October 2019 - Issue 2
ONE ROEDEAN THE QUATERLY REVIEW OF ROEDEAN BRIGHTON AND ROEDEAN SOUTH AFRICA
ROEDEAN SOUTH AFRICA EXECUTIVE HEAD’S INTRODUCTION It is difficult to believe that just under a year has passed since the memorable visit by a group from Roedean Brighton to Roedean South Africa. The visit was a delightful experience for all involved and it rekindled the relationship between the two schools – one which had been fairly dormant for some time. The first issue of One Roedean was charming and I hope that this initiative will serve to maintain and even strengthen the links that were forged last year. The year has, like most, been one of ups and downs. On the “up” side, we were delighted, last term, to unveil our new STEAM mural in the Sciences block. The mural, shown on the back page of this newsletter, is a striking tribute to both the Arts and the Sciences. We are grateful to the Gnodde family for their generous donation to this project. Another significant occasion was the inaugural Girls’ Leadership Summit which took place on Saturday, 28 September. The talks were inspirational and provided excellent guidelines for effective leadership. Interesting discussions by the members of the panels rendered some pearls of wisdom regarding the complexity of leadership. In all, the day was most successful and appears to have been enjoyed by all the delegates to whom I spoke. The summit re-affirmed the school’s commitment to inspiring lives of significance, an objective which the school’s Founders, Theresa Lawrence and Katherine Margaret Earle, clearly had in mind when they established the school 116 years ago. The current situation in South Africa with regard to gender based violence has been a significant “down” and we are in the process of designing, with the assistance of our student body and experts in the field, a programme which we hope will make a difference. Mrs Fiona Rogers — Executive Head
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean Brighton MacMillan Coffee Morning in House 1
ONE
House 1 held their annual Macmillan Coffee Morning in September. The ODR was jam-packed full of cakes, balloons, bunting, and, of course, girls and parents. The atmosphere was amazing. A huge thank you to everyone: the bakers, the buyers, the tasters, and the boarding houses - everyone worked so hard on their contributions, and all for a wonderful cause. The total amount raised was £435.30 – outstanding!
Roedean South Africa SA Institute of International Affairs Debate There were two topics debated this past Saturday at The University of the Witwatersrand in the SA Institute of International Affairs debate. One team, representing Brazil, debated the importance of Indigenous languages and won Best Delegations. Congratulations to Zahraa Ismail, Zoya Mothupi-Sarges, and Beatrice Wharton-Hood. The other team debated the sustainable development goals. Well done to Sanjika Senarathne who won a Silver Trophy for Best Speaker.
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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Roedean South Africa Staff News
Congratulations to Mr Ralf Schmitt, Roedean Choir Master and musical director of the Ndlovu Youth Choir. “Just because you’re born in poverty doesn’t mean you are poverty.” These were the powerful words of the Ndlovu Youth Choir choirmaster, Ralf Schmitt, after the group knocked the socks off the judges at America’s Got Talent.
Message from our Executive Head We are so proud of Mr Schmitt and the Ndlovu Youth Choir who reached the finals of America’s Got Talent. Their final performance was, in my opinion, quite outstanding and incredibly uplifting. I am sure the entire Roedean community is as proud as I am to be associated, even in a distant manner, with this delightful choir.
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean Brighton
Peter Pan: An uplifting performance
The opening night of Peter Pan was one for the books! The performance started with an introduction to the Darling family, with Poppy S and Bea S as the parents with expert comic timing. The gasps were audible when Dorothea B flew onto stage through the curtains as Peter Pan – brilliant! And when Peter taught Wendy (Amelia M) and the other Darling children to fly, it was amazing. Well done to those backstage who were holding the other ends of the lines! We then met the hilarious and rowdy pirates, led by Charlotte A as Smee and Jemima V as the most incredible Captain Hook to date! Dorothea stole the show with her performance of Peter, both comic and touching, and the lost boys and Poppy B as Tinkerbell made me want to go back to Year 7 just so I could be in the production with them. Once again, the fantastic performances from the ensemble of Year 7-9s highlighted the excellent talent of the girls across the school. Thank you to every single member of the creative team that put on such a great show – congratulations to everyone involved! - Sorcha H (Yr13)
Roedean South Africa Exchange Students and Round Square International Service Projects So far, nine girls have enjoyed their Round Square exchanges to our partner schools in Germany, India, and Australia, and the Columbian exchange is yet to take place. The Roedean girls have embraced their exchange experiences and they have made the most of the opportunities offered to them. Neo Khambule is currently in Australia, and Mia Findt, Rachael Guise-Brown, and Georgene de Wet are in India. We have hosted Kanak Kare from India, and Leen Alfoury and Banah Khamis from Jordan.
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean Brighton Academic Highlights We asked subjects across the school for their highlights and achievements. Maths - the Maths Department had an incredible end to the year with a record number of golds in the Junior Maths Challenge. Biology - this year the Biology Department brought the Junior Biology Olympiad to Roedean for years 9 and 10. The results were brilliant, with Isabel Green achieving a gold and around 15 people achieving silvers. Art - the art department had some amazing news to round off this year, with Fawn Chen having a piece of her artwork selected and displayed at the Royal Academy through a national competition
Roedean South Africa
Chemistry - the year 13 girls ended Roedean on a complete high when they won the National Teen Tech Competition! Well done, girls!
Mandela Day Action in conjunction with Round Square
This year, Roedean marked Mandela Day with a ‘Values Walk’ in The Wilds. A walking trail with various stations was laid out, and, as the pupils passed each station, they received a different coloured bead, symbolic of one of Mandela’s values. The beads were threaded onto safety pins which the pupils could wear on their blazers, as reminders to incorporate these values in their lives. The values are respect, compassion, equality, courage, love, and selflessness. All proceeds raised were used for purchasing re -usable sanitary products for the girls residing in the Phedisang community in Limpopo, with whom Roedean has had a partnership for over ten years. These products will reduce school absenteeism and drop -out rates, and increase opportunities for the girls to complete their education with dignity. The overall objective is to empower young girls through education and access to sanitary wear in order to reach their full potential. This initiative addresses the Sustainable Development Goal 3: good health and well-being and 4: gender equality. A July 2018 United Nations report stated that better and prolonged education can bring down high rates of illiteracy, sexual abuse, and early marriage among girls. “When girls stay in school, HIV goes down, child marriages go down, and sexual violence goes down,” stated Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of Global Partnership for Education, a multi-stakeholder partnership and funding platform that aims to strengthen education systems in developing countries. On 18 July, for Mandela Day, Roedean also decided to celebrate Round Square Day. Nelson Mandela was a great leader, and promoting good leadership is a quality of Round Square. Senior School pupils signed up to skype Varkey Teacher Ambassadors who had been recognized for leadership in Education in the past five years, through the Global Teacher Award. Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean Brighton Best Innovation at TeenTech2019 Congratulations to Mary, Chloe, and Freya (Yr13) who have won the ‘Best Innovation - Model, Prototype, or Product’ category at the 2019 TeenTech Awards, presented at a glitzy awards’ ceremony at the Institute of Engineering and Technology in London. Following a two-week placement at Brighton University last summer along with Melissa and Ishika, the girls embarked upon a project during their final year at school to design a product which can be used to reduce malnutrition in premature babies around the world. They worked on the project every week and were visited periodically by a supervisor from the university. As the girls were developing the prototype, they were assisted by two girls in Year 12 and a number from younger years, so we hope that their passion for science will have rubbed off on their peers. A new crop of Year 13 students will take on the baton this summer, and let’s see if they can replicate this brilliant result. The product, developed by Mary, Chloe and Freya, is a micro-fluidic paper-based analytical device to test the concentrations of key components of breast milk. The girls’ test produces a colorimetric assay which produces accurate and clear results very quickly. Although their product grew out of science and design in a classroom, they hopes that it might be developed so that it will have a practical application in helping premature babies being born in the most difficult of circumstances all over the world. This amazing success highlights the wonderful strength in the Sciences among the girls at Roedean. The School is incredibly proud of them. Mr Mark Ebden
Roedean South Africa Report on MUN and thinking skills for advanced accreditation Model United Nations debating is part of the extra-curricular activities offered at Roedean SA. It has been run now for 8 years, and some of the girls who have participated have gone on to represent SA Youth in various forums, or work they in our Department of International Affairs. MUN offers incredible inquiry-based learning and develops many of the skills that the WEF has highlighted as skills needed for education and the workplace in the 21st century. For the past four years, MUN debating has formed the basis of the cross curricular activity for the Grade 9s, in which in three days, all Grade 9 pupils are presented with the process of MUN debating, the context of the UN, more recently the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, and the topic. They then research in teams, each team allocated a different country, and on the third day, present their findings in the format of a UN session, with attempts at passing a resolution on the issue at hand. Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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Ella in her SA National Colours Blazar @RoedeanSchool and @RoedeanSchoolSA
October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean Brighton Les Mis star at Roedean It was a pleasure to welcome Charlotte Kennedy to Roedean to work with girls in Year 9 throughout the Dance and Drama workshops. Charlotte made her professional West End debut in Les Misérables as Cosette, and has been in the show for 5 years. It was a wonderful opportunity for the girls who worked with her in groups for 50 minutes; she also gave a masterclass at lunchtime to some Year 10 girls. The workshops culminated in a short performance at the end of the day, with each group presenting the scene they had worked on to show what they had learnt. In addition, Bo, Charlie, Dorothea, and Jemima (Yr10) sang the show’s iconic song, ‘I dreamed a dream’, which was lovely. At the end of the performance, Charlotte ran a Q&A with the girls, and she fielded some interesting questions about the industry she’s in, her favourite shows, auditions, and how difficult it can be to get a part. Well done to everyone involved, and thank you to Miss Markey and the Theatre Team.
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean South Africa Sports Achievers
Roedean SA sends congratulations to the following girls who have been selected to the Provincial Water Polo Squads. The final team selection will be announced in late October. The National Water Polo Championships will take place in Gauteng, from 7–11 December.
U14 Michaela Boaventura Gioia Carrara U15 Amelia Smith Keirah van de Loosdrecht Marie-Louise Williams U16 Gia Allasio Zahraa Bodiat Ané Broodryk Margaux Kemp Zoya Mothupi-Sarges Julia Quaker U19 Boati Motau Ané Müller Anastasia Tambo Megan Wilkins
Roedean Brighton Musician of the Year Final
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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On Tuesday, 18th June, 18 girls took part in the finals of the Roedean Musician of the Year. The standard was incredibly high and our adjudicator, Scott Stroman, praised all the girls for their accomplished performances. Scott gave some very encouraging and helpful feedback, and his friendly and informative style was much appreciated. It was a difficult job to choose between the performers, but we are pleased to announce that the following girls were the prize winners this year: Follow us on
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean South Africa Girls’ Touch Rugby Congratulations to Maia Masselli (UV) and India Long (UV), our U17 Provincial Touch Rugby players. This past weekend they represented Gauteng in the National Touch Rugby Championships in Cape Town. Well done. We are so proud!
Roedean Brighton Mental Resilience workshops with Helen and Kate It was fantastic to welcome back to Roedean Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh, Olympic Champions in Rio 2016 and Roedean Sports Ambassadors. They ran interactive workshops on mental resilience for every girl in Years 7 and 9, and the sports’ scholars. Although their point of reference was often sport, what they were describing was applicable to many different areas – how to bounce back after a disappointment, whether on the sports field, on stage, or in the classroom, and how to get yourself into the right place to perform consistently well. The girls really enjoyed the sessions, which challenged them to imagine how they would react to different threatening situations. Helen and Kate circulating among the participants to contribute to their discussions.
Helen and Kate also gave a talk to the Sixth Form: adjusting to different expectations at A Level, and the Year 13s are working on their university applications, so motivation and positivity from two Olympic Gold medallists was just perfect! Roedean really is very fortunate to have two women of Helen and Kate’s calibre as our Sports Ambassadors!
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean Brighton Music Scholars’ Recital
The Roedean Music Scholars’ Recital was a wonderful showcase of impressive musicianship, and it was a real pleasure to see players and singers from Years 7-13 performing with great confidence and composure. The ability to perform at that level is the result of years of dedication and commitment to hone a talent – congratulations to everyone involved. The range of styles encompassed 20th century music as well as Baroque and more between, and it was lovely to hear the range of instruments, including the flute, voice, clarinet, piano, and violin, as well as more unusual examples, such as the recorder and xylophone. All the performers should be very proud of their part in making this recital such a brilliant celebration of music. However, particular congratulations to Alice for performing such a challenging piece while only in Year 7, to Amy for playing the lyrical 20th century Morricone piece so beautifully, to Amelie and Constance for singing with such poise and confidence, and to Ananya for her wonderful rendition of Fauré’s well-known Sicilienne. My personal favourite performance was Jojo’s fantastic performance of Mozart’s Alla Turca on the xylophone – she was completely in control throughout, and she played with great panache and obvious skill. You can watch Jojo playing the piece by following this link: https://vimeo.com/362739689 Roedean Brighton Rosie in Kefalonia In August, using my Air Land and Sea funding from School, I was lucky enough to participate in a Turtle Conservation Project in Kefalonia, Greece. I loved my experience working with the charity, Wildlife Sense, as it was incredibly hands-on. Each morning, we would survey the local beaches, health-checking and measuring the progress of the nests. However, the highlight was doing ‘hatchling rescue’, a night survey where we slept on the beaches and helped to ensure all the hatchlings made it safely into the sea and were not distracted by light pollution. I had a fantastic time, as not only did I learn lots about the ‘caretta caretta’, but I also experienced the amazing Greek culture and made a fantastic group of friends! I'm very grateful for the opportunity of this Air Land and Sea Award – it was an invaluable experience that I'll never forget. Rosie J (Year 13) Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
ROEDEAN BRIGHTON St Mark’s Charity Walk - Raised a Whopping £4980! It was absolutely brilliant to see the whole school community walking together to raise money for St Mark’s Primary and the ten girls we support around the world through PlanUK. The walk was for 5 kilometres, but the girls were given the option to walk an additional 5k, and it was fantastic that over half of the girls chose to do this. There was a wonderful atmosphere, and we were lucky that the possible storms had already passed over. The majority enjoyed walking in the amazing countryside around our school, but some were keen to challenge themselves and chose to run. Well done to Talya H (Yr7) who was the first student back for both the 5k and the 10k, well ahead of many other students, and the first members of staff back were Mr Sampieri, closely followed by Mr Woodhouse. Thank you to everyone involved in the organisation, to Mr Fieldsend who planned the routes, to the marshals, the Housemen who manned the tunnel, the Grounds staff, to the Theatre team who provided the PA system, to the Prefects who arranged activities for the St Mark’s Years 5-6 who came to share the atmosphere, and to Catering. However, the biggest thanks of all go to everyone who walked, including some Year 13s, the Admin Staff, and Housemen, and, of course, to everyone who donated so generously to support this event. It really was a brilliant example of a huge team effort – well done!
Roedean South Africa The Roedean Academy In June, 20 Grade 11 pupils were invited to Hyundai to participate in “Take a Girl Child to Work” day. Accompanied by Kate Lowings, the girls were collected from Barnato Park High School at 7:30 and taken to Hyundai. The day started with a welcome address, coffee, and sandwiches. Following a talk and video all about Hyundai, the girls were divided into groups and were allocated to different sections of the business. Some girls went into HR, some into marketing, some into the factory – it was a fascinating experience for everyone! After a delicious lunch, there was a feedback session and then a motivational talk by the HR Director at Hyundai. It was 4:00 by then and the day had just flown past. Hyundai then did a summary of the day and presented the girls with beautiful goodie bags and other gifts. It was an amazing day! The girls were motivated and inspired; they made new friends and enjoyed themselves immensely. They learned so much, and we are hugely grateful to Hyundai for proving this amazing opportunity. Kate Lowings The Roedean Academy Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean Brighton STEM Day at Roedean 150 girls in Years 5 and 6 from London and South-East came to Roedean to take part in a challenging and really enjoyable STEM Day. The number included groups from Prep Schools, as well as individuals with a particular interest in STEM. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths are areas of strength at Roedean, and have consistently been so for many years. This is particularly impressive since it bucks both national trends and common stereotypes about girls and subjects in this field. Our visitors undertook a carousel of hands-on group activities during the day, and the grand finale was a lecture with our remarkable STEM Ambassador, Dr Suzie Imber, who is Professor of Space Physics at Leicester University. For Science, the girls, dressed in lab coats and goggles, did experiments with Bunsen burners to find out about the chemical processes used to make rocket fuel. This built up to a final experiment which fired a plastic bottle across the room, to excited screams and cheers from the girls. In Technology, they designed a balloon-powered car, taking into consideration both materials and its look. They tested their prototypes during the session, in order to make changes and improve their designs. For Engineering, the girls talked about what it is that makes buildings both tall and stable, and then put their findings into practice in groups by creating structures out of spaghetti and marshmallows. In Maths, they learnt about binary code, and then, in groups with each girl holding a card with either 1 or 0 on it, they had work out numbers in binary – for example, to express 42 in binary, six girls lined up with their cards showing 101010. At the end of the day, our visitors and all of Year 7 were treated to an inspirational talk by Dr Suzie Imber. Not only is she Professor Space Physics, a mountaineer who has discovered ‘new’ mountains in South America, and the winner of BBC2’s ‘Astronauts: Do You What It Takes?’ programme, but she is also part of the team which has designed and built one of 11 instruments on the European Space agency’s current Bepicolumbo mission to Mercury. But you have to be patient, because the mission left in 2018, but it will not arrive on Mercury until December 2025! The talk was outstanding, and Suzie fielded well over 30 brilliant and insightful questions at the end. The STEM Day was a great – and who knows, perhaps someone sitting in the audience will be a future astronaut! Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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October 2019 - Issue 2
Roedean South Africa
Girls’ Leadership Summit The Girls’ Leadership Summit took place on Saturday, 28 September 2019, to discuss critical social issues that affect young women. Roedean has a proud tradition of educational excellence. Our mission remains the same as when the school was founded in 1903, which is to focus on empowering young women for the world. Roedean’s tag line, “Inspiring a life of Significance”, instils in our pupils, a genuine understanding of the socio-economic realities of the world and encourages the girls to contribute personally to the lives of others. Roedean School (SA) has a Women in Leadership Strategic Objective.
We hosted a Girls’ Leadership Summit to discuss critical social issues that affect young women. A survey was distributed to the pupils, parents, and staff of the Roedean Community. Questions ranged from, “What does leadership mean to you?” to “What does Leading a Life of Significance mean to you?" The social issues that the community found most compelling are all leadership focused. Two dynamic female intellectuals and leaders were the main speakers, opening and closing the summit. Ms Rapelang Rabana, Entrepreneur and Roedean Old Girl, and Ms Nunu Ntshingila, CEO Facebook Africa, well -respected Media Practitioners from the Roedean community: Ms Debora Patta, Ms Joanne Joseph, Mr Ray Hartley, Mr Milton Nkosi, and Ms Phemelo Motene MC ’ed and facilitated the panel interviews that were led by well-known experts, Professor Adam Habib and Dr Greg Mills. The Roedean girls played integral roles in all the above panels and activities. The Summit was a wonderful success! Congratulations to everyone !
Roedean South Africa On 26 July, we celebrated the installation of the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Maths) Mural in the Sciences Block.
STEAM PROJECT
The mural was created by Amina Kaskar, a Roedean Old Girl, architect, and the Co-Director of Counterspace Studio (Pty) Ltd. The design is powered by natural elements such as solar and wind power. The STEAM letters and elliptical shapes are an array of colour spectacles and the mural never remains in the same position! It is always turning and in a state of flux and creation. The project was made possible by a generous donation by the Gnodde family.
Edited by: Emma Coppola (Ante Matric).
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