Dear OFS Community,
Following on from 'CARP' last week, we opened on Monday by exploring ‘what motivates us?’ I’m not going to lie, my crocheting career, whilst in its infancy, is teetering on disaster. I showed the school the efforts of my labours and, whilst many were kind in their comments about how far I’d got, quality control would have a very different view!
My ‘patch’ of crochet that changes shape, has significant large holes and a multitude of differing stitches is showing little chance of reaching scarf status! All of this was compounded as Mrs Calvey took up crocheting at the same time (I know, crazy nights in the Calvey household!) and she has created 2 stunning ‘snoods’ in the same amount of time.
So my question to the school was this, what stops us from giving up?
We discovered that motivation takes many forms, with each of us responding very differently depending upon the circumstances. As teachers also shared thoughts, it would appear that motivation also changes as we age. Here were some of the areas that we explored coupled with photos that I took over the week:
Extrinsic Motivation:
Definition: Extrinsic motivation involves engaging in a behaviour to earn external rewards or avoid punishments.
Example: Studying for good grades, working for a promotion, or exercising to get fit.
Achievement Motivation:
Definition: This type of motivation is driven by the desire to accomplish something significant or to meet high standards of excellence.
Example: Setting and achieving personal or professional goals.
Social Motivation:
Definition: Social motivation is the desire to interact with others, gain social approval, or avoid social rejection.
Example: Participating in team sports, engaging in social activities to make friends, or seeking social recognition.
Fear Motivation:
Definition: Fear motivation is driven by the desire to avoid negative consequences or threats.
Example: Studying to avoid failing a class, working hard to prevent job loss, or following rules to avoid punishment.
Intrinsic Motivation:
Definition: Intrinsic motivation comes from within an individual. It involves engaging in a behaviour because it is personally rewarding or enjoyable.
Example: Pursuing a hobby, reading for pleasure, or solving a challenging problem out of curiosity.
Quite a few of these photos were taken during our after school OrleyX programme where our pupils are developing some wonderful new interests - more on that in the coming weeks!
Sharing our learning
This week Year 2 led class assemblies in which they shared their developing insight into what it was like to live and work in the Victorian times – mighty hard by the looks of things; School was something that you survived, rarely a place where you thrived! I really enjoyed hearing stories from our pupils as they reflected on the past and I hope that the challenge that I set parents also offered a little insight over dinner!
The Power of Play
Each week we have something called the ‘Duty Lottery’ in which a wheel of fortune spins with the names of every member of staff – if it stops on your name, I get the privilege of taking their duty slot and I have to say, I really enjoy it as an opportunity to see things that I would otherwise miss. Doing Mrs Khan’s Middle School lunch duty offered these little moments...
The power of childhood in a moment – I have no idea what’s in that puddle, a mythical creature, a magic potion or evidence of storm Isha, but I loved supervising lunchbreak today!
The power of childhood in a moment – I think that commuters would enjoy their journeys so much more if they took a hula-hoop with them! Remind me why we don’t retain more from our childhood?
The power of childhood in a moment – who needs the premiership when you’ve got table football…there are no agents or transfer fees involved…just a cracking game!
The power of childhood in a moment – we don’t need a referee, we can agree on our own rules!
Parliament
On the trip, we were enchanted by the incredible architecture and the interesting history embedded in the walls. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the history of the Parliament and seeing the thrones that the King and Queen sit on. The Houses of Lords and Commons were the highlights of the trip, as they are such famous rooms, and it was even better as it was accompanied with enlightening information. Overall, it was definitely a trip to remember.
Zaki Rasheed (Yr8)
Our Houses of Parliament trip was probably one of the best school trips I have ever had. First, we met our tour guide and he told us about the Prime Minster, Rishi Sunak, and then we saw the place where the King would walk into Parliament for the State Opening.
After that, we went into the King’s dressing room to see where he would get changed for the State Opening. In there were paintings of King Arthur and the Round Table, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. We even saw a copy of the Magna Carta in the room.
Thirdly, we walked across a hall full of paintings of the Battle of Waterloo and then we walked into the famous House of Commons and after that we walked into the House of Lords. It was amazing seeing both these two important parts of Parliament.
Not far from the House of Lords, is a grand hall where the late Queen lay in state following her death. It was also the place where King Charles I had his court trial.
After our tour, we took part in a debating workshop. I was the leader of my “party” which ultimately became the party in power and led to me becoming the "Prime Minister"! Unfortunately, my party lost the debate which was “Should school uniform be banned?” but it was still an enjoyable experience.
Thank you to Mrs De Freitas, Ms Roets and Mr C for taking us on that inspirational trip to the Houses of Parliament.
Krishna Lakhani (Yr6)
OrleyX
I dropped into an intriguing OrleyX club called ‘Reception Book Club Craft’, run by our Librarian Mrs Artoonian. This week they took a favourite, Elmer the Elephant, and having immersed themselves in the wonders of celebrating being different, they created their own Elmer the Elephants using recycled milk bottles – it was so peaceful, engaging and the perfect way to end the day!
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:
I’ve invited the school to really reflect on what motivates them and particularly how they react to more challenging situations – if we can understand what works for us, recognising our positive and negative triggers, we might just achieve truly surprising results! Now...where’s my crochet hook?
Tim Calvey