12 February 2021 - Issue 5
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction
Happy Half Term, and Happy Chinese New Year! This is the last Head’s Review of this first half of term, and, looking back through them, I am full of pride for what the girls and my colleagues have achieved. At every turn, you have adapted and found new approaches, you have been creative and determined. Well done, and congratulations. I would like to wish you all happiness and prosperity at Chinese New Year. To coincide with this auspicious festival, we are delighted to hear that Lareina in Year 11 has won the UK’s World Chinese Culture Knowledge Competition, and has therefore been invited to represent the UK in Fujian, China, later in the year – what a remarkable achievement! This week has been Academic Week, and it is wonderful to read the girls’ reflections on this in this Review. I am grateful to Ms Boobis for leading this, and to all my colleagues who led sessions or presented. Furthermore, I would like to thank everyone involved in the two Parents’ Evenings this week, and to those who were involved in the Year 13 Extended Project presentations, which started this week. Looking ahead to the second half of term, there are a number of exciting events to draw your attention to: the first is our Virtual Open Day, at which we will be launching our new 360 Virtual Tour, and you can follow the link on this page to watch the brilliant drone video which is part of this; secondly, we have 18 remote speakers addressing our festival to mark International Women’s Day; and lastly, the speaker at our inaugural Headmaster’s Lecture on 17 March is Sarah Jenkins, MD of Saatchi & Saatchi. Happy Chinese New Year, and I hope you all enjoy a restful half term break – I wish you all the best.
Roedean from the sky At our virtual Open Day on 27 February, we will be launching our exciting new Virtual Tour of the School. After this event, we will share the link to the tour so that you can also enjoy it – we are very pleased that it captures the essence of Roedean perfectly. Because we cannot physically be at School at the current time, please click on the image below to watch a drone video which forms part of the tour – how lucky we are!
Chinese New Year fireworks 2019
新年快乐 / 新年快樂 Happy Chinese New Year 恭喜发财 / 恭喜發財 2021 is the Year of the Ox – wherever you are in the world, we wish the entire Roedean community Happy Chinese New Year, and happiness and prosperity for the coming year! Last year, some of the children from St Mark’s and their families came up to Roedean to enjoy our fireworks display to mark Chinese New Year – as this is not possible this year, I asked Victoria and Carina to prepare a Q&A video for St Mark’s, explaining the significance of this key festival, and how it is celebrated. They did the most amazing job, and you can see it here – I know the children at St Mark’s and at Deepdene will love it! Well done to Hettie (Yr8), Caroline and Hebe (Yr10), Grace and Alyssa (Yr12) and Lisha (Yr13), and particularly to Victoria and Carina (Yr13). RB
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
12 February 2021 - 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. Gracie (Yr13) for taking her sister Ella out for her first ever 10k and ending up running 10.7k with her [KWA]
#IWD21 #ChoosetoChallenge To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, Roedean will be welcoming 18 brilliant virtual speakers to address the girls on a wide range of exciting themes in five different sessions - the speakers include Prof Joyce Tyldesley (Ancient Egypt), Red Hong Yi (Installation Artist), Dr Kemi Adeyemi (Architectural Engineering), Serena Kern aka Segiri (Singer and City Lawyer), Prof Ellie Highwood (Meteorology), and Countess Alexandra Tolstoy (Adventurer). This week, the girls have chosen which talks they will attend, and more specific information will be in the first Head’s Review after half-term about the speakers and their chosen topics.
Victoria and Carina (Yr13) for masterminding a Chinese New Year video Q&A for St Mark’s and Deepdene, and the wider Roedean Community [RB]
We are delighted that some members of last year’s Roedean Academy (from four local state schools) and some girls from Roedean South Africa will also be taking part in this fantastic celebration of successful and inspiring women. RB
Year 9 CAD This term, Year 9 have been creating CAD (Computer Aided Design) drawings and 3D simulations of jewellery designs. On our return to the workshop, we will 3D print these designs as prototypes to test and develop.
Lisha, Eliza, and Serene (Yr13) for producing a motivation video for younger students. Here is the link: https://youtu.be/q3EOJ5osm1c [GH]
I would like to congratulate all the girls in every year group for continuing to work on their DT projects with such creativity and diligence this term – well done! HQU
Tuhina (Yr12) - despite the CAP programme being put on hold until the summer term, Tuhina has been stepping up to continue valuable work behind the scenes in actioning solution-based ways to mitigate the School's negative climate and environmental impacts [JBE]
Liv and Jess (Yr13) for running outstanding Sixth Form fitness sessions [KWA]
Tabitha and Maia (Yr13) for their excellent contributions to and design of Academic Week 2021 [HBO]
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12 February 2021 - Issue 5
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Race Around the World - 6020 Kilometres! Well done to everyone who has logged their distances via wufoo – we have already covered 6,020 kilometres! That means we’ve already been to 6 countries where Roedean girls live, 11 countries in total, and made it as far as Mali, on our way to Ghana!
And here are the top performers:
We really hope that this might give you a focus to keep up your exercise – to generate a bit of healthy competition, here are the two top performing year-groups:
Please follow the relevant link to log your distances – as this is like a New Year’s Resolution, you can include distances back to 1 January!
Izzy (Yr8) = 730K Amelia (Yr10) = 394K Maria (Yr10) = 165K Lennie (Yr7) = 156K
Can you do better?
Bel
ny
ma
giu
Ger
m
Hu
It
y
ar
ng
nd
erla
itz
Sw
a
ly
Race Around the World 2.0 STUDENT Race Around the World 2.0 STAFF Race Around the World 2.0 PARENT Race Around the World 2.0 OR
Mali
If the country where you currently live does not appear on the route because you also have a UK address on the school database, please do let us know before we reach that country by emailing Miss Boles on jbo@roedean.co.uk.
Alg
eria
Year 8 = 979K Year 10 = 611K Year 7 = 296K
Israel
UK
■ ■ ■
■ ■ ■ ■
Ita ly
To make it easier to log your distances regularly, you can pin the wufoo link to your browser by clicking on ‘Bookmark this tab’ or similar, depending on your browser. Well done, and thank you for getting involved! RB
Thanks to Poppy, Bo Ana, Alma, Lillie, Andrea, Gracie, Alice, Saskia, Alissandra and Katarina for this fantastic virtual rendition of David Bowie’s Space Oddity.
Last December, we asked everyone to participate in a quiz on WuFoo. This was so that we could gather data for a Roedean Pointless quiz! Each year group has had a go at discovering the most obscure correct answers to the questions. What do you think the most obscure correct answer to these questions might be?
1. Name an 8 letter American state
2. Characters who die in Hamlet 3. Types of Cloud See page 12 for answers Page 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
The Butterfly Project 2021 The girls in Year 7 were asked to create a unique butterfly with a wish for 2021. The butterfly was chosen for its powerful symbolic representation of transformation, change, hope, and life - this is extremely relevant in the current situation with Covid-19 and the hope for better times ahead with the rollout of the vaccinations. The students were given free rein to create a butterfly in any format or style they preferred. We received some amazing butterflies which showed creativity, imagination, and thoughtfulness. Well done to everyone who participated. Congratulations to our two joint winners: ■
Freya - for engaging so effectively with the idea of transformation
■
Romey - for creating a wonderful poem to accompany her butterfly
Freya and Romey will receive a gift voucher for their amazing efforts. GWI
I saw a little butterfly but then it flew away, I saw a little butterfly as it was there the next day. I saw a little butterfly, with wings bright and green, I saw a little butterfly, who was silky and so clean. I saw a little butterfly Flying through the Sky, I saw a little butterfly but then I said good-bye!
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12 February 2021 - Issue 5
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
12 February 2021 - Issue 5
St Mark’s Although we have not been able to maintain the same breadth of activities as normal at St Mark’s, as a school community, we have been working hard to support the children there. So far this term, we have sent down regular PE workout videos, a video Q&A about Chinese New Year, Art tutorials from Megan and Miss Philips, and more, but, perhaps the most valuable, we have been able to loan the school 20 iPads – some children at St Mark’s may not have had appropriate devices to access their school activities, but this loan has given them the opportunity to do so. Mrs Jane Fendley, Head at St Mark’s sent us a photo and this message: ‘Thank you so much for the wonderful contributions from the girls, which have been very well received by staff, who are looking forward to sharing them with their classes. I will send you pictures and updates as they come in. I would also like to say a huge thank you for the loan of the iPads. These have enabled us to ensure all of our children can access remote learning, both at home, and when they attend for critical worker/vulnerable places in school.’ RB
Global Success in Chinese Culture! Congratulations to Lareina (Yr11) and Kefei (Yr8), who took part at the end of last month in the World Chinese Culture Knowledge Competition, the Brighton Chinese Culture Knowledge Contest, and the UK Chinese Culture Knowledge Contest, which had an online audience of 500. Particular congratulations go to Lariena, who was awarded first place in the UK in the World Chinese Culture Knowledge competition. As a result, she has received an invitation from the Chinese Education Foundation to visit and explore Chinese culture in Fujian Province, China, and to represent the UK in the World Students’ Chinese Knowledge Contest at Xiamen University. Lareina and Kefei also achieved the top eight highest marks in the Brighton Chinese Culture Knowledge Contest, and this enabled Brighton & Hove to form two teams for the UK Chinese Culture Knowledge Contest. Lareina was one of four members in the first team, and Kefei was the captain of the second team. In this contest, Kefei won 2nd prize in the first round, and Lareina's team won the 3rd prize in the final round – her knowledge of Chinese history, geography, and culture had a big impact on her team, and, as a result, she was awarded the ‘Outstanding Talent Prize’. Well done, Lareina and Kefei, on these wonderful successes! LWU
Musical Recital If you would like a chance to take part in a Music Recital held on Teams on Monday 15 March, we would love to see you all perform again! It will be a mixed selection of recorded and live performances, and all types of music welcome. It will be about 30 minutes long, so if you would like to play, please aim for a piece which is 2-3 minutes long, so that more performers can take part. If you are brave enough to play/sing live, please email me to be included; otherwise, please send your recordings (video or audio) to sob@roedean.co.uk If there are too many submissions, some may be held over to the next concert. Many thanks in advance for your participation in this recital. SOB Page 5
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
12 February 2021 - Issue 5
Rebecca Hall
News of Friends:
(Credit: Jeff Vespa)
Rebecca Hall (No. 4, 1996-2000) Two weeks ago, we shared the news that OR Rebecca Hall will be appearing in a production of A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream online in March. We are now delighted to also be able to share news of two other projects, which demonstrate her incredible diversity as an artist. Due for release on 26 March, Rebecca will be playing the role of Ilene Andrews in Godzilla vs Kong, the fourth instalment in Legendary’s MonsterVerse (this was spotted by Nicole (Yr11), who is looking forward to seeing it!). The film further adds to Rebecca’s wide range of roles, which has so far seen her star in productions as diverse as Iron Man 3 and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. It has also recently been announced that, following the film’s debut at the Sundance Film Festival, Rebecca’s directorial debut Passing (which she also wrote) has been picked up by Netflix for world-wide distribution. The release date hasn’t yet been set, but we will be sure to share it with you all as soon as it is. Based on the 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, the film tells the poignant story of two old friends, both light skinned mixed-race women, one ‘passing’ as white, who are reunited by chance, threatening their carefully constructed realities. Congratulations to Rebecca! GLC
Ruby (Yr7) took this amazing picture of a snowflake last Saturday – she found it really interesting, because she has been learning about solids, liquids, and gases in Science with LBY
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
12 February 2021 - Issue 5
Academic Week 2021: Being Human This week was Academic Week, and, as we celebrated each of the faculties, we were really excited to begin to put into action some of the activities we had planned. The ‘Roetalks’ Team was updated with all of the student talks given on a wide variety of topics (you can also watch these in the embedded videos in this Head’s Review), quizzes were held during tutor periods, and student Pointless happened as part of the year groups’ Friday social. We really hope you enjoyed what was being put on, and that joining in has been a way to feel the Roedean spirit, even at home. Maia and Tabitha (Academic Prefects)
I would like to add my thanks to Maia and Tabitha, for their creativity and flexibility in making such a wonderful week, and for their thoughtful written pieces, as well as to Asmitha, Farwa, Minnie, Freya, Lila, Ella, and Rhea, for their fantastic and thought-provoking talks, to Zoe Thompson and Sarah Dixon, for their generous and interesting recorded talks, and to So Young, Toni, Solari, Maria, Martha, April, Karena, Helen, Meagan, Chloe, and Ashley, for their contributions to this week’s Chapel service. https://vimeo.com/511552693/c41d279bc6 HBO
MONDAY – A Choice of Lectures for Years 10-13 Thank you to all of our speakers for such inspiring and stimulating talks.
Classical Myth, Agalmatophilia, and Human Desire – Dr Daniel Orrells This talk essentially addressed the intersection of human desire and art, using historical movements, artworks, and sculptures to inspire fundamental questions about objectivity and deception. Dr Orrells spoke of how the Renaissance was a reaction to the distant divine found in the Medieval period, inspired by the Ancient Greeks' worship of the 'natural' and the 'realistic' through artwork. This provoked a variety of questions for me – did these artists actually attempt to replicate reality, or were these works just a projection of desire? I have concluded from this talk that the artist historically had power over the perception of reality, and therefore the viewer… did these male artists' projection of reality therefore affect society by using art as a method of control? Dr Orrells mentioned how, in the 19th century, women began questioning the extent of objectivity in the artistic portrayal of the feminine – was classical art actually a deceitful manifestation of the male gaze, as opposed to the observed reality it was presented as? An objective, realistic, and neutral artwork, in my opinion, is impossible to achieve – however, what we can achieve is transparency of our intent and subjectivity. My final question inspired by this wonderful lecture would be to ask whether the artistic pursuit of reality, when we have desires that can override objectivity, is therefore more harmful than beautiful? I feel that that may be in the eye of the beholder. Jemima (Yr12)
Humans and Mars: The Limits of Space Travel – Colin Stuart Colin Stuart’s speech on Monday was thoroughly inspiring. He set the scene, placing the audience in the seats of astronauts embarking on a 7-month voyage to Mars. I enjoyed the realistic viewpoints, depicting a few struggles faced during space travel. From radiation poisoning to solar flares and general expenses, Mr Stuart challenged us to think about future solutions to today's problems. The speech was light-hearted, but still included fascinating statistics and narratives from past missions. Overall, Mr Stuart left me wondering which of us will further space travel? He described our generation as the future of technology. Our classmates may very well be directing and designing the spaceships that will land on Mars. It feels empowering to learn this, to know that we have the opportunities and technology to do so within our lifetimes. Suddenly the universe seems less out of reach, now only limited by our imagination and will to act. Lauren (Yr11)
I found Colin’s talk to be both fascinating and extremely thoughtprovoking. Not only did he talk about the magical side of space travel, but also about the realities of how life for the astronauts would be on both the 7-month journey to Mars. He also told us how we would need to be selfsufficient and learn to do more practical things, such as turning urine into useable things such as Water, as well as learning to plant and grow our own food when we actually arrived, which would be a real learning curve for us as humans. In the lecture, Colin also posed many stimulating and challenging ethical questions, such as, if say a person commits a crime on Mars, they aren’t bound by earth laws, so does this mean that we impose laws for those living on Mars? This also tied into his idea of inclusion, where he was saying how the prospect of going to Mars or working on the idea of going there is not only just for those in the science field, but, as he said, we will need many different occupations not even invented yet, such as a space lawyer or a space painter – I think this helped as well to put it into perspective that it is actually going to become a reality for the whole human race and not just a minority of people like previous space voyages have been. Overall, I found the talk to be very inspiring and very stimulating, with lots of scope for different ethical takes on space travel. I would say if there is one thing to take away from the talk it should be this, Colin recalled how astronauts put their waste from the toilet into bags and put them into space where they combust, so next time you see a shooting star at night, remember that it might not be what you think it is, but maybe something a little less magical! Anamika (Yr12)
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
12 February 2021 - Issue 5
Academic Week 2021: Being Human Being Human is Seeing Human - Miss Bourne Miss Bourne’s talk on Being Human is Seeing Human introduces the idea that understanding other people’s thoughts and feelings, regardless of a real-life person or fictional character, is an essential part of being human. We also learnt about different ways to interpret others’ emotions through literature, and how our feelings are connected to the characters by sympathising and empathising with them. I particularly enjoyed learning about the change in the ways writers engage with their readers, from focusing on sentimentality in the 18th century to sharing the inner thoughts of the characters through a stream of consciousness. The talk inspired me to think about the importance of empathy in our daily lives; without the ability to connect with others and relate to them, our relationships would remain superficial and lack emotional connection. Shereen (Yr13)
TUESDAY Q&A Session with Nicola Morgan on ‘Is Technology Rewiring the Human Brain’
How Did We Become Human? – Mrs Andrew In Biology at the moment, I am learning about species classification and how we can use an organism’s evolutionary relationships to classify it, and I thought that the talk was very relevant to this. I learnt a lot about how humans came to be, evolving from our great ape common ancestors. I also learnt about how other human species, such as the Neanderthals, came to extinction, and how our ability to do things such as storytelling enabled us to survive as a species. It was interesting to see all the adversities humans have overcome in order to survive in harsh and changing climates. By the end of the talk, I was left fascinated with where our evolutionary pathway will take humans as a species. Sophia (Yr12) The talk was about the evolution of humans from apes, and started off with the anatomical differences between humans and other primates. Although we still don’t know exactly which family we descended from, dating techniques such as DNA analysis, when used in conjunction with ecological and behavioural models, have given us an idea of how we evolved from our distant ancestors. I really enjoyed learning about how the different species of early humans migrated across the world and interbred with each other. However, the part I found most interesting was that the survival of a species depended on it finding the required nutrients, but also the meeting social requirements, including how our approaches to socialising have changed, allowing humans to have more interactions, leading to larger groups. This was a really interesting subject for me, and it makes me wonder how much of the puzzle we’re still missing and when we will fill in those missing pieces to get the full picture of our evolution. Aida (Yr12)
On Tuesday, Years 7-9 were lucky enough to experience a talk with Nicola Morgan, an inspirational author and speaker. She talked about how to have the best physical and mental well-being, psychological changes, the addictions of the online world, the science of sleep, and the effect that screens can have on teenagers and adults. She also talked about how our brain works, how it can multitask, and distractions that the brain faces. Our brain isn’t in our hands, but Nicola teaches how we can control our brain. What I enjoyed about the talk was her enthusiasm, as she answered any questions we had, feeding us more new information. I also felt that I could trust what she was saying, as her findings were based on research and science, and she helped us recognise that we are all different. She interacted with her audience and helped us to also engage with the talk by asking questions and explaining the science in a vivid way. It made me think about the different parts of the brain and how it enables distractions to overcome us. I was also very intrigued about how screens affect us physically and mentally, positively and negatively. On behalf of the year groups, I would like to say a big thank you to Nicola Morgan and the staff for organising this wonderful talk. Asmitha (Yr7) In period 6 on Tuesday, we had the privilege to listen to Nicola Morgan, an author and internationally acclaimed expert on teenage wellbeing. We covered ‘Is technology rewiring the brain’. She talked about how stress impacts performances, affects on screen time, and about distraction. Nicola has published dozens of homelearning books, including: ’The awesome power of sleep’, ‘Positively teenage’, and ’The teenage guide to stress’. Let's all consider reading some! As a Sports Scholar and competitive swimmer, I have to manage my sleep and get high-quality rest. The talk made me think about this, and also about managing any nerves and anxieties during competitions. It also made me aware of how exceptional the human brain is and how it functions. I enjoyed this talk, particularly because she was originally an English teacher and worked with dyslexic students, which led to her lasting interest and expertise in the learning brain. It has always been my ambition to become a teacher when I am older, and therefore I found her journey inspiring and motivating. Alice (Yr7) Page 8
Your Academic Prefects, Maia and Tabitha, Ms Boobis and Dr Hobbs are proud to present this interactive brochure showcasing current students and ORs giving a series of mini lectures on Being Human. As you browse through, consider the questions alongside, and, if you are interested, try having a look at some of the further reading too – a couple of starting points are given for each talk. We hope you enjoy the lectures and that they spark your curiosity to explore what Being Human means to you, and in your field of academic interest.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Ella
Q: How are robots
The Future of Automation
like children? Q: If computers can be trained to think and behave like humans, why haven’t they replaced us yet?
Lila
Q: What is the
essence of humanity and can it be replicated in AI? Q: Could AI ever replace a judge in court proceedings? Future of Life & The Independent
How AI Will Aid Humans in Automating and Innovating our World
decision that is made truly freely? Q: What implications can you think of if free will were proven not to exist? Philosophy Break & The Independent
Q: Is efficiency or
Freya
evaluation the most important factor in decision making for humans? Q: What are some of the benefits and pitfalls of using heuristics to make decisions? Psychology Today & verywellmind
GENETICS Rethinking Genetics and Identity Politics
History.com & Turing Test
Rhea
Q: Can you think of a
Heuristics and Decision Making
ACADEMIC WEEK 2021
Is Free Will Real or Just an Illusion?
BEING HUMAN
PHILOSOPHY
Tabitha
Q: How could genes help marketing campaigns? Q: What do we mean when we refer to ‘the human race’? Dr Adam Rutherford, TedTalk, How to Argue with a Racist & Science Live
pson Zoe ThOoRm) (
PSYCHOLOGY & NEUROSCIENCE
Q: Do humans have a right to colonise another habitable planet? Q: If there is complex life on other planets, why haven’t they got in contact? Space.com & NASA
TECHNOLOGY & BEHAVIOUR Minnie
activated?
Q: What activities keep you calm? Positive Psychology & NCIB
Asmitha
How Do Humans Make Their Own De
cisions?
Q: Why do humans have choices?
Q: How can you tell if you are confident with a decision you are making? Science Direct & The Independent
Farwa Can Humans Live without Rules?
Does Technology Affect How Young Adults Behave?
CNBC & Nutanix
(OR)
Q: When do you zone out? Q: What gets you
Q: Are rules more
of a guide or a restriction? Q: What would happen if the universe stopped obeying the rules? BBC & NY Times
Q: What was the earliest example of
human technology? Q: What are the positive and negative effects of increased screen time?
Sarah Dixo n
Emotional Resilience
Could Humans Li ve on Keplar 452b?
HUMANS IN SPACE
ANTHROPOLOGY How Tribal are we? Q: Is modern living compatible with being human? Q: Have we lost an integral part of
Maia
being human as technology advances and we find new ways of living?
Sylva
Famous Psychologists & Wikipedia
STUDIES OF THE HUMAN BODY We would love to start a discussion on these topics. Please leave your comments in the RoeTalks team, or email Tabitha (TM37), Maia (MH37) or Ms Boobis (hbo) with your thoughts: what does ‘being human’ mean? And what are the implications of this for our collective futures?
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
12 February 2021 - Issue 5
Sixth Form Pathway Lectures On Monday 8 February, the first Sixth Form Pathways lectures for 2021 took place. The Pathways lectures offer students in the Sixth Form the opportunity to learn from SIXTH FORM ORs, parents, and industry experts, about PATHWAY their experiences in the workplace, their LECTURES career journey, and their cutting-edge research or developments, and they are themed according to four ‘Pathways’: STEM; Business, Economics, and Enterprise; Society; and Creative and Performing Arts. The students are able to select from three or four lectures that are either linked to their A Level subjects, their career interests, or something completely different for a new perspective! This year was a little different, as each lecture is taking place via Teams. However, this has meant that we are able to hear from speakers living all over the world, and many Year 11 students were also able to click on the Teams link and enter the talk to watch it live. If any parents or ORs would be interested in delivering a talk next academic year, please be in touch with Dr Hannan (gh@roedean.co.uk).
Steve George Digital Learning Portfolio Manager Although I have no plans to enter a career in business or economics, I thought it would be interesting to attend the lecture. To my surprise, I found it very interesting how a lot of what was being said related to the structure and functioning of the NHS. For example, the speaker mentioned how the ‘Organisation Design and Development’ team within the NHS is responsible for preparing for a post-pandemic health service, to align with the changing role of the NHS. I also learnt about ‘PESTLE analysis’ and how factors such as Brexit can influence or reshape the role or aims of an organisation like the NHS. For me, the talk emphasised the importance of a diverse education, and showed that having knowledge of things outside of the science subjects that I take can be beneficial to my career. Sophia (Business, Economics and Enterprise Pathway)
Stephanie Pujol (OR) Assistant Manager for the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity: New York University, Abu Dhabi campus The academic lecture I attended by Stephanie Pujol on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) was enriching and inspiring. She helped us understand what diversity truly meant, the difference between equity and equality, how inclusion is about being comfortable and feeling valued, and how belonging is feeling high enough levels of inclusion to make changes around you. She also talked about the importance of bringing a diverse perspective to the workplace, and the advantages of that. It was a moving, powerful, and captivating lecture, and I’m very grateful to Stephanie for sharing it with us! She recommended that we read ‘Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men’ by Caroline Criado-Perez, as well as taking a few Harvard Implicit Association Tests to help us become more self-aware of our own biases, so we can make conscious changes to help better ourselves and our society. Jemma (Society Pathway)
Sally Griffiths (OR) Producer and Director Although I am studying science subjects, I decided that it would be quite interesting to see the inside of the television industry and what people’s day to day life looks like when working on different shows. Sally talked all about her experiences of working at major television corporations, such as ITV, Channel 4, and National Geographic, in particular focusing on major shows she produced, such as Bear Grylls’ The Island, where she had to live in the same way as the participants, with no shelter and no food or water. She also described a programme she directed called Drugs Inc – The Real Wolves of Wall Street, a TV documentary which followed the underbelly of the drug trade and those who partake in it. I found Sally’s experiences to be very engaging, especially as she has worked in many varied genres from more entertaining documentary to investigative work. It was also very motivating to hear about her experience as a woman in a male-dominated industry, and how it sometimes affected the way those she was filming viewed her. In Drugs Inc, for example, she explained how being female was both an advantage and a disadvantage, in that she felt she did have to work harder to gain respect from the people she was interviewing; however, she also felt she had more intimate and insightful conversations and interactions with those she filmed, as her female presence was less threatening than a male director’s presence would have been. Overall I think the talk really opened my eyes and made me think about an industry that combines both the technical side of filming and producing, but also strong human narratives. She also emphasised the need for strong interpersonal relationships between those doing the filming and those on camera, in order to tell a story – this is a side of television programmemaking which I hadn’t considered before. Anamika (Creative and Performing Arts Pathway)
Kirstin Duffield (OR) CEO of Morning Data The STEM pathway lecture, which was delivered by an OR, Kirstin Duffield, who is now the CEO of the software technology company Morning Data. She spoke about her journey, beginning at Roedean and all of the hardships and successes along the way. Lucy said, ‘I found it inspiring and motivating hearing her speak about setting up her own successful company so young.’ Aida found the talk was very interesting, despite never having even imagined a possible career pathway leading to insurance. She said, ‘I found that Kirsten’s advice on mentioning careers that you are interested in to people in order to help build a network of connections was a very useful tip, and one that I definitely use. I also really enjoyed the diversity of her job and how it led her to different parts of the world and meeting new people.’ Kirstin Duffield is a leader and businesswomen who has excelled in her work as the owner and CEO of Morning Data. Poppy wrote, ‘She was very inspiring as she is a highly-regarded woman in STEM, having won many awards including getting shortlisted as one of Computer Weekly’s top 25 most influential women in IT in 2013. As well as this, she showed us that despite not having the best grades when she was at school, she found a subject she was very passionate about, and used her ability to network to find great jobs and further her career. This is definitely something I will take away from it, as she gave great tips about the best ways to find the jobs you want in the future.’ Lucy, Aida, and Poppy (STEM Pathway)
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
12 February 2021 - Issue 5
Headmaster’s Lecture: In Conversation with Sarah Jenkins We are delighted to invite you to attend our inaugural Headmaster’s Lecture on Wednesday 17 March 2021, at which the speaker will be Sarah Jenkins. Sarah is Managing Director of Saatchi & Saatchi London, shaping the strategic direction of the agency. She is a passionate advocate for greater diversity in the advertising industry; she has been instrumental in work of the Advertising Diversity Task Force, which encourages collaboration between forward-thinking and progressive agencies to make the communication industry more diverse. Tickets for this virtual event are free, but you are welcome to make a charitable donation to support the School’s work in the local community and beyond. Please book your place here www.roedeantheatre. co.uk, and you will be sent a link to access the event in due course. A date for your diary: the second Headmaster’s Lecture will be given in June by mathematician and concert pianist, Dr Eugenia Cheng OR.
Valentine’s-themed Co-Curricular Cooking! Here are some photos of our ‘Love/Cute/Pink/Red themed’ Co-Curricular cook-along creations from this week’s session – Happy Valentine’s Day for Sunday! JCH
Some bakers even dressed for the occaision
Pointess Answers
1. Nebraska or Oklahoma both scored 0
2. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were both pointless answers Page 12
3. Cirrocumulus, cirrostratus, and altostratus were all pointless answers
12 February 2021 - Issue 5
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
SPORT
Inspiring Conversation Strava Challenge with Lesley Morrill Week 5 Results 52 Marathons in 52 Weeks – this week, we had the fantastic opportunity to speak to our very own Lesley Morrill, who works up in our Bursary Department. She has achieved an outstanding 52 marathons in 52 weeks, and she is also a record holder in the 100-marathon club! If you are keen to find out what her toughest marathon was, and how to start running, then please have a listen!
This week's results were very creative, and a huge well done to all who took part! Well done to Lizzie (Yr9), who submitted an octopus as her Strava Art – it looks brilliant! A special mention to Miss Wakeling for her Roedean Deer ! Well done to Mrs Miller and Miss Cheesman for their creations too!
Miss Cheesman
Miss Wakeling
This week, the Trick Shot Takers took on a challenge that may be very hard to watch… or to perform, in their case. Their challenge, should they wish to take it, was to create a trick shot, with the most vital part of throwing accurately removed - their vision! That’s right, throwing something into another thing, without knowing where that thing is/was/could be/should be. Some amazing non-visionaries were masterful in their approaches, and the results are in or out, because we just don’t know… Trickiest Trick Shot: ■
1st - Molly (Yr7) & Miss Bamford
Favourite Trick Shot: ■ ■ ■
1st - Miss Bamford 2nd - Isobel (Yr7) 3rd - Molly (Y7)
Highlights reel:
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 13
Lizzie (Yr9
Star of the Week Amelia (Yr10) has been instrumental, diligent, and beyond hardworking during this half term. She has not only been waking up at the crack of dawn for both early morning fitness sessions, attending multiple virtual club netball & hockey sessions during the week, but also applying her sport psychology project and motivating others to keep positive, stay healthy, and remain mentally and physically fit, through January and February. Keep a watch out for the Healthy Lifestyle Co-Curricular Activity next half term for exciting developments from Amelia!
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