, stands for the English Schools’ Football Association, and they run the cup we participate in. As a B team we are very lucky to play in this cup as it is great fun to have competitive cup matches.
At 9 o’clock we began our warm-up and had a motivating team talk from Mr Towl and Mr Green, putting us in the perfect mindset to start the game. In the first half, my game as a goalkeeper was relatively uneventful as the defence were doing such a flawless job and as we worked harder and harder, we finally got a corner in which Noah N-A (2H) snatched the ball and placed it into the goal, which was followed by a thunderous roar.
After half-time we were willing to fight for our place in the next round, but the opposition came back strong as they created numerous dangerous chances. As the time got closer and closer towards that final whistle, they became more and more determined to get an equaliser. With under a minute left, they got a corner and crossed it to their striker who was in a good position, but thanks to a miracle of a block from Daniel F (2F) the final whistle blew and we had a 1-0 victory in the first round of ESFA to our names. As we shook hands, we could not help but feel that we had truly earned our sausage rolls and that we were filled with excitement for round two.
By Edward J (2G)
QUIZ OF THE WEEK
Welcome to the Quiz of the Week! Every week, we’ll post five general knowledge questions. Take a look at this week’s questions, 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.
This week’s fiendish questions come to us from Ralph L (2B). Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers below:
Here are the answers to last week’s quiz:
- Who is currently first in the F1 Drivers Championship? Lando Norris
- What is the capital of Iran? Tehran
- Which character killed Macbeth in the book by William Shakespeare? Macduff
- For how many full years did Queen Elizabeth reign? 70 years
- What is the smallest country in the world by area? Vatican City
Well done to the following Second Year Hamptonians who answered everything correctly – Raff OZ, Tom C, Hayk F, Noah L, Finn G, Rayan A, Harry T, Seb G, Harri C, Ollie R, Reyansh K, Ansh R, David M, Isaac L, Jesse G, Ethan C, Arthur H and Ryan A.
If you’re keen to write some general knowledge questions for the Blog, please email e.holt@hamptonschool.org.uk.
Have a great weekend!
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