Dear OFS Community,
On Monday we kickstarted the week exploring the dashboard lights on a car and why they’re important! Over the break I shot up to Liverpool to check that my middle son is eating his greens, in reality, it was just to feel young again and to listen to some fantastic new bands! On the way home a dashboard light flickered on, and whilst I checked that coolant levels were ok, I ended up facing a hefty repair bill for a blown gasket – entirely my fault for not heeding clear warnings!
Our emotions always serve a purpose, like the warning lights on a car dashboard. Ignoring them doesn’t make them go away, and often ignoring our feelings only makes the problem worse”. - Leslie Veronica
I asked the school to consider the following questions:
As we are heading into summer assessments, this felt like the right time to lean on our seasoned professional exam takers from Yr6 and Yr8 – thank you to Antonia, Sasha, Kiran and Zaki who kindly formed a live Q&A panel.
We looked ahead to assessment week and how to create an effective revision timetable that helps build confidence and resilience. Our panel were then asked the following:
It’s easier to see the worst thing that can happen and then work backwards from there, realising that you always know more than you realise.
Brain dumps are good – they help you realise what you know and then as you open your books and revise, you can fill in the gaps.
I love my sport, so going into the garden, playing cricket with my brother always helps – I find that I can come back to my books fresh and ready to study.
You know more than you realise just from your lessons – the temptation when revising is to start with subjects you love, perhaps starting with the ones you enjoy less would lead to greater results!
Verse Speaking
This is a fantastic event, running across Orley and I love the whole process, regardless of whether pupils progress through to the final event – it requires engagement in poetry! It also picks up on so many of our Thinking Skills, with an obvious focus on Ambition, Risk Taking, Initiative and Resilience. From performing in the intimacy of an English class with peers to the final, with an external adjudicator, parents and the wider school; it requires resilience! It was a real pleasure having Mr Gough, Head of English at MTs Prep and more importantly, a former Orley pupil. He gave some fantastic one-to-one feedback and had the unenviable task of declaring winners – thank you Mr Gough!
At the beginning of the day we set off early and arrived at 7:10 am at the venue. We then unpacked the car and set up our camp for the day. Afterwards, we then changed the tyres for practise and changed the batteries for practise. We finished practise and all was ready for the first race.
The first race was a mild success with the Orley Farm car finishing in 20th place. Unfortunately, we didn’t drive for the 90 minutes but we lasted until the final third. Because of this we decided to make a change to the gearing so our car would last longer. Unfortunately the gearing was changed to make an opposite effect. Our car now went faster but burnt more energy. In the second race we had to conserve a lot of energy and therefore it was difficult to tell how fast to go. Unfortunately, we again didn’t finish the race but we got a final position of 22nd. Overall I think all the boys were pleased with the day and we now know what we need to do to improve.
A special mention to Mr Dholakia for taking the car and helping the boys participate.
- Vayun Hirani & Thomas Bartlett
Collaborations that really do add up!
There is a fantastic National Maths competition run by the UKMT that spans different age groups and we have traditionally paired up with seniors from Harrow to make up a team – this is the first time since the pandemic that the competition has run. This year Kayan and Krish headed up to Headington School in Oxford to see where an Orley-Harrow collaboration could go. 17 schools were put to the test but it turns out that they were no match for burgundy and blue blazers – congratulations to all four boys and a big thank you to Mr James Hall from Harrow who led the road trip!
Opening the Season
It was touch and go as to whether we would get our opening game of the season started let alone completed with the rolling storm clouds and soggy pitch, however, Mr Baker performed the miracle in preparing a wicket and the rain held off!
Our boys managed the game incredibly well, keeping the scoreboard moving despite the incredibly slow outfield and when it came to take to the field, they squeezed the batsmen. Despite an impressive late stand from Durston, we held out nerve taking key wickets to leave them 20 runs short. A great opening game, fingers crossed that Mr Baker can keep working his magic and here’s to a little sunshine!
Legacy & Literacy!
If you cast your minds back around this time last year, our school community raised a staggering £600 worth of rewards just by spending at our book fair. On Wednesday we had the pleasure of delivering an incredible selection of books to The Welldon Park Academy, who chose how they wanted those rewards spent. We enlisted the help of some of last year's monitors, as they had supported our charity initiatives in library during that time. It was a great way for the children to see the impact of what they do and difference it can make to others. We are also incredibly grateful for the support you give which makes these initiatives possible.
This summer, we are hoping to raise a similar amount in rewards to pass on to the wonderful Alexandra School. Look out for information about our next book fair, coming in June, and get ready to pick up a book or two!
- Mrs Artoonian
OFS Future School Fair
I hope that parents found our recent fair useful. I think it’s a strong indicator that 30 schools want to give up an evening to meet Orley families and I really enjoyed hearing engaging conversations between parents as we all look to the future. These are exciting times in education and I am sure that parents will have been given food for thought!
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:
There were so many other things happening this week and I find it hard to believe that this was our first full week back – I met with 2 groups of new parents joining us in September and it’s impossible to articulate the journey they are about to embark upon...if you want a job done, ask a busy person...welcome to Orley Farm!
Tim Calvey