29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction There have been many events, activities and achievements which we all should be proud of this year. It has been an amazing ten months for Roedean. You have been as energetic, dynamic and joyful as ever, the staff have been so committed to making this the best possible opportunity for you and the mood and atmosphere around the School has been exceptional. It really is a fantastic place to be and I feel very lucky to be a part of your success and surrounded by your open-minded, can-do attitude. But forget about the whole year for a moment, what does Roedean pack into 6 days? Roedean Day, including Prize Day and Sports Day, the Art Exhibition, Duke of Edinburgh, Race for Life, Staff vs Girls Hockey, Roedean’s Got Talent, over a dozen enrichment trips, an equal number of community trips, all rounded off with a big communal tea. I know you enjoy these activities but you are sometimes too busy to realise that this is not the normal way a school works this is exceptional and amazingly pupil-focussed. The number of hours of considerate thinking, careful planning, supervision that goes into one event is amazing, to organise 28 separate events in 6 days, at the end of a busy year, shows the extra miles and miles your staff go to give you the time of your lives. Thank you to all those members of staff, including Dr Barrand, Ms Boobis, Miss Andrew, Mr Carter, Mr Fieldsend, Mrs Strachan, Mr Wailes, and all the staff across so many different teams who have made this a really exciting end of term. I hope you know this, recognise this, and will join with me to thank those wonderful members of staff who make this effort throughout the whole year because Roedean is a huge team effort in which every member of staff is equally important and plays a vital role in making this enormously complex institution function at the highest level. As I said in my Prize Day speech, it is not just our achievements that will help us face the challenges we face in our lives, but the determination, grit, resilience and self-confidence we built in seeking those achievements. That underlying character is what makes you so special and such impressive people and this year, you have all, in many ways, continued to push yourselves and develop that self-belief that will enable you to do what you want to do. Continued on page 2
The 1898 Group By making a Founders’ Gift of £18.98, you will become a member of this special philanthropic group, exactly 120 years after the Lawrence sisters moved our school here to Roedean. The ‘1898 Group’ will be permanently recognised on the thank you board, which will be unveiled on 28 September. You can join the group with a one-off gift of just £18.98 by donating online here:
https://bit.ly/2IeF2Yd
Every gift is sincerely appreciated. Thank you. You can also still name a bench, paving stone or floodlight. For more information, please contact Mark Taylor via mta@roedean.co.uk or on 01273 667588
Choristers from Bodø come to Roedean Roedean welcomed the Bodø Cathedral Youth Choir to our Chapel this week, and they gave a wonderful concert to the entire school. The choir of 52 girls is on tour in the south of England from their town in the far north of Norway, well inside the Arctic Circle, and we were delighted to be the first stop on their weeklong concert tour which will end in Westminster Abbey.
The girls in the choir, which is around 25 years old, attend different schools, and rehearse just once a week in the cathedral. They give concerts regularly, and go on tour abroad every two years. We were very lucky to be one of the venues on this tour. The repertoire of the concert at Roedean included traditional Norwegian music, as well as contemporary church music, and also included the music which was the stimulus for some of the music from the Disney blockbuster, Frozen. You can hear a video clip of this here: goo.gl/ivnLrG. The girls were dressed beautifully in traditional costumes from the north of Norway, with different styles and colours representing different areas and cultures. Although single-sex schools are not usual in Norway, the girls loved visiting Roedean, and were very interested to hear all about our history and ethos. They also loved the view over the sea from the boarding houses and our wonderful location – we hope that we will be able to welcome the Bodø Domkirkes Ungdomskor to Roedean again in the future.
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Continued from page 1
Only yesterday, I received an email from the woman who first reported the terrible Gosport Hospital deaths to the police. She was an Old Roedeanian who left school in 1951, and she called because she wanted to tell me that that Roedean had given her the ‘grit, guts and determination’ to challenge everything in her life. Let us use that to remind us that we should achieve what we can for ourselves, but also use our strengths to stand up for others too.
I also think that this year has seen a fundamental shift towards the world beyond Roedean. Only this week, I launched our first trip to Roedean South Africa, to set up a long-term partnership
with our sister school, and also held the first Executive Group Meetings of the St Mark’s Primary School and Roedean partnership. We have set up the Roedean Group of Schools to share and expand the vision of education we enjoy at Roedean and we work each week with three state schools, St Mark’s, City Academy, Whitehawk, Downs View, along with Deepdene and Roedean Moira House. As much as we share, we also receive and we have been enriched by the hundreds of junior school pupils who have enjoyed our site and all of your company. And let’s not forget that this year we finally delivered a brand new sports facility, the allweather pitch, which will be the centre point for
29th June 2018 - Issue 10 sport for generations of girls to come, but which you help to imagine and to build. Looking to next year, we must continue to build our partnerships, to think about how to develop this school even further and continue to provide you with the foundation for a successful, happy and fulfilling education and life beyond. I end by reminding us of Kate Richardson-Walsh’s message to you – shoot for the moon and for the best version of you, not someone else, and you will be both happy and successful. Enjoy a much-anticipated and well-deserved break.
Kate Richardson-Walsh – shoot for the moon! Roedean was delighted to host Kate Richardson-Walsh OBE as our guest speaker on Roedean Day, 23 June 2018. The day combined two prize giving ceremonies, a Reception and lunch for the Old Roedeanians, some mini exhibition hockey matches to ‘christen’ our new all-weather pitch, and our annual Sports’ Day. It was wonderful to celebrate the successes and achievements over the year of more than 250 girls in Years 7-10, but the highlight of both ceremonies was Kate’s speech, which was extremely personal, yet utterly relevant to everyone in the audience. What she said centred on her favourite quotation, Peale’s ‘Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.’ For her, this encapsulates a desire to strive to be the best version of ourselves that we can be, to have high aspirations and to be ready to work hard to try to realise them. Kate also told the audiences that some of her drive had certainly come from set-backs and disappointments; on one occasion when she was distraught that she had not been selected for a team, her mother had comforted her but also asked her what she was going to do in response, to ensure that she avoided the same disappointment in the future. To hear someone, who captained the GB and England hockey teams for thirteen years, speak about the ups and downs of her journey to winning an Olympic Gold Medal in Rio was both enlightening and absolutely inspirational. What Kate said was especially memorable because her message was applicable to all Page 2
aspects of school-life, and chimes so well with Roedean’s desire for every student to achieve as highly as she can and to realise her full potential. The ceremonies also included musical performances, some street-dance, and a stunning rendition of A Million Dreams by Ava and Eden from the hugely popular show The Greatest Showman – this was the perfect finale, since its lyrics mirrored exactly what had been said by both the Headmaster and Kate in their addresses. We were very pleased that Kate was able to stay at Roedean for the whole day, and, on her way to the all-weather pitch, she was incredibly impressed by the exceptional quality of the A Level, Sixth Form, and GCSE work on display in the Art and Design Exhibition. In the short hockey show matches, Kate gave some valuable coaching tips to our youngest players and members of the 1st XI – some of the U12s were overheard telling their parents how Kate had directed some of her advice specifically at them, surely a memory which will last a life-time for an aspiring sportswoman! Not only was Kate impressed by our new all-weather pitch itself, but also its location overlooking the English Channel, which must be hard to beat for any school in the UK. As always, our annual Sports’ Day was a great community event, with House spirit in splashes of colour in evidence as usual. Kate enjoyed wandering around the different events, and also presented the trophies at the end. We were treated to wonderful weather for the day, which just added to the incredible atmosphere – all in all, Roedean Day was brilliant, and the School was on show in its very best light!
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Sports Day Sports Day was another huge success this year with every girl from years 7-10 taking part in their chosen events. The atmosphere was buzzing with over 1000 people on the lower field. I am sure Mr Chamberlain - our compère, could be heard from The Marina! Races took place all afternoon with girls competing for their houses in a range of distances. Every event was well supported by the girls and you couldn’t help but get carried away with the cheering. We also found time to slot in an exciting mum and dad’s race, much to the delight and embarrassment of the girls. The mascots also had their chance to shine but house 4 seemed to be at an advantage! The final event of The Golden Mile was again well supported by staff, Year 13 leavers, ORs and parents with 16 people running 100m legs. It started very close but soon became a two-horse race between the staff and Year 13. Ohi I nearly took the lead in the final straight but Dr Hobbs managed to hold her off. The students will have to wait until next year to take back the trophy! The overall results were as follows: 100m Anana Nwuba Cup presented to the fastest 100m athlete who has competed for Roedean this season - Marina B (Yr9) The Morlock Cup presented to the fastest 800m athlete who has competed for Roedean – Tatum W (Yr9) The Field events trophy presented to the student who has made excellent progress – Serena C (Yr9) The Carter Cup presented to the most improved all round athlete – Phoebe H (Yr8) The Golden Mile Relay cup – The staff Sports Day trophy 1st
House 3
2nd
House 4
3rd
House 2
4th
House 1
We had a professional photographer for both the Prize Givings and Sports Day, so please do have a look at his site: https://stephenjohnsonphotography. shootproof.com/gallery/roedean/
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Roedean’s Race For Life We had our fifth Race for Life this week, and we had a wonderful turnout, with nearly 550 staff and students completing the 5k course. Thank you to the Grounds Staff and the PE Department for marshalling and setting out the course, to Miss Boobis much of the planning behind the event, and, of course, thank you to Mrs Chandler for overseeing this event and commentating brilliantly throughout. Winners:
Staff placings:
1 Sophia Clyde
1 Mr Sampieri
2 Phoebe Hambling
2 Mr Silvey
3 Sophie Nurse
3 Mr Woodhouse
It was a brilliant community event - well done to everyone who took part! RB
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29th June 2018 - Issue 10
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Roedean’s Got Talent was a brilliant event, and the whole school committee enjoyed the diversity of the acts, and the commitment and talent of the performers. Our very Ant and Dec, Events Prefects Katie and Nadia, introduced each act and conducted entertaining roving interviews with audience members and the judges. The show opened with a beautiful ballet performance by Rania (Yr7), and being on point at such a young age is impressive; Niah (Yr9) presented a confident and gutsy performance from Mean Girls, and the Year 7 performance of American Boy showed the audience some
excellent timing and choreography; Bijou, Molly, and Fisayo (Yr12) really got the crowd going with their amazing moves from Ghana and Nigeria; Lola and India (Yr8) presented a lovely piece of dance, with lovely moves and great flexibility, after which the audience enjoyed an unusual Year 7 mime performance with lovely story-telling; tribute act, No Direction, from Year 7 chose a crowd-pleaser which got everyone up in their feet; Nour and Venus (Yr10) performed a lovely song with the piano, which was written by Venus; Tilly, Rosa, and ???? (Yr7) showed off strong voices with lovely harmonies in the performance from The Greatest Showman; the last act was an accomplished performance of Berceuse, a piano duet from Debussy’s Dolly Suite, by sisters, Jenny and Shirley (Yr9). The judges, Miss Markey, Ms Fewkes, Mrs Rigby, Dr Barrand, and Head Judge, Mr Blond, were impressed with all of the entries and their decision was not an easy one:
3rd place - No Direction Runner Up - Niah Winners - Bijou, Molly, and Fisayo The show also included a House performance, entered by Houses 2-4. All three were excellent and showcased a range of skills from singing and rapping to different instruments. The winners were House 4, with an excellent Honey-G style rap, written by Eden (Yr10). RB
1st Place
3rd Place
House winners
2nd Place Page 5
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
The Final Week of Term This week has been absolutely full of a dazzling array of activities. So much so, that it is really hard to believe that it was only four days ago that we were sitting here listening to the beautiful harmonies and pure voices of the Norwegian choir. Tuesday started with lessons, and then a brilliant opportunity to enjoy the sunshine and scenery around Roedean whilst raising money for a fantastic cause in the Race for Life. The picnic lunch was a really lovely way to bring the school
together to indulge in our beautiful grounds and stunning views of the sea. Then we had Roedean’s Got Talent, where we saw a superb range of singing, dancing and, well, talent! Congratulations to Molly, Fisayo and Bijou, and to the House 4 ensemble. The donuts and hockey match were a great end to a busy day. On Wednesday, we had 13 separate activities taking place in the areas of STEM, Creative Expression, and People and Places. Everyone had a great time and definitely learned something new in their chosen area. Yesterday’s
Community Day ended the week with a selection of onsite workshops and offsite projects to serve our local community partners. The V Day tea was a really wonderful way to end our week, with an appropriately celebratory feel for something that replicated the end of World War 1. Thank you to all teaching and support staff for making this week possible. We are exhausted, but we have had a blast! HBO
Experiential Learning Day
Visit to The CASS Foundation Sculpture Park and Pallant House Gallery On Wednesday a group of students from year 10 and 12 had the opportunity to experience site specific, contemporary sculpture by world renowned artists in a stunning woodland setting near Goodwood. After touring the grounds we recreated the sculptures from paper and tape and enjoyed a picnic in the beautiful weather. We then carried on to nearby Chichester to see the impressive collection of Art at Pallant House Gallery. We were treated to the touring exhibition of Art made by Virginia Woolf’s circle of women artists and that made in response to her writings. SEL
CASS Sculpture Foundation
eat - ‘This was a gr Latest Television nd out what it is opportunity to fi in television, some k really like to wor e even going to be ar ts en ud so of the st e students made th – s! ew on the n y’ er the da much progress ov
She@Law - ‘This was really valuable and inspirational, there were lots of good tips about university and visualisation’
She@Law Workshop at the Law Society
Minimation - ‘At first it just seemed like drawing, but then the magic happened, a really fun activity’ Newhaven Fort - ‘Lots of time to explore, great to experience a fake air raid, beautiful views, really informative and interactive’
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Life Sciences Day at Sussex University
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
nal Eastbourne Internatio y down at Eastbourne It was a hot blazing da edean were ready to International where Ro . l tennis players in action watch some professiona s and the line up wa We had Court 1 tickets e women’s singles, where brilliant! First up was th d 5) take the win. Next we saw Ostapenko (seede hwartzman vs L Lacko. up was the top seed D Sc with some cracking This was an intense game taking the win 6-4, tennis, resulting in Lacko the day was the battle 7-5. The final match of great game with C of the brits. This was a h ls all had a fab time wit Norrie winning. The gir ls, eting the ball gir strawberries in hand, me meet Andy Murray to and they even managed ich was a fantastic and other celebrities wh d a thoroughly enjoyable experience!! The girls ha rd to centre court next day and they look forwa year! SCH
Eastbourne International Ten
nis
Eastbourne International - ‘Really enjoyed watching the tennis, but now I look a bit like a tomato!’
Textiles at Chicester
Chichester - ‘A really lovely day, with some great creative tasks to do’
Big Bang Fair - ‘An ad h ‘I e informative and n ur bo Fish I y, da ic enga ging day out with st ta n fa a as such a variety of things s es dr to t go even ’ to see and do’ a Roman soldier!
Millennium Seed Bank
Raystede
Earthship - ‘This wa an amazing day, it s wa so brilliant to have s concept explained the to and the workshop us was so great’
Biodiversity trip to the Millennium Seed Bank The Biology trip saw Year 9 and Year 10 students learning about bio diversity in a beautiful meadow habitat. Much fun was had chasing butterflies with net s and trying to identify other invertebrate s. The students also got to tour the Millennium Seed Bank, home to over 200 billion seeds, som e of which are from plants that are now extinc t in the wild. PCH Page 7
Plumpton - ‘We saw a baby calf! It was so cute, the facilities are amazing there – I wish I could work there!’
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Community Day Adventure Day
Cake baking
Archaeological Dig Cooking
Edwardian Classroom
WWI Plays
Hove Luncheon Club Page 8
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital Mural
St Mark’s
Textiles Fight Choreography
War to Peace Walk
V Day Tea
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
Headmaster’s XI vs 1st XI Hockey After Race for Life and Roedean’s Got Talent, the 1st hockey team had one last game of the season. It’s the one they enjoy the most, against Mr Blond’s mighty staff team, the Headmaster’s XI. After the last two years being thrilling draws, there was a lot of anxiety amongst the staff. The fear of losing, and the fear of being shown up on the pitch. In the first half, this wasn’t the case. The staff showed moments of brilliance with captain, Miss Andrew, pulling the strings in the middle and Miss Hyams proving why she is the best hockey player in her family. The pressure was all on the 1st team and Mr Blond showed why he should have been playing in the Rio 2016 Olympics – a lovely upright reverse hit shuddered against the backboard. The crowd were silenced… Half time 1-0 to the staff. The 1st team began the second half with purpose and intent, with fantastic attacking runs by Lucy P, Maggie EB and Loretta S, constantly being a menace around the circle. As the staff began to tire, the 1st team were piling on the pressure. They eventually scored, although Mrs Robins made a great effort to prevent the ball from going in. Unfortunately, VAR could not be used to review the goal. With minutes to go, Mr Carter made a Steven Gerard slip, offering the 1st team girls one
last attack, Tasha R was in front of the keeper and the ball was slowly rolling into the goal. Could it be a first win for the students? Of course not, Mr Chamberlain came diving into the rescue, swinging his hockey stick like a madman with an axe. The ball was saved on the line and pushed away from danger. This goes to show how much the staff do not want lose against the students! Final score 1-1 (another draw!) A special mention to Mrs Pittingale for an excellent debut commentating on the match, with some very factual information about Kate Richardson-Walsh, or was she referring to Helen Richardson-Walsh? This was a great end to the year. A massive thank you to all the support on the sidelines. The staff were superbly led by Miss Andrew on her testimonial, but well done to the 1st team girls. They have worked so hard over the year and I am sure they will win this event in the future… I would also like to wish our hockey players leaving this year the best of luck beyond Roedean, and I look forward to seeing you all return for an annual OR v 1st XI match next year. ACA
U13s play Bishops Stortford
Silver for DofE Congratulations to the 31 girls, mostly in Year 10, who successfully completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s expedition in the Forest of Dean. The culmination of weeks and months of training, the expedition is one of the four DofE strands, which also include Service, Skill, and Physical.
On Sunday, the U13 rounders team played a very strong touring side from Hertfordshire. Bishops Stortford College were visiting the South Coast and played us in an exciting game before they travelled back. The girls struggled with their big hitters in the first innings and made some fielding errors which allowed them to gain a good lead. We batted well but just couldn’t reach their score. Our second innings were much closer and the girls sharpened up their fielding to keep the touring side to under 10 rounders.
The girls were self-sufficient for 3 days, supervised remotely at regular checkpoints, carrying 18 kilograms in their backpacks. The conditions were hot and challenging, but the girls performed excellently, and the external assessors praised them for their strong navigational skills and their excellent team spirit. Although it was hard work, the girls enjoyed themselves, and a highlight for them was toasting marshmallows over their open fires! Well done to them all!
Our girls played intelligently and big hits from Ella K-M kept the rounders coming but unfortunately it ended 6 ½ -9 Overall, it was a lovely morning, and we hope to welcome them again next year. KAN
LFI Page 10
29th June 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Unsung heroes in the spotlight
House 1
Biology Olympiad Success
Each week, many wonderful things happen at Roedean, about which many in the school are perhaps unaware; this section of the weekly review is dedicated to ‘unsung heroes’, in order to draw our attention to these people and remind us that our community is special.
The girls in House 1 organised a baby shower for Miss Kingston who leaves at the end of term for her maternity leave. We would all like to wish Miss Kingston all the best and look forward to seeing photos of the new arrival due on 1st September 2018. JWL
Congratulations to the following in Year 12 who have performed excellently in the 2018 Intermediate Biology Olympiad:
Jemma N-GS (Yr9) for saving and donating her birthday money to the Pitch Perfect appeal [MTA]
• Ishika A – Gold (this places her in the top 8% of students nationally) • Samantha C, Lucy B, Nadia W – Silver • Lydia L, Liv M, Prim N – Bronze • Umu T, Angela L, Meghan G – Highly Commended I am delighted for you all – well done!
PCH
Zarbanu M (Yr12) for being so kind to me, as well as being very kind to the younger year groups [Dani C]
Congratulations to Christine H!
Snail Way for Martlets Hospice
More good news for Roedean from the UK Chinese Language Competition. Christine H won a Silver Medal in the 16th Chinese Reading Competition at the University of Westminster, London, on Sunday 24th June 2018. Well done, Christine! LWU
Recognition for Roedean artists from local gallery owner
Congratulations to Amelia M in 7M who has won the competition to design our snail for the Snail Way. Work is underway in the art department, and Mary M and Laura F, assisted by Amelia have been carefully painting the winning design onto our Snail. Look out for the completed artwork on the trail next Autumn. #bemoresnail
The Art department was approached recently by local gallery owner, artist, curator, and businesswoman, Kellie Miller. Kellie shortlisted 5 of our Year 13 A Level artists for an excellence award. Congratulations to the five finalists, Martha N, Esmee E, Gabriella R, Grace C, and Zoe T. The finalists received goodie bags of art materials and Zoe, the overall winner of the award, also received a voucher for art materials. Well done! SEL
Deepdene Farmers Last Wednesday, children from Deepdene School were welcomed by the farm prefects for their ‘Farmer for a day’ school visit. They loved it so much that they have asked to come back on a regular basis! JRO We welcome contributions from all parts of the Roedean community. If you have something you would like featured in the Headmaster’s Weekly Review, please email: marketing@roedean.co.uk Page 11
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