15th April 2016 - Issue 1
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction It is wonderful to see everyone back at Roedean after Easter, and I am very pleased to welcome a new student, Tishe, who joins Year 9. Term has started well and there has been so much going on in the first week already, from sport to business, and photography to rehearsals for forthcoming dance and music events.
Staff-Student Netball 30 Roedean staff and 20 Netball Squad players joined forces to take part in the mixed Staff & Student Netball Tournament. The 6 teams were led by Mr Orys, Miss Waller, Miss Hyams, Mr Reid, Mr Carter and Miss Balnaves. Each team played 4 members of staff along with 3 students to battle it out for the winning spot! The afternoon was played in great spirit, with many staff and students coming along to support! There was some great Netball, some competitive games, and some interesting sports kit in the form of Mr Carter’s Netball Dress! Some notable performances came from Mr Buchanan in the shooting circle, great shooting from Mr Chamberlain, and amazing athleticism from Mrs Chandler and Mrs Ridley! Miss Crawley would like to thank the PE team for their help umpiring the matches and all playing in the tournament as well! Also massive thanks to all staff and students who took part and supported; you were all fantastic sports and we look forward to the next event! Winners were Team Reid who didn’t drop a game! Coming in 2nd and 3rd were Team Carter and Team Blond respectively. Thanks again and well done everyone!
On an extremely sad note, I am sorry to report that Mr Alan Smith, who taught Maths here, has passed away after battling with cancer. At his funeral, one of his daughters spoke about how the cancer had beaten his body, but not his spirit, and that his love of everything around him and his passion for his diverse interests, the stars, music, football, and learning, to name just a few, were still fighting fit until the end – he was a true polymath. His death was marked in school this morning by a lovely Chapel service, during which three girls in U5 reminded us what a great character Mr Smith was, and the effect he had had on their learning. Mr Orys also gave a poignant eulogy, which is included in this review, describing the lasting impact he had had on the Maths Department, despite only being at Roedean for just over a year. He will be missed. Thank you for all your letters of condolence. The Staff and Student Netball Tournament, organised by Miss Crawley, took place on Thursday afternoon, and it was a fantastic occasion. It was wonderful to see the six teams, each comprising members of staff and girls, playing their hearts out to get the ball up and down the court. It was a great, fun event, with so many members of the community involved, either playing, umpiring, or supporting – it exemplified perfectly this term’s theme of ‘working together’. I was delighted to be on the judging panel at the end of the two-day Business Enterprise event this week, which saw our U4 girls join with their counterparts at Ringmer Academy, as part of our partnership with them. They learnt about producing and marketing a product on the first day, and then had to produce a plate and a cup to present with their pitch to a panel of six ‘business experts’, who then grilled them on the details. It was hugely productive, and I am sure that they have all learnt a great deal. Looking ahead, good luck to those involved in the Marathon this weekend, either the staff running it or those members of the Roedean community who are manning the water station on the route. I imagine some parents may also be running; it would be good to hear how you got on. I look forward to the Dance Showcase on Friday, and wish you all a wonderful week.
Amelie’s in the Fruit Shoot advert Congratulations to Amelie Hurley (U3) who is on television in the new Robinson’s Fruit Shoot advert! Follow this link to watch it: https://vimeo.com/159555423
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Unsung heroes in the spotlight 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.
Flynn MelendyCollier (U5) for outstanding History revision during the Easter Break [RCH]
Kelly WK Chan and Carmen Zhang (6.2) for wonderful dedication to the Dance Showcase [SMS]
15th April 2016 - Issue 1
In Memoriam – Alan Smith 13th September 1953 – 1st April 2016 The whole school community is deeply saddened by the news of the death of our colleague and teacher, Alan Smith, during the Easter holidays. Mr Orys gave this beautiful and poignant eulogy in Chapel this morning: Throughout life, people come in and go out of your life. Some people you know for many years, and for others it is much shorter. Alan Smith was only teaching here at Roedean for a little over one year, but in that time he made a profound impact on the lives of those he met. He was an impressively kind and considerate man, who always made time for anyone who needed help and at the end of any frequently lengthy conversations, you always came away with not only the answer to your question, but also the reasons behind the answer, and often some additional information just for good measure. I remember one occasion when I was looking at a difficult Maths question and couldn’t see a way into it. Mr Smith was in the office at the time, and he spotted my confused expression and came over to look. For a moment, it felt as if I was sitting down with my own patient Maths teacher and he helped me see a different way of looking at the problem. In many ways he was the teacher that we should all aspire to be. Of course, in his fashion, he then proceeded to explain a variety of other mathematical ideas to me, and then said to me “Well this Maths is good fun, but I have a problem for you”. I wondered what he was going to ask me. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he said, “I’ve been stuck on this level of Candy Crush for a week and I can’t see how to do it.” He may well have helped me with the Maths that day, but the childish glee on his face when we beat the level together is a more treasured memory for me. During his long and illustrious career as a Maths teacher, and Head of Department, he wrote many textbooks, including the one that we currently use for IGCSE Maths. He was also completely fascinated by astronomy. I am sure that many of you will remember the incredible photos that he showed us in an Assembly last year, that he had taken through some of the many telescopes he collected over the years. He also inspired this love of astronomy in several of the students he taught, and helped me rekindle my own interest, resulting in me buying the telescope he recommended to me.
Isobel Stoner (U4) for demonstrating a massive improvement in her Spanish speaking skills [AK]
Annabella Chen (6.2) for playing Chopin’s Funeral March so beautifully in Chapel
Freya Stewart (L5) for an excellent GCSE History essay [RCH]
Ain Mohamed Fauzi (6.2) for making amazing improvements in her sketchbook for Art over the holiday [SAL]
His love of folk music was also a great passion for him, and formed a large part of his life. He regularly played with different friends and bands, on his guitar or mandolin, with great skill and care. Alan retained the childhood sense of wonder. He was genuinely interested in everything and always had something fascinating to share. He leaves behind a wife, three daughters and three grandchildren. Hearing their beautiful words at his funeral, I know how much he meant to them and also to everyone he met. Whilst I only knew him for one year, I am proud to have called him my colleague, and more importantly, my friend.
Charity Concert - Monday 25th April
Esmee Ellis, Georgie Tomlinson, and Maggie El-Beleidi (U5) for sharing their fond memories of Mr Smith in Chapel
At 7pm in the Chapel, Miss Kazem, Dr Barrand, and Miss Triddon, along with their accompanists and some students, will be giving an informal charity concert. It is open to everyone in the Roedean community, and there will be wine and cheese to enjoy along with the music. The repertoire will range from classical to contemporary (or nearly!), both singing and instrumental, so there will be something for everyone. It is free to attend the concert, but we hope that you will give generously to support the two charitable causes, which are the Refugee Crisis and the Lugoj Orphanage in Romania. Page 2
15th April 2016 - Issue 1
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Tara’s Highly Commended Last term, Tara McMaster (6.1) entered the Fitzwilliam College Cambridge Classics Essay Competition, and we are delighted that she has been Highly Commended for her essay. Her essay was a sophisticated and thoughtful piece about the poorer classes of the Classical world, and how they are lesser represented in ancient literature. The prize is a £25 book voucher, along with an invitation to the awarding ceremony later in April, but, more importantly, this award will be a great boost to her CV and her personal statement when applying to university. This is a significant achievement, and Tara should be very proud of it.
A business guru in our midst?
Gabriella – a talented musician!
As part of our Roedean-Ringmer partnership, the girls from U4 went to Ringer Academy on Wednesday to take part in the first two-day joint business enterprise event, in conjunction with a local business called Masterpiece. The girls were split into groups and worked with students from Ringmer. In the morning, they had mini-workshops on Leadership and Management, Product Design, Marketing, and Finance. This was followed in the afternoon by a session where the groups had to come up with their product designs and initial ideas. On Thursday, Roedean hosted the final event and presentations, where the best groups pitched their ideas and concept to a panel of judges including Mr Blond. The winning team was Zap, with their Alice in Wonderlandinspired mug and plate, but I was extremely proud of the commitment and attitude of all of the students throughout the two days, and I am sure that they all developed a range of entrepreneurial skills. The question is whether we have just discovered the next business guru in the making? SLO
At the end of last term, Gabriella Kaye (U4) threw herself into her music, including performing a solo on her Clarinet at the lunchtime concert at St Peter’s Church. She also entered the Brighton and Hove Springboard Competition the next day. She played in two classes: she came second, with distinction, on her Saxophone in the Woodwind – Jazz – competitive class (Grade 7 & above), and she also performed on the clarinet with her teacher in the non-competitive Student and Teacher Duet class. But that wasn’t enough music for one weekend for Gabriella, and she spent the next day rehearsing all day with the National Children’s Youth Orchestra of Great Britain, for their forthcoming concert at Hever Castle in June. Congratulations to her!
Thanks to the Parents’ Guild! At the end of last term, following the fireworks for Chinese New Year, the Parents’ Guild put on a wonderful Quiz Night. The pressure was on to knock the reigning champions (a staff team) off the top spot, and a team of parents managed to come out victorious. The evening went very well, and the quiz and raffle raised over £500. The Parents’ Guild run and support a number of events throughout the year, raising money to fund projects for the girls’ benefit – they have very generously purchased five beautiful wooden benches so that the girls can enjoy the outside spaces at Roedean, and we are pleased that the first two will soon be delivered, along with their inspirational quotations. The school is very grateful to the Parents’ Guild for its hard work.
Sorcha – a dramatic director Over the Easter Holidays, 24-26 March, Sorcha Harris (L5) was Assistant Director for the Brighton Little Theatre production of ‘Peter Pan’ and she also played the part of Joe Gargery in ‘Great Expectations’. She has been working on these productions since September 2015, and this is her second year as Assistant Director in the junior production, despite being the only young person in the production team. She loved the experience and wrote this about it: ‘The Brighton Little Theatre Youth Group put on ‘Peter Pan’, with a cast aged 7-13, and a production of ‘Great Expectations’ with a cast aged 13-18. I was fortunate enough to be able to be the Assistant Director in one, and play Joe Gargery in Great Expectations, as there weren’t enough boys. We had been rehearsing since September, so all the children were very excited when the performance came around. This experience was extremely beneficial to me as I thoroughly enjoyed the excitement backstage, and it was incredibly fulfilling watching the children perform and seeing how they had progressed throughout the rehearsal period to the final performance.’ Page 3
15th April 2016 - Issue 1
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Holiday Photo Competition Thank you to those who have submitted photos for the holiday photo competition, whose theme this time was ‘Spring’. The entries are excellent, and you will all have the opportunity to vote for your favourites next week, as happened last term. The best ten will then be displayed along the Main Corridor for you all to enjoy.
Brighton Marathon – this weekend The Brighton Marathon is being held this weekend and we have three members of staff who are running the 26 miles – Mr Carter has set himself the challenge of completing the race in under 4 hours, Mr Orys around 4 hours, and Mr Curtis is aiming for a slightly more conservative 5 hours. Good luck to all three! Roedean is manning a water station for the event at Mile 10, very near to school. Miss Crawley already has a good number of volunteers to help at the station, but the more the merrier, so please do contact her on gcr@roedean.co.uk if you would to help too. She can let you have all the information – you will have to be up early, but it will be a wonderful event.
Three wins against Bede’s On Wednesday the U12s and U13s had their first rounders matches against Bede’s School. It was a glorious day and the girls looked fabulous in their kit. The U13As and Bs both proved too strong for their opposition and notched up a couple of wins. The U12As also won and Miss Hyams is excited by their potential. The U12Bs started slowly as they were beginning to get to grips with the rules and narrowly lost out by 3 rounders. Overall, it was a wonderful afternoon. KAN
What’s coming up in the week ahead? MONDAY 18 APRIL
6.1 and 6.2 Business Studies Tutor2U Revision Conference 6.1 Biology trip to Wakehurst Place TUESDAY 19 APRIL
6.1 Royal Society of Chemistry’s School Analyst Competition L5 6.1 Classics trip to British Museum, London Auditions for Roedean’s Got Talent
WEDNESDAY 20 APRIL
6.1 Psychology Revision Conference L5 Elevate Seminar U12A&B and U13A&B Rounders vs Brighton College Brighton & Hove Swimming Championships (A) Auditions for Roedean’s Got Talent
Isabel will be at the All England Dance finals Well done to Isabel de Jesus (U3), who has been awarded a silver medal at the Eastbourne Festival and also qualified for the regional finals of the All England Dance Competition for 2016. She has also already qualified for the 2017 Regional Finals of the All England Dance Competition after competing at the Sussex Festival more recently, where she was awarded another qualifying mark. She will be dancing at the East Grinstead Festival in May with the same dance, and also at the Kingston Festival in November with a new solo. The girls are very fortunate that we may all be able to see the dance she performed because Isabel will be using it for her auditions for Roedean’s Got Talent. Isabel is also working on something with Amelie Hurley, so the result of a combination of their talents should be amazing! 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: news@roedean.co.uk Page 4
FRIDAY 22 APRIL
DANCE SHOWCASE
SATURDAY 23 APRIL
Table Tennis Finals DofE Bronze Practice Expedition U12&13 Rounders vs Christ’s Hospital (A) Music Concert, St Laurence Church, Falmer, 17:30
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