4 May 2018 - Issue 3
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Year12 Chemistry - Oxidation of Alcohols
Head’s Introduction
International Chemistry Olympiad 2018
The number and range of different events this week has been wonderful, from the girls’ long-awaited first steps on the new all-weather pitch to celebrating the arrival of chicks on the farm, from the stunning Dance Showcase last Friday to the CAP Presentations rounding off the Year 12 placements, and from the GCSE Drama performances to victorious tennis and rounders fixtures.
In Tuesday morning’s Assembly, we said congratulations to girls in the Sixth Form who had put themselves forward for an extra challenge on top of their A Level Chemistry studies – the Royal Society of Chemistry’s International Olympiad. The Olympiad paper is always full of fiendishly difficult questions, but that didn’t stop them giving it a go. Many of them attended extra sessions to help them prepare. Hopefully they even enjoyed it!
We have all watched how the all-weather pitch has developed from a building site with piles of brown earth, to flattened sections with flood-lights and fencing, and now to a nearly completed pitch with markings and dug-outs. Although it seems as if it has been many more months in the making, the speed and professionalism of the contractors has been impressive, and I am very pleased indeed with the final product. Now that the girls are using it, the impact of having such a facility on site has become even clearer, both to me and to them – it really will transform sport at Roedean, and for the entire school body, not just the top teams. I am delighted that the girls appreciate what this huge investment in sporting facilities will mean for them over the coming years. It is hard to believe that the wonderful Dance Showcase was already a week ago. The two performances were very high quality, with slick, seamless changes between them. I was impressed to see not only the diverse styles performed beautifully, but also the number of dancers from all age-groups in the school, including some who danced in more than one piece and were able to change styles effortlessly. Well done to everyone involved, and particularly to all of the Dance teachers who must have been incredibly proud of their students. This weekend will be a busy one for the school. On Bank Holiday Monday, we shall be pleased to welcome 100 families to Roedean for our summer Open Day – thank you in advance to everyone involved, and for all the preparatory work which has taken place at this busy time of year. Good luck to everyone who is involved in Saturday’s Brighton Festival Fringe Concert, and particularly to our soloists, who I know will relish this opportunity to play and sing on a big stage! I know that the concert is the product of a huge amount of preparation and rehearsal, and, even before I have heard it, I would like to thank our Director of Music, Miss Fewkes, and the entire Music Department. Every year, the quality of the performances, the ensemble playing, and the sheer musicality on show impresses me greatly, so I am very excited about this year’s concert on Saturday – good luck to you all!
Particular congratulations to the girls from Year 12, who did fantastically well considering they haven’t even studied some of the topics the questions covered yet. We handed out 19 awards this year, our best ever haul! Gold certificates – with scores that put them in the top 5% of chemists nationally – went to Mavis Z and Selen S. Silver awards were handed to Janice W, Nadia W, Yian Z, Martha N, Emily T, and Alya MF. And we had bronze awards for Charlotte Z, Lydia L, Arya L, Samantha C, Melissa D, Shirley H, Mary M, Freya S, Cherry L, Angela L, and Sophie H. Mavis, Selen, Yian, Emily, and Martha also collected the certificates they earned for their results in the Cambridge Year 12 Chemistry Challenge last year. MEB
What a glorious day to finally be play
ing on the new pitch!