14 June 2019 - Issue 7
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction Congratulations to everyone involved in Peter Pan - the performances so far have been absolutely brilliant, and I hope that tonight’s finale is spectacular! The children from St Mark’s and Deepdene watched open-mouthed at the dress rehearsal, but they weren’t the only ones – the audiences, whether young or old, all gasped as one when Peter Pan, Wendy, John, and Michael left the Darlings’ bedroom and flew high above the stage. Congratulations to Mrs Woodbridge on her first Roedean production. Well done to the principals, Captain Hook, Wendy, and Peter Pan, who were brilliantly realised, but the characterisation and commitment of every member of the cast was wonderful to see. Well done to everyone backstage responsible for the design, set, light and sound, costume, stage management, make-up, front of house, refreshments, marketing, and particularly to those with sore arm muscles responsible for 'flying' the cast. It really has been a superb team effort. Roedean was determined not to let the wet weather dampen its spirits this week, and Rockpools Day, one of our hugely successful annual admissions events, went ahead yesterday. Those who came had a lovely time down on the beach, and they were looked after brilliantly by Roedean staff and girls. Thank you to Diana Banham and the whole Admissions Department for organising another excellent day, and to all those wonderfully enthusiastic teachers and staff who continued to smile in the rain and wind.
DofE Bronze Expedition
Please see page 4
Peter Pan – an uplifting performance
The school charity walk on Tuesday 25 June will be a fabulous event, with the School coming together to raise money for St Mark’s and the girls we support through PlanUK. I am delighted that over a quarter of the girls in the School have chosen to walk 10 kilometres, instead of just 5 – for me, this highlights the girls’ commitment to making a difference in the wider community, and their willingness to literally go the extra mile (or kilometre!). I am sure that together we will raise a great deal of money to help our two causes thank you for your support! Looking ahead, we have packed a great deal into the last two weeks of term: good luck to those on their Silver Duke of Edinburgh expedition this weekend; we have New Girls’ Day and the Art Department’s Private View on Thursday; we have the finals of Roedean’s Musician of the Year; Miss Boobis has masterminded a fantastically diverse programme of thought-provoking and hugely rewarding activities in our Festival in the last week; we have Sports Day on Saturday; and I am particularly looking forward to celebrating the achievements of all the girls in Years 7-10 on Roedean Day at their Prize Giving ceremonies. In addition, we welcome back over 200 Old Roedeanians on Roedean Day – more than we've ever had in recent years. I hope you all enjoy the last two weeks of term.
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Our tenth Rockpo ols Day makes a spla sh
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Galina performs with the NCO Well done to Galina B (Yr7), who performed with the National Children's Orchestra (NCO) London Seniors regional orchestra at the weekend in a concert held at the Vaughan Williams Auditorium. Under the baton of conductor Natalia Luis-Bassa, Professor of Conducting at the Royal College of Music, the orchestra performed a 'Strictly NCO' programme of dance music from across the world, including John Williams’ Tango (por una Cabeza), Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances, ballet music from Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev, and the Danzon No.2 by Marquez. Galina is looking forward to her next concert with the NCO at Birmingham Town Hall with the Under 12 National Orchestra in August.
Roedean Charity Walk
Thank you to all those who have added sponsorship to their school bill – https://bit.ly/2INhkVg A JustGiving link will soon be available too.
Fawn's painting is accepted by the Royal Academy!
Please see page 4
14 June 2019 - Issue 7
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. Tricia T (Yr12) for her kind words of support to someone who needed them – she was really fantastic [MDC]
Olivia P (Yr8) for her outstanding help with the fly system for the Peter Pan production [JTS]
Flora M (Yr7) for her valiant efforts in catching the sheep and lambs for their summer check-ups – she leapt and finally caught Gruffalo by the leg! [JRO]
Everyone who helped at VPA Day and Rookpools Day for your unwavering enthusiasm [Admissions Department]
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 Philpot for always going the extra mile and always with a smile [JBO]
Vocal Masterclass with Marcia Bellamy On Monday this week, it was a real pleasure to welcome Marcia Bellamy to Roedean to lead a day of masterclasses for 25 of our very talented singers. Every year group was represented in this selection of singers, and Ms Bellamy gave each of them a great deal of encouragement in presenting their performances on the concert platform. Her insight into the songs, and her ability to encourage the singers to communicate and perform, proved a real inspiration to all who took part. The vocal repertoire was extremely wide-ranging this year, including Baroque arias, Italian arias, French mélodies, German Lieder, traditional songs, and music theatre. The teatime recital, in which 12 singers participated, was a great success and most enjoyable. Ms Bellamy was very impressed that the girls had been able to achieve so much in such a short time. To begin the recital, it was a wonderful treat to hear her perform Italien by Fanny Mendelssohn, the Chapel reverberating with the richly powerful sound of her voice. Congratulations to all the girls who took part, especially those who performed in the concert: Alissandra H, Madeleine S, Niamh A, Niah S, Jacqueline L, Leila L, Zarbanu M, Constance S, Amelie S, Sorcha H, Maggie Z, and Cherish C. Many thanks to Mr Wilson and Miss Money, who provided very sympathetic piano accompaniment support throughout the day and at the recital.
Year 12 trip to the National Archives On Thursday, the Year 12 History students ventured to London to visit the National Archives and Westminster Abbey. We began our day at the National Archives where we had the opportunity to handle documents dating back as far as 500 years ago! It was a genuine privilege to even see those documents, let alone handle them, as they included pieces written by Queen Elizabeth I herself! The archive contains more than 12 million documents that have, in some way, helped to shape history. Afterwards, we hopped on the underground to visit Westminster Abbey, the site of many Kings and Queens' coronations. We saw the tomb of Queen Elizabeth as well as Mary Queen of Scots among other famous graves such as Stephen Hawking, Charles Dickens and Isaac Newton. It was amazing having the opportunity to contextualise our knowledge of the Tudor period by handling actual sources from the time, as well as seeing Page 2
the resting place of Elizabeth after all that we have learnt about her. Thank you to Mrs Black and Mr Morris for a wonderful and insightful day.
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Peter Pan – an uplifting performance The opening night of Peter Pan was one for the books! The performance started with an introduction to the Darling family, with Poppy S and Bea S as the parents with expert comic timing. The gasps were audible when Dorothea B flew onto stage through the curtains as Peter Pan – brilliant! And when Peter taught Wendy (Amelia M) and the other Darling children to fly, it was amazing. Well done to those backstage who were holding the other ends of the lines! We then met the hilarious and rowdy pirates, led by Charlotte A as Smee and Jemima V as the most incredible Captain Hook to date! Dorothea stole the show with her performance of Peter, both comic and touching, and the lost boys and Poppy B as Tinkerbell made me want to go back to Year 7 just so I could be in the production with them. Once again, fantastic performances from the ensemble of Year 7-9s highlighted the excellent talent of the girls across the school. Thank you to every single member of the creative team who put on such a great show – congratulations to everyone involved!
Sorcha H (Yr13)
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14 June 2019 - Issue 7
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
14 June 2019 - Issue 7
Fawn's painting is accepted by the Royal Academy! The Art Department is delighted to announce another incredible achievement by an A Level Art student. Fawn C (Yr12) has had her painting 'Untitled' selected by the Royal Academy for the 2019 Young Artists’ Summer Show. Selected from over 6000 entries, Fawn’s painting is one of just over displayed 300 online and in the gallery at Burlington House in Piccadilly, London. Fawn writes: ‘This painting is developed from a photo that I took in the Palace Museum in China. Almost everyone around was wearing a mask and it seemed to be a necessary thing. The masks helped keep away the coldness and dust, but also formed a barrier between people. This is also why no one cared about the man in the middle carrying a heavy wooden stool. The style was inspired by John Bratby, whose paintings of people contain both crowds and a sense of space’. To see the online exhibition follow this link: https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibitions/2019, or, better still, see the exhibition first hand between 13 July and 4 August 2019. SEL
DofE Bronze Expedition Last weekend, the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh groups headed back to the hills to complete their qualifying expedition. They worked hard, battling the high winds on Saturday, steep hills and wiggly routes; everyone came out triumphant, so well done! Thank you to Miss Best, Mrs Thomas, and Miss Barling for accompanying them alongside Outspark Ltd. We now wish the Silver teams all the best on their qualifying expedition this weekend, returning on Monday 17 June! JBE
Lisa Heathfield’s new novel will be out soon! For all you Lisa Heathfield fans out there, we thought you would like to know that her new novel, I Am Not a Number, comes out on 27 June. Lisa’s novel Paper Butterflies won the 2018 Southern Schools’ Book Award, and she returned to Roedean to host the 2019 awards. Her books, including Seed and Flight of a Starling, are hugely popular at Roedean. The Book Nook in Hove has reviewed I Am Not a Number and calls it ‘a powerful and timely book for both young adults and adults alike. A The Handmaid’s Tale for teens, it is inspired by the Holocaust and the current rise of fascism. Reading Ruby’s story is all the more terrifying because it poses the question of whether it could happen today... Ultimately, I Am Not a Number is about the power of hope and is a celebration of the inspirational young people who are standing up to prejudice and campaigning for a better future.’ We can’t wait to read it!
House 1 pompoms The girls in House 1 are on a mission to make 100 pompoms to wear in our hair for Sports Day – to date, we have 48 made (and a few yellows for House 2 as we had some spare yellow wool!) JWL
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Year 10 ‘Drawing for Purpose’ Year 10 students produced exciting fashion illustrations as part of their A Level taster lesson this week. After making a series of expressive drawings from direct observation, the students explored the work of architect Zaha Hadid and fashion designer Gareth Pugh. If this is what they can produce in a 7-minute design challenge, I am excited to see what their work will be like after two years of A Level Art! SSN
14 June 2019 - Issue 7
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Cricket vs Mayfield U13A
Rockpools Day 100 girls in Year 5 came to Roedean yesterday to take part in our annual Rockpools Day. Although it was a blustery day, everyone loved searching crabs, anemones, shrimp, and even some unusual finds, including a mask crab and a red periwinkle – well done to the lime green team and Mrs Herridge. Our visitors also took part in some paper plane activities, each group designing planes to be judged according to the 3 categories of distance, accuracy and freestyle. There were also team-building activities on the all-weather pitch. The girls all loved going down the tunnel, although coming back up to school was harder work! Well done to everyone who took part, and thank you to all the staff and girls who brought this day to life! https://vimeo.com/342256635
After a very wet afternoon, the U13A team pushed through the bad weather and played a fantastic cricket match against Mayfield. Roedean fielded first and bowled really well, with Harriet B-M getting two wickets in one over. However, with a few fielding errors by us and some excellent batting towards the latter stages by them, Mayfield scored 92 runs in 12 overs with Roedean taking 6 wickets. Roedean went into bat and were quite timid, after some fierce bowling by Mayfield’s opening bowler which led to two early wickets. However as the innings went on, Roedean grew in confidence with an excellent batting partnership between Nia S and Georgina G-W, scoring 34 runs in 18 balls. In the final over, Roedean required 11 runs, however Mayfield bowled really well, leaving us 3 runs short of the total. It was an excellent game, played in great spirit. Well played girls!
U12B
Despite the rain, the girls played exceptionally well in their cricket fixture. They lost by a mere 13 runs (68/55), and Elsie F was named player of the match for her consistently accurate batting. The girls fielded really well, changing the pitch according to their opposition. Team spirit was high as they cheered each other on whilst batting. Well done to all those who played. JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
Mon 17 June
WEEK AHEAD?
NATIONAL BOARDING WEEK Year 9 House Cricket Tournament U18A Aquathlon Junior Athletics English School Track and Field Cup (A) U14A&B Tennis vs Eastbourne College (A) U16A & U15A Volleyball vs Burgess Hill
Tue 18 June
Roedean Musician of the Year Final
Wed 19 June
Senior Athletics Town Sports at Withdean (A) U12A,B&C Cricket vs Hurst (A)
Thur 20 June
NEW GIRLS’ DAY U15 8-a-side Cricket Tournament at Hurst U15A&B Tennis vs Lingfield College (H)
Fri 21 June
Year 10 House Cricket Tournament
Sat 22 June
ROEDEAN DAY
Performing Arts Gala PRIZE GIVING SPORTS DAY
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