Welcome to the First Year Blog!

WHAT A BUSY WEEK!

This week was the busiest yet with our First Years undertaking their exciting Team Building morning and then their first trip as a Hamptonian to Avon Tyrrell. The sun was shining and the boys had a fantastic time, let’s head over to our Media Reps to find out what they got up to! From balancing on the Mohawk Walk to creating catapults our First Years have had a busy time of it. We have to mention Thomas F’s (1H) very impressive shot with the catapult to be the only pupil to hit the thousand-point barrel during the catapult competition.

We hope you all have a well-earned rest this weekend!

MEET OUR MEDIA REPS

Budding journalists in the First Year have been busy writing from the front lines about Hampton life this week, say hello to… Tanmay B (1W)!

TEAM BUILDING TACTICS

Tanmay reports:

Getting ready for Avon Tyrrell, all of the First Years participated in team building activities, ranging from scavenger hunts to a real-life version of Minesweeper!

The day started as normal, going to registration, and starting a new day of School.

As soon as it was finished though, everyone went outside to commence the team building activities.

Here are some of them:

The Great Communicator

This one was very interesting – even though the rules were very simple, there was still a lot of skill involved. I think this is interesting because each detail is crucial – miss one and you could end up drawing something that looks nothing like the original image.

Ball Juggling

There are a lot of different strategies to play this game that is most efficient. There are only are a few rules, but they make for a very fun intuition-based game.

By the end of the game, balls are flying up, down, left and right and you have to try your hardest to only focus on the person you’re catching from and throwing from!

Electric maze

This one involves a lot of trial and error, as well as remembering sequences.

While it was hard to remember the sequence or to know where other teammates have stepped, it is useful to have the rest of your team guiding you.

In conclusion, the Team Building day was an enjoyable way to get to know everyone and have fun. If I could, I would definitely do it again! All of the activities, while being frustrating at the start, ended up being really engaging and fun!

AVON TYRRELL ADVENTURES

Our Media Rep, Lucas ST (1P) reports:

This week, pupils had great fun in Avon Tyrrell! The bus ride there was 1 hour and 30 minutes long and once we were almost at Avon Tyrrell no one could contain their excitement! There were wild horses everywhere even on the streets!

Once we arrived, we were told the rules, put in our groups (which we named) and then we were off to race for points! These points would be used to get materials to build catapults. There were tons of fun activities to do like archery (just don’t hit anyone!), the adventure course, croquet where you are blindfolded and guided by your teammates – who have to watch out to not get hit by the person blindfolded and semaphore flags! Once lunch time came, everyone was happy to sit down and rest and they’d definitely need to rest as next we were building catapults. We had to choose from a few sets of materials which each cost a different amount of points. Groups had to use points carefully about how to use their points as to win you need the most. Then once everyone had finished building, targets were put up to hit and gain points. After, was the scores. The moment of truth. Even a Canadian Goose appeared to hear the points! Finally, they announced the winners… Team Goose United had won and plot twist… That was my group!!! Next, we went on the bus. A lot of pupils were very tired. The trip was a blast!!!

Take a look at some of the photos from the First Year trip to Avon Tyrrell to find out what our First Years got up to:

Avon Tyrrell 2020

SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS!

We love to hear about what you have been getting up to outside of School. Please do send any information about any of your achievements through to Mrs Halford.

Last weekend Lucas S (1P) was awarded the best player at rucking for the last rugby season at Reed’s rugby club. Congratulations Lucas on what sounds like a fantastic season, well done!

Daniel T (1J) recently gained a Distinction grade with an outstanding 98% in his acoustic guitar exam, what an incredible achievement! Well done Daniel!

RUGBY RESTART!

Meet our Rugby Rep Stanley A (1J)!

Stanley has reported on their first training session this week:

My early experience of rugby at Hampton has been exciting. 2020 has been a real challenge, rugby though has carried on, not as normal, but still very enjoyable. Although fixtures aren’t going ahead and contact isn’t being played, touch is still great fun.The atmosphere in training is electric, everyone is involved and sometimes it can get competitive. This makes us all a little bit more aggressive in our game. I’m loving the sessions and having them three times a week is a dream come true.

The coaches know their stuff. Even though we are not allowed to play contact, they make the touch games interesting. As well as rugby being competitive, chucking a ball around with your mates is always one of the best things to do.

Playing rugby here is all I’ve ever wanted. I cannot wait until the matches against other schools begin and we can show them what this Hampton team can do. I am hoping for great things.

TUTEE OF THE WEEK

Each week Mrs Peattie and Mr Hill select a Tutee of the Week from the nominations sent in by the First Year Form Tutors. This person is selected for their all-round contribution to Hampton life and for displaying a great attitude. Congratulations to this week’s winner of the award Fabio TP (1J). Mrs Scorer and Mrs Halford were impressed with the kind and considerate nature Fabio showed towards others at Avon Tyrrell, and his overall positive approach to his first few weeks as a Hamptonian.

PRESERVING THE OZONE

On 19 December 1994 the United Nations proclaimed 16 September the International Day for Preservation of the Ozone Layer. We have come a long way since then and most of our ozone is on its way to restoring itself. But what is it and why must we preserve it? Check out this quick facts video to find out:

FIRST YEAR 5 QUESTIONS

A few questions for you to have a go at yourself or challenge people at home if they know the answer. Merits are awarded for everyone who has a go! Just click on the link below and enter your answers and points for the Inter Form Competition will be awarded to the form with the most entries every week.

  1. What is seven cubed?
  2. What is the smallest planet in our solar system?
  3. What is the most sold flavour of Walkers crisps?
  4. Which country in the world is believed to have the most miles of motorway?
  5. Which famous musician wrote and sang the theme song to the 007 film Skyfall?

Why don’t you have a go and enter your answers here

Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits! Merits will be added to our remote merit log and if you have space add a merit in the back of your diaries!

We had a record 26 entries for the five questions last week, 1F are clearly the Form to beat with six entries! Well done to the following boys (make sure to add your merits in the back of your homework diaries):

1B: Adam M, Sebastian W, Boris D, Aditya K

1F: Neel M, Johnny R, Amar B, Jasper E, Harry G, Patrick M

1H: Oliver B, Alessandro C, Prabodha A

1J: Ben B, Caspar S, Nathaniel C

1L: Gregory M, Jaipaal G, Aadi K, Agalyan S

1P: Joshie H, Lucas ST, Eugene, Raif D

1W: Faris S, Oliver A

And here are the answers to last week’s 5 questions:

  1. Robert Galbraith is the pseudonym for which famous author? – J.K.Rowling
  2. In which part of the body would you find the fibula? – lower leg
  3. Can you name all of Henry VIII’s wives? – Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard and Catherine Parr
  4. In which US State is the city Nashville? – Tennessee
  5. Where did the most recent Winter Olympics take place? – South Korea

WEEKLY REMINDERS

From next week full School uniform is expected so remember to be wearing your ties and blazers, looking nice and smart on Monday morning!

Make sure you have all of your Art equipment: HB and 2B pencils; black biro or gel pen;  scissors;  glue stick; a set of coloured pencils; a set of felt pens; watercolours or gouache paints or both. An old shirt or apron to cover clothes is now also needed as we are unable to provide aprons at this time.

Have a great weekend!

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