Dear OFS Community,
I do hope that everyone enjoyed a restful and happy break over half term. Whilst I enjoyed some precious moments with my family, I was also very mindful that there’s a lot going on in the world. As we look to Remembrance Day I feel that current global events may be taking their toll across our community.
I am aware from conversations with teachers, parents and pupils that the ongoing situation in Israel and Gaza is undoubtedly a cause of great concern, pain and even loss for many at this time. Like many others, I have been horrified by the tragic events that have unfolded and our thoughts must be with all those who have been, and continue to be, affected.
Our immediate focus is to ensure that we make time for understanding, time to talk and space to listen. As we look to next week with the focus around a simple red poppy, I try to imagine talking to the 73 boys who left Orley Farm to fight in France, never to return. It makes me sad to imagine their thoughts around the wars in Ukraine and the most recent atrocities in the Middle East, not to mention other past conflicts.
Over the coming weeks, we continue to teach our pupils to navigate the noise, something that this generation will need to be better at than us, as the world finds ever faster ways to share information, true or false.
In a world of information overload, misleading ‘news’ can be an added source of stress and confusion. We all need to be mindful about the information we consume and take steps to verify its authenticity. I know that teachers are building the following into topics whenever possible:
- Check the source. This isn't necessarily who shared the information with you, but where it originated from.
- Question the source. Are they established and trustworthy, or might they have a reason to mislead?
- Take a step back. Before you take something at face value, think about your own motives for wanting to believe it.
These are complex times, and we need our youngsters to understand bias, to question what they see and hear and develop their analytical skills in order to break cycles of hate.
Leadership - Edge
As part of our Year 6 Edge programme, one activity is Leadership in which Mr Bloom develops the PE teachers of tomorrow! In weeks 1-4, the pupils learn what makes good leadership looking at examples of such people before planning their own PE lessons and delivering them to their peers. The big crescendo comes in the final week when they put their skills to the test as they teach their PE lessons to some younger pupils in the school – the Year 2 Lions were the lucky ones this time! Both our Year 6 PE teachers and the Lions were absolutely brilliant and had a fantastic time!
Vex Robotics heads to the City!
Two teams from Year 7 and 8 visited City of London Girls to compete in Vex IQ Robotics. Their return was marked by a palpable enthusiasm, and they were positively brimming with innovative ideas to enhance their designs.
Yr6 play Yr7 at JLS
We have a really positive link with the Games department at JLS, and whilst they are a senior school with Yr7 & 8 girls, it’s fantastic for our teams to come up against older pupils. Our U11 A’s and B’s played under floodlights and played some fantastic hockey. We moved the ball accurately and created some stunning goals. I suspect that our girls have realised that age and size have no bearing on the result – it's about skill, stickwork and team experience. I was so proud of the girls, well done!
House Matches
I love watching the inter-House matches as they are centered in all that’s valuable in sport; the sense of purpose, ambition, competition, healthy rivalry but above all else the collaboration. All abilities are represented and the teams that can bring out the best in each other will be the winners. I heard truly inspiring words being offered across year groups to encourage that extra effort to score or defend the line...cracking results, well done to all involved!