27 September 2019 - Issue 4
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
Head’s Introduction Today is an important day in the school calendar, and this week has ended with Chapel services to mark Founders’ Day. So much of Roedean’s core ethos is linked directly to our founding Lawrence sisters, so the School community remembers them, as well as others who have played a key role in shaping the development of the School over the years. We also light a candle for those Old Roedeanians and former members of staff who have passed away in the last year, and the services were very beautiful and reflective. It was excellent to welcome our two Sports Ambassadors, Helen and Kate Richardson-Walsh, to Roedean at the start of the week. They are great supporters of the School, and are both remarkable role-models for the girls. In times when young people may feel that there are many pressures on them, I am very pleased that Kate and Helen were able to work with so many girls on Monday, focusing on metal resilience. This week, a number of events and activities have centred around the wider community, and I feel that it is very important for the girls to be encouraged continually to consider their place in a community which stretches wider than the School: many of the Year 12 Community Action Programme placements and joint activities with St Mark’s and Deepdene are now fully underway; on Monday, four of our sheep started a new life on a farm in West Sussex where they will enrich many young people’s lives, exactly as they have here; on Tuesday, it was lovely to welcome the parents and guardians of girls in Year 7 to Roedean to meet staff and reflect on the first few weeks of term; this morning, House 1 hosted its annual Macmillan Coffee Morning, with its mind-boggling array of cakes on sale for charity; and, this afternoon, we opened the Club House, refurbished thanks to the generous support of an OR in memory of her aunt, herself an OR, which will be used to host at sports fixtures and by boarders as a hub which is near the heart of the School.
Mental Resilience workshops with Helen and Kate We were delighted to welcome both Kate and Helen Richardson-Walsh, our Sports Ambassadors, to Roedean this week. They ran interactive workshops on mental resilience for every girl in Years 7 and 9, and the Sports’ Scholars. Although their point of reference was often sport, what they were describing was applicable to many different areas – it was how to bounce back after a disappointment, whether that’s on the sports field, on stage, or in the classroom, and how to get yourself into the right place to perform consistently well. The girls really enjoyed the sessions, which challenged them to imagine how they would react to different threatening situations, and Helen and Kate circulating among them to contribute to their discussions. They also gave a talk to the Sixth Form – the Year 12s are adjusting to different expectations at A Level, and the Year 13s are working on their university applications, so motivation and positivity from two Olympic Gold medallists was just perfect! Roedean really is very fortunate to have two women of Helen and Kate’s calibre as our Sports Ambassadors!
I am pleased to hear that the Geography Field Trip was a great success, and that the girls collected lots of valuable data for their GCSE coursework. Yesterday at the end of the day, I also met a number of girls in the Main Corridor who had just returned from a brilliant STEM day at Sandhurst. I am always very grateful to my colleagues who organise these trips, since they form such a valuable part of the girls’ experience at Roedean. Ahead of a busy week which includes a STEM Festival for 150 visiting girls, the Sixth Form Information Evening, and Open Day, I wish you all a lovely and restful weekend.
Sandhurst STEM Day
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European Day of Languages
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