and Mrs Sharon Porter. Mrs Bingham has been a CA at Magdalene House for 18 years and has worked in support of several teachers in that time, helping countless children to move forward with their learning. She leaves us to concentrate on her own business and we wish her every success. Mrs Porter has been with us for a shorter period of time and leaves us, we hope temporarily, to have a baby which is due I believe close to the first day of next term! We thank them both for their valuable contribution to Magdalene House. We also say farewell to Mrs Lesley McChlery. Mrs McChlery has been the Head of Reception Class since 2008. Mrs McChlery has had a long career in teaching and leaves us to begin a well-earned retirement. I would like to thank her for all she has done for the school and wish her every success for her future plans. Mrs Geraldine Reinbold joined Magdalene House in 1998. She tells me she has probably taught every year group in the school during her time here. She reached a milestone when she realised she had taught children in every year group through the whole school, from Reception up to Upper Sixth! Many of her first class have left University and are out in the wider world and some, including Miss Gomm and Miss Dunnett, are now teachers themselves. Mrs Reinbold was appointed Deputy Head of Magdalene House in 2002. Since 2009 she has stoically put up with me as Headmaster and deserves a huge medal for that alone! I shall greatly miss her industry, her support, her unwavering loyalty and her friendship. When she is not happily teaching her class, she inhabits probably the smallest Deputy Head’s office on the planet, sandwiched between the Main Office and my palatial suite. You can’t swing a cat round in there. I have proved it with the help of the toy Tigger who lives with all the other furry animals in my office. And does she complain? No. Well, at least not to me! As a school, we will be saying goodbye to Mrs Reinbold and her other colleagues in the usual way tomorrow. But for now, Geraldine, on behalf of everyone here, governors, staff, parents, pupils, and all those thousands of children out there whose lives you have touched and helped to shape: Thank you so much! And of course we say goodbye to Prep 6. You’ve had a great year. You’ve been good company and great fun. Take all that Magdalene House has given you and use it as the basis for future success at your senior school and beyond. You will always be welcome back here because this will always be your Prep School. Nothing can ever change that. In conclusion may I thank all the people who work so hard throughout the year to ensure the smooth running of Magdalene House. First of all this year’s Head Girl, Eden Chamberlain James and Head Boy Lewis Shipley: you will hear from them both shortly and no doubt both will make far better speeches than this one! Together with the four House
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Captains Emily, Maddie, Matthew and George, you have been truly outstanding in your leadership of the school this year. Thank you all. Thanks go to the caretakers, to the maintenance team and to the catering department for making sure that we are all cared for and well fed and watered throughout the year, and also to the senior school teachers from the Sports, Science, Music and Modern Languages Departments for sharing their expertise and enthusiasm with Magdalene House pupils. To the Science Department and Mrs Fox a big well done: more or less hot off the press Magdalene House has just been declared winners of the IAPS Solar Cooking Competition! More details soon on facebook and the website! Great stuff! Our Marketing and Admissions Department is currently doing a fantastic job across both schools and spreading the word far and wide. Thank you Karen, Sarah and Harriet. Of course you the current parents remain our best marketing tool, to put it rather crudely, so thank you for all your support in helping us to move forward as a school. Thank you to all the Classroom Assistants at Magdalene House for all their hard work and of course the Class Teachers who work tirelessly to provide the best possible academic education and pastoral care for your children. Led by our wonderful Director of Studies Mrs Tina Crawley, this year has seen the curriculum at Magdalene House become more enriching for the children and with the advent of the new National Curriculum next year Mrs Crawley will ensure that we remain at the forefront of Preparatory School education in the years ahead and that we will continue to work way beyond what the National Curriculum can offer. Thank you Mrs Crawley. Finally, a huge thank you to my Receptionist and PA Mrs Shirley Davies, possibly only just pipped for the title of ‘Most Incredibly Tolerant Woman of the Year 2015’ by the remarkable Mrs Alison Moxon. Thank you both. It’s Friday afternoon about 3.15, it’s a blistering hot day in the classroom and the children can’t wait for the lesson to finish. The teacher can’t wait either. Exasperated by the children’s impatience the teacher says: ‘Right, whoever answers my next question correctly can go home early!’ Immediately a little boy sitting near the back of the class threw his school bag straight out of the window. ‘Who just threw that bag out of the window?’ asked the teacher. ‘I did Miss,’ said the little boy. ‘Can I go home now?’ Your children may not be the angels you think they are! But, like you, we still love them all very much.