It was a very sad day indeed for me as I said goodbye to the remaining pupils at The Mount, Mill Hill International on Friday March 20^th. Then, on Monday March 23^rd, we were thrust into the new reality of online learning – what a whirlwind of new exciting challenges this presented! Immediately, the MMHI staff set up a WhatsApp group to share tips and tricks of the trade and to boost our morale with funny tales of how everyone was coping with the teaching-and-working-from-home experience. I learnt how to use presentations and Zoom for a virtual assembly.
 
In the Easter holidays, staff at The Mount, Mill Hill International started to reach out to the community, as they looked for ways in which they could support the national cause and the vulnerable in our local community. Helping those who are self-isolating at home, deliveries of groceries and medicine made sure that neighbours were not left alone. Design skills and an over-worked 3D printer were put to good use in the making of visors which were sent to local hospitals and care homes. Fundraising took a new direction in the shape of a sponsored shave of a longstanding beard to raise monies for St John’s Ambulance. And a teacher who is a St John Ambulance volunteer will be working at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington at the weekends throughout the Summer Term.
 
As we approach the start of the Summer Term, I am looking forward to hearing about our pupils’ initiatives during the pandemic in their own countries. And I know that they will find ingenious ways to continue their community service, even from a very long distance.
 
From my Zoom meetings and Skype calls with the MMHI pupils and parents, I have witnessed a very strong desire to come together and it is clear that they really miss being at school. Although I don’t yet know where and don’t know when, I know we’ll meet again some sunny day.