19th May 2017 - Issue 4
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Yr12 Chemists react polyvinylalcohol with borax to make slime!
Head’s Introduction It was wonderful to see so many of you at the family rounders day last Saturday, especially when I know that everyone has exams on the horizon, some closer than others, but it was a great, fun event, and I am sure that it was a little light relief from revision. I am also delighted to hear how fantastically well sport is doing at the moment, with both team and individual successes in a whole range of sports from basketball and athletics to swimming and cricket – congratulations!
Family Rounders Over 100 turned up to play in the Family Rounders last Saturday, and everyone who was there really enjoyed themselves. There were some amazing displays of heroic rounders and catching, as well as some unsuccessful
attempts at bowling and diving, but it really did not matter – the main point was that so many members of the Roedean community, girls, House Staff, parents, and teachers, were all having a great time in the fresh air.
The girls have had the chance this week to showcase their talents in a variety of ways: our youngest musicians, many of whom have only been learning the trumpet or violin since September, played this week to demonstrate just how much they have learnt in a short space of time, and this was complemented by some beautiful solos too. At the same event some of the girls presented what they have been researching for their academic projects, and, again, they showed that the breadth of their interests is amazing. Good luck to everyone involved in the Dance Showcase this evening – I am sure that it will be spectacular, and the range of different styles is always mind-boggling. At the start of the week, I was the key-note speaker at the AMDIS Conference, talking about how all schools must have a clear vision in order to negotiate the increasingly competitive and complex educational landscape. Schools are often pulled in many different ways, by curricular changes or differing parental expectations, or changing social attitudes, but the point I was trying to make in my speech was that we must never lose sight of our goal, which, whatever else is going on, is to provide every girl with the very best education for her. Roedean is working very hard to do this at all times, and I am glad that many of those taking A Levels and GCSEs at the moment are taking full advantage of the extra support and individual revision sessions which I see going on around the school. Good luck again to those taking public exams, and to all the Year 7, 8 and 9 girls for their internal exams next week, after which I wish you all a relaxing half-term break!
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW Unsung heroes in the spotlight
House 1 at the weekend!
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.
On Friday evening, to round off Positive Mental Health Awareness week, the girls enjoyed a walk to the Marina, before coming back to the House to make blueberry breakfast muffins for Saturday’s breakfast. On Saturday evening, there was also lots of excitement as the girls watched the Eurovision Song Contest on TV, while enjoying the strawberry flan and banana baked cheesecake they had made earlier – they all looked superb. JWL
Millie H (Yr7) for her mature engagement with the selection process of the new Head of Experiential Learning [HBO]
Eleanor F (Yr10) for coping admirably with her crutches, and for being very kind to me on the bus when I was in a real state before my A Level French oral [Maya C-M]
Project presentations
Angel G (Yr10) for her exceptional progress in German, despite only starting the language this year [JHO]
Nahida U (Yr12) for speaking so clearly and eloquently in Assembly about the forthcoming general election [RCH]
19th May 2017 - Issue 4
Our Year 7, 8 and 9 girls have been busy preparing a five-minute academic presentation on a subject of their choice. Their brief was to research and present on a topic about which they are passionate, and we were treated to some superb presentations. From Existentialism in Year 7 to Gender Equality in Year 8, to the Modern Slave Trade in Year 9. The presentations were eloquent and thought-provoking, and they showcased the wide variety of the girls’ interests. Thank you to everyone who came along to support the events. SBA
HHH
May Tia L (Yr12) for setting up a Medical Society which is now really gathering momentum [AWO]
Marianna L (Yr7) for bowling like a machine in the cricket match, and hitting a 6! [DRO] Sky O’C (Yr10) for handing in her coursework draft, despite being absent from school for a week [HBO]
The HHH Year 9 I-CARE group have had an interesting start to the their new project. They are working alongside Founding member, Ruth Anslow, from hiSbe (‘how it Should be’ supermarket – www.hisbe.co.uk). Ruth came to visit the students to talk about hiSbe’s work in putting customers, suppliers, and employees first. She gave a fantastic and honest account of how her team set up the new company and their passion for food and people. Similar to Roedean, hiSbe was founded by two sisters (not three however…)! The following week, the group were able to see the fantastic work hiSbe are doing by visiting the store themselves. The white chocolate buttons, amid several dispensing tubes of pastas, cereals, and much more, were definitely a popular must-have! The next phase of the project is now going to be designing an art piece using recycled materials, to be displayed in the store at the end of term. We wish them a successful and creative continuation of this community project. JBE
‘Food, glorious food!’
Miss Fewkes, Mr Rous, and Ms Bartlette (staff) for generating such enthusiasm for Music, despite all the hard work, leading up to the BFF concert [Yr8 parent]
Food is a constant in our lives, and there can no doubt that having a good or bad meal colours how we feel about our day. That is why we take the food here very seriously – Roedean prides itself on the excellence of its food, and it is therefore wonderful that the HMC (the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, which is the professional association of the world’s leading independent schools) has approached us to write a piece about nutrition and the food here, and to provide some photographs to go in its magazine. Congratulations and thank you to the Catering Department for the brilliant work they do every day. RB Page 2
19th May 2017 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Young Enterprise visit to the Mayor’s Parlour Marbellous, one of our Young Enterprise companies, was invited to the Mayor’s Parlour last Wednesday evening as the Runner Up Best Company in Brighton and Hove. The evening was to celebrate their successes as a Young Enterprise group, and to thank the Young Enterprise volunteers who contribute so much to the students’ experience. We started with tea, then were shown the historical items displayed in the Mayor’s Parlour, before having a tour of the Brighton Town Hall. Now the programme is coming to a close, we would also like to thank our amazing Business Advisors, Brian, Helena, Cath and Lisa, all of whom have been invaluable throughout the process! CCR
Year 7 and 8 Teatime Recital Our fledgling musicians in Years 7 and 8 gave a delightful display of musical talent in the Teatime Recital held on Tuesday. In all, there were over 80 performers involved in the programme. The concert showcased all the groups in the instrumental project on trumpets and violins, led by our specialist teachers, Ms Bartlette, Head of Strings, and Ms Kennard, our trumpet teacher. The girls gave confident renditions of their pieces, particularly in this, their first concert for the Year 7 girls. The Year 8 groups had clearly grown in musical confidence, with some of the violin groups showing that they are well into their preparations for the Grade 1 examinations, to be held later this term. The confidence of the Year 8 musicians was also clearly evident in the recital’s opening piece, Sakura, a traditional Japanese folksong arranged by Mrs Whitestone for the Year 8 Music classes. In addition to the group pieces, the following 19 girls also gave some wonderful solo performances, highlighting some exciting musical talent in our younger year groups. ■■
Niah S
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Mia C
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Josephine F
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Flo IS
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Megan S
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Alma S
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Ella KM
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Persia KM
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Poppy S
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Jemima V
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Bo Ana M
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Lucy H
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Darcy M
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Phoebe H
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Isabel H
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Alice B
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Charlotte A
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India H
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Saskia LD
Congratulations to everyone involved for their musical performances – well done!
Scarlett’s charity run
Prayer and reflection in the Chapel On Tuesday evening the girls had the opportunity to take some time out of their busy week to pray and reflect in the Chapel. At the altar-end of the chapel, and with the help of music from a pianist, there were five stations for the girls to spend time in. One of these was about being thankful for all that was around them, while the second station featured a large branch on which the girls could hang their requests to God using large luggage labels! The third was a time to pray for someone in need and to light a candle for them, so the girls had to think and reflect beyond themselves. Fourthly, there were envelopes in which girls could write private letters to God that would not be read by others, and was a chance to bring difficulty areas of their lives before Him. Finally, on the piano, the girls were able to take away a verse that might help them during the week. This was a quiet and special time in the Chapel in amongst another busy week here at Roedean. There will be other times like this over the coming weeks, so watch this space! DGR
Congratulations to Scarlett R (Yr8), who competed in the Superhero Charity run in Regents’ Park last weekend. She ran in support of Project Harar, who work in Ethiopia to provide care and medical treatment for children and young adults with facial disfigurement. Scarlett ran and fundraised as part of a team, but managed to smash her personal fundraising target, nearly doubling it. A very well done to Scarlett!
Poppy’s been selected for Sussex Congratulations to Poppy T (Yr8), who has recently been selected to play for the Sussex County U15 girls’ basketball team. She has also been awarded the medal for the ‘Most Improved Player’ for Brighton Cougars’ U14 girls’ team at their end of season awards, which is wonderful – well done! Page 3
19th May 2017 - Issue 4
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW SPORTS REPORT
Congratulations to our athletes!
Athletics
Six Roedean girls competed in the Sussex Athletics Championships at K2 in Crawley last weekend – they all did brilliantly, and each of them either won a medal or achieved personal bests.
The Year 7 and 8s went to Hurst this week to compete in their annual Prep Schools’ athletics fixture. Thirteen schools attended, which meant over 300 girls competing against each other on the track and in the field. We made a great start, with Sophia C winning the hurdles. The girls gave their all and it was great to see so many achieving personal bests and placing in the top three. Everyone did well, but the following were the most impressive performances of the day:
equally dominant over the 200m, which is her preferred distance. Despite a strong headwind, she won this race emphatically to become a double county champion. Congratulations! Amber P (Yr11) and Pippa W (Yr10) were both in action on Sunday in the U17 women’s javelin competition. Amber won bronze last year, and she returned in fine style to launch the javelin out to 30.97m to win the Gold medal. Pippa, in her first county championships, took the Silver medal, with a PB of 27.10m. This result is even more impressive, because Pippa only took up the javelin last year. Well done to both!
On Saturday, Amber A (Yr11) and her sister Ruby (Yr8) were both in action. Amber, who is a U17 athlete ran up an age group in a combined U20 and senior women’s 400m final. She was neck and neck with the seniors entering the final straight, and proved stronger over the final 100m to cross the line in a personal best time of 54.88s, which is the qualifying standard for the Commonwealth Youth Games. The time was a personal best by one second and also a Championship Best Performance, breaking a record which has stood for seventeen years. Considering that she tore her hamstring in February, Amber has made an excellent recovery, and she now tops the UK rankings in her age group over both 400m and 200m.
Gracie B (Yr9) and Tatum W (Yr8) both took part in the U15 girls’ 800m, which consisted of two seeded time trials. Gracie was third in her race, which was the faster of the two, and she earned the Bronze medal, running a PB of 2:25.51. Tatum won her race in a PB of 2:26.01, which gave her fourth place overall, to add to her PB in the 1500m on the previous day, where she came sixth with a time of 5:09.09.
Ruby (Yr8) also performed well, and, in her first year as a U15, she won the 100m in magnificent style. She won her heat comfortably, and then broke the 13-second barrier to win the final in a time of 12.85s. Ruby returned to K2 on Sunday, where she was
It is great that all these girls performed so well, representing Brighton & Hove AC, and it shows that Roedean has some strength and depth at the highest level, both on the track with sprints and long-distance, and in the field – congratulations!
Cricket
Swimming Victory over Bede’s
The U13A cricket team played against Mayfield this week. Roedean fielded first and started positively, setting a high standard in the field which was an area we have focussed on in the past few weeks. With both teams playing excellent cricket, it came down to a tense final few overs when Roedean were batting. In the final over, Roedean required 13 runs to win. Esme B and Eva F put in a phenomenal performance in the last over, however they could only conjure 9 runs, meaning that Roedean lost by 6 runs.
The junior swimmers ended their season on a high on Monday, defeating Bede’s Prep. The girls dominated across the board, and it was great to see that their training was really paying off and their superior fitness was evident. This has been a promising season and there are exciting times ahead.
This was an excellent game played in a great manner, and credit goes to both teams who are new to the sport and have a promising future. ACA 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
Ruby A
200m
1st
Ada O
100m
1st
Sophia C
Hurdles
2nd
Ella KM
Javelin
2nd
U13
Relay
2nd
Phoebe H
200m
2nd
India H
300m
3rd
Sophie N
800m
3rd
Poppy S
Discus
3rd
Issy H
1500m
3rd =
Overall, we scored 245 points, and came 3rd of all the schools, missing out on 2nd by just two points – well done! KAN
JJ WHAT’S COMING UP
IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
Wed 24 May
U14A Cricket v Moira House (H)
Thurs 25 May
U13A&B Rounders v Burgess Hill (H)
Fri 26 May
Year 13 Leavers’ Celebration Breakfast Year 13 Leavers’ Chapel START OF HALF-TERM Year 13 Leavers’ Ball Follow us @RoedeanSchool