25 January 2019 - Issue 3
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction
Taking the goats for a walk
In a week when the School has marked Holocaust Memorial Day, it is a source of strength to be part of a diverse community. It is this which helps to build tolerance, grow understanding, and break down barriers. I am grateful to everyone who shared very personal stories of their families’ experiences in Chapel, and to Ananya and Alma, who played and sang with such conviction and depth of understanding.
The Deepdene little farmers group took the goats out for a walk during their weekly visit on Wednesday afternoon – the little farmers found it hilarious that they were taken to the farm and
There have been a number of new initiatives this week, and I am delighted to hear about some of our Year 8s taking part in a national competition to find the next generation of female code-breakers. Despite there being celebrated British women code-breakers in the last century, the field of cyber security is dominated by men, and the National Cyber Security Centre at GCHQ is trying to do more to attract girls into the field. Higher up the School, this week, we have launched a Sixth Form leadership development programme in partnership with RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, and we are confident that the skills developed will complement strong academic results, in order to place girls in a strong position when applying for university or careers. Elsewhere in the School, the Roedean Academy has continued to show its impact on every student again this week, and the students are now halfway through the programme. In sport, there are an increasing number of netball fixtures to look forward to, and in the arts, I want to congratulate all our LAMDA girls who have achieved outstanding results across the school. Congratulations also, to Mary in Year 13 who gave today’s fascinating Academic Lecture on Russian Futurism. I will be introducing five fantastic YA novelists to over 200 local pupils at tonight’s Southern Schools’ Book Award event, which is hosted at Roedean each year. We look forward to finding out the winner. I wish you all the best for next week.
the goats were being taken to school. Thanks to the year 12 CAP group for hosting and to the farm prefects for lending a hand with the animals. JRO
Leadership Workshop with RADA At Roedean, we know that, whilst having excellent grades is important, developing your leadership capabilities and knowing how to present yourself with confidence is vital in helping you to secure, maintain, and be promoted in a job in the future.
and the Young Vic, in movies and on TV, including playing the lead in Channel 4’s improvised comedy series The Work Experience. She put the girls through their paces in an engaging and interactive session that was hugely enjoyable and informative.
To this end, students from Year 11 and Year 12 today took part in a workshop with Kate Walker Miles from RADA Business, in which they explored how to develop their communication skills, have a commanding presence, and the confidence to present themselves with credibility in front of different audiences and in different environments. Kate, who trained at RADA and has a degree in Experimental Psychology from Oxford University, is herself an experienced actor, appearing at the RSC
The Year 12 will be able to put these ideas into practice later this term, when they will start the process of Prefect selection and move into those leadership roles in school, but the students also picked up tips that they can bring to university and job interviews in the future. We are keen to explore how we will work with RADA Business further to develop an exciting leadership programme for Sixth Form students. Watch this space! GH
25 January 2019 - Issue 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Unsung heroes in the spotlight
Holocaust Memorial Day – 27 January
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.
In our Chapel Services this week, the School marked Holocaust Memorial Day. Hearing Miss Keller and some girls recounting their relatives’ experiences of the Holocaust was incredibly moving, and this was complemented by two wonderful musical items – Ananya played the haunting ‘Kol Nidrei’ by Max Bruch on the cello, a musical interpretation of the opening prayer recited on the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and Alma sang the poem ‘Eli, Eli’ beautifully to end the service.
His wife and his daughter, Frieda, did not. Surviving the camps, the Holocaust, meant the loss of who you were before, and who you would become.
OB: In ‘The History Boys’ by Alan Bennett, the boys in their History class discuss how we can comprehend, teach and remember the Holocaust. Is it too tragic a subject to be used in an examination? Does an educational visit to Auschwitz somehow demean the suffering? One character sums up their concern: ‘To put something in context is a step towards saying it can be understood and that it can be explained. And if it can be explained that it can be explained away.’ The fear expressed here and felt by many is that we don’t know how to respond in the face of terrible suffering.
‘It is lucky that it is not windy today. Strange, how in some way one always had the impression of being fortunate, how some chance happening, perhaps infinitesimal, stops us crossing the threshold of despair and allows us to live.
Tabitha AP and Berenice I (Yr8) for being exemplary in caring for a pupil and supporting staff during a games lesson [JC] Eden W-N (Yr11) for organising the most beautiful surprise baby shower for Mr and Mrs Wilson and all of the House 4 girls to enjoy. It was a wonderful community event - your homemade cake was amazing and delicious, and the games were brilliant. It was a very special afternoon! [JL] Nancy K (Yr12) for overcoming her nerves and reading in the Theatre for the first time in her 6 years here [DWO]
On Sunday at 9pm, the BBC will show ‘The Last Survivors’, a documentary following some of the last survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. These extraordinary individuals share their insights allowing those who experienced these horrors to articulate their feeling themselves. What we learn by these and other individual testimonies, is that each individual’s tragedy and pain and suffering, although part of something larger, is unique and highly personal, and can be more easily understood and accessed in that way. We commemorate today, therefore, by listening to the voices and stories of those who experienced such suffering, not to react, but to listen and bear witness. TK: 27 January is Holocaust Memorial Day, the day each year when we remember the 6 million people who were systematically persecuted and murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during the Holocaust. 27 January is the day Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp, was liberated. Auschwitz was the work camp, and nearby Birkenau the extermination camp – nearly one million Jews, as well as 120,000 Poles, Roma, and Soviet prisoners of war died there. My great uncle Simon survived two concentration camps – Auschwitz-Birkenau, and Bergen-Belsen.
Primo Levi is regarded as one of the most remarkable writers who wrote about the experience of living through and surviving Auschwitz concentration camp. I am going to read the following extract from Primo Levi’s book, ‘If This is a Man’, which shows how hope was a means to survive the daily suffering:
It is raining, but it is not windy. Or else, it is raining, and it is also windy: but you know that this evening it is your turn for the supplement of soup, so that even today you find the strength to reach the evening.’ He went on to write, ‘There is no rationality in the Nazi hatred: it is hate that is not in us, it is outside of man. We cannot understand it, but we must understand from where it springs, and we must be on our guard. If understanding is impossible, knowing is imperative, because what happened could happen again.’ Rachel E: My grandmother was born in 1936, in Milan and was only 3 when WWII broke out. She remembers being awoken in the middle of the night by sirens, followed by air raids from the British military. How she and the others managed to get to sleep, I’ll never know. Eventually she and her family fled Milan out of fear for their lives, taking refuge at her aunt’s house in Lake Como with several other relatives in 1941. In 1943, the situation in northern Italy was so bad that her mother and father decided to make for Switzerland leaving her other relatives behind, not knowing that several months after their departure in November 1943, the rest of her relatives would be found and sent on a train to Auschwitz. Luckily they were thwarted by British forces and made their way to Switzerland through the Alps with two contrabbandieri – people who offered to help Jews flee in exchange for money. She had to crawl along mud, grass and snow and be silent as they passed a couple of German soldiers, only to be left by their helpers as soon as they reached
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. Sophia E, Alya Z, Rosie J, Nadia A, Nancy K, and Holly C (Yr12), and Georgia A, Sorcha H, Lucy B, Paloma S, Teddy C, Adila MH, and Zarbanu M (Yr13) for their tireless efforts welcoming and escorting our visitors around the School [Admissions]
Mrs King (Catering) – we came back late from Rockclimbing at 2.00, and she happily served us lunch, and went out of her way to make sure we had the option of all the meals, including dessert (Yr 10 GCSE PE)
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Mr Fletcher - for coming down to watch the Staff vs Student Football and managing to selfappoint himself as the staff team manager. He showed excellent support and encouragement to both the girls and staff out in the freezing cold [PHA]
Mrs Leckie – for organising such a wonderful House 4 event and keeping it secret from Mrs Wilson with approximately 100 House 4 girls involved!! [SEW]
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
25 January 2019 - Issue 3
Swiss soil, but not safety. Her parents were sent to work in another village and my grandmother fostered by a lovely Swiss family. Sophia S: My great grandmother was brought up in England as a second generation Polish immigrant. She would often travel to stay with her family who were living in Gdansk Poland, which was known as Danzig at the time. They were well off – her uncle owned a large tobacco factory employing over 150 staff. During the 1930s however, her Polish family realised that they needed to leave the area as the Jewish population were treated especially badly there. Two of her cousins Kurt and Lisa moved to France, however both were later deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau where they were murdered. Despite all the pain and suffering that took place for the Jews in Gdansk, Poland, there are still two synagogues in the city today, with a small Jewish community. At around the same time as millions were being persecuted in Europe, in Asia, terrible massacres were also taking place, and Leila is now going to share her story: Leila L: My name is Leila and today I’m going to share something that was written by my grandpa. My grandpa is in his 80s now and he grew up at the time when Japan invaded China. I would now like to read to you what my grandpa has told me about the Nanjing Massacre: ‘The Nanjing Massacre in Chinese history was unbelievably brutal and it was a very grave disaster for Chinese citizens. When the devastating massacre happened in 1938, I was only an infant in a small village in Guangdong which was quite far away from the capital city at the time – Nanjing. In Nanjing, there were thousands of babies being born around the same time as me, they could have had a wonderful life and witnessed the rise of our country as I did. But when evil struck, they didn’t manage to survive, nor did their parents, their family and neighbours. Throughout my life, thinking about this part of history has not made me feel lucky to survive the years of war, but guilty for leaving those 300,000 innocent lives behind. 81 years have passed, modern citizens no longer have to bear that deep sorrow that remained after these wars. “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. Those who neglect the past will be unlikely to escape it in order to create a better future.” Our generation just hopes that young people are able to remember the pain we gained from the bloodbaths in history, and to cherish the peace. That is the biggest respect we could show to history and the lost lives.’
Cyber Intelligence for Year 8 Twelve girls in Year 8 have been taking part in the National Cyber Security Centre’s (NCSC) CyberFirst Girls Competition 2019 this week. The competition, open to Year 8 girls across England and Wales, aims to provide them with more information about cyber security and expose them to the skills and techniques used every day by cyber security professionals. Competing in three teams of four, the girls began the first round on Monday, and the competition closes on the 28th January 2019. The first round includes challenges from four cyber security categories: Cryptography, Cyber Security, Logic & Coding, and Networking. It has been excellent seeing the girls grow and gain a deeper insight into cyber security and the techniques involved, as well as seeing them challenged, inquisitive, and resilient, with some particularly difficult questions. Some examples of the challenges that the girls have completed are below: 1 An example of deciphering an error-correcting code
2 An example of using the open source tool CyberChef to decrypt a cipher.
OB: It is our duty to remember, but it is also our duty to hope. To conclude the service, Alma sang ‘Eli Eli’ (My God, My God), written by Hana Szenes, a Hungarian poet. She was a paratrooper trained by the British Army to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. Hana was captured whilst on a mission, and tortured in Auschwitz by the Nazis who wanted her to reveal what she knew. She would only reveal her name, and she was killed at Auschwitz in 1944.
We wish the girls the best of luck for the remainder of the competition – let’s see if they can get through to the next round, and, who knows, they might even be GCHQ cryptographers of the future! PHA Page 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
25 January 2019 - Issue 3
3Fall Dance Company at Roedean 3Fall Dance Company from the University of Chichester visited Roedean this week to give a workshop to the Year 10 GCSE Dance students, focusing on contemporary technique, and they also taught repertoire from one of their professional works ‘R504’. Our students worked very hard and enjoyed working with the company members. Maria P said, ‘The workshop that we took part in was so helpful, and it helped me improve my coordination and flexibility. It was so fun and I really enjoyed it, it was also great to
work with really good dancers. The repertoire was also really interesting to learn.’ The company also performed three pieces in the Theatre, all created by professional choreographers, James Wilton, Antonia Grove, and Carmine De Amicis. 3Fall gave a fantastic performance, and it was thoroughly enjoyed by all the students and staff in the audience. SA
Outstanding LAMDA results again – well done! Congratulations to all those who took LAMDA examinations in November in Verse & Prose, Acting, and Musical Theatre. They achieved a remarkable 5 Merits and 26 Distinctions, with every girl being awarded a Distinction in Musical Theatre and Verse & Prose, and Fleur got 100% – well done to everyone! KM Verse & Prose Jaime H - Grade 4 Flo IS - Grade 4 Lucy N - Grade 4 Eloise G - Grade 6 Jemima G - Grade 6 Sarah J - Grade 6 Venus G - Grade 7 Acting Fleur F – Grade 2 Solo Elodie N - Grade 2 Solo Anna O’D - Grade 2 Solo Atlanta H & Roma T - Grade 3 Duo Maddie M & Grace L - Grade 3 Duo Nour A - Grade 5 Solo India B - Grade 5 Solo Mia C - Grade 5 Solo Jemima V - Grade 5 Solo Annabel T - Grade 6 Solo Katie C - Grade 7 Solo Clara H & Mary M - Grade 7 Duo Scarlet P - Grade 7 Solo Amber P - Grade 7 Solo Annabel B & Milly L - Grade 8 Duo Musical Theatre Olivia K - Grade 3 Solo Dorothea B & Jemima V - Grade 5 Duo Poppy S - Grade 5 Solo Niah S - Grade 6 Solo Ava D - Grade 7 Solo Eden W-N - Grade 7 Solo
Beautiful hand-cut stencil work by Echo C (Yr13). Page 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Galina’s the face of Yamaha clarinets Congratulations to Galina B (Yr7) who is the face of Yamaha student clarinets for their student instrument campaign which has just been released this week. The video was filmed at Easter, and it is one of several Yamaha are using, including a number of her playing. Follow this link: https://www.facebook.com/101070865501/ posts/10156838012750502/ Well done, Galina!
25 January 2019 - Issue 3
Without borders(!) – a celebration of the House diversity. by Katie J-A (boarder)
‘Hi, I’m Katie and I am a Year 7 weekly boarder in House 3. I have really enjoyed my first term and boarding at Roedean. I really enjoy being in House 3 as it is definitely a very diverse house, with students coming from over 10 countries. This gives us girls the opportunity to experience different cultures and languages. The diversity of House 3 is not just in the girls, it is also found within the amazing range of activities on offer, from Monday movies, yoga, gym, arts and crafts with Ms. Allen, and then the inevitable pancake making. These activities have offered me the opportunity to settle in better and socialise with other girls in my house. I think that I am very lucky to be surrounded by amazing staff and girls in House 3, and its diversity offers a unique insight into my time here at Roedean – I am very excited for what’s to come.’
House 4 Surprise! On Tuesday 22 January, the whole of House 4 were involved with a special surprise baby shower for Mr and Mrs Wilson! The ODR was transformed with beautiful baby boy decorations, there were delicious homemade cakes, and lots of gorgeous pressies. Approximately 100 girls absolutely loved the baby bingo and chocolate nappy games. Thank you so much to Eden and Mrs Leckie for organising such a wonderful House 4 event – and to everyone who contributed to making the afternoon so special. Baby Wilson is already a very lucky boy! The House 4 girls also enjoyed International Popcorn Day and the fact that Mrs Wilson is about to pop, with many different flavours of popcorn during our boarding house meeting this week!
Face Masks in House 1 Face masks & herbal teas in House 1 on a Saturday Night! Hope you all recognise us as we all look so much younger! JWL
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25 January 2019 - Issue 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Gamelan Workshops at Roedean
Netball vs Ardingly College U14A
This weekend the U14A competed in a very evenly matched game against Ardingly. Both teams played exceptionally well and, in particular, made some good passages of play from defence to attack. Roedean just managed to keep the lead for the first half due to some accurate shooting, however Ardingly came back in the 3rd quarter to bring the score even. The girls went back on with a determined attitude in the last quarter and made better decisions when we turned the ball over. As a result, we managed to pull away by three goals. It was great to see the girls attempting to apply the instructions given at quarter time. Opposition’s player was awarded to Shamina for her tenacious defence in the circle, and the coaches’ player was Izzy H for her exceptionally timed movement.
On Thursday 17 January, a Year 5 class from St Mark’s Primary and the entire Year 8 cohort at Roedean were fortunate enough to benefit from a workshop on Indonesian gamelan music. Mr Rous’s erstwhile tutor, John Pawson from the Royal College of Music, gently led the girls into some wonderful ensemble playing on these beautiful and ancient instruments. This amazing experience was repeated on Friday 18th with the entire Year 9 cohort. Both days finished with a short concert of all the different pieces which the various groups of girls had learned – it was lovely. AWH
Final result: Roedean 13 - Ardinlgy 10
U15B
Roedean Entrepreneurial Challenge On Thursday afternoon, the school ran its first ever in-house entrepreneurial challenge. The school was lucky enough to have successful entrepreneur and published author, David Mellor, coming in to run a business simulation. David has written 4 books on different aspects of entrepreneurship. The students worked in groups competing against each other to generate as much profit as they could by making a range of business decisions on areas such as location and premise, their target market, product design, advertising, and price. All the students really engaged with the tasks set and it was a joy to see so many of our Year 12 and 13 students testing their entrepreneurial skills. The winning team was Lottie H, Shandy Z, Jessy C, Phoebe H, Chelsy X, and Calista T. Well done. SLO
Ayla also took part: ‘This Thursday I took part in a really fun business competition. Four groups were assigned the same pizza business to run with different locations. The point of the game was to figure out the perfect strategy that is specific to your location. We had to decide virtually everything about our business starting with pricing of our pizzas and finishing with what kind of advertising we wanted to invest in. All of our decisions were then put into a computer program that calculated the profit that we made. The team with the most profit is the winner! Unfortunately, my team gained the second place, but the most important thing is that I had a really good time. I found the game itself really engaging and it taught me quite a few things about working as a team. It also has helped me to bond and communicate with some people from my year group, which I am really happy about. I loved the experience, so Siko and I have decided to definitely try our luck and entrepreneurial skills next year as well!’ Ayla
Emily T’s running a marathon! Emily, who was in Year 13 at Roedean last year, and is now studying Chemistry at Oxford University, wil be running her first full marathon in Bilbao, Spain, in October. You may remember that she and Martha N decided to run the Brighton Half last year. Emily has set herself
the massive challenge of raising over £1000 for Action Against Hunger, and she is hoping that members of the Roedean community may like to support her with this. The charity sends food to malnourished children in poverty-stricken communities and areas affected by natural Page 6
The U15B had a good match against Ardingly on Saturday. We had a slow start losing the first quarter 5 -1, but the girls came out into the second quarter winning it 5 – 3. They closed the gap on Ardingly to make the score at half time 8 - 6. All the team worked tirelessly and some excellent shooting from Gladys and Isabel. Ardingly managed to pull ahead in the third quarter, but Roedean responded well, drawing the last quarter with the final score 14 - 8 to Ardingly. Well done to all the girls who played – it was a fantastic match to watch and we saw some excellent improvements from all. Congratulations to Esme who received oppositions’ player.
U18A
The 1st Netball team were cohesive from the start with F Finnegan setting the pace in centre. We comfortably won the 1st quarter, dominating both possession and shots on goal with a 60% shot conversion rate. The second half saw Ardingly come back and, with 3 minutes left on the clock, we were 2 goals down. We bought it back up to 12-11 to win the first half of the game. We focused on possession and owning our space in the 3rd quarter and we were drawing with 15 minutes to go. Despite losing 28 goals to 25, the game gave us the opportunity to identify individual strengths and this week we are going to focus on creating a team environment in which these strengths can be utilised. The match highlighted the girls’ ability and we need to work on making sure we have both the mental and physical strength to secure wins. Well done to all those who played and thank you to our parents whose relentless encouragement and support was very much appreciated. The Player of the Match was Ellie F. disasters or conflict. We hope that Emily will come back to Roedean to tell us all about it. If you would like to support her, please follow this link: https://bilbaonight2019.everydayhero.com/uk/ emilytownsendbilbao
25 January 2019 - Issue 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Netball vs Lingfield College U12A
Another great performance by the U12A team – after a slow start, losing the first quarter 5-2, the girls really stepped up for the second quarter. Some sharp attacking play from both Tayla and Elsie made it difficult for the opposition’s defence. Both teams worked extremely hard with the game neck and neck throughout, especially with some injuries in the Lingfield team. Congratulations to Ruby, who was voted opposition’s player, Tayla who was named players’ player, and Grace T who got coaches’ player. It was a fantastic squad performance with some areas we can work on moving forward highlighted. Keep up the hard work girls!
U13C
The U13C had a brilliant game against Lingfield. During the first half, Roedean girls were keeping possession of the ball and marking tightly to their players. However, Lingfield were reading the ball well, so they made some strong interceptions. Roedean was up 7-4 in the first half. The 2nd half was a strong half for Roedean as they were feeding the ball into the circle well and defending brilliantly! A special mention to Georgina G-W
U12C
The U12C team’s goals for the game were to identify team strengths and achieve our process goals of creating partnerships, using space, and driving towards the ball. Despite our 3-1 loss at quarter time, the girls improved on the second quarter and only conceded one goal making the score at half time 4-1. We found the third quarter challenging, and despite an early second goal in the last quarter, lost 9-2. All the players involved represented Roedean well and set a positive tone for the season ahead. The player of the match was Madeline E.
U13C
and Rania K for their brilliant shooting. Overall, it was a good game and a special mention goes to Amalie S-J for receiving girl of the game for her fantastic defending skills. Roedean won 17-5.
U13D
Congratulations to the Under 13 D Netball team, who won 18 goals to 17 in a very closely fought match against Lingfield College. We were leading most of the way throughout the match, but our team needed to play extra well to maintain the lead and eventually win. Polly S and Alicia S worked well together in the shooting circle and scored some excellent goals. The centre court players demonstrated good team work and exhibited good attacking play. In defence, Athena D and Alissandra H marked well and intercepted effectively in the circle. Well played!
U13A Going from Strength to Strength! What a couple of weeks it’s been for the U13A Squad! Last week, they triumphed over Brighton College taking the win 6-2. On Tuesday this week, they won their Sussex Cup match against Davison to progress into the 3rd round and on Wednesday, they had an amazing performance at the U13 Hurst Tournament! At this tournament, the girls won all 4 of their group games, beating Ardingly 9-3, Lingfield 8-6, Handcross 16-0, and Windlesham 11-10. The girls then progressed into the Semi Final where they took on the hosts Hurst. At half time, Roedean were down by a single goal, and as they came of the court for a team chat, the girls positivity was commendable! Sasha H was on amazing form showing some real improvement in her movement and shooting, and her link work with Ava L was incredible. Bella D and Isabella P worked solidly in defence together and turned over so many balls – superb work. In the 2nd half, Hurst just pipped us to it by going a couple ahead, and their shooting circle was too strong. Hurst, the eventual winners, took the win 8-6. Amy N, Amelia K and Erin S were also part of the succsessful squad, but special mention goes to Tia L who has come on so far in the last month or so, and put in some outstanding performances over the tournament – a very big well done!
JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
U13B
U13B
Mon 28 Jan
The U13Bs has a tough game against Lingfield. Defence worked really hard to pick up some fantastic interceptions and get the ball through the court effectively. Throughout the game, the girls improved and seemed more confident to take shots. Despite a valiant effort Roedean was unfortunately unable to secure a win. The players’ player was Maddie M, and the coaches’ player was Nia S.
WEEK AHEAD?
U13A In2Hockey Sussex Qualifier Tournament at Eastbourne Strings Teatime Recital
Tue 29 Jan
Year 9 Parents’ Evening
Wed 30 Jan
Year 9 Parents’ Evening
Sat 2 Feb
1st, 2nd, U15A&B & U14A&B vs Seaford (A)
U13D
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
U12A,B,C&D & U13A,B,C&D Netball vs Mayfield (A)
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