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.