2 October 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
7 Concurrent Macmillan Cake Sales
Raise £333.96
Head’s Introduction
This week has seen lots of individual stories and successes, all of which highlight the range of talents and skills, and the high level of endeavour, in the student body. I am delighted to hear that we have received our first university offer – the first of many. Knowing that the coming year may be more challenging for university entry, we have made a concerted effort to move quickly with Year 13. I am also pleased to hear that an impromptu performance in Keswick one evening last week revealed Alyssa’s musical talent on the accordion – you can click on the video on page 2 to hear something which sounds as if it belongs in a Parisian café. Members of the Catering Department had an opportunity to showcase their skills too last week – to produce 1000 wrapped pieces of cake for Friday’s charity event was no mean feat, but Ruth and Suzie rose to the challenge, and the money raised will be warmly received by Macmillan Cancer Support. Furthermore, I am pleased to hear of some excellent individual successes in the sporting arena, which are included in this review, but it is fantastic to see so many girls out on the fields playing sport. Although the current situation means that we are unable to play competitive fixtures with other schools, the Sports Department is working hard to give the girls every opportunity to train hard and develop their skills in anticipation
of when we will be able to play matches again. The girls are taking full advantage of our wonderful location, the space, and the fresh air, not least playing cricket on our new wickets on the cricket pitch and in the nets. Our virtual Year 7 Parent-Tutor Meeting this week went well, giving both parents and tutors the chance to touch base and chat informally about the first month of term for the new Year 7s. I hope that you were able to spend enough time with your daughter’s tutor, but if you would like to speak in more detail, please do request a further Teams meeting directly with her tutor or with Mrs Chandler. It was also wonderful to welcome a some prospective Sixth Form students to Roedean’s Sixth Form Open Evening this week – the girls, some of whom attended the Roedean Academy last academic year, were able to listen to our Sixth Formers describing their experiences. Some of our girls spoke about moving up through the School into the Sixth Form, the bespoke programmes which result from being able to do electives and an Extended Project Qualification, and the opportunities for leadership and independence, while others talked about joining in Year 12, the range of co-curricular activities available, and about the detailed one-to-one university guidance and preparation they are receiving. The transition from GCSEs in Year 11 to
A Levels in the Sixth Form can be a daunting one, so I hope that hearing strong, positive messages from our Sixth Formers will allay some of those fears, and encourage top students from the local area and beyond to join our excellent Year 11 cohort in the Sixth Form next year. Our own Year 11 will be exploring and hearing more about the Sixth Form in the near future. Tomorrow, we will be holding two Year 7 Open Day events. At the current time, when there is such uncertainty, it is incredibly important for Roedean and other schools like us to demonstrate that we are continuing to provide an outstanding education, and to show this to families whose daughters may be joining the School in September 2021. We know that the current situation is unlikely to improve in the immediate term, so providing the continuity and certainty of a strong all-round education is perhaps more important now than ever before. The Open Day tomorrow will focus on specific aspects of the School, through presentations in the Theatre, to give an impression of what is available here, while also following the necessary safety protocols to safeguard both the girls and our visitors. Thank you in advance to everyone who is involved with this. I wish you all well for a wonderful weekend, and for next week. Liepa makes U14 National Premier League Basketball
Socially-distanced Year 7 fun in the Cloisters
Creative Competition – ‘Rabbit in the Headlights’
2 October 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Unsung heroes in the spotlight
Alyssa and her Accordion
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.
Alyssa is a talented accordion-player and she has been entertaining her boarding house this week. She joined Roedean this year in Year 12, and is taking Art, Economics, History and Mathematics A Levels. She started playing the accordion when she was 11, after seeing the instrument played at a concert: ‘I am fascinated by the accordion, by its unique form, its great tone with such a range of sounds, and the way it moves while it is being played. Although practising can be really tough sometimes, the accordion has brought so much joy to my life.’
Poppy (Yr11) and Amelia (Yr10) for stepping in on the day to perform at the Sixth Form Open Evening, to replace two other performers who were absent [KM]
Sixth Form Shining Stars Jemima (Yr12) for helping to take my folders home for the weekend when I was ill on Friday [nominated by Tuhina]
Mariam (Yr13) for being an entrepreneur and starting her very own nail art business [nominated by Liv]
Amy’s Blog Well done to Amy (Yr13), who has set up this amazing blog https://www.concinnity.uk/ with lots of contributors. The blog is a student-run research project intended to break down barriers to knowledge beyond college level.
Gracie – first UCAS offer in! Congratulations to Gracie, who has received the first UCAS offer for the current Year 13 cohort, to study Politics and Quantitative Methods at Bristol University – congratulations! At a time when we know that university places for top courses might be at a premium because of the current situation, getting ahead of the game is more important than ever, so Gracie has done very well to submit her application early, and this is reaping rewards! JSH
Indigo’s Art Video Congratulations to Indigo (Yr8), who has made another gorgeous film for her channel…
7 Concurrent Macmillan Cake Sales Raise £333.96 It was wonderful last Friday to hold a cake sale for Macmillan Cancer Support, as we have every year for well over 15 years – this year’s modified event raised £333.96, with a little more money to come, which is brilliant! This was a perfect example of adaptability at the current time – the event, which normally sees apparently 'hundreds' of people crammed into House 1 ODR desperate to buy cakes and treats, was transformed into a ‘bubble’-friendly version, with each year group having its own stall in their designated outdoor zones. Well done to Mrs Williams for masterminding the event, to all the House Staff who supported it, and to Ruth and Suzie in Catering, who baked and individually wrapped 1000 sweet treats to sell – a genuine team-effort for a wonderfully worthwhile cause! RB
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
2 October 2020 - Issue 4
Jemma and Jamie’s summer visit to Keswick 'We went on a short camping trip to the Lake District over the summer, and looked up the place where the Roedean girls were housed during the War. The railway station was in the grounds of the hotel, and the back of it was the ivy covered building. The hotel had a war-time group photo on the wall of all the girls sitting outside the hotel with the name Roedean over the door. It was lovely to see the original Keswick, and to see that they are holding on to that bit of history.' Mrs Spicer
Creative Competition – ‘Rabbit in the Headlights’ Indigo and Ellen’s bake sale
Last week’s title was ‘Rabbit in the Headlights’, and it inspired a wealth of entries that interpreted the theme in both a literal and a metaphorical way, which was super. The entries were incredibly strong this week, but our judges selected the following two winners:
Indigo and Ellen ran a bake sale at the beginning of August. They made £114 in total, and half of their profits went to Cancer Research UK – well done!
l
striking metaphorica Megan (Yr12) for her theme. interpretation of the
This week’s prompt is: ‘Making Waves’. If you want to participate, create a written, visual, or musical response to the prompt, spending no longer than one hour on it, and submit it to Ms Boobis (HBO) by Wednesday break time. Page 3
Eloise (Yr8) for her
simple but brilliant pie
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Music Scholars’ Recital – Monday 5 October On Monday 5 October, we will be delighted to bring you the first music recital of the year. This will be a fantastic opportunity for the Roedean Music Scholars in Years 7-13 to showcase their wonderful talents. The current situation means that we cannot have a live audience in the room, but this event will be live streamed on the Roedean Facebook page http://www. facebook.com/roedeanschool at 4:15pm, so that you can still enjoy it live! The recital will also be recorded, so that you can watch it at your convenience. The programme will include music by Gershwin, Schumann, Mozart, Strauss, and more, so we are sure that you will enjoy the wonderful range of music included. SOB
2 October 2020 - Issue 4
Programme: Scherzo
C. Webster
Cello: Eden
River flows in you
Yiruma
Piano: Isabella
La Rejouissance
Handel
Violin: Elspeth
Prelude No.1 from Three Preludes
Gershwin
Piano: Galina
I Giorni
Ludovico Einaudi
Piano: Suraya
Dedication
Viola: Solari
The Lark
Glinka-Balakirev
Piano: Shannon
Waltz
Shostakovich
Violins: Alissandra and Katarina
La Folia
A. Corelli
Violin: Rosie
Fantasiestucke
Schumann
Cello: Ananya
Chanson Triste
Tchaikovsky
Violin: Eva
Concerto in A minor 2nd movement
Bach
Violin: Katarina
Mechanical
Jeffery Wilson
Flute: Jamie
L’ho Perduta
Mozart
Voice: Alice
Concerto in D Major
Mozart
Flute: Amy
Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off
Gershwin
Trombone: Jojo
Du meines Herzens Krönelein
Strauss
Voice: Amelie
INTERVAL
A Blast form the Past in the Old Ref Year 12 are loving having the Old Ref as their independent work space. Year 12 students Kate and Holly was surprised to find a ‘time capsule’ note from Old Roedeanian, Gabby Tomlinson, in the book ‘Girls’ Education in English History’ in the Old Ref. Gabby had written the note in 2010 and left it inside the book for future Roedeanians to find. Sadly the mint that she left in a second book had disappeared! Kate and Holly are now hoping to get in touch with Gabby to let them know that her note has been discovered.
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Great to see all of Year 8 making such great progress on the hockey pitch
2 October 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Liepa makes U14 National Premier League Basketball Earlier this month, Liepa (Yr8) had trials for the U14 National Premier League team, with her Crawley-based club, Sussex Storm. She says: ‘There were many amazing players trialling with me, but I was fortunate enough to make the U14 Girls’ National Premier league team and represent my club, Sussex Storm, for the 3rd year in a row! I have been playing basketball since I was in Year 5, and have played for the U14 Girls’ National Premier League team since Year 6. I am really grateful for this opportunity, as I have worked extremely hard for this!’ We are really proud of how well Liepa is doing with her basketball, and are excited to keep up-to-date with her season when it begins! Well done, Liepa!
En Garde for our Roedean Fencers Well done to Annunciata (Yr9) and Tilly (Yr10), who took part in their first Fencing session of the term!
Roedean Cricketers Maria (Yr10) and Eliza (Yr10) both played for the St James Ladies this season, and they had a very successful season, winning their division. Both girls are also going through to their 5th year playing for Sussex, which is a great achievement. St James are always recruiting – if you are enthusiastic about cricket and want to get involved, they are still hoping to do winter nets at Roedean, fingers crossed!
Superb Show Jumping Congratulations to Ava (Yr7), who performed exceptionally at the NSEA competition at Felbridge, where she jumped 90cm and came a fantastic 9th out of a field of over 50 riders. A huge well done!
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