Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
Happy New Year and welcome to Term 2! I would like to extend a special welcome to the five new families that have joined the GES community from the UK, Iraq, USA (New York and Washington DC), and the other side of Lac Léman. We are delighted to have you with us!
Whilst students were enjoying the final day of their holiday on Monday, GES staff were back at work for a full day of workshops and presentations, including a review of Humanities topics in Primary; results and data analysis in Secondary; and a review of special education needs, led by our Director of Inclusion, Jodie Noble. Importantly, teachers, learning assistants, administrators and management were able to take part in an in-depth training session on First Aid, led by our very own school nurse, Polly Pupulin – all morning for Primary staff and all afternoon for Secondary staff. For most of us, this was a refresher course, but the excellent review delivered by Polly will serve us well in the unfortunate event of illness or injury, wherever it might occur.
On Tuesday, all students were back in school for the start of the new term, enthusiastic to reunite with their friends and to launch into their lessons. Given all we have planned in the coming days and weeks – academic and otherwise – there is a lot to be excited about. Please refer to the school calendar for events that involve your children’s year groups.
No time was wasted in kicking things off with a bang as the Years 3 and 4 performance of Peter Pan took place on Wednesday evening to a packed theatre in Genthod. Our young superstars took to the stage with the confidence and presence of West End veterans, giving it their all for this “one night only” show. I was amazed at how well the children remembered and delivered their lines, sang so many songs and danced as pirates, mermaids and more – and all despite having gone more than three weeks without rehearsal! Even our two Year 3 students who arrived in school just the previous day played the parts of ladybirds, sang the whole way through, and helped on stage during the flying scenes. Well done, Daisy and Marlowe! A huge thank you goes to the fearless teachers who produced and directed the play, namely Mrs Humphreys, Ms Empson and Madame Durey, and to those who helped with lights, sound, costumes, props and the million and one other elements that came together beautifully when they needed to. Thank you also to the Year 6 Performing Arts Committee who helped backstage with props and makeup. Of course, the show could not have gone on without our fabulous parents who designed and made scenery, props and costumes – not to mention those who oversaw the bar. Thank you, one and all, for bringing together another wonderful community event!
Next week, we will be honoured to receive a visit by the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations, Simon Manley. Mr Manley’s visit is the culmination of a project called “Send My Friend to School” led by Nada Mounzer, one of our parents, through which children learned about ways in which they can make their voices heard when they feel strongly about an issue. Of course, we will share more about this event in next week’s newsletter.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Peter Pan
The much-awaited production of Peter Pan with Year 3 and 4 Drama student performers took place this week at the Espace Culturel de Genthod!
Featuring the beloved characters of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, the Darling children and Lost Boys, the infamous Captain Hook and his team of sneaky pirates, and the Indians, this performance transported the audience to the wonderful world of Neverland through terrific acting, singing and dancing.
Behind the scenes, our wonderful team from the very first GES Performing Arts Student Committee provided backstage support to ensure that the performance ran smoothly and that all costumes, props and technical requirements were seen to.
A huge congratulations and a big thank you to everyone involved in this performance, from the thespians onstage to the technical crews backstage, from teaching staff to all parents who lent a hand during rehearsals and on the night of the show.
This week in class
Year 1 students found an intriguing mess of space debris in their outdoor area this week… Where did it come from? Whose is it? Why did it crash here? How did it happen?
As an introduction to their new book, Beegu by Alexis Deacon, our learners had fun coming up with their own questions about this strange event in anticipation of meeting the character of Beegu, a friendly little creature who has accidentally crashed on Earth. Stay tuned for how the story unfolds!
Year 2 enjoyed a cross-curricular start to their new English topic this week, immersing themselves in music, movement and art, with a focus on how different pieces of music evoke certain emotions, artistic movements and representations. Reversing the process using images from their new book Ocean Meets Sky by Eric Fan and F.H. Terry, they created musical pieces to accompany the book’s illustrations.
A superb exercise to prepare for Year 2’s deep dive into developing their descriptive writing by drawing on their senses, emotions and feelings.
Primary students had a delightful time celebrating L’Épiphanie! They explored the tradition behind this special occasion and discovered the ingredients of the famous galette des rois. All children took part in the elaboration of the galettes, followed by a fun-filled tasting session.
The highlight of the day? GES was brimming with little kings and queens, spreading joy and excitement throughout the school!
Our Year 7 students launched into the new year by learning about body systems, and where better to start than by learning about how we breathe!
Using a model lung, our anatomists learned about the respiratory system and how all the different parts work together to enable us to inhale and exhale.
Our Year 8 students have started this new term by learning about the different methods of heat transfer. Through a series of demonstrations, they saw first-hand how conduction, convection, and radiation occur.
In these coming weeks, they will apply this knowledge to design and build their own penguin shelter, so that all at once it allows for creatures thriving in the cold to shelter from heat while protecting fragile eggs.
Just before the break, our Year 13 A Level Biology students had the very first lesson taught on the soon-to-open 5th floor of the Secondary campus.
After receiving feedback on their marked mock exams, they enjoyed a quick tour of the new premises, which includes spectacular views of the lake!
Beyond the classroom
Year 6 students led a bilingual assembly at Primary this morning, the culmination of their acquired collective knowledge following their History unit on Switzerland. Researched and written by the children themselves, the assembly started with a video of singer Melanie Oesch yodeling.
Our presenters continued with an interactive exchange for peers to discover Swiss traditions and history, the flags of the cantons, the four official languages of the country and Swiss neutrality.
The assembly ended with a quiz, with students across year groups demonstrating their newly-acquired excellent knowledge of Switzerland.
Bravo to everyone!
As part of the feedback process following their mock exams in December, Key Stage 4 and 5 students took part in an important assembly on stress.
Exploring the physiological mechanisms that stress produces and how these can be beneficial, for example in the body’s “fight-or-flight” responses, students also looked at how stress can be detrimental to the body and to a person’s performance on a task.
By looking at the effects that excessive exam stress can have on performance, students discovered various ways in which stress can be kept under control. These included breathing exercises, sports and physical activity, spending time in nature and amongst friends and family, music, meditation, mindfulness and more.
Among the information shared with students was this article by the Harvard Medical School, which provides an excellent overview of the stress response and ways to cope with it.
House News & Extra-Curricular Activities
Congratulations to Rhône for winning the Primary House Cup last term.
Thanks to Rhône members’ collective efforts, the House earned a smashing 2669 points!
After School Care kicked off the year with a bang as our Wednesday participants concocted some delicious chocolate muffins to launch 2025 in style!
Chefs Magnus and Helena wrote out the recipe carefully and even doubled the quantities for all the children.
Community News
Primary Reading Challenge
Join the New Year Reading Challenge!
This January, try reading a new book from a different genre. Look carefully at the opening sentence. Can you write a new opening? Make it even better than the original!
Write your new opening on the January reading challenge page, available on My School Portal, and submit it to your class teacher.
P.E. Kit
Thank you for ensuring your children are wearing the proper P.E. kit with the correct logo (see opposite). Please note that kits containing the old GES logo (with a Swiss white cross on the shield) should no longer be worn or exchanged across reselling platforms.
P.E. kits and additional branded clothing are available for purchase at the following link.
New Milestone for our Director of Inclusion
Congratulations to Jodie Noble, our Director of Inclusion, who has completed her Master’s in Education for Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) with Middlesex University, with a final classification of Merit. Jodie was already the holder of two postgraduate qualifications when she started at GES in 2019, but decided to further her knowledge and skills through this MA in order to benefit our students. This new qualification has provided Jodie with additional tools to identify students’ specific needs and develop the appropriate in-school support.
The MA course covered skills as an Exams Arrangements Assessor and in speech, language and communication needs in Early years and Key Stage 1, in order to identify what additional actions are needed and how to support teachers.
With the strongly held belief that “nothing works unless there is cohesion between families, educators and external professionals”, Jodie’s thesis centred on developing attention and focus in children in collaboration with families and local services.
Jodie’s tips for parents to help develop focus and attention in their children include:
- being outdoors as much as possible, especially in the winter, as this gives children a boost of dopamine through time spent in nature
- gentle regular exercise
- spending time with friends and families
- developing and sticking to routines
