13 March 2020 - Issue 9
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction At Roedean, it has been ‘business as usual’ as much as possible this week. With a backdrop of rapidly changing news, lessons are continuing as normal, the final technical rehearsals for Hairspray are well underway, and there have been a whole range of activities around School to celebrate Science Week. On top of this, our musicians gave a lovely concert in Rottingdean, we have played football fixtures, our GCSE dancers had their performance examination yesterday, and we had eighty eager netballers from Prep and Junior Schools joining us for a wonderful experience day yesterday. Waiting for the British government’s latest response to the Coronavirus has understandably dominated the latter part of this week. We have plans in place to allow online and offsite education to continue should this be necessary. I am proud
Science Week at Roedean
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that the Roedean community has reacted in a calm, measured, and sensible way – we are, of course, following the rapidly changing advice and guidance, but will continue to ensure the girls’ health and education remain our highest priority. Open Day last weekend saw 101 families visit Roedean – it was a lovely day, with the theme of the exploration of space, and our guests were delighted with their wonderful tour guides, as well as the teaser from Hairspray as one of the impressive performances in the presentations. I am pleased that our dress-up day for World Book Day raised £592 last week. I also had the pleasure of going to down to Off the Fence with Mr Weir on Thursday, to help serve the clients’ lunch. Knowing that we provide 50 hot meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays is one thing, but seeing those affected first-hand, as well as the impact of our donation is very humbling. As well as the obvious benefits of
Year 5 and 6 Netball Experience Day Please see page 5
a hot meal, Off the Fence report that the meals provided by Roedean encourage more rough sleepers to come into the centre, which means that they can access a wide range of support and facilities. I wish you all a wonderful weekend, and good luck for next week – and ‘break a leg’ to the cast and crew of Hairspray!
Dragon Performan ce at St Mark’s
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Unsung heroes in the spotlight Each week, many wonderful things happen at Roedean, about which many in the school are perhaps unaware; this section of the weekly review is dedicated to ‘unsung heroes’, in order to draw our attention to these people and remind us that our community is special.
Nicole and Vivian (Yr10) for helping put all the PE equipment away at the end of Open Day [KWA]
Amelia and Isla (Yr9) for continuously smiling whilst helping with the timekeeping in the wet and windy conditions at SISNA [KWA]
Galina perfoms alongside Oscar-winning composer and wins Woodwind Gold On Friday 6 March Galina performed in the Hastings International Piano Festival alongside the Oscar winning composer Rachel Portman OBE. Galina played in the live premier of Rachel’s newest single Leaves and Trees which is a trio for two pianos and cello, with Galina and Rachel playing the two piano parts. Rachel was awarded her Oscar in 1996 for her music for the movie Emma and received Oscar nominations for Chocolat in 1999 and The Cider House Rules in 2000. She has written over 100 scores for film, television and theatre. Galina says ‘It was a huge honour to be asked to play alongside such an inspiring female from the world of classical music, especially as it was near the time of international women’s day and it was amazing to work with Rachel on how to interpret her music. The music she has written is so beautiful and serene, I have learned a lot from Rachel when she spoke about how she composes and I’m going to use some of her techniques in my own compositions.’ Galina was the youngest pianist to take part in the festival which attracted artists such as Rufus Wainwright, Claire Martin OBE and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Dancing Bronze for Pearl
Sasha and Mariam (Yr12), Rosie (Yr13), and Priya and Maddie (Yr11) for sharing their thoughts on scientific advances in Chapel [FW]
13 March 2020 - Issue 9
Congratulations to Pearl (Yr8) who has won a bronze medal at the recent Worthing Dance Festival for a quartet dance with three friends; they also won a silver medal with the same dance at the Eastbourne Dance Festival over half term – well done!
On the back of this, Galina (Yr8) performed again in the Hastings Music Festival, and we are delighted that she won the Woodwind Gold Medal. As a result, she was invited to perform again on Thursday evening in the 'instrumentalist of year' competition. Let’s watch this space!
Maria Beat the Matrix Cyber Security Challenge! Well done to Maria (Yr9) who has got through to the regional Semi-Finals of the Matrix Cyber Security Challenge and to Amelia (Year 8) who also took part. There are lots of opportunities in this field, particularly for girls, as was highlighted by two of our speakers on International Women’s Day, so, if this is your thing, definitely look into the competitions you might be able to take part in on www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/education-skills/11-19year-olds
Easter Prep for House 3
Alba and Meg (Yr8) for helping and supporting the Year 7s in their football fixture this week [LBA]
House 3 girls started to get ready for Easter by participating in a whole house group activity on Wednesday evening. The teams had to design and produce an Easter bonnet, using an array of craft materials. We were really impressed by what can be achieved in 20 minutes, and the girls worked so
Unsung heroes in the spotlight Each week, a member of staff who has gone above and beyond the call of duty can be nominated by their colleagues or the girls. Mr Bell and the catering department for the teas at SISNA [KWA]
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well collaboratively to produce a creative product. Each team nominated a member of their team to model the creations. Eliza and Heidi’s team won the competition with their beautiful innovative designs – well done!
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Science Week at Roedean Roedean has seen a plethora of scientific experiences over the last week – it’s Science Week! Girls in Years 11-13 shared their passions for Science in Chapel this week, giving a variety of examples of why science is so important in the current world. Mr Ebden, our Faculty Lead for Science, has unfortunately missed Roedean’s Science Week, but he is busy looking after his new-born baby daughter, Rowan, so Miss Walker stepped in to lead Chapel. There have been mini-experiments in the Fireplace all week, with passing volunteers running experiments, dissections in Biology, and exciting demonstrations in Physics, working out how to change electricity into motion. The F24 programme has recently been relaunched, and next Thursday will see test-drives down on the pitches – it will be great to see how the car is coming along! Taking inspiration from a 2003 research paper which synthesised tiny anthropomorphic molecules, nicknamed ‘nano-putians’ – Crystal and Mandy (Yr11) made a nano-ballerina from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, with the chemical formula C41H50O2, and this is what she looks like!
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13 March 2020 - Issue 9
13 March 2020 - Issue 9
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Fun swim times! Each Friday, from 3:50 to 5:00pm, it is great to see the students enjoying some relaxing and fun in the pool with their friends. Why not come along for some fun in the water, or you can develop your fitness by swimming a few lengths! JC
Maths Puzzle A very smart Roedeanian claimed she had drawn a triangle where all the internal angles were square! Everyone said that’s impossible, and she replied ‘ok, not 90 degree right angles, but the angles measured in degrees ARE all square numbers!’ What would the angles inside that triangle be? Last week’s solution: 3.5 units2
Roedean Humanities Diploma
Key Humanities Characteristics ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■
This week saw the launch of the Roedean Humanities Diploma to Year 8 students, and it will continue through Year 9. The aims of the diploma are to empower you to do the following: ■■
increase your understanding of what it means to be human in our changing world
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develop the Humanities learning characteristics required to flourish at GCSE and far beyond
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explore the links between the Humanities subjects
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academically stretch and challenge yourselves
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make a positive contribution to the world
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reflect on and celebrate your progress
To gain the diploma, you will complete and reflect on 4 challenges as you go through Key Stage 3, so that you are better prepared for GCSE and beyond. These challenges are completed in lesson time across humanities subjects, and you will reflect on your progress in the humanities characteristics across subjects. At the end of Year 9, you will complete an extended essay on the theme of ‘Change’, before taking part in a reflective interview on your learning. Thank you to the four Year 10 students, Sylva, Bo, Jemima, and Phoebe, who shared their experiences by reflecting on their learning from last year.
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Academically curious Creative Open Principled Caring Thinkers Decision makers
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Independent Communicative Collaborative Growth mindset Reflective Knowledgeable
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
13 March 2020 - Issue 9
Year 5 and 6 Netball Experience Day It was wonderful to welcome 80 girls in Years 5 and 6, including teams from a number of Prep Schools, as well as lots of individuals, to our Netball Experience Day. In the glorious sunshine, the girls had a wonderful time, working with ex-England netballer, Sasha Corbin. They enjoyed her truly inspirational talk, and loved the fact that she played for England for over a decade. Along with Roedean Year 9 Sports Leaders, the girls worked on attack and defence drills on the courts, as well as some match play. It was a brilliant day, and, who knows, one of the girls who attended might be the next Sasha Corbin.
Dragon Performance at St Mark’s
GCSE Art Drawing Class This week, we completed an 8-week drawing workshop with a group of GCSE students, tutored by Mark Connolly, a visiting artist. He graduated from the Royal Drawing School in 2017 with an MA in Drawing. He has been teaching the students a range of different drawing styles and techniques, which has been a great opportunity for the girls to be inspired by the endless possibilities that drawing offers. This was a great opportunity for all the girls involved, but was a particularly valuable experience for Mwaba and Malika, as they gained greater confidence in their ability through exploring different drawing styles.
I was very delighted to be invited to watch a dragon dance performance by Year 2 students of St Mark’s Primary School. The performance was amazing; I truly felt their passion towards Chinese culture through their dance. Hopeful there will be more opportunities to work with St Mark’s in the near future. Camille (Yr11)
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
13 March 2020 - Issue 9
Hairspray We are looking forwward to Hairspray next week, and enjoyed our Open Day teaser. Do come along!
Alex at the European Finals in Russia! Congratulations to Alex (Yr8), who has been invited by British Ice Skating to represent Great Britain and Western Europe at the ISU Junior Challenge European Finals, which will be held in Kolomna, Russia, on the 20-22 March. This is one of the most prestigious and highprofile short-track competitions in the world, bringing together the top 8 skaters from each category, in Alex’s case U14, from the Star Class Junior Challenge Series (Western Europe) and The Danubia Cup (Eastern Europe) – this means that the top 16 short track speed skaters get to compete against each other for the very first time within a major ISU international competition. This will be an incredible sporting and cultural opportunity for Alex, and she will no doubt benefit hugely from being there. We look forward to hearing how she skates!
Football U12A Football
The A team played well against a well-spirited and competitive Burgess Hill team – they worked well as a team and worked hard to maintain pressure. The final score was 8-2 to Roedean. They scored some great team goals, as well some moments of individual talent, including Fen's free kick and Eloise's long-range effort into the bottom corner! As the weather worsened, conditions became more challenging, but the girls maintained a strong work-ethic and determination until the final whistle. Well done!
U12B Football
The U12Bs battled hard against the Roedean wind and rain on Monday evening in a fixture versus Burgess Hill. The girls played some excellent football, working together with some excellent
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team work. Oyinda and Polly scored two goals each, and Amelia and Izzy both scored one. The girls were captained well by Madison, and they held some great positioning at the back, defending and attacking with control and confidence.
13 March 2020 - Issue 9
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Swimming Festival at Benenden Our Roedean swimmers ventured far to Benenden School for a swimming festival last Friday. The girls had a good warm-up, were focused, and set their sights on achieving their best in the pool. The festival was well-managed, all the staff were welcoming, and there was some really impressive competition from all 4 schools. Both Junior and Senior teams performed incredibly well, with many first, second, and third places. Some of the girls were in as many as 5 events and were incredibly busy on the day, with non-stop swimming. Each time, the call to swim was greeted with an excited smile and a little bit of nerves, which were natural and faded away as soon as the girls entered the water. At the end, a number of the girls won medals and certificates, along with a special moment on the podium for their respective races. Roedean ended 3rd overall, and, considering we didn't take an U18 team, this was a great achievement for the girls, only 2 points away from 2nd. It was a lovely and well-presented event, and a good evening of swimming at Benenden School.
U14A: Birley’s Tournament & Sussex Knock Out Cup The U14A squad has had quite a busy week! They started the week off with a trip to Kings College, Canterbury for the annual invitational Netball Tournament. It was really refreshing to play some different teams, including King’s, Cranbrook, Sutton Valence and Sevenoaks. It was a really positive day, with the girls being
undefeated all day to win the tournament! On the Thursday, the girls had their semi-final match against Warden Park in the Sussex Knock Out Cup. It was an extremely close first half, with only one goal separating the 2 teams! But the girls dug deep and made their way through to the final, winning 25-17.
JJ What’s Coming up IN THE
WEEK AHEAD?
Mon Inter-House Year 11 Netball 16 Mar Tournament Tue HAIRSPRAY 17 Mar U13A Netball vs Windlesham House (A) U14A&B vs Burgess Hill Girls (H) Wed HAIRSPRAY 18 Mar Fri HAIRSPRAY 20 Mar Year 12 Art Private View in the Old Ref U13A Netball Celebration Meal Sat HAIRSPRAY 21 Mar U15A&B & U14A&B Netball vs Bede’s School (H) U18A, U18 Social & U16A&B vs Bede’s School (A)
U14A Netball
U14A Knock Out Cup
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