30 November 2018 - Issue 12
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction
Congratulations to everyone who was involved in the Literally Music Gala Concert last week. The standard was incredibly high, and it was wonderful to see so many girls performing. Given its literary theme, the concert was an ideal fund-raiser for the St Mark’s Library, so it is wonderful that the evening raised well over £1600 – well done to everyone involved! Thank you very much to those who have already donated a book to help stock the Library – if you can, please help to support this following the link at the bottom of this page of this review or buying a book at the Christmas Fair. Tonight’s Winter Wonderland Ball in Keswick House promises to be a lovely event for the Sixth Form and their guests, and it will be the first of
a series of events leading up to Christmas in the last week of term. Next Friday, we will have a ‘Christmas Jumper’ non-uniform day, and then our annual Christmas Fair on the following day - as ever, the girls have come up with some wonderful ideas, and I hope that many friends and family will join us at this event to buy some lovely stocking fillers and have some fun, all to raise funds for our School charities. We are very pleased to be welcoming our two Sports Ambassadors, Kate and Helen Richardson Walsh, to Roedean next week. They will be working with girls from all years on Monday, as well as running a workshop with older girls about what it takes to be successful
while remaining true to themselves. It will be lovely to have them back at Roedean. Good luck to those Year 13s with Oxbridge interviews next week. One student has already been, and we are delighted that the largest number in many years have been called to attend interviews. Well done to the GCSE Drama students whose devised pieces went very well this week, and good luck for the A Level pieces next week. I hope you all have a wonderful last few weeks of term - the School is looking very festive, with the lovely trees and decorations going up, so we are certainly getting in the spirit of it!
Books can change lives…and so can YOU! How to be a CHANGE MAKER and HELP THE HOMELESS AT XMAS This term, 7D’s English class have been reading the fabulous Stone Cold by Robert Swindells, a book about a homeless boy named Link and his experiences on the streets of London.
Through our reading we gained insight into the causes and effects of homelessness, and everyone agreed that our perceptions of homeless people have changed vastly after reading this life-changing book. Previously, we might have been quick to pass blame and look at them negatively, but Swindells really sets out to dispel stereotyped beliefs and incite our sympathy and compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves. His lead character never sinks to feeling sorry for himself and provides a consistently friendly voice through his honest and down to earth narrative. As part of our research and newly-developed understanding of the homeless, we reached out to Mr Weir who has volunteered in the past with Off the Fence, the incredible homeless
Please help us to stock St Mark’s new Library!
charity in Brighton. They have worked tirelessly for 21 years on the streets of Brighton, giving food and shelter, showers, clothes, or simply a kind and listening ear to people who find themselves living rough in our city. We were delighted to welcome Mr Weir’s good friend, and founder of the charity, Mr Young to the Year 7-9 Assembly on Monday 26 November. Mr Young was the epitome of a truly inspirational person and speaker. He told us about his own difficult upbringing and all the amazing work his charity has achieved over the years – he spoke
fondly of his love for his home city Brighton and how he wanted to give back to the home he held so close to his heart. In closing, he challenged all of us to be ‘change makers’ in the future, stating how excited he was to work closely with our school community in helping the homeless. If you would like to be a ‘change maker’ and help out in the run up to Christmas, please email Ms Shillito for more information – we are asking for donations from an Amazon wishlist that Off the Fence have sent us, and every little donation can help make a big difference.
Thank you very much to all those who have already donated books – the children at St Mark’s will love them - but the library is not even half full yet! Please help to support St Mark’s Library by following this link: https://roedean.wufoo.com/forms/book-donation-for-st-marks-library/ You can also purchase a book at the Christmas Fair and put the cost on your daughter’s bill.
30 November 2018 - Issue 12
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Unsung heroes in the spotlight
Shakespeare Schools’ Festival – ‘The Comedy of Errors’
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.
Lara N (Yr7) for baking cupcakes for all of 7D to celebrate her birthday [SOB]
Millie H for continuing her work on the Farm in horrid weather [LFI]
On November 20th, the Year 8 cast presented their performance of ‘The Comedy of Errors’ as part of the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival at the Old Market Theatre in Brighton. The girls received an accolade from the Festival Director for their excellent ensemble and comedic skills and for their “impressive command of Shakespeare’s language”. On Friday, the girls presented the performance to a huge school audience and the shared enjoyment of the comedy and the girls’ sparkling performances made it a delightful end to the week.
Galina playing in the National Children’s Orchestra
Ella B, Galina B, Olivia C, Fleur F, Holly G, Natalya H, Atlanta H for doing a fantastic job of helping at the Science Challenge Day [JCO]
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. Mr Rous for stepping in as organist while Mr Maulkin is absent [RB]
Mr Thomas and his team for cooking the most delicious turkey roast dinner and pumpkin pie for the House 4 Thanksgiving meal [SEW]
Mr Tostevin for helping 11P make the Christmas Fair hockey game [PCH]
On Sunday, Galina B (Yr7) played in her final concert of the year with the National Children’s Orchestra at the Milton Court Concert Hall, in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, which is part of London’s Barbican Centre. The programme included Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony and
House 1 Christmas Prep House 1 have been so busy preparing for the Christmas Fair this weekend. On Friday night, we made chocolate reindeers to sell. Then on Saturday night, we made 10 jars of the famous House 1 marmalade and prepared the dough for our Ginger Bread men, whilst Harriet watched her favourite TV programme! And we will be decorating Christmas Cakes next Saturday to sell at fair – all the Houses have a signup sheet for this activity, so do come along. Don’t forget to come and look at our stall at the Fair, because we have so many lovely home-made items to sell. JWL Page 2
the Dance of the Hours by Ponchielli. Galina has been playing the clarinet as a member of the orchestra since she was 9, playing in the national age-banded orchestras (under 10s and under 11s), and the regional London Junior Orchestra.
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
30 November 2018 - Issue 12
Literally Music Gala Concert The concert last Friday was absolutely mesmerising. Along with the performances, we were absorbed into the worlds of Alice, the Chocolate Factory, France in 1832, and so many other magical places. We were deeply impressed by the concert and its ability to remove us completely from everyday life and transport us into the all-time literary classics. We were blown away by the voices of the choir and the individual singers. Among all the wonderful performances, our favourite was ‘I Dreamed a Dream’. The song was the final piece, performed by the orchestra, choir, and the Year 7s. The final song wrapped up the concert perfectly and definitely left the audience in awe. Congratulations to everyone involved! Anne-Sophie L and Camille C (Yr10)
Deepdene visiting the Farm
Piano Masterclass
The children from the Early Years class at Deepdene came to Roedean this week to visit the farm as part of the Year 12 CAP provision. The little ones loved seeing the animals and taking part in the arts and crafts activities that were put on by the Year 12 CAP group, and they loved working with the children too! JRO
On Monday, our Roedean pianists took part in a fantastic Masterclass with the renowned pianist and performer, Maria Marchant. The girls learnt about how to take charge of a performance and how to communicate with an audience. They were given advice on phrasing and use of dynamic control on the instrument. The day finished with an informal concert with a few girls selected from the day whose pieces were performance-ready. It was great to see the girls performing with maturity and new-found confidence – the standard was exceptionally high. We were lucky enough to have Maria perform at the start of the concert, playing a wonderful piece called Cloisters at Midnight by Granville Bantock. It was wonderful to watch how charismatic and full of energy the performance was. Well done to all the girls and to Maria for a truly exceptional day.
Page 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
30 November 2018 - Issue 12
News of Friends This new feature of the Head’s Weekly Review is a space where we can celebrate the successes of our OR community. If you have something you would like us to shout about, please email Grace Cather on glc@roedean.co.uk. The first OR to be featured is Kirstin Duffield (Cropper, No. 2, 1984-1989). Kirstin works in IT and is the Managing Director of Morning Data Ltd. Earlier this year, Kirstin was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she has not let that slow her down! As well as now blogging about her experiences, she has also been raising money for Cancer Research UK – she has challenged herself to cycle 300 miles in a month, and she still finds time to run her business! This has culminated in Kirstin being named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Venus Awards last Friday evening. This is an achievement anyone should be proud of, but even more so given her current battle. Congratulations Kirstin!
Science Experience Day for Prep Schools 34 children from a variety of schools attended the day, hosted by the Science Department, and it was wonderful to see how enthusiastic they all were. In Chemistry, they used chemical analysis to identify unknown chemicals, in Biology, they investigated the amount of energy in different foods, and in Physics, they designed an alternative stop-clock. All the children also experienced the Planetarium in the Theatre, which they loved. All in all, it was a brilliant day! “Please pass on my thanks to all of the science staff who were involved today and their technician helpers. I think these sorts of events are tremendous and today has certainly boosted lab confidence for a few girls.” – Brambletye School Page 4
30 November 2018 - Issue 12
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
GCSE Devised pieces
Hockey
On Wednesday, the Year 11 Drama students presented their devised performances to a packed house in the Theatre.
The 1st team girls performed brilliantly against Mayfield. The girls had practised set-plays on Friday night training, and it really showed that their tactics and skills were working well during the match. In the first half, Roedean applied lots of pressure with a number of positive short corners allowing us to have a number of shots at goal. However, Mayfield’s defence proved tough. In the second half, our girls started to put together some fantastic passes and they were driving on to the ball. Our forwards held their position in space, enabling Freya to make a strong pass to Jemima, who then had a successful shot at goal. Roedean played well, and the team showed some great teamwork and determination. The final score was 1-0 – well done to all!
The three pieces were created by the girls themselves and were all thought-provoking and very moving. Every performer was intensely convincing and everyone agreed that the level of skill and creativity was truly impressive. Well done to you all!
1st XI Victory against Mayfield
U15B vs Mayfield
The U15Bs had a tough game against Mayfield last week. They were resilient until the end, putting up a strong fight. The defense was getting stronger and stronger at clearing from the D, but we just couldn’t get it past the Mayfield midfield. We analysed our game and the girls came up with lots of areas to take away and work on in training, so we are looking forward to training on Friday.
U12C vs Christ’s Hospital
The U12C had a good match against Christ’s Hospital. Roedean girls started off with a good first half – they made some strong passes and our forwards were attacking well. Grace made a fantastic pass to Fleur, who ended with a fantastic goal. After a positive half time talk, we started the second half with great determination and our positioning was much better. Our defence worked together to put pressure on the opposition, although they just managed to battle through resulting in a goal. The overall result was 1-1. A huge well done to all and a special mention goes to Mollie T, who received girl of the game for her great defending. JJ WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE
WEEK AHEAD?
Mon 3 Dec
Open Teatime Recital
Wed 5 Dec
Classics Dept Trip to British Museum
Year 11 Parents’ Evening U13C & U12A,B&C Hockey vs Seaford Prep (H) U13A&B vs Seaford Prep (A) A Level Drama Devised Performance
Thank you to all of you who have dropped off donations for the Parents’ Guild raffle and tombola at the Christmas Fair! – any others are very welcome 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
Fri 7 Dec
CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAY
Sat 8 Dec
CHRISTMAS FAIR U15B & U14A&B Hockey vs Lancing College (H) 1st, 2nd & U15A Hockey vs Lancing College (A)
Follow us
@RoedeanSchool
@RoedeanSchool