Dear OFS Community,
It is extraordinary to think that this time two years ago we were speculating about a possible week of ‘lockdown’ – a term never applied to educational settings before. As a result, we thought that it might be a good time for pupils from the School Council to interview Mr Birdi, our Network Manager, to better understand the rapid steps required behind the scenes to launch ‘Orley Online’.
We also had Mr Chatzianastasiou and Mrs Farrar joining to talk about their own learning journey as they explored the challenges of making ‘remote’ teaching real and personal. I was so impressed with the questions that council members asked and I know that this prompted really good conversations across the school as the live feed from Mr Johnson’s Downing Street lounge was beamed into classrooms!
Do enjoy the following clip at your leisure as it might unpack further reflections for your family that highlight how resilient and creative we were as well as just how far we have come in just two years!
Congratulations!
Our U11 A rugby squad, who have enjoyed a fantastic season, travelled to Swyncombe Playing Fields in Ealing for the annual Durston House U11 Tournament. Five schools were involved with each playing one another on a round robin basis.
In short, our boys were absolutely sensational. They stormed to victory in all four of their matches, scoring 16 tries and conceding only one throughout the morning to bring the shield (and winners' medals) back to South Hill Avenue! Scroll down to see photos of all the boys proudly holding the shield before a full round up of the results, try scorers, Player of the Tournament and victorious squad photo at the end... a brilliant morning!
A Winning Season
If you want to go quickly go alone, if you want to go far go together.
Orley Farm’s answer to the Harlem Globetrotters, our basketball team had their final match of the season with Edge Grove on Wednesday. After a superb performance, in which all seven boys scored at least one basket each, we had romped to a brilliant 35-8 win.
DRAMA
One of the actors played many characters in different ways and was very funny - Kian
It was very interesting, I liked how they got everyone involved and made it so funny - Arjun
An inspirational, inclusive and entertaining production - Krish
The acting was excellent and the effects made it really engaging - Veer
I liked how they were able to play so many different roles. Especially the man who played Ariel, Caliban and Ferdinand! - Eston
I found the part when Prospero stopped himself attacking Caliban very emotional because I felt sorry for the way he had been treated - Amelia
A comedic, engaging performance - Inara
Debate
Last Sunday, the 12 Debating hobby students joined a regional junior debating competition hosted by Cambridge University. In the first round, one of our teams placed first out of four, and the motion was
'This house would pay politicians the median wage of their country.'
Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, we were unable to join the last two debates, but we were grateful for the opportunity to develop our skills against other, older, students in a formal setting. We are looking forward to introducing some of the younger students to debating in the Summer term and I would like to thank Miss Welsh for getting our teams together last Sunday.
Kids' Lit Quiz
Today, 2 teams of 4 students each took part in the annual Kids' Reading Quiz (the regional rounds). We had to answer 80 questions about book titles, authors and complete literary puzzles split over 8 rounds. One team scored a total of 42 points and the other 50 points. The winning team scored 60 points so we were proud to have done so well. We really enjoyed the experience and it was a lot of fun, especially the host with his silly jokes and puns!
Zoe 6S
I was recently asked by visiting prospective parents what was the biggest Covid impact on pupils, was it their progress, was it their connection to each other, was it in their general wellbeing? My first reaction was that our whole community has become so much more thankful for the whole offering of school. The negative impact is none of the above, it’s more an inability to ‘simply be still’. At the start and end of an assembly, children were more able to be in their own heads, engaging with a thought or question before we started.
I would encourage everyone to find a little ‘still time’ in the days and weeks ahead – I ended Pre-Prep Assembly this morning asking your children to spend a little time looking for signs of Spring, a flower, a bud, some blossom or perhaps birds singing in the morning? I hope that everyone enjoys a little ‘still’ this weekend!
Tim Calvey