15 May 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Click to listen to thisweek'sChapel
Head’s Introduction There is only one week until half-term, and I hope you are all well. We have completed four weeks of online learning and teaching, and I continue to be impressed by the way the entire Roedean family has adapted to the current situation. I am incredibly proud that, despite us all being apart and spread across the globe, our community spirit remains a very powerful force. Lessons are going very well indeed, and there is great diversity in the co-curricular programme. It is great to see how many of you are challenging yourselves to learn something new or do something different, as Ms Boobis highlighted in her excellent Chapel this week. Well done to all of you who have been sitting assessments this week, particularly in Years 11 and 13 – I hope that they are going well, and that they represent a tangible conclusion to your courses. We are working hard to prepare Pre-Sixth Form and Pre-Degree courses for after half-term, to bridge the gap to the next stage of your education – I hope that they will maintain your motivation and provide some welcome academic stimulation.
I am delighted that we are embarking on some joint activities with our sister school, Roedean South Africa. The Boarding Team launched our Race Across the World last week, and I can’t believe that, collectively, we are already a quarter of the way to South Africa! The staff and girls at Roedean South Africa are keen to get involved, and they are also racing to our school - House spirit is also very strong there, and we will be ranking the House Teams at both schools to see who has covered the most distance. In addition to talking on the sporting challenges devised by the PE Department, I am pleased that so many of you are maintaining a healthy life-style, and I hope that our Race Across the World will help with this. Well done on another excellent week, and I wish you all the best for the last week of this half-term.
Roedean says thank you to the NHS
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15 May 2020 - Issue 4
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. Naisha (Yr7) for making cloth face masks for her parents, so they are protected when they go shopping [JC]
Galina (Yr8) for sharing motivational and uplifting quotes with 8P every morning during tutor since virtual learning began [LBA]
Physics Challenges
In March, eleven Year 11 students completed the Intermediate Physics Challenge, run by the British Physics Olympiad. With a paper designed to stretch past GCSE expectations, we were incredibly pleased with the results! All the students will be receiving certificates, but a special mention goes to Helen, who achieved Gold, and Ashley and & Molly who achieved Silver! Well done and congratulations to all of those who took part.
Fast forward to this week, and the Junior Physics Challenge has taken place online. We had nine students from Year 10 and below log in at the same time to complete two 25-minute Physics general knowledge quizzes, from calculations to famous scientists. Well done to everyone who took part, and it has been great to get students involved in the competition from all over the world! ‘I really en jo y e LBY d t a Jun kin
iorPhy g part tolearns sicsChallenge.Itwa in the o myselfinmmethingnewan sgreat d forward yfavouritesubjec push t. to hearin g the res Ilook ults.' Maria (Y r10)
Ida (Yr7) for her efforts in getting involved in our race to Roedean South Africa, and encouraging her sister to join her [JC]
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 Earl for taking on the delivery of the taught element of the EPQ to Year 11 and 12, despite only just returning from maternity leave [JSH]
A Video To Keep You Motivated Online learning can be challenging, especially when you’re trying to keep motivated. With this in mind, please have a look at this video with some helpful hints and tips to try, from some familiar faces from the Sixth Form and staff. A big thank you to Florence (Yr13) who put the video together. We hope it helps – enjoy! NSH
BMAT Preparation for Year 12 Medics On Saturday 9 May, seven Year 12 students participated in a live Medical School test training day, run by the Medic Portal. The Medic Portal is officially partnered with the Royal Society of Medicine, and is the leading resource and training provider for everyone who wants a career in Medicine.
Unsung heroes in the spotlight
Dr Gong for undertaking a long piece of translation for the School, and turning it around in a matter of hours [RB]
‘Ifoundth helpedm isquiteuseful,bec wasn'tso ebrushupontopicauseit wasfuntoefamiliarwith.How sthatI to the his ncounterquestions ever,it re tory of P hysics as lated well.' Chloe (Y r10)
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The day was spent focusing on the BMAT test, which is used by universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Imperial. The students worked incredibly hard, answering live questions, and learning how to master the different sections of the test. It was a gruelling 7-hour training day, so well done to all who participated. JSH
A Message to Yourself in 6 Months Mrs Shrubsole asked her Year 8 PHSE group to write to themselves in 6 months, reflecting on the impact of the current situation – Fleur produced a wonderfully insightful piece, which is really thought-provoking:
Hi. It’s me. Ihopeyouhavebecauseitwillcausesom eserious You’reprobablysickofmebyknow.Oryou might problems otherwise. have other people to talk to. Remember.Rememberme.Rememb eryou. But I know how much I mean to you now. RememberCovid-19.Rememberwhatitfeels like. It’smostlymeanddarknesskeepingyou saneat Tryandrememberwhatitwasthatmad eyou themoment,andsomepeoplewouldargu ethat happier. eventhatisinsane.Butit’ssaneenough foryou. The songs? Remember that. No drama? Trynottotakeyourselfforgranted.Try notto The responsibilities ? take me for granted. The thin gs to wat ch? We weren’t the same, back then. We were Having to do things? different. Being alone? Think. Really think about things. Darkness? And do it. Just do it; that thing that you really Everything? want to do. Think.Read.Keepupallthesethings.And And have you got rid of that tooth then, yet. no matter what, you should be hap py. Page 2
15 May 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Race Across the World Week 1
UK
We Have Reached Algeria! At the end of the first week of racing to our sister school in South Africa, we have already reached Algeria! As a school, we have covered 3,268.77 kilometres, which is a staggering distance. The House Team competition has been very close, with House 4 leading after the first leg, mostly due to the numbers taking part and getting involved. The race is being launched today at Roedean South Africa, so we will have figures form them next week too, and we will be able to rank our four House Teams and the three Houses there.
Alg eria
The race between year groups is being dominated by Roedean staff, who are demonstrating what an active bunch they are, clocking up an amazing distance. Year 8 are being kept in the race by a couple of girls, but they need more individuals to contribute. Come on girls, you’ve got some catching up to do! Finally, congratulations to Year 7 who are the year group with most participants. Remember, get involved, ANY physical activity you complete counts as part of this amazing race!
Grand total so far = 3,268.77 kilometres Here are the results from Week 1: 1st Place
House 4 –1062km
2nd Place
House 3 – 925km
3 Place
House 1 – 796km
4th Place
House 2 – 486km
rd
We’re sure that lots of you have just forgotten to enter the kilometres you have covered, but here are the Year Group rankings too, to give you a boost: 1st Place
Staff –1240km
2 Place
Year 8 – 766km
3rd Place
Year 9 – 394km
4 Place
Year 11 – 281km
5 Place
Year 7 – 250km
6th Place
Year 12 – 173km
7th Place
Year 13 – 98km
8 Place
Year 10 – 68km
nd
th th
th
To watch the promotion video, click here! To upload your distance (as often as you exercise), click here! Let’s see how far we can get by half-term! The Boarding Team
Sout Afri h ca How to Measure your Exercise! To help you measure the distances you are covering when you exercise, so that you can submit the distances for the Race Across the World, Miss Cheesman and the PE Department have produced a guide to show you how you can use the well-known Strava app – of course, you can just use a smartphone if you want, but if you decide that you want to use Strava, it is really important that you follow the guidelines in the link to protect your personal information (if you are under 13, Page 3
you must make your parents aware, and follow the extra privacy measures). Click here to read the guidance To find the Roedean School page on the app, you have to go through the Explore button > Clubs, and then Roedean School. Happy exercising!
15 May 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW CO-CURRICULAR
Year 9 Dance The Year 9s have been focusing on commercial dance this term, and they are currently learning the choreography to 'Salute' by Little Mix. Well done to everyone involved – here is Maria taking part in Year 9 Dance. SA
Yr10 & 11 Senior School Quiz… with a Twist! On Wednesday, Mrs Robins and Mrs Shrubsole held a Senior School Quiz that had a slight twist… As well as answering three rounds of general knowledge questions, there were some intermittent tasks, which required the participants to find different household objects. The first was to collect as many different shiny objects as you could in one minute. The second was to make a flag of the world out of edible items only. And the third was to put on, and be photographed in, an item of clothing belonging to an adult in their house. The chocolate round was a firm favourite, leaving everyone feeling a bit peckish! Well done to everyone who took part!
Bingo Weeks 3&4
KEN’S CHOCOLATE QUIZ Can you name the chocolate bars that are pictured below?
Week 3 Last week, we had a Duran Duran-themed BINGO session. The game being played to the wonderful sounds of the 1982 album, Rio. We had an exceptional turnout again, both from students and staff, and the impossible happened – a double winner again!
1 Line India (Yr10) 1
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3 Lines
Oyinda (Yr7)
Full House Martha (Yr7) and Lillie (Yr10) 5
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Textiles Club Here are some lovely pieces made in my Year 7-9 Art Textiles club, they were inspired by the textile artist Cas Holmes. EHA Page 4
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Week 4 - 'A Star is Bjorn' Game week 4 did not disappoint. Bingo was ABBAthemed, with some classics playing and a fairly questionable choice of shirt… The Winner Takes It All this week – Martha (Yr7), who beat everyone to all three prizes; her Mamma-Mia must be proud! Unfortunately though, the prize was not Money, Money, Money. The atmosphere was fantastic with several people ending by saying ‘Thank You For The Music’. I do take requests, so please email me before next Thursday if you have a playlist you would like to listen to. New players are always welcome to join next week. You all know The Name Of The Game. PHA
15 May 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW CO-CURRICULAR
Rita’s Ink in Water Rita (Yr11) has been creating lovely digital work, by mirroring images of ink in water as part of her GCSE final piece – she is hoping to get this work printed on to fabric. SAL
HHH Typing The Jaguar’s group in Year 8 HHH have just completed a three-week typing course, which they are now able to continue independently. With the benefits of touch typing potentially being increased, speed and accuracy at the keyboard, saved time and effort, and enhanced confidence, especially in the current online learning environment, one could argue that there has never been a better time to learn!
The girls have made excellent progress, and lots of merits were awarded. The most improved in the final week were Roma, who achieved an amazing additional 79,545 points in a week, to bring her final total score to 183,562, Talya, who achieved 149,504, and Alex with 134,944. Roma also achieved a typing speed of 39 words per minute, closely followed by Mollie at 30 words per minute. Finally, well done to Ruby and Matilda, who maintained an impressive 98% accuracy. Well done! CHO
7P Scavenger Hunt 7P were tasked with scavenging items beginning with 'P'. Here is some of their loot:
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15 May 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Well done! This week, the PE Department has been very impressed with the participation in all areas of online PE, but in particular the self-led sessions. A lot more of you have been using them, which we are delighted to see. Both live sessions this week had high numbers and a fantastic work-rate by all – well done to those who took part. Remember, the challenges can be seen on our twitter page @ RoedeanSport and on the Teams pages, and they can also be found on Sharepoint.
Live Strength & Conditioning takes place on Tuesdays 14.30-15.10, and live Netball Skills and Fitness is on Thursdays 15.10-15.50. The results for the week commencing 4 May are as follows: congratulations to Maria (Yr9) who was named 'Individual Performance of the Week' for her hard work and enthusiasm across the board in the PE challenges, with some impressive scores all-round.
Congratulations to all the girls who participated in the Hockey 'pass it on' video – they have been awarded Team of the Week for their efforts. Well done! Good luck to all the Roedean athletes who have entered the Hurst Prep School virtual Athletics meet this week! What an innovative challenge, and we all wish you luck – the results will follow next week.
Netball Challenges Congratulations to Maria (Yr9), who was the winner of the Netball Skills Challenge this week. The challenge was very hard, and it involved throwing the ball against the wall, turning 360 degrees before catching it – Maria scored an impressive 28 in a minute! Well done to everyone who took part, and good luck to those who have entered the new online tournament that began this week. We look forward to seeing more entries come in next week, and for you all to join the live sessions on offer. Keep working hard – your hard work will definitely pay off!
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Another exciting opportunity for Roedean Netballers is this week’s challenge, which has been set for you by Kalea Stagg. Kalea represented England U21 in the Indoor Netball World Championships last summer. Please follow this link to view the weekly challenge: The PE Department and Kalea look forward to seeing your results come in – good luck!
Feedback from the Roedean Community
MessagetoMrEbden–‘Ihopeyoudon’tmind mee-mailingyou,butIjusthadtotellyouhow muchMariaisenjoyingyourMondaycookalongsessions!AndImustsay,soarewe!I We are very grateful for the wonderful feedback the School has received – please do continue to thinkyoumaybeinthewrongcareer?!That’s let us know what is going well, as well as what nottosayyouarenotawonderfulteacher, you think we might improve: butyouarealsoagreatcook!Therisottoand chillidisheswerewonderful,andthecookies and browniesweredelicioussweettreats.We ith w howIMPRESSEDI’m ‘Ijustwantedtosay heard over these past arelookingforwardtocurrynightonMonday. ve all the teaching I ha teachersaredisplaying Thank you so much for providing such a a’s Ev s. their practicalandenjoyableactivityforthegirls.' weeksviaTeam andpersonalityinto (Year 9 Parent) suchcare,creativity lycomingacrosssuperwell teaching,whichisreal nginthesedifficulttimes. hi withpassionforteac ofthe sthatIheardsome It’salsowithsadnes lastlesson”officially,but ‘Imustsayyouaredoingagreatjobwith he lessonstodaywere“t touchwithsomekindofthegirls’activitiesandmydaughterlooks in ay a st ill w e Iknowsh forwardtoyourlessonssomuch.Shehad e assessments. th r te af n and d tio win ec the conn greatrunthismorningdespite (Year 11 Parent) d!!! came back red faced and invigorate ng! Thankyouforeverythingyouaredoi (Year 9 Parent)
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‘Ameliaisthorou violinandwea ghlyenjoyingplayingthe reenjoyinghe aringher! Fingerscrosse dshewillbefully tunedfor the next less o n . Thankyouboth fororganisin and lesson. gtheviolin (Year 9 Parent
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herbest ‘Mayahasbeenreallyfocussedondoing oyingit. withonlineschoolingandhasbeenenj ithas but Allofthetechnologyiswaybeyondme ningto beengreattoseeMaya’steachers,liste ched swit someofthelessonsandappreciatinghow on these Year 7 girls are. excellent ImustsaythatyourPSHElessonsare nhowto dre chil andinvaluableinteachingthe mtobe the for and lookafterthemselvesmentally look can y the w /ho abletosharehowthey’refeeling t. tha for you after themselves, so thank back to Fingers crossed that the girls can get great the of all oy enj and schoolinSeptember ortantly thingsthatRoedeanhastooffer,andimp ' in. aga rs doo out enjoy the great (Year 7 Parent)
15 May 2020 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
HERE'S WHAT SOME OF THE GIRLS JOINING US NEXT YEAR HAVE BEEN UP TO
Harriet's pogo-ing mad! As well as still having her dance lessons via Zoom, Harriet has been doing fitness hit sessions and funny challenges with her swimming club and netball club. She has also randomly taken up Karate in lockdown – it turns out her neighbour is a black belt karate teacher, so he has been giving lessons in the street twice a week, and Harriet loves it! She has also made good use of a recently purchased pogo stick – she’s on it for about 5 hours a day! Harriet has also been making bread every morning, so we have lovely fresh bread for lunch. She’s getting very good at it, but we are running low on yeast, so she may have to stop soon. Harriet is really looking forward to joining Roedean and starting the next chapter of her life.
Caroline's Lockdown Life Caroline has created this little video using a software package her primary school recommended. She hopes you enjoy it!
India's superb oil painting India has submitted this artwork to the Royal Academy of Arts as part of the Young Artists’ Summer Show. Hopefully, her piece may be displayed in the online exhibition! More details of the Summer Show here. India said:
‘Myfavouriteartgenreisphotorealism,andin thisself-portrait Iattemptedtomergethisstylewithexpress ionismtocreate aneffectualambience.Iaccentedthedullcolo ursintheroom thatreflectonthesubjecttomakethembrig htandvivid,and distinguishthesaturatedhues.Igavemostdeta theeyes,bringingattentiontotheirstareand ilandfocusto thebluelightthat leaks onto the left eye.'
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
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