21 September 2018 - Issue 4
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction As you can see from the main article on this page, the top story at Roedean this week is that we have secured the Olympic Champion Hockey players, Kate and Helen RichardsonWalsh, as the School’s Sports Ambassadors - this really is remarkable news for Roedean! Helen and Kate are both very excited about our partnership, so it will be brilliant to see them down on the all-weather pitch, working closely with the girls – there is no doubt that the impact of this on the girls will be considerable. Helen will be in School next week, and we all look forward to meeting her then. The last of the four residentials returned this week. I am pleased that they all went very well, and that many of the girls pushed themselves beyond barriers they thought were insurmountable – well done, and thank you to all the staff who went on these trips to share the girls’ experiences. Twelve girls have spent two days filming a video prospectus for the School this week. By all accounts, they rose to the challenge of busy filming schedules and using professional equipment excellently – thank you to everyone involved, and I look forward to seeing the finished product. At the end of next week, we have our annual Founders’ Service in Chapel, when we remember past benefactors of the School, and we will also have the Pitch Opening on this day. I look forward to seeing our top musicians perform at the Scholars’ Recital on Monday. Well done to everyone on a busy week, and I wish you all well for the week ahead.
Helen and Kate –
Roedean’s Olympic Champion Sports Ambassadors Roedean is incredibly proud to announce that both Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh will be the School’s Sports Ambassadors for the next two years, over which time the girls will benefit hugely from their regular visits. It has already been wonderful to see so many girls of all ages loving having the all-weather pitch at the heart of the School this term. Giving them the opportunity to learn from the experience and talents of Helen and Kate will be the icing on their sporting cake! GB Hockey players, Kate and Helen won Olympic Gold in Rio 2016. Kate captained the team for 13 years and represented her country 375 times, and Helen has played in the England and Great Britain teams since 1999. As Olympic champions in 2016, they became the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic Gold. They are not only sporting icons, but also exceptional role-models to young women. Kate was the Guest Speaker at our two Prize Giving Ceremonies on Roedean Day in June this year, and she was very impressed with the girls she met on that day. In her speech, she talked about some of her own experiences which required great determination and resilience to reach a positive outcome; she told the girls that it is how you bounce back from disappointment that will define how successful you can be. This resonated strongly at Roedean, where we encourage the girls not to fear failure, but to be ready to learn from it to improve themselves and their performance going forward.
Director of Sport, Alastair Carter, is delighted with the news: ‘This is huge for Roedean sport. Having such incredible sporting role models working with the girls on a regular basis will have a massive impact on their sport, but it will also help them approach other situations in school life with determination and confidence.’ We are very pleased that Helen RichardsonWalsh will be coming to Roedean on 28 September. She will have lunch with some Sports Scholars, after which she will be part of the official opening of the all-weather pitch. This will be her first visit to Roedean, and we cannot wait to meet her! RB
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
21 September 2018 - Issue 4
Unsung heroes in the spotlight
Booms, cameras, and clapper boards at Roedean!
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.
On Wednesday and Thursday this week, 12 students from Year 8 to Year 13 had the wonderful opportunity to do all the filming to make a video prospectus at School with the Young Film Academy. Well done to Laura, Teddy, Lucy, and Mary (Yr13), Eloise, Charlene, and Ava (Yr11), Sophia (Yr10), and Suri, Niamh, and Amelia (Yr8). Despite the intense experience and the tiredness which comes from focusing fully for extended periods of time, they have all taken on the challenge of filming for two full days, and the professionals who guided them were really impressed with their outstanding approach and their clear ideas.
Abby L (Yr11) for being amazingly welcoming to new students and really looking after them [DRO]
Jess B (Yr9) for really encouraging others who were struggling with some activities on the residential [HHY]
Under the watchful eye of directors and cameramen, the girls have been using professional film-making equipment and directing scenes with two characters, Ellie (Yr12) and Amelia (Yr8), to capture the essence of Roedean on film. Over the coming weeks, under the guidance of the YFA, the girls will also edit the material they have captured, to produce the final film. Freya F (Yr13) for taking up permanent residence in the Art department and working incredibly hard [SSN]
Eva L (Yr7) for finding a lost washbag in the snack pile on the residential [AHA]
The filming was two long days of very hard work, but the girls loved the experience, and for some it has helped to crystallise their thoughts on what
Year 8 PGL
Ellie F (Yr12) and Amelia M (Yr8) for being incredibly adaptable with their roles in the student-led video prospectus [RB]
Radyna K (Yr10) for pushing through and working really hard in English [HBO]
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.
Miss Hyams for going that extra mile(!) by attending two residential trips in two weeks [DRO]
After arriving safely off the ferry to the Isle of Wight, 75 girls and 7 members of staff launched straight into their first activity at PGL, which they embraced tremendously, given the wet and windy conditions. The two-night residential was great fun, and the girls had a brilliant time working together and conquering their fears. They all pushed themselves out of their comfort zones, whether that meant jumping off a trapeze, finding their way out of an underground maze, screaming on a ropeswing, or lighting the beach fire. It was so lovely to see the whole year group out on the lake Dragon Boating, and demonstrating their amazing talents in rowing and having so much fun! It was an exciting experience, pulling the entire yeargroup together, and the new girls who joined this year quickly became part of the group. Well done to everyone involved – it was great! NDO Page 2
they want to do after Roedean – at the end of the first day, Teddy (Yr13) said, ‘I’m playing it cool, but inside I’m hyperventilating – this is definitely what I want to do with my life.’ Thank you to those girls who have given up study periods to be extras, and to members of staff who have had disrupted lessons due to room changes or absences. What a brilliant experience for the girls, and we can’t wait to see the finished product! RB
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Blacklands Farm – Year 9 Year 9 had a wonderful time at Blacklands Farm this week. The trip saw the girls camping in East Grinstead, as well as taking part in a range of adventurous activities such as abseiling, rock scrambling, high-ropes courses, and kayaking each day, and holding campfires and hikes each night.
Congratulations to the girls for their enthusiasm and making the trip such a pleasure, and we would particularly like to thank the staff for attending and making it possible.
The girls had an opportunity to challenge themselves and many said they had achieved something that they did not think that they could do at the start of the trip. It was amazing to see how much some students grew in confidence, on the first day being reluctant to climb the ladders and by the third day swinging by a rope from the trees! The girls reported that the highlight was the range of activities, but they also said they had valued time with their friends and the opportunity to mix with other girls.
KNE
Women in Science On Tuesday this week, a group of Sixth Form girls went to the Hilton for an evening as part of the Liberal Democrat Party conference. There was a talk entitled ‘Women in Science’, a discussion about how we can encourage more women and girls to pursue careers in STEM areas. One of the speakers was OR, Liberal Democrat MP and spokesperson for Education, Layla Moran. They also heard from a representative from WISE (Women Into Science and Engineering). Both speakers were truly inspirational, and a lively question and answer session followed, in which our girls took the opportunity to quiz the panellists about topics such as positive discrimination. Another particularly heartwarming aspect of the evening was hearing Layla speak about her fond memories of her time her at Roedean and how excited she was to be reunited with her Chemistry teachers – Mr England and Ms Walker. I’m sure everyone in the room left feeling that getting more girls into STEM, something we’re passionate about in the Science Faculty, is a very worthwhile endeavour, and that, as Layla put it, ‘Diversity works for everyone!’ MEB Page 3
21 September 2018 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
21 September 2018 - Issue 4
Bushcraft – Year 7 Well done to all Year 7s – you achieved so much during your Bushcraft residential experience, by day and night! Team work and tribe bonding were evident through challenges set in the forest, and Eva recalls her experience and other creatures she met along the way: ‘When I went to Bushcraft with the rest of Year 7, I found a variety of challenges that pushed me out of my comfort zone; this was very challenging, but it has helped me become a stronger person. The thing that I found hardest to overcome were the creepy-crawlies – there was a variety ranging from millipedes to earwigs. We named every one we discovered, and I found that, after naming these innocent creatures, happy bugs with a bad reputation, this reassured me that they would do me no harm and that they were more scared of us than we were of them!’ JC
Apple Sauce for the MacMillan Coffee Morning In House 1 this week, we made apple sauce to sell at MacMillan Coffee Morning – we hope you have the date in your diary!
House 1 weekend shopping 41 girls went into Brighton this Saturday to do a little shopping, and we found our first snail! #BeMoreSnail www.snailspacebrighton
28th September – House 1 ODR – 10:30-11:30am JWL
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The next shopping trip will be on Saturday 29 September, when we will be heading to Eastbourne Arndale Centre, via the Seven Sisters. JWL
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
At home in House 2
21 September 2018 - Issue 4
House 3’s trip a WSL women’s football match
It was French Toast all round, along with a masterclass in how to play UNO in House 2 – what’s not to like?
11 students from Roedean travelled to the Broadfield stadium, Crawley, to watch a cup game between London Bees and Brighton and Hove Albion. The girls had a great time cheering on the teams and waving the Brighton Flags. The day was made even better by the team the girls were supporting (obviously Brighton) winning 3-1!
House 3 Pamper Party After a few days out of school on the year group residential trips, House 3 girls enjoyed an afternoon of pampering at the weekend. They enjoyed nail painting, face masks, and fruit tea detox drinks, and they all felt very relaxed after the session.
House 4 Miss Truman delivered a magnificent baking masterclass in House 4 last weekend! The girls absolutely loved creating their very own homemade pavlovas from scratch. There was also a fun fitness session in the gym, which was enjoyed by many House 4 girls this week. And the junior House 4 girls loved book club! Harry Potter and Hot Chocolate = a perfect evening! SEW Page 5
21 September 2018 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Heritage Open Days at Roedean On three tours on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday last week, 47 members of the public visited Roedean as part of the Heritage Open Days’ programme. Feedback was very positive, as always, and here is a selection of comments:
‘Very enriching experience. Roedean School is a special place, embodying a great amount of tradition and variety of interest.’ M Barnard
‘Beautiful architecture, and very interesting and informative tour.’ N Vine
‘Very knowledgeable guides brought the school to life.’ T Paul
‘Very interesting and professional and informative. There was lots of space to ask questions, and no feeling of being rushed.’ V Shepherd
Ella and Abi at the Brighton Triathlon
Ella L and Abi B (Yr11) had a wonderful time volunteering for the Brighton tri last weekend. It was a much harder day’s work than they anticipated, working from 7:30 to 2:00 – this was Ella’s second year, but both girls had a thoroughly good time!
Thank you very much to Mrs Sullivan and Miss Morrell for leading these tours.
Art These two beautiful pieces of mono screen-printing, with the guidance of Miss Phillips, the new Art technician, are by Daisy W (Yr13). They are for her A Level personal investigation, inspired by Marlene Dumas.
Do you love a good quiz? What’s your general knowledge like? Is your head full of apparently useless facts? Why not come along to the Parents’ Guild Quiz, to put your knowledge to the test?
JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
Mon 24 Sept
The U13A team had a tough start against a very well drilled Windlesham House side. Although Windlesham showed lots of skill and excellent direct passing, Roedean pressed well and worked incredibly hard to counter attack Windlesham House. Although it was a 4-1 loss, there were lots of positives to take from the game and I look forward to seeing the progress and development of this team for the future.
U13B vs Windlesham House
The U13Bs had a really positive first game of the season! They had great communication throughout the match and all worked so hard on and off the ball. Special mention goes to Tia and Maddie for their excellent performances which earned them joint players of the match! Keep it up girls.
Firbank Grammar School Sports Tour visiting Roedean from Australia Photographer in School
Sport U13A vs Windlesham House
WEEK AHEAD?
Music Scholars’ Teatime Recital
U13C vs Windlesham House
The U13Cs started off their season well showing some great skills and teamwork. They worked very hard to all help defense clear the ball out from the D, with some great passes out from Ellena and Bella. Congratulations to Bella for receiving girl of the game for fantastic play throughout the pitch. Well done girls!
U13D vs Windlesham House
The U13D team played exceptionally well. At half time we were 1 nil up! Unfortunately the opposition scored to equalise to make it 1-1. Player of the match was awarded to Polly Stubbs who scored our goal. We also had some excellent play in defense by Tallulah and Laila. All the players demonstrated excellent teamwork throughout the match.
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 Page 6
Tue 25 Sept
Hockey U16 Sussex Cup (A)
Wed 26 Sept
EUROPEAN DAY OF LANGUAGES
Thur 27 Sept
U14 Hockey Sussex Cup (A)
Fri 28 Sept
Founders’ Day
U13A-C & U12A-C Hockey vs Worth (A)
Macmillan Coffee Morning Pitch Opening – Helen Richardson-Walsh and the Mayor of Brighton and Hove open Roedean’s all-weather pitch
Sat 29 Sept
1st, U15A&B & U15A&B Hockey vs Ibstock Place (H)
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