Head's Weekly Review - 6 December 19 - Issue 12

6 December 2019 - Issue 12

HEAD’S

WEEKLY REVIEW

Head’s Introduction

Two high points of the last week have been the ‘Around the World in 80 Minutes’ Gala Concert and The Crucible. For Performing Arts to put on two very different events within six days is so impressive, and both involved many girls and were of such high quality, as you will read in the reviews in this issue. Well done to all the girls involved, and to the technical teams behind the scenes who have had to juggle both performances, but congratulations go particularly to the masterminds of each, Veronica Fewkes and Susan Woodbridge, the Directors of Music and Drama respectively – outstanding!

In addition to all the wonderful work which goes on every week at St Mark’s, I am delighted that

four girls in Year 8 and Mr Wilson are building a strong relationship with one of our nearest neighbours, The Blind Veterans – what a brilliant opportunity to make a huge difference on a weekly basis to thoroughly deserving people nearby. I am also pleased to hear of individual sporting successes for Izzy in Karate and Liv for Water Polo, as well as celebrating some excellent end of season results for our hockey players. Well done to everyone on a great term of sport.

It goes without saying that I am very excited about the many Christmas events we have from now until the end of term. The first is the highly-contested House Decorating Competition, which is this evening, followed quickly by our

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Around the World in 80 Minutes

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Good luck to you all for the last week of term and all of its festive celebrations, in particular the Carol Services, which are perhaps one of the highlights of my school year – I wish you all well!

Izzy’s got her Black Belt!

The Crucible

Roedean volunteers at the Blind Veterans

annual Christmas Fair, which is raising funds for the School’s three charities, which, this year, are Off the Fence, Safe in Sussex, and the ten PlanUK girls we support around the world. As well as the tutor-groups’ preparations, the Parents’ Guild has been working very hard to get everything ready for the Fair, which is always a brilliant event, with wonderful spirit in bucketfuls – I hope many of you will come along to share the event with us and buy some festive treats and stocking-fillers, so that we can raise lots of money for our charities!

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Liv’s the Best of Sussex Finalist

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HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

6 December 2019 - Issue 12

Roedean volunteers at the Blind Veterans For the first time in their illustrious history, the Blind Veterans have opened their doors to the youngest volunteers they have ever had, and, luckily for Roedean, it was to four girls from Year 8. Manon, Kincso, Ellie, and Phoebe were chosen for this special honour and have been visiting the site all term. Within eyeshot of Roedean, just over the brow of the hill, the four girls visit the Blind Veterans every Monday lunchtime. While there, they mingle with the permanent residents, chat with any visitors, and get to share in some of the activities. They have also received training from the Head of Volunteering on how to guide and support the partially-sighted and blind.

The girls have certainly made an impression so far, the residents love to chat with a friendly face/voice, share their experiences, and learn something new from the younger generations. The Blind Veterans has been open for a slightly shorter time than Roedean, 104 years! They provide free services and lifelong support to ex-servicemen and women with visual impairments. Its specialist services promote and enable these veterans to regain their independence, meet new challenges, and achieve a better quality of life. Being such close neighbours, Roedean and the Blind Veterans share a special bond and relationship. This is something that will be explored further by their archivist in the coming months.

The girls involved shared some of their thoughts so far: Phoebe – ‘So far at the Blind Veterans Hospital, I have learnt so much and it has been a really enlightening experience. I have learnt how to guide a visually-impaired citizen safely across busy areas, and have found that the members have some amazing stories to tell! I have really enjoyed our trips there and look forward to volunteering there next term.’

History trip to Old Operating Theatre

Manon – ‘Every Monday at lunch time, I have been visiting the Blind Veterans for an hour. It has been really nice to get to know new people and all their interesting stories. A few weeks ago, I met a woman of about 80 years old. She told me that she was waiting for her friend who had lost her sight and she was learning how to use a tablet. I learnt a lot about her and that's when I realised how different her life was to mine. I hope to see her again. In the future, I want to be able to help visually impaired people by making them feel more comfortable when they talk to me. I am going to try to learn all their names and to speak to them. Overall, it has been an amazing experience and I am excited to visit them again next term.’

As a truly special act of kindness, the girls have hand-written personalised cards to all thirty residents at the site this week! The cards, I am certain, will be greatly appreciated. The four girls should be extremely proud of themselves for stepping out of their comfort zone, supporting the local community and representing Roedean with distinction. The Blind Veterans will have a stall at the Christmas Fair this weekend, selling items made by their members.

GWI

Ellie – ‘At the Blind Veterans, we talk to people who have served in the Army and are partially or completely blind. Recently, we have just had the opportunity to learn how to help a blind person in public and have been practising it as the helper or the person being helped. So far it has been really interesting to hear about everyone’s experiences in the Army. In the future, I would like to learn more about what they have been through.’

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Last Sunday, the Year 10 and 11 historians headed to London to visit the Old Operating Theatre and the Florence Nightingale Museum.

The girls were able to soak up the atmosphere in the theatre and imagine what it must have really been like in the days before anaesthetics and antiseptics – well done Ashley for volunteering to be the patient! After a quick hop to St Thomas’ Hospital to find out about Florence Nightingale, the girls finished with a well-earned stop in Covent Garden for a spot of Christmas shopping.

SBB

Escape Room Victory for Year 7 Last week's superb Alice in Wonderland-themed Escape Room (run by the Academic Prefects) was tackled by over thirty teams, who had a maximum of fifteen minutes to complete the tasks, solve the clues, and escape. The winning team completed the room in an impressive 12 minutes 54! Even more impressively, this was a team of just three Year 7s! So congratulations to Constance, Polly, and Freya, who each receive a coveted Horizons voucher!

HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

6 December 2019 - Issue 12

The Crucible On Wednesday and Thursday this week we were treated to an adaptation of Arthur Miller’s exciting and controversial play, The Crucible.

time of publication, the play received very mixed responses and even resulted in the conviction of Arthur Miller for contempt of Congress.

Staged in the eerie and intimate setting of our beautiful Roedean Chapel, the play was performed in the thrust, allowing those audience members who were courageous enough to be right there in the action to sit amongst the cast.

A cast of 20 girls from Years 10-13, directed by Director of Drama, Susan Woodbridge, took on this difficult and heavy text bravely and assuredly. Opening with a hauntingly beautiful song performed by Annabel as Abigail Williams, the production was accompanied throughout by a wonderfully complementary soundscape and atmospheric lighting, each designed by one of our Roedean Theatre technician, Nick Tompkins and Tilly Ray.

The Crucible, written in 1953, is a partially fictionalised play based on the Salem Witch Trials of 1692-93. Arthur Miller wrote the play as an allegory for McCarthyism in America and, at the

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Each cast member, no matter their stage time, committed to their role in the production and the team effort was very evident on stage.

Special mention must go to Annabel, Lola, Rosie, and Scarlet for their exceptionally strong performances as Abigail, Proctor, Mrs Putnam, and Judge Danforth.

Huge congratulations to the entire cast and crew for this fantastic way to end what has been another wonderful term of Drama here at Roedean.

KM

HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

Around the World in 80 Minutes The Around the World in 80 minutes Gala Performance was an outstanding concert, with over 150 girls performing in the Choir, String Orchestra, Junior Strings, Roedean Band, and Roedean Orchestra. It really was a memorable evening for performers and audience alike, particularly as for many girls it was their first experience of performing at Roedean. On our tour around the world, we were taken on the Starlight Express, with music from the show throughout the concert and announcements from our staff guiding the way. The Roedean Orchestra opened with the Flower Duet, from Paris, then the beautiful and musically challenging first movement of the Mendelssohn Symphony No 4 in A major, moving us to Italy.

The audience were then transported across the Atlantic to Argentina where we enjoyed a dramatic Tango, Por Una Cabeza. The choir then came to the fore, transporting us between continents with some Californian Dreaming and a trip to Africa with Toto.

The performance from the Junior Strings amused us all, as the girls played the Mexican Hat Dance in, of course, Mexican sombreros. Cleo, Beata, and Lydia also wore wonderful moustaches. This was a great performance conducted by Sophia Bartlette, with Maddie (Yr8) on lead violin. Then followed pieces from Seville, Londonderry, and a foot stomping Hoe Down from Mid-West America. As we moved towards the end of the first half the Roedean Band took the stage for a number of pieces taking us on a tour from London to New York, conducted by the energetic Ben Rous. I particularly enjoyed the movement between Baker Street and Lenny Kravitz’s Fly Away.

The second half was full of epic music, including the thrilling Pirates of the Caribbean and the legendary New York, New York. The concert closed with a moving performance from the Roedean Orchestra and Choir of the Prince of Egypt – When you Believe; with impressive solos from Niamh (Yr9) and Alma (Yr10). The evening was beautifully held together by our conductor Veronica Fewkes – I know all girls involved and the audience would like to thank her for putting together a fantastic evening of musical performances. It was brilliant!

KNE

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6 December 2019 - Issue 12

HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

6 December 2019 - Issue 12

Art in Action The Year 13 A Level Art students had a great experience attending Art In Action, where we listened to artists from four different fields in the creative industry. Tom Piper talked about his work in set design and the process he goes through to create a set for both Shakespearian and contemporary plays. He spoke about the importance of being able to ‘hold on tightly but let go lightly’ with your artistic ideas, as well as the benefits of collaboration.

He also talked in depth about the rewards and challenges of creating the sea of poppies outside The Tower of London in 2014.

The second artist was Roz Hall, a digital media artist who focused on portraiture. He spoke about the way in which digital media provides endless possibilities for art, so setting limitations actually inspires creativity, as he has to overcome to create artwork.

English Department activities over the last few weeks

Rebecca Salter is a printmaker who spent 6 years in Japan as a student, aiming to understand the process of Japanese wood-block printing. Her stories of being submerged in another culture and attempting to step into a foreign environment is explored by changing locations or using your less dominant hand to draw.

The English Department has had a busy and exciting few weeks. Year 13 Literature students braved the elements on their tour around the key locations mentioned in Graham Greene’s ‘Brighton Rock’. The dreary drizzle provided a suitable backdrop to learning more about the seedy criminal underbelly of Brighton haunted by Pinkie and his mob in the 1930s. Actor George MacKay (Pride, Sunshine on the Leith, Where Hands Touch, and starring in Sam Mendes’ new film, 1917, released in January) chatted on Skype to Miss Whiteson’s Year 8 students, who have studied Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful this term and answered their questions about what it was like to play the role of Tommo, a young soldier in World War 1. Year 10s studying Macbeth also attended a workshop run by Small Things Theatre and were treated to a whirlwind tour of the character of Lady Macbeth that really brought the play to life. Well done to the brave girls who volunteered to read out parts and get involved!

TW

Overall, we all enjoyed going up to London as always to see as much Art as possible.

Shan (Yr13)

Astronomy Club A new Astronomy Club has been meeting this half term. Unusually for a British Autumn, we have been able to get outside to see the night sky on 4 evenings, meaning that the girls have been able to see Saturn, Venus, Jupiter (with its moons), and the Moon, together with our nearest neighbour galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy. The girls have been able to learn how to use a telescope and important lessons about Astronomy, including the fact that the best nights for observing are clear and therefore very cold! The pictures show the Moon and Venus as viewed from Roedean.

Co-Curricular Karate I have been doing Karate for a term here at school and I have really enjoyed it! What I like best about this sport is that it’s not only for defence and protection, but it is also quite a lot of fun, especially with our enthusiastic Karate Teacher Mr Asquith. This sport also can help you mentally – it can calm you down to feel settled. It also can make you feel even better wearing your Karate Gi.

Maisie (Yr7) Page 5

HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

6 December 2019 - Issue 12

House 3 House 4 House 1 House 1 had a very busy evening on Saturday, marzipaning, icing, and decorating 25 Christmas fruit cakes to sell at this year's Christmas Fair – as you can see we have some very talented bakers!

The House 4 girls are loving the festive fun!

This week, they have enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree, whilst also doing many arts and crafts and baking activities, some of which include making snowman pom-poms, wreaths, and star decorations, and baking gingerbread cookies!

Cake will be sold for £3.00 each with all proceeds going to the fair's charity. Good luck to all stall holders.

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This week has been full of Christmas Cheer and celebration. House 3 has been busy getting the house ready for the House Christmas Decoration Competition. The girls have really enjoyed making the house into a Christmas grotto with all manner of lights, tinsel, and sparkly objects. Mrs Allen has been at the ready with her box of bits and bobs, helping the girls produce some lovely angels, light bulb penguins, and climbing Santas.

Anastasia (Yr10) painted our lovely House 3 elf, who is now a daily feature in our ODR. The week has also been spent baking goodies for the Christmas Fair House 3 Charity Stall, where we are hoping to raise money for the school charities through the craft and cakes produced.

HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

6 December 2019 - Issue 12

Top Cricket Coach for Roedean!

We are delighted that Mike Smethurst, a Level 4 Cricket Coach, who has run cricket programmes in schools for almost a decade, will be joining Roedean next term. He coaches on county cricket pathways, previously working with Lancashire U19s and currently working with Sussex U13sU17s, and he works for the ECB as a mentor and assessor to coaches going through the Level 3, Advanced Coaching Course.

He has coached girls’ school teams to two National U15 titles, worked with girls and boys who have gone on to play professional and international cricket, and he has also worked extensively with girls who are new to the game and want to learn. In addition, he has wideranging experience of coaching other sports too, including hockey, rugby, and football.

Prior to working in schools Mike was a professional cricketer for Lancashire County Cricket Club. Cricket is a growing sport at Roedean, so we are excited that he will be joining us.

Liv’s 'the Best of Sussex' Finalist Congratulations to Liv (Yr12) who is a finalist in the Sporting Star category in the Best of Sussex Community Awards, for her work volunteering as a coach with the South East Region water polo academy. She is hugely grateful to those who coached her to GB level, all of whom gave their time to help her, so she is repaying their commitment to her by supporting the next wave of water polo players. She will not be unable to attend the ceremony on 8 December, as she is Head Coach of the girls’ U16 Sussex Water Polo squad, who will be attempting to retain their title at the annual South East and London Region inter-county tournament at Whitgift School. We look forward to hearing the results of the awards’ ceremony.

Izzy’s got her Black Belt!

Netball U16A vs Sion

The U16As performed very well against a strong Sion side. They worked the ball round the D well and were patient with the feeds into the shooters.

The defence worked tirelessly, working round the accurate Sion shooters. It was neck and neck all game, with Roedean only down by 1 with 5 minutes to go, but unfortunately Sion then pulled away to take the lead. It was a very positive game with some excellent play from numerous players. Congratulations to Sophia who received Coaches’ Player for some phenomenal play in the attacking end, controlling the play, Esme received a well-deserved Players’ Player for a solid performance in defence, and Scarlett was Opposition’s Player for her fantastic movement in the circle. Well played girls.

Congratulations to Izzy (Yr7) who has just earned her Black Belt in Karate. She started studying Karate with Sama in Spring 2013 just before her 5th birthday, and her dream has always been to be a black belt. She achieved many 1st passes for her belt gradings over the years, and enjoyed sparring, competing, and Kata competitions. She has also helped teach classes, in her own time, at her previous Junior School.

Izzy was invited to take her black belt on 1st December. You have to wait to be asked, and the grading is only once every six months. Around 18 people from the South East Sama Group entered and she was one of 12 who passed. The exam was two hours long, consisting of Kata, sparring, stamina, weapons, including knife defence, and showing that she knows everything she has ever learnt since training began.

She has done particularly well, because her karate training doubled exactly at the same time she started senior school – she has been attending between 3-6 classes a week, as well as practising at home.

Her new challenge will be preparing to become a second Dan black belt!

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6 December 2019 - Issue 12

HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW

Hockey 2nd XI vs Worth

The 2nd XI took on Worth this week in a fairly evenly matched game. Roedean had a couple of early break-throughs from stepping up to the ball, and the match was end to end. Esme made some good saves in the first half to keep Roedean in the game, but Worth intercepted the ball in their half and made a successful break to score. As a team, we fought back and made some positive attacks towards the goal, however the final score was 2-0 to Worth. There was some excellent play from Tatum as a defender and midfielder, and she was nominated as Player of the Match. It was a great team effort and the girls should be proud of their efforts. Well done!

U12B vs Lingfield

U12B had a fantastic end to the season and played some great Hockey. They showed great team work throughout the match, and the positioning on the posts enabled us to score some great goals. Well done to Tildy for scoring two goals and Freya, Oyinda, and Chloe for all scoring as well! There was lots of attacking play, and this was only made possible by our strong defensive unit of Maddison, Izzy, and Constance stopping the ball high up the pitch. Eloise showed great determination and skill when eliminating the defence, and Olivia made a couple of great saves when called upon. It was a superb last match – well done on your efforts, skill, and determination.

U12C vs Lingfield

Our U14A team played Worth's U15B and had a fantastic match. Both teams demonstrated some fantastic elimination skills around the players.

Roedean showed some brilliant defence work by channelling the Worth players. During the second half, Roedean girls demonstrated great confidence and started to execute their shots brilliantly. Roedean used short passes to keep possession of the ball which worked well. A huge well done to all! The overall result was Roedean 5 – Worth 0.

The U12C team had their final match of the season versus Lingfield College. In the first half, Roedean made strong passes up towards the D and had numerous shots on goal. Our defenders were confident and made clean sweeps when Lingfield started to attack. After a half-time team talk, the Roedean players started to hold their positions well and to press well. Furthermore, we were able to finish off the shots much more consistently. A huge well done to all that played!

The final result was Roedean 5 – Lingfield 0. It was a great game to finish the season and you should all be very proud!

U15B vs Worth

U12D vs Lingfield

U14A vs Worth

The U15Bs had a good game against Worth. We had a slow first half and allowed Worth to get 2-0 up. The girls went back on determined after half time and played some excellent Hockey. They put into match play exactly what they had worked on in training and it paid off. The girls kept the score 0-0 in the second half, which was very good. It was unfortunately a loss overall, but we had an excellent second half. Well done girls!

Horse riding...

The U12D team played a strong Lingfield side on Wednesday under the beautiful Roedean skies. Every single player worked incredibly hard and this was rewarded with a 1-0 win, with Annunciata scoring a great goal with an assist from Clara. Girl of the game went to Maria, who represented the team for the first time, and the Coaches’ Player of the Match went to Sophie for her strength at the back. It was an excellent end to an undefeated U12D season!

Saturday 10am - 1pm

J WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE

WEEK AHEAD?

Mon 9 Dec

The Beat Goes On Workshops and teatime recital

Tue 10 Dec

Mock General Election Sixth Form Snow Ball

Wed 11 Dec

Carol Services Christmas Lunch Staff Panto - Cinderella

Thur 12 Dec

Final Chapel and Handshaking END OF TERM

U14A

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