18th March 2016 - Issue 10
HEAD HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction At the end of term, looking back at everything we have achieved, I am extremely proud of Roedean. Most recently, I am delighted to report that the verbal feedback from our ISI inspection last week was very favourable indeed, in all areas. We have a very clear vision for the school, and I am pleased that the changes and improvements we have made over the last few years were obvious to our visitors. The inspectors repeatedly noted the happy, vibrant atmosphere in the School and the quality of the girls and staff. The strength and positivity in the school is the result of a collective effort from everyone in the community, so I thank you all. It might have been tempting, in the final week of term, and especially after Inspection and Open Day, to take our foot off the peddle, but this week has been as busy and varied as ever. On Wednesday, we enjoyed a wonderful
performance and masterclasses given by Maria Marchant, an internationally renowned pianist, and the A2 Drama students showcased their devised piece last night which was brilliantly conceived and performed. Congratulations to Luchia, Lily, Ain, and Amy on a powerful performance about torture and drugs Last night, we enjoyed the fireworks postponed from Chinese New Year. The weather was beautifully clear, and they made quite a spectacle, and the girls loved it. This was followed by the Parents’ Guild Quiz, where our brains were teased by cryptic questions and sometimes very local and sometimes very obscure pieces of knowledge. It was a lovely occasion, with members of staff, girls, and parents enjoying the event. I want to thank the Parents’ Guild for their fantastic work in bringing this event together again.
We have come to that time in the year when we thank the whole Prefect body for their hard work over the past year, and our Head Girl team of Saoirse McGilligan, Tillie Hunter, and Kelly HT Chan: we are very grateful for their support for the School and their leadership. The selection process for their successors has begun with a great deal of interest, but they will not be appointed until the very start of next term. The term ended, as always, with our traditional handshaking, but this was preceded by the awarding of many commendations and honours and by a fantastic sing-off at the end of Chapel, with each house singing a verse of Madonna’s 1983 hit, ‘Holiday’, which is especially relevant with its lyrics, ‘We need a holiday!’ I wish you all a wonderful Easter break - enjoy some rest and the chance to be with your families and loved ones.
Next term we will have
ROEDEAN’S GOT TALENT! We will have auditions straight after the holidays, so you have time to prepare your wonderful, hidden talents. The auditions will be at lunchtimes on the first two Tuesdays and Wednesdays of term. Successful candidates will go to the finals and will perform in Assemblies where students and judges will be choosing the winner(s). Please take part and show the Roedean your TALENT! If you have any questions please email Jennifer (zg37) and Dalel (db27). We can’t wait to see what you can do!
Amy Ma, Ain Mohamed Fauzi, Luchia Leigh, and Lily Iravanian performing their A2 Drama devised piece
Holiday Photo Competition - Spring Are you a budding photographer? The termly Roedean photo competition is back, and the theme for this holiday is ‘spring’ – you are free to interpret this as you see fit. The entries for last holidays’ competition were excellent, and, having seen them displayed on Main Corridor this term, I have no doubt there will be even more entries after Easter. The deadline for your submissions is Friday 15th April. Please email them to Dr Barrand on rb@roedean.co.uk – the best entries will be displayed for all to see along the Main Corridor.
18th March 2016 - Issue 10
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.
Dalel Balapanova (6.2) & Miranda Liu (6.1) for their great support and efforts in the organisation of the Sixth Form Casino Night [CC]
Beware Isabel bearing gifts! Not this time – they’re cookies! We have often heard of the phrase ‘beware Greeks bearing gifts’, which comes from the legend of a wooden horse being given by the Greeks to the Trojans, but the surprise was that Greek soldiers were hidden inside and got into Troy and destroyed the city as a result. Having studied the legend of Odysseus earlier in the year in Miss Taylor’s Classics lessons, Isabel de Jesus (U3) decided to make Trojan Horse cookies for everyone in the class for the last lesson of the term, complete with Greeks (or actually sweets!) inside. What a wonderful surprise for everyone, and definitely a welcome gift!
Tatiana Capildeo (U3) for keeping her spirits up when the weather turned cold and wet during netball last Wednesday [DRO]
Alys Dunne (L4) for showing huge enthusiasm and determination in football [DRO]
Alex Turck (6.2) for supporting her peers wonderfully in Art [SAL]
Fleur Read-Riseley, Lara Sellins and Scarlett Beasley (U3) for devising the questions, getting the teams together, and running the World Book Day quiz in the Library [SBL]
U5 Assembly House 3 U5 (KAN) tutor group delivered a thought-provoking assembly on Monday, exploring this term’s theme of imagination. Lizzie Wilmott, Maggie El Beleidi, and Ohi Imevbore set the tone by singing Imagine by John Lennon, with Maggie playing the guitar. It was beautiful, with rich harmonies, and Miss Andrew was extremely proud. The girls from the tutor group then presented us with a list of words connected to imagination, which describe feelings or thoughts which we all often experience, but which we cannot easily be explained: ■
Chrysalism is defined as the amniotic tranquillity of being indoors during a thunderstorm, listening to waves of rain pattering against the roof
■
Vemödalen is the fear that everything has already been done, and it is defined as the frustration of photographing something amazing when thousands of identical photos already exist, potentially turning a unique subject into something hollow and hackneyed
Page 2
■
Over-imagining can sometimes lead to Onism, which is defined as the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time, meaning that it is the awareness of how little of the world you will see
■
Vellichor is defined as the strange wistfulness of used bookstores, which are somehow infused with the passage of time, filled with thousands of old books you’ll never have time to read
Most of you will never have heard of these words before, but will have definitely felt the emotion or used your imagination to conjure up the image. Next time this happens, let you imagination run wild and see what places it can take you. ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.’ Albert Einstein
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
18th March 2016 - Issue 10
Roedean musicians at St. Peter’s, Hove This report was written by Annabel Glauser, an OR who lives locally:
performance, with great clarity. She is a star in the making.
When the Spring newsletter from my local parish arrived through my letterbox, I was delighted to see that the very first Free Lunchtime Concert on 11 March featured ‘The pupils of Roedean School’.
The choir received a rapturous round of applause (and even some ‘whoops’) and looked genuinely pleased with their reception. Father Daniel presented Miss Fewkes with a cheque from St. Peter’s congregation for the Roedean School Mission Fund, which supports a range of charities helping children aged 16 and under in the UK.
Luckily the sun was shining and the church was looking its best for our visitors. Seats filled up quickly and the turnout was impressive, covering a wide range of ages, from our most senior citizens to children as young as two or three. We were treated to a wonderful 50-minute programme of music, which opened with the String Orchestra playing the three movements from Vivaldi’s Concerto in G major, and continued with pieces by Handel, Haydn, Saint-Saëns, Schubert and Elgar, as well as works by Timothy & Natasha Kraemer, Franz Drdla and Charles Villiers Stanford. The pieces chosen were varied and ambitious, and the girls demonstrated a level of confidence and skill well beyond their years, producing an overall performance that was very professional. Particular highlights for me included the performance of Haydn’s Piano Trio Rondo all’ongarese by Freya Stewart (Violin), Dora Goode (Cello) and Ada Lam (Piano) which perfectly captured the vitality of this intricate piece. Gabriella Kaye showed tremendous ability on the clarinet in her performance of Saint-Saën’s Sonata, carrying the lilting melody with confidence and panache. The wonderful Tillie Ng introduced her performance of Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) with a short explanation of Schubert’s most famous ‘Lied’ (song). A poised and graceful singer, Tillie’s rich and powerful voice filled the church as she movingly portrayed Gretchen thinking of her lover, Faust. The low, vaulted ceiling of the church provided excellent acoustics, and we could hear every word, every nuance of Tillie’s
Annabel Glauser and Veronica Fewkes
Following the concert, Father Daniel admitted that having Roedean at the church was a real ‘coup’. I very much hope that both parties will continue to build on the relationship – music is a wonderful way to reach out to the wider community. As a proud Old Roedeanian, I had many interested people asking me questions about the school. My impression is that the local community regard Roedean with great warmth and pride. All in all, it was a fantastic event – well done to all concerned!
Literary Quiz to celebrate World Book Day As part of the World Book Day celebrations, Library Book Club members Fleur Read-Riseley, Lara Sellins and Scarlett Beasley organised a literary quiz. They devised challenging book-related questions and took on the roles of quiz masters, adjudicators and scorers. After four rounds of questions, two teams called Bookworm and Little Red Reading Hood were neck and neck. The winner was decided by the tiebreaker question ‘Who was Roo’s mother?’ Congratulations to Niah, Jane and Sophia, members of Little Red Reading Hood, who correctly answered ‘Kanga’ and scooped the Heroes Chocolate prize! SBL Page 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Manage your own positivity! The girls in U5 had a lovely social event on Monday evening, and they were joined by twenty girls who are joining the school in the Sixth Form in September. The girls had the chance to dress up a little, and mingled over pre-dinner drinks, meeting new faces and getting to know each other. We then sat down to a wonderful dinner, and over dessert Pauline Sanderson spoke about adventures and managing your positivity. She was absolutely brilliant, and could not have modelled her positive energy better, despite only just recovering from a serious bout of food poisoning in Nepal. She took us through her journey from the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea in Jordan, to the summit of Everest. With four others, she cycled from Jordan to Nepal, through Syria and Pakistan, and then climbed the highest mountain in the world. Pauline cycled 8150 kilometres, gaining 9268 metres on the journey, and broke one world record, completing the world’s longest climb, and she and her husband are the first married couple in Britain to summit Everest together! It was her unfailing positive mindset which helped her to achieve this amazing feat, and she repeated this point over and over again in her talk.
18th March 2016 - Issue 10
The girls really enjoyed listening to her: ‘I loved the idea of taking control of your own positivity’ – Esmee Ellis ‘Pauline was inspirationally enthusiastic!’ – Emily Townsend ‘She had a whacky manner which was hilarious’ – Natasha Rustemeyer ‘You couldn’t help but want to listen to her’ – Loretta Sargeant ‘Her bubbly and energetic presentation was completely infectious!’ – Ohi Imevbore It was an inspirational talk, and was the perfect way to end a great evening.
Honed business acumen at Roedean On Friday 11 March, Seyi Adebutu, Angharad Dunkley, Tiffany Ng, Alice Li and Lea Donovan (6.2) ventured to the Amex Stadium, to take part in the Sussex regional heat of the ICAEW National BASE Business and Accounting Challenge. We were given four challenges to complete as a group (with the help from a local business mentor), which included deciding whether to accept a hypothetical business proposal, coming up with a new business venture, and explaining how our business would react to a given scenario. We were all rather nervous as none of us knew what to expect from the day, especially when we found out we had to communicate our work in the form of a spoken presentation. We certainly were not expecting to be shortlisted for the Top 4 groups, which meant we had to present again, this time in front of an audience of around 100 people. In the end, Roedean finished a close runner up, and we returned to school with a trophy and having felt that we had learnt a great deal about how business works outside of the classroom, teamwork, and the art of presenting. We would like to thank Mr Low for organising the trip and persuading us how useful it would be – overall the whole team felt it was a very beneficial trip. Photograph by Paul Fletcher Photography
Lea Donovan (6.2)
Baking for ‘Save the Children’ L4 MTR/SAL took up the challenge of organising a bake sale in aid of ‘Save the Children’ this week. Their charity representative, Iris McClafferty, developed and organised a festive theme of ‘Easter’, as well as a tutor group competition for most creative bake. The first prize went to Scarlett Joyce for her fantastic ‘Easter Wonderland’ cupcakes; second prize was awarded to Maia Hobbs for her imaginative ‘Spring Flowers’ themed cakes; and the third prize was won by Poppy Arnold’s colourful ‘Swirly Meringues’. Well done to all bakers and vendors – £81.50 was raised, which is very impressive indeed! Page 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
18th March 2016 - Issue 10
Decorating Easter Eggs Thirteen girls in House 1 had a fabulous evening decorating Easter Eggs in the ODR. The girls had a lovely couple of hours and produced some very creative eggs.
High academic aspirations Girls from Year 12, Year 11, and Year 10 took part in a super trip to Cambridge on Friday 4 March. The principal objective was to increase their awareness of the admissions’ process and how to make a successful application. The girls had training sessions on how to write a good personal statement, and what Oxbridge admissions tutors are looking for in the subject interviews. They also had a chance to talk to undergraduates about their experiences. There was time for a tour of the library of Corpus Christi College, and a look at some of the many rare books and artefacts, including a letter written in French by Anne Boleyn at the age of 9. Then the girls had some time in which they were able to explore this great city and see many more of the beautiful colleges. Girls from Year 7 to 13 were given a geometrical treat in the form of a lecture from our resident student lecturer, Miranda Liu. Miranda took the girls through geometrical puzzles and problems, leaving even the brains of our Maths department befuddled at times! Miranda takes part in the Oxbridge Potential programme, and continually pushes herself to delve deeper into her favoured subjects, whilst also providing entertaining sessions for our younger students. She absolutely models true scholarship.
Page 5
Briana is a ‘most promising dancer’ Following her successes last week, Briana Kelly had another fruitful day at the Hastings Dance Festival. She was 2nd in the Song and Dance category, 3rd in Ballet and in character, and 4th in both tap and modern. As a result of achieving over 85 in both her ballet and modern, she was invited to take part in the silver medal competition in Hastings where she won the Phyllis Godfrey Memorial Shield for the Most Promising Dancer aged 14 and over for Ballet and Character. Congratulations to Briana!
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
18th March 2016 - Issue 10
D of E A 38-strong Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award team set off on their training expedition in the Ashdown Forest area last weekend. We were greeted with the best possible weather - no rain and some wisps of cloud to shield everyone from what could have been a blazing sun, however, there was certainly a lot of mud! Kimberley’s walking boots couldn’t
even handle the high mud levels, and her soles decided to peel off! The trip was certainly testing for all, but everyone came through with several happy memories, and geared up for their next, official, DofE Practice Expedition. Watch this space…
Sixth Form Casino Night The annual Casino Night took place on Thursday and it was great fun. The Sixth Form girls and guests dressed up and joined together to enjoy a wonderful evening of fun Casino tables, dancing to a live band, and the delicious delights of both the chocolate fountain and the wonderful party food provided by our very own catering department. Congratulations go to Georgina King for winning the overall Casino prize of a very pink looking Percy Pig Easter egg, and to Sheila Wu for leading the dance floor with such enthusiasm and enjoyment. A number of staff were also seen to stray onto the dance floor; commiserations to the girls who tried desperately to get Mr Orys to dance, but unfortunately they failed. Special thanks to Dalel Balapanova and Miranda Liu for their excellent help and support to ensure that the evening ran smoothly. CC
Page 6
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
18th March 2016 - Issue 10
Netballers win against Ardingly The Seniors went out in style, finishing their Saturday Roedean netball fixtures with a glorious win of 20-12 against Ardingly – we are delighted with this wonderful finale and it is fantastic that their last match was such a convincing victory. Their high-quality play, amazing attitude, and incredible team spirit lead to an excellent performance and a welldeserved win. There was some great defending and distribution from the D, which gave our centre court players lots of opportunity to build play and set up the shooters. All the girls worked tirelessly and linked well with a range of passes, working for each other into space. It really was an outstanding effort by all. The players’ player of the match was Luchia Leigh and the coaches’ player was Lea Donovan.
Cross Country Event On Wednesday 16 March, Roedean hosted their annual Cross Country Event. It was a lovely afternoon for some running and we welcomed some local primary schools as well as our usual neighbouring secondary schools. There were 3 age groups for the runners to compete in, Year 5 & 6, Year 7 & 8 and Year 9 & 10. Our highest finishers were Gracie Bernard in 2nd place in the Year 7 and 8 race, just being pipped at the post in the final few metres, with Tatum Walker coming in 3rd place. Well done to all the Roedean girls who took part, and a special thank you from Miss Crawley to all the students, teachers and Grounds’ Staff who gave their time to help marshal the course and make the event such a success.
Sports Academy On Thursday last week, our very own Head Chef, Mr Warwick, ran a practical sports nutrition session for the Sports Scholars. He provided a recipe booklet for each scholar, along with the ingredients to make flapjack and smoothies. The workshop covered the various ingredients you could use to make homemade flapjack and how it can provide you with essential energy and protein based on the oats, seeds, nuts and fruit included. Mr Warwick discussed the impact of this home-made flapjack on performance in comparison to shop-bought cereal bars. This built on the theory covered in a previous workshop run by physiotherapist Paul Hagenbarth. The Sports Scholars then created and baked their own unique flapjacks. As they were in the oven, the workshop introduced various fruits and recovery smoothies and shakes. Several recipes were introduced and the students particularly enjoyed the strawberry, banana and oat shakes. To finish there was a question and answer session, and the students cut up their flapjack to take home with them. It was a really interesting and informative workshop, and we hope to see the scholars sporting some of the recipes covered at a fixture soon! Page 7
On Saturday 17th April, Roedean is manning a water station on the route of the Brighton Marathon again this year. If you would like to be involved and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of this event which combines amazing personal achievement with wonderful charity work, please e-mail Miss Crawley (gcr@roedean. co.uk) – it will be a great day!
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
18th March 2016 - Issue 10
Volleyball Victory against Farlington The Senior Volleyball team continued their excellent form so far this season with another victory this time against Farlington. The standard of Volleyball from both teams was incredibly high, with both teams eager to win. Roedean demonstrated excellent sportsmanship throughout and were a united force on the court. Strong serves, coupled with great defensive and attacking play, lead to Roedean winning the first set 25-17. Farlington came back more determined than ever, and the second set went to a nail-biting 24-24, with Miranda stepping up to serve. She kept her cool and won the point, and with it the second set 25-24 to Roedean. Farlington did win the final set, but the overall and well-deserved match winners were Roedean. The coaches’ player was Jasmine Haddaway for her outstanding leadership, and a special mention for their on-court performance goes to Grace Robertson, Kay Chan, and Vivian Lun. Well done to all, it was a great match!
Coloured cakes for IAPS Netballers
Phoebe – X Country Last week, Phoebe Connolly represented Sussex at the Inter-counties’ Cross Country Championships in Birmingham. She ran brilliantly, completing 6k in 25:12, which is a new Personal Best time. She was the third Sussex runner home, and came 72nd overall out of 150 runners. Congratulations to her! 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: news@roedean.co.uk Page 8
Roedean girls supported the Finals of the IAPS Netball Tournament last Saturday by baking cakes to raise money for charity. Selling their cakes alongside the Parents’ Guild refreshment stall, each House created an assortment of cakes with the theme ‘House Colours’! Lynn Angerer (left) and Ndali Brume (right), House 2 pupils from L5, gave their support as boarders. Well done to all girls who baked and creatively decorated cakes for this sporting occasion. Thank you!
Follow us @RoedeanSchool