Message from Mr Williams, Head
Dear Parents,
It was great to see so many of you at the music recital on Wednesday and to celebrate the students who proudly performed a wide range of pieces – Bach, Abba and even Rick Astleigh were shared with us all. A big thank you to the music team for working so hard to put on such a wonderful event giving the students an opportunity to perform. There will be another recital next term so please come along.
On Tuesday we welcomed Ann Bryant, renowned children’s author, to host sessions with the Primary children and to open the KS1 and Early Years Library area at Primary. Since the summer we have been working hard to modernise our library and make it a warm, peaceful and cosy place to read. A massive thank you to the parent community group for helping us achieve this – it really is such a lovely space.
At Secondary, our Year 10 and 8 parents were welcomed into school for this term’s book looks, and we would like to thank those of you who accompanied Year 7 to 9 at the SGIS ski races in Saanen. End of term assessments and mock exams start soon across the Secondary school so please look out for examination timetables, revision guides and other advice via email to enable you to support your children.
Here are a some further links I would like to share:
- Recently I wrote an article in the latest edition of International School Parent, giving advice on helping you to support your child in the classroom. This based on the teaching and learning philosophy we have been embedding at Secondary with great success, which is now being integrated at Primary too.
- For students and families considering US universities there is a free seminar run by the International School Parent magazine taking place on 15 March. Click here to find out more – it is suitable for students over the age of 13.
- Further down in the “Latest Blogs and Articles” section, you can also read our latest blog about the history of GES from one of our founders Mr Smouha, and his daughter Caroline – I hope you enjoy the photos.
Next week our Virtual Open Events will take place on Wednesday 15 March – we already have over 30 prospective families signed up, and we encourage you to invite friends and colleagues within your community – they can sign up here. It is invaluable to have your personal recommendations.
Finally, if you know that you will sadly be relocating and leaving school at the end of the Summer term, or even think you may be and are not too sure, do get in touch and share your plans as we are planning ahead for next year. The latest you can let me know in writing is by midnight on Monday 24 April, and it is really helpful to know as early as possible.
I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Matt Williams
Head
Upcoming events
Journée de la Francophonie - Monday 20 March
Cette année encore nous fêterons la Journée internationale de la Francophonie.
Les élèves du Primaire sont invités à venir à l’école déguisés/accessoirisés sur le thème de la francophonie dans le monde. Nous ouvrirons les festivités par une assemblée menée par nos ambassadeurs du français et la chanson officielle de la Francophonie. Histoires, jeux et différentes activités en français seront au programme de cette journée de célébration.
Once again this year we will be celebrating la Journée internationale de la Francophonie.
All Primary children are invited to attend school dressed up in clothes/costumes reflecting the spirit of the day celebrating French-speaking communities around the world. The day will involve an assembly led by the French ambassadors where all students will sing the Francophonie song. During the day we will also celebrate cultural diversity through a variety of activities, stories and games in French.
International Carnival - Friday 31 March
Our Parent Community invites you to come and immerse yourself in an evening of cultural diversity on Friday 31 March from 16:30 to 19:00 at the Primary Campus.
We would love to celebrate our international community through food, drinks, games, music, art, activities and books from around the world.
Please contact your class rep to see how you can get involved. We always appreciate volunteers!
Entrance to our International Carnival is 5 CHF per person, and the children will be able to participate in a themed scavenger hunt for 5 CHF as well.
All profits will go to a charity to help those affected by the Turkey and Syria earthquakes. Both cash and TWINT will be accepted.
From the French Department
Sortie au Théâtre des Marionnettes
Les enfants de Key Stage 1 ont été immergés cette semaine dans la culture locale francophone en se rendant au Théâtre des Marionnettes de Genève.
Il ont beaucoup aimé le spectacle ‘Sur les dents!’, une histoire drôle et folle d’un loup qui a perdu ses dents et qui rencontre une petite fille, l’un des trois petits cochons, et une Mère-Grand dansant le french cancan!
Article en français, par George Anderson-Endean (Classe 8)
Depuis le début du trimestre, nous avons les stagiaires Antoine et Alicia qui nous aident en classe 3 fois par semaine. Ils nous aident avec le vocabulaire, les conjugaisons et quand nous avons des difficultés. C’est utile parce que nous avons plus de soutien et il ne faut pas attendre pour avoir de l’aide.
La semaine dernière, nous avons joué au jeu de la bataille navale pour réviser l’imparfait avec Alicia. C’était vraiment amusant et informatif.
Ils sont très sympas et intelligents et nous sommes très contents d’avoir leur support.
Upcoming at Secondary
Educational and Outdoor trips
Y12 Geography – Barcelona Field Trip
Year 12 A Level Geography students will be going on a field trip to Barcelona during the week of 20 March. Our geographers will have the opportunity to study long river profile in the MontSeny national park, as well as carry out urban studies in the regenerated district of El Raval in Barcelona City. The purpose of this trip is to collect data for independent field work projects.
Y12 Biology – EPFL Visit
Year 12 A Level biologists will be going to visit the EPFL next Friday 17 March. They will have the chance to visit the EPFL’s imaging laboratories to gain hands-on experience of using an electron microscope, tour their laboratories and meet their undergraduate and PhD scientists.
Y11 Duke of Edinburgh Day Cycling Trip
Ahead of a 3-day adventure around Lac de Neuchâtel in June, the Year 11 Outdoor club will get back on the saddle to explore the genevan vineyards of the rive gauche by Jussy. The 60km round trip from Versoix will be a perfect training opportunity for the students to build confidence and road-awareness, as well as providing a welcome break after mock exams.
Stay tuned for pictures on our Instagram channel!
Musicianship camp
To all our Secondary musicians who enjoy composing and performing: Ms Colwill will be running a 4-day-camp during the Easter holiday.
In the morning, we will be working on various compositions, and learning about the conventions of orchestration and arrangement through listening to pieces.
In the afternoon, students will have the opportunity to work on performing a piece (or pieces) of their choice, either as a solo or in an ensemble, and receive advice and feedback from each other.
On the final day of the camp, students will showcase their projects in a culmination of the week’s work.
- Open to all GES Secondary students and their friends
- Tuesday 18 to Friday 21 April, from 9:00 to 16:00
- Price: 450 CHF
- Register here
Shows and Concerts outside school
Don du Choeur concert: Monday 1 May 19:30
This year, once again our Choir children from Year 4 to 7 will take part in the upcoming concert organised by the local charity Le Don du Choeur.
This year’s event is raising money to:
- Enlarge the rural school of Ta Pen in Cambodia (funded by the Don du Chœur in 2020) in order to welcome 550 students in decent conditions.
- Continue to support the schooling of children and community development in southern Madagascar.
With 380 children singing under the direction of Mrs Sue Power, GES is proud to support the concert and we encourage you to purchase your tickets quickly online here.
Theatre recommendations - From Mrs Ball
For all of our theatre and performance lovers, here are Mrs Ball’s latest recommendations for local theatre productions.
If you would like further information about any of these, you are welcome to email Mrs Ball at [email protected].
With Mrs Humphreys on the clarinet, and Mrs Ball as Director and Choreographer, we are proud to recommend:
Sister Act, the Musical
A feel-good musical comedy, based on the story of the blockbuster movie starring Whoopi Goldberg.
- GAOS
- Théâtre de Marens, Route du Stand 5, Nyon
- 30 March – 2 April
- Details and tickets here
