Head's Weekly Review - Autumn Issue 2

WEEKLY REVIEW

Head’s Introduction

I have enjoyed seeing so many girls getting involved in wider school life this week – there have been lots of sporting fixtures already, with some great wins, and I am also delighted to see them getting stuck in with the Co-Curricular programme and enjoying the wide range of activities on offer. I am very much looking forward to next week’s Music Scholars’ Recital, which I am sure will be a splendid showcase of musical talent.

I am pleased that last Friday’s Enrichment Day was such a success. It is so important for the students to have opportunities early in the term to work together in different contexts, in order to forge new friendships and settle into new expectations. It is clear that the day was both fun and purposeful.

The Admissions Department welcomed 35 prospective students, currently in Years 5 and 6, to take part in a STEM Experience Day at Roedean. Our visitors took part in Design, Maths, and Physics activities, and they loved getting involved and trying new things. They also enjoyed a exciting talk given by Dr Suzie Imber, the School’s STEM Ambassador, who supported the day brilliantly. Suzie is Professor of Space Physics at Leicester University, and she is keen to play a more active role at Roedean this year. It was clear that everyone had a fantastic day –thank you to Mrs Quirk, Mr Lutwyche, Mrs Bond, and the Admissions team.

I wish all those celebrating Rosh Hashanah a happy new year, and I hope that our students from Mexico enjoy celebrating Independence Day tomorrow. Well done to those in Year 13 for completing half of their assessments, and good luck for the last two days next week.

Huge Oil work-in-progressPainting by Carmen

Hockey vs Ardingly

Year 7

'Jumped Into' Their First Week at Roedean!

Lydia in Tanzania

A Rosh Hashanah Lesson

This weekend is Rosh Hashanah – Jewish New Year. The festival marks the start of The Days of Atonement, where Jewish people reflect on the past year and consider how they can make amends for when they have missed the mark. A story about the sin of L'shon Harah or 'gossip' is often told in children's services for Rosh Hashanah, and it is an apt story to think about as we all start a new (academic) year, negotiate new friendships, and navigate the complicated world of social media:

In a small town somewhere in Eastern Europe lived a nice man with a nasty problem: he talked too much about other people. He could not help himself. Whenever he heard a story about somebody he knew, and sometimes about somebody he did not know, he just had to tell it to his friends. Since he was in business, he heard quite a lot of rumours and stories. He loved the attention he got, and was delighted when they laughed because of the way he told his 'anecdotes', which he sometimes embellished with little details he invented to make them funnier and juicier. Other than that, he was really a pleasant, good-hearted man.

He kind of knew it was wrong, but... it was too tempting, and, in any case, most of what he told had really happened, hadn’t it? Many of his stories were just innocent and entertaining, weren’t they?

Lily in a West End Musical

One day he found out something really weird (but true) about another businessman in town. Of course, he felt compelled to share what he knew with his colleagues, who told it to their friends, who told it to people they knew, who told it to their wives, who spoke with their friends and their neighbours. It went around town, till the unhappy businessman heard it. He ran to the rabbi of the town, and complained that he was ruined! Nobody would deal with him after this. His good name and his reputation were gone.

The rabbi summoned the man who loved to tell stories. When the nice man with the nasty problem heard from the rabbi how devastated his colleague was, he felt truly sorry. He honestly had not considered it such a big deal to tell this story. The rabbi sighed.

'True, not true, that really makes no difference! You cannot just share stories about people. This is all l'shon hara, gossip, slander, and it’s like murder – you kill a person’s reputation.'

'What can I do to make it undone?', the man sobbed. 'I will do anything you say!'

The rabbi looked at him. 'Do you have any feather pillows in your house?'

'Rabbi, I am not poor; I have a whole bunch of them?'

Bring me one.'

The man was mystified, but he returned a bit later to the rabbi’s study with a nice fluffy pillow under his arm. The rabbi opened the window and handed him a knife. 'Cut it open!'

The man cut the pillow. A cloud of feathers came out. They landed on the chairs and on the bookcase, on the clock, on the cat, which jumped after them. They floated over the table and a lot of them flew out of the window in a big swirling, whirling trail.

Congratulations to Lily (Yr8), who has just been cast in the new West End musical, The Time Traveller’s Wife!

She will share the role of Young Clare and Alba with three other girls, so she's got a principal role!

What an amazing achievement, and a remarkable opportunity – we can't wait to hear more!

https://www.whatsonstage.com/news/the-timetravellers-wife-musical-announces-full-west-endcast_1521389/

The rabbi waited ten minutes. Then he ordered the man: 'Now bring me back all the feathers, and stuff them back in your pillow. All of them. Not one may be missing!'

The man stared at the rabbi in disbelief. 'That is impossible, Rabbi! The ones that flew out of the window are gone!'

'Yes,' said the rabbi, 'that is how it is: once a rumour, a gossipy story, a ‘secret,’ leaves your mouth, you do not know where it ends up. It flies on the wings of the wind, and you can never get it back!'

Huge Oil Painting workin-progress by Carmen

Year 13 student, Carmen, has, again, jumped head first in at the deep-end and has taken up her largest painting challenge yet – it is a 2 x 1.5 m oil painting, inspired by photographs she took at Borough Market in the summer. Here is a peek at the first layers of the painting, just over a week's progress. As this is only part of her development work for her Art A Level, we can't wait to see what ideas she has for her final piece...

Miss Good

Galina in a World Premiere with the NYMT

Congratulations to Galina (Yr12), who performed in a world premiere of The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair with the National Youth Musical Theatre. Not only did she play four instruments, but she also met the author and worked with the composer. Galina has shadowed professional musicians in the West End too, and all these experiences have confirmed her commitment to becoming a professional musician.

Well done!

Co-Curricular Gymnastics

The warm up in this week's gymnastics session was horses and jockeys. Imagine playing ‘duck duck goose’, but on someone’s back and that is how we got the heart-rate going. This week the gymnasts were coming up with routines in small groups. They had to include symmetry and dynamic moves. They also had a try on the vault, having a try at jumping straight on or straddling. We are all looking forward to next week!

Miss Walsh

STEM Day with Dr Suzie Imber

What a privilege it was to have Dr Suzie Imber, Professor of Space Physics, back at Roedean. She took part in our STEM Experience Day this week, with the theme 'Ready to Launch'. Our 34 visitors launched rockets, played number games, and build marshmallow catapults! Sounds brilliant!

Mexican Independence Day

Mexican Independence Day begins on 15 September 15 and extends into the next day. It is a celebration of Mexico's Declaration of Independence from Spain in 1810. The night before the celebration, the President rings the bell, a tradition that began over 200 years ago when a priest rang his church bell which started the war of independence with Spain. People of Mexican heritage celebrate it all over the world with food, colourful parades, mariachi, and fireworks.

Personally, my sister and I celebrate the day of Independence the night of the 15th, by partying with our friends and family. The party involves dancing, playing games, eating, and lots of fun. Our favourite part is the food, especially tacos, churros, and Mexican candy. We love to go on theme park rides such as the ferris wheel and roller coasters. This year it will be different, as we will be in England, but we will find a way to celebrate with our family.

Luciana and Ivana (Yr10)

Mrs Wienekus

Lydia in Tanzania

Lydia (Yr11) has had a busy summer holiday, part of which she spent in Africa: 'We were staying at Ngorongoro Farm House, where we attended a coffee tour led by a man called Sele. We had great fun on the tour, and at the end, Sele invited us to see his village the following day. His village is called the Daffa village, home to the Iraqw people, who came to Tanzania from Ethiopia in the 15th century.

After safari-ing in the morning of the next day, our driver dropped us at the local gas station, where we met with Sele. From there, it was a short walk to his village, which was nestled behind some run-down shop fronts. His village’s business is making bricks. He showed us their red clay quarries and the rows of bricks laid out in the sun to dry. We walked through the village, between the dirt huts to reach the village primary school. The school was a one-storey building, the size of a classroom at Roedean, run by a young man called Felipe.

Felipe has climbed Mt Kilimanjaro over 70 times, and he told us that learning English 'changed his life' and gave him the opportunity to earn money and send his siblings to university – allowing them to receive an education he hadn’t had been so lucky to get.

Felipe single-handedly teaches 2 sessions a day, with 56 young children in each session. One child from each family in the village may attend the school, as there is not enough space for any more. When he told us this, I assumed that it would be primarily boys attending, but there was actually a very even spread of both genders attending.

Felipe hopes to build 7 classrooms and hire more staff so that he can teach as many children as he can English so they can go as far as possible in the world, and maybe even go on to receive an education beyond primary, which is a luxury in Tanzania.'

Lydia hopes that we can raise some money to support Felipe's dream and educate as many Iraqw children as he can in Daffa, so watch this space!

Year 7 'Jumped Into' Their First Week at Roedean!

Last Friday, the Year 7s had an action-packed day. They had their first Wild Friday lessons where we launched our Sailing programme for the first time!

After embarking on their wildest of Fridays, the girls hopped on the bus to 'Jump-In'. This is a huge inflatable warehouse, where the girls were able to play on the bouncy castle assault courses, ninja warrior courses, zip lines, a huge ball pit, and lots of slides. It was great to see them playing together and celebrating making it through their first full week in secondary school. The trip ended in a huge ball pit fight, and we even managed to finish the day with an ice cream.

I am immensely proud of the Year 7s – they are taking their first weeks at Roedean in their stride. They are a confident and supportive group, looking out for each other, asking for help and having fun on the way.

Well done Year 7!

Miss Bamford

Sport Stars of the Week

Well done to this week's Sports Stars of the Week – congratulations!

Mr Campleman

Year 7

Isabella, for all-round commitment and a superb attitude in lessons

Year 8

Sofiia, for her keenness to be a Hockey Goalkeeper this season

Year 9

Hetty, for putting in great amounts of effort and a good performance at the back against Ardingly

Year 10

Alice, for scoring an excellent goal in the U16B team match against Ardingly

Year 11

Mia, for a massive effort in hockey these first few weeks

Year 12/13

Erin, for a good performance for the 1st team Hockey against Ardingly

Hockey vs Ardingly

U16A vs Ardingly U18B

In a highly-contested game, the U16 girls played in their first competitive match of the season, against a very physical and well-drilled Ardingly team. The opposition went ahead early, with a penalty stroke after a strong challenge from a Roedean player. The girls were fighting throughout the first half, and had the ball in the goal twice, but both were unfortunately disallowed.

At half time, the girls were disappointed with the scoreline, but determined to push on a save the game. With our girls pushing forward, it left our defence open, with Alice and Evie having to make key tackles – if Ardingly got through, there was no stopping Fen in goal, who made a string of 1-1 tackles, which motivated the girls even more.

Going into the last quarter, the message was all or nothing! The girls stepped high up the pitch, and Erin ended up in between the goal with the ball on the end of her stick, and she placed the ball into an empty net, to finish of the game 1-1!

Mr Foggoa

U16B

The U16B team played some fantastic hockey in the stifling heat last Saturday. We broke the match down into quarters to allow for more rest and shade time. We started strong dominating the possession in the first quarter, Alice from the U15s stepped in to give us some extra legs and within 30 seconds of coming onto the pitch scored a great goal to give us a 1 nil lead. In the second quarter we utilised our speed down the right-hand side of the pitch and created lots of chances. We held our own and were knocking on the door but couldn’t get another goal in past their keeper. In the final 5 minutes Jasmine made 2 huge saves to maintain our lead and see the 1 nil win over the line. Big well done to all that played, special mention to Alice and Jasmine for their key contributions. Keep up the good work U16Bs!

Miss Hammond

U14B

The U14B team were thrown in at the deep end this weekend, playing their first-ever 11-a-side hockey game on the hottest day of the year.

They did a superb job of staying positive and, although the match was rather scrappy, with both teams finding their feet, there were some positive moments. Ardingly had a lot of possession up front, but the defence stayed strong, and Anya and Lois made plenty of match-winning saves. It was only from confusion at a short corner that the ball found the goal, leaving us 1-0 down.

We struggled to find space in which to pass, but the Player of the Match, Amari, and the Coaches' Player, Bethany, had strong running games in the midfield, trying to distribute the ball. With some more work on finding space and passing, this U14B team look like a strong group and I look forward to seeing how they progress throughout the season.

1st XI

The 1st team travelled to face a strong Ardingly squad. The game unfolded as a typical earlyseason encounter, characterised by both teams initially struggling with disjointed and scrappy play. Ardingly displayed greater urgency in the opening half, scoring three consecutive goals. Roedean demonstrated relentless effort throughout the match, dominating most of the 50-50 battles. This consistent turnover of possession allowed Roedean to launch effective counter-attacks, with Ellie and Elodie flying up and down the wings. Amelia and Orla toiled tirelessly in midfield, controlling part of the game. Their exceptional teamwork culminated in a brilliant strike from Orla, reducing the deficit to 3-1 just before half time. Roedean grew in confidence as the game progressed, showcasing their skills with some great passing moves. Evie and Bella were excellent in defence, maintaining composure, and efficiently transitioning the team from defence to attack. Roedean managed to work their way back into the game, narrowing the score to 3-2, Ardingly ultimately proved too strong and sealed the victory with a goal just five minutes before the final whistle.

U18B

On Saturday, the girls played their first match of the season against Ardingly. They played very well in such warm conditions, showing excellent teamwork and resilience. A big shout out goes to Mia and Lily, who stayed on to play. We all appreciated it, especially with the heat, and they also continued the weekend playing even more sport. Player of the Match was Solari, who showed excellent attacking skills.

Miss Walsh

Miss Kirby-Jones

U16A 15 September 2023 – Issue 2 HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

Hockey vs Bede's

U13B 8-0 Win

In their first competitive fixture of the 23/24 school year, the U13B performed to a high level and scored several excellent goals to win comfortably versus Bede's school.

The team featured players from the C team, which only underlines the strength and depth of the U13s. Special mention goes to Florence, who kept a clean sheet, and also Maddie who scored a hat trick.

There is lots to work on over the next week, before we play Worth School.

Mr Foggoa

U12C

The U12C team played their first ever fixture for Roedean this Wednesday and for some of them their first ever hockey match. It was a fantastic game of learning, and we grew into the game as it went on. After the first 10 minutes, we were linking up effectively with each other and were focusing on stretching the pitch where possible. In the second half, Bede's came out strongly, and Bea was stretched to make some brilliant saves, clearing the ball out strongly. Valerie and Shahdi used their speed effectively to drive the ball into the oppositions D. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it past their keeper and the result was 2-0 to Bede's. However, it was an excellent first game and the skills on show look very promising for future matches. Well done to all!

Miss Hammond

U13B Cricket vs Windlesham House

The U13C played a thrilling game of hockey on Wednesday, playing their first fixture of the season against Windlesham House. The team were a little slow to find their feet and we were two goals down in the first 5 minutes. However, after a little time and a few pointers, they took ownership of their roles and positions on the pitch and started to look like a strong unit. Some quick breaks through the middle courtesy of Hazel’s quick thinking, saw Erin and Bea both score in quick succession.

Windlesham came back with two more, and the score was 2-4 at half time. Some repositioning and some strong marking from Chiara and Flo, meant we were able to take advantage of some good runs from Georgia, and Erin went on to score three more before the end of the game. A last-minute goal off a short corner meant a six goal went past Jemima, who had kept plenty of attempts out already. The final score was 4-6 to Windlesham and opposition's Players of the Match went to Jemima and Georgia, and Coaches' Player when to Hazel.

Miss Kirby-Jones

A Very Hot Hockey match for the U14Cs! U15C Battled, Baked, and Boiled...

The U14Cs had another scorcher for their recent match at home on Saturday, against Hurstpierpoint’s U14B team. The conditions were difficult with the heat and only one substitute, but the team had a strong first quarter, managing to hold their ground against an impressive offence by Hurst.

'Although the score didn’t end up in our favour, there was some excellent goalkeeping from Kat, who made some brilliant saves. Our captain, Claudia, gave some inspiring team talks between quarters on the sideline, and did well to rally our team. We came away with a great idea of what to work on in training to prepare for future games, and the afternoon was finished off with a delicious match tea. Well done, everyone.'

Rosie

On Saturday, the U15C team took on a young Ardingly team in their first blistering battle of the year. The sun was just as fired-up as they were for a win! With the opposition not wanting to play short corners (they heard our new GK wanted a challenge...) we played with some penalty shuffles instead and, due to the heat, we played a game of 4 quarters. In the first quarter, Roedean went up with a cheeky quick break from the team and sizzly Sienna broke through and scored our first goal. 1-0. Second quarter, it was Ardingly who popped one past molten Michelle in a tricky shuffle. 1-1. We were in trouble with the opposition flaming forwards to take another goal, with the defenders struggling to find their players. 1-2. We approached our final quarter, and the team was deterimined not to be beaten. This time is was Nis-scorchio-reen who drew the keeper in and smashed the ball past her in a shuffle. 2-2.

I am really impressed with this team's drive to win and their work rate in the 30+ degree heat. It was a rough day out and they worked their socks off. A huge shout out goes to Michelle, earning her first Roedean cap and sealing a well-deserved Girl of the Game for her incredible saves in the game. Well done team. We go again at the weekend, hopefully in slightly kinder conditions!

Miss Bamford

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: aws@roedean.co.uk