Dear OFS Community,
Thank you to pupils, parents and staff who submitted letters of support for charities, often coupled with a very personal story behind the letter. It was really difficult to narrow these down but one story stood out. Vayun Hirani (Y7) introduced us to Aaron Ridhay – Ridhay meaning ‘heart’ in Gujarati.
‘Aaron was born with multiple heart conditions including a hole in his heart and two chambers being smaller than the others. Evelina has supported Aaron through his four surgeries, one cardiac arrest and three strokes. It has been amazing in his four months how many challenges he has overcome and how resilient he is. I am very proud of him.’
On Monday, Vayun led our assembly with a captivating, thoughtful and very personal story to support children like Aaron, providing lifechanging care. I was so impressed with the way that Vayun told this story and the way that the wider school community immediately engaged with it, we are proud to be supporting Evelina, London’s Children’s Hospital.
The Assembly took on a rather different tone as Mr Davies stepped in with a challenge to staff with forfeits…I was hoping for ‘Bushtucker Trial’! However, Mr Davies challenged Orley Farm staff to eat a designated number of Jaffa Cakes in a minute. There was much skulduggery with one contestant hiding Jaffa Cakes…I needed to go to VAR! Out of 8 staff, only Mrs Calvey and Mr Bapir managed to avoid forfeits, and as a result our account is open, with £40 in the bank as we aim for £5k over the year…
Aiming High!
11+ Exams are nothing compared to the Orley Farm Yr5 Eating Etiquette assessment! Is there a balance of food on the plate? How was the interaction with the catering team? Is there engagement in conversation with those around? Are you aware of others, are you passing sauces rather than reaching across the table? Is the cutlery being used correctly? Is food being wasted? Are you clearing the table before you leave?
Yes, a lot to think about and whilst it’s supposed to be fun, the most important thing is that across all of our cultures, are we able to be comfortable and polite in different settings?
Yr 5 Edge Fundraising
In our weekly Edge session, the Yr5 Fundraising group never fail to amaze me with their creativity in finding new ways to encourage engagement. This term the team challenged the school to create images that described one of our School Values. Attached are some of the entrants, well done to all who made time to capture a value.
Colts Football
There were some cracking moments when four of our U11 Teams met St. Columba's on Wednesday. We enjoyed several seasons of weather in the space of an hour – for a moment I contemplated leaving my office without a coat, as the sun was shining, but was thankful that I erred on the side of caution!
There was a strange pause as a beautiful rainbow appeared following the driving rain and whilst distracted as I captured the view, Kaihan scored a belter of a goal to start a revival from a 4-2 deficit to a 5-5 draw!
I can honestly say that Orley Farm School has the biggest, strongest and most empathetic heart out of every school that I have worked in – I felt it the day I walked through the door back in 2009. This week Vayun stepped up like all Orleyans to tell his story – he’s given us a story of struggle and hope that we will be a small part of over the coming year…
Tim Calvey