Welcome to the Second Year Blog!

It has been a busy and exciting week for the Second Year at Hampton. The week kicked off with Open Day on Saturday and it was absolutely fantastic to see so many of you helping out around the School, whether in departments or doing tours, you all made us incredibly proud – well done! The co-curricular clubs are still keeping you busy and we love hearing about the range of things you can get up to in a single lunchtime. This week we celebrate our first pupils with MERIT MILESTONES – a huge congratulations to the boys listed below and we hope to see the list grow in the coming weeks.

Merits

Ollie Nichols – 10

Sam Coupe – 10

Anton Chetvertkov – 10

Theo Liang – 10

Congratulations for getting the merit ball rolling!

MEET MS O’CONNOR 

Josh MJ and Harrison G (2B) caught up with Ms O’Connor, Pyschology teacher and Form Tutor to 2J:

Cats or dogs?  

Cats – especially fluffy ones. I have a very cute cat called Oscar.

What subject do you teach and why did you choose it? 

I teach Psychology because I really like the subject, it is really interesting. Who wouldn’t want to try and uncover the illusive nature of the most complex matter in the universe? I also really like sharing my passion of the subject with my pupils.

Milk before or after cereal? 

Definitely cereal first!

Favourite TV show? 

I don’t really have one, but if I had to say I would go with Friends.

What is your favourite food? 

I love pizza – Papa Johns, stuffed crust as a treat.

If you weren’t a Psychology teacher what would your job be? 

Probably a journalist because I used to do a bit of writing for the Oxford Mail and I studied journalism for a while. But I definitely wasn’t a natural at it – I had to work hard!

Thank you for your time Ms O’Connor, it was great to learn more about you!

Spot the difference!

Second years Sam C (2W) and Dominic N (2L) reflect back on their time as First Years and see what comparisons can be made:

As First Year Hamptonians everyone was bigger than us, and after getting used to being the eldest in the school as year 6 pupils it came as a shock to many.

As Second Years we felt more confident, despite the variety of changes that took place over the summer, like the room numbers being completely changed, which gave us déjà vu of wondering where the rooms on our timetable were. This resulted in turning up late to our lessons a number of times, but thankfully our teachers expected that. Another change in the system was Drama, a new lesson added to our timetable. It has been fun and exciting to learn something new. 

Although Second Year has been fun, with Drama and a new term, the expectations have been higher and the homework has been adding up (but for any First Years reading don’t worry, the teachers will help you with this). The assemblies went from online in the classroom to live assemblies with multiple year groups in the same hall. This has made it a lot easier to concentrate and we like seeing the teachers and guest speakers in person.

All in all, First and Second Year weren’t as different as we thought, each one bringing their own surprises as the year progressed. 

FIRST YEAR SECOND YEAR
“When I first walked into Hampton, it was so different from my primary school. It was a maze of rooms, floors and corridors.” “Everything feels more familiar; however, the School feels like even more of a maze with the new room system!”
I was nervous to meet my form room and peers” “I couldn’t wait to see all my friends again after a long summer!”
“We only got to do Drama as a co-curricular” “Now we have Drama lessons!”
“Assemblies were all online – we watched them in our form rooms” “We get in person assemblies in the Hammond or the Main Hall – we get to be together as a School!” 
“There isn’t too much homework” “There’s definitely more homework!”

Open Day

Open Day was held on Saturday and many pupils were asked to help out, either by giving tours or in specific departments. It was a fantastic day and enjoyed by everyone, let’s hear from some of our Second Years about what they got up to on Saturday.

TOURS

We got to school at 9:30am and waited for the families to finish their talk with Mr Knibbs. When the families arrived, we toured one around the School each. I found that they were all really nice whilst we were touring around the classrooms and they seemed to enjoy the interactive activities and food such as croissants in languages, a taster of rowing, seeing massive snails in biology and challenging problems in maths. After completing the first tour, (which lasted around an hour) we had a quick lunch before doing the second and final tour. I really enjoyed showing people our community at Hampton and really look forward to doing it again next year. By Josh MJ (2J)

Open Day at Hampton was a massive event. We had missed the last three periods of Friday’s lessons to let the teachers set up and their work was clear for all to see, there was even a marquee. We arrived at School on Saturday morning and we began tours at 10.15am. We waited for a while but they ran out of parents to take on tours so we went to grab a bite to eat, so that we didn’t have to wait later. After that we headed back to where we were waiting, in the history department. After a while, we were taken to give tours to families who had come in later. Our families were very attentive and seemed to enjoy the tours we gave them. Everybody loved the food in the lunch hall and all the departments presentations were amazing. By Rory M and Habib T (both 2B)

RS

I was selected to help out at the RS department, where I explained the troubles and confusing points of philosopher to possible future Hamptonians. There were many activities in the department, with the most popular being the sweet challenge. The rules were simple: you answer an RS question and you get a sweet! This was the main attraction of the department, and increased the popularity of the area. Many minds were boggled in the deep problems of philosophy. Maybe one day, the people that took interest that day will solve those problems… By Umair M 2L and Kai W (2L)

SPORT

After doing some touring, many Hamptonians were playing sports, including me, I was playing Cricket. We showed all the families how sport works in the School and children and parents also got a chance to play with us. Some children were even bowling to me in the nets! Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, as they experienced the opportunities of sport in the School. By Guradaes S (2H)

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

I was selected to help out in the Music department. It was jam-packed with a combination of Djembe Drumming, singing and playing instruments. Firstly, we played a drum called a djembe and we invited the people coming around the School to join in as well. After that I sung in choir and people came and went after watching the masterpiece created. Finally, I played in an orchestra and we played an improvised piece so we didn’t know what we were coming into. Overall, this was really fun and I would love to do it again. By Josh G (2L)

Club of the week

There are lots of clubs to choose from at lunchtime, here are just two of the actvities that Second Years have had a go at this week:

Geography Club

Geography Club (Room G67) run by Ms Michelson, is a club dedicated to geography games and quizzes – combining both teamwork and skill. It is an incredibly fun way to learn Geography with your friends.

Every Autumn term, we will be doing the Worldwide Quiz (pies available), which is a competition in teams consisting of many quizzes and a merit for each person in the team who won the quiz! For example, last week, we did quizzes about capital cities, landmarks and general trivia. If you would like to join, simply come along to Room G67 on Wednesday 12:35pm. By Theo L (2B)

Blog Club 

The School blog is run by Miss Tiller in S2 from 1:10 to 1:45pm on Wednesdays. During the meetings, we discuss future writing topics, such as co-curricular clubs and school events, such as trips or sports fixtures. For example, I wrote an article about the History and Archives club last week. After this, we spend some time writing our blogs and later send them to B.Tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk. At the meetings, we also receive merits for great pieces of writing and at the end of the half term some chocolate as a reward. I like the school blog because it is very enjoyable, you don’t have to write every week and I like that the whole year can read my blogs. See you there! By Josh MJ (2J)

The full list of all clubs, societies and other co-curricular activities on offer at Hampton can be found here:

CO-CURRICULAR TIMETABLE 2022-3

Why not try a new club next week, plenty of time to get stuck in before half term.

SPECIAL SHOUT OUTS

Ashton (2J) was awarded MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the cricket season at his cricket club (Teddington Cricket Club). Well done, Ashton!

We love to hear about what you have been getting up to outside of school and to celebrate your successes in the Second Year Blog! Please do send any information about any of your achievements through to Miss Tiller. B.Tiller@hamptonschool.org.uk

JUNIOR MUSICAL

Calling all budding actors! It’s time to audition for the much-anticipated Junior Musical. This year’s production is Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat – which tells the journey of Joseph and his coat of many colours. Auditions will take place on Tuesday 4 October from 4 to 5:30pm in the Hammond Theatre with recalls on Tuesday 11 October. The Junior Musical is open to all First, Second, Third and Fourth Year Hamptonians.

The audition song will be Close Every Door to Me. Please familiarise yourself with the song, prior to the audition. There will also be a short and simple dance audition.

More information can be found in the poster below:

The performances will take place on 7, 8 and 9 February 2023 with the first rehearsal on Tuesday 1 Novemeber.

Pupils must be able to commit to rehearsing every Tuesday and Thursday 4pm to 5.45pm. Sunday rehearsals are on the following dates:

  • Sunday 15 January 2023
  • Sunday 22 January 2023
  • Sunday 29 January 2023
  • Sunday 5 February 2023

If you have any questions, please contact Mrs Jones in the Drama Department A.Jones@hamptonschool.org.uk

TALK!

It was great to see so many of you at the first Hampton School Talk! of the year, as Lung Consultant Dr Felix Chua and Pharmaceuticals specialist Dr Andrew Makin gave us an insight into their experience from the frontline of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Friday 7 October at 1pm in the Hammond Theatre, we are delighted to welcome renowned political journalist and commentator Fraser Nelson to present our next lunchtime Talk! With the conservatives reeling in the face of widespread criticism following the recent fiscal measures introduced by the new Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng,  Fraser Nelson offers his insight into the political turmoil facing Liz Truss’s government and assesses what the future holds.

Editor of The Spectator magazine and a member of the advisory board of the Center for Social Justice and the Centre for Policy Studies, Fraser is a regular commentator on TV and radio. The Evening Standard named Mr Nelson as one of the most influential journalists working in London and he also won the British Press Award as Political journalist of the Year.

As well as offering his thoughts on the current political situation, the seasoned journalist will be talking about his 25-year career, spanning seven prime ministers, and shining a light on current-day, 24/7 media coverage.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the most exciting voices in political journalism. Hamptonians from across all year groups are welcome to attend and do not need to book a ticket

QUIZ OF THE WEEK

Well done to everyone who had a go at last week’s quiz. Kudos once again to to Form 2B with the most entries, with 2J not far behind. Merits go to:

2J: Harrison G, Josh M-J, Jack H, Kian I B, Nihal N, Isaac H, Lucas Z

2L: William O’S, Haadi H, Oliver P, Jaime R B, Kai W

2W: Oliver S, Ethan D, Abhideep S

2B: Krishang T, Kiran G, Tolu I, Jamie R, Rory M, Sena K, Salah S, Anton C

2H: Guradaes P S

2F: Ollie N, Rahul B

2P: Ozan B

Take a look at this week’s questions – some fiendishly difficult questions from Charlie E (2W) – 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.

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

Here are the answers from last week’s quiz:

In what year did the titanic sink? 1912

Name the Disney movie that features a little girl with five distinct emotions – sadness, joy, disgust, fear and anger? Inside Out

How many of Henry VIII’s wives survived? Three (he divorced two and one survived him)

Tiramisu is a cold layered dessert, but what flavour is it? Coffee

How many acres are the Hmapton School playing fields? 27 acres

Remember to write your name in the form so you can be credited with merits!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

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