17 May 2019 - Issue 4
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction The fantastic sunshine this week has been the perfect antidote to the fact that everyone at Roedean is either in or preparing for exams. The girls have been making the most of the grounds and found time to relax or revise outside. Years 10 and 12 finished their School exams today, and I'm pleased to see that they have coped very well with a busy schedule. Following last week’s very impressive Year 9-10 academic mentoring presentations, for which the girls conducted research in an area of personal interest, it is wonderful to hear that our Sixth Form chemists have made it to the national finals of TeenTech. This group, spearheaded by five Year 13 students, has been working on a project which goes far beyond their A Level specification. Working with the University of Sussex and in school, they have designed a test to analyse the composition of breast milk in order to provide tailored nutritional information. Their work has real-life application and I look forward to hearing about the finals in June – congratulations! I am very pleased to hear of many individual sporting successes this week, in netball, swimming, and athletics, and also that the Year 7 Tea-time Recital went well. The more established musicians had a chance to perform solo, and those who
Please see page 2
have been learning violin or clarinet as part of the Music Project for just two terms were able to show what they have achieved on a new instrument. Hopefully some have uncovered a passion and a talent they did not know they had! The F24 Club had a brilliant trip to Goodwood. Although the car developed some problems later in the day, Bells in Year 13 recorded the fastest lap, which is a great achievement for the team. They will now get back in the workshop to rectify any issues ahead of the final race at the end of June.
Bells stormed round Goodwood Please see page 4 in Roedean F24 car!
I am delighted that Roedean’s Sea-Swimming Club saw 7 girls (five in Year 12 and two in Year 7) in the water this week, and I know that there are others who will hopefully join them next week. Dr Hobbs reported that the sea was cold, but the conditions were perfect. The target is the very ambitious and challenging cross-Channel relay to France in 2020 – what an experience.
performed very well as part of the presentations in the Theatre, and it was wonderful to have a sneakpreview of some of Peter Pan, which our visiting families loved.
Thank you to everyone in the School community who made Open Day such a success last weekend. The weather was wonderful, and the School looked fantastic. The departments had displays following the theme of ‘ideas that changed the world’, as well as showcasing our students’ high-quality work, and I am delighted that we have received excellent feedback on the day. The Year 7 singers
This has been a busy week for Year 11, who have had a series of GCSE papers this week, including English and the Sciences, and there have also been some early A Level papers – I have been very impressed with the girls’ mature and calm approach to their exams. Good luck for next week, and to all those in Years 7-9 who have their School exams. I hope you all have a lovely weekend.
Roedean’s in the TeenTech Finals! A project that our girls, led by a group of Year 13 students, have been working on has been recognised in a national competition called TeenTech: ‘The TeenTech Awards were established in 2012/3 and schools have found them a powerful tool, helping students to see how they might apply science and technology to real world problems. They encourage students to develop their own ideas for making life better, simpler, safer or more fun… Every year the best projects go forward to the Royal Society for judging and the winners are invited by HRH Duke of York to Buckingham Palace.’
Fancy a swim to France…?
The girls have been invited to the finals at the Institute of Engineering Technology (IET) in central London for their work on developing a paper-based microfluidic device for measuring the composition of breast milk. The project, which involved major contributions from Ishika A, Melissa D, Mary M, Chloe R, and Freya S from Year 13, and was developed in collaboration with a research team from the University of Brighton, will be judged in the ‘Best Innovation – Model, Prototype or Product’ category. Whilst this is an ongoing piece of research, and ultimately aims to produce a product with real-world applications, judging will take place on Monday 24 June – this is an amazing achievement, and good luck to the girls and watch this space for more news! MEB
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
17 May 2019 - Issue 4
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.
Fancy a swim to France…? Malika WM and Annie X (Yr10) for their big efforts in trying to speak German at every opportunity during German lessons [LS]
Nettie G, Ellena J, Nia S, and Maria V (Yr9) for missing a Maths lesson just before their exams to take part in a Russian taster lesson with some prospective students [RB]
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 Sharp for delivering an inspirational academic lecture for Geography on ‘Megacatastrophies’ – thank you also to the audience from across the year groups who showed a great deal of academic curiosity [JS] Mr Clingan and Ms Manders for their willingness to help out in the Sixth Form Centre at very short notice [CC]
Roedean’s first sea-swimming session took place this week, with seven girls and three members of staff. Sophia, Clara, Grace, Ayla, and Ava (all Yr12), Alex and Jaime (Yr7), and Dr Hobbs, Miss Wakeling, and Mrs Robins spent 15 minutes in the sea, swimming parallel with the shore for about 500 metres. The sea was calm and flat, the sun was shining, and there was a good tide. The aim of the session was to acclimatise to the conditions – the water temperature was 11 degrees, which is about 3 degrees colder than a cold shower! Sea-swimming is not entirely new at Roedean, although it has been a while. When the School first opened on this site, it went to great lengths to help girls to swim in the sea. Before the tunnel existed, girls went to Rottingdean and climbed into covered wagons which were then drawn by horses into the sea. From there, the girls would step out into the water with a rope tied around them to make sure they were not dragged away with the tide. The tunnel was built in 1910, and, in an end-of-year article for the school magazine, Madams Rowbotham and Peskett described the excitement of the school at the opening of the tunnel; they also wrote about how 113 girls successfully trained to be able to swim a quarter of a mile (about 400 metres) in order to be allowed to swim in the sea in the summer term when the tunnel opened. As well as just being a great experience for the girls swimming in the sea, the longer-term aim is to compete in the annual Cross-Channel relay in June 2020. Roedean will form a squad of seaswimmers, from which 6-8 girls will be selected. Dr Hobbs has been involved in 5 previous relays with school teams, all of which reached France, but this will be the first all-girls team. In order to qualify, the girls have to complete a 2-hour swim (that is normally from the Marina to the King Alfred), and the girls will be swimming regularly for over an hour this time next year. Training in the sea stops at October half-term and starts again at the start of the summer term. Imagine the incredible sense of achievement if you were part of this relay swim to France! If you are interested in getting involved, contact Dr Hobbs.
Mr Rous for keeping his music open by blowing on it whilst accompanying a student at the Year 7 Tea-time Recital on Monday [RB]
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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
The sheep are wearing their summer uniform!
...after
This week saw the annual shearing of the Roedean flock. With the improved temperature and weather is was time for the sheep to lose their winter coats. The sun was out and the Farm Prefects were treated to a Before... shearing workshop. Young local shepherd, Holly Arpino, showed the fascinated Farm Prefects how to age, dag, and shear a sheep, as well as how to fold the freshly shorn wool accurately. There was a really community feel with staff and students from across all departments watching on in the sunshine. Each individual fleece has been packed in preparation for processing during textiles on the farm and in HHH lessons and, with 15 beautiful fleeces, the next job is to decide what to do with all of this amazing wool! JRO
Pop Cakes in House 1 House 1’s weekly Sunday House Meeting was so much more fun eating the Pop Cakes the boarders made on Saturday evening! JWL
St Mark's listening buddies Page 3
17 May 2019 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
17 May 2019 - Issue 4
Bells stormed round Goodwood in Roedean F24 car! On Sunday 12 May, 9 students from Years 9-13 went to Goodwood to race Roedean’s electric car. This has been built over the last few years, and the students have been working exceptionally hard to upgrade the car throughout this school year. The improvements include a new throttle system, a nose cone, cooling fins and a fan, wheel covers, and an eChook to monitor the car’s performance on the track. The car performed well in the practice, and at the start of the second race Bells logged the fastest lap of all the kit cars on track! This is a fantastic achievement, particularly as she is planning to study Automotive Engineering at university next year. Regardless of battery problems, the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as did parents who came to support. Next year, we plan to make further changes to the car to improve its performance. It was a bright and sunny day, and we could not have asked for better weather for the girls to show off their driving skills. A massive well done and thank you to all the staff and students involved. Interested in engineering or STEM subjects? Next year, get involved! LBY ‘On Sunday 12 May, we went to Goodwood to race our self-made electric car. It was fantastic to be there and see all the other students with their cars – there were so many different shapes and colours. Our car was actually pretty good on the first lap, but then sadly the battery started to get drained, and we eventually had to be picked up, twice! However everyone really enjoyed the race – it was really interesting and I’m really glad I joined F24.’ – Hanna F (Yr10) ‘It was my first time driving the car at Goodwood and I really enjoyed it. Although the battery died and we had to get picked up twice, it was a really fun experience and I cannot wait for next year.’ – Lucy H (Yr9)
A Showcase of Year 7 Musical Talent Every pupil in Year 7 had the opportunity to play an instrument and present their musical talents to an audience of parents, staff, and girls. For many of the girls, this recital is the end product of Year 7 Instrumental Scheme at Roedean, where every girl learns either the trumpet or violin for a year. A good number choose to continue playing the instrument they were first exposed to through this scheme – two examples of this are Lucy and Zarbanu in Year 13, who began the trumpet in Year 7 and have just taken Grade 6 seven years later. We were treated to popular tunes, such as the Grand old Duke of York, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Morning Sunshine, Coconut Tree, America and the Can Can.
Atlanta, Biba, Evie, Flora, Galina, Mia and Manon also performed piano pieces with wonderful composure, while others sang pieces of their choice. Our ukulele group of Freya, Hannah, and Mairi enjoyed their moment in the spotlight with a fun rendition called 'Sausages'! Other highlights included beautifully played clarinet pieces by Ella, Jaime and Amelia, as well as Katie's inspiring piece on oboe, and Claudette's upbeat piece called Beeline on saxophone. Well done to Fleur for a wonderful rendition of ‘The life I never led’. All in all we were treated to the talents of so many girls in a short but packed recital. Well done to all Year 7 girls who took part, and a special thank you to Ms Bartlette for arranging this musical opportunity. JC Page 4
17 May 2019 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
St Mark's Choir Galina B and Onose B (Yr7) started an exciting initiative at St Mark's Primary School last week: supporting the Junior Choir. The Roedean girls will travel every Wednesday lunchtime to teach the Year 4 choir music and singing. The first piece of music they have been asked to teach is 'Joseph's coat' from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. The first session was very successful and all the St Mark’s students were very enthusiastic and engaged. Onose said 'I love teaching the children new songs and it makes me happy seeing them happy'. Galina added that she 'is so excited to help the local community and share my love of music!'. Using their musical talents, they are acting as role models and inspiring the younger students to love and appreciate music. They have already made a big impression and the choir can't wait for Onose to show them her guitar skills in the coming weeks! Well done Galina and Onose! GWI
Roedean Athletics season – off to a Sprint Start…. The Roedean Athletics season has hit the ground running this summer, with many outstanding performances from lots of athletes in a range of disciplines. A very successful Brighton, Hove and Portslade Open Event lead to 11 Roedean students being selected to represent the area at the annual Sussex Championships held later in the season.
Tennis U14 vs Lingfield
Cricket U15B vs Burgess Hill
The Year 10s played their first cricket match against Burgess Hill this week. Although we lost with 94 runs to 58, all the girls took full advantage of the chance to practise their batting, fielding, and scoring in match conditions. Julia D and Alexa F scored the highest number of runs (24), and Awele M had the lowest number of wickets. Well done to all who played.
The Juniors and Inters also participated in a very successful meet at Burgess Hill, where the Juniors scored over 300 points and narrowly missed out on first place by 9 points, coming a well-deserved second. The relay teams for both Juniors and Inters won by a clear distance, and several track and field events were won in both age groups. Well done to the Inters, who placed 3rd. This week, the girls will attend the Hurst annual Prep meet and the Sussex Schools’ Cup championships. Well done to all for your performances so far and good luck to the athletes performing this week.
U13A vs Worth
The U13A cricket team came together on Wednesday to bring home a tremendous victory of 87 runs to 25 against Worth School. Georgina G and Bridget R were the first pair to bat and scored a total of 8 runs starting us off on a good footing. All three pairs, Ava L and Izzy B, Harriet B and Ellena J, and Ava L and Georgina G managed to score 20 runs in two overs. All 8 players got a chance to bowl, with Erin S getting two wickets. The girls communicated well on the pitch and we are looking forward to putting into practice on Friday some of the things learnt in the game.
U15B
The following Roedean students have been selected for the Brighton, Hove, and Portslade team: ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■ ■■
Emily F (Yr13) – Senior High Jump Amber P (Yr13) – Senior Javelin Serena C (Yr10) – Inter High Jump Sophia C (Yr10) – Inter 80m Hurdles Toni D (Yr10) – Inter 100m Amy N (Yr8) – Junior Long Jump Phoebe H (Yr9) – Junior Long Jump Isabella P (Yr8) – Junior High Jump Amalie S-J (Yr8) – Junior High Jump Amelia K (Yr8) – Junior 75m Hurdles India H (Yr9) – Junior 300m
The U14 A, B & C teams had a friendly fixture vs Lingfield. This was a great fixture as it allowed the girls to put into practice what they have learnt in lessons into match-play. The format of the afternoon was for the girls to play Fast 4. The girls all demonstrated fantastic teamwork throughout and they were able to hold some brilliant rallies. A special mention to Jasmine Y who showed some great accuracy when serving. Olivia B also showed some fantastic backhands and hitting into space. All girls had some close matches with some clear wins throughout. A special mention goes to Charlotte D, Phoebe H, Harriet M-H & India B, as they played 2 matches, both against the Lingfield Boys. This enabled the girls to have a strong and challenging match. Both India B & Harriet M-H won their 2nd match 7-5 and Phoebe H & Charlotte D won 6-2 so a brilliant result! A huge well done to all; it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon of Tennis.
U13A
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17 May 2019 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Regional Finals for Mollie Congratulations to Mollie T (Yr7) who made the South East Regional Championships 50m breaststroke final, swimming against girls from some very big clubs. She swam amazingly – she was over the moon with her 6th place finish. These were her first regional champs, and she did brilliantly to keep her nerves at bay. We wish her luck for the regional championships on 25-26 May for the 100m and 200m breaststroke.
Roedean girls in the winning Pied Piper team! Ella B, Phoebe C, Jamie O, and Atlanta H were all part of the Pied Piper A-team which won last weekend’s versatility tournament at K2 in Crawley, beating Fiveways convincingly in the final. They also celebrated coming second in the Sussex league after Magic who won on goal difference. Well done!
On behalf of the PE Department, I would like to thank you for all your support this term. The girls have achieved a huge amount and we are proud of all of their successes. If there are any specific achievements that you
India and Sussex Hockey Congratulations to India H (Yr9) on her achievements with Sussex Hockey this season – she was picked for every game, and her U15 Sussex team ended fourth in the South County Championships, behind two Surrey teams and Hampshire. This is a great improvement, since they were 9th at the end of last season. The team’s fantastic coach, Harry Reidy, praised India, and said that he was ‘super pleased with their efforts’.
would like to share with the P E Department, please email me (Miss Wakeling, Director of Sport) on kwa@roedean.co.uk JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
Mon 20 May
WEEK AHEAD?
U14A Cricket vs Hurst (H) U14A&B Cricket vs Burgess Hill (A) 1st XI Football vs Christ’s Hospital (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
Tue 21 May
A Level Theatre Studies Devised Performance
Thur 23 May
U15A AEGON Tennis vs Mayfield (H)
Fri 24 May
Year 13 Leavers’ Ball
Year 12 Geography Ubran Fieldtrip
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