16th September 2016 - Issue 2
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction Roedean was a little quieter than usual for the first half of this week, with the girls in Years 7-9 all enjoying their annual residential trips to Bushcraft and Kingswood. We’ve been hearing all about their adventures, from toasting marshmallows over campfires and taking part in talent shows, to working together to tackle lots of practical activities, such as building shelters. Quite a few even braved a particularly cold lake with great enthusiasm. All these activities have helped them to make new friendships and bond as year groups. They returned to school on Wednesday, tired, but, I’m sure, with a strong sense of achievement and group spirit. I know you will want to join with me to thank all the twenty-two members of staff whose dedication and commitment enabled these trips to go ahead. I am delighted to see that ‘new’ and ‘old’ girls in all year-groups have gelled quickly, and they all seem so settled that it is sometimes hard to identify which girls have only just joined Roedean.
As well as girls and staff, parents are, of course, also central to our Roedean community, and I look forward to seeing many of the new Year 7 parents next Thursday evening; this event will provide an opportunity to match some faces to the teachers’ names your daughters have mentioned so far, and to meet with other parents too. Even though it is early in the term, there is already a great deal going on: co-curricular activities are well underway, the girls in 6.1 have chosen their volunteering activities for CAP, preparations for Open Day in two weeks’ time are afoot, auditions for the winter production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ have taken place and it has been cast, the 6.2 girls are working on their university applications, and I have already seen posters up around school for the hotly contested House Drama competition! The buzz surrounding this wealth of activities is fantastic to see and underlines our belief in a holistic
approach to education; we know that the girls who are busy with these activities will find them hugely rewarding and also achieve highly in the academic work. It was wonderful yesterday to see 30 pupils from the upper years at Deepdene School in Hove enjoying our pitches and the space to run around, while working with our Sports Department. Deepdene and Jolesfield Primary are also taking part in English and Geography workshops at Roedean today and early next week, with the youngest pupils coming only 5 years old. We are so fortunate with our stunning grounds and exceptional teachers, and I hope that sharing these will help to inspire some young minds in some way. I wish you all a wonderful week ahead.
Sponsoring 2 girls on the other side of the world Tutor-group 12D started the year talking about charity, and as a result of this they have decided to support two girls with the charity Plan International UK. The first girl is called Cheslande – she is 7 years old and comes from Haiti. She has three siblings, lives in a house made of cement blocks, and walks 45 minutes to primary school each day. The girls also decided to support a slightly older girl in Sudan – Eltaf is 12 years old, and is growing up in a country which is in the middle of a civil war. Her house, which she shares with her parents and two brothers, has an earth floor, a pit latrine toilet, and the nearest water source is 30 minutes away. It costs £20 a month to support each girl, helping provide medicine, vaccinations, access to education, and clean water. Each member of the tutor-group will donate just £2 each month to support both girls – what a fantastically rewarding thing to do, and at such little cost. It was initially suggested that they support one girl, but it was a member of the group who said ‘why not 2?’, so that’s what happened. The girls will receive photos and updates via the charity every few months, and they will write regular letters to Cheslande and Eltaf. Plan International UK is working very hard to give more and more girls around the world access to education, and 12D knows that the support they are providing will make a huge difference to the lives of these two girls.
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
16th September 2016 - Issue 2
Miss Lucy Spence (Head of Year 11 and teacher of English) Miss Spence studied for her BA at Durham University, followed by an MA in English Literary Studies. After this, she did her PGCE at King’s College London. Most recently, she worked at Ibstock Place School in Roehampton. In her free-time, she enjoys reading, writing poetry, and baking. She has only just moved to Brighton, so she is taking every opportunity to spend time on the beach.
Years 7 and 8 out in the bush! The anticipation of ‘I wander what it will be like’ came to an end when we arrived in the Oxfordshire countryside. The trees stood tall, the sun beamed through branches, and our tents were pitched perfectly in our new ‘outdoor home’. Bushcraft Camp life started immediately with a welcome briefing, and in no time at all the girls were learning to light fires, build shelters, and the staff had so many ideas of forest games that helped everyone find their bearings, as well as understand the challenges of living away from home. The girls were in good spirits and excited to tackle new skills. The evening games brought laughter as the girls started to get to know each other. The daytime passed and camp life did not stop as the sun went down. The shelters built earlier became overnight accommodation for a dozen girls, who felt sleeping under the stars was the way forward, and by all accounts they slept well!
learning how to fillet the largest salmon ever, and toast marshmallows blended with Rice Krispies! Other bushcraft challenges were many as the girls bonded in their tutor tribes, supported by their tutors. The ‘Tribes Got Talent’ show brought out the best in the girls as they performed confidently on the woodland stage, and from ‘songs to mine’ the evening was a huge success. “Bushcraft was an amazing place to just have fun” – India B “It was nice to get to know other people and spend time with my friends” – Inez R “Bushcraft was a really fun opportunity to do activities we’ve never done before and meet new people” Dorothea B
Each half day was filled with learning a variety of challenging skills whilst having a great deal of fun! These included wilderness first aid, swimming in ice cold water, cray fishing, cutting tools, making bracelets from paracord, learning how to camouflage and conceal themselves in woodland and open areas around the camp, as well as Page 2
Mrs Ione Harrison (Head of EAL) Mrs Harrison’s first degree was in English and German at Oxford Brookes University, after which she did a PGCE and MA in Creative Writing at Bath University. After this, she started working in a state school in Somerset, then moved abroad to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, followed by posts in Isle of Wight, Toulouse, Bahrain, Kathmandu, and Abu Dhabi. She has taught English, EAL, and Creative Writing to children as young as 5 all the way up to adults. When she has free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, especially now that her teenage son has discovered cooking! She also enjoys walking, tennis, swimming, watercolour painting, and writing poetry – indeed she once had a poem published in a football magazine! Mr Benjamin Rous (Assistant Director of Music) Mr Rous studied composition, piano and conducting at the Royal College of Music and at King’s College, London, and has since followed a varied life of music-making in the concert hall, theatre and recording studio. Whilst at college, he also studied Javanese Gamelan music, and this has taken him to perform in concerts and festivals in France, Germany and the UK, including at Glastonbury. He is an instrumental and composition teacher, has given classes for the Wigmore Hall and Goldsmiths College in London, and is conductor of the Kent Youth Choir. Somehow in the middle of this, he also worked as a web developer and has a love of cooking and swing dancing.
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Year 9 residential at Kingswood On Monday, the 12th of September, the Year 9 girls of Roedean began their first bonding experience as a year group. As we left school, everyone was really excited and couldn’t wait to get to Kingswood. We arrived a bit late, but this made everyone feel even more ready for the activities in store. On our first day, we had a quick tour of the campus, a look at the amazing activities to come and were shown to our rooms. Things weren’t what we had expected, and we eventually got upgraded to some lovely adventure tents and made ourselves at home amongst some new friends. My first activity was orienteering and I enjoyed exploring the facilities independently, as well as getting to know my peers a bit better. We all reassembled for dinner and had the day’s last activity. By the end of the day, we were all really tired, and enjoyed a good night’s sleep ready for the adventures to come. The next day we were up bright and early for a quick shower and a bite to eat. We had a
whole day full of fun waiting for us. As we split up into our groups, we met our group leader for our first activity. They were all so friendly and welcoming. We had so many thrilling activities, such as the 3G swing, Jacob’s ladder, nightline, and so much more! That night we had a really fun time at the disco in the Kingswood club. Everyone was dancing and having a great time! It was a fantastic end to our last evening. The next day, we had our last two activities and then it was time to go home. We waved goodbye to all of the wonderful instructors, and, after our final meal, we got on the coach and headed home. All in all, it was a brilliant trip and we made so many new friends and memories. Thank you to all the amazing teachers who attended the trip with us; it was unforgettable. We can’t wait for another year group trip and all the amazing experiences it will bring us. Joni-May L (U4)
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16th September 2016 - Issue 2
Tatiana’s researching Ancient Egypt Tatiana C (L4) is working on her Year 8 Egypt research project in the Library. The focus of the research is to explore daily life in Ancient Egypt. Using information from library books and websites, Tatiana constructed a model to show the importance of camels and boats in Egyptian life, and also showed how Egyptian houses were designed. It is wonderful that the girls have the opportunity to pursue their own interests and conduct independent research; this is certainly a skill which will serve them well later in their education and after they leave school.
16th September 2016 - Issue 2
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Hockey vs Bede’s The U15s had their first match against Bede’s yesterday at Wilson Avenue. The match began evenly with both teams fighting hard to keep the score level 0-0. The game continued to be very evenly matched, but Bede’s snuck in the first goal. Roedean continued to fight valiantly, but unfortunately conceded a second goal in the first half. The second half was very physical, with Roedean showing that they are a strong side. They managed to keep the score in the second half to 0-0, leaving the final score 0-2. Roedean have a strong foundation on which to build, and we are looking forward to the season ahead.
Hockey vs Seaford College The Houses enjoying the balmy evenings! Last night, the House 1 girls walked down through the tunnel to the sea, where the plan was to walk along the beach and have some dinner in the fresh air, but they were surprised by the Brighton weather and came back earlier than planned to enjoy a picnic in the ODR, followed by some chocolate fountain joy! And last weekend, Houses 2 and 4 enjoyed a lovely sunset walk and yoga, and House 3, inspired perhaps by what they saw of the Olympics, had great fun playing beach volleyball.
After a successful start to the match, the Roedean 1st XI Hockey team had a challenging fixture against Seaford College, who have a very strong sporting background. In recordbreaking heat, the girls struggled to perform at their best but showed some promising spells. The final was 6-0 to Seaford College, but the girls learnt a great deal from the match, and they will do their best to put it into practice next time.
WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
Mon 19 Sept
Deepdene Geography Workshop (Years 4-6) ISNC Netball vs Royal Russel U13 (A)
Tues 20 Sept
Jolesfield Primary English Workshop (Year 6) 1st XI Hockey vs Burgess Hill (H)
Wed 21 Sept
Whole School Photograph U12/U13A mixed & U12/ U13B&C mixed vs Seaford Prep (H)
Thur 22 Sept
L4 & U4 Author Visit – Miriam Moss HocNet Tournament at Hurst (A) Year 7 Parents’ Social Evening
Fri 23 Sept
U5 GCSE Geography residential
Sat 24 Sept
Exeat
Deepdene pupils loving sport at Roedean School 30 pupils from Years 4-6 had a brilliant time at Roedean on Thursday. They had access to our facilities for their own PE lessons, and then Miss Andrew took them for a hockey session too. They were exhausted when they had finished, but they had had a brilliant time, and can hardly wait to come back next week. Each time they come, the pupils will practise sports which they play already, but also have specialist coaching from Roedean Sport Staff in sports which they might not have had the opportunity to try before, such as trampolining and lacrosse. It is clear from the photos that they are having a good time! 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
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