6th October 2017 - Issue 5
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Digging in the sunshine
Head’s Introduction
Roedean Charities
It is both amazing and exciting to see how quickly the construction of the all-weather pitch is coming on, as can be seen in the photos in this review. Our youngest hockey players in particular are performing very well at the moment, and I can only imagine where their sport will be in six years’ time, having played and trained on an on-site all-weather pitch for all that time. This wonderful facility will be enjoyed by so many girls, and, alongside our wonderful boarding accommodation, the refurbished classrooms, and the Sixth Form Centre, it will only enhance what we already have at Roedean. Mr Taylor, our Director of Development, is delighted with the responses which have already come in to the Pitch Perfect appeal. Next week, he and I, along with Mrs Banham, will be travelling to Hong Kong and China to meet with ORs and prospective Roedean families. At the same time, Dr Barrand will be going to Mexico, as we continue to develop the already wide range of countries from which our girls come.
Maria P (Yr13), our Charity Prefect, and her team of Charity Reps for every tutor-group in the school made a decision this week about which charities the school will be supporting this year. We always have a local charity, and one international organisation.
I would like to thank the girls in advance for their contribution to Open Day tomorrow. We are expecting far more families than ever before, and everyone who visits Roedean always comments how impressive, confident, and positive the girls are, so their role is vitally important to the success of the day. I am sure that it will be a wonderful day.
The local charity is Nacro, which has a base in Brighton, where it houses and educates disadvantaged young people and adults, and runs
a consolidated and integrated drug and alcohol treatment service. The international charity is Lumos, which works hard around the world to replace institutions, like orphanages, with community-based services to give children access to health, education, and social care. We look forward to working hard to raise money for these amazing charities this year.
A Roedean Bronze Age Pit! The photos show a Bronze Age pit which has been excavated by some archaeologists on the site of the new all-weather pitch – it took them about a week, using mostly hand trowels! They found a small piece of shaped flint and a piece of antler. The pit was likely created to excavate chalk using a stone head axe (or possibly an antler head axe). Looking at the geophysics, we are not expecting to find much more as the land in front of the pool has been disturbed previously, but these finds are exciting anyway!
Good luck to our U14 and U16 netballers who are going to the Nationals tomorrow, and to you all for next week, especially those in Year 11 who have the Sixth Form Information Evening on Tuesday – I hope that you have a great week!
79 days to Christmas, and the Parents’ Guild is already thinking about the Christmas Fair! If any parents would like to donate any unwanted bottles of booze for the Bottle Raffle, they can be left with House Staff when the girls go home for Half-Term. There will also be a Silent Auction,
for higher-value prizes, such as a Helicopter Flight Simulator Experience, a Roedean bike, and the use of a beach hut on the promenade for a week. If anyone would like to offer
a special prize for the Silent Auction, the Parents’ Guild would be very grateful – please email parentsguild@roedean.co.uk
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
6th October 2017 - Issue 5
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. Victoria C (Yr10) for helping us with our Maths every time we were struggling and being so patient when explaining to us [Gracie B, Bea W & Demi A]
Roedean at St Mark’s Following on from last year’s very successful Whitehawk Reading Project, 18 of this year’s Year 9s went for the first time this week to St Mark’s Primary to read with the children. The girls were really excited and threw themselves into the activity. Thank you to Mr Wilson for organising this weekly activity, and accompanying the girls.
Mr Tostevin and Ms Hawks for coming to my rescue when they saw my car had a puncture. Unbelievable kindness! Thank you [AWH]
Georgina’s amazing Geography project Georgina GW (Yr7) went above and beyond with her outstanding project for Geography. Well done, and we look forward to your next piece of homework, Georgina!
Mrs Pittingale also took the Sports Leaders in Year 11 to St Mark’s earlier in the week, and their PE teacher was really pleased with our girls’ contribution and commitment to these activities. It is also fantastic that Emily T (Yr13) is leading a group of volunteers in her year, three or four of whom will go down to St Mark’s each week to get their hands dirty and help out in whatever way is needed, whether that’s preparing classroom displays, digging over the vegetable patch, or maybe even painting a corridor – we hope that this practical, hands-on help will make a real difference. RB
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Pippa W and Rosie J (Yr11), and Ella L and Demi A (Yr10) for helping with the junior netball practices [KAN]
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Woodwind and Brass Masterclass and Recital On Monday this week, most of Roedean’s woodwind and brass players took part in a fantastic masterclass with renowned Saxophonist Sarah Field. The girls learned about how to extend their breath control, take charge of a performance, and how to communicate with an audience. The day finished with an informal concert in which the majority of the girls took part. Improvements were immediately noticeable; the girls performed with maturity and newfound confidence, and the standard was exceptionally high. The concert concluded with Sarah taking to the stage and performing two pieces, one on the flugelhorn and the second on the soprano saxophone. It was wonderful to watch how charismatic and full of energy her performance was. Well done to all the girls and Ms Field for a truly exceptional day. A special thank you must also be given to the accompanist for the day, Mr Maulkin, who did a sterling job. If you would like to have a listen (or buy) the CD Sarah and her saxophone quartet have just brought out please click on this link www.maricisaxes. com. We hope to welcome her back soon.
6th October 2017 - Issue 5
Maria’s self-defence class in the Marina Maria P (Yr13) is starting her own self-defence classes in a studio in the Marina. They will take place every Friday from 5:30 to 6:30. The money she earns will help to support the extensive travel required for her to compete on the world stage.
Shopping in Eastbourne Last weekend, we changed ‘Brighton shopping’ to ‘Eastbourne shopping’, and twenty-five girls thoroughly enjoyed the journey over the Seven Sisters to The Arndale Centre (although some did sleep in the minibus!). The younger girls really enjoyed the change, but some preferred Brighton, mainly because you can’t buy bubble tea in Eastbourne! So, it’s back to Brighton next Saturday after Open Day.
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6th October 2017 - Issue 5
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
U13 Victory at Roedean Swimming Gala On Monday evening, Roedean welcomed 7 other schools to our annual large gala. Historically, we have only swum against girls’ schools, but this year we were pleased to have Hurst and Bede’s join us. With over 100 girls competing from 8 different schools in 3 age groups, there was a U13s 1st Roedean (45) 2nd Hurst (37) 3rd Bede’s (33) 4th Moira House (30) 5th Mayfield (22) 6th Farlington (18) 7th Burgess Hill (14) 8th BHHS (13)
U16s 1st Hurst (45) 2nd Roedean (33) 3rd= Farlington (26) 3rd= Mayfield (26) 5th Bede’s (25) 6th BHHS (24) 7th Moira House (22) 8th Burgess Hill (18)
great atmosphere. The races went along smoothly and were all closely fought competitions. It was lovely to see so many competent swimmers in the water representing their schools. Hurst won overall and took home the trophy. We look forward to hosting everyone again next year! Open 1st Hurst (42) 2nd Bede’s (38) 3rd Farlington (30) 4th Moira House (29) 5th Burgess Hill (28) 6th Mayfield (22) 7th= BHHS (13) 7th= Roedean (13)
Overall 1st Hurst (124) 2nd Bede’s (96) 3rd Roedean (91) 4th Moira House (81) 5th Farlington (74) 6th Mayfield (70) 7th Burgess Hill (60) 8th BHHS (30)
Erin could be in the Sussex U12 Cricket team! Congratulations to Erin S (Yr7), who has made it through to the final assessment weekend for the U12 county cricket. This is an incredible achievement – good luck.
U15 Rugby for Lara! Not to be outdone by her younger sister, Lara S (Yr9) has been selected for the Sussex U15 Rugby squad – well done!
JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
WEEK AHEAD?
Hockey U13A
After a good performance last week, our U13A girls were well-prepared for the 7-a-side Worth tournament. The girls started well, creating good chances for one another around the goal. With a few defensive errors, our girls had a few manic moments, but they showed great determination to scramble together a good defence followed by some great saves from Matilda W. The highlight of the day was a draw against Burgess Hill in a 2-2 thriller, with Ella K-M scoring the equaliser in the final moments of the game. The team performed very well against some well-drilled prep schools, and I am very proud to be coaching such an exciting young team. The girls won 2 games, drew 3, and lost 1. Thank you to Worth for hosting another well-organised and fun tournament.
Brambletye School and played 6-a-side in their Sports Hall. The girls adapted well to the new surface and showed superior stick skills. It was our strongest half before half-time, and Amy N continued with her scoring ways by scoring 3 goals. Isabella and Erin were outstanding in defence and played the ball through to the forwards. It was a great team performance overall, and we look forward to next week. The player of the match was Maddy.
U12A
The U12A hockey team had another great win today. We made the journey up to beautiful
U12A
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: marketing@roedean.co.uk Page 4
Tue 10 Oct
Cross Country Cup 1st Round at Worth School Year 8 History Trip to Hampton Court Sixth Form Information Evening
Wed 11 Oct
Swimming National Team Championships (A) U12A & B Hockey vs Great Walstead (A) U13A, B, C & D Hockey vs Christ’s Hospital (H) Glyndebourne Opera Trip to see ‘Cosi Fan Tutti’ Music Concert at All Saints’ Church, Lindfield
Thur 12 Oct
11R Trip to Brighton Pavilion Indoor Rowing Championships (H)
Fri 13 Oct
Author Event – Michael Grant Years 10 & 11 GCSE Art Trip to the V&A Museum
Sat 14 Oct
U14A & B Hockey vs Lancing College (A) 1st & U15A & B Hockey vs Lancing College (H) Oliver! Rehearsal
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