3rd March 2017 - Issue 8
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction The creativity at Roedean never ceases to amaze me! The Vox Gala concert last week provided wonderful performances in an outstanding range of musical styles and genres, and I was delighted to see just how many of our girls were performing. I also particularly enjoyed seeing girls from different sections of the school in the spotlight from Year 7 to Year 13. Congratulations again to our Director of Music, Ms Fewkes, who masterminded the two concerts, and also to our conductors Mr Rous and Ms Bartlette. Roedean’s Got Talent yesterday afternoon demonstrated just that! The ten acts which had made it through the auditions to the final were brilliant, with fantastic technical support from the team in the Theatre, and they included tapdancers and instrumentalists as well as singers and actors. The packed audience responded with delight to all of the acts, and Jessica M stole the show; she was a deserving winner with her performance on the drums. Well done to Eunice Y for organising such a brilliant showcase for the school’s talent. The girls really got into the spirit of World Book Day yesterday, and everywhere you turned all day there were characters from books, complete with props and make-up. Thank you to Dr Blood for arranging so many different activities to mark this special day in the literary calendar.
Despite the wind and rain on Wednesday, Sport has also had a very busy week, with marvellous successes in various sports. I am very pleased that so many girls have the opportunity to represent Roedean on the sports pitches. The Prefect selection process has also begun this week, with hopeful prospective Prefects from 6.1 presenting their manifestos and ideas to the school in hustings over the past two days. The process will continue over the next few weeks, and the new team will be appointed before the end of term. When I think that over 100 families are coming to Roedean’s Open Day tomorrow, it makes me very proud to know that the girls have so many chances to express themselves and let their talents be seen, whether that is on stage, in the classroom, or on the sports pitch. This reminds me of something David Bowie said about self-expression which I shared in Assembly this week: ‘As an adolescent, I was painfully shy, withdrawn. I didn’t really have the nerve to sing my songs on stage, and nobody else was doing them. I decided to do them in disguise so that I didn’t have to actually go through the humiliation of going on stage and being myself.’ So the message is, express yourself and do it in disguise if you need to. I hope you all have a great weekend with a chance to relax after Open Day, and good luck for next week.
Up on the Farm… The D of E Volunteers have been busy this week – using recycled wooden pallets, they have made a wonderful new wellie boot stand for the farm Bothy. Despite the wet and windy weather, the chickens are still laying. Last week they produced a cracking 50 eggs! If you would like to enjoy these fresh eggs, they are available daily with a suggested donation of £1.50 per half dozen – all proceeds will be used to fund more fantastic projects at the farm.
Dressed up for World Book Day!
1:51.25 – Emily and Martha’s fantastic time for a half marathon! Congratulations to Emily T and Martha N (6.1) who ran the Brighton Half last weekend. They were quite nervous about such a daunting distance, particularly since they are both very young (Martha only just met the qualifying agelimit by 14 days). However, running together the whole way, they crossed the line in 1 hour 51 minutes and 25 seconds! They were soundly beaten by Mr Woodhouse’s experience and stamina, but they actually pipped Miss Andrew to the line by about 20 seconds (although she ran most of the race with a friend!). The girls are understandably delighted and proud of their remarkable achievement: ‘It was a great experience, but my legs are aching so much that Martha and I won’t be planning the full marathon for at least a few months!’, and ‘despite the wind and rain, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and I love my shiny, new medal!’ The girls have raised well over £2000 for Chestnut Tree House, a hospice which provides care for young people locally suffering from lifelimiting illnesses. Well done, Emily and Martha!