Welcome to the Third Year Blog!
This week has been Green Week at the School. The Third Year Blog was very excited about the prospect of Green Week, imagining all the Mr Green related activities and celebrations that would ensue. Maybe just one week isn’t enough? Could this be an annual event? Would there be a special flag made? It all seemed like an outstanding idea, but a slightly surprising one, the Third Year Blog thought.
However, when the Third Year Blog was gently informed that Green Week was actually about encouraging the School to think more proactively about sustainability and the environment, it did make much more sense, and in truth, was a much more exciting idea.
Of course, there is also an aptness in the fact that Green Week has seen such incredible temperatures across the UK. If ever there was a time to think about living more sustainably and how you can individually make changes, this felt like a good week to do so.
Normally, the Third Year Blog would now start to bang on about how high-octane the Hampton week has been, but that really wouldn’t be the right phrase on this occasion. In truth, the pupils (and the teachers) have done a sterling job of continuing to operate in such trying circumstances, but if ever there was a low-octane Hampton week, this was the one. The pupils remained unpretentious, but were considerably less lively than they sometimes are. Maybe it was the heat? Maybe they were mourning the absence of ties and blazers – they were all wearing measurably less Hampton lions this week, which must surely have an impact.
And yet… there were things being done and achievements being achieved… Let’s see what they were all getting up to.
STEM Competition
Last Friday, a group of eight Hamptonians from the Second and Third Year went to Richmond College to take part in what promised to be an exciting STEM competition. I have to mention the country music in the minibus as we were driving there; it brought up our spirits on such a hot day. Thanks Mr Lee!
When we arrived, we were greeted by a much cooler atmosphere in quite a minimalist building. We were split into four groups, each with two Hamptonians ready to tackle the challenges of LEGO robotics; building fast cars; patient diagnosis and CPR; and using witness descriptions to catch criminals. While I sadly did not get to experience the building of the model cars, and can therefore not comment on it, Richard C and I were able to try everything else. Each session gave us a two hour long taste on the depth of STEM, with the goal of the competition being to show us the massive range of topics that STEM covers – it goes much further than what you’d ever learn at school.
My group started off the day with medical diagnostics, where two university students studying medicine taught us how to diagnose patients and how to do simple first aid. We learnt about the first steps a doctor would take to figure out what might be wrong with a patient, as well as any emergency that has to be dealt with immediately. For example, if a doctor finds that a patient has a very low blood oxygen concentration (under 94%), they would immediately carry out procedures to increase that, before they carry out any other work, while a slightly low heart rate isn’t a reason to panic, but rather a small concern. This was quite interesting to me, as I did not realise how ranges can mean very different things in medicine – they are sometimes strict boundaries, and sometimes just what should be expected. Another interesting point they made was that a doctor has to be very secretive when trying to figure out your breathing patterns. If they tell you that they are looking at your breathing patterns, then you will begin thinking about your breathing, and therefore a doctor must do it ‘in secret’ to avoid any mistakes when diagnosing you. This short preview of what medicine is like made me appreciate it quite a lot more, as it was never something I saw as interesting before last Friday.
After a short snack break, we proceeded to LEGO robotics. Lucky for our group, Richard and I have a pretty strong passion for technology, and this was our team’s best achieving activity. The first step of the activity was making the robot move forwards and backwards, as well as spin in place and then eventually be able to move in a square pattern on the floor. This was no big hurdle for us, and we quickly proceeded to the next step – making the robot detect its surroundings. We could place it on the table, and using its colour-light sensor, it could detect changes in light intensity, and therefore can tell when it reaches the edge of the table and stop in time to avoid falling off. This worked pretty well, but there were times when the sensor didn’t correctly detect the edge, as any change in sunlight from outside would disrupt the readings. There wasn’t much we could do about this sadly.
Teams were awarded extra points for creativity, and in this case, sounds and images displayed on the robot’s screen would earn extra points. Richard, being the only one with the courage to hear his own voice, recorded a ‘choo choo’ sound, which would play whenever the robot turned around after detecting an edge using its colour light sensor or another robot using its forward facing infrared sensor. This was a nice addition (as anyone who knows me well enough would know), and made me delighted to see playing on a couple of LEGO bricks.
The finale of the activity was a gladiator fight between all of the teams’ robots. We decided that the optimal way to shove other objects off of a rubber mat was to stop when they are detected, and then speed up at full power and ram straight into (or sometimes on top of) them. This worked very well, and the first couple of robots in our one’s path were quickly eliminated. It was very entertaining to see the algorithm working as intended: a robot is detected moving towards our one; then our robot stops; it says, “Choo choo!” in Richard’s voice; and finally speeds up to 100% power to destroy the opponent. However, when only three robots were left on the arena, the other two collided into each other and couldn’t overcome the other’s power. Then, as if in a cartoon, fakeChatGPT (the name of our robot), rolled in and effortlessly pushed the other two out off of the mat, securing a victory to team A3, and ending a very entertaining few minutes.
After a 30 minute lunch break in the hot sun, our final activity began; we were doing forensics and crime. It started off with a 30 minute talk on what makes a good eyewitness, and simple activities on trying to remember appearances and details about the surroundings. For example, while we were all focused on watching a short video, a phone randomly disappeared from a desk (I think your phone should never be out of your hands or pockets when you’re not in a safe space, but who am I to judge…). It was a common ‘distraction theft’, where there are 2 criminals. One distracts you, by asking for directions for example, to lower your awareness on the table in front of you, and give the other thief a chance to snatch your phone off the table before you can comprehend what’s happening.
After that, we were given an introduction to E-FIT, a software used by the police to create artificial images of criminals, all from eyewitness reports. In about 5 minutes, the software was able to create a near-accurate image of someone’s father, showing just how powerful a good memory of people’s physical appearance can be. One of the teachers who was helping out then left the room (we had been watching her for about an hour at this point), and we were told to create an image of her to the best of our ability, and the most realistic image would win. With the help of Richard, two students from another school, and myself, we were able to use E-FIT to create a runner-up image of this person. It is still crazy to me what this software can do, and just how accurate it can get, and is most definitely the least expected activity for me in a STEM competition, but still very fascinating nevertheless.
By Alex Z (3A)
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Last week saw the School production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory gracing the Hammond to rave reviews and sold out audiences. Let’s hear from two Third Year cast members, Charlie F and Reuben N, about the experience…
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has been a wonderful production to be part of. I really enjoyed the show nights and the atmosphere in the theatre. I was playing the part of an Oompa Loompa which was slightly ironic as I was one of the tallest cast members! However, it was a very enjoyable role nonetheless and the choreography for the Oompa Loompa sections was excellent.
Earlier on in the play I had also been given the role of Grandma Josephine; this meant I had to pretend to be a Grandma and wear a dress. This was also very fun, and I even got some laughs from the audience as well.
However, I must also thank the teachers and staff who helped us to make the performance so enjoyable and fun to be part of. Mrs Richardson was an excellent director, and Ms Rowe and Mrs Watkins were very good co-directors. The tech team lead by Mr Thomson and Ms Thomas made the show look great on the stage. We are all very grateful. It has been a wonderful experience from auditions to the final performance, and I would strongly recommend auditioning for the next show.
By Reuben N (3A)
Earlier this term, I was involved in the Lower School production of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory. It was a very fun production to be in from start to finish, from the first rehearsal to show night.
One thing that really stood out in the production were the tech elements. Nearly every scene required complex props or stage lighting to make the show look amazing! This ranged from the chocolate river sequence, done by wafting brown fabric across the stage to hide Augustus Gloop when he drowns, to the TV room, where clever lighting was used to hide Mike Teevee at the perfect moment.
My favourite part about the show was the outstanding choreography in the Oompa-Loompa sections, which took countless rehearsals to master, as any Drama teacher or cast member involved will tell you! But even with numerous setbacks such as people pulling out or technical errors in the dress rehearsal, we all delivered an outstanding performance both nights to sold out audiences!
Thank you to Miss Richardson, Mrs Watkins, and the tech team for making this show happen!
By Charlie F (3A)
Summer Rock Concert
This week also saw the Summer Rock Concert. The photos below capture the carnage and there were plenty of Third Year pupils involved with Alexander B (3H), Aneesh A (3F), Ethan C (3C), Ethan S-W (3H), Freddie F (3H), George Mc (3D), Max M (3E), Oscar G (3D) and Richard C (3C) all playing on the night.
Two Truths and a Lie
Last week, we had Mr Malston – your Head of Year for next year – lying to you. What a disgrace!
These were his claims:
- Mr Malston once survived an earthquake that registered at 7.1 on the Richter scale
- Mr Malston went up the World Trade Center on 10 September 10 2001
- Mr Malston won the school drama prize ahead of someone who subsequently won the best actor Oscar
Remarkably, it turns out that Mr Malston did once survive an earthquake that registered 7.1 on the Richter scale, which is only marginally smaller than the earthquake that has caused the tragedies in Venezuela this week. However, he didn’t go up the World Trade Centre on 10 September 2001 – though his wife did. What this means is that Mr Malston DID win his school drama prize ahead of a future Oscar winner – Eddie Redmayne. While this offers conclusive proof that Mr Malston is a better actor than Eddie Redmayne, one would assume that Eddie could not hold a candle to Mr Malston’s teaching ability. What a man!
Having welcomed your future Head of Year to lie to you, now we ask your previous Head of Year to lie to you (SO destabilising), meaning that we have the legendary Mrs Owen, Head of Second Year, offering up a lie. Now that you are Third Years, she feels willing to make that moral decision.
So, which is these three offerings isn’t true?
- Mrs Owen went to school with Paddy McGuiness
- Mrs Owen is a lifelong Oldham Athletic supporter
- Mrs Owen used to play darts for her university darts team
Find out which is the lie next week!
Connection Corner
Well done to the everyone who had a go at last week’s Connection Corner. Merits go to all those who correctly guessed that the answers were all Characters from Guardians of the Galaxy. Big shout out to Ethan W, Seb Y, Rishi V, George W, Charlie F, Liangxu Z and Daniel O.
Drum roll please…it’s the final Connection Corner of the academic year!
In case, you’re still perplexed here are the answers from the last week’s conundrum:
- In astronomy, a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky is called what? Nebula
- What leafy salad do Americans call arugula? Rocket
- What is the name of the predatory insect named for the look of their folded forelegs, which are held close together as if praying? Praying mantis
- What is the name of the screenwriter, writer and producer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Peter Jackson
Connection: Guardian of the Galaxy characters (Nebula, Rocket Raccoon, Mantis and Peter Quinn)
