Message from Mr Williams, Head
Dear Parents,
Ski season is in full swing at GES! Primary and Secondary students have been out on the slopes this week improving their technique and having a brilliant time. A big thanks to the P.E. department for all the planning that takes place to give the students such great opportunities. Good luck to all of our students competing in the ski races coming up in the next few weeks.
Last week we promoted all of our different social media channels (Twitter (now X), Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn). Thanks to those of you who now follow us. We have had a real spike in LinkedIn followers and we appreciate you being connected to us this way.
As we continue to promote GES through different platforms, you may have caught my interview on WRS on Wednesday morning. Morning presenter Katt Cullen and I discussed GCSE, A Levels and the British Curriculum more widely. If you didn’t catch the interview, you can hear a recording here. WRS sponsors our new competitive sports kit and we look forward to working with them more closely in the future.
Our KS1 students started their swimming lessons this week and from the excited chatter I heard in the playground, they really enjoyed them. If you have a child in KS1, please remember to send them to school on swimming days with a hairbrush and goggles without tinted lenses. Please reach out to the PE or KS1 team if you have any questions.
Our Secondary students will have their third PSHE drop-down day of the year on Tuesday and this one is all about careers. Years 9 and 11 will start to learn about their GCSE and A Level options, respectively, and Year 10 will learn more about the work experience awaiting them later this year. Thank you if you provided a short video about your career – I know that Ms Newbury is really delighted with the videos she received.
Finally, please take a moment to read the section in this week’s newsletter pertaining to French lessons for parents. We know how difficult it can be to fit language lessons into busy schedules, and also how beneficial it is to have a solid level of French in Geneva. Personally, I’ve found that my weekly lessons have been a huge help to me, and a joy! If you might be interested in taking weekly, 90-minute lessons at school right before pick-up, do let us know through the Google form set up for this purpose. If take-up is sufficient, we will endeavour to put courses in place starting after our half-term break.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Williams
From the Primary School
One Small Step for Woman, One Giant Leap For Mankind
Our Year 5 students have created a fantastic display about Eileen Collins that is well worth a detour!
Thanks to their careful research and well-articulated biographies, our students bring you all kinds of interesting facts about the first woman to pilot and later command a US space shuttle!
Data Collection and Experiment Planning
Data lies at the heart of any scientist’s work, and knowing how to record it in a clear, consistent and usable way is an important skill to master.
After several sessions on experiment planning, our Year 4 students have moved on to data recording. Putting their newly acquired skills to the test, they measured how much kinetic energy is needed to turn cream into butter.
La première fois en conte et en scène
Les enfants ont beaucoup aimé leur sortie au théâtre cette semaine. Nous avons préparé cette sortie en lisant ensemble en classe le livre à partir duquel le spectacle a été réalisé : La première fois que je suis née de Vincent Cuvellier.
Avec beaucoup de poésie et de tendresse, les enfants ont découvert les premières fois de cette petite fille (la première fois qu’elle a ouvert les yeux, vu les sourires de ses parents, fait du vélo sans petites roues, etc.) jusqu’à ce qu’elle devienne maman à son tour pour la première fois.
En classe, les enfants ont pu parler de leurs premières fois et ont apprécié pendant le spectacle la façon originale dont les acteurs ont représenté toutes ces premières fois : la musique, les moments drôles et parfois tristes aussi.
Il est important pour nous à GES de donner la possibilité à nos élèves de découvrir des spectacles dans des théâtres aussi connus que le Théâtre des Marionnettes de Genève.
From the Secondary School
News from Our Violin Prodigy
Congratulations to Year 11 student Ciara for her superb performance at the 10th Manhattan International Music Concours!
Winning first place in the violin category, she received special mention from the jury for her outstanding performance and an invitation to play at Carnegie Hall.
Parkour Begins for Year 7 Students
Year 7 P.E. classes started their parkour unit this term, learning and developing skills around this engaging sport.
Drawing from their gymnastics experience and skills learned in previous years, they boldly undertook new challenges such as vaults, jumps and rolls.
By the end of the unit, they will put together a routine to use these skills across a course set up in the gym.
The Ski Season Gets Off to a Great Start!
The Key Stage 3 ski day took place at Les Jouvencelles, in the the Jura on Tuesday. Despite the cold, the clear day produced perfect conditions for the first ski day of the season.
Coached by the fantastic ESF Les Rousses instructors, the different student groups enjoyed learning and developing their skills on a range of slopes.
We couldn’t have asked for a better day!
Bring on the next ski days and Wednesday Ski Academy in Primary!
School news
GES on the Airwaves!
Matt Williams was over at WRS this week for an interview with Katt Cullen from the Breakfast Show.
He explained the advantages of GCSEs and A Levels for international students, the broader academic benefits of a British education and how students can smoothly transition to this curriculum from parallel tracks such as the IB or Swiss Maturité.
Faces of GES
Next up on Faces of GES, we travel over to Secondary for a spotlight on Luke Pearce, our dedicated Head of Maths, Economics and Outdoor Education, who joined us in 2018 after teaching stints at Highgate, London, and Magdalen College, Oxford, and a 9-month tour around the world.
Unsurprisingly for one who teaches no fewer than three A Level subjects, Luke was himself a lover of school and of learning who enjoyed helping his schoolmates with their lessons. He has carried his passion throughout his adult life and brought his unflagging enthusiasm to his students at GES, who have enabled him to grow as a teacher and whose insightful questions have shaped his understanding of teaching.
Beyond academia, Luke is also great with his hands and regularly focuses his inexhaustible energy on tinkering with all sorts of DIY projects. A fan of chess and aviation stories, Luke’s favourite spots are in the mountains, where he can often be found leading all kinds of exciting activities for students as part of their Outdoor Education trips!
French Lessons for Parents
Fitting language lessons into packed schedules can be a difficult challenge for our busy parents. This is why we are looking at the possibility of offering French lessons for adults through a specialist Geneva-based language school (exact price to be communicated at a later date). These would be 60 or 90-minute lessons at 14:00, right before pick-up, on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
In order for us better to understand our parents’ needs, we invite you to take 5 minutes to answer this short survey. This will allow us to know whether there is sufficient interest among our parent community for these lessons to take place and to understand what language lesson options best suit your needs.
Thank you!
Local Theatre - a reminder that the play Pinocchio opens today!
Pinocchio
Geppetto, an old toy maker, longs for a son of his own. With a little help from the Blue Fairy and a cheeky little cricket, his wish comes true and his puppet, Pinocchio, comes to life!
The magical puppet catches the eye of the evil showman Stromboli who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the enchanted toy. With the help of Mamma Mia and her hapless son Lampwick from the local pizzeria, will Pinocchio learn in time what it takes to be a ‘real boy’?
- Théâtre de Marens, Nyon
- 19th-21st and 25th-28th January 2024
- Details and booking here
