3rd February 2017 - Issue 5
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction I am very pleased that Positive Mental Health has again been our focus this week, and that it has been such a success. The whole community has engaged with the activities, and I hope that some of what has been learned will be useful in the months ahead.
at our Year 9 Parents’ Evening. This is such an important time in the girls’ decision-making process about which option subjects to choose for GCSE. Our Roedean teams have had a very successful week, and the girls are clearly strong competition and brimming with confidence on the netball court.
The fantastic fireworks and the Great Gatsby Sixth Form party last Friday were both wonderful events, and, as you can see from this extended version of the Head’s Review, they prepared us for a busy week of activities and trips out. It was great to meet so many parents
I was away from school last weekend, running the Prince’s Teaching Institute’s Headteachers’ leadership conference, as Academic Director of this educational charity. The course welcomed over fifty Headteachers and Senior Leadership Teams from state schools to this residential.
A Charleston workshop at the Gatsby Evening
The Schools Leadership Programme is a course and peer network for secondary headteachers and their senior leadership teams to focus leadership of teaching and learning, share good practice, and embark on research projects. I find this sort of experience hugely valuable and rewarding, and I enjoy having the opportunity to support and help others to develop their skills. We are hosting 27 schools from the area at this evening’s re-scheduled SSBA event, so I hope that it goes well, and I wish you all good luck for the last week of this half-term.
Great Gatsby evening On Friday evening, after the fireworks to celebrate the start of Chinese New Year, the girls in 6.2 hosted a party in Keswick Hall for the entire Sixth Form and staff. This event was the first to be held in the hall since its major refurbishment, and the evening’s theme was Gatsby and the 1920s. The Hall was decorated with black and white balloons and strings of lights, and the girls and their guests really went to town with their outfits; the plus ones were in black tie, and Daisy Buchanan herself would have been proud of some of the dresses and other period paraphernalia. Congratulations to the following for their brilliant costumes: Ella S, Maya C-M, Louisa A, Melanie C, Jenna B, and Amelia B. The prize for ‘best period dancer’ was won by Amelia D, and the ‘best couple’
went to Amira A and Daisy S who came as Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan from Fitzgerald’s novel. The drinks and canapés were soon swapped for dancing, and many of the girls and their guests threw themselves into the Charleston workshop, led by Roedean’s Head of Dance, Sophie Abaza. The training started with the basics, and soon moved onto the infamous swivel – it didn’t seem too troublesome for many though, and everyone seemed to be having a great time! It really was a wonderful evening, the space proved perfect for that type of social event, and the Prefect Team is already planning a follow-up event – the only question is which decade will they choose for the theme! RB
3rd February 2017 - Issue 5
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.
Positive Mental Health Week We have just held our third Positive Mental Health Week at Roedean, and it included a range of activities and events for all. The emphasis this term has been on enjoying activities to promote relaxation and learning strategies for coping with stress. The week began with an assembly presentation outlining the packed schedule, which included Yoga and Pilates’ sessions, a farm walk, and baking in the Houses. Keswick held a ‘Stay and Sing DVD’ evening and the Peer Listeners welcomed a great turn out from our younger girls at their ‘pizza and donut tea’ in House 2. The tutors across all year groups have been practising ‘mindfulness’ techniques with their groups, and much fun has been had in the Art studio where pupils and staff have been contributing to a giant colouring-in circle. SEL
HHH Chinese As part of the HHH Chinese sessions, the girls were exploring how to say countries and nationalities in Chinese, as well as learning about the 56 different ethnic groups within the Chinese nation. They enjoyed trying on the Chinese Qing Dynasty Princess dresses, whilst also learning about the traditional courtesy. They had a great time being transported elsewhere! In a few weeks’ time, they will be practising Chinese calligraphy and ‘brush writing’; no doubt everyone will enjoy this too!
Millie H (U3), India H (L4), India B (U3) and Holly B (L4) for taking the initiative to watch the Chinese New Year fireworks from the field while reassuringly holding the sheep’s hooves to make sure they were okay [KRH]
Zoe T (6.1) for bravely casting her face in alginate, meaning that she had to breathe through straws up her nose until it set! [SAL]
Gabrielle P (U3) for completing a faultless dissection of a locust, better than the teacher’s [NAN]
Any spare Wellies? If you have any spare wellies hanging around in the shed or under the stairs, please do donate them to school for use on the farm – all sizes are required. The more equipment we have, the more accessible we can make the farm for all of our students.
Lara S (L4) for giving a fantastic and thoughtprovoking presentation on her experiences in India to the Geography Society [RLH]
Rosy Baharie (U5) for her extremely positive approach in Russian over the last few weeks [RB]
Biology medallists! Last week, Sixth Form Biology students took part in the British Biology Olympiad and the results are in! This is a prestigious competition which stretches competitors beyond the requirements of the A Level curriculum.
medal, and Bronze medals were awarded to Vivian L, Tiffany L and Catherine C. In addition, Isabella M and Martha N are highly commended and Jasmine H, Maya C-M, Miranda G and Melanie C are commended.
I am delighted that we have had some fantastic results. Huge congratulations go to Grace R, who achieved a Gold medal (meaning that she is among the top 6% of competitors in the country); Georgina K achieved a Silver
What a brilliant bunch of biologists you are! Now what is the collective noun for that....?!
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PCH
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
3rd February 2017 - Issue 5
Enterprise Day Over eighty girls in Year 9 spent the day yesterday testing their entrepreneurial skills. Two representatives from the National Enterprise Challenge came to Roedean to run the event, and the task they gave the girls was to create a new rollercoaster for Alton Towers, considering the theme, the back-story, the target client, and how to market it. The day’s activities pulled together a variety of skills, such as creative writing, budgeting, designing an advert, and presentation skills. At the end of the day, the best groups pitched to a panel of judges, and the winning group was ‘Radioactive’ – congratulations to them! ‘The experience was stressful, but really exciting too – we had to allocate jobs to each member of our team, depending on their skills!’ – Peach S ‘Our rollercoaster is called Asylum51 - the design is the world’s first plughole-drop ride!’ – Serene S-R ‘It has been tricky to work out the budgets to make sure that they’ll work - I haven’t done anything like before, and it has been really fun.’ – Iris M
A busy fortnight for Year 9
Reforesting the planet
Over the past two weeks, the girls in Year 9 have had the chance to focus on their future education. They had a lecture with Mr Alan Bullock, an independent and very experienced careers’ advisor, on their GCSE option choices. This covered which subjects are required for specific professions and universities, and each student had an opportunity to have a one-toone chat with him, so they were able to have a more personalised discussion in addition to the lecture. As well as this, Mr Chris Homer gave lectures to the tutor groups, discussing what the girls could do at university, what universities want, and the co-curricular options available at university.
With very little resources but a lot of enthusiasm, the Sustainability Group planted two plum trees last Wednesday as part of their CAP project tackling paper waste and recycling. The planting took place after the group undertook some research about
There have also been Assemblies, in which Heads of Department have presented their syllabus and a breakdown of its content, and the Y9 Subject Fair, where students had the opportunity to talk with other students and Heads of Department about their subjects, giving them a more detailed insight. This was followed by opportunities in tutor time to discuss their choices with their tutors, and finally Parents’ Evening, when parents were able to get feedback about their daughters’ progress and to discuss their GCSE choices. I have no doubt that the girls are now in the very best position to make the right subject choices for Year 10. SMS
the importance of trees in our lives and for the environment. These two young trees, named ‘Brenda’ and ‘Teddy’, are a small but nonetheless vital contribution to make up for the large amounts of paper which are used in schools each year.
Young Enterprise selling their products This Sunday, the Roedean Young Enterprise companies will be selling their products all day at Holmbush Centre, Shoreham. They will be selling hand-decorated mugs, Valentine’s Day movie kits, T-shirts designed by one of the companies themselves, and other exciting items. If you’re in the area, come along to support our enterprising groups! Page 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
3rd February 2017 - Issue 5
Lara working in the slums of Mumbai
Rome on an Air Land and Sea travel award
Lara S (L4) spent an amazing week over the Christmas holidays working in the slums of Mumbai in India.
Each year, the girls in 6.1 have the opportunity to apply for one of the ‘Air Land and Sea’ travel awards. Last year, Maddie M, Maya C-M, Emily L, and Tara M won the awards; Tara, who will be studying Classics at university, spent a week over Christmas in Rome:
‘My Dad runs a charity called The Change Foundation which uses sport and dance to help disadvantaged young people develop their self-confidence, make new friends, and gain the qualifications which ensure they can get a good job. The Change Foundation works in India in partnership with a charity called Magic Bus which aims to educate children who live in the slums in India by ensuring that they are educated to the age of sixteen and then supported to get jobs, which will mean they do not have to beg on the streets which is dangerous and miserable. Magic Bus attracts children to their education and employment programme through running sports programmes in the slum communities, and then by taking the children to a wonderful outward bounds centre in the countryside outside Mumbai. I helped out with the sports sessions in the slums and then also travelled out to the outward bounds centre.
‘Visiting Rome in Italy was a fantastic experience for me, because it was the very heart of the ancient Roman world. I saw iconic classical sites such as the Colosseum, the Forum, and the Pantheon, and more unusual sites, such as a small fraction of the ancient catacombs which run beneath the city and the retirement home of the Emperor Hadrian, Villa Adriana in Tivoli. My favourite site from the trip was the ancient port of Rome, Ostia Antica, which is incredibly well-preserved due to the mud of the River Tiber. I was astounded by the amount of modern architecture which has been influenced by that of ancient Rome. The trip greatly increased my motivation and passion for learning Classics, and brought the ancient world to life.’
The children were very competitive, and were very keen to hold my hand and to be on my team. Although the children I was working with were my age, I was about a foot taller than most of them and they all thought I was 18 rather than 12! The sports sessions that I helped run are cleverly designed to reinforce strong messages about the need to attend school every day, to have goals to work towards, and to support your friends. At the end of the trip, I felt really lucky to attend such a great school as Roedean and to have somewhere safe to live. What made me sad was that when she was playing with the children I felt just like them, but after the sessions I knew that they were going home to a crowded, dirty, and unsafe slum.’
Quantum Mechanics at Imperial On Wednesday night, six girls and Dr Kaye travelled up to London to visit Imperial College for a lecture on Quantum Mechanics. We received ten 5-minute talks from undergraduate students on what they find most interesting about Quantum physics. It began with ‘Quantum Weirdness’ (which was really weird) imagining how a particle can be in two states at once and even travel through walls using ‘quantum tunnelling’. We learnt how a laser works and how the future will see quantum computers so powerful that only 40 qubits is equivalent to all the standard computers in the world. We even got a chance to meet two ORs, who are now studying Science, and it was lovely to see how they much they are enjoying university life. At the end of the day, we all came away tired but definitely passionate about the subject. It also dawned on us how soon we would be sitting in a lecture hall as students ourselves…! Emily T (6.1) Page 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
3rd February 2017 - Issue 5
An MI5 Lecture in Westminster Five Sixth Form girls were fortunate enough to attend a lecture in the Houses of Parliament this week. Baroness Manningham-Buller, who was Director General of the intelligence agency MI5 from 2002 to 2007, gave this year’s Memorial Lecture for Pamela Thomas OBE (OR, House 3, 1939-1947) on the theme of Intelligence and Ethics. After travelling up to London, we found ourselves queuing for 50 minutes to get through Parliament security, meaning that we missed the start of this excellent lecture, which was punctuated by a bell ringing as bills were voted on in the House and MPs leaving the room to cast their vote on invoking Article 50. Baroness Manningham-Buller spoke passionately about the need for decision-making based on moral necessity and proportionality
in intelligence work. Those working in the intelligence services must therefore be rational, honest, thoughtful, and open-minded. She spoke about the fact that torture is never acceptable in the modern world, and that it devalues reputation. Despite what many think about the secret world of espionage, she is certain that ethical intelligence work is possible! Questions from the floor ranged from ‘are there secrets that we don’t need to know?’ and ‘is whistle-blowing moral?’ The lecture was excellent and it was great that we also had the chance to meet a number of ORs at the reception afterwards; they gave the girls some valuable advice about joining the legal profession and we also forged the
Locusts
beginnings of some mentoring links with them to support girls with aspirations in this field. RB Consuella Z (6.2) – ‘It was clear from what Baroness Manningham-Buller said that she believes that ethics is the most important part of leadership, and that it is practical rather than just being theoretical.’ Maya C-M (6.2) – ‘I thoroughly enjoyed attending this lecture as Baroness Manningham-Buller was such a powerful, female speaker, captivating the whole audience with her speech. Being able to meet so many Old Roedeanians and socialising with barristers has also cemented my desire to study Law.’
Victory for U12 and U13 Swimmers vs Bede’s Prep
Last week, ten girls, mainly from the junior end of the school had the opportunity to dissect locusts. They enjoyed learning about how to go about the dissection, and then looking inside to analyse the anatomy of the insects. Maybe the experience will inspire some of them to go into biological research later in life! NAN
The junior swimmers travelled en masse to Bede’s Prep on Monday night. This was a fantastic gala with loads of races and 2 swimmers per race counting towards the overall score. We were impressive from the start and showed our strength in depth as a school. It was also great to see Ruby A, Sophia C, and Serena C back in the pool! We were clear winners overall, scoring 117 to their 93. Thanks to Georgia H for captaining, and her 3 cheers at the end of the gala.
Zoe T (6.1) taking a cast of her face in alginate
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3rd February 2017 - Issue 5
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW SPORTS REPORT 3 Victories over More House for Roedean netballers
National Schools’ Regional Netball
The U12B game was played in good spirit, with both teams playing fantastic netball and pushing for the win. More House started very strongly, however Roedean showed character in the final quarter, to draw 7 - 7.
On Saturday 28th January, our U14A Netball squad travelled to Wavell School in Farnborough to compete in the Regional Round of the National Schools’ Netball. It was a big occasion and the girls were fired up for a big day of Netball against very talented schools from Berkshire, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, North & South Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, and, of course, Sussex. Roedean, along with Hurst and Brighton College, were the only schools to qualify from Sussex and it was a real honour to represent the county.
The U13B match was a game of two halves on Saturday, with our girls forging ahead in the first quarter, scoring 4 quick goals. There were several changes at quarter time which affected our flow, and More House were 5 - 4 up going into half time. After a stiff talking to at half-time the girls upped their game and, with super work from Evie and Sophia in the shooting circle, the goals kept coming. We eventually won convincingly 13 - 7. This was a good team performance by all, and the large squad is really beginning to gel and play some dominating netball. Congratulations to Tatum W for super control in centre court, Onate for outstanding interceptions, and Sophia S for her great shooting. U14B team put on an outstanding performance against a strong More House team and won 10 - 7. There was excellent team spirit and sportsmanship on show throughout, and the girls’ skill level and tactical awareness was impressive. Our shooters put us a solid 2 goals in front in the first quarter, and the Roedean defence and centre court managed to turn over play and prevent More House from ever catching us up. We had a great final quarter and pulled away, finally winning by 3 goals. Well done to all girls involved and special congratulations to the player of the match Jess M.
The Netball was tough and there were some extremely challenging games; many of the results could have gone either way and the Roedean girls did the school proud to be there and truly deserved a qualification spot. All 10 girls got on court and played their hearts out, but sadly this year it was not to be, with us just missing out on too many games to be able to proceed to the national finals. Congratulations must be given to both Hurst and Brighton College for proceeding to the national finals across 3 age groups. The Roedean squad was made up of Jess K (Captain), Ella L (Vice Captain), Beatrix W, Yelena F, Ami F, Demi A, Kamalika N, Hana A, Jemima G, and Liv H.
Victories over BHHS for 3 junior Netball teams The U13A played a fun game against BHHS on Wednesday afternoon. Despite the grey weather, the girls played wonderfully as a team and enjoyed playing some positions out of their comfort zone. The final score was 29-6, and player of the match was Ruby A. The U12A team had a really impressive match, with Olivia B being chosen as player of the match. Her shooting was outstanding and her linked play with Sydney O was superb. Other notable performances were from India H who is extremely strong in the defensive circle, and more excellent interceptions from Sylva C. It was a wonderful team effort and saw the girls win their match comfortably 16 – 8. The Roedean U12B squad played a great match, defending strongly, making countless interceptions down the court, and working brilliantly as a team, offering support and communicating well with each other. A special mention goes to Edie, Flo, Frieda, and Millie for their outstanding effort on court, and to Isla for shooting for the first time and scoring goals! The final score was 7 - 0, and well done to everyone!!
JJ WHAT’S
COMING UP IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
Mon 6 Feb
Swimming Gala vs Ardingly (A) Chamber Music Masterclass and Teatime Recital
Tues 7 Feb
U14 Netball Tournament at King’s Canterbury (A) BMW Netball League vs Hove Huskies Sixth Form Parents’ Evening
Wed 8 Feb
Netball U12 A & B and U13 A & B vs Brighton College (tbc)
Thur 9 Feb
U5 History trip to The Keep Netball U14 A, B & C vs Hurst (A)
Fri 10 Feb
6.2 Religious Studies Candle Conference, London L5-6.2 Geography Iceland residential trip KS3 House Cross Country competition
HALF TERM 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
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