Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
Thank you to everyone who shared their reflections following last week’s update regarding our parent survey results and planned enhancements. It is clear that you are deeply invested in the future of GES; I am delighted that our community remains as engaged and passionate as ever.
I would like to extend a special thanks to the leaders of our Parents’ Association. During John Leitao’s visit to Geneva this week, they held a comprehensive and productive meeting with him, ensuring that your collective voice was heard clearly by the Inspired leadership. As our development plan progresses in the coming weeks, we will share more detailed communications regarding the 2026-2027 academic year.
Some parents have expressed concern that the focus may be leaning toward Primary over Secondary. I want to reassure you that this is not the case. Inspired’s commitment to, and enthusiasm for, both campuses is equal.
In fact, we expect to formalize our strategy for the Secondary campus first. As the Secondary site requires only landlord approval rather than cantonal permission, the timeline is more streamlined. We launched the authorisation process this week, and I am optimistic that I will soon be in a position to write more about specific details regarding the improvements you can expect to see in Versoix by August.
Beyond our work with architects and playground specialists, we are in parallel strengthening our ties within the local community:
· Genthod Town Hall: I had a very constructive meeting with the Mayor and her executive team this past Tuesday.
· Secondary Premises: John and I will meet in two weeks’ time with our building owners to explore expansion opportunities there.
Inspired’s mission to establish GES as the premier school in the region has given us renewed momentum. By fostering these cooperative relationships, we ensure a brighter future for all our students.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Save the Date | International Fair
The countdown has started for our International Fair happening on Friday 29 May!
From 15:30 onwards, this beloved annual event will bring together families from across Primary and Secondary for an afternoon celebrating our school’s cultural diversity and strong community spirit. With games and activity stalls, music and delicious food from around the world, there will be something for everyone!
In preparation for this event, our wonderful Parents’ Association is seeking parent and Secondary student volunteers to lend a hand to at the International Fair with:
· Food and drink stalls
· Games, art and crafts and leisure workshops (e.g. bracelet-making, scavenger hunt, face-painting, sports, etc)
· Decorations
· Entertainment (music DJ, choir and instrumental performances, etc)
· Logistics
You will soon be receiving an email with full details and links to register as a volunteer.
This week in class
Year 1 students have been learning all about healthy eating habits in their PSHE lessons. Starting with a colourful discussion about “Eating a rainbow”, they realised how important it is to eat a balanced diet comprising all the different types of food. This was followed by an investigation into what the different food types do for our bodies, and finished off with the making and tasting of a delicious fruit salad. Our little gastronomers used this learning opportunity to practise their French by recalling the names of the fruit and vegetables they like and dislike using a stem sentence: “J’aime…” and “Je n’aime pas…“
Well done, Year 1!
Our Year 3 biologists have been learning about the life cycle of plants, with a focus on seeds and seed dispersal. Students inspected a variety of seeds closely using microscopes, thinking carefully about how the seeds were dispersed and what they will grow into. They started by observing how the seeds were protected within the plant itself, and, where necessary, broke open pods or dried flowers to expose the seeds.
A fascinating exploration of the inter-connectedness of nature!
Our Year 4 have had fun discovering their new book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
They started off by looking at five different front covers of this beloved classic, brainstorming ideas and explaining their answers as to what the plot, setting and characters might be like based on each cover.
The class then moved on to pre-learning the new vocabulary, which was plentiful, as the book was published in 1950! Words like “muffler” and “wireless” (for a radio) were great fun to study. Students first looked at each word in three languages: English, Spanish, and French, and were then presented with an image to help them work out the solution before having the definition explained.
The French and Spanish didn’t always line up fully, which led to some lovely discussions around how nuanced language is and how some words don’t have a direct translation.
Students loved trying to read the French and Spanish words, and our very own polyglot, Rodrigo, was a great teacher, full of positive praise for his peers’ efforts!
During this week’s Drama lessons, our Year 7 thespians have been exploring the role of costume in melodrama through the play The 39 Steps. They focused on multi-rolling (or doubling) and quick costume changes, developing creative and practical ways to transform characters swiftly and clearly for the audience.
It’s been another busy week of practical experimentation for our Secondary students!
In Year 7, our young biologists have been learning about the different parts of a flower: petals, sepals, anthers, filaments, ovaries, stigmas and styles. By clearly identifying each part, they were able better to understand the roles each of them plays and how they work together to enable pollination and reproduction.
Year 8 chemists have been investigating exothermic and endothermic reactions as part of their Chemical Reactions unit. By reacting different substances, they were able to measure temperature changes: an increase in temperature signalled the release of energy and therefore an exothermic reaction, while a decrease in temperature indicated the absorption of energy and therefore an endothermic reaction.
Our Year 9 students took to their microscopes for a close look at their own cheek cells and onion cells to compare the differences in appearance and structure of animal versus plant cells.
Year 11 students took their learning outdoors into the great laboratory that is the natural world. Putting their knowledge of fieldwork sampling into practice, they used quadrats and transects to measure the distribution and abundance of certain organisms in the school gardens.
Beyond the Classroom
Secondary House News
The results are in for last week’s House quiz: Dôle and Rhône carried the day after grasping the link between all the answers (each two-word response began with the initials FH).
The inter-House competition continued this week with a tongue-twisting Spelling Bee. Each House had three competitors who were eliminated the moment they spelled a word incorrectly. The event was attended by many spectators who encouraged and intimidated the competitors in equal measure! Congratulations go to Year 7 students Emma (Léman) and Kaede (Jura) who won the event, and to Miatta in Year 9 (Rhône) as runner-up.
Celebrating World Health Day in Secondary
Retroactively marking World Health Day, which fell during the Easter break, our Secondary students took part in an assembly led by Mr Sheppard-Burgess.
Looking at the three pillars of health (physical, mental and social), students were invited to reflect on the importance of rest and sleep on each of these and to be aware that feeling tired at any time of the day is the body’s way of signalling that its batteries need to be replenished.
Mr Sheppard-Burgess covered such topics as good sleeping habits as fuel for the body, and the need to rest on purpose through relaxing activities like going for a walk, baking or chatting with friends.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Outdoor Fun at ASC
The increasingly fine weather of these last few days has made for some energetic outdoor play for our After School Care students! After enjoying spending their energy on our Primary grounds, they took to their aprons to prepare some fresh fruit cones covered in chocolate and sprinkles – a healthy treat after all that exercise!
Netball Action for Team GES
The Year 7, 8, and 9 Netball teams competed in the final SGIS Netball Tournament last weekend. With several girls bravely playing up a category to complete the squad, the team demonstrated outstanding resilience, adaptability, and skill against some very strong opposition.
Despite being a newly formed team, with players in unfamiliar positions and a combination that had never played together before, the girls quickly began to find their rhythm, growing in confidence and cohesion with every match.
Their hard work paid off with a 4th-place finish overall, coming just two points shy of the bronze medal!
A special congratulations goes to Miatta, who was voted Players’ Player of the whole tournament. A fantastic recognition of both her talent and her exceptional sportsmanship throughout the day.
A brilliant effort from all the girls. Well done, team!
Community News
Calling our Secondary Volunteers
Calling our Secondary students to lend their time in support of underprivileged children in Eastern European!
On Saturday 30 May at the Coop in Versoix, students working in pairs have the chance to volunteer an hour (or more!) of their time in this fundraising initiative to help children out of poverty. Their mission will be to assist the clientèle of Coop in packing their grocery shopping at the tills. In exchange, Coop has accepted to make a generous donation in support of the cause.
Full details will be shared with students next week, including the registration form to join this humanitarian initiative.
Primary Reading Challenge
In May, read to the beat!
This month, students are invited to discover how music and storytelling unite by choosing two activities from the list below (each can be done in English or French) to earn 5 stars for their House:
· Read a story that involves instruments or performances
· Lis la biographie d’un musicien
· Choose a book with strong, poetic rhythms
· Écoute un live audio et l’intonation du narrateur
· Read a favourite book whilst listening to music that matched the mood or theme
· Act out a scene from a book, treating it like a musical
Participants should send a short video message explaining what they learned or gained from their musical reading experience by email to Ms Houghton: [email protected].
An Accomplished Gymnast
Our very own Alexandra (Year 3) did brilliantly in her gymnastics competition in Neuchâtel! She performed on beam, bars, vault and floor and came 11th out of 40, earning a distinction and a medal. The competition was for top artistic gymnasts across several cantons, and Alexandra came out as the 4th Geneva gymnast!
Displaying consistency and calmness under pressure, Alexandra did outstandingly well in all four disciplines.
Bravo, Alexandra!
Awards Galore for our Dance Champions
Our two dance champions, Emma and Orla in Year 7, achieved excellent results in their latest international dance competitions.
At the beginning of April, they took part in the Pearl of Italy competition in Santa Margherita di Ligure in the choreography dance category. Both girls received 1st prizes (ex aequo) for their solos. Emma performed “DJ Emma’s Dance for Freedom” and Orla performed “Alien Jenny”. With their team, they also won the Grand Prize of the Jury!
Later in the month, at the Zurich Dance Fest International Competition, both Emma and Orla placed 3rd in solo and 3rd with their team in the Show Dance category.
Well done, Emma and Orla!
Well done, Celeste!
Congratulations to our Year 13 songbird Celeste, who just passed her grade 6 singing exam with a strong Merit!
A fantastic achievement attesting to Celeste’s technical maturity, emotional delivery and varied repertoire.
