4th November 2016 - Issue 7
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction Welcome back after half term – I hope that you all had a wonderful break and that you have returned refreshed, having perhaps taken the opportunity to do some different things that are not always possible during term-time. The girls who went to Italy over part of half term certainly had a great time, and they immersed themselves fully in the classical world; it is clear that they found the experience exciting and it has made them even keener to find out more and dig deeper into their classical studies. Congratulations to those girls in 6.2 who submitted their university application forms before half term. This will be a huge weight off their shoulders, as the process of applying is a long one, requiring seemingly endless redrafts of their personal statements and important decisions about which courses to apply for, and at which universities. Some of those who applied to Oxbridge have had to sit admissions tests this week, and I hope that they went well. The girls in 6.2 are very focused on their future education at this point, and it will be interesting
Halloween Horror at Roedean! On the first Monday back after half term, ‘All Hallows’ Eve’, we had our annual Halloween Mystery Maze in the Studios. There were six different scenes, which were Crime, Exorcism, Chainsaw, Dolls’ House, Hospital, and Graveyard. The Sixth Form helpers dressed up as different characters to scare the guests, and both the helpers and the guests loved it! We also had a photo booth and sweet sale to raise money for charity. We raised a total of about £70, which was an amazing achievement. The feedback from the guests was amazing, and everyone had great fun. A massive thank you to all students and members of staff who helped to organise the maze. A big thank you too and well done to the actors who made this maze such a great success! We are already looking forward to next year’s maze! Miranda Liu (Events Prefect)
for them and the rest of the school to see last year’s leavers who are coming back to Roedean for Speech Day on Saturday. Many of them will be just a month into their degree courses, and I am sure that they will share all sorts of stories about what it has been like starting the next stage of their education. I am looking forward very much to hearing from our guest speaker, Professor Tanya Byron, on Saturday. I have no doubt that she will be incredibly engaging and that every girl in the audience will take a great deal from what she says. With the school’s growing numbers, this will be one of the few occasions when the entire school body can be together, so it will be a very special occasion for me. Our musicians have been working hard to prepare for their performances on Speech Day, drama rehearsals for A Christmas Carol are well underway, and there have been sporting fixtures in hockey, netball, volleyball, and football. The week has also had a ghoulish start with the annual Horror Maze, organised for
the younger girls by the Sixth Form, so there really is a great deal going on. Looking ahead, next Friday is Remembrance Day and we will be holding two services on that day to mark it. This is a beautiful service each year, and it is important to take a little time to reflect on those who have lost their lives in conflicts all around the world, so that their memories live on. Unbelievably, there are only 50 days until Christmas, and that means that there are only four weeks to our annual Christmas Fair, which happens in conjunction with the Parents’ Guild. The theme this year is Christmas at the Movies, and preparations for this event will begin in earnest very soon. The Roedean Christmas card competition has already had a good number of entries, so any student who wishes to submit a piece of artwork should do so very soon as the deadline for entries is looming – it really is lovely for the school to have a card which features the work of some of the students, so please do get involved. I wish you all good luck for next week!
4th November 2016 - Issue 7
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW 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.
Jemima Venturi (U3) for completing some challenging French translations of her own accord as extra homework [SLA]
Joyce Wei (L4) for always attending rehearsals and being reliable and committed to all the music ensembles she is in [SOB]
Roedean at the Saatchi Gallery The U5 GCSE Art and Design students visited the Saatchi Gallery on Monday 17th of October. The exhibition title, ‘Champagne Life’, was not only fun, but educational. Girls were introduced to the first all-female exhibition in which 16 female artists’ work in sculpture, painting and installation was on show. This focused on what it means to be a female artist working today. However the gallery is not suggesting that there is such a thing as a ‘female practice’: each artist is being celebrated individually for her own achievements. Gender inequality in the art world has been highlighted in recent years. Whilst efforts have been made to address this imbalance, recent statistics show that it is still much harder for female artists to succeed than male artists. These U5 students will make links with these artists as part of their coursework unit on the theme ‘Collections’. The girls enjoyed the experience not only in this exquisite London location of the art gallery,
but the selection of artwork on show. ‘Champagne Life’ marks the Saatchi Gallery’s 30th anniversary and pays tribute to its commitment to supporting the work of women artists early in their careers. GRE
Roedean creates luminescent bacteria!
Ana Elliot (6.1) for an outstanding essay on the popularity of the Catholic restoration under Mary I [RCH]
Lucy Petit (L4) for being the stand-out defender at the match on Wednesday against Hawthorns [KAN]
Sahar Khan (L5) for being a good egg on the Italy Trip: she was friends with everyone and totally reliable and brilliant [PWY]
Janki Pillai (L5) for making an excellent video of the Italy Trip [PWY]
House 1 Before half term, House 1 had a rather festively spooky weekend... We finally managed to attach our branches to the ceiling (house colours, naturally) and the girls decorated them with some ghoulish decorations, so we could see the half term off in scary style! LSK
In the week just before half term, we celebrated national Biology Week by holding a variety of activities during lunchtimes. A most exciting experiment was carried out by 14 students from Years 7 to 12, which involved genetically engineering some bacteria! The gene for a fluorescent protein, extracted from jellyfish DNA, was placed into bacteria. The students carefully followed a precise method to achieve this, which included heat shocking the bacteria to ‘persuade’ them to take up the new gene. Following incubation, the students were very proud to discover their glow-in-thedark bacteria at the end of the week. Other activities included a fascinating academic lecture on Quantum Biology by Mrs Andrew, which certainly generated a lot of interesting thought and discussion. A Biology Quiz was also held, and well done to Melanie Chen in Year 12 for her high score! PCH
CBeebies project at Woodingdean Primary School On Tuesday, Carolyn Rigby, our Faculty Lead for Performing Arts, went along to Woodingdean Primary School to work with thirty pupils from Years 1-3, as part of an exciting project for CBeebies Online Radio. The pupils all took part in a recording of ‘Waterways’, a programme which explores the importance of water through ten short stories and songs. Mrs Rigby played Drama games and lead a vocal warm up to prepare the children for the recording. ‘It was lovely to work with the pupils at Woodingdean. They were incredibly expressive and creative, and I do hope to have further links with the school.’ Page 2
4th November 2016 - Issue 7
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
‘Going to Italy and seeing first-hand the places I’ve studied has motivated me even more to pursue a degree in Classics. It was breath-taking to be standing le in a place like the Colosseum, where peop had been fighting thousands of years ago. Nothing will ever beat standing on top of Vesuvius and seeing all of the Bay of Naples.’
Classics trip to Italy
The half term holidays started with an epic trip to Italy for senior Roedean girls, from years 10-13. The first two days of the trip were spent ambling through the streets of Rome, visiting the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and the Trevi Fountain. The heavier day drove us through Vatican City, the Roman Colosseum, and the Forum. We also guzzled pizza and Amelia Day (6.2) pasta as often as we could. The third day saw us travelling down to the Bay of Naples, and exploring a volcanic crater en route. We also took in a Roman amphitheatre and ‘The trip to Italy was a breath-taking ventured into the bowels of its subterranean experience. The view from the top of prisons. The following day took us on a trek Mount Vesuvius was amazing.’ up Mount Vesuvius – the views over the Bay of Janki Pillai (L5) Naples were simply stunning. That afternoon we explored the ancient seaside town of Herculaneum, a particular favourite with the girls, thanks to its remarkable wall paintings ‘The Classics trip was to Italy and mosaics. Day five was spent entirely in was something that I’ll never Pompeii, skirting around the ruins and soaking up ancient culture. We even managed a forget. Not just from a classics remote Year 9 lesson from Pompeii, as we enthusiasts’ perspective, but from FaceTimed our students back at Roedean! Our a social and cultural experience also, evenings were spent in glorious Sorrento, the trip widened my knowledge and devouring more pizza and pasta. On the final developed my love for the subject.’ day, we had a pizza-making workshop, in a real Italian family-run restaurant, and lunch was our Sophie Delves (6.2) own creation. In the afternoon, we relaxed in to Rome and Sorrento harbour, basking in the October ‘I found our trip joyable. sunshine, before flying home. The ‘Italy was a brilliant Sorrento really en e the trip was an enormous success, and we s wer experience, and a very My main highlight packed in a great deal. The sights were evi Fountain, good way to learn. It inspiring and enlightening, with both Colosseum, the Tr Pompeii, but classicists and culture-vultures fulfilled. was incredibly fun. and the whole of Many thanks to Mrs Miller for her impeccable organisation, and Miss Rossjohn for her company and her help. PWY
And the pizza was the best I’ve ever had.’
yed it all.’ I thoroughly enjo 5)
Sahar Khan (L
Scarlet Parfitt (L5)
The Beat Goes On at Roedean! The director of BEAT GOES ON, Ollie Tunmer, led all our U3 girls in a vibrant day of rhythmic, music and movement, stomp-style workshops. All the girls really entered into the spirit of this very active rhythmic team-work with great energy and enthusiasm. The day concluded with a very enjoyable and slick performance from each of the three classes playing different
devised pieces in samba style. The whole year group began the performance with a very well-coordinated piece involving just body percussion sounds. Our very appreciative audience also had the chance to join in with some call and response exchanges with Ollie himself. Page 3
‘I really loved Rome. I loved it at night at the Trevi Fountain, because it was all lit up. Pompeii was amazing because you could walk down a street where people had walked two thousand years ago.’ Hannah McMaster (L5)
4th November 2016 - Issue 7
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Amelie’s on a winning streak! Amelie Hurley (L4) has started the 2016/17 street dance competition year with wins in her first two competitions! In September, she won the U16 advanced duo title in Wiltshire, and, in October, Amelie and her new crew, BN1, competed at their first event, the South Coast Regional Championships, and they won the U18 crew title. Amelie also won her second regional title in the U16 advanced duos. She is continuing to develop new skills in dance and helped to choreograph part of the crew
routine and jointly choreographed her duo, all broadening her experiences. As South Coast Champions, BN1 were invited to dance at the prestigious TEDx event at Brighton Dome during half term. The theme was ‘We can be heroes’, and the speakers included the TV presenter, Adam Pearson, and Jordan Stephens, the musician and writer from ‘Rizzle Kicks’. Congratulations to Amelie for a great start to the new season!
SPORT
Sports Report Hockey We had some really exciting hockey fixtures on Wednesday against Hawthorns. The U13A team started strongly and were dominating up front, but unfortunately could not capitalise on their possession. After a strong half-time team talk by Miss Sidney, the girls were determined to score early on, but it didn’t go to plan with the opposition making a quick break to score. The girls didn’t drop their heads, but increased the pressure in the attacking D. Eventually we scored! The game ended 1-1, and Lucy Petit was awarded player of the match for her cool head in defence and also her defensive clears.
Football Roedean continued its strong football season with two great wins of 3-0 and 3-1 over Burgess Hill today. The girls took to a new tactical formation and game style, playing in their first 5-a-side of the season. An excellent skill level was shown throughout, particularly by the players of the match, Ella Kennedy-Martin and Josie Fast. Both teams showed great vision, passed accurately, and made good runs throughout the game. We had the majority of the possession and attacking play throughout, and the team shows excellent potential for the future. Well done to all the girls involved. CS
The B team took the field with a real determination and looked strong from the start. Not long after the whistle an amazing run down the right by Georgia Hewitt created a chance for Ada Onyejekwe to score from the back post. The girls continued to dominate and ended the game 2-0 winners. Serena Clyde was awarded coaches’ player, but the whole team demonstrated supreme team work. The Cs had a difficult match against a B/C mixed Hawthorns side. They started well and looked promising in attack, but were a little disorganised in defence which allowed their attack some space to score. The girls remained confident; they fought until the end and were unlucky not to score. Claudia Anaya Lopez and Awele Memeh (Captain) showed super skills. KAN
Netball Our U13B squad travelled to Downlands School for their first round match. With participation for being all one of Roedean’s missions, we are delighted to be able to field more teams in the Sussex Knockout Cup. However, this does come with its disadvantages because Downlands were a strong opposition. After an unsteady start, our defence was strong, but we could not seem to find our shooters. We lost the match, but a positive aspect to take away with us was that the two teams were very evenly match in the final quarter, so a lot of potential was evident when we finally settled into the game. The players’ player was Serena Clyde. GCR
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 4
Volleyball The U15 volleyball team travelled to Burgess Hill for a match this Thursday. The teams were evenly matched and the Roedean girls played exceptionally, unfortunately losing out on each set by only a few points! The game was a great experience for girls; none had represented Roedean before and all are now very keen for a rematch. The final score was 3 sets to 0 to Burgess Hill. HHY
JJ WHAT’S
COMING UP IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
Mon 7 Nov
U15 Knockout Cup Netball vs St Bede’s (H)
Tues 8 Nov
U14A Hockey vs Burgess Hill (A) Business Enterprise event Netball BMW League vs Hove Huskies (A) U12A Knockout Cup Netball vs Moira House (A)
Wed 9 Nov
U13A Hockey Tournament, Ardingly (A) Junior House Hockey (H)
Thur 10 Nov
U14A Hockey Tournament, Ardingly (A) DISCOVERY DAY Badminton vs BHHS (H)
Fri 11 Nov
REMEMBRANCE DAY
Sat 12 Nov
U14, 15, 1st & 2nd Hockey vs Hurst (A) Inter-school Karate, Winchester School
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