Heads Weekly Review - Spring Issue 4

WEEKLY REVIEW

Head’s Introduction

On Monday 30 January, at 4:10pm, we will be holding a memorial service for Daria in the School Chapel, giving our community and Daria’s family an opportunity to come together to remember, mark, and celebrate her life. We will lay flowers, light candles, and share our memories of a unique and special person.

There will also be a eulogy for Daria later in the week, during our annual Founders’ Day Service, which will enable the wider community of Old Roedeanians to pay their respects and learn about Daria’s life and character. This event marks all those in our community who have passed away this year, and provides families and friends with the chance to remember their loved ones’ time at Roedean.

Today, 27 January, people across the world will mark Holocaust Memorial Day to remember all those killed during the Holocaust, and in genocides throughout the world. This date is significant as it marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp.

As a community, we marked Holocaust Memorial Day in our Chapel which enabled the school to bear witness to the devastating impact of genocide, and also remember all those who acted to help Jews to escape Nazi persecution, often at the risk of their own lives. Thank you to Ms Keller, Ms Benton-Stace, Ellen, Ingrid, Anjali, and Daryna for this vital and very poignant service.

This week began with our firework display and light show to celebrate Lunar New Year, and it was wonderful to see so many members of our community, including students, staff, parents, and visitors from St Mark’s, all joining together at the front of School. Thank you to everyone involved in setting up and preparing for this event, and all those who made it such a special experience.

This week concluded the UCAS application process, which is often a very gruelling process for those involved. Well done to all 89 girls who have successfully applied, and to all those who are already receiving offers, including Lea, Alyssa, Gabby, Tina and Ellen, who received Oxbridge offers. Every year, I am impressed by the range of courses chosen, and this year, I’m delighted to hear that Millie has received an offer from Norland, a highly prestigious institution. You can read more about students' offers in this Review.

Les Misérables, with a cast of sixty, will be performed next week, and I am delighted to hear that rehearsals are going well. I would like to say ‘break a leg’ to everyone involved – I have no doubt that it will be wonderful. Tickets have almost sold out, but there is a link in this Review, so don’t miss out!

This week has also seen lots of successful Netball fixtures against Mayfield and Ardingly, a lovely teatime recital with nineteen performers, a trip to Charleston for Year 12 artists, and a silversmithing workshop for Year 10 Design students. Thank you to everyone involved in giving the students these diverse opportunities.

I hope you all have a lovely restful weekend, and good luck for next week!

Chinese and Lunar New Year Fireworks

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.

Fantastic Oxbridge Offers

Congratulations to Alyssa, Ellen, Gabby, Lea, and Tina, who have all been made offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge universities:

■ Alyssa – Engineering at Magdalen College, Cambridge

■ Ellen – Jewish Studies at St Anne's College, Oxford

■ Gabby – History and Politics at Peterhouse College, Cambridge

■ Lea – Human, Social, and Political Sciences at Selwyn College, Cambridge

■ Tina – Mathematics at Newnham College Cambridge

Fuller UCAS update coming next week

The application and admissions process is challenging, and they are all proud and relieved that their hard work paid off: Ellen said, ‘As there are only 3 universities in the country which offer my course, my options were limited, so, if course. I’m delighted!’, and Alyssa said, ‘I am really excited, particularly about being able to work with Professor Tim Coombs, who specialises in Electrical Engineering!’. Gabby and Lea were together in a Spanish lesson when the email came through – Lea said, ‘Waiting for the offer was slowly eating away at me. I opened it and jumped out of my seat!’, but Gabby said, ‘I was so nervous that I couldn’t open the email for an hour – then when I did, I screamed.’

Congratulations!

Millie will be a Norland Nanny

Congratulations to Milllie (Yr13), who has been offered a place to study for a BA (Hons) in Early Childhood Education and Care at Norland in Bath. This is surely one of the most prestigious childcare institutions in the world, and last year it celebrated its 130th anniversary.

The course lasts 4 years, and is famous for its level of excellence, and its strict code of conduct. Students receive extensive training from the best

in their field, as well as a guaranteed support mechanism for life.

Such is the kudos which comes with a qualification from Norland, the nannies are in such high demand that 14 employers are fighting for each graduate.

Millie had also been considering midwifery or paediatric nursing, but as soon as she looked into Norland, that was what she wanted to do. The application process included an interview

and a group task with other applicants, many of whom are already takin Child Care courses at Sixth Form colleges.

Well done, Millie!

Dr Barrand

Dr Barrand

Miss Marek and Miss Bamford – for inspiring the St Mark's pupils every single week with their passion for sport [Dr Barrand]

Natalie (Yr8) – for playing the hauntingly beautiful theme from the film Schindler's List on the violin in our Chapel service [Dr Barrand]

Ellen (Yr13), Ingrid and Anjali (Yr11), and Daryna (Yr12) – for speaking with such confidence in the Holocaust Memorial Chapel service [Mr Wriglesworth]

Staff

Music Events

Dates for your Diary

■ 9 Feb Evening Recital 7:00pm Old Ref – Music, Wine and Cheese

■ 23 Feb Teatime Recital 4:00pm Old Ref

■ 23 March Music and Mystery 7:00pm A promenade concert with a “Who dunnit’” twist

Sport Stars of the Week

Congratulations to this week's Sports Stars!

[Miss Kirby-Jones]

Year 7

Bella, for great progress in swimming

Year 8

Claudia, for great effort and hard work in Netball

Year 9

Layla, for brilliant progress in Netball

Year 10

Georgie, for effort and contribution to Netball

Students

In the next few weeks we will be running auditions for Dido and Aeneas which we will be performing in the Fringe concert. Please look out for notices about this if you are interested in auditioning, and have a listen to the music.

For all events, please book here https://roedean.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows

Year 11

Mbali, for great attitude and effort across the board in PE

Year 12/13

Tammy, for excellent effort in Netball

Year 7 Golden Ticket Winners

Congratulations to Marcheline and Rosa, who are this week's Golden Ticket winners.

Mrs Newman

Holocaust Memorial Day Chapel

Ms Keller: International Holocaust Memorial Day is an important day for millions of people around the world across all nations, all races, and all ages.

Ellen: In Jerusalem there is a Holocaust Museum called Yad Vashem. The words Yad Vashem mean: A memorial, and a name. Yad Vashem is a living memorial to the Jewish people spread over 45 acres – including outdoor monuments, gardens, sculptures and indoor museums. It is an educational centre and holds the world’s largest collection of information about the Holocaust, containing more than 210 million documents, 500,000 photographs, 131,000 survivor testimonies, and 11,500 works of Art.

Yad Vashem was established 8 years after the end of the Second World War to commemorate the 6 million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the Nazis between 1933-1945, but it also commemorates the actions of the nonjewish men and women who saved the lives of jews – these people who saved Jewish lives but were not themselves Jewish are known as the Righteous Among the Nations.

The main memorial at Yad Vashem is the Hall of Remembrance in which a single candle burns. Engraved in the floor around the candle are the names of the 21 Nazi extermination camps and killing sites in central and eastern Europe.

The approach to the Hall of Remembrance is lined with trees that have been planted in honour of the Righteous Among the Nations, who, at risk to their own lives, attempted to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. Yad Vashem records over 26,000 Righteous Among the Nations from 51 countries around the world – including 21 in the UK, 587 in Germany, and 2,544 in the Ukraine.

Ms Keller: It is important to remember that attitudes towards the Jews during the Second World War mostly ranged from indifference to hostility. The mainstream populations watched as their former neighbours were rounded up and killed. Some collaborated with the perpetrators.

Elie Wiesel was a small boy growing up in Hungary. He survived the concentration camps to which he was taken as a child, and as an adult he went on to write 40 internationally acclaimed works. He said:

'What hurts the victim most is not the cruelty of the oppressor, but the silence of the bystander. Let us not forget, after all, there is always a moment when moral choice is made’.

‘Only a few had the courage to care. These few men and women were vulnerable, afraid, helpless. What made them different from their fellow citizens? Why were there so few of them?’

There were millions of bystanders of the horrors of the Holocaust, and thus the courage of those who did not stand by is all the more impressive.

These righteous men and women had nothing to gain, and everything to lose, but they still chose to do that which was morally right. In a world of moral collapse, they were a small minority who mustered extraordinary courage to uphold human values.

Most started off as bystanders, but there was a point where they decided to act, a boundary they were not willing to cross. Faced with Jews knocking on their doors asking for help, bystanders were faced with the need to make an instant decision, an instinctive human gesture, a spur of the moment choice.

Most rescuers were ordinary people – Christians, Muslims, and Agnostics, highly educated and illiterate, peasants and public figures, city dwellers and farmers, clergy, nuns, teachers, servants, policemen, fishermen, and many more. Jews were hidden in cemeteries, sewers, animal cages in zoos, apartments, convents, and farms.

Ingrid: Joy Vos, along with her husband, hid Jews during the Second World War. She wrote: ‘Some people have asked me whether I was ever afraid. Oh, God, yes! I was scared to death. And very near death also. At one point, I was in the hands of the Gestapo, my husband was in jail, and the Nazis were doing a lot of house searching. We were hiding 36 people, 32 Jews and four others who were also being sought by the Gestapo…. It was not always easy and often we were frightened, but we were able to help a little bit, and we did because we believed it was the right thing to do’.

Cornelia ten Boom was born in Amsterdam in 1892, and, during the war, her family spearheaded a rescue operation in Holland that helped many Jews. Motivated by their Christian faith, they hid Jews in their own house and risked their lives while finding hiding places with other families, getting food supplies. They built a secret hiding room in their home, concealing the entrance behind a cabinet. The family provided medical care to Jews in hiding and made arrangements for burial in Christian cemeteries for those who died in hiding. The family were eventually betrayed and arrested, and sent to Ravensbruck concentration camp. Cornelia survived though her family did not.

Anjali: Many rescuers tried to get false papers and false identities for the Jews to help protect them. Oscar Schindler, a German factory owner, used the pretext that he needed his Jewish workers to work in his factory, essential to support the war effort, and thereby protecting them from deportation to the concentration camps. In total, Oscar Schindler rescued 1,200 jews by taking them in as workers in his factory during the war and bribing Nazi officials to prevent them from intervening.

the attention of the world. Steven Spielberg decided to ask the best living composer to write the theme tune to his film. His name was John Williams.

John Williams has the most Oscar nominations of any living person and is the second most nominated person in history. Amongst his many awards he has 5 Oscars, 3 Emmys, 4 Golden Globes, 25 Grammys, and 7 Baftas.

When Steven Spielberg asked him to write the score for Schindler’s List about the Holocaust, John Williams replied: 'You need a better composer than I am for this.' Spielberg responded: 'I know. But they’re all dead.' John Williams was wrong. There was no better composer than he to have written the film score and, as Natalie in Year 8 plays some of his theme tune, please listen and, in doing so, honour not just the victims of the Holocaust, but of all genocides and war:

Ms Benton-Stace: Not all Jews were hidden, some were smuggled out of Nazi occupied countries escaping to unoccupied countries in Europe and beyond. Many of these were children and in many cases parents were not able to go with them and were faced with the agonizing dilemma of giving their children away, in the hope of increasing their chances of survival.

Vera Schaufeld was one such child and unknown to her she was saved by a man who refused to stand by.

Vera was born in Prague in 1930 and in May 1939 following the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia she was told she must move to England, on her own. She was 9 years old.

Her father was a lawyer and her mother was the first women in her town to become a doctor. She never experienced any anti-Semitism growing up. One day after school, Vera’s mother took her to a small park and told her she must go to England on her own.

Vera arrived at Prague station and was devastated to be told by her parents that they were not allowed onto the platform to say goodbye. She said: 'the last sight of my parents was as they stood behind the barrier, waving their handkerchiefs, while I looked at them out of the train window.'

That would be the last time Vera saw her parents. She arrived in England, at Liverpool Street Station in London surrounded by other children. All these children, had been saved by the actions of one man and those he persuaded to help him. That man was called Nicholas Winton.

Ms Keller: 50 years on from Vera’s arrival in England, she was invited to take part in a television programme called ‘That’s Life’. This particular episode was commissioned to share

The film maker Steven Spielberg directed the film Schindler’s List that brought this story to

the story of a British man Nicholas Winton who was at that point unknown to the world. His wife had been going through boxes in their attic and found a scrap book with the photographs of hundreds of children, each with their name written below.

She asked her husband what this was and it was then, for the first time, that she and their children learned of the extraordinary role he had undertaken as war broke out in Europe, 50 years earlier.

Nicholas had not shared his story before. but as a young man, born in London in 1909, he had in fact been responsible for the rescue of 669 children out of Czechoslovakia, bringing them to the UK, before the Nazi’s invaded. He had petitioned the British Government to get permission for visas and to enable him to arrange for host families to foster these children when they arrived, The last group of children scheduled to leave Prague were on the train when Hitler invaded, of the 250 children on that train, only two survived the war. Vera was one of those children who did make it to London.

Nicholas died in 2015, aged 106 by which time he had received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, and the Czech republic’s highest honour, the order of the White Lion.

Ingrid: Holocaust Memorial Day was designated as a day in which to recognise and commemorate the terrible genocide of six million jews – and other persons considered undesirable by the Nazis for no reason other than their ethnicity. The horror and suffering of the Holocaust are unimaginable to us, but, as uncomfortable as it makes one to think about it, we owe it to the millions of the victims to never forget.

Today’s chapel has recognised the stories of those who saved lives, but when hearing stories of survivors, one should remember the millions of families torn apart, the children left orphans, their families betrayed by their neighbours or even friends.

Maths Badges Awarded

Following the successful introduction of Sparx for Years 7 to 11 within the Maths Department, we will be rewarding students who are progressing well within it.

Daryna and I would like to end Chapel today with a prayer – one for those who lost their lives in the Holocaust and other genocides, and one for those experiencing that loss today. After our prayers we would like to return to the video clip that we watched at the start of Chapel today – I would like you to see it again this time knowing that this one man was responsible for saving the lives of 669 children – and in doing so, the lives of their children and grandchildren also.

Let us pray:

Loving God, we come to you with heavy hearts, remembering the millions of souls murdered during the Holocaust and other Genocides around the world. We recognise the destructive prejudices that drive people apart when people are targeted because of their identity. Forgive us when we give space to fear, negativity and hatred of others, simply because they are different from us.

In the light of God, give us the courage to face the darkness and through our prayers and actions help us to stand together with those who are suffering so that light may banish all the darkness, love will prevail over hate and good will triumph over evil. Amen.

Daryna: War and suffering do not only belong only to history. Today there are those fighting for their country, for freedom, and for the future generations of their families around the world.

Today we pray for those people, including in my country in Ukraine, and we pray for those continuing to support the plight of the Ukrainian people. My people.

We pray that we continue to stand together with those who are suffering, and to give us the courage to stand up for what is right and to fight until love and good prevail over hate and evil.

Amen

Whenever you complete tasks within Sparx, you gain XP points: these can be gained for completing your prep, and also for any extra tasks accompanying the prep, or that you set for yourself. You will go up a level for every 10,000 points gained, and each level earns a badge.

The first badges will be handed out within the next few days and should start appearing on blazers soon!

Special mention goes out to Miss Sinton's Yr10 and Mr Weir's Yr9 sets, both of which have 19 students in each class being awarded badges. Chloe in Mr Weir's group is, in fact, already at level 5!

So make sure to complete more tasks and show your achievements with pride.

Mr Orys

OR Marisa Cast as Amy Winehouse

Marisa Abela, who graduated from Roedean School in 2014, has recently started filming for Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black. Cast in the starring role, Marisa will act alongside Eddie Marsan to depict the famous singer. Marisa’s career continues to build upon earlier success in the BBC2 series Industry and Rogue Agent on Netflix, and she will also feature in Greta Gerwig’s hotly-anticipated Barbie film later this year, starring the likes of Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling and Will Ferrell.

Marisa was a regular on the Roedean stage; staff currently at Roedean who taught Marisa still remember her engaging performances.  Ms Sophia Bartlette, Assistant Director of Music at Roedean, vividly remembers Marisa’s performance in Tristan and Yseult (pictured), during Marisa’s final year at Roedean.  ‘She was such a lively performer and a commanding stage presence – she really brought the stage to life.’ Marisa’s early ambitions at Roedean were to become a human rights lawyer, but after encouragement from her Drama teacher to pursue acting, Marisa eventually followed her heart to audition for RADA and deferred her place at UCL.

We look forward to watching Marisa on the big screen this summer and wish her the best of luck with the remaining filming for Back to Black.

Lunar New Year assembly at St Mark's Primary School

Last Wednesday, Sarah and Audrey (Yr9) made the short trip to St Mark's Primary School to deliver an assembly on the Lunar New Year.

While there, they delivered an excellent presentation on what Lunar New Year means to them individually, as well as a brief history on the various traditions associated with the celebration. The children were fully engrossed and were particularly fascinated to learn what animal represents their year of birth.

Sarah and Audrey created an incredible PowerPoint, and spoke very well. They shared their passion and knowledge with enthusiasm, and they even had time to answer some of the thoughtful and tricky questions from all year levels!

Well done, Sarah and Audrey.

Mr Wilson

Lunar New Year in Sixth Form!

This weekend, the Keswick and Lawrence girls hopped into the Year of the Rabbit by preparing for and celebrating the Lunar New Year! There are girls from four countries who celebrate Lunar New Year represented in our Houses, adding a wonderful diversity to our celebrations.

Keswick students were busy creating and sharing beautiful handmade signs for a prosperous new year. On Saturday, Keswick hosted a Lunar New Year party to bring in the new year with karaoke and cupcakes!

Lawrence decorated the House with messages of good luck and prosperity, and even their Polar Bear mascot had a New Year makeover! We also enjoyed some delicious Chinese food, cooked from scratch by the budding chefs in House.

We wish everyone at Roedean a happy and healthy new year!

Miss Sinton

Thank you to Emily and Jasmine in Year 12 for running a wonderful Chinese writing workshop to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Miss Carragher

Chinese and Lunar New Year Fireworks

On Monday, Roedean was lit up with a spectacular 'son et lumiere' and firework display to mark the Chinese and Lunar New Year. Over 200 students and staff enjoyed the display, despite the cold, and we were joined by parents and families from St Mark's Primary.

Thank you to the Theatre and IT teams who masterminded the amazing show, which even featured a huge golden dragon sweeping across the facade of the School.

Dr Barrand

Year 12 Artists at Charleston

On Thursday, we went to Charleston. It was a spectacle. We were toured through several rooms, where every inch was intricately and colourfully decorated and personalised. We were fascinated by how the resident artists had managed to express their creativity throughout their space.

They had filled the rooms with ornate rugs, carved furniture, and endless portraits of themselves, each other, and their friends. One of our favourite pieces were two ears which were sculpted, based on the ears of David by Michelangelo. They had a dual use: a chance for the artists to study the anatomy of ears, as well as being a visual metaphor for being careful how much you say in public, because ’the walls have ears’. This was particularly relevant to the house, because two of the resident artists, Duncan Grant and David Garnett, were gay, which was illegal at the time.

Beth's Beautiful Textiles

Beth (Yr7), a budding textiles artist, has been coming into the Art Department after school and during lunchtimes to work on her draping, using materials we have here to create this inspired dress. Beth has always enjoyed textiles and is already looking forward to choosing it at A level in some years' time.

Miss Good

Vivian's Textiles Well done Year 11!

Look at Vivian's amazing dress and matching hat – she is taking both Art and Textiles A Levels, and is notorious for taking over large areas in the Art Department... but, if your knitting needles are this big, why not?

Miss Phillips

Well done to all of Year 11 on successfully completing last week's assessments – they worked really hard, and I am delighted that the invigilators commented on the students' focus and maturity. They should be very proud of themselves.

To celebrate, we had a great silent disco with Year 10 on Friday.

Miss Orrells

Teatime Recitals

This week’s teatime recital included eighteen pieces, and the range of instruments and styles was as impressive as ever. It was wonderful to see the Old Ref completely full with a generous audience, who clearly appreciated the musicians’ talent and hard work.

Alma (Yr13) opened this recital with a lovely rendition of ‘Blute Nur’ from Bach’s St Matthew’s Passion, which required impressive control and she was certainly up to the task. This was followed by a rousing performance of Brahm’s famous Hungarian Dance No5, by Bernice and Hettie (Yr10) on the piano. Siyun (Yr10) played a fun piece by Villoldo on the Violin, based on folk themes, and she captured the feel of the music well.

Bernstein’s ‘One Hand, One Heart’ was sung beautifully by Amyra (Yr7), and she coped very well with the long lines in the song, after which Matilda (Yr8) played Haughton’s Toccata on the piano with great confidence. Lydia (Yr10) then played Seiber’s Tango, with great Spanish panache and lots of tempo changes. Aubrey (Yr10) sang ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with a fairytale quality.

Sky (Yr9) played ‘Schnurretoppen’ by Nielsen on the piano – as the name ‘spinning top’ suggests, the running quavers continued throughout. The next piece was a brilliant rendition of Lennon and McCartney’s ‘Blackbird’, performed by Year 10 students, Becca (Guitar) and Samantha

(Voice). Zyta (Yr9) played her Double Bass next, performing Gouffé’s Concertino, and she was able to show off the instrument’s entire range to great effect.

Gracie (Yr12) sang Sondheim’s ‘Take Me to the World’, and the song showcased her rich tone. The next piece was ‘All is Calm’, performed by Natalie (Yr9) on the piano, and she was able to show off the piece’s gentle, flowing style. Charlie (Yr9) sang ‘At Last’ with great confidence and she captured the jazzy feel of the piece brilliantly, holding the last quiet note for ages.

Samantha (Yr12) played a challenging piece by Piazzolla on the Violin, and it was clear that she loved the piece and performing it. The next piece was Debussy’s Arabesque No1, performed by Inky (Yr10), and the dance feel of this tricky

piece was very clear. Candis (Yr10) then sang ‘Popular’ from Wicked – I could definitely see her confident rendition on stage.

Carmen (Yr12) played Lutoslawki’s Dance Preludes on the Clarinet – and she mastered the complex rhythms and tonal range of this 20th century piece. The final piece of the recital was the slow movement from Mozart’s Violin Concerto No4, played by Natalie (Yr8), and she played with skill and talent which belie her age, with strong vibrato and an exciting cadence with double-stopping throughout.

Congratulations to all the players. Thank you to Mr McGregor and Mr Wilson for accompanying out musicians, and to Ms Bartlette for arranging the recital.

Dr Barrand

RISE Runners' Pizza Prize Year 11 Enrichment

Well done again to Onose, Mbali, Liv, Alba, Yuki, and Eva, who ran 8K along the undercliff in October to raise money for the charity RISE. One of their prizes for doing so well was a meal in Fatto a Mano, and the girls enjoyed their pizza last week – we all had a lovely time!

Miss Orrells

With their assessments completed last week, the Year 11 No Cook Cooking enrichment group, led by Mr Clark, put their creative talents to the test by decorating cupcakes this week! They came up with some colourful designs and found the session very relaxing after their hard work last week!

'In Conversation With...' Careers Event

On Tuesday evening, we were delighted to host an ‘In Conversation with…’ Online Pathways careers event, where students from Years 10-13 were able to hear from a number of ORs and current parents about their career pathways and to ask questions about what their roles involved.

The Teams rooms were full of students hearing about a variety of fields including Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Veterinary Medicine; Accountancy, Finance, Investment and Entrepreneurship; Architecture and Sustainable Construction; and the Law.

The Alumni Department are always keen to hear from parents and others who would be interested in speaking at our Careers Events, including our Careers Fair that is planned to take place in March 2023.

Dr Hannan

Portia: Anne was so kind and helpful and answered all of the questions that we had about law as a career. As a potential lawyer myself, I particularly enjoyed what she had to say about how her own career has progressed within the profession, as she is now in the position of Tribunal Judge. I found her hugely inspirational, especially due to the fact that she is an Old Roedenian, as she has made me aware of the fact that I could potentially follow in the same footsteps as her and have a fulfilling career in the law. Anne also discussed how diversity within the profession is improving, which I found incredibly informative, as the career is becoming accessible to people from every background and ethnicity, although there is a long way to go with this. I want to thank Anne on behalf of everyone for opening our eyes to this incredible career option and helping us to understand what being a lawyer and a tribunal judge is truly like.

In Conversation An Evening With…

Queena: Nicola, Katya and Jessica were incredibly lovely, obliging and professional speakers. They offered lots of helpful, honest, direct and informative advice, including suggesting which specific website to visit and how we should approach professionals in the field. These tips have really helped me to narrow down and consider which specific field I would prefer to work in in the future, especially their detailed descriptions of their day-to-day work and tasks which allowed us to gain a more insightful and clear understanding of their jobs. They also generously advised us about the skills required in order to perform well in their particular fields. The speakers stressed the importance of being confident, eager to learn and to always participate actively in order to achieve your goals as an insightful and successful economist.

I found them to be inspirational, especially as successful and very well-respected women in a profession where there is a general perception that the field consists of a majority of male employees. I believe their words and advice will help me to flourish in my desired career in the future.

Kaia: I attended the medic careers talk and I found it super helpful in educating me more about working in healthcare and the many different fields you can go into. Sophia, Lucinda, Bronwen, Kealey and Joanne led a compelling and engaging session and I found it interesting listening to their different stories about their pathway into healthcare. It demonstrated to me how there isn’t just one way to get into a medic profession and inspired me to pursue whatever career I want to do, even if it means changing what you are studying to switch to a completely different field, like one of the speakers who switched to medicine at 33 after studying music. Having a range of different speakers enabled me to get an idea of what the different professions in healthcare are like and allowed me to expand my knowledge about medical careers. This will be extremely useful to me in the future and has opened my eyes to different opportunities that are available to me in this profession. Thank you to all the speakers for giving us a very useful and fascinating talk.

House Dodge Ball

This term's House team competitions are in full swing, and Thursday saw the inaugural House Dodgeball team competition. Teams were made up of girls from Years 7-13, and House spirit was clear to see.

House 1, House 3, and House 4 won one game each, but House 2 reigned victorious and went undefeated throughout.

Congratulations to all girls who represented their house team in this new event.

Cuttlefish Casting and Silversmithing Workshop

This week, our GCSE students had the opportunity to work with a professional silversmith, to learn the principles of casting in precious metal. The students were able to watch demonstrations of silversmithing to create their own pewter cast from a cuttlefish mould, and pattern silver to solder and form a unique ring design.

It was wonderful to see the girls working with such purpose, while learning new skills to enhance their passion for designing and making in the workshop.

Mrs Quirk

Miss Hart

This Week in Boarding

It was a busy week across the boarding houses as the girls came together to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This year is the Year of the Rabbit. All houses got crafting, baking, cooking, and dressing up in all things fluffy tailed and pointy eared!

Boarders, and the wider school community, also enjoyed an impressive fireworks display and projection on the front of the School. Sadly, we say goodbye this week to our resident House Assistant, and bunny mad, Miss Burnett. We wish her all the best in her new adventure!

Miss Roe

Netball vs Ardingly

U15B

The U15Bs fully strengthened for the first time and, they took to the court against a strong Ardingly. After a quick warm-up, the game started and it was an intense first quarter, with both teams throwing themselves around the court. Fen and Grace linked up well in the attacking area and pushed the Ardingly defence all the way. The first quarter ended 6-3 to Ardingly.

We had a quick team talk and turnaround, and the second and third quarters flew by, with the team struggling to convert their opportunities. Ardingly however, stormed ahead and didn't look back, with some good interplay and converting most opportunities. We picked ourselves up and defended extremely well, managing to intercept and cause inaccurate passes throughout the game.

The full time whistle went and the scores on the doors were 28-8 to Ardingly.

U13G Win

The U13G had their first away match against Ardingly last Wednesday. The team had a challenging first quarter, with Roedean scoring one goal which was closely followed by Ardingly scoring another, and at quarter time Ardingly were up by 1 goal. The team changed tactics, with Coco and Emma getting back and staying in the D. This meant that Almen, as WA and Natali, as C, were able to use the attacking space and we were free to get the ball down the court.

The score at half time meant that Roedean was up, and Ruth, in WD and then later on as GD, managed to intercept over 10 balls in 2 halves. Coach Jane scored for the team on the side and offered lots of support and cheering. Catherine was excellent as GK, she helped her teammates and even made friends with the opposition. Bhoomi thoroughly enjoyed the match and the team left on a high after a 20-5 win. Well done to all the girls who played.

Miss Wakeling

U15A

On Tuesday, the U15A team travelled to Ardingly to play what is always promised to be a tough and tight game. The team took a bit of time to settle into the game, possibly due to the slow warm up, and the urgency to get started from the team.

We went down 5-1 in the first quarter, meaning we had a battle on our hands to scrape back some goals. The game was end to end, with errors being forced by both teams, but Ardingly were quick to capitalise on ours, 3-13 at half time. After a half time team talk, and some new targets set, the team came out flying, winning the second half of the game 12-10. However with the slow start, Ardingly took the win 15-23.

It was clear from the beginning that Roedean were the stronger team, with better ball control, sharper drives and smart play, we just struggled to successfully get the ball to our attacking third. It's back to the drawing board for the team as they take on Hurst on Saturday and Benenden on Tuesday. Well done, Jasmine for being awared Girl of the Game and to Polly for being awarded Coaches' Player.

Miss Bamford

U13E

On Wednesday 18 January, the U13E netball squad braved the freezing temperatures to play against Ardingly college. The team started strongly, leading by 2 goals at quarter time, Ardingly fought back and were winning by 4 goals at half time. Every single player in the U13E netball team dug deep to challenge every ball, the intensity was high; the defenders stuck close to their players, and the attackers lead hard to bring the match back to even. In the final few minutes Roedean took the lead and held on to win the match by one point! Final score 7-6. Well done to the Roedean U13E Netball team you were fantastic!

Wilson

Victory for U13C Netball vs Fiveways

Mr Campleman

Mrs

U13E

Netball vs Mayfield

U13D Victory

The U13D team won 19-4 at Mayfield last week, but the game was much tighter than the scoreline suggests. Roedean played consistently well throughout; Lily and Lily were dominant at the back and up front, while Ava and Sohana intercepted attacks and set up counter attacks all afternoon.

Mayfield played some fluent netball through the centre of the court, with an impressive Centre and Goal Attack but Roedean created and converted more chances, which ultimately proved to be the difference between the teams.

Mr Smethurst

U13D

Bella captained the U13D team in the match against Mayfield on Wednesday. The team started well, with Rosa and Greta consistently making a number of successful interceptions. Zaina scored our first goal and we went into the 1st quarter 1-0 up. By half time the score was 2-1 to Roedean and the team remained determined and focused going into the last quarter 3-2. We struggled to remain calm as Mayfield bought the score back up to 3-3 in the last quarter and Mayfield scored a last-minute goal bringing the game to 4-3 to them. Well done to Tilly who was nominated player of the match by the opposition, and Greta and Rosa who were nominated coaches player.

Miss Wakeling

U12Bs vs Mayfield U12A

The U12Bs played a very competitive match against Mayfield As. It was close and both teams played well. In the first quarter, Roedean Bs took time to settle into the game, but took the lead 2-1.

Alex and Eva worked well together in the shooting circle and were able to get us the lead. In defence, Naomi, Bea, and Martha were turning over lots of balls, but we struggled to move the ball from defence to attack.

In the second quarter, Mayfield played some lovely netball and were looking strong, and they went ahead 3-2. Flo, Paloma, and Georgia were bringing the ball down the court well, but a strong WD on Mayfield's side was making lots of interceptions. We needed to work harder to get free.

In the third quarter, we changed up our play, moving forwards for the ball, pushing it further ahead of our players, and trying to be steady with the ball. Martha and Alex had a few more shots at goal and scored 2, taking us up 4-3.

The defence was still doing a brilliant job of intercepting and tipping the ball. Beth played an amazing WD, and really linked defence and attack. The last quarter was tense, and the ball was going end to end without any goals.

There was some brilliant work in attack between Flo, Paloma, and Eva, which enabled us to get the ball into the shooting circle more, and Martha was able to score another goal to take the lead. We ended up winning 5-4.

The girls did a great job of listening to feedback and applying it to their game play. Player of the Match was Flo and Coaches' Player was Naomi for her incredible amount of interceptions.

U13C

This Wednesday yielded a fantastic match, showing that the U13Cs is no easy team to play. We saw amazing first and second quarters, with excellent intercepts from Millie and Hetty in defence, and it ended up with Roedean in the lead.

Mayfield brought the competition in the third quarter, scoring some amazing goals. But excellent driving from Miranda and Lola brought the score back up. Sadly, Mayfield closely pulled through with a win of 8-7. Spectacular scoring from Claudia and Polly led to countless goals, and speedy centre passes made by Athena led to a game which was one of our best so far.

Well done to Flo for getting Girl of the Match, and well done to the entire team for improving and being amazing this game!

U13E

We had another chilly, with a wintery afternoon of Netball away fixtures this week at Mayfield School. The U13E team played their best match of the season so far. Matilda shone in the midcourt, Sofia and Molly were strong in defence, and Anya and Molly were on fire in the shooting circle. A huge congratulations to all involved – it was a super effort from everyone, you were all brilliant! Looking forward to an even stronger performance next week! The final score was an 11-4 win to Roedean. Well done!

Mrs Wilson

Mr Borsoi

Netball vs Burgess Hill

U14A

The U14B team played a chilly match under the lights against Burgess Hill on Tuesday night.

It was another good training opportunity for the upcoming SISNA tournament, and the girls we able to show the progress they are making in their units, as each unit was given a focus during the night.

Our shooting rotations we able to focus on their movement around the D, centre court on driving forward and making each move a decisive one, and defence on their circle positioning.

The score of 40-14 showed our strength in these areas, and Gaby and Layla were named Opposition’s MVPs.

Miss Kirby-Jones

Netball vs Sevenoaks

U16A

The U16As travelled to Sevenoaks on Monday for a competitive fixture.

We managed to fit in four full 15-minute quarters, which meant it pushed the girls physically for a full hour. We started strongly, taking the lead early, We were 15-7 up after the first quarter.

We rotated combinations in preparation for SISNA next week to see what works effectively. We continued to pressure their centre passes and our hard work paid off. They challenged us in attack, and we had to work the ball patiently, until an option in the D opened up. We secured the win 47-34.

It was another fantastic performance by this group of players – well done all.

Miss Hammond

U13 Lady Taverner's Cricket Tournament

The U13A and B cricket squads played in the first round of the Lady Taverner’s indoor cricket tournament at Hurst. Both teams had a difficult start, with the B team losing to Hurst and the A team losing to St Christopher’s. The As bounced back, with wins against Hurst and Roedean B, and when Hurst best St Christopher’s, it left three teams on the same number of wins.

This led to the winner being decided by total runs scored, but for the first time in the competition’s history two teams, Roedean A and St Christopher’s, had the same number of runs. So the winner then had to be decided by the total number of wickets taken and Roedean A lost by the narrowest of margins. It was a difficult way to lose, but it was a great afternoon of cricket, and all the girls gave a very good account of themselves.

Mr Smethurst

Year 9 Sports Leaders

Since September, the Year 9 Sports Leaders have been learning different key skills in order to lead others in the community in Sport. This is all working towards their Level 2 Award in Community Sports Leaders. They meet on a Monday and a Friday Activity 1 to plan sessions, learn about different leadership qualities, and to engage in discussion about what makes a good sports leader.

Since October, the group have been putting this into practice, as St Mark's Year 3s have been visiting on a Friday to have PE and sport sessions with the girls. We are unbelievably proud of the girls for not only delivering excellent and well-planned sessions, but for their kindness and compassion towards to different needs of the 7 and 8 year olds. The St Mark's Staff said that the Year 3s ask every day if they

are going to Roedean for their PE lessons as they love being taught by the girls.

They are currently planning their events to finish their leadership awards and we are looking forward to seeing how they get on. Well done, Year 9 Sports Leaders!

Mr Perry and Miss Bamford

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