On 27th June the sun shone as we hosted our own Mini Olympic Games, lasting the whole day. The games started in style with a procession of the teams, the torch relay and the lighting of the flame. With so many families there to support their daughters and granddaughters the field was full of noise and excitement. All the girls participated wearing their Olympic team colour of red, green, blue, yellow or black. All girls from reception to Year 6 raced round the running track individually and in relay teams and competed in hurdles, javelin and high jump.

To top it all the whole school and the junior parents joined on the Headmistresses lawn for a delicious Diamond Jubilee picnic supplied by the catering staff, plus our own Jubilee cake that was enjoyed by all. In the crown competition girls, staff and parents paraded in their imaginative and colourful homemade creations. 

All the hard work and organisation by Mrs Rafter and Mrs Allen was really appreciated and at the end of a memorable and happy day the results were 1st Yellow, 2nd Red, 3rd Green, 4th Black and 5th Blue.

‘We went round the track and waved our hands to Mum and Dad’ Riko Year 2

‘It was so much fun’ Clelia Year 2

At 10am on Wednesday 20th June around 50 girl’s junior girls from The Mount School in Mill Hill left for an hour long walk in the local area. In an event was organised by the charity Brake, 100,000 children from around the country marched for road safety from their school gates in the annual Giant Walking Bus. This brilliant event is part of their ‘Kids Say Slow Down’ campaign and raises awareness of the dangers of traffic and how much fun it is to walk, and raises funds for Brake's services for road crash victims. Each girl from The Mount who joined in with the event donated £1 to the charity.

Kids of all ages from London to as far afield as Hebridian islands all take part in this giant march for a giant reason: to say no to speeding drivers, and yes to walking! The UK has one of the worst death rates in Europe of children killed on foot, most on their way to or from school. Half our kids are driven to school, increasing pollution and danger.

After a talk about the importance of road safety the girls headed off up Milespit Hill with staff, a Governor and three local Police Officers who kindly joined us to help supervise the girls on the roads. Along the way the girls held up their ‘Slow Down Around Schools’ banner as vehicles passed them. Everyone really enjoyed the walk on what was a beautiful sunny day.

‘It is always good to reinforce the road safety lessons learned in class, to raise money for such an important cause and have the opportunity to enjoy some fresh air and exercise while exploring the local area’ said Miss Stammers the School Travel Plan Co-ordinator who organised the popular event for the fifth year running.

Yesterday the Year 9 netball team travelled to St James Catholic School where they took part in a tournament held by our very own Mrs. Rafter and Mrs. Allen. Although the Year 9 team didn’t place, it was a fun afternoon filled with lots of sunshine and good games of netball.

On Thursday 13rd February Year 11 had a talk on sex and relationships by Doreen Ahebwa. Doreen covered a whole range of topics including the importance of high self-esteem and self-confidence when dealing with relationships. The girls found the talk informative and thought provoking.

This February saw the arrival of the Chinese Year of the Dragon.  It was pleasing to see that the caterers had got into the spirit of things and arranged a specially themed menu to mark the occasion as well as decking out the dining hall with decorations to mark the event with banners, lanterns and colourful posters.  Not to forget the exquisite carved dragons, made from icing that perched atop the serving counter.

On the 2nd February Year 2, 3, and 4 went on a trip to the David Hockney exhibition at the Royal Academy of Art. They saw the amazing, new work of David Hockney and listened to a talk about the different paintings. The paintings were huge and brightly coloured which the girls found very intriguing. The girls really enjoyed the trip and said; “it was the best trip I have ever been on!” They were very lucky to have the opportunity to see this new work.

On Thursday 26th January, 5 girls from Year 10 went on a DT trip to the Pentland Company in Finchley to help the brand Kickers design a new shoe. Lots of DT groups from various schools gathered together to hear a briefing from the design teams of the shoe company. The girls learnt about the history of the brand, its collaborations with other companies and key information on how to design a shoe that would be popular with teens. The groups were to create two mood boards which they would present to the design teams and the other schools in February, and the winning design would then be made into a shoe by Kickers.

The girls will visit the company again on the 23rd February to present their ideas.

Last week the Year 9 and 10 netball team took part in matches against Copthall despite the freezing conditions. Both teams tried their hardest to play their best, however unfortunately the end scores did not go in our favour. Year 9 lost 9 – 1 and Year 10 played a close match, with the final score being 5 – 4 to Copthall.

However, Year 7 and 8 have been doing extremely well in their recent matchesThey both played St James and managed to come away with a win each! Year 7 won 6 – 1 and Year 8 won 6 – 0. Both teams also managed to hold Copthall to zero when they played against them, with the final score being Mount 13 Copthall 0 in the Year 7 match, and Mount 15 Copthall 0 in the Year 8 match.

An enormous well done to both teams for these fantastic results!

A representative from Credit Action visited the school on 9th February to talk to Year 11 about different financial products on the market. She covered the various credit schemes and loans available and the consequences of bad money management. The aim was to warn girls of the dangers of credit and to give them confidence to manage their money when they become adults.

Throughout the week teams of girls have been competing against each other in the inter house History and Geography Quiz run by Mr Havardi and Ms Perez. At the final on Friday the girls scored well so well done to all those who participated. The final scores were as follows:

Year 5 and 6 visited The Globe theatre on 12th January for a drama workshop on Midsummer Night’s Dream. They also toured the Globe and learnt some of the history.

Please use the following link to find out more:

Launched as a one-day event in 2000, The Big Draw is now an annual month-long festival of over one thousand events across the UK. Every October, museums, galleries, heritage sites, libraries, schools and parks join in – inviting people of all ages to discover how drawing can connect them with their surroundings and the wider community. See www.thebigdraw.org for more information.

Last year The Mount School held a Big Draw event involving the whole school painting murals on a school wall. This year, on Friday October 7th, Mrs Mitchell and Miss Sweeney organised a day of creating mosaics, again involving the whole school. The results were fabulous. The seniors produced a wonderful mosaic of our school logo, the chamois goat plus a wonderful tree bearing fruits containing the symbols of different religions. The juniors had enormous fun creating an elephant, butterfly, flower and horse. ESOL created a mosaic of their own, which was a snake – a symbol of knowledge.

Aneesha and Feeza from Year 6 joined Miss Stammers for the School Travel Plan Accreditation Event held at The Bishopsgate Institute in central London on 6th October. The school had been awarded the Higher Standards Award for its Travel plan for the second year running so was invited to the day, which involved lots of games, talks and brainstorming about travel plan issues plus talks from schools from Germany and Bulgaria who are achieving amazing results in reducing their carbon emissions. The day finished with an award ceremony where the girls were presented with the Higher Standards certificate awarded by TfL.

Our third Prize Giving event was once again a wonderful event enjoyed by the girls and the proud parents, family, staff and governors. The Head Teacher, Ms. Cozens welcomed everyone and was pleased to be able to call the event a tradition at last!

The junior event was all the more entertaining thanks to our speaker Mr Sumray, our former Head of Art and a very talented artist. At the evening event we were pleased to welcome former student Michelle Leicester who spoke of how The Mount gave her the confidence to pursue a high flying career in marketing, starting at Saatchi and Saatchi, then after many years becoming an artist and designer. We were also delighted that The Worshipful the Mayor Councillor Lisa Rutter of the London Borough of Barnet attended the event and spoke about how inspired she had been by the achievements of the girls.

The choir, Helen and Verity all entertained us beautifully with their musical numbers. Four Year 10 girls and Head Girl Naho gave us a very interesting insight into the year that had passed. The Head Girl and Deputy Head Girls presented the Year 13 graduates with their scrolls and roses themselves and had some wonderful things to say about every one of those who are heading off to University.

Many congratulations to each and every girl who won a prize. We were delighted to have awarded them to such worthy winners who have all worked so hard or shown such dedication over the last year. Keep up the good work!

We are delighted that the new shower block has been completed over the summer holiday ready for the new school year. It contains five showers, one of which is specially adapted for disabled use. The adjoining toilet block has also been completely refurbished. The girls feedback has been extremely positive, with many commenting on the ‘lovely new showers’.

Both juniors and seniors worked hard on some very creative and beautifully made quilts to enter the Festival of Quilts competition held at the NEC on 11th to 14th August 2011. We were delighted that the junior quilt, which was created by the combined efforts of 87 girls, was awarded a Highly Commended. The girls made a carousel horse, embroidered letters and wrote on the background.

‘Our quilt represents the colour and vibrancy of a fair which everyone can enjoy which all the pupils enjoyed making’, said the girls.

Arts Experience is planning a fantastic fun filled week for your children at a price to make parents happy too.

 DATE : Monday 24th to Friday 28th October
 PRICES: £100 per child attending a full 5 day week or £25 per day
 DISCOUNTS: £10 off each additional sibling attending the full week

 Please book early to avoid disappointment.
For further information and our booking form please go to their website: www.thearts-experience.com.

On the last day of term we said a fond farewell to many members of staff.
Miss Green – Head of DT. Sue retired after 23 years at The Mount. She will be sorely missed not only for her teaching but for all the creative input to school productions and a willing organiser of school trips.
Mr Sumray – Head of Art. Jason left after 22 years at The Mount. He gave a very amusing speech even if it went off on more than one tangent! He has left to concentrate on his career as an artist. Go to his website www.jasonsumray.co.uk  to view his work.
Mrs Adams – SMT member and History Teacher. Claire left us after 10 years service. She gave an emotional farewell and will be missed by the girls for her inspirational history lessons, as well as SMT for her valuable input.
Mrs Hirsch – Director of Music. Nina was with The Mount School for 8 years. She had us all laughing at her version of ‘Candle in the Wind’, her unique farewell speech. She will be missed by the girls for her enthusiasm in the classroom and her school productions and by the staff for her ‘makeover’ tips and for senior choir!
Mrs Saad – Maths Teacher. Madeeha was with us for 4 years. She will be missed by the girls she taught and the staff she worked with for her professionalism and friendly approach.
Miss Hood – Lab Technician. Ellie is leaving us after just one a year to do a PhD, but not before travelling to South America.
Mrs Stevens – Physics supply teacher. Rouksana did a splendid job covering for maternity leave.

In October when Mrs Mitchell and Miss Sweeney will be organising the 'The Big Draw' event. This year we are doing mosaics so ask that if parents break any crockery (by accident!) over the holidays, that they bring it into school in September.

Year 5 have been busy surveying the local traffic as part of their geography lessons.

On Friday 17th June, six girls from Year 9 represented the school at the Barnet Carnegie Shadowing Event at North London Business Park along with students from 6 other Barnet Schools. 

The year 11’s enjoyed a picnic in the sunshine on the Head mistresses lawn, signing each others shirts and listening to music. There were fond farewells and a few tears as they left. We wish them all the very best. Keep in touch girls!

The summer holidays are fast approaching and The Arts Experience first workshop starts soon. Summer dates are:

Monday 25th July - Friday 29th July 2011
Monday 22nd - Friday 26th August 2011
Tuesday 30th August - Friday 2nd September 2011

Prices are as follows: 
£140 for a 5 day week
£112 for a 4 day week

£30 per day if you book 2 or more days in the same week
£35 per day if you book just 1 day in a week

Discounts:
Book all 3 weeks and save £10
£10 off each additional sibling attending a full week

During our Summer weeks your children will be able to enjoy a wide range of activities, using The Mount School's fantastic facilities, including mirrored dance studio, gymnasium, large football fields double tennis courts and children's gated play area.

If your child loves to perform make sure they are booked in with us at The Arts Experience on Thursday 1st September and Friday 2nd September
so they can take part in our fantastic show and perform for all their friends and family.

For further information, booking form, activity lists, photo gallery and much more please see our website,
www.thearts-experience.com 
or call Lisa 07956 334 756 or Georgina 0777 444 1932.

You are invited to our GCSE and A level Art Exhibition 2011 in Room 5, The Mount School.

The private view is on Monday 27th June 4.30pm-6.30pm to which all are welcome.

The exhibition is then open from 8.30am-5.00pm from Tuesday 28th June to Friday 1st July.

We hope you will find time to enjoy the excellent displays.

On 15th June 64 Mount School girls, their teachers, two Support staff and two Governors left school at precisely 10am. We walked along Milespit Hill and The Ridgeway, waving our SLOW DOWN NEAR SCHOOLS 20MPH banner at passing motorists, which definitely had the desired effect. We joined St Vincent’s School for a walk round their field finishing with a reminder of the number of children killed and injured on our roads each day and the importance of road safety.

The girls enjoyed a round of exciting matches when the Year 7 and 8 teams played on Wednesday afternoon. Congratulations to the RED house who were the winners.

The year 5 girls have been learning about the similarities and differences between the ‘Ancient Greek Olympics’ and the modern day ‘Olympic Games’, in their History lessons. To enhance their learning and understanding of the subject, they are having two practical sessions – the first one ‘The Mount School Olympic Games’ and the second ‘The Mount School Ancient Games’.

At the end of last half term we said goodbye to Ms Kasper who is moving with her family to the Switzerland. We were sorry to see her go but wish her all the best. She will be remembered by the girls for her fantastic Flamenco evening trips into London.

Girls from years 5,6 and 7 joined to form a competition choir to compete in the North London Music Festival on Wednesday 18th May held at St James’s C of E Church, Muswell Hill. There were 9 choirs competing in the competition including choirs from Goldwyn’s and Highgate. Our choir sang an arrangement of Eva Cassidy’s version of ‘Over The Rainbow’ and the song ’My Face is Made of Onion’ by Jenny Gould. The adjudicator Graham Trew awarded The Mount School a merit, so the girls should be very proud of their performance. The competition was won by Sacred Heart School, Southwark. Thank you to Mrs Hirsch for working with the girls and giving them this opportunity and to our talented girls for singing so beautifully on our behalf.

It was a lovely day for all the pupils and staff at school on Wednesday 11th May. Not only did we enjoy the good weather, but we were entertained by the fabulous costumes Year 11 were wearing on their last ever day of school. In fact, whilst we were having our morning staff meeting we could hear the cheers, clapping and giggles of delight coming from the Year 11 form room, as they saw each other for the first time in their outfits.

Year 11 had gone to so much trouble. There was Peter Pan, Princess Jasmine from Aladdin, a couple of Superwomans, Little Red Riding Hood, Fred(die) Flinstone and The Mad Hatter to name a few. Samia, in her Elmo costume and Katie as Kermit the Frog must be congratulated on getting through the day in their warm outfits, although I believe they took the head part of their costumes off during lessons! I think the teachers had a hard time keeping a straight face. I know myself and Mr Sumray did whilst we were having a serious discussion about the GCSE art exam with Banait dressed as Mini Mouse in her spotted red dress, mouse ears and a cute black nose!

The highlight of the day has to be when they all went over to the Junior block at break. They played with and talked to the Year 0 to Year 6 pupils and the Juniors thought it was fantastic. I know that Rhea felt very nostalgic being in the Junior part of the school as she has been at The Mount since Year 0. Miss Sweeny and Rhea were having great fun reminiscing about all the mischief Rhea used to get up to. It was a great day and I am very proud to have been their Head of Year. I wish them all the best for their GCSEs.

Following the Head Girl Hustings last week the votes were counted and we are pleased to announce that Naho is our new Head Girl and Ellie and Helen will be the new Deputy Head Girls. In their speeches the girls said:
‘The school has helped me widen my future opportunities’ – Naho
‘I want to share the same positive experiences as I have had’ – Ellie
‘I promise to be the best Head Girl I can possible be’ - Helen

Our Registrar, Paulett Lewis joined more than 100 people to take part in a sponsored walk on Hampstead Heath on 8th May  to raise £2,941 for Macmillan Cancer Research.
Mrs. Lewis wanted to say ‘a big ‘thank you’ to staff and friends who sponsored me for the Macmillan Cancer Support walk on Sunday.  My sister and I undertook the 6 mile Hampstead Heath Woodland Walk in memory of our brother and my father-in-law.  We even had time for an ice cream break!’

The photo is of Calum MacKay the Northwest London representative for Macmillan Cancer Support, Mrs Lewis’s sister, Angela Townsend, the Deputy Mayor of Camden, Cllr. Abdul Qadir and Mrs. Lewis.

Years 5 to 8 were treated to a play of ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’ in assembly on 13th May. The play was performed by girls from the Year 7 & 8 Classics Club, run by Miss. Wiley. The story is set in Crete and Athens and follows Theseus’s quest to defeat the Minotaur. The chorus spoke together in rhyme in the style of Ancient Greek theatre and girls wore togas to set the mood. The cast found this performance an enjoyable way of learning a new myth as did the audience.  

Following the popular chocolate fountain last term Orchid once again organised a superb fundraising event in aid of Leukaemia. This time about 60 pupils and staff ran round the running track at lunchtime, completing as many laps as possible, having all been sponsored to run. There were lots of girls and staff cheering on the runners, who really appreciated the support and the cups of much needed water! Orchid, who was running herself, is hoping to bring the total raised at these two events to £1,000.

On Wednesday lunchtime pupils and staff looked on and cheered loudly as the staff and 6th form had great fun on the netball courts. Mr. Sumray was seen reaching great heights, Mrs. Hutchings attempted a few underhand manoeuvres against Ms. Sweeney, who was playing for the 6th form and Miss. Myeroff scored lots of goals , spurred on by her Year 0’s shouting out her name at top of their voices. The end result was 10-1 to the staff!

We are pleased to announce that the final amount collected for the Japan Appeal was £1,750. Thank you to everyone who donated so generously and who made such a huge effort to raise these funds.

The final whole school assembly of the term was filled with music as the middle school choir sang ‘Clouds’. Ms Cozens compared the girls achievements to a ray of sunshine on a cloudy, wet day making rainbows that reflect the support they give to each other and those in need, none more so than the fundraising in aid of the Japan Disaster appeal.

Mrs Randsley, the Librarian, was delighted to receive over 80 entries for her bookmark competition. With so many wonderful designs she chose 8 winners who all received an Easter egg.  The three winners in the photo are Yui, Meari and Maddalena with their winning designs and eggs. The bookmarks are available in the library.

Staff, past and present, filled the dining hall on Tuesday evening to thank Mrs Sanders for all her hard work as Bursar over the last 13 years, wish her all the best in her new job and share some funny stories of her time at the school!

On 21st March Mrs Mitchell held an information evening where Year 10’s learnt about the options open to them after their GCSE exams. Mrs Mitchell advised pupils about the process of applying to schools and colleges for sixth form and each went away with a booklet explaining the application process. There were speakers from Barnet Connexions and also past pupils, who were able to share their invaluable knowledge. The Year 10 pupils found it invaluable saying they found the handbook really useful, they learnt about qualifications other than A levels as a route to University, the information about the different colleges and sixth forms was very good and they appreciated the speakers, particularly  the ex students whose talks they found very informative.

On 17th February, Spanish pupils in years 9 and 10 went to the flamenco production of Eva Yerbabuena in Sadler’s Wells. It was a wonderful evening and everyone enjoyed themselves. Thank you to Ms. Kasper for organising such a memorable trip.

Years 5 to 11 competed in the inter house netball competition. The final scores were:

1st Green
2nd Blue
3rd Red
4th Yellow

In history we are studying World War II so we went to see what life was like between 1939 and 1945. It was one of the best school trips I have ever been on and I would love to go again.
By Imogen (Year 5)

On the 24th March years 0-6 went to the Science Museum. KS2 went to ‘Feel the Force’ show and KS1 went to see ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ in the IMAX cinema, which they really enjoyed. The girls loved the museum and really enjoyed going out as a whole junior school.

Years 10 and 11 had a very informative and well presented talk from the Ambulance Service about coping with alcohol and drug related incidents. It was amazing to hear that the London Ambulance Service take 1.5 million calls a year within the M25 which equates to one call every 30 seconds. They started with the basics of what to do in an emergency and what happens when you dial 999, to life saving techniques. The girls picked up some very useful practical advice.

On 1st April Orchid (year 10) and The Mount School Charity Team ran a fundraising event at morning break and lunchtime to raise money for Leukemia.The event was a huge success with queues the length of the dining room. So far the girls have raised over £200. Well done!

Twenty one students from years 7 to 13 were chosen for the Gifted and Talented English and Classics educational visit, to see a play called The House of Atrius by The Guildhall School of Music and Drama at The Barbican Theatre.

As part of the Cultural Enrichment Programme the ESOL Department held an Easter Party on March 22nd. All the students, from different countries, plus their parents and siblings came together to share food and play traditional games.

The highlight of the event was the Easter Bonnet Parade

Come visit our stalls and take part in our events for Leukemia Research. Leukemia is the chosen charity as it is the biggest childhood cancer in Britain. So in order to help these young children, The Mount School Charity Team is organising stalls (the bottle tombola, a chocolate fountain and marshmallows as well as a sponsored run) in order to raise as much money as possible for children with Leukemia. This will all be taking part on the 1st April so don’t forget to bring your money because YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS OUT!

As a school community we have been greatly saddened by the images and news from Japan over these past days since the devastating earthquake and tsunami. This has been an especially sad time for us as we have a large Japanese community including around 38 Japanese families currently at the school.

Pupils, parents and staff were keen to fundraise for the Red Cross appeal. Collections took place in school during the week organised by the School Parliament. The girls ran a ‘Talent Show’, charging £1 entrance. A big thank you to Hanna and her team of judges for organizing and hosting the event so well. The winners were four of our Year 4 girls who sang a beautiful Japanese song.  Also on Friday many Japanese parents were in and around school at the beginning and end of the day to help with the collection. Judging by the buckets I am sure we have raised a huge amount.

If you didn’t manage to donate, its not too late. Please send your donations into school with your daughter, either in cash or by cheque made payable to ‘The Mount School Limited’ and write on the back of the cheque that you wish the money to go to the Japan Red Cross appeal. We will keep the appeal open until the end of term.

‘Science Week’ started with inter-house science quiz’s and culminated in a big event on Friday lunchtime in the gym when girls from each house formed teams to build an elastic band paddle boat then race it in the paddling pool set up especially for the occasion! Of the junior’s teams the blues won and for the seniors the reds won.

There are still some tickets left for the Quiz supper. Make sure you don’t miss out by sending your form back to school a.s.a.p.

On Friday 18th March everyone in school dressed in red in return for a £1 donation to Comic Relief.

On Thursday we celebrated St. Patricks day by having an Irish lunch. The catering staff made a great job of decorating the staff too.

On Wednesday 16th March around 50 girls spent the morning tree planting. The trip was organised by Mrs. Ferson who is a member of the Woodland Trust. Mrs. Ferson also arranged for the school to receive 20 sapling trees, which were planted around the school grounds by Miss. Sweeney’s Gardening Club.

We’re collecting Sainsbury’s Active Kids and Tesco for Schools and Clubs vouchers again this year. Please would you bring the vouchers into school and hand them in at the Library.

The girls have participated in lots of netball matches lately and won every single one!
Well done to all our teams – keep it up. The recent results were:

25 students and 4 staff gave up their February Half Term to go on the ski trip to Port Ainé in the Spanish Pyrenees.

All students had a wonderful time and made terrific progress. By the end of the week all were competently skiing to an intermediate or high level.

A memorable week was had by all. Students and staff really enjoyed the experience. Students have already been asking about next year’s trip!

The House spelling competition took place this week during the lunchbreaks. The competition was tough but the final winners were:
Years 7 and 8 Red house
Years 9 and 10 Blue house
Staff Blue house

On Tuesday we celebrated St David’s day with some typical welsh dishes including Welsh beef stew, Anglesey eggs, Welsh rice pudding and treacle scones.

Congratulations to the junior student’s who entered the My Green School national competition. Sasha, Maddalena, Imogen, Verity, Mnobo, Ufnoma, Feeza & Aneesha’s design has won the Imaginative Award and the other two groups have been chosen as joint runners up in this category, a fantastic achievement given there were almost 100 entries!

The My Green School Eco-design Competition is an initiative developed by Open-City to give children aged 7 to 11 across the UK the opportunity to get stuck into investigating sustainable school design and showcase their ideas on a national scale.

On Tuesday 15th February a group of thirteen girls from Year 3 to Year 6 visited Pizza Express in Mill Hill. The spent an enjoyable morning making pizza and then eating them at the restaurant. The enjoyed asking questions and finding out about the different ingredients used in making pizzas. Both Mrs Grilli and Miss Sweeney were relieved to find out hat the ‘green’ part of the tomato sauce used on pizza bases was not broccoli as some of the girls suggested but basil!

From 2nd to 28th February 2011 our pupils artwork will be publically exhibited at the Arts Depot, North Finchley.

On 15th February a special viewing will take place between 6pm and 7.30pm. We look forward to seeing you there.

The Chinese New Year of the rabbit was celebrated at lunchtime on 3rd February with a delicious Chinese meal including various noodles, prawn crackers and banana fritters. The dining hall was decorated to add to the occasion.

The MSPA are holding another Fish ‘n’ Chip Supper on Saturday 2nd April 2011 at 7.30pm. Please complete the form or ask at reception. We look forward to seeing you there.

On Tuesday 25th January, Mrs Adams accompanied two Year 13 pupils - Jessica and Victoria – to a Holocaust Memorial Ceremony at City Hall. This ceremony is held every year to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.

On 29th November, Year 9 visited the Cast Gallery in the Classics Faculty in Cambridge. This museum contains copies of many famous Greek and Roman statues, and, as the real statues are scattered in museums all over the world, this provided a rare chance to see these statues as they might have really looked. Pupils were particularly intrigued to see the statues at their real size, and there was also a painted kore statue, so that they could see how the Greeks decorated their statues. Year 9 are currently studying Greek art and architecture, so this trip provided them with an excellent opportunity to see the text book come to life!

Mr and Mrs Paignton came into school with her gorgeous twins

Every student and staff member received one of our new bags last Friday. I hope you all find them useful. If you would like another or want to buy one for a gift they will be available at the Christmas Bazaar for £1.50.

Mrs Mitchell arranged for Mrs Robertson, from London Borough of Barnet, to visit school to talk to all girls taking a Duke of Edinburgh Award this year. 

The girls had great fun throwing snowballs at break time! The school and grounds looked very picturesque in the snow.

As a school we raised £414 on 19th November for Children In Need. Lunch time was unusually quiet as everyone joined in with a sponsored silence! Thank you to everyone who contributed.

Girls have enjoyed designing their own Christmas Cards. It was hard to choose the winners but Ms. Cozens chose:

Senior and overall winner: Elisha – Year 10

Junior winner: Suzuna – Year 4

Infant winner: Moeno – Year 2



Senior and overall winner: Elisha - Year 1

On Thursday 11th November at 11am the whole school stood together in silence our hall. Ms. Cozens reminded us that it was a time ‘to pause in our day to remember the past, reflect on what is happening now and hope for a better future’. The famous poem Ms. Cozens chose to read was ‘For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon that described how ‘they fell with their faces to the foe’.
The assembly finished with a very moving piece of music, ‘Meditation’, from the opera ‘Thais’ by Massenet. It was beautifully performed by Mr. Klidzia on the violin accompanied by Mrs. Hirsch on the piano.

All the Year 7’s made Christmas boxes to send to children in Eastern Europe.

We were delighted to be informed by the exam board edexcel that our student Jessica Hammon ‘was amongst the highest scoring candidates of the June 2010 examinations’. Jessica scored 100% in her Art and Design: Fine Art exam - an outstanding achievement.

- Artwork: J. Hammon

On 15th October our Years 5 and 6, joined by Ms Sweeney and Ms Cozens, learnt how to survive outdoors.  They learnt plenty of new skills and had great fun as you can see from the feedback!

'The camp was a big open space with lots of tents, some had fires and others were empty. The instructor talked us through some safety rules. Then we set out in our groups, called tribes. We had to collect wood for the fire to cook our lunch' Aliya

We made a shelter out of leaves, sticks and branches... ours fell apart but luckily we weren’t staying the night. It was the best school trip ever' Lauren

On Thursday 13th October Mrs Mitchell and Miss Sweeney organised a fantastic event for The Big Draw. Girls, teachers and parents from across the school joined together to decorate the Junior classrooms.

Year 7's had a fabulous three days at Hilltop. It was a chance to bond with each other and have lots of fun. They also made some new friends who were more at home with the weather conditions!

The annual Mount School Netball Tournament was a huge success with many local schools playing some excellent netball. As usual it was a very social occasion, with plenty of homemade cookies to keep their strength up! All the teams played well, but the final result was a win by The Mount School A team – so well done girls.

We are really excited to be part of a nationwide campaign which takes place at many venues throughout October to encourage people of all ages and abilities to draw.

Our junior pupils are creating designs that they and the rest of the school community will paint onto the outside of the Junior block. As well as all pupils and all staff, parents and carers are also invited to come along and join in the fun.

Over 30 pupils and staff listened as Mr Harvadi, Head of History, gave a fascinating account of the lead up to the Battle of Britain, 70 years on from the day itself. Following this we were delighted to welcome Mrs Mitchell's mother who gave a personal account of her experience and of her sad losses - a very moving story that left us all wanting more.

We are pleased to welcome Mrs Hutchings and Miss Ellis onto our admin team. Mrs Hutchings is our new Head’s PA and Miss Ellis has taken over the front desk. Their first week has been frantic but with everyone being so friendly and helpful, they are both really enjoying their new roles.

If you are in Years 4 and up come along to the open auditions on Monday lunchtime.

The Art Exhibition has been running this week. We hope many of you have taken the opportunity to view the work of our GCSE and A level students.

Our annual Guinness Record Walking Bus was once again much enjoyed. This year the KS2 girls joined St. Vincent's School pupils for a walk round their new orchard.

Exciting news for those who walked last year – we broke the world record! Let's hope we do it again this year. Thanks to all the girls for bringing in £1 to support the charity 'Brake', who run the event.

Congratulations to Clara, Jasmine and Maya from Year 6 whose poems were selected to be entered for the LBB 'Poetry In Motion' Competition. Fingers crossed girls!

See image attached but please only use if you are able to crop to just show top image. I can't do it!

It was perfect weather for Sports Day this year!

The Summer holidays are fast approaching!!!

Just a reminder to say that as you know The Arts Experience now takes three separate age groups 3 - 4 years, 5 - 6 years & 7+.

Places are filling up fast, so please book soon to avoid disappointment.

Our dates for Summer are:
Monday 26th - Friday 30th July
Monday 16th- Friday 20th August
Monday 23rd - Friday 27th August

During our Summer weeks your children will be able to enjoy all their usual 'Arts Experience ' favourites, using The Mount School's fantastic facilities including, mirrored dance studio, gymnasium, large football fields, double tennis courts and children's gated play area.

If your child loves to perform make sure they are booked with us at The Arts Experience on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th August so they can take part in our fantastic show and perform for all their friends and family.

For everything you need to know, including our booking form please go to our website www.thearts-experience.com

The supper quiz on Saturday evening was a complete success with over 50 parents and staff attending and raising £300 for the school.

Julia Livingstone, host master, said 'It was a most enjoyable, fun evening with seven teams competing. Most aptly the head teacher table won – proving to all parents present that we have chosen the correct school for our girls!'

The Mount School Junior Choir sang beautifully at the festival on Tuesday 4th May, under the Primary Choirs category. They had to sing two contrasting pieces so chose ‘Stronger with Time’ by Carl Strommen and the big band favourite Chattanooga Choo Choo, made famous by Glen Miller in 1941.

The girls came 4th and were awarded a merit – so well done all.

Gifted and talented music students had a wonderful opportunity to visit St Marys Church They were shown and had chance to play the their wonderful organ.

Raj, who ran our kitchen has moved on to a job at Head Office. We all wish her well.

On Monday 22nd March the sixth form challenged the staff to their annual game of netball. The sixth form had practiced hard and played well but the staff pulled out all the stops and pushed themselves to the limit, winning 10 : 2. The game was lots of fun for the whole school to watch and if it is any consolation to the sixth formers, the staff were all creaking on Tuesday!

Mrs Ransley, our school Librarian ran a sponsored read for the Junior girls as part of our World Book Week activities. Girls promised to read every day for up to 30 minutes. Emily from year 3 read for the full 30 minutes a day as she loves reading, so managed to finish ‘The Dancing Bear’ by Michael Morpurgo within the week.

The girls raised a tremendous £321 for ‘Down Syndrome Education International’ who work across the UK and around the world to improve understanding and to improve the quality of support and education for young people living with the Down syndrome.

Gammon and greens, along with a vegetarian option, were on the menu for St Patricks Day on Wednesday 17th March. The dining room was decked in green shamrock and Irish leprechauns for the occasion.

Mrs. Stimler visited school with her 9 week old son Charlie today. Charlie was definitely centre of attention and with all the onlookers he was not keen to go for his sleep!


Photo: Mrs. Stimler with Charlie

Years 7, 8 and 9 have been taking part in 'Spellathons' over the last two days. On Thursday the blue house won from the Years 7 and 8. Today the competition was very close with blues winning again from Year 9. They won a close 4:3 against the reds in the final. Well done to all the competitors as the words were pretty tricky!

Congratulations to Ellen, Aisha, Chloe and Hana, Year 9 blue house winning team

Congratulations to the girls from years 7 and 8 who won a coveted silver medal at the Watford Festival of Speech and Drama at the weekend. This is a wonderful achievement!

MSPA are holding a Fish and Chip Quiz Supper on Saturday 8th May at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available at £12.50 per person and teams are in tables of 8 that you can put together yourselves or let the MSPA make up your team. Forms are available from reception and forms should be returned there with your cheque. Book early as we have limited tables with the deadline being Friday 30th April 2010.

Tesco and Sainsburys have started their 2010 voucher schemes so please get collecting and bring your vouchers to the Library.

Last year we had a range of PE equipment from the Sainsburys Active Kids scheme including rugby kit, three legged race ties, 3 in 1 parachute and body exercise balls and some fantastic playground equipment from the Tesco scheme including space hoppers, a giant ball and creepy crawly tunnel.

Boxtops for books is still ongoing so pleased bring those in too as we get lovely Dorling Kindersley books for these.

On 7th February Year 7’s visited the Houses of Parliament. They went to the Visitors Gallery in the House of Commons and the floor of the House of Lords where they saw the throne the Queen uses on her annual visit. They also had a debate. Everyone had a very enjoyable and memorable trip.

Everyone tucked into a delicious Chinese lunch this Friday in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

On 5th February 2010 all girls and staff paid £2 or more to come to school in mufti to raise money for Haiti. Everyone was very pleased to be contributing to this cause as they were all keen to do their bit to help the people there who had lost everything.

42 girls from year groups 9, 10 and 12 attended the Memorial Day at The Finchley Reform Synagogue. The trip is organised to make students understand the horrors of the holocaust. They study WW2 including the holocaust as part of the year 9 history curriculum. The years 12’s who attended are studying a level history. The event featured a workshop and a talk by an elderly Holocaust survivor, Eve Oppenheimer.

AGM for Mount School Parents Association will take place on Monday 1st February at The Mount School, Room 5 at 7:30pm.

We really have enjoyed plenty of snow over the last few days. The school looked very picturesque as you can see.

At 4pm on Tuesday 12th January ESOL pupils, parents and siblings enjoyed our annual New Year party. Everyone enjoyed the games and the delicious food of course!

On Saturday 5th December 2009, led by Mr Havaadi, Year 9’s, a few Year 10’s and 12’s and staff left school at 4.30am for Ypres, Belgium. This annual visit supports Year 9’s study of WW1 in History.

The visit covered cemeteries, a preserved section of trenches and a firing post. They witnessed the recreation of the famous Christmas truce of 1914 and attended a moving last post ceremony at the Menin Gate.

Anastasia (Year 12) performed in ‘Wizard of Oz on Ice’ at Alexandra Palace Ice Rink from 14th to 21st December 2009. As one of the lead roles, Glinda, Anastasia had been practicing since mid August.

– Mount School Art Exhibition at the Arts Depot

22 pieces of stunning artwork have made an eye catching display on the first floor of the Arts Depot in North Finchley. Inspirational art teachers Jason Sumray, a practicing painter and Sharon Mitchell, whose specialism is in textiles, have chosen some of the best pieces by GCSE, AS and A2 level students to form a display that will be on public view until 2nd March 2009.

The pieces show the wide range of art taught at The Mount School including painting in various media, print making, photography and textiles. For GCSE Art, a popular subject, students concentrate on two dimensional work, exploring Fine Art in drawing, painting, mixed media and printmaking. Three separate A-Levels are offered; Painting and Drawing, Textiles and Photography.

On 12th February, many gathered for a private view of the display. Amongst them were some of the students whose art was being admired. Fiona Salisbury’s display of fine art monoprints shows four individual prints all using an original drawing of skulls. This piece is forming part of Fiona’s AS coursework and she is finding printmaking a lot of fun, with its many creative stages.

Shaleen Patel, also an AS student, has on display a fantastic study of skulls and organic material painted in watered down acrylics. 'Allowing the paint to drip down the canvas brought much more freedom to my work' said Shaleen 'and I am delighted with the result'. This was something Mr Sumray had encouraged her to do to break away from her more precise earlier work.

When asked how much help was given by the teachers both girls replied that to begin with they were given much direction and help with materials, techniques and ideas. As they progressed and were producing exam work, they were expected to be much more independent and experiment with different techniques and media. Both felt art had allowed them to develop and they always looked forward to art lessons!

Other art on display includes a fantastic photography study by Sophie Shaw that formed part of her A2 photography coursework, and wonderful textiles by Sarah Sklar, also an A2 student. Photography and textiles, taught by specialist teachers, are popular and always produce stunning and thought provoking displays.