17th June 2016 - Issue 9
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction Roedean has welcomed many visitors since half-term, and, following the 170 local pupils who attended the Primary Schools’ Science Day last week, 120 girls from Prep and Primary Schools came to Rockpools’ Day this week. They were lucky to come on the one fine day we have had this week, and enjoyed themselves looking for crabs and seaweed down on the beach. Hot on their heels, the 90 girls who are joining Years 7-10 in September are coming to New Girls’ Day next week, so that they can meet key members of staff and see their houses. Yesterday, our Honorary Chaplain, Rose HudsonWilkin, enjoyed visiting a variety of classes, and she left very impressed with what she had seen. Today, we have also welcomed those who will join the teaching staff in September,
and there is certainly an air of anticipation and excitement about next academic year. I am delighted to hear of some wonderful individual achievements this week, including Eden W-N performing for the Queen, and Gabriella K playing in the National Children’s Orchestra, and it was also a privilege to hear her playing her saxophone as part of this morning’s Chapel. The theme of the service was the difference we can make in the fight against cancer, and I hope that many of you will come to Roedean tomorrow to run our Race for Life or just to cheer and support, and then have a picnic while you psych yourself up for the family rounders in the afternoon! I have no doubt that it will be a wonderful day, full of fun, cake, competition, and laughter...
I am pleased to hear that the current L5 girls had a wonderful social event yesterday evening, and I am sure that they will have enjoyed the Sixth Form taster lessons they have had today; hopefully, this experience will begin to crystalise their thoughts about the subjects they will choose at A-level. Looking ahead, there is a great deal to pack into the final two weeks of term, including our Art Exhibition in Brighton next week, our own mock EU Referendum, the summer production, Roedean Day next weekend, and the Roedean Festival in the last week of term – I am looking forward to seeing the entire community working together at all of these events. I wish you all well over the next two weeks.
Dancing for Queen and Country We are delighted that Eden W-N (U4) was one of nine girls from Sussex selected to represent the Royal Academy of Dance at the street party and parade, which were held on The Mall in London on Sunday June 12 in honour of Her Majesty’s 90th birthday. Eden danced in the segment of the parade which represented the decade of the 60s, the second decade of the Queen’s reign. After a rehearsal in the rain, the official parade, watched by the Queen and her family, was executed with perfect precision and in sunshine. Eden featured prominently in the BBC coverage of the event which included 300 dancers and ballet teachers. What an amazing opportunity for Eden, who has been dancing from the age of 4 and is preparing for her Grade 6 ballet exam in the summer. No doubt she will remember the experience for many years to come.
Race for Life tomorrow
Bring your trainers, a cake to donate, and a picnic – it’ll be a great day for everyone!
17th June 2016 - Issue 9
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.
Katarina H (L4) for going above and beyond at Primary Schools’ Science Day [SBA]
Maddie Q (U3) for delivering the most amazing presentation on Marine Conservation for Rockpools [DBA]
British Museum
Maia H and Amelie S (L4) for looking after our visiting girls so well and encouraging them to enjoy the day [JCO]
Miss Clarke for inspiring and enthusing the winning Rockpools team [DBA]
Mrs Chandler for her brilliant team chant, featured in this review [JBO]
Dr Barrand for braving the rockpools in his suit! [HCH, JCO & JBO]
Jess K (L4) for being a legend on campus [KAN]
Last Friday, the girls in U3 visited the British Museum in London. We were lucky enough to visit the special exhibition ‘Sicily’, where we learnt about the arrival of the Greeks on the island and their encounters with the Phoenicians, through to the extraordinary period of enlightenment under Norman rule in the 11th to 13th centuries. We also enjoyed viewing the ‘Vrindavani Vastra’, with scenes from the life of the Hindu god Krishna, which brought to life the stories we had studied this year. The girls learnt about the significance of
the Rosetta Stone and debated the ownership of the Elgin Marbles. It was an excellent and interesting day for all! KHB “My favourite exhibit was the Vrindavani Vastra (the cloth of Vrindavan), which is a piece of 17th century Indian woven silk, which is 9 metres long. It tells the story of Krishna in the forest of Vrindavan, with demons like the serpent Kaliya. It was really interesting, as we have learnt about Krishna in class.” Olivia T (U3)
Flying a helicopter at Roedean!
Freya S (L5) for getting full marks on both her History exams [RCH]
On Monday 13th June, all of our U3 girls had the exciting opportunity to fly an RAF Chinook helicopter simulator in their ICT lessons. This is the model that it used to train pilots, so we were very lucky to have it at Roedean! It started well with the demonstration from the Thales engineer, Mr Mitchell, who made flying Page 2
the helicopter look easy. Well, it wasn’t, easy, that is! A few kept their helicopters in the air, but the overwhelming majority had theirs whirling and twirling towards the ground – it’s much harder than it looks to fly a Chinook! SBA
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
17th June 2016 - Issue 9
Rockpools’ Day at Roedean We welcomed 120 girls from Prep and Primary schools to Roedean on the one day this week with fine weather. The girls took full advantage of this, and had a wonderful time in the sunshine, throwing themselves into team challenges on the pitches, going down the tunnel to scour the rockpools for crabs and anenomes, flying hot air balloons in the Library, and firing their rockets over the Chapel roof. The 12 teams loved exploring the school and the helpers from L4 guided them through
the tasks excellently. The day ended with afternoon tea in the marquee in the Quad with our visitors’ parents. Friendly team rivalry was in evidence all day, and some of the teams devised excellent chants, the best of which was from Mrs Chandler’s team: “We are here at Roedean School! We are here to rock this pool! We are here to have some fun, We are here to get some sun.
Gabriella performed at Hever Castle Gabriella K (U4) took part as principal clarinet in the National Children’s Orchestra-South East Region summer concert at Hever Castle on Sunday, last weekend. The orchestra of nearly one hundred players meets regularly during holidays and weekends to perform an impressive range of challenging orchestral repertoire. In this particular concert, Gabriella was the clarinet soloist in the ever popular Libertango by Piazzolla. She has been playing in the National Children’s Orchestra for four years, and playing at this level has certainly developed her knowledge of music and enhanced her experience of playing.
We look for crabs, we look for all, We found some creatures in our pool; You can’t get past us, we’re the best! Until we win, we will not rest!” Everyone had a great day – well done to the Admissions’ department and to Mrs Bakhtiari for organising the day, and thank you to the members of staff who worked with the teams.
Six Roedean girls into the finals of the Sussex Netball Academy Trials Congratulations to Bonnie W, Ruby A(U3), Ella L and Jessica K (L4) who have all been selected to progress to the next stage of the Sussex Netball Academy Trials at Chichester University this weekend. They will join Ami and Yelena F (L4) for the final trials, where they will compete for places in the U14 County Academy – we wish them all the best of luck, and what a perfect illustration of Roedean’s strength in depth!
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17th June 2016 - Issue 9
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Owls at Roedean On Sunday 12th June, we were lucky enough to welcome back Mr Bob Morley and his amazing birds of prey. These included owls and hawks which were flying around the studios at Roedean. It was a fantastic opportunity to see these birds close up. They were all stunningly beautiful and awe-inspiring. The eagle owl (the world’s largest owl) was particularly impressive. Those who attended this activity, including girls, staff and their families, lay down on the floor to appreciate fully the spectacle of this owl flying around above them. It was a fascinating afternoon and we shall definitely be inviting these wonderful birds (and their handler!) back again!
Fantastic play at the Hawthornes’ Tournament
Cricket is getting stronger and stronger
The U13A Rounders team took part in an exciting tournament at Hawthornes on Saturday. The girls have not had the chance to play against a wide variety of schools so far this season, so they really enjoyed the tournament and performed very well throughout. Our fielding was of the highest quality in every game, and the girls displayed the most positive and determined attitude of any team there, wanting only to do the best for the team and the school; they were a credit to themselves. A victory in the first game over Royal Russell gave us a good start to the day, and the girls maintained this positivity in every game, to include a huge win of 10-3 over Caterham and a nail-biting draw of 6-6 against Daneshill. Our fielding was strong throughout and our batting improved during the day. The girls banked very good points by never losing by more than 2 rounders in any game, with the result that we placed well overall. Well played to all girls involved!
The U13A Cricket team lost to Gildredge House last week; this meant that we unfortunately finished 3rd overall in the Sussex league, but this is still an excellent achievement for our team in this very recently introduced sport at Roedean. This was followed by a strong performance in the U13 Prep School Cricket competition at the end of last week, where they came runners-up – excellent! The player of the tournament was Yelena F (L4) for her excellent bowling and fielding. Well done to everyone!
Rounders vs Brighton College The L5 Rounders team put on a great display of team work playing against tough opposition from Brighton College. The girls had a difficult start, going down 16 rounders to their 3 in the first innings, but following an outstanding batting performance from Florence H in the 2nd half, Roedean racked up 11½ rounders to finish much closer to our neighbouring opposition. The player of the match was Ella R, for some outstanding catches in midfield. The U14A team also played a fantastic game. After losing the first innings, they fielded impeccably to draw the match 12½ all! Special mention must go to Scarlett P for her incredible batting and fielding performance, and also to Tanith L for a brilliant all-round performance. The U14B team lost a close match, 14–16½ rounders, and their player of the match was Lalita C-S.
Pippa’s throwing the javelin for Brighton and Hove Congratulations to Pippa W (U4) for being selected to throw the javelin for Brighton and Hove Athletics Club this week. She is a talented athlete, who also turns her hand to the shot put – she has a trial for the club for this event soon too. It is quite unusual to be strong in two disciplines at this age, so she is performing very well. We all wish her luck for the shot put trials, and look forward to hearing about her successes. JJ WHAT’S
COMING UP IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
Mon 20 Jun
L aunch of Roedean Art Exhibition at the ONCA Gallery – the exhibition will be open all week U4 & L5 History Residential – WW1 Battlefields France & Belgium
Wed 22 Jun
New Girls’ Day U3 Trip to Northern France U13 Cricket v Millais (H) U13 Tennis v Millais (H) Year 12 UCAS Day Academic Lecture with Old Roedeanian, Eugenia Cheng
Thur 23 Jun
U3-L5 Drama performance “I Could Always Find Tears”
Fri 24 Jun
3-L5 Drama performance U “I Could Always Find Tears”
Sat 25 Jun
3-L5 Drama performance U “I Could Always Find Tears” Roedean Day
I Could Always Find Tears The summer production is a play with songs, written and composed by Robert Rigby. The fifty strong cast of girls from Year 7-10 has been rehearsing intensely this week, for the forthcoming performances of the show. ‘I Could Always Find Tears’ is based on the real-life reminiscences of elderly women who, at the age of fourteen, had begun their life ‘in service’ in the great houses of the day. The play is set in 1980, but the memories of the key characters take us back to the 1920s and through to 1930, with their personal stories set against the backdrop of a time of huge social change for the country. If you would like to come to one of the performances on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week, please reserve free tickets via the Box Office - http://boxoffice.roedean.co.uk. 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 4
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