4 November 2022 – Issue 8
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Halloween Maze 2022
Head’s Introduction
Roedean has hit the ground running in the first week back after half-term. I am delighted to read about our students’ success in the Senior Maths Challenge and the Maths Olympiad for Girls. There were many impressive successes, but particular congratulations go to Euran, Gulang, Hebe, Rose and Yvette, who were the top performers. Well done to all who took part, and to the Maths Department.
The Big Draw
I am very pleased to read that Galina in Year 11 has just achieved her third Grade 8, and her second with Distinction, which is outstanding. I am glad to hear that yesterday’s Year 7 Drama workshop with a practitioner from the Globe went so well. I am sure that the girls will have learnt a great deal and enjoyed the virtual tour of the Globe. At the start of the week, we welcomed Andrew Hampton, the founder of ‘Girls on Board’, to Roedean. His talk for parents of girls in Years 7-9 explored the ways the girls themselves can negotiate issues which arise in their teenage years, and how parents can support this process. The response from those who attended has been very positive, and I am grateful to Miss Hart and Miss Allen for their leadership of this important project. I am also pleased that Roedean contributed to the national shared endeavour called ‘The Big Draw‘ through the Art Department, encouraging drawing as a tool for wellbeing – thank you, and well done to the staff and students in the Art Department. In Sport, our junior hockey teams are playing brilliantly – it is wonderful for so many to be involved, and that having 6 teams in Year 8 has enabled even more girls to represent the School in fixtures. I am really impressed that the girls have been out on the fields playing sport despite this week’s weather, and well done in particular to the U14 teams who had good games against our local rivals! There are a number of exciting events in the second half of this term, including performances of ‘Six’, the Autumn Gala Concert, and the Dance Showcase, in addition to the hotly-contested Staff-Student Hockey match! I encourage you to book tickets for these events to see the Roedean community showcasing their passions and talents. There are only 29 days until the Roedean Christmas Fair, which is the perfect place to buy stocking fillers and take on Christmas challenges! Well done to everyone in Year 11, who have completed their first set of formal assessments this week. We have all been impressed with how positively they have approached them. I wish you all a relaxing weekend, and good luck for next week!
Finalist – Handmade: Britain's Best Woodworker
Girls On Board at Roedean
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Unsung heroes in the spotlight
Dance Showcase
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 Annual Dance Showcase is just around the corner – this year our theme is A Night at the Movies. This will include performances from Chicago, Bohemian Rhapsody, Flash Dance, and much more! Don’t forget your popcorn!
4 November 2022 – Issue 8
You can book tickets here: https://roedean. ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows
Bonnie and Lily (Yr8) – for reuniting a lost dog, Taylor, with its owner [Miss Marek]
Cherry & Sabina (Yr13) and all the Sixth Formers who took part – for masterminding and taking part in the Halloween Maze. [Miss Carragher] Lea (Yr13) – for a fantastic Academic Lecture on the topic 'Why the Western invasion of Iraq (2003-11) was destined to fail' [Ms Ibanez-Barcelo]
Diwali Assembly at St Mark’s Before the half-term holidays and while everyone in their year-groups were enjoying much needed down time, Navya, Anjani and Bhoomi made a short trip to St Mark's Primary School to deliver an assembly on Diwali and Hinduism to the whole school! While there, they delivered an excellent presentation on what it means to be Hindu and shared some of the traditions of their culture. They spoke very well and shared their passion, knowledge and enthusiasm. They even had time to answer some of the thoughtful and tricky questions from the pupils. Well done, Navya, Anjani and Bhoomi. Mr Wilson
Three Grade 8s for Galina Congratulations to Galina (Yr11), who has just been awarded Grade 8 Musical Theatre Singing with Distinction. This achievement is impressive enough in itself, but even more remarkable in the context that she already has two Grade 8s! – she was awarded a Distinction for Grade 8 Clarinet in 2020, and a Merit for Grade 8 Piano in 2021.
Staff
Galina is a true all-rounder, who achieves very highly academically, dances at a high level in a variety of styles, and is also very often seen performing on the stage. Miss Wright and Ms Doy – for working throughout this half term with such enthusiasm and dedication in House 3 – their passion for creating a happy House is very apparent and all members of the House value their hard work and constant kindness. [Miss Ford-Senior]
Well done – this success is thoroughly deserved!
GSA Boarding video The Girls' School Association (GSA) have asked girls from all GSA boarding schools to produce a video documenting their own experiences of boarding school. With the help of all the Housemistresses (special thanks to Miss Ford-Senior for organising this), girls from all 6 boarding houses contributed footage to make this 'Pupils' Prospectus', and we were impressed with how much they managed to capture in just a minute! Mrs Barlow Page 2
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
4 November 2022 – Issue 8
Musical Events of the Next Few Weeks
Sport Stars of the Week
There will be a Community Music and Cooking event for students on 16 November at 4:00pm in the Old Ref. Bring £2:00 and eat the most delicious food accompanied by some fantastic musicians!
Congratulations to this week's Sports Stars! [Miss Kirby-Jones]
The Autumn Gala concert is fast approaching. This year our theme is The Natural World. This will include pieces from Carnival of the Animals, Fingal's Cave, Earth Wind and Fire, and much more! Book your tickets here https://roedean.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows
Year 7 Dita, far all her hard work in hockey
The next Teatime Recital will take place on 24 November in the Chapel at 4:00pm, and it will include solos and chamber music items. This event is free, but please book tickets here https://roedean. ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows Year 8 Lula, for excellent netball performance and great effort in S&C
Year 9 Elspeth, for excellent commitment to Curriculum PE
Year 10 Grace, for great efforts in hockey and in Sport Science
Globe Workshop for Year 7 On Thursday 3 November, Fiona Drummond, brought Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre to the Roedean Stage for our Year 7 pupils who participated in a digital tour and workshop based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Fiona, an actor, director and Globe Education Practitioner (GEP), explained that the present day Globe, built in 1997, is a reconstruction of the original and was the vision of Sam Wanamaker. The pupils heard how the original Globe burnt down in 1613, was rebuilt then was finally closed down by the puritans in 1642.
As well as how one audience member was saved from the fire by someone throwing ale onto their trousers! Once the pupils learnt about how the stage is used in performance, they then got a chance to explore Titania’s famous monologue “These are the forgeries of jealousy…”, using physical theatre, verse speaking techniques, and games to discover the nuances of the language. A fantastic workshop that gave the pupils a good introduction to the play before of our key stage production next summer term.
Mrs Woodbridge Page 3
Congratulations to Tilly in Year 7, who has won this week's Golden Ticket. [Mrs Chamberlain]
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Ukrainian Winter Emergency Appeal – Stand For Ukraine With Christmas just around the corner (only 7 weeks away), I would like to launch a Christmas gift appeal with the charity 'Stand For Ukraine'. There are 140 Ukrainian children in our local community – this charity is working with them, and with lots of families back in the Ukraine who have been displaced and relocated, and are about to face a bleak, cold winter. I am reaching out to all staff, students, and parents within our school community, to contribute small, wrapped gifts for local Ukrainian people. For children, the charity is particularly looking for toys and books, and for others, warm clothing, such as hats and gloves. I really urge everyone to contribute something, labelling clearly who the gift is suitable for.
4 November 2022 – Issue 8
Fantastic Results for the Senior Maths Challenge and the Maths Well done to the 107 students who took part in this year’s Senior Mathematical Challenge – the results are excellent:
13
Gold
22
Silver
36
Bronze
The Gold winners are:
Gulang, Alyssa, Tina, Betty, and Sabina (Yr13), and Euran, Hebe, Skylah, Vanessa, Cathy, Yilin, and Elodie (Yr12), and Diana (Yr11). Particular congratulations go to Euran (Yr12), who scored 102, and Gulang (Yr13), who scored 100 – the threshold for Gold is 76 or more, so they performed brilliantly, and a score of 100+ qualifies students for the British Maths Olympiad. Hot on the heels of success in the Senior Maths Challenge, Roedean students also achieved outstanding results in the Maths Olympiad for Girls – of the 13 students who took part, 7 were awarded Merit, and Hebe and Rose (Yr12) and Yvette (Yr13) were awarded Distinction. Congratulations to all who took part – well done! Mrs Hopper
From next week, there will be boxes by the Fireplace where you can place your gift until Friday 2 December – there is plenty of time to bring in your gift. I would like to thank everyone in advance for your incredible generosity and kindness. Maria (Yr12)
These are the students who were awarded Gold in the senior Maths Challenge and Distinction in the Maths Olympiad for girls.
Halloween Maze 2022 Screams and (fake) body parts made the Halloween Maze an entertaining but scary event this year! Halloween games in the Blyth set the scene, followed by a guided walk through the maze, set in the eery surroundings of the Cloisters!
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Thank you to the team of Sixth Form students, led by our Sixth Form Prefects, Cherry and Sabina, for putting on such an amazing event for the whole school. Miss Carragher
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
This week in boarding... Halloween fun in the Houses!
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4 November 2022 – Issue 8
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Girls On Board at Roedean It was a great privilege to welcome Andrew Hampton, founder of Girls on Board, to Roedean on Tuesday evening this week, to speak to Key Stage 3 parents. Girls on Board is an approach which helps girls, their parents, and their teachers to understand the complexities and dynamics of friendships. The
language, methods, and ideas empower girls to solve their own friendship problems, and recognises that they are usually the only ones who can. He offered some excellent advice on active listening, social media, and accurate communication, and we are looking forward to introducing this to our students very soon. Miss Hart
V&A Museum Visit – Design: 1900–Now Last month, the GCSE Design & Technology group visited the V&A in London to view the ‘Design: 1900–Now’ exhibition. It presents over 250 objects, including furniture design, fashion, media, and technology, with a focus on design and society charting the evolution of man-made objects from craftsmanship to the digital age. It was a genuinely inspiring exhibition, enabling students to view the work of others and develop a different perspective for their individual design projects. Thank you to all our students for making it such an enjoyable day! Mrs Quirk
Keswick House Halloween Party 'On Monday night, the Sixth Formers had a party in Keswick Hall, arranged by Keswick and Lawrence House Captains and Deputies to celebrate Halloween and have a break from studies in general. We decorated the hall with cobwebs, miniature skulls, fake spiders and skeletons. Lawrence had a film playing in their house with pizza for those wanting a quieter evening, whereas Keswick provided sweets and soft drinks for those who wanted to get together for a party. Many dressed up in Halloween costumes and cosplay characters. Overall, we had a wonderful time, a much enjoyed evening for everyone involved!' Skylah and Sabrina (Yr12) Page 6
4 November 2022 – Issue 8
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
The Big Draw The Art Department hosted a drawing workshop recently as part of the world’s biggest drawing festival ‘The Big Draw.’ This year the theme was ‘Back to Colour’, and we asked participants to work collaboratively and draw images to create a sprawling, fantastical city. We looked at amazing architecture from around the world and interesting details from our own surroundings, and imagined what we would like to see in our made-up, colourful city. The workshop ran over two days and, at the end, the girls placed all their images together to create the city. Mrs North and Miss Phillips also put on an exhibition of their own drawings in the Old Ref to coincide with the TBD Festival. Both rely heavily on drawing in their own art practice, despite working across very different subjects and processes.
Finalist – Handmade: Britain's Best Woodworker We are excited to announce that Miss Hook, our talented DT Technician, has made it through to the final round of Handmade: Britain's Best Woodworker. During last week's Semi-Finals, Miss Hook made a desk that Mel Giedroyc later purchased to write her next book at. C4 airs the show on Wednesday at 8:00pm. Best of luck, Miss Hook!
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4 November 2022 – Issue 8
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
4 November 2022 – Issue 8
SPORT Hockey vs Brighton College U16C
U14C Victorious
The U16C team had a tough match against Brighton College on the Saturday before half-term in terrible weather conditions. Poppy and Mairi captained the team well, getting everyone warmed up quickly and leading the team's 2v1 and 4v3.
On Saturday 15 October, Roedean’s epic U14Cs took part in what turned out to be their first victory, after a series of draws this season – well done!
The team set themselves individual targets at the start of the match which Hannah tallied off throughout the match. Well done to the following: Eva, who was able to make 4 successful passes whilst under pressure (successful meaning that the ball got to the intended player); Zella, who made 10 saves, 3 of which were short corner shots; Poppy, who carried the ball into space successfully, getting past her defence on 3 occasions; and Manola, who was able to take the ball out wide. Players' Player of the Match was Poppy, and Coaches' Player was Zella. A huge well done to all who played, but particular congratulations go to Yuki and Pia, who were relentless in defence.
Charlie stepped up, having just stepped off the pitch with the victorious B team, and brought the winning spirit with her. The team dominated from the start, and there was rarely a moment when the ball was not intercepted and held by Roedean. Spirits were high at the end of the first half – we were 1-0 up against Brighton College and were looking the more confident side. At the beginning of the second half, and with a full team enabling some strong substitutions, the team went into the match knowing that they could not only hold the lead, but build on it. The second goal came midway through the second half, and our defence held strong until the final whistle. Congratulations on an excellent win, Team C!
Miss Wakeling
U16C
U14C
U14B Win The U14B team continued their winning ways with a great game against Brighton College. With a few changes to the team sheet this week, it gave us the opportunity to play some players in different positions. Tiah and Maggie had great impact on the game, both in new positions on the right, and Tiah scored twice. Two more goals were scored by Alice, with the help of Romey on the left. Mention must go to Asmitha, who was strong in the midfield and controlled the game well. The defence stopped the opposition from getting many chances in the D, and Emelia made some wonderful saves to help us to a 4-1 victory. Well done to Izzy who also played up for the A team in the game before, and Charlie, who went on to play for the C team as well, and who received opposition's MVP. The coaches' MVPs go to Maggie and Asmitha.
Miss Marek
Miss Kirby-Jones U14B
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4 November 2022 – Issue 8
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
SPORT Hockey vs St Andrew's U13B
U13F Victorious!
The U13B team won a tightly contested game 2-1, with all of the goals coming in the first half. St Andrew's played without a goalkeeper, so had seven outfield players, which posed a different challenge for the team. Liv opened the scoring, St Andrew's equalised, and Liv struck again to leave the game nicely poised at half time.
The U13F team had been building up for this moment for weeks! Their chance to represent Roedean in a hockey match had come, and they were determined to give it their all.
The second half was nip and tuck, with chances at both ends. Anya was fantastic in goal, repelling several attacks, the whole team hung on in defence, and several counter-attacks were launched before the final whistle blew.
Mr Smethurst
U13E 'On Wednesday, the Roedean U13E team had challenging face off against St Andrew’s Prep. With a tough start to the match, the score was 3-0 against us, however in the second half we went out ready to play! With Matilda carrying the ball expertly down the right-hand side, and making great passes across the pitch to Claudia; she slapped it into Lola, just waiting to pop it into the net, and Blaize always gave a great option in space.
The game started quickly, with Stella scoring our first goal in the first five minutes. The midfield, made of Ava, Mia, and Lily, were proving their dominance as the three girls found the back of the net to put us 4-0 up. After a great team talk from Mr Perry & Miss Adeyemi, the girls were hungry for more goals. Bonnie and Joy stood strong in the defence, with Gabby making some vital saves in the last moments of the game. The girls rounded off the game with an amazing team goal, with Mia passing the ball to Stella at the back post, who slapped the ball in the corner of net to complete her perfect hat-trick. The game finished at 6-0 to Roedean – all the girls deserve a massive well done, and a special mention goes to the Coaches' Players, Ava and Stella!
Miss Marek
The defenders did an excellent job, not letting any goals in the second half, with Lucy coming up and down the pitch as necessary to assist some goals. Coco was always there to get the stray balls at the back, and Kat, with her goalie boots always ready to stop a goal, the team showed excellent all-round ability in all areas of play.' Lucy
U13F
U13E
New PB for Farah! Huge congratulations go to Farah (Yr7), who took Silver at the Sussex County Swimming competition this weekend and she won her Silver medal by swimming a PB of 3.20 in the 200m Fly!
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: abw@roedean.co.uk
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