15 February 2019 - Issue 6
The Geographers are Iceland-bound
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
!
Head’s Introduction
ious House 3 Dancers Victor
It’s half-term! I am always so impressed when I see what amazing and varied things you have all achieved in the six weeks since we came back after Christmas. 74 girls are heading for colder and snowier destinations than Brighton on the Iceland and ski trips this week. Those on the Iceland trip are already there, enjoying a maximum temperature of 1 degree today! I am sure that they will have a brilliant time exploring the unusual geological features, I hope that the skiers have good snow. I am very grateful to my colleagues who are accompanying these trips. Year 12 enjoyed a wonderful dinner with our specialist in cross-cultural communication from Debrett’s – she taught them how to navigate complex social and business situations and how to present themselves confidently. I enjoyed seeing all of Year 7 taking part in a workshop performance of Fantastic Mr Fox yesterday – I was very impressed with their commitment and stage presence, particularly given that they have had very little time to prepare. Well done! Looking ahead, the first two weeks back will be busy, including a Roots and Shoots workshop for Year 9 with the Jane Goodall Foundation, and Open Day on the first Saturday, followed by ‘World Book Week: Academic and Inspiring Muses’. This will include the opening of the new Library at St Mark’s – thank you for your generous response to our call to send in more book donations, but there will always be room for more! On the Friday at the end of that week, our ‘Festival Celebrating Inspiring Women’ promises to be a fantastic chance to hear from an exciting range of successful and inspirational women. I hope that you enjoy finding a little out about them here, and trying to choose who you will listen to! Today, the girls and staff have been sporting an array of woolly items, to raise funds for the homeless charity Off the Fence and Martlets – I am always pleased to see how committed the girls are to supporting charity work in our local community, thank you. I wish you all the best for half-term, and I hope that you all have well-earned rest with your friends and family.
Mollie’s County Champion at 3 distances… again!
Please see page 5
Please see page 3
Fantastic Mr Fox
A Hat Trick for Lara at Twickenham!
Woolly Hat Day Well over
£500 raised
Please see page 5
Please see page 3
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. Ashley W (Yr10) for being incredibly helpful each week ensuring that our visitors to the Roedean Academy know where they are going between sessions [RB]
Olivia C (Yr 7) for offering her time and support at any noticed moment to add a ‘pair of hands’ – for example, in the Theatre on Monday, she helped girls locate their belongings, helped distribute phones, and much more! [JC] Lucy H (Yr9) for coming to me and asking to learn something for lacrosse and going away and teaching it to her class – that something was the triple threat positon [KWA]
15 February 2019 - Issue 6
Cherry’s got some brilliant university offers! Cherry S (Yr13) developing her interest in jewellery design as part of her A Level Art and Design course. She has been experimenting with a variety of different media, including resin, as illustrated. We are proud that she has already been offered a place both on the highly prestigious Art Foundation course at Central St Martin’s and the foremost course in the UK for Jewellery Design and Silversmithing at Birmingham University. SEL
Culture’s all the rage at Roedean We are delighted to have launched a new club at Roedean, focused on celebrating the wonderful diversity of culture at School. 17 girls from Year 11 and above enjoyed finding out about each other’s names, their meaning, and cultural significance. We also drew up a calendar of key cultural festivals within the school body, so that we can include them in the Student Bulletin and Assemblies. All are welcome – we are sure that girls from all year-groups will join us after half-term. Sorcha (Yr13)
Donations to Off The Fence You may remember Emi B and Marianna L selling their home-made keyrings and raising about £26 for the Off The Fence homeless project. Along with the dozen pairs of socks Ms Black snaffled as leftovers from a corporate event, the girls went to Asda and spent their proceeds on items to donate to the project, such as chocolate bars for energy, gloves, toothbrushes and toothpaste, deodorant, sanitary towels, and wet wipes. HSH
Scarlett J and Abby L (Yr11) for their incredible hard work, patience, and commitment to organising and choreographing the House 1 dance for the house dance competition [Maria V (Yr9)]
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. Mrs Thomas for solving a difficult problem that has stumped the entire Mathematics department, and for restoring our faith that 0 doesn’t really equal 1 [DO]
Mrs Pittingale for all her hard work on the ski trip [KWA]
Mrs Chandler is always there for every girl at Roedean and she takes everything in her stride [Bo Ana (Yr9)]
Mrs Herridge for always giving great advice and TED talks, and she also makes everything fun and entertaining [Bo Ana (Yr9)] (and for her superb boardbacking! [JBO])
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Miss Baxter for stepping in and keeping the transport department running whilst I was off work for two weeks. Even though she had a tremendous workload of her own to contend with, she took on the huge responsibility without hesitation [ILM]
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
House 3 Dancers Victorious This week we were treated to a fantastic performance from each house in the House Dance Competition. Each house performed a Bollywood piece and then a different style of their choice from around the world. We saw Ballet from House 1, Latin from House 2, Nigerian dance from House 3, and Street Dance from House 4. Each house gave brilliant performances and the results were as follows: Best Performance: 1st
House 4 (+3 Points)
2nd
House 3 (+2 Points)
Best Bollywood: 1st
House 1 (+3 Points)
2nd
House 3 (+2 Points)
Best Choreography: 1st
House 3 (+3 Points)
2nd
House 4 (+2 Points)
Best Team Work: 1st
House 2 (+3 Points)
2nd
House 3 (+2 Points)
Overall 1st
House 3 with 9 Points
2nd
House 1 with 6 Points
Fantastic Mr Fox Well done to the Year 7s! After rehearsing for just one lesson each week for four weeks and a workshop on the day, under the direction of Miss Dobbs and Mrs Woodbridge, the girls in Year 7 gave a performance of Fantastic Mr Fox on Thursday. One of the four sections of the story was allocated to each tutor-group, and each had different styles; some included physical theatre and others shared the lines of one character around different girls. It was good to see flashes of different personalities shining through. The girls had learnt their lines as homework, so that they could take full advantage of rehearsal time, and they took direction very well. It was also excellent that girls in the year-group were responsible for all of the sound and lighting, which is an unusual opportunity for students so young. Well done to everyone involved!
SW Page 3
15 February 2019 - Issue 6
15 February 2019 - Issue 6
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
BIP Art Last Saturday, students enjoyed a one-day printing course with BIP-Art in Kemp Town. Specialist printers showed us how to print using lino and etching plates. Having prepared the printing blocks beforehand, there was then plenty of time to produce a variety of different prints which will be submitted as part of their GCSE or A Level coursework units or exam
Chelsea Y
Courtney C
projects. It was a fantastic day, with barely time to stop for lunch as there were so many different things to try! Thank you to Helen, Hebe, and Ann for instructing us and inspiring us. Olivia C (Yr11) really enjoyed the opportunity: ‘ I love life!’ could be heard from her all day! SAL
Olivia C
Dana K
House 1 Valentine’s
Joni-May L
Education beyond the classroom: what boarding in Lawrence has taught me
House 1 enjoyed decorating ‘Valentine Coasters’ for their rooms or to take home for their loved ones at half term on Saturday evening. We have also decorated our ODR with hearts – do pop by and take a look if you are passing. JWL
Lambing preparations under way This week on the Roedean School Farm, the Farm Prefects have been busy at work preparing for lambing. The flock was gathered in, vaccinated, wormed, hooves trimmed and treated, as well as getting a general health check and supplements for the pregnant ewes. This is not easy, even for the most experienced of shepherds, and the Farm Prefects performed brilliantly. The whole operation was watched by the Little Farmers from Deepdene Nursery, who looked on in wonder at the ‘Big Shepherds’. LFI
‘I think the most valuable lesson I have learnt in boarding is to socialise. Although school does teach one to socialise, boarding is a different experience in that one cannot escape socialising, whether that would be with peers or teachers. When I first came to Roedean at the age of 14, I was very shy and could not even initiate conversations. I soon realised that I needed to change my ways in order to make the most out of my boarding experience, and I adapted to step out of my comfort zone and become more sociable. Through this, I have made friends that I would not have made otherwise, and I can say I have enjoyed my boarding experience so much more.’ – Tash, Lawrence House Captain ‘My four-year boarding experience has taught me a lot of lifelong skills that I will need later on. When I came from overseas, I was a shy person who had never been in an environment with so many different cultural backgrounds. Living with 40 other girls was scary, but now my confidence and social skills have grown. Boarding has allowed me to be sociable and respectful, and I have learnt to be more outgoing and cooperate with others. Even though I miss home, boarding has given me the opportunity to become more independent and learn to take the initiative. It has also given me the skills I need to adjust to new situations, which will be valuable for university. For example, I have learnt how to cook actual meals so I won’t have to survive on Indomie! And I have developed strong leadership and time management skills. Without boarding, I don’t think I would be the person that I am now. It has certainly changed me for the better and prepared me for what the real world has to offer.’ – Nat, Deputy House Captain
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Mollie’s County Champion at 3 distances… again!
Academic Week - World Book Week: Celebrating Academic and Inspiring Muses When
Activity
Where
Who
Teachers sharing extracts from their favourite texts
Classrooms
All
Morning Registration
Literature Quizzes and reading booklets
Tutor rooms
Y10-13
Activity 1
Top University Programme Seminars: Old Ref The Psychology of Persuasion Gender and Sexuality: Nature or Nurture
Y10-13
Activity 1
Answering Back – Writing Workshops and Roving Reporters
Library
Y7-9
Prep slot
KS3 and KS4 Tutors share Inspiring Books
Tutor rooms
Y7-11
Prep slot
Y12 vs Y13 – University Challenge
Keswick Hall
Y12-13
Activity 2
Harry Potter Quiz
Keswick Hall
All
Activity 2
Open Tea Time Recital
Old Ref
All
Activity 2
Maths Problem Drive
Studios
Y12
Morning Registration
Literature Quizzes and reading booklets
Tutor rooms
Y7-9, 12-13
Activity 1
Alice in Wonderland Tea Party
Library
All
Prep slot
KS3 and KS4 – mini lectures
Tutor rooms
Y7-11
Prep slot
Sixth form book swap
Keswick Hall
Y12-13
Activity 2
Humanities vs Sciences: The Big Debate
Old Ref
All
Activity 2
Classical Reading Competition
Theatre
All
Morning registration
Literature quizzes and reading booklets
Tutor rooms
Y7-11
Activity 1 and prep slot
Katie Webber author talk
Theatre
Y9-10
Prep slot
KS3 and KS4 – mini lectures
Tutor rooms
Y7-8
Prep slot
Lecture on the Big Bang tbc
Keswick Hall
Y12-13
ONGOING THROUGH THE WEEK Lessons
15 February 2019 - Issue 6
MONDAY 4th March
Mollie T (Yr7) had a busy time in the pool last weekend, but she did brilliantly. She swam in the first weekend of the Sussex County Championships, where she took part in the 50m, 100m, and 200m breaststroke, as well as the 50m freestyle. The 50m and 100m races involve a heat and a final swim, so it starts to take it out of the swimmers. She won the three breaststroke races, and therefore retains her County Championship title in all three breaststroke distances. She also made the final for the 50m freestyle, and she did so well to come 4th, narrowly missing out on a Bronze medal. Her hard work, focus, and dedication have certainly paid off – what an amazing achievement!
TUESDAY 5th March
WEDNESDAY 6th March
THURSDAY 7th March – WORLD BOOK DAY – DRESS AS A CHARACTER DAY Period 1
Carina Axelsson author talk: Crime
Old Ref
Y8
Period 4
Carina Axelsson author talk: Female Empowerment
Old Ref
Y7
Activity 1
Book Character Catwalk with St Mark’s Year 3 visitors
Library
All
Prep slot
Student Literary Salon
Tutor rooms
Y7-11
Activity 2
Tutor group quiz finale
Theatre
All
FRIDAY 8th March – INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY – FESTIVAL CELEBRATING INSPIRING WOMEN See page 6 for details Look out for the World Book Week Special in the Head’s Review
A Hat Trick for Lara at Twickenham! Lara S (Yr10) recently played rugby at Twickenham before the Harlequins vs Wasps Premiership match, in a special event promoting inclusive rugby. She played on the Twickenham pitch for Wasps Legends against Harlequins, and she scored a hat trick, even though she was the youngest player in the match! Lara plays fly half for the Sussex U15 rugby team. Page 5
Calling all cricketers!!! St. James cricket Club coaches are coming to Roedean, and looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday evenings in C Hall from 6:00 to 7:30pm. Whether you are new to cricket or experienced, everyone is welcome! There will be a mixture of hardball and softball, and this will be great training for cricket season next term. Please come along and get involved.
15 February 2019 - Issue 6
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Roedean’s Festival Celebrating Inspirational Women International Women’s Day on Friday 8 March is soon after Half-Term, and our Festival on that day promises to be a really exciting event. We will be welcoming fifteen inspiring speakers to the School, all women from different fields, including some Old Roedeanians. Those in Years 7-9 will hear from 3 speakers, as well as doing a workshop in the afternoon linking inspirational women with reading as it is also
Tanya Barron OBE ■■
CEO of Plan UK, through which Roedean sponsors 10 girls around the world
World Book Week or Games for Year 9; Years 1013 students will hear 5 speakers during the day. There will be five or six talks going on concurrently for most of the day, with many of the speakers addressing both age-groups. In order to follow their interests, the girls will be able to choose which speakers they hear, and this process will take place on the first Monday back after the holidays.
Zerbanoo Gifford OR [Yrs10-13 only]
We are also welcoming a number of students from Blatchington Mill, Peacehaven Community School, and Longhill School, as well as those girls who will be joining the Sixth Form next September. We are very fortunate to have these speakers coming to Roedean:
Mais Tattan [Yrs10-13 only]
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Writer and human rights’ campaigner
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Syrian Doctor, brought up in UAE
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‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign with Plan UK
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One of the first 3 Asian women to stand for Parliament in 1983
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‘Studying during war in the 21st century’
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2003 European Woman of Achievement (Humanitarian)
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‘Dream more. Do more. Become more’
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Currently at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School
Dr Suzie Imber ■■
Aspiring astronaut
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Associate Professor of Space Physics at Leicester University
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in 2017, she was one of 12 selected to be part of a BBC2 programme called ‘Astronauts: do you have what it takes?’
Elspeth Beard OR ■■
Architect by profession, but really an adventurer!
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First Englishwoman to ride around the world on a motorbike
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Travelled widely in South Africa on her motorbike
Rose Hudson-Wilkin ■■
Chaplain to the Queen and to the Speaker of the House of Commons
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Strong advocate for the ordination of women
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‘Overcoming obstacles – becoming resilient’
Assistant Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain
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‘Muslim Women: keeping the balance’
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Works with NGO called Women and Youth Empowerment, targeting BME women in SE London
Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE ■■
Hockey player
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Olympic Gold medallists at Rio 2016
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One of Roedean’s Sports Ambassadors, who opened our new all-weather pitch
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Award-winning animator
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Creator of the children’s animated series, Boj!
Adele Geras OR
Rashidat Hassan [Yrs10-13 only] ■■
Claire Underwood
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Writer of over 95 books for children, young adults, and adults
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Troy was shortlisted for the Whitbread Prize
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Studied Modern Languages at Oxford
Oriana Pound Caitlin Boyland OR ■■
Rowed for Britain at the European University Championships
■■
Won Gold at the British Universities’ Regatta
Dame Carol Black [Yrs10-13 only]
■■
Global Middle Market Director for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
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Leadership and being an entrepreneur
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On the board of CodeFor:Girls, building awareness of technology with girls
Professor Brooke Rogers OBE [Yrs10-13 only]
■■
Principal of Newnham College, Cambridge
Kellie Miller [Yrs10-13 only]
■■
Former government health advisor
■■
International artist
■■
■■
Medical expert on the disease scleroderma
Founded the Biscuit Studio in 1996
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‘Follow your path – a creative journey’ Page 6
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Professor of Behavioural Science and Security at King’s College London Department of War Studies
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Social psychologist with an interest in crisis communication, and how we respond to potential terrorist incidents
15 February 2019 - Issue 6
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
F24 The F24 engineers have had a breakthrough this week. What was an on/off button has become a working throttle. This will make our car both easier and safer to drive and will improves its performance because it will facilitate a gradual change in power. We are also working on a circuit to monitor certain aspects of the car and this data will be bluetoothed to a dashboard. On Monday 25 February (first day back after halfterm), girls from Years 9-13 will be test-driving the new and improved F24 electric car. This will take place on the netball courts between 1 and 2pm.
Netball at Roedean finishes on a High! As we break for half term, and reach the half way point of the Netball term – I thought I would reflect on our journey so far….. Fixtures against Windlesham House always used to be very predictable. In the sense that Windlesham would always be on the winning side, have extremely strong teams and although Roedean would always do their best, they just couldn’t seem to shake off the losing curse. But on the bounce from a U12A victory over them in the County Cup, and the U13A winning against them at the U13 Hurst Tournament – we were feeling quietly confident. Looking through the results it is again a pleasing reminder of how far Netball at Roedean has come and wonderful to see that so many girls here at Roedean are wanting to be part of a team and play competitive sport. I hope this continues to build when we return and see as many of you as possible at squad training. Enjoy half term and keep watching, playing and dreaming Netball! GCR
U13A
What an epic way to conclude the first half of the Netball term! The U13A were ready for their final game and knew it was going to be tough! As we took to the court for the 1st quarter, Roedean did seem to start on the back foot as we watched Windlesham take an early lead 6 goals to 3. Unperturbed, the girls gathered for a team talk
and went out fighting in Q2. Roedean responded to take that quarter 6-3 and bring it back to 9 all draw. The game was so exciting and was going from end to end the entire time – Bella D and Isabella P were solid in defence and had a tough time marking Windlesham’s very influential GS. As we went into the last quarter it really was goal for goal with the whole squad playing their hearts out but in the final moments, Windlesham just pipped us to the win by a single goal. All credit to them for a fantastic game and win.
U13C
The girls played extremely well against Windlesham House School on Wednesday and narrowly lost 17-15. Over the course of the match, we shot 36 times with 15 shots going in, but Windlesham converted 17 out of 30 shots on goal. The girls played particularly well in the last quarter – well done to all who played on a focused, proactive match. Players of the match were Amelia M and Luella W.
U12B
The U12B team had a tough match against the Windlesham House U12A team. We started off a bit slower than usual and Windlesham tok a strong lead from the first quarter. The girls were positive and resilient throughout making some amazing interceptions all the way down the court. The game highlighted many areas of success and also areas we can go back and work on in training. Congratulations to Tabitha who
U12D
was awarded Oppositions’ player, Jamie who was awarded coaches’ player, and Tallulah who was the players’ player. The final score was 22-5 to Windlesham, but the girls should be very proud of themselves playing a strong U12A team.
U12C
The U12C had a very close game. Roedean had a slow start to the game and were fighting hard to gain possession of the ball. After a talk, Roedean girls showed true determination and started to mark closely with some brilliant defence work. Furthermore, it was neck and neck, and our attack were delivering the ball into the circle successfully. Our shooters had some fantastic shots on goal. The overall result was 5-4 to Roedean. A special mention goes to Ella C for her superb shooting and Madeline for her brilliant defensive work.
U12D
Despite our U12D team losing to the Windlesham U12C team, our team played with great determination throughout the whole of this match and the score of 15 - 1 did not reflect our efforts. Madeleine scored our goal and India was voted player of the match by the opposition.
U12E
U13C
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U13C
Today the U12E team had their first competitive game for school. There was a lot of frantic play in the first two quarters with very distant marking. However the girls started to become more organised and composed in defence and attack, backed up with some superb shooting from Sara S. It was great to see all of the girls thoroughly enjoy playing their first match and they are hungry to represent the School again.
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