27th February 2015 - Issue 14 Head’s Introduction A warm welcome back to all staff and girls after the half term break. I know that a lot of study and preparation work continues over the break, but I do hope that you have all had a chance to rest and recharge as well. We are now in the second half of the academic year, and U5, 6.1 and 6.2 will see the external examinations approaching with trepidation, and perhaps a little bit of excitement, in the knowledge that soon enough they will be over and life will return to normal. It is very important that girls make positive and small steps each and every day towards meeting their aspirations and goals. It is too easy to think we are working well just because we are sitting down at our desks for long periods of time, but we should reflect on what we are trying to achieve and ensure that our time is purposeful, measured and targeted. In my view, that means engaging our brains so that all revision is actually about thinking, practising and understanding, rather than rote learning. Our two assemblies this week carried inspirational messages from the girls in L4 and 6.1 to the school. We were told, amongst many things, about how important it is to believe in yourself, take small steps towards your goals, never give up and take on life’s challenges. The examples from history helped to embed these ideas. In this election year, it is worth pausing to remember the battles that previous generations have fought to secure democracy. We should not forget how important it is that our society is built on the notion that everyone has a say in how we are governed. Those inspirational qualities that we heard about in assembly were no doubt needed by the founders of Roedean in those early years and by all those fighting for votes for women. One hundred years ago, as the Lawrence sisters’ school celebrated its thirtieth year and continued to prepare girls for entry to university, those same girls were not able to vote; though they could sharpen their minds, they could not use them to effect political change. Things have changed, and our girls have the privilege of using their Roedean education to help them be architects of the world they wish to live in. A recent article in The Guardian on women’s suffrage caught my eye: “There are often arguments today about who should represent feminism, but the suffrage fight suggests we need the whole spectrum: the rabble-rousers, theorists, dogged campaigners, sympathetic politicians, those whose wit draws women to the cause, those whose anger keeps them motivated, and those who quietly, conscientiously chip away at issues that make others give up in despair. We need those who refuse to see any conceivable option but victory. Women like the one who wrote to the Daily Telegraph in 1913. “Sir, Everyone seems to agree upon the necessity of putting a stop to Suffragist outrages; but no one seems certain how to do so. There are two, and only two, ways in which this can be done. Both will be effectual. 1. Kill every woman in the United Kingdom. 2. Give women the vote. Yours truly, Bertha Brewster.”” Many of our Keswick girls will be able to vote for the first time this year. Several of them already exhibit the determination and drive of their suffragist antecedents, but for those for whom May primarily heralds their A levels, it is well worth remembering that their right to vote is even more hard-won than their A level results will be. They should squander neither, but take the opportunity to choose their path in life and design their own futures, unimpeded to an extent that no woman before them has ever been. Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái from Lawrence House! A house on a Brighton cliff top became a hub of fun, food and festivities on the Wednesday before half term as Lawrence House celebrated the Chinese New Year in style. The girls joined together with a real sense of community, each contributing a small amount of money towards a banquet from the local Chinese takeaway. Making it a real, authentic Chinese feast was not just about the quality of the food, but also the quantity! One Lawrence girl explained that if they did not leave with full stomachs and with some food still left over, then it would not be a proper Chinese feast. Thankfully, we were able to fulfil this tradition and the satisfied groans of girls having eaten third and fourth helpings of the delicious chicken, prawn, beef and tofu dishes on offer could be heard all the way from Keswick and beyond! One girl said she had been sad not to be travelling back to China in half term to spend the lunar New Year with her family, but then she was delighted to be able to celebrate with her new Roedean family in her English home: Lawrence House.
Transcript
27th February 2015 - Issue 14
Head’s IntroductionA warm welcome back to all staff and girls after the half term break. I know that a lot of study and preparation work continues over the break, but I do hope that you have all had a chance to rest and recharge as well.
We are now in the second half of the academic year, and U5, 6.1 and 6.2 will see the external examinations approaching with trepidation, and perhaps a little bit of excitement, in the knowledge that soon enough they will be over and life will return to normal.
It is very important that girls make positive and small steps each and every day towards meeting their aspirations and goals. It is too easy to think we are working well just because we are sitting down at our desks for long periods of time, but we should reflect on what we are trying to achieve and ensure that our time is purposeful, measured and targeted. In my view, that means engaging our brains so that all revision is actually about thinking, practising and understanding, rather than rote learning.
Our two assemblies this week carried inspirational messages from the girls in L4 and 6.1 to the school. We were told, amongst many things, about how important it is to believe in yourself, take small steps towards your goals, never give up and take on life’s
challenges. The examples from history helped to embed these ideas.
In this election year, it is worth pausing to remember the battles that previous generations have fought to secure democracy. We should not forget how important it is that our society is built on the notion that everyone has a say in how we are governed. Those inspirational qualities that we heard about in assembly were no doubt needed by the founders of Roedean in those early years and by all those fighting for votes for women.
One hundred years ago, as the Lawrence sisters’ school celebrated its thirtieth year and continued to prepare girls for entry to university, those same girls were not able to vote; though they could sharpen their minds, they could not use them to effect political change.
Things have changed, and our girls have the privilege of using their Roedean education to help them be architects of the world they wish to live in. A recent article in The Guardian on women’s suffrage caught my eye:
“There are often arguments today about who should represent feminism, but the suffrage fight suggests we need the whole spectrum: the rabble-rousers, theorists, dogged
campaigners, sympathetic politicians, those whose wit draws women to the cause, those whose anger keeps them motivated, and those who quietly, conscientiously chip away at issues that make others give up in despair. We need those who refuse to see any conceivable option but victory. Women like the one who wrote to the Daily Telegraph in 1913.
“Sir, Everyone seems to agree upon the necessity of putting a stop to Suffragist outrages; but no one seems certain how to do so. There are two, and only two, ways in which this can be done. Both will be effectual. 1. Kill every woman in the United Kingdom. 2. Give women the vote. Yours truly, Bertha Brewster.””
Many of our Keswick girls will be able to vote for the first time this year. Several of them already exhibit the determination and drive of their suffragist antecedents, but for those for whom May primarily heralds their A levels, it is well worth remembering that their right to vote is even more hard-won than their A level results will be. They should squander neither, but take the opportunity to choose their path in life and design their own futures, unimpeded to an extent that no woman before them has ever been.
Gōng Xǐ Fā Cái from Lawrence House!A house on a Brighton cliff top became a hub of fun, food and festivities on the Wednesday before half term as Lawrence House celebrated the Chinese New Year in style. The girls joined together with a real sense of community, each contributing a small amount of money towards a banquet from the local Chinese takeaway.
Making it a real, authentic Chinese feast was not just about the quality of the food, but also the quantity! One Lawrence girl explained that if they did not leave with full stomachs and with some food still left over, then it would not be a
proper Chinese feast. Thankfully, we were able to fulfil this tradition and the satisfied groans of girls having eaten third and fourth helpings of the delicious chicken, prawn, beef and tofu dishes on offer could be heard all the way from Keswick and beyond!
One girl said she had been sad not to be travelling back to China in half term to spend the lunar New Year with her family, but then she was delighted to be able to celebrate with her new Roedean family in her English home: Lawrence House.
IcelandOver half term, 19 girls from L5 to 6.2, and three Roedean staff (Mrs MacGregor, Dr Kaye and Miss Beynon) travelled to the snow-covered, wind-swept break in the Earth’s crust known as Iceland. With the colours of Iceland’s fl ag representing the three key elements of water, ice and lava, we knew we were in for a true ‘once in a lifetime’ experience. Actually seeing and experiencing things like waterfalls, geysers, active volcanoes, geothermal power stations, glaciers, black sand beaches covered in snow and, amazingly, the Northern Lights, fi rst hand brought to life things we had only read about in textbooks. As one girl put it, “It reminds me of the magic power of the nature, and draws my eyes away from the textbooks to see the fantastic creations around us.”
There are a lot of other skills and feelings which arise from pushing yourself, seeing somewhere
new and swimming in a blizzard! Don’t take my word for it, the girls spoke about these experiences and what they gained from them: “(From the trip I learned) to experience new things and to not stay in my comfort zone eg in the glacier walk.” “I had never thought I could do glacier walking under such a harsh conditions. But I made it, and it must be because we had (each other), no one would like to hold the whole team back.”
The girls rose amazingly to all of these challenges and developed a unique perspective on their studies and on the world in which they live. “No matter how am I doing in my A-Levels, water still falls and the nature is still pretty. Those things which I thought meant to me a lot aren’t actually that important, (I need to) enjoy what I have and try my best!” It was a privilege to take them on the trip.
27th February 2015 - Issue 14HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
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World Book Day Author Profi lesJames Dawson: He grew up in West Yorkshire, writing imaginary episodes of Doctor Who. He later turned his talent to journalism, interviewing luminaries such as Steps and Atomic Kitten before writing a weekly serial in a Brighton newspaper.
James writes full time and lives in South London. In his spare time, he STILL loves Doctor Who and is a keen follower of horror fi lms and connoisseur of pop music. In 2014 James became a School Role Model for the charity STONEWALL.
Alison Gardiner: Inspired by authors such as C. S. Lewis and Anthony Horowitz, author (and OR) Alison Gardiner is fascinated by the genre of fantasy and enjoys weaving wild
and bizarre aspects into her adventure series, including the sequel to The Serpent of Eridor, Alchemy.
“I write because I’m curious. A story bubbles up in my head and I absolutely have to know the ending. As I write 95% by the seat of my pants and 5% by plotting, even I don’t know what will happen next; every writing day is an adventure. It’s like living with a slowly evolving fi lm inside my head.”
and bizarre aspects into her adventure series, including the sequel to The Serpent of Eridor, Alchemy.
“I write because I’m curious. A story bubbles up in my head and I absolutely have to know the ending. As I write 95% by the seat of my pants and 5% by plotting, even I don’t know what will happen next; every writing day is an adventure. It’s like living with a slowly evolving fi lm inside my head.”
Crystal Clear: English Language Conference in LondonThe 6.1 and 6.2 English Language students set off early on 12th February for the EMC English Language conference in London. This was no ordinary conference, though, as it was to feature David Crystal - one of the most prolifi c and celebrated linguists writing today. Crystal has written about topics from the fundamentals of English grammar (Rediscover Grammar) to text messaging and emails (Txtng: The Gr8 Db8). He gave a fascinating talk about the importance of pragmatics as a framework for looking at language, using entertaining examples about intonation to demonstrate the wealth of interpretations that are open to us simply through asking the right questions.
Perhaps the most eye opening speaker, though, was Akala, founder of The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, who showed us that iambic pentameter is not so far away from a basic hip hop beat and that Wu Tang Clan were the great polymaths of the 90s. His speech provoked thought about cultural reference points and about how we are willing to accept misogyny and violence in Shakespeare that we rail against in hip hop. He asked us to query why certain text types are sanitised, whilst others are not.
All in all, the students were left with a sense that only one thing was crystal clear: language is all about context.
World Book Day Events’ PreviewMonday, 2nd March - Author James Dawson is visiting to speak to L4 and U4. He is known as the ‘QUEEN OF TEEN GHOST AND HORROR’ and is the author of the spook-tastic Say Her Name. Dawson has also recently fi nished another book, ‘Under My Skin’, of which we have exclusive preview copies.
Wednesday, 4th March – Author Alison Gardiner (OR, H3 1969-1975) is visiting to speak to U3 and L4. Gardiner used to attend Roedean and will be talking about her fantasy novel The Serpent of Eridor.
Thursday, 5th March – Fancy Dress Day. Come to school dressed as any book character, simply by paying a pound to your tutor between now and then. Proceeds will go to Kids Company, a charity that does amazing work with which Roedean has a link. You have just one week to choose your outfi t, so get that imagination fl owing!
And fi nally, there’s the return of the Shakespeare fi lm contest – listen closely in next week’s assemblies for information about this exciting competition!
Roedean bags and key-ringsThe Parents’ Guild are selling Roedean bags and key-rings, as advertised in the Parents’ Bulletin –
if you would like to buy one, please email Louise Lawrence on [email protected]
27th February 2015 - Issue 14HEAD’S WEEKLY REVIEW
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The Parents’ Guild are selling Roedean bags and key-rings, as advertised in the Parents’ Bulletin – [email protected]@gmail.com
The Parents’ Guild are selling Roedean bags and key-rings, as advertised in the Parents’ Bulletin –
Junior sporting fixturesAll of the U3 and L4s played netball against Westbourne House on Wednesday 25th February:
The U13A and B teams travelled away and came up against two strong teams. There was some super playing by our defence and, in the B team, Martha Selby used her height well to intercept several of the opposition’s overhead passes. Katrina Walsh, Player of the Match, showed real promise in centre court and showed true pace and agility when getting free.
The U13A team worked hard from the first whistle. Eleanor Flavin played very well in a variety of positions. Unfortunately, Westbourne House made some good interceptions and their defence were strong, preventing the ball from
entering our D. Bella Swann played well as centre and made some good interceptions of her own.
The U12A and B teams had really competitive matches, with the play going from end to end throughout the game. They fought valiantly, but unfortunately our shooting skills let us down. Players of the Match for the As were Soha El-Faghloumi and Demi Adeyami and the B’s was Charlene Zehnder.
The U12C team lost the first half, but won the second, much to the delight of our girls. The girls can hold their heads up high as they learned from their mistakes and successfully made the appropriate changes to improve.
A Sporting Week Ahead at RoedeanIt promises to be a very exciting and busy time for Roedean sport over the next few weeks starting on Friday 27th February with the U15 cricket team travelling to Bedes to compete in the Lady Taverners Sussex Indoor competition.
JJ TUESDAY 3 MARCH
U13 Indoor Cricket Tournament U14 & U15 SISNA Netball Tournament Roedean is hosting the U13 Indoor Cricket Tournament. We are fielding a promising team with only 8 players on pitch, with 8 overs per innings and runs being scored by hitting walls and ceilings - it promises to be very exciting and fast paced.
We shall also be hosting the Sussex Independent Schools Netball Tournament for both U14 and U15 age groups. We are fielding two teams in the competition and both are through to their next round of the Knock Out Cup so this will be the perfect opportunity to play against top opposition and strengthen our play.
JJ WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH
Cross Country Roedean will be hosting a Cross Country competition for local primary and secondary schools in 4 races from years 5 up to 13. The course will be reasonably challenging around our undulating games fields, but it will definitely be rewarding to run by the sea!
JJ THURSDAY 5TH AND FRIDAY 6TH MARCH
IAPS Netball Tournament Roedean will be hosting the South East Regional rounds of the IAPS (prep schools) netball tournament with the finals taking place on Saturday 14th March. Over 600 players will be present on both days.
JJ SATURDAY 7TH MARCH
House Sport After the huge success of last year we are running House Sport from 9.00-5.30 with girls taking part in swimming, hockey, netball and badminton. Tutors will also be getting involved as we hope to have two from each house playing against each other.
Please do come down and cheer the Roedean teams on. All support welcome at all of the events and refreshments will be served for parents in the Marquee or Horizons coffee shop
Athletics SuccessAmber Anning won three gold medals and a silver at the Sussex Indoor Athletics Championships over the weekend of 14th/15th February.
In the process she set three personal bests – the stand out being in the Long Jump where she leapt to 5.30m – which puts her at No. 3 in the UK rankings (Under 15G) at present. She High Jumped 1.50m and won the hurdles in 9.6 secs, Her silver was in the shot where she threw a PB of 9.17.
Amber is travelling up to Sheffield this weekend to compete in the National Age Group Championships over 200m and we wish her every success.
Excellence in TabletennisEva Wang competed in the Junior British League Championships held at RAF Cosford over the half term where she was undefeated.
Eva now has a UK ranking, and is seeded 4th in the UK, well done, Eva!
Roedean Needs You!Roedean is hoping to recruit 40 volunteers to staff a water-station at this year’s Brighton Marathon on Sunday 12th April 2015. It will be at mile 10, so why not come along and soak up the atmosphere and hand out water to the runners?
If you are a keen runner and fancy entering a race, then the Mini-Mile races on Saturday 11th April could be just what you’re looking for! Medals and kit bags available to all runners.
Cabaret Music ConcertFriday 6 March, 19:30 – 20:45 Come hear the music play, life is a cabaret! A divine evening of entertainment, featuring music of the circus, vaudeville, show stoppers and jazz classics, performed by Roedean’s musicians.
Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance. There will be a retiring collection for Kids Company.
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We welcome contributions from all parts of the Roedean community. If you have something you would like featured in the Headmaster’s Newsletter, please email: [email protected]
