16 November 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction
Roedean in South Africa
This week has seen poignant Remembrance Services across the country, remembering the suffering and sacrifice of those who gave their lives in conflicts around the world. Even though we are 100 years from the end of the First World War, our commitment to ensuring a shared vision of a peaceful and united future needs to be as strong as ever. In a world that changes so quickly, the act of remembering and reflecting on our past conflicts and the devastation that they cause is an ever more vital duty for us all, so that we look forward with a sense of responsibility, and form our views about our place in the world and our relationship with others with genuine humanity and insight.
It really was wonderful last week for 16 girls and 4 members of staff to spend time at our sister school in South Africa. We quickly discovered how similar the girls are in their outlook and warmth, we found that we share quirky traditions, the grounds are beautiful, but in a different way from the beauty of ours, with secret pathways and dense foliage, and both schools have a strong sense of social responsibility.
Our ambassadorial team have also just returned from South Africa, where we were delighted to meet our sister school and to work with them on developing partnerships and links for the future. In so many ways, Roedean is now making links and connections with other schools, other people and other countries, to build an outward-looking perspective that is so vital to the future. We were also given a remarkable insights into the political history of the country, the legacy of apartheid, the vast division of wealth and opportunity, and the fragility of wildlife. We will work on developing a partnership that not only links our schools, but supports the development of a better understanding of these issues. This week has also seen GCSE Trial examinations for Year 11, an Olympic Gold Medallist running a Hockey masterclass for Roedean and visiting schools, many external girls sitting for Sixth Form Scholarships, a week-long focus on kindness and anti-bullying, our Year 13 Senior Team dinner to talk informally with our incredible students, and the Lancing-Roedean Oxbridge Forum and Dinner – I am constantly impressed by the breadth and diversity of activities going on at Roedean, and very grateful to all the girls and staff for their commitment and dedication to them. Well done! Well done to Year 11 for getting through this week’s exams, and I hope that they will have highlighted areas of focus for the coming weeks and months before May. Good luck to the Music Department and all our musicians for the Literally Music Gala Concert next week – I am sure it will be wonderful. I wish you all a lovely weekend, and I hope that you all have a great week.
The whole school Assembly we took part in was a joyous occasion: they loved the lip-synced video of Sister Sledge’s ‘We are Family’ we showed, prepared by Flo, Rosie, and Sophia, and their choir’s performance of a song from the Lion King was exceptional – have a watch by following this link: https://vimeo.com/301225957. Also brilliant was seeing the entire school join together in the singing of their school song, every girl with her arms around her peers and swaying, and sung with great gusto and joy. Our two schools clearly have a great deal in common, the girls felt like they were meeting long-lost friends, and we now have the firmest of foundations on which to build a whole range of exciting and challenging joint projects and exchanges – it really will be a brilliant partnership! RB
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
16 November 2018 - Issue 10
ROEDEAN IN SOUTH AFRICA Reflections on our trip to South Africa
I have so many highlights of the truly wonderful trip to South Africa. From relaxing to baking cheese scones with my host family, it could not have been much better. They welcomed me with open arms and most importantly, a super comfy bed. At the school, Roedean South Africa’s choir was a real stand out memory. The energy during the performance and the eruption of applause was breath-taking. The visit to the prison and court on Constitution Hill had a big impact on me – I could really feel the sense of history, and the amount of suffering and cruelty that had taken place there. On a more humorous note, my funniest memories are sitting around the campfire telling jokes and the banter, and our little awards ceremony in the bus back from Heathrow – it was lovely that we were all awarded a unique prize for our original talents. Finally, I personally would like to mention how much I appreciated the way the older girls and staff looked out for younger girls and each other. They could not have been more nurturing and kind. I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity – it will always stay with me. Maria V (Yr8)
rasts in South Africa is a county of polarity; cont ry has histo g ictin confl a and e, scap culture, land ions tens re whe n led to the growth of a natio . As we are evident, but diversity is abundant t about learn I a, Afric journeyed through South has it how rved obse and ry histo its moving tions of affected the social and political situa the the country, as well as seeing first-hand central deprivation and poverty prevalent in the clash Johannesburg. However, despite this, ething som ted crea of attitudes and ideas has t by offse is ure itect arch alist brut the unique: Big the e, scap land the harsh beauty of the the Five roam freely only a few hours from s are capital city, and the 11 official language of lay disp a ly sure is This en. spok ly constant the res cultu and s the melting pot of ethnicitie h Sout s, flaw its ite Desp me. beco has country to n grow have I h Africa is somewhere whic trip was love, even after just one brief visit. The the for e plac a such incredible, to experience ity, rtun oppo ue uniq a was life my in first time g estin inter of p grou and to do it with such a at our ds frien ing mak and le, peop mic and dyna sister school too, made it truly special. Rosie J (Yr12)
Page 2
The Roedean South Africa trip has honestly been one of the best experie nces of my life. There was not one moment whe n I wasn’t trying new things and enrichi ng myself with Johannesburg’s incredible cult ure. Having travelled very little before, I still can’t get my head around the fact tha t I have been on a different continent, and experienced things that I didn’t even ima gine I would. Never did I think that I would end up literally metres away from an elephan t or a cheetah, or 35,000 feet in the sky, in an A380. The native plants were stunning, and everywhere I turned there would be a bea utiful, scented flower, or a vibrant, purple jaca randa tree. This trip was certainly the star t of something new, in terms of our connection with our sister school, and on a more per sonal level. I know that some of the friends hips that I made with the girls at Roedea n South Africa will last for years to com e, and I am very excited to hopefully see them again on future exchanges. I am incredib ly grateful to have been part such an enrichi ng trip, and to have shared my experiences with a fantastic group of people. Jane S (Yr10)
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
16 November 2018 - Issue 10
Game Drive in Pilanesberg – an experience of a lifetime After two days at our sister school, finding out about shared traditions, walking through its beautiful and fragrant gardens, and making lasting connections, our group of twenty was lucky enough to travel to Pilanesberg at the weekend. It is a 221 square mile game reserve which was about three hours’ drive from Johannesburg. We were led by Mr Thomas, the Executive Head at Roedean South Africa, who has personal knowledge of the area. The camp where we stayed overnight was a series of ‘chalettents’ (a wooden framed cube covered in tarpaulin, with a door and twin beds), and the toilets and showering facilities were just 50 metres away. After settling in and having a bit of down-time to take in our wonderful surroundings, we set off on a three-hour evening game drive. I have often heard stories of tourists seeking to catch a glimpse of big game who spend hours driving around only to see just a few impala and the odd warthog (both of which we had already encountered wandering nonchalantly around our camp), so I was trying to
manage my own expectations while desperately hoping to see some animals in the wild, and telling the girls to keep their eyes peeled. So I was delighted that, only 10 minutes into the drive, we came across elephants completely blocking the road. As they were on a bridge and there was no way around, the open-sided vehicle we were in did a U-turn and, excited and buzzing, we eagerly set off in search of more of the Big Five. Very soon after, we came across more elephants, lumbering towards the road. Our driver stopped the truck, and they wandered past us, undisturbed, just 2-3 metres away. To be so close to such amazing creatures was an unforgettable experience. Hearts racing, we continued on our way. We were incredibly fortunate soon after to see six lions in separate groups, including two males resting in the shade to escape the heat of the sun, only 30 metres from the road. We also saw over twenty rhinos, many zebras, with their black, white, and grey stripes (Flo hit the nail on the head with her ‘they’re just like horses really’ observation!), Wildebeests, giraffes, and more. After a stunning sunset, it got dark very quickly, and, much to Miss Roberts’ delight we also had a lucky and very unusual sighting of two honey badgers! Back at the camp, we had a chance to absorb what we had seen over dinner, share photos, airdropping the best between each other (a feature of the trip, so much so that Sorcha decided to stop taking her own!), and singing around a fire – what a brilliant day! RB Page 3
16 November 2018 - Issue 10
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. Charlene Z and Eliza C-H (Yr11) for being a fantastically calming influence on others during the trials [DRO]
Alicia T (Yr13) for submitting a solution to a Maths problem posted on nRich (a Maths Problem Website) which was then published on their website! [DO]
Christine H (Yr11) for showing determination and dedication to succeed in GCSE Art [SEL]
Clara H (Yr12) for helping to present to Year 9 on the Academic Mentoring Project [HBO]
Camille C (Yr10) for helping me with my Maths homework recently; if I don’t understand something just generally in Maths, she will always help me in tutor times [Tati C]
Remembrance – marking 100 years after the end of World War I Eleven girls from Keswick chose to accompany Dr Hannan at the War Memorial in Rottingdean on Sunday, to join the Remembrance Day parade and represent the School. Given the particular significance this year, the parade was thronged with people, and it was wonderful to be part of it.
Service of Rememb
In the afternoon service, the trumpeted Last Post and Rouse, which had been played by Anamika (Yr10) in the morning, were performed by Lucy and Zarbanu (Head and Deputy Head of School) - this will be a proud memory of their final year at Roedean, particularly since both only started playing the trumpet as part of the Year 7 Music project when they arrived at the School.
rance In School, 12 November 2018 we marked It simply does not matter Remembrance as how many times you hear a community on the words from the Kohima Monday, with two services which included Epitaph and those from explanations of the two-minute silence and Binyon’s 1914 poem, they remain incredibly the significance of red poppies, as well as powerful: ‘When you go home, tell them a reading from archive material from the of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave time when Roedean was HMS Vernon, and our today’ and ‘At the going down of the Ananya (Yr9) played a beautifully reflective sun and in the morning, we will remember piece by Paradis on the cello. them.’ Lest we forget...
The Roedean Sustainability Group wants to #BreakFreeFromPlastic The CAP Sustainability Group went to a few supermarkets last week – not to shop, but to assess the use of plastic in our daily shopping. Going to the supermarket with another pair of eyes was very revealing to them. They were shocked by the excess of single-use plastic that they encountered all around the aisles, most of which is non-recyclable or can only be recycled once. They noticed that many foods were unnecessarily packaged, because they already come with their natural wrapper, and over-packaged; fortunately they became a bit more hopeful when they saw some produce sold in bulk as well as some products wrapped in a more eco-friendly manner. The Roedean Sustainability group is currently doing in-depth research on plastic pollution and is planning not only to raise awareness about what they have
Ella KM, Marianna L, Sophie N, Millie J, Phoebe H, Liv B, Issy H, Lucy P, and Olivia T (Yrs9&10) for doing an amazing job hosting our 65 hockey Masterclass girls – they were helpful and enthusiastic, and were fantastic role models [JCO]
Page 4
learnt, but also to tackle plastic waste head-on, so stay tuned! Here are some figures and a final message they wanted to share with you: each year an estimated 8 billion pounds of plastic waste enters the world oceans damaging marine life and polluting the water ■■ 65 million plastic bags were reduced since plastic bags are charged ■■
■■
79% of plastic cannot be recycled
It is us who can make the REAL difference. Every piece of plastic we refuse can be unbelievably significant to our future and our future generations, so why not choose to make a difference? JS
16 November 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Beacon Hub needs your vote! Students at Roedean have been supporting the Beacon Hub for two years – through the Community Action Programme in Year 12, and through Summer Community Day projects in Years 9 and 12. The Beacon Hub is a community project that is trying to bring the disused Rottingdean Windmill golf course and kiosk back to life by creating a visitor centre rooted in eco-education. Our students have mainly focussed on fundraising, helping generate financial support for this most worthy cause. This year the girls have planned to hold a charity event in school in the week before the Christmas break. Mr Orys will be reprising his role as host, having done such an excellent job in last year’s charity University Challenge event. All money raised from ticket sales will be donated to the Beacon Hub. Whether it is organising bake sales, selling calendars, or spreading the word about ever popular Christmas candy canes, our girls have honed some useful skills, while making a valuable contribution to our local community – you may have even seen them on occasion staffing the kiosk!
Anti-Bullying Week at Roedean All of this week, we have been focusing on antibullying and promoting kindness throughout the School. Girls have been recording random acts of kindness, and the corridors have been festooned with post-it notes detailing them. We have had special assemblies and tutor-periods dedicated to talking about bullying and kindness, and blue wristbands have been on sale every day – 100s have been purchased! Today, girls have been invited to wear something blue in addition to their uniform, and we have created a display in the Fireplace. It has been wonderful to have such a focus all week, and the girls have engaged with it brilliantly. RCH
The South Downs National Park is important to Roedean: it is our home and the preservation of its environment is fundamental to us and the community of which we are a proud part. Young children in particular will benefit from the Beacon Hub project, by learning about nature and the environment in the great outdoors and a purpose built classroom. Sadly, the project is limited in scope currently by inadequate facilities. Please help them to secure up to £25,000 by voting for the Beacon Hub project at the Aviva Community Fund website by clicking on the link below: https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/ voting/project/view/4-1172 The voting process is straightforward and will take just a couple of minutes of your time – and you can ‘opt-out’ of receiving marketing communications from Aviva! NB: Voting closes on 20th November, so please register now! Presuming you agree that Beacon Hub Brighton deserves wider support, please also publicise the voting procedure to friends and colleagues. Many thanks in anticipation of your support.
Mr (Pete) Philpot for his on-going commitment to the pastoral support of the girls on his bus [KNE]
Unsung heroes 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.
Hockey
U12C vs Lancing
U13C vs Mayfield
The U13Cs had an excellent match today against Mayfield. Their positioning which we have been working on was spot on today which really opened up the pitch. We have also been working on hitting for goal as soon as we enter the D and they scored multiple goals off that today. Dawn received player of the match for her fantastic movement and goals today. I’m really pleased to see all the hard work pay off, brilliant work girls! Well done! Page 5
Miss Philips for working tirelessly to support students of all ages in the Art Department [SSN]
The U12C had a close match against Lancing Prep. Roedean were showing some strong tracking skills and putting Lancing under pressure. During the game, we kept possession but Lancing were using the space well. Additionally, their attacking play was strong enabling them to score. However, Roedean showed determination and tried their best to keep possession enabling them to have shots at goal. Overall, Roedean showed some strong clears and attacking play but to improve further they need to make sure that they stay in position and stick to a player. The player of the match was Grace. A huge well done to all!
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Life Painting Workshop with Tim Patrick On Saturday, Art students in Years 10 to 13 enjoyed a day of life painting. The workshop was led by professional artist Tim Patrick, who is an artist and painter based in London. Having studied traditional portrait painting in Florence and a recent graduate of The Royal Drawing School in London, Tim’s work reflects a tension between the admiration of the past and the encounter with the present. His work was recently featured in the 2018 Threadneedle Prize and will also be exhibited in the current Royal Society of Portrait Painters exhibition at the Mall Galleries.
Tim was incredibly instructive in guiding us through ink and oil paints. For many this was a completely new skill, so it was really exciting to explore the medium and test our artistic bravery. All the fabulous results are currently on display in the Art room. It’s amazing to see the huge range of styles and individuality; everyone ought to be really proud of their work. Thanks to everyone who came, and I am sure we all learnt a lot. Eris K (Yr12)
House 4 The House 4 girls loved getting into the bonfire night spirit with sparklers on their firework walk then making delicious homemade s’mores and toffee apples on Guy Fawkes Night 2018!
Mr Wilson shows the junior Spanish girls how to make a delicious Spanish dessert from scratch – ‘Crema Catalana’. They said it was even better than in Spain!
Our weekly church trip was held on Remembrance Day this week, and the girls showed their respect at this particularly special service as it marked 100 years since the First World War came to an end.
Page 6
16 November 2018 - Issue 10 BOOK REVIEW OF THE WEEK – by Katie J-A (Yr7)
The Heroes by Charles Kingsley The Heroes is a charming manifesto of which the words and stories have been spun into an elegant representation of Ancient Greek culture and religion. This is my analogy for the whole book. In terms of the individual stories, I thought they were engaging, exciting, and enthralling. In my opinion, no modern fairytale can beat the ancient stories of Homer or Herodotus, and stories of the almighty Greek gods. This may be a product of my fascination with the classical world, but it is almost the way in which Kingsley retells them, raw as they were made and as exciting as they were in reality, and eventually takes you back in time, to a few thousand years ago and leaves you there, to watch these events unfold. Overall this book is really enjoyable, the only reason why it is not worthy of 5 stars, in my opinion, is because it was not in a precise chronological order, therefore when read in chronological order it did not make sense (in terms of matching up, certain events stated were going on at the same time). It may be the nature of the book (a collection of stories), but it honestly really bothered me. If you enjoy Classics or Latin, I definitely recommend it to you. It is a really good read, despite not quite making sense.
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
16 November 2018 - Issue 10
A Symposium Worthy of Plato Himself – the Lancing-Roedean Oxbridge Interview Forum and Dinner Yesterday, early applicants for Oxford and Cambridge Universities, and for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine courses, from Roedean and Lancing College came together for our annual interview exchange and dinner. Each year, the schools take it in turns to host this valuable event in the UCAS calendar. Students had the opportunity to be interviewed by someone who did not know them, to offer expert advice on their presentation and responses to questions. All students found the experience incredibly valuable, if a little daunting, and certainly have gained some useful pointers to refine their approach ahead of ‘The Real Thing’. After the interviews, we enjoyed a three-course meal themed around an Intellectual Symposium. This was in honour of our guest speaker, Old Roedeanian and Oxford University alumna, Adele Geras, whose works of young adult fiction include the enormously popular ‘Troy’. Tables were named after characters in the book. Staff and students were seated according to subject interest, so that they could get started straight away on deepening their knowledge and understanding of their chosen courses. After a delicious starter and main, Adele spoke about the importance of adopting the right mindset, about being observant and paying attention to detail, and about some of her own experiences at Oxford. It was a fascinating talk and certainly provided a springboard for the discussions that took place over dessert, such as ‘Is natural curiosity a prerequisite for academic success?’ All in all, it was a magical event, filled with intellectual curiosity and new connections. My thanks must go to our superb support teams, the teachers who interviewed the Lancing students, and, of course, the students, who did their very best in the interviews, and were such excellent company at the meal. I wish you the best of luck as the process continues.
Roedean HHH Farm group getting in ‘the swing’ of it! This week Roedean’s Year 9 HHH (Head, Hand & Heart) Group have been working hard to enrich the goat paddock. They have designed and built a swing from recycled materials. The goats find it highly entertaining and all 5 have taken to swinging together! Here you see it pictured with Duke’s maiden flight. LFI
Sixth Form Dancing On Saturday night, the Sixth Form danced the night away with a lot of energy and glow sticks! It was a brilliant evening of stress busting, exercise, and a lot of laughing! Page 7
16 November 2018 - Issue 10
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
It’s 39 days to Christmas! It’s only 39 days till Santa comes, but the Roedean Christmas Fair is even sooner! The Parents’ Guild is raising funds this year to contribute towards for a new recording studio for School and to support the School’s fund-raising for the Library at St Mark’s. I really hope that you would like to support us at this year’s Christmas Fair. Support can be provided in a number of ways: ■■
the Guild is taking donations into the House Studies of bottles and/or tombola prizes, and nearer the date of cakes for the café or cake stall
■■
if you or a company you know would like to donate a larger prize for the silent auction, please let us know by contacting parentsguild@roedean.co.uk
■■
if you are able to spare some time on 8 December, we are looking for volunteers to man the Guild stalls and sell raffle tickets – it is a great opportunity to meet other parents
If you have any ideas for the Christmas Fair, please contact Steve Pomery (Acting Chair and Yr11 parent) on pomerys@sky.com Finally, if you are interested in being involved in a team to organise a large fundraising event in the spring, please also contact Steve for details.
Not content with just 2 Olympic Gold Medallists at Roedean…! We were delighted to welcome Crista Cullen MBE to Roedean yesterday to run a Hockey Experience Day for prospective Roedean pupils. Like Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh, Crista won Bronze at the London 2012 Olympics, and then added a Gold in Rio in 2016. The 65 girls who came to the day were over the moon to meet her and they learnt a great deal. It was our pleasure to welcome girls form 16 schools, including larger contingents from Great Walstead, Pennthorpe, and Copthorne, and they were looked after brilliantly by Sport Scholars and top players from Years 9-10. It was a fantastic day! ACA
Community FundRaising – building St Mark’s a Library! As you may know from Assemblies or from the Head’s Reviews, Roedean and St Mark’s Primary have formed a soft federation and we will be supporting this local primary as much as we can over the year. One particular area of focus is its lack of a space dedicated to reading. The Year 9 Reading Buddies’ scheme worked brilliantly last year, and we are delighted that many of you in Year 9 (too many for one minibus!) have volunteered to do this again this year. With funds raised in our community, Roedean is going to build a library at St Mark’s, but we need your help to fill it with wonderful books. Our hope is that as many of you as possible will complete this on-line form: https://roedean.wufoo.com/forms/bookdonation-for-st-marks-library/ to name your favourite book from when you were aged 4 to 11. The School will buy the books on your behalf, and the cost will be added to your bill. Alternatively, if you cannot choose your favourite, you could decide to donate the cost of a book, so that sets of reading books could be purchased for St Mark’s. It would be brilliant if you could complete this online form by Friday 23 November. Thank you in advance for your generosity towards this wonderful cause which is so close to home! JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
WEEK AHEAD?
Tue 20 Nov
Shakespeare School Festival Public Performance Comedy of Errors
Wed 21 Nov
U12A,B,C&D Hockey vs Lingfield College (A) U13A,B,C&D hockey vs Lingfield College (H)
Thur 22 Nov
Volleyball vs Burgess Hill (H) MATHS EXPERIENCE DAY Art Department Animation Masterclass
Fri 23 Nov
LITERALLY MUSIC GALA CONCERT
Sat 24 Nov
1st, U15A & U15B Hockey vs Mayfield (A) 2nd, U14A & U14B Hockey vs Mayfield (H)
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
Follow us
@RoedeanSchool
@RoedeanSchool