Newsletter No. 2
 Claudia Govetto (UV - B) has been selected
as one of the Gymnaestrada team and will
participate in the Gynastica, in Germany in
July this year.
 Lucy Strauss (M -Bears) has been selected
to play violin in the South African Youth
Orchestra.
21 February, 2013
 Congratulations to Debbie and Ekhard
de Koning (Junior School Admissions), on
the birth of their little girl, Luka Sophia.
IN THIS ISSUE:
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Congratulations
From the Headmistress
Social Responsibility
Roedean Social
Kids Lit Quiz in SA
SAIIA Young Leaders Conference
Debating Society
Cognitive Education
Round Square and The President’s Award
IEB Directors of Maths Day
Dads and Daughter’s Programme
Feedback from camps
Sports Department
Rock Climbing
PTA / MySchool Card
Princess of Wales Terrace,
Parktown
Private Bag X3031, Houghton 2041
011643-8337 / 011647-3200 (tel)
011643-1484 (fax)
roedean@roedeanschool.co.za
www.roedeanschool.co.za
FROM THE HEADMISTRESS
D
ear Parents
I trust the half-term break will be eagerly welcomed by all and that a good rest will ensue.
The start of the year has been busy, as is always the case, and so many girls and staff have been involved in
activities in which they have enjoyed much success. The report backs from the camps has been very positive
and the girls do benefit from this experience outside of the conventional classroom walls. The LVs and other
new girls to the school are engaging so admirably in their new senior school environment, and the reports of
their progress augur well for the future.
I mentioned to you in the first newsletter that Roedean is celebrating its 110 Anniversary this year. Next
week-end marks the official date of our birthday and we are anticipating a marvelous community celebration.
Friday 1st will involve all the girls and staff throughout the whole school and the day will culminate with the
official opening of our new “Learn-to-swim” junior swimming pool. This pool is yet another wonderful
addition to our facilities and will continue to build and enhance the profile of sport at Roedean. On Saturday
our alumni association SAORA takes centre stage and the Matric class is invited to attend. This occasion is
always a delight with hundreds of Roeadean Old Girls travelling from many parts of the globe to rekindle
friendships and relish, once again, the stories and times they shared at the “Best School of All”.
During the course of this year, we will invite you to attend a number of celebratory occasions, amongst which
will be the official opening of our newly constructed sports facilities and capital development projects. Our
annual music picnic will also lend itself to a fun day themed around Roedean’s remarkable history.
At the PTA AGM on 19 March, Ms Sarah Calburn will be present the plans for the new Rene and Fred England
Centre for Excellence in Mathematics. I urge you to attend to see this most exciting development. According
to our strategic plan – this centre will occupy the space where the previous boarding facility was housed. It is
anticipated that the opening of this amazing centre will be a hi-light of our 110 year birthday celebrations.
This past week-end saw two commendable achievements by Roedean girls and their teachers. The Junior
school – Kids Lit Quiz team won the National Finals for the second year. The International Final this year is
being hosted by South Africa and will be held in Durban in July. This is an outstanding win by this team of girls
and their teacher / librarian, Mrs Gill Murdoch.
On Saturday, also for the second year in a row, Roedean won the Old Mutual / Roedean School Prestige
Waterpolo tournament. The full results are listed in the Sports report in this newsletter. The key feature of
this tournament is that the three top schools use their prize money, generously donated by Old Mutual, to
support a less well-resourced partner school in building capacity in swimming first and foremost.
Please have a really good weekend and a well-deserved rest.
Kind regards
MRS M E WILLIAMS
Executive Headmistress
IMPORTANT REMINDER
At the start of a new year it is always wise to communicate a number of reminders.
Roedean is a no-smoking and gun-free zone, for obvious reasons. No-one may bring any weapon
of any description onto the property, at any time. In the event that you feel compelled to carry
a weapon and you are not able to dispose of it prior to entering the school property, you are
obliged to communicate with me and security prior to entry into the school.
I ask you respectfully to acknowledge, co-operate and comply with this request.
MARY WILLIAMS
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Roedean pupils and staff were encouraged to support the 1 billion rising
campaign on the 14 February by following the initiative on twitter
#1billionrising. This was the first social
awareness media campaign to be initiated at Roedean due to pupils being unable to attend the public event
at Constitution Hill on the 14 February.
Vintage with Love is an initiative organized by Leigh Ord and Jacquie Myburgh Chemaly to collect gently
worn fashion for resale - with all the proceeds going to three established literacy projects, namely, the
Yeoville Community School Literacy Enrichment Project, the Shine Centre and the Click Foundation.
Please bring your items of fashion to school in the week of the 8 -12 April, to Mrs Hulley’s offic. The items
will be collected, sorted and priced prior to the sale on the 10th, 11th, 12th of May.
www.facebook.com/VintageWithLove
It is an initiative that covers the importance and need for literacy, recycling / up cycling, something most girls
love (fashion!) and a novel approach to social responsibility.
Mrs C Hulley: Social Responsibility
ROEDEAN SOCIAL
The Energy Never Dies (END)
After considerable planning and a great deal of hard work, the Ante Matrics of 2013 pulled off a most
successful social on the evening of 9 February.
We spent the day organising the décor and we ultimately managed to create an ‘out-of-this-world’
atmosphere in Founders’ Hall. Four DJs and 780 teenagers ensured the success of the evening.
The E.N.D. theme, was anything but, and was in fact a statement that our grades ‘energy would never die’ .
This was evident the entire evening, as the dancing carried on until 11 p.m.
I would like to thank all the members of the Ante Matric class for their enthusiasm, assistance, and ideas,
and, most important, their energy. It was a night that will not easily be forgotten! Thanks also to Mrs Koseff,
Mrs Kenny, all Roedean personnel, and all the parents who assisted with the social.
Kirsten Hinde: Co-ordinator: Social
KIDS LIT QUIZ IN SA
Roedean keeps their champion status
There were five categories yesterday in the SA KIDS LIT QUIZ finals: teams of four representing the best
readers in their regions, battled it out for the SA KIDS LIT QUIZ trophy and title of the best readers in SA.
Seven regions were represented: CT, PE, PMB, DBN, PTA , KNYSNA, and JHB. Topics included literary
questions on Cities, Titles, Opening Lines, Authors, and Folk tales. 106 SA schools took part in the regional
heats this year – 39% more than the 76 schools last year.
Roedean entered two teams in the Jhb regional heats. The coach, Junior School librarian, is Gill Murdoch. Gill
is to be congratulated on her tireless dedication to encouraging reading in the junior school and for coaching
her teams. Roedean came second and third in the regional heats. St John’s came first. The 1st two teams
then went through to the SA Finals on Saturday, 16 February.
All regional teams in the Finals were impressive and scored well in particular themes. However, they were
outclassed by the two Johannesburg teams. St John’s Boys and Roedean Junior were equal in strength and
by the end of the championship, they were 10 points ahead of all other regional teams and one point apart.
Roedean pipped St John’s at the post and will keep their title of SA reading champs for this year. In July they
will take on the best readers from the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, in the world finals – to
be held in Durban this year, at Durban Girls College.
The names of the four reigning champs are: Katie Duvenage (11); Julia Kinghorn (13), Jessica Wise (13) and
Shreeya Khoosal(11)
Mrs Marj Brown – SA Co-ordinator, Kids
Lit Quiz SA (Senior School Librarian)
SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
(SAIIA) CONFERENCE
The pupils who were part of the conference were split into three groups, dealing with one of the following
issues: climate change, education as a global priority, and UN Security Council reform.
Each group was to discuss its chosen issues, promote all perspectives in terms of the issue, debate what the
best way to tackle the problem was, and then put its solution into a resolution document. This process is
similar to the way issues are tackled in the United Nations itself. I was placed in the education committee
which consisted of 19 very opinionated students. We were to focus our arguments on the Education First
report written by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon. The report highlighted 3 major steps towards
achieving a better state of universal education.
These were:
1) Putting every child in school.
2) Improving the quality of education.
3) Fostering global citizenship.
Prior to the conference, I had to research the private sector and what role it played in global education. The
private sector seemed to be directly linked to education, and very aware that today will be the workforce of
tomorrow. The private sector was also a good candidate to fund this initiative because of its high profit
margin in comparison with NGOs, religious groups, etc.
I was happy to see that I put my points about the private sector across well enough, resulting in the group’s
including a lot of my material in the final document. The committee as a whole got along exceptionally well
the first day negotiations were conducted.
By the fifth day of the conference, 19 proud, excited faces handed over the document to the Department of
Education. On our last night, we had a dinner on which we celebrated how privileged we were to be chosen
to be a part of the first SAIIA Youth Leaders Conference and how grateful we were to have made both
remarkable friends and memories.
Shazia Patel
My committee dealt with the reform of the UN Security Council. In the first session, we had to present
opening statements, which consisted of the presentation of the perspective we were assigned (the
perspective I was assigned to research was that of Africa), as well as our own opinions on the subject.
Following this were two days of fierce negotiations.
My favourite part of the conference has to be the negotiation process. With a room full of quick-witted, selfassured, and sometimes stubborn debaters with conflicting views, the debate about the best possible way to
reform the Security Council was lively. It gave us all a real sense of how tough these negotiations must be in
the UNSC – if it is this difficult to get people to agree in this simulation of the UN, then I can’t imagine how
difficult it is in the actual UN!
When consensus was reached, a protocol was drawn up. This protocol was combined with the protocols
drawn up by the other committees and was presented to members of government at Freedom Park and
handed over to a representative of the UN.
Behnazir Mohamed
Being interested in issues relating to the UNSC, I was pleased to be placed in the third committee. All three
committees discussed solutions for problems that are creating real challenges both locally and
internationally. Nine hours of negotiations resulted in the 2012 SAIIA Young Leaders’ Declaration, which was
presented at a handover on 13 December at Freedom Park in Pretoria.
I thoroughly enjoyed participating in negotiations with people from around the country. This experience
gave me perspective on global issues and helped me understand problems facing South Africa and the world
in the 21st Century.
Emma Ho
Above are delegates that were chosen from around South Africa, to represent South African youth. Their resolutions
were presented to government officials at Freedom Park at the end of the conference. Delegates from Roedean were
Shazia Patel, Behnazir Mohamed, and Emma Ho
Mrs Marj Brown – Senior School Librarian
DEBATING SOCIETY
The Society which makes a habit of thinking.
The term kicks off in earnest with some important Interhouse debating. These debates will help us select our
teams for the SACEE League which is imminent.
Please make a note of the following dates:
INTERHOUSE DEBATING
Wednesday 20 February: Senior Interhouse (Preliminary rounds)
Wednesday 27 February: Junior Interhouse (Preliminary rounds)
13 March: Finals of Interhouse (Junior and Senior)
SENIORS
Date: Wednesday 20 February 2013
VENUE: RAIKES
Senior prepared motion: THW introduce a trial by jury for accused rapists.
Teams must prepare both sides of the argument. Proposition and Opposition will be
decided half an hour before the debate.
This is the proposed schedule for the evening:
Debate
Team 1
Team 2
Announcement of sides Teams have half an hour to finalise the team
of draw
case.
17:30 – 18:30
1 Seniors
Bears A
Kats B
in “K”
2 Seniors
Lambs A
Bears B
in “E”
3 Seniors
Kats A
Lambs B
in “S”
18:30-19:00
Adjudication
Wednesday 27 February: Junior Interhouse (Preliminary rounds) VENUE: RAIKES
Time
17:00
Junior prepared motion: THW ban nuclear energy. Sides will be allocated.
Time
Debate
PROPOSITION
OPPOSITION
17:00 – 18:00
1 JUNIORS
Bears A
Kats B
in “K”
2 JUNIORS
Lambs A
Bears B
in “E”
3 JUNIORS
Kats A
Lambs B
in “S”
18:15-18:45
Adjudication
Junior speeches will be 6 minutes (3 minute replies)
Senior speeches will be 7 minutes (3 minute replies).
NB Team A/Team B is just a distinction between the two teams and not necessarily a call on a better team.
The following girls will be in charge of organising the Interhouse teams:
LAMBS: Behnazir Mohamed
KATS: Emma Ho
BEARS: Kelly Calvert-Evers
Roedean has officially registered with the SACEE LEAGUE this year and we have been sent the motions for
the first rounds. There is a mixture of prepared and impromptu topics. Both Junior and Senior rounds will
take place on either the Saturday or the Sunday. There is a very strong possibility that the debates will be on
the Sunday to accommodate sporting fixtures.
Juniors
Debates
8-10 March
(Junior Rounds 1-2)
1 prepared
2 impromptu
17-19 May
(Junior Rounds 3-4)
3 prepared
4 impromptu
Seniors
Debates
1-3 March
(Senior Rounds 1-3)
1 prepared
2 impromptu
3 impromptu
10-12 May
(Senior Rounds 4-6)
4 prepared
5 impromptu
Motion
THW ban nuclear energy.
THW have separate elections for the SA President.
Motion
THW ban fracking.
THW would adopt a federal form of government for South Africa.
6 impromptu
Meetings take place on Thursday afternoons in “W” from 15:00-17:00. All girls are most welcome to join the
Society and to come and voice their opinion on issues which matter.
Mrs Lise Gordon:
Teacher-in-charge of Debating
COGNITIVE EDUCATION
Dr Vandeleur (HOD Cognitive Education), as well as Mrs Carr and Ms Penrose from Roedean Junior School,
attended the IACESA conference (International Association for Cognitive Education in South Africa) in Cape
Town from 14 – 16 February. Sessions included a talk on ‘Creativity: Evolution or Revolution?’, ‘How Insights
from the Evolving Brain Inform Education in the 21st Century’, ‘Wisdom in Diversity … Harnessing the
Contribution of All to Improve Educational Outcomes’, and ‘Turning the Classroom Upside Down: A Cognitive
Enrichment Advantage Approach to Classroom Instruction’. This conference proved to be most beneficial in
terms of moving forward with our Cognitive Education Programme at Roedean.
In March, Mrs Williams and Dr Vandeleur will travel to the United Kingdom to visit Thinking Schools, most of
which have advanced accreditation from the University of Exeter. We will also be meeting Mr Richard
Cummins who heads Thinking Schools International. We will report back in detail upon our return.
Our Cognitive Education programme is progressing well. The girls are finding the use of Thinking Maps
hugely beneficial in making sense of their work, and for logical and clear planning of their writing. The use of
strategies to improve their use of Habits of Mind is also proving to be worthwhile.
The LV girls recently completed, during their Mathematics lessons, a Problem Solving Task in which the Habit
of Mind “Persisting” was infused. At the end of the task, the girls were asked to comment on how Habits of
Mind had assisted them with the task. Some of their responses are included below:
“It made us persist, even when we didn’t know the answer. We also tried to strive for accuracy. And we
double-checked our work so that is thinking about your thinking (Metacognition).”
“Thinking about your Thinking and Persistence. In question number 2, I got irritated and I wanted to give up,
but then I thought about how I was trying to solve the problem and I put on a more positive mood and I
persisted and eventually got question 2.”
“Persisting helped me to keep on going and to try different strategies. Thinking Flexibly to think of different
ways to solve the problem.”
“.. it really made me focus and never give up, this Habit is Persistence, and it worked!
“When a sum didn’t work, we thought flexibly and came up with new ideas. We also had to persist, because,
after the third try, we felt like giving up. We thought interdependently because two heads are better than
one.”
“We persisted and thought flexibly about the problems. By thinking about our thinking we found the answers.
We thought interdependently because two heads are better than one and we reached the answers quickly.”
Dr Sonja Vandeleur: (H.O.D. Cognitive Education)
and Mrs Fiona Rogers (Deputy Principal: Curriculum)
ROUND SQUARE AND THE PRESIDENT’S AWARD
 International understanding
 Democracy
 Environmental awareness
 Adventure
 Leadership
 Service
Round Square Conferences.- 14-15-year-old Conference. Saint Stithians Girls College.
Six MVs will attend the 14-15-year-old Conference which is hosted by Saint Stithians. They are bound to
enjoy the experience, and we look forward to their report on the impact it had on their lives.
16 – 18-year-old Conference. Tiger Kloof. 27 April – 1 May, 2013 (In the holidays.)
We are in the process of encouraging UVs and AMs to write motivations for their being chosen as
representatives of Roedean on this conference. Not only is this event a privilege to attend, but it is also a
residential project for the President’s Award Gold Level participants. Please encourage your daughters to
apply.
Motivations must reach Mrs Murray by Wednesday, 27 February.
Exchange programmes.
Emma Kruger is enjoying her exchange at Hotchkiss, and we look forward to her addressing the school when
she returns from this venture. Hotchkiss has kindly offered us three opportunities to place girls in the school:
one at the end of this year, and two next year. MV and UV girls are welcome to apply for these and other
exchanges. Girls must visit the Round Square website, www.roundsquare.org, download the exchange
application form, complete it, and hand it into Mrs Murray if they want to be considered for exchanges.
We plan to repeat the successful exchange which we had with the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy last
year. Details will be announced in due course.
The Model United Nations debates are firmly established in Round Square School around the world. Read
about their successful endeavors in Mrs Brown’s report.
Internationalism and leadership. - The Spirit of Youth programme.
We are delighted that Claire Scott, Mazvita Chanakira, and Reshmi Wilson have been chosen to represent
Roedean on the Spirit of Youth Programme.
The Spirit of Youth programme is run by the Gauteng Development Trust
and the Gordon Business Institute of Science.
Judging from the experience of Roedean girls who have participated in the
programme, it promises to be an exciting year. The programme engages
with young men and women in one of their final two years of schooling. It
will include introducing them to a variety of South African experiences and
the diversity of the world of work. The objective is to create a platform for
young people to interact across national and international boundaries on
how they can be part of deepening our democratic society. Their aim is to
facilitate a learning experience over one year that will build awareness and
involve young people in the exciting opportunities in South Africa today.
Environment; awareness.
The Roedean Environment Committee has begun the year most enthusiastically. Caroline, Sara, and Beth
meet with the class representatives once a week, and discuss practical ideas which the school can
implement. These include “meat-free Mondays”, and our recycling paper, glass, tins, and plastic. We are
becoming water-wise, and we hope to become involved in meaningful horticultural projects in the wider
community.
Adventure.
In addition to considerable enthusiasm about our
President’s Award adventures and rock-climbing,
there is overwhelming interest in SCUBA Diving.
Mrs Hulme is facilitating the scuba. The divers will
use the school pool for their training, and,
thereafter, the girls and their parents will travel to
exciting venues to enjoy the sport.
Street School India trips.
Klasie Wessels from Street School has begun advertising for his trips to India. Seven Roedean girls benefited
from the experience in 2012: they visited Dharamsala and taught English to the Tibetans in exile. This is a
most rewarding venture, and suitable for UVs and AMs.
Dates for the 2013 Dharamsala trips:
13 April – 23 April
28 June – 8 July.
23 August – 2 September
There is also a trip to Everest Base Camp in April.
Girls and parents who are interested in this venture should contact Klasie on 082 554 4614 or email him on
Klasie@streetschool.co.za; or www.streetschool.co.za;
Service
The girls are embracing our service ventures enthusiastically, and the house projects on Monday afternoons
provide the girls with opportunities to help others in meaningful ways. Jabulani has been so well supported
by Bears House that there are more girls than boys who need help, so girls are helping to prepare dinners for
the home.
“I regard it as the foremost task of education to insure the survival of these qualities: an enterprising
curiosity, an undefeatable spirit, tenacity in pursuit, readiness for sensible self-denial, and above all,
compassion."
KURT HAHN 1886 – 1974 (Founder of the Round Square and President’s Award philosophies.)
Challenging young people everywhere
Adventurous Journeys.
The pre-hike for the Bronze participants was a great success. The girls and many parents walked the
geological trail at the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Roodepoort. The parents’ enthusiasm indicates that
our adventure committee will receive great support when it organizes a parents and daughters’ hike next
term.
Thanks to the team from Chameleon Adventures who briefed the girls and parents on the preparations
which they need to make for their hikes: food, kit, safety, etc.
The Bronze hikes are both at Ezemvelo: 9 – 10 and 23 – 24 March. The girls are looking forward to these
ventures.
April hikes:
The girls have been e-mailed the hike information, and they are urged to confirm their places.
1. Silver and gold 13- 18 April The Magoebaskloof trail. Led by Chameleon Adventures.
We plan to hire a bus so we can take 30 girls.
2. Gold 1 – 5 May. Townsend Adventures. (Garry Townsend and Des Turton).
This adventure will consist of hiking, canoeing and orienteering in the Bronkhorstpruit/Mpumalanga
area. Parents will have to provide transport.
The President’s Award is planning a service-and-adventure trip to Kenya in August. Girls will be notified
when the project is advertised.
The President’s Award Youth Committee.
Shelby Labuschagne and Falak Khan will represent Roedean on the 2013 President’s Award Youth
Committee. They will join young people from diverse President’s Award schools and children’s homes to plan
fund raising and social events.
We thank them for volunteering, and wish them an exciting and fulfilling term of office.
Due date for journals.
Girls who wish to be considered for the award ceremony this term are to hand their journals in to
Mrs Murray by 18 March.
Provincial Gold Ceremony.
Girls who wish to be acknowledged at the Provincial Gold ceremony must hand their journals in to Mrs
Murray at the beginning of term 3.
Mrs Sandy Murray: President’s Award Leader
and Round Square Representative
IEB DIRECTORS OF MATHS DAY
On 1 February, 2013 Roedean School (SA) hosted the IEB Directors of Maths Day in Founders’ Hall. The day
was well-supported, with approximately 180 delegates from all provinces, and was held on the day before
the IEB Mathematics User Group National Conference in order to facilitate travel from other provinces.
Mrs Mary Williams, Executive Head of Roedean School, opened the proceedings with an account of
experiences that she had undergone as a school girl in the Mathematics classroom. She emphasised the
need to be creative, innovative, and empathetic in Mathematics teaching in order to enable all pupils to
achieve to their full potential.
Mrs Anne Oberholzer of the IEB delivered the keynote address, which informed delegates of how data can
support teaching and learning. Other speakers included two University of the Witwatersrand professors –
Prof. Hamsa Venkatakrishnan, who spoke about numeracy and teaching for today and tomorrow, and Prof.
Jill Adler, who spoke about the crucial Grade 9 – 10 transition and why it matters in all schools. The NGO
sector was represented by Mrs Arriellah Rosenberg, who spoke about ORT’s Maths Programme in Township
Schools. Two Directors of Maths – Leach Pleass of the King David Schools and Karen Hulme of Roedean
School – spoke of their experiences in their roles and of ways for Maths communities in schools to plan
strategically for the future, both in terms of internal innovations and external initiatives in the broader South
African context. Kate Cowling of Uplands School, the AP Maths examiner for the IEB, spoke passionately
about the vital contribution AP Maths makes in preparing pupils for tertiary education, and the day ended
with John Luis of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls discussing the need to forefront
Mathematics as a discipline and not just as a subject.
Delegates were enthusiastic in their responses to the day and particularly enjoyed the talks about research
into Mathematics education. Roedean School proved to be an excellent host; the Matric girls handled the
registration of the delegates with aplomb and professionalism; excellent facilities were provided for the
speakers, and the catering was superb. The IEB created an interesting programme: it challenged delegates’
mind-sets and perceptions, and everyone went home with a lot to think about.
Mrs Karen Hulme: Director of Maths
DADS AND DAUGHTERS PROGRAMME
Cooking Event
We have arranged a number of fun-filled Dads and Daughters’ cooking evenings which have been scheduled
during March 2013. Sasha Zambetti from “The Cooking School”, based at 08 Nicolway Shopping Centre,
Corner William Nicol Drive and Wedgewood link, Bryanston, Sandton, has made the kitchen available to us
on the 11, 20, and 27 March 2013 from 5:45pm. The price of this event is R700-00 per couple (Dad and
Daughter) and a minimum of 6 Dads and Daughters couples is required to attend before the event can take
place.
A maximum of 12 Dad and Daughter couples can be accommodated on any of these dates and payment may
be made directly to The Cooking School (bank details below).
Please would you contact Sasha Zambetti at The Cooking School on 083 554 7757 or
sasha@thecookingschool.co.za to make a booking.
Banking Details
The Cooking School
Standard Bank: Northgate.
Account Number:402497201.
Branch Code: 001106
Dr Marty Ferreira: School Psychologist
FEEDBACK FROM LEADERSHIP CAMPS
The Upper V Trip to Camp Discovery.
Last year, a few girls and I were selected to go on a Round Square Conference. This included staying at Camp
Discovery for three days. Overall, the camp site and facilities made the conference amazing, and, once I
found out our Grade 10 camp was to be held at the same venue, I was very excited. Of the few camps, my
grade has gone to, this was the best. The camp included a variety of activities and fun, from game drives to
pool parties. There were group activities and leadership-training sessions. One aim this camp achieved was
to get my grade to work together and really connect as a group. Overall, I think our grade really enjoyed this
camp. On behalf of the Upper Vs, I wish to thank Mrs Rainsford, Mrs Mota, and Miss Mohale for
accompanying us.
Savannah Hinis (Upper V)
Middle V Trip to Spirit of Adventure
When we arrived at Spirit of Adventure, the first building I saw was an abandoned white house with a broken
camping chair on the stoep. My first thought was, “Are those our dorms?” We unloaded the bus and the
camp counsellors were amazed at how much we had packed for just three days! One activity involved a
contraption called The Hilly Billy. The Hill Billy is a wooden structure which has logs in between two poles at
certain intervals. You have to walk across it with a partner. My partner and I managed to get to the top
safely, but, unfortunately, walking down, was another story. Needless to say, I was not allowed to go on The
Hill Billy again, but rather opted to crawl under the wire. That evening, after we had cooked a tasty supper of
potjie kos, we went on a night activity called “The Night Mission”. Each group had one torch and one map
which the group members used to find clues hidden around the farm. The next day we went rock-climbing
and did a physically challenging obstacle course in the afternoon. Many groups also did go-karting and we
did many team-building activities and had great fun. As you can tell, this camp will be engraved on my
memory for a long time. Thank you to Mrs Murray, Mr Bourquin and Mrs Mogodiri.
Julia Allsop (Middle V)
Lower V Camp Chameleon Experience
Wow! Camp - three days of fun, team work, and just a little bit of chaos. The Lower Vs visited Camp
Chameleon, just outside Cullinan . The first thing I saw when I got off the bus was grass, geese, and a bunch
of rather intimidating camp counsellors. I was so frightened, but the geese ignored us, the grass was a bit
wet, and the counsellors were actually very nice.
We were put into dorms and split into groups .These groups were our family for the three days we were
there .We also did many fun activities. These included raft-building, orienteering, walking blindfolded, and
many other group activities, including the deadly hide-and-go seek in the dark. We had to find the
counsellors, but they could change their hiding spots and run from us and to top it all off, it was in the dark,
but I was fine. I am glad I went to camp, because I had the time of my life. It was the best camp ever.
Thanks to Mrs Sibisi, Mrs Brown, and Miss Cummins for mopping up tears and looking after us for three
days.
Bethany Stevens (Lower V)
SPORTS DEPARTMENT
Homer Rice says “You can motivate by fear and you can motivate by reward but both these methods are only
temporary. The only lasting thing is self-motivation.”
Bearing in mind we are in the middle of a very busy term we are definitely seeing signs of self-motivation in
our girls.
Congratulations to our water polo team who, for the 2nd consecutive year, won the final of the Old
Mutual/Roedean cup, beating St Marys. We certainly hope yourself motivation will be maintained in the
Inter High Swimming Gala on Thursday 7th March.
Water Polo Results
Game results from Final Day
***Final 1st and 2nd place: St Mary’s (2) vs Roedean (3)
3rd and 4th place: Kingsmead (2) vs St Stithians (5)
5th and 6th place: Crawford (7) vs Pretoria (9)
7th and 8th place: St Peter’s (10) vs Rand Park (8)
9th and 10th place: St Dominic’s (4 ) vs St Dunstan’s (2)
Placements overall for the day:
1st Place: Roedean School – R30 000
2nd Place: St Mary’s School – R15 000
3rd Place: St Stithians School – R 5000
4th Place: Kingsmead
5th Place: Pretoria Girls High
6th Place: Crawford
7th Place: St Peter’s
8th Place: Rand Park High
9th Place: St Dominic’s
10th Place: St Dunstan’s
Please note that all prize money goes towards each schools learn to swim programme.
There was also a team of the tournament that was selected:
1. Samantha Chamberlain – Pretoria Girls
2. Nicola McLeod – St Peter’s
3. Kate Arthur – Kingsmead
4. Emily Markam – Kingsmead
5. Devon Taylor – St Stithians
6. Savannah Roy – Roedean
7. Megan Harper – Roedean
8. Amber Penny – St Mary’s
9. Emma Hardham – St Mary’s
10. Philippa-Jane Randal-Smith - Crawford
11. Zandi Nduvane – Roedean
12. Nicola Partridge – St Stithians
13. Tayla Diepenbroek – St Mary’s
U14 Team
The Roedean U14 touring team to Cape Town, came 7th overall in the tournament out of 11 teams.
It was a good exposure for girls and looking forward to put this tournament on our annual calendar. Thank
you to Mrs Trinic and Ms Raccanello for accompanying the girls to Cape Town.
Tennis
The Tennis girls came an incredible 3rd in the Inter High B Championship, playing in extremely hot conditions;
they maintained a high standard and were focused throughout the morning.
The girls taking part in our summer sports are also heavily involved in preparations for our winter term
Hockey and Netball are the main discipline. Attendance at early morning fitness training has been fantastic.
Keep it up girls!
Ms Julie Symons:
Director of Sport
PTA
Class Cocktail Parties
The PTA organizes two class cocktail parties for parents with girls in the same grade – one for Lower V to create an
opportunity for parents with daughters entering the Senior School to get to know one another and to share
similar experiences and concerns in a more intimate atmosphere, and one for Matric parents, to enable them to
get together as their daughters embark on their final year of school.
LV Cocktail Party
On Tuesday, 19 February, Lover V parents enjoyed a festive evening with staff and PTA members, complemented
with delicious snacks and drinks. We look forward to a similar event with Matric parents on Tuesday, 26 March.
Annual General Meeting
The PTA AGM is due to be held on Tuesday, 19 March 2013 at 19h00 in Founders’ Hall. A formal notice and the
agenda of this meeting will be sent out shortly. The activities and achievements of the Roedean PTA in 2012 and
the annual financial statements of the Roedean PTA will be reviewed and presented to the parent body. In
addition to the headmistresses’ reviews of the previous year and a discussion of the year ahead, and a member of
the Roedean Board’s presentation of the financial position of the school, we shall be welcoming a guest speaker.
Sarah Calburn, a Roedean Old Girl and the architect of the forthcoming transformation of the old boarding
facilities into the new Maths Centre. Sarah will make a presentation of the architectural plans.
We will also be electing a number of new representatives from both the Junior and Senior Schools to serve on the
PTA committee. You will have received an email containing information about the nomination process and a
nomination form.
Reserve the date!
Mother & Daughter Event – Saturday 26 May, 2013
This is one of the most popular functions of our year: mothers and daughters gather to watch the Matric girls model
their glorious gowns.
More details on the theme and ticket sales will follow in the next newsletter.
Mrs Pilar Gaywood: Chairlady of the PTA
MySchool Card
Thank you to the many parents who have recently
joined Roedean’s MySchool Loyalty Program. Your
applications have been processed and your cards
will be delivered to you shortly. The latest figure to
hand is for December 2012 and I am so pleased to
let you know that R12 824.38 was raised by 764
loyal supporters – our largest amount raised to date.
Congratulations, and thank you to everyone
concerned!
For the parents who do not know about the
MySchool programme, it is one of the simplest ways
parents can raise money for Roedean.
It
requires little or no effort other than presenting a
MySchool card at participating retail stores. The card
is not a ‘money card’; it tracks the amount spent of which a percentage is paid to your specified beneficiary – you
can split your allocation between school, charities, etc. The percentage given varies from store to store, but is
generally not less than 1% of your total expenses. No information on these expenses is given to the school (in
accordance with the policy of MySchool and the new Credit Control Act) and only parents can access their
monthly statements through the MySchool website (www.myschool.co.za).
The PTA encourages all parents who are not part of this project to consider joining this very worthwhile effort.
Money raised is put into the PTA Project Club Account and is used to fund small, immediate projects. Over the
years, this money has paid for the Grade 0 Adventure Gym, musical instruments for the girls to use in their
morning music lessons, and recently, owing to larger amounts of money being raised by MySchool, for the heating
of the large swimming pool. R200 000 was also given to help construct the St Margaret’s swimming pool. We
would also urge parents who joined this project through another school to check if they have changed their
beneficiary to Roedean. It has come to our attention that some feeder pre-primary schools earn more money
than larger schools simply because beneficiary details have not been changed. This can be done by telephoning
MySchool or by sending them an email (details below). If you have any queries or are unable to effect changes to
your cards please do not hesitate to contact me via email tmilton@telkomsa.net. Application forms are available
from the school offices. Please note that you are able to obtain MySchool cards for all members of your extended
family.
Please do not feel that you have to make large purchases to make a worthwhile contribution: the slogan ‘every
swipe counts’ holds true. Even on a cup of coffee bought at any Engen outlet, can make a difference!. A
comprehensive list of all participating partners is on the MySchool website but those regularly used by Roedean
supporters are :
All Woolworths Stores, McCullagh & Bothwell (for all those school clothes), Toys ‘R’ Us, Cramers (Bryanston), Club
Travel, Kalahari.Net (5% of purchases), Waltons, Supa Quick, Altech Netstar, Impala Fruit and Flower, Fruit Spot,
Davenports (Craighall), The GardenShops various Spurs and Wimpys, Engen Quick Shops, Tiger Wheel & Tyre,
Tyrone Fruiterers, Sloane Meat Market, Stax, Mugg & Bean (Sandton), Super-A Norwood Spa, Westpack at
Lifestyle, Showbiz (Cresta), PhotoBeyond Killarney, Chad Hanna Hair Team
The monthly figures raised appear in the school’s newsletters and on the Communicator.
MySchool e-mail: cs@myschool.co.za
MySchool telephone number: 0860 100 445
Mrs Tracy Chaldwin-Milton: PTA
MySchool Co-ordinator
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