Mrs Cliffe bravely led an initiative exercise this week, using an available ‘Edge’ slot in order to put Yrs 5-8 to the test seeing as this is our Thinking Skill for this half of there term. Using tons of old newspapers, groups were set the simple challenge of building a structure that could support the weight of a book…without buckling…with the highest structure winning. The only other material available was sellotape.
Great discussion and action followed, some structured some less so. Some teams pulled in the same direction, whilst others appeared to pull against each other. One thing stood out loud and clear, we need to run more exercises in this direction as there are lessons to be learnt! It was a great success and I can’t thank staff, especially Mrs Cliffe for thinking outside the box and taking risks on this front. Orley pupils need more opportunities to grow and develop their skills in collaboration, listening and working in teams, as these are essential life skills! Congratulations to the winning team who appeared to build a successful answer to the brief that also had an aesthetic quality!
Tim Calvey