13 September 2019 - Issue 2
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction We have completed the first two weeks of term already, and it is wonderful to see how happy, involved, and engaged all the girls are. The Co-Curricular Programme is fully up and running, and I am pleased to hear girls talking excitedly in the corridors about what they have been doing and where they are going next. The breadth and variety of activities on offer each week is really impressive, and I am sure that there is something for everyone. There has been a literary focus to this week, and Book Week has been brilliant. Thank you to Miss Nixon and Ms Boobis for masterminding such a brilliant programme of activities and author visits, and the girls were excited to hear the writers speak and have their books signed. The highlight for many was, of course, the truly amazing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tea party. The themed food, prepared by Ms Sambrook and Miss Stevens, members of our own catering team, was exceptional – 175 girls enjoyed fantastical tea-party treats in five sittings, and they were all desperately looking for one of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets! I am pleased that pre-season training has gone well for our senior hockey players this week, and the launch of Artemis, Roedean’s Performing Arts School, was a great success yesterday evening, with girls from all sections of the School taking part in singing, dance, and drama workshops. We have also been very lucky to have the Reverend Helen Rose, from the Church of the Holy Cross in Woodingdean, leading the Chapel services this week. We look forward to meeting some Sixth Form parents at tonight’s Cheese and Wine evening, and I wish you all a restful weekend and a good week ahead!
Well done to our Year 7s and all the girls who joined School this year – hopefully you are feeling really settled already!
Roedean Book Week: Wondrous, Fine, Fantastic Tales ‘Such wondrous, fine, fantastic tales
‘We would leave !’ Keswick for this
zy (Yr9)
Amelia and Iz
Of dragons, gypsies, queens, and whales And treasure isles, and distant shores Where smugglers rowed with muffled oars.’ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl This is the quotation from which we took our book week theme for this year, and what wondrous fine, fantastic tales we have to tell! We could tell the story of Aisha Bushby, the debut novelist who wowed Year 7 with her creative writing workshops, and who was then, in turn, wowed by the work that they produced. We could also tell the story of a closely fought Literary Quiz, for which Keswick ultimately claimed the crown (and the coveted book tokens). We could tell of a school in which the catering department, the IT department, the theatre technicians, the DT department, and the Librarians all came together in an unlikely alliance with one mission: to create a magical Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea Party for our pupils. We could reminisce about the 80 or more books sold to enthralled pupils by the fabulous Juno Dawson, who gave such a relevant talk on her novel Meat Market, ranging from body image to sustainability, and a reminder to put your own stamp on however you choose to present yourself. Finally, we could tell of Sarah Juckes’s amazing talk to Years 8 and 9 about how an imagination can help you to feel free. We are so lucky to have these tales to tell and our memories from this week, but what I’ll remember most is the way these books helped our Roedean community come together in a shared excitement about the magic, and possibilities, of imaginary worlds. JNI
‘So epic’
Maria (Yr7)
‘Deliciously crumbly cupcakes that melt in your mouth’ Jess (Yr7)