Dear OFS Community,
The week started with ‘Blue Monday’, traditionally a low point in the year with Christmas a distant memory, New Year Resolutions start getting a little shaky and the credit card bill comes in!
I think in terms of the day’s resolutions, not the years”
- Henry Moore
So, time for a little clarity, we need to plan some simple acts that keep us in the present and bring balance to our day.
The last time that I ran this initiative was 16th March 2020, a matter of weeks before the first lockdown. So as we planned our various Creative, Active, Relaxing and Practical activities, we quickly had to revert to YouTube for our inspiration.
Last time around, I learnt to use a wood lathe, got onto an exercise bike, read more books and finished some monster Lego challenges. Time for a twist – what I am proposing this time around, is that rather than turning to screens, the challenge is to find someone who is willing to teach a skill.
Ms Addinall and Mrs Poonawalla are both Jedi knights with crochet hooks, and they are showing huge patience as I embark on my ‘Creative’ challenge to crochet a scarf...I fear that it might have to wait until next winter to be useful!
My ‘Active’ might sound a little less ambitious as I exercise my thumb – last term I managed to run a circular saw through it so crocheting a scarf is killing two birds...My ‘Relaxing’ activity is to spend a little more time in prayer and reflection, in recent times, I’ve not made enough time for prayer. And finally my ‘Practical’ challenge is cut up logs to season for next winter.
A Royal Visit
I was rather taken aback this week as we had a visit from a rather lost time traveller – Queen Victoria reached out from the past and invited Yr2 pupils to help her find her way back to more recognisable times. We met in St. George’s Hall where Queen Victoria appeared through a stage hatch – if I’m honest, she was a little direct with me suggesting that I ought to be wearing a gown and carrying a cane? Apparently good schools beat pupils on a regular basis! I did suggest that times had changed for the better, as rather than breaking people, we start by building character; I'm not sure that Queen Victoria was fully on board but it was a lot for her to take in!
An Arty Partnership
It was lovely to host some very creative Yr5 visitors from Alexandra School. Shiv and Michael, our Art Scholars, were really helpful in making our visitors feel welcome. They started by looking at beetles and then let their imagination loose with colour and pattern resulting in some stunning paper sculptures.
This partnership is really starting to grow with Orley pupils getting the opportunity to join trampolining classes at Alexandra and our Edge groups will also visit on Fridays bringing music performance groups together as everyone shares their own experiences and knowledge.
VEX - Robotics
Over the break, two teams competed in the Essex Christmas Clash! The engineering journey involved many hours of work and research. The result is a continuous refinement and occasional redesign of their robots. We ranked second in Essex and came closer to qualifying for the national tournament, small changes are leading to really good outcomes!
Getting Active
The weather hasn’t allowed us to host any matches this week as the temperatures plummeted, freezing our pitches. However, I’ve been so impressed with the resilience, toughness and heart that everyone has shown as they’ve run down to the Astro for rugby and netball sessions before tearing back to school to thaw their hands on radiators!
Tooled Up
As a Tooled-Up School, we have access to some fantastic resources, do click through on the link below for the latest food for thought: