23th September 2016 - Issue 3
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW Roedean’s sheep move into their new home! What a wonderful day it was on Wednesday, when the fifteen lambs and one ewe trotted off the trailer into their new field, surrounded by fifty girls and staff. This was quite the opposite reaction to eight months ago, when people just asked ‘why?’ and pulled a confused face when we floated the idea of a farm here. It really is great to have started this; Terry said that he’d never had such a welcome for his sheep. Our new flock seems very at home here, and the boarders and boarding staff have visited them in number over the last few evenings. If this helps in a small way to engage our girls in the natural world around them and to live a little more ‘outside’, it will be certainly be worth it. We look forward to welcoming the hens next week, and who knows what we might add a year from now! In the meantime, the sheep need some names – any ideas? KH
Head’s Introduction It’s only a few weeks since we welcomed all the new girls to Roedean, and I am delighted that everyone seems to have settled very well. But on Wednesday, after months of planning, Roedean opened its own small farm on site, with the arrival of sixteen new recruits: fifteen lambs and one ewe! There were lots of girls and staff waiting as an excited welcoming committee, and I am sure that many more will visit the sheep in the coming weeks and months, particularly when they see girls hand-feeding the lambs. This week we also had our whole school photograph taken. The logistics of getting five hundred girls and over a hundred staff onto the staging were quite tricky, but the sight of all of our girls in their new uniform snaking across the whole site was a real delight!
Thank you to all our Year 7 parents who came to our first parent-tutor meeting. It was wonderful to meet so many of you and to hear how well things are going. I look forward to meeting Sixth Form parents this evening when they will have the opportunity to meet with Senior Staff and tutors. At the end of next week we have our annual Founders’ Day Service, when we celebrate our founders and commemorate those members of the Roedean family who have passed away this year. The weekend will see the first Open Day of the year, at which we are expecting record numbers of visitors. It is very important that all girls and staff contribute to our Open Days, so thank you in advance for your support, and to all the girls and staff for their hard work on that day! The tallest and the smallest at the School photo.
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.
Gabriella Riley (6.1) for showing great kindness to a new student at lunch last week [CC]
Ellis Rossiter (6.1) for providing invaluable help in contacting an author on the Southern Schools’ Book Award shortlist [SBL]
Maddison Murphy and Mia Frost (6.2) for giving up their free periods to help Geography host the Deepdene children on Monday [RLP]
23th September 2016 - Issue 3
Staff profiles Jocelyn Rose (Teacher of Psychology) Mrs Rose trained as a biologist, specialising in developmental neuroscience, and she worked briefly delivering seminars in embryology at the University of Sussex, before training to be a Psychology teacher in Further Education. After this she worked in Eastbourne and Lewes FE colleges. More recently, she has undertaken post-grad research into Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. She is now working at Roedean part-time alongside this. She practises yoga daily and is a very keen bee-keeper – her summer was busy with chasing swarms of bees, or being chased by them!
Fran has got into the Guildhall
Sophie Abaza (Head of Curriculum Dance) Miss Abaza studied for her BA in Dance at the University of Chichester, where she had the opportunity to work with professional companies and choreographers, as well as touring, performing, and teaching with the university’s 3Fall Dance Company. She keeps her knowledge and practice current by attending workshops, including recent experiences with Richard Alston and the Rambert Dance Company. She is originally from Brighton and an Old Roedeanian, so she is delighted to be back!
Congratulations to Fran Seaborne (6.1), whose fantastic voice you heard singing Bob Marley in Chapel earlier this term – she auditioned on Saturday at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama, one of the world’s leading conservatoires, and has been accepted to study there on Saturdays. Even better, she has also been offered a university place already, which is an amazing achievement!
Billionaire checks out Roedean… Hana Al Arari (U4) for great play in the hockey match vs Bede’s [KAN]
The largest private sailing yacht in the world, Sailing Yacht A, was moored for a few days outside Roedean this week. The Philippe Stark-designed £300m, 460ft yacht, owned by a Russian billionaire, caused quite a stir. I wonder if the owner was visiting Brighton Pier or even the new i360… OB
Clara Hollowood (L5) for going to all clubs and being an excellent role model when captaining the hockey team [KAN]
James’ peach is actually a cake! Amelia Hoffman (U3) presented her Roald Dahl research homework in the form of a cake, iced so it looked like the peach from JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, with feathers attached with wire to simulate seagulls. How fantastic! Page 2
23th September 2016 - Issue 3
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
Whole School Photo
Another award-winning author at Roedean We were delighted to welcome Miriam Moss to speak to Year 8 and 9 about her novel Girl on a Plane, which had been long-listed for a number of book awards. Her novel tells the story of a girl whose plane was hijacked by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in 1970, and was based on Miriam’s own experience when, as a 15-year-old travelling alone from Bahrain to her UK boarding school, her plane was hijacked and the passengers held for 4 days in the heat of the Jordanian desert. She explained that she had tried to write the book from a nonjudgemental point of view, highlighting the desperation and plight of the Palestinian liberation fighters. The girls were full of questions for Miriam, asking if the experience had made her a different person, and what the passengers did to pass the time while they were held captive – many of the girls stayed behind to purchase a copy of her book. SBL
Jolesfield Primary go down the tunnel to the beach As well as having more students from Deepdene doing Geography workshops at Roedean on Monday, we also welcomed the Year 6 pupils form Jolesfield Primary for an English workshop hosted by Mr Woodhouse and Miss Whiteson. They had a great time, and took full advantage of a convenient chalk-board they found on the beach for their creative writing!
The girls just loved Bushcraft!
How do you say ‘bramble’ in German? A few of House 1 went out brambling (as we call it up north) this week, and then our resident bakers, Anna and Henriette, consulted the dessert oracle, Delia Smith, not me (!), and prepared an incredible apple and blackberry crumble – it was an absolute classic. Special mention must go to our German bakers who had never made crumble before, and they introduced our Spaniards to such an English classic! LSK
e team ‘I loved all thrtunities’ po op building illiams
Matilda W
‘All of us ha expectations d different were going, buof where we t exceeded all ofBushcraft them!’ Flo Inns Sl
ater
perience ‘It was a good ex nding!’ bo r fo t and grea Connie Wilson
‘I loved w shelter aaking up in the soft bree nd feeling the ze again head.’ st my G abriella
Pinchen
‘The staff were so kind and funny, the food was amazing, and I feel like our friendships have become stronger. I also managed to survive without my phone!’
‘I made so many more friends’
Lillie-Louise McKeague-Pi ttman
Zara Cardoso
r ‘I woke up in the sheltesee ly ate edi imm ld cou and of the trees and ground lly the forest; it was rea cool’
‘I enjoyed ev especially getterything, ing wet in the lake!’ Azzurra Sm
ith
Alma Samocha
‘I loved ju m freezing ping into the making thcold lake and e rice c treats.’ rispy Gina Do
wle
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one ‘If I had to chooseoose thing, I would ch s and od sleeping in the wo d, and rolling in the mu d the starting a fire, anon…’ talent competiti Poppy Stockton
‘I enjoyed everything, but I’d say my favourite thing was sleeping in the shelters that we built.’ Alice Briggs
HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
23th September 2016 - Issue 3
SPORT
Tatum runs away with another victory!
Fantastic victory for U13 Netballers
Congratulations to Tatum Walker (L4) who had a very successful season on the track this summer. She won the County Championships, meaning that she is now Sussex County Champion at 1200 metres and went on to represent Sussex in the inter-counties’ match. She also took up the Javelin at the end of the season and is already throwing the furthest out of the U13 girls in her club. Her track success comes on the back of a fantastic winter season, winning 3 major mile races and representing Roedean, Brighton and Hove Athletic Club, and Sussex in Cross Country, and gaining a Sussex U13 Team Gold Medal. All of this is particularly impressive as she has another year in the same age-group. Well done, Tatum!
On Monday, the U13A Netball team took part in the first round of the Independent School Netball Competition, playing a strong Royal Russel team. They worked so hard throughout the match, marking well and taking advantage of every scoring opportunity. The match was very even throughout and the full time score was 12 - 12. But, in the extra time period the girls stepped it up a notch and took an early lead and there was a nail biting end to the fantastic match, which we won 16 - 15. What a fantastic achievement – the player of the match was Georgia Hewitt for her consistent and calm passes in the goal third and her fantastic interceptions. Well done!
Victory for Hockey 1st XI vs Burgess Hill
Great resilience in U12 Hockey vs Farlington
After a frustrating loss at the weekend against Brighton College, the Roedean 1st team were up against another strong hockey school on Tuesday. Burgess Hill piled on the pressure early in the first half, resulting in a lot of short corners, but Roedean’s defence battled hard to ensure they didn’t concede a goal. This was followed up by a superb string of saves by Fran Seaborne, keeping us in the game. With the score at 1 - 1 and the final whistle blown, Roedean were allowed to play their final short corner of the game. After a well-rehearsed short corner, the ball came to Tasha Spinks who slapped the ball into the goal – we won, with the final score 2 – 1! A special mention goes to Loretta Sargeant who showed a superb display in defence.
The U12s play in the annual tournament at Farlington. The girls played lots of games to prepare them for the season ahead. The first was against Burgess Hill and it was our toughest match; we lost 0 - 3, but took many positives from the game. What is great is that the girls got better and better as the tournament went on, and the two final games were our best. Roedean beat both Belmont and Pennthorpe in two exciting thrillers. There were many excellent all-round performances, but special mention must go to Ella Kennedy Martin and India Barnes for outstanding play throughout the tournament. We ended the tournament with a very creditable 1 loss, 2 draws, and 2 wins.
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
3 great Hockey matches vs Seaford
The Roedean U13A Hockey team played very good hockey against Seaford this week. They played well, and we went into half-time 4 - 1 down. However, we responded well in the second half, making a terrific comeback to make the score 5 - 4 to Seaford with a minute to go. Unfortunately, we couldn’t convert the chances created, but it was a fantastic game. Congratulations to Lara Sellins who made a big impact on the right wing in the second half. The Bs and Cs also played Seaford, and we won both matches. The girls showed excellent grit and determination to keep their opposition from scoring – Ella Kennedy Martin and Serena Clyde were both awarded player of the match. Well done to all the girls!
JJ WHAT’S
COMING UP IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH WEEK Mon 26 Sept
Teatime Recital
Tues 27 Sept
1st & U14A Hockey v Bede’s (H)
Wed 28 Sept
U13A Hockey v LOGS (A) U12A,B&C v Mayfield (A)
Thur 29 Sept
Alicia Drummond visit U15 Hockey v Burgess Hill (H) Senior Volleyball v Farlington (H)
Fri 30 Sept
FOUNDERS’ DAY MacMillan Coffee morning
Sat 1 Oct
OPEN DAY Follow us @RoedeanSchool