www.mounthouse.org.uk @MountHouseSch @mounthouseschoolbarnet @mounthouse_school

InHouse 13 December 2019

Mount House bids farewell to Mr Mullins

www.mounthouse.org.uk @MountHouseSch @mounthouseschoolbarnet @mounthouse_school

A farewell to Mr Toby Mullins

This week we bid farewell to Mr

Mullins after his successful Headship

transitioning Mount House from St

Martha’s. At the drinks reception

held in his honour there were

speeches from members of the

board of Governance, staff and Mr

Mullins himself.

Below is an extract from Mrs

Fallon’s speech.

When I was asked to give Toby’s farewell speech from the staff, my heart sank. Teaching Classics to a class of 20 teenagers,

easy, but summing up in a few minutes all that Toby has achieved here at Mount House School over the past 2 years was a

little more challenging. Having been an employee of the school for 15 years, I have seen three headmasters come and go.

Whilst Toby has been with us only a short period of time and I feel that I have built up more of a relationship with him in this

time than with his predecessors. This is because the first thing which strikes anybody about Toby, is his friendly and warm

personality. Toby’s open-door policy means he is the first face the staff are greeted by in the morning.

Toby’s support for the staff was never more evident than in the week before the October half term, when the school received

the phone call informing us that we would be inspected by ISI that week. When most staffrooms would switch to panic mode,

Toby assured us of his confidence in our professionalism and abilities. The Monday briefing pep-talk, followed by emails of

encouragement and his routine open-door policy, meant that the staff felt reassured and at ease with what may otherwise be

a stressful process. In fact, I would like to share a few words which Toby sent the staff the day before the inspectors arrived:

“Just remember that this is a great school, composed of super people, and that fact will come through in everything we do this

week… I say again; enjoy this next two days. Be yourselves and have confidence, as I do, in your ability to deliver fantastic

lessons. It is your chance to show off - use it!”

Toby’s positive and warm nature is not only reserved for the staff of Mount House School. It is more than likely that the tour

offered to the parents was given by Toby himself. It is this personal touch which has reassured so many parents that this is the

right school for their children to learn, grow and achieve. Toby has been the face of Mount House School since its founding,

and he is clearly proud of all that he has achieved at the school, as the number of students and staff has grown under his

leadership. His willingness to know us all personally extends to his relationship with the students as he knows all of them by

name, from Year 7 to Year 13, and probably their siblings as well!

And so, from all the staff at Mount House School, I would like to finish by saying a huge ‘thank you’. Thank you for your hard

work and dedication to the staff, students and families of the school. Thank you for your vision of what the school could be

and your commitment to making it a reality. Thank you for the stories, the jokes and the many laughs. Your presence will be

greatly missed, but we wish you all the best for the future.

Kathryn Fallon

www.mounthouse.org.uk @MountHouseSch @mounthouseschoolbarnet @mounthouse_school

Dates for your diary for the next half term:

• January 6th – Staff inset day

• January 6th – New pupil entrance exams

• January 7th – Whole school in session

• January 9th - Employability and Transferrable Skills workshop for Sixth Form

• January 9th – Year 9 Subject Choices Evening 6pm – 7pm

• January 16th - Year 9 Parent Consultation Evening 5.30pm – 7.30pm

• January 23rd —Apprentices Awareness assembly for Y10 and Y11

• January 23rd —Year 10 Parent Consultation Evening 6pm – 7.30pm

• January 30th —Apprentices Awareness assembly for Sixth Form

• February 6th —Elevate Programme Y11-Y13

• February 6th —Year 7 Parent Consultation Evening 5.30pm – 7.30pm

• February 13th —NCS assembly Y11

• February 13th —Year 8 Parent Consultation Evening 5.30pm – 7.30pm

• February 14th —Half term

GCSE Exams 2020

The contingency day for GCSE and GCE examinations is Wednesday 24 June 2020. This means that all exam candidates must

be available to sit exams from the date of their first exam until Wednesday 24 June 2020.

French GCSE

French GCSE CATCH-UP class for Year 11 will continue after school EVERY Friday 4-5pm from January. This was agreed by the pupils and therefore every student will be expected to attend. Please kindly take note that this is not a revision class. It is a continuation of the French curriculum.

Lost Property

There is a very large pile of lost property in the chapel, ,much of it unnamed. Please do look there for any of the pupil’s lost

items.

School of Rock

All the professional photos from our school production of School of Rock can be viewed at https://www.mounthouse.org.uk/2019/12/04/mount-house-school-rocks/

In touch with Mount House?

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comment, share and like our updates to spread the news of our pupils and their incredible achievements.

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They can be found at https://www.mounthouse.org.uk/news-events/newsletters/

www.mounthouse.org.uk @MountHouseSch @mounthouseschoolbarnet @mounthouse_school

Aspiring Medics

Geography at Mount House It has been a busy term in Geography, with the introduction of differentiated homework and weekly quizzes. Congratulations

to the Year 8 students who currently are at the top of the quiz leader board, showing really great general knowledge in all

aspects of Geography!

Early next term, Miss Gillett will be announcing a potential residential trip to Cornwall, visiting the Eden Project and learning to

surf! Places will be limited and open to Year 8 students first, so be sure to keep an ear out for the notices!

Next term’s KS3 topics include:

Year 7- Water in the World (Water cycle & Water scarcity)

Year 8- Changing Nations (Megacities & Refugees)

Year 9- Sustainable Futures (Climate Change & Green Urbanisation)

Happy Holidays! Miss Gillett

We took a trip to Hadley Wood station where a

paramedic taught us how to use a heart defibrillator.

He demonstrated it’s use on a dummy and described

how to do CPR. As someone who’s interested in going

into the medical field this trip really piqued my

interest. It is reassuring to hear that defibrillators are

being installed in every train station. In the case of an

emergency, I am now confident in the use of this

lifesaving machine.

Eva Crane Year 13

On Tuesday, A-Level biologists attended the inauguration of a defibrillator hosted by the Hadley Wood Society. We listened to a story from someone who experienced cardiac arrest and was saved from quick access to a defibrillator. This was followed by a demonstration of the use of defibrillator. I learnt the significance of recognising where AEDs are and being able to use properly when needed. I appreciate the Hadley Wood Society for giving us this opportunity and I hope that more people learn about AED and more people are saved in case of emergency.

Kazushi Ogasawara Year 13

Mount House students were invited by Francesca Caine, the chair of the

Hadley Wood Rail Users Group, to the launch of a new defibrillator at Hadley

Wood station.

Further information can be found here

https://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/govia-thameslink-railway/pressreleases/

gtr-to-fit-life-saving-defibrillators-at-stations-across-one-of-uks-biggest-rail-

networks-2952711

www.mounthouse.org.uk @MountHouseSch @mounthouseschoolbarnet @mounthouse_school

Sports at Mount House This week the pupils took part in a series of inter-house sports competitions. Year 7 and 8 boys had a football tournament.

Due to bad weather, the Year 7 and 8 girls had to compete indoors so participated in a variety of sports. Year 9 and 10 girls

also played football.

The pupils all competed to their best ability and the results will be announced in the new term.

Mrs Hillcoat-Hyde

Summer 2020 All Sports Club sports camp at Bryanston School

A number of Mount House students had a fabulous week on the All Sports Club Summer Sports camp at

Bryanston School in Dorset in July 2019. We are delighted that the camp is happening again next year.

The 2020 course, aimed at boys and girls in Years 7-9, will take place from Monday 20th to Friday 24th July 2020.

Please click on this link to find out more and sign up https://forms.gle/jpBkNnYqHvUmRcez9

What’s happening next half term in sports?

• January 24th – Boys U13 and U15 table tennis ISA Tournament

• February 5th – Girls Y7 Barnet schools netball tournament

• February 6th – Boys U13 hockey sevens ISA Tournament

• February 13th– Girls U15 hockey sevens ISA Tournament

The staff at Mount House wish you all a

peaceful and relaxing Christmas and New

Year and we look forward to welcoming all

the pupils back in January, relaxed and ready

for a new term.

Mount House ski trip

We wish all the pupils and staff on the ski trip a fun filled week and look forward to a full report on their return.