22nd April 2016 - Issue 2
HEAD’S
WEEKLY REVIEW
An All-Round Lap of Honour for Amber Congratulations to Amber Anning who won the UK Sportshall All-Rounder title at Sportcity in Manchester at the weekend. She is one of Roedean’s most promising sportswomen, and has a string of victories and titles to her name, along with an impressive collection of medals. The sole representative for Sussex at this competition, Amber qualified in March for the finals as a regional champion. She was one of 75 athletes in her competition from all over the United Kingdom, highlighting the calibre of this outstanding victory. The athletes had to take part in three events, each of which had a maximum score of 100, and Amber scored a winning total of 287 out
of 300, over 11 points ahead of her closest rival. This was a fantastic result as the most promising young athletes battled fiercely to be crowned UK champions at the flagship athletics development event of the year. Amber ends her six year Sportshall career, with an unprecedented ten county records across the age groups, two UK U13 titles, and, most recently, this UK U15 All Rounder title. This success bodes well, since many current members of the GB & NI Athletics Team experienced their first taste of Athletics through the Sportshall competition – Amber is definitely a star of the future, so we should watch out for her!
Head’s Introduction Firstly, of course, Roedean must join with the rest of the country in saying Happy Birthday to the Queen who was ninety this week. In School, at a time when many of our girls have a keen focus on their academic work and public exams, I am delighted that Sport and the Performing Arts continue to thrive. Our sports teams are enjoying the exceptional weather along with great success in their fixtures, and I am pleased to hear of some brilliant individual sporting achievements too. Rehearsals for the Brighton Festival Fringe concert, this weekend’s Falmer Concert, and the school’s drama production at the end of June are well underway. We are all looking forward very much to the amazing spectacle of the Dance Showcase this evening. I am hugely impressed by the dedication of the girls and staff involved in all of these activities, and by the sheer numbers involved. Last weekend, our three Marathon runners on the staff ran very well. They were spurred on at Roedean’s water-station at Mile 10 by girls and staff cheering and providing much-needed fluids and support. Thanks to all those who gave up their time to help with this – I know that they really enjoyed it. On Wednesday evening, we launched our new partnership with Deepdene at The Grand Hotel; it was wonderful to see the Years 5 and 6 pupils from Deepdene giving strong performances on stage and to hear Eleanor, in Year 9, and Flo,
in Year 8, both former Deepdene girls, talking about the move to Roedean. The Deepdene Headteachers and I outlined the benefits of the partnership to the parents who came. Given the limited space at Deepdene, it will be great to see the younger children benefiting from our sports facilities. Teachers from both schools will also work together to share good practice, and our girls will work on projects in a number of areas with the younger pupils. I am confident that the partnership will benefit both schools in the coming years and have the same impact as our partnerships with Ringmer Community Academy and City Academy, Whitehawk. It is important that Roedean keeps reaching out beyond our own boundaries to work with local schools and organisations for the benefit for all involved. Taking advantage of the wonderful weather, a photographer captured some wonderful moments around the school last week, showing what a unique place Roedean is, as well as the fantastic relationships between the girls and their relaxed interactions with the staff. This week, some of the girls have also been immortalised in a video we are making, focusing on the central role of the Houses at Roedean, for both daygirls and boarders, and I am sure that it will capture the very evident house spirit. Good luck to everyone involved tonight, and I hope that you all have a very productive week.
WHAT’S COMING UP IN THE WEEK AHEAD?
Sat 23 April
Concert at 5:30pm at St Laurence, Falmer
Mon 25 April
Charity Concert at 7pm in Chapel
Tue 26 April
U13 Cricket vs Ratton School (H)
Wed 27 April
6.1 Young Enterprise Trading event
Thur 28 April
Junior Maths Challenge (Years 7 & 8) 6.1 Young Enterprise Regional Final Event at Brighton University
Fri 29 April
House 2 Sleepover
Sat 30 April
U12 & U13 Cricket vs Hurst (A)
Charity Concert Monday 25th April At 7pm in the Chapel, Miss Kazem, Dr Barrand, and Miss Triddon, along with their accompanists and some students, will be giving an informal charity concert. It is open to everyone in the Roedean community, and there will be wine and cheese to enjoy along with the music. The repertoire will range from classical to contemporary (or nearly!), both singing and instrumental, so there will be something for everyone. It is free to attend the concert, but we hope that you will give generously to support the two charitable causes, which are the Refugee Crisis and the Lugoj Orphanage in Romania.