Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
Hello, bonjour, guten Tag and hola on International Mother Language Day which, due to the timing of our holiday, we celebrated a week in advance at school. This special day was first proclaimed by UNESCO and then by the UN General Assembly in the aim of highlighting the role of language in promoting inclusion and achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
With our vast range of nationalities and cultures at GES, and our commitment to delivering the highest quality language teaching and opportunities to our students, what better way to celebrate International Mother Language Day than by inviting parents in to teach our Primary school children greetings in 14 languages, and to do so today, on Valentine’s Day! Thank you to the 17 parents who took the time to come teach us how to say hello in their mother tongues, and a heartfelt merci to Madame Durey for creating the beautiful video featuring so many of our Primary schoolers saying the word “love” in languages they speak at home.
Madame Durey has also announced the inauguration of a multilingual section of our library. If you have any non-English or French books in excellent condition that you would like to donate in support of this effort, we would be delighted to receive them and to share them with our Primary-age children.
Earlier this week, Primary parents were invited, and over 80 came, to our first-ever “Parents in School Morning”. Mums and dads were welcomed into Pre-school to Year 6 classrooms from 8h15 to 11h to sit in on lessons, following their children’s normal timetable – nothing staged, just a normal day in the life of our students. I am delighted to report that the morning ran smoothly, rainy playtime and all, and that a good time seemed to be had by all. Teachers were proud to share their lessons, parents gained insights into their daughters’ and sons’ experiences at school, and the children were thrilled and proud to have their parents by their sides for the morning. Building on the success of this event, we will plan another session in Term 3, allowing an opportunity for another extended visit by parents to school.
Across all year groups at GES, our sports programme is rich and varied, and our competitive teams punch well above their weight. This week, I would like to send a special shout-out to our Year 10 and 11 netball team who won a friendly match against La Châtaigneraie without substitutes so every player gave it their all for the whole match. Our girls showed remarkable determination and teamwork, and rallied from a 0-6 deficit to win with a score of 11-9. Well done to all our girls!
Enjoy our half-term holiday, however you and your family will spend it, and see you when school reopens on Monday 24th February.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
A Message of Love from Primary School
Ahead of International Mother Language Day next week and in celebration of today’s Valentine’s Day, our Primary community came together as students shared a message of love in their native tongues and parents taught greetings in their language.
Speaking about the importance of the “home language” and using the example of Banksy’s famous graffiti of “The Little Girl with the Balloon”, Mme Durey led an assembly during which she explained how art is also a language and that artists use it to express feelings such as love.
She also announced the launch of a multilingual section in the Primary library, which will contain books in many different languages.
This week in class
As part of their unit on “States of Matter”, Year 4 spent the morning exploring the question: “What effect does adding salt to ice have on its temperature and the consistency of milk?” Students carefully recorded the temperature of the ice in tables they had designed themselves and observed how the milk’s consistency changed over five minutes.
All their hard work gave them a well-earned treat: delicious homemade ice cream!
In their unit on furniture design, Years 5 and 6 were introduced to the work of craftspeople and designers, exploring how artists bring personality to their work.
The project culminated in the creation of their own chairs, where students were encouraged to make intuitive choices when thinking about which materials to use and which shapes to make. The Art Room became a hive of activity as they constructed scaled maquettes of their chair designs, demonstrating some truly creative ideas and thoughtful problem-solving.
Our Year 8 scientists had some fiery lessons this week as they learned about complete and incomplete combustion. They can now distinguish between:
- Incomplete combustion (burning with a yellow flame), which produces soot evident on the beaker as a blackened surface.
- Complete combustion (burning with a blue flame), which does not produce soot.
They also explored the products of combustion, carbon dioxide and water, which enabled them to understand the two chemical reactions involved in the burning of a tea candle as a fuel source:
- Water vapour reacts with anhydrous copper sulfate, resulting in a colour change from white to blue.
- Carbon dioxide reacts with lime water, resulting in the liquid changing from clear and colourless to milky white.
Later in the week, they went on to learn how to balance chemical equations, a crucial skill which is necessary for describing chemical reactions.
Year 9 historians had a hands-on lessons to end the term! Students re-enacted World War I trench warfare by creating a no-man’s land (filled with “barbed wire”), threw “artillery” at each other, and hid in their “trenches” to avoid these “missiles”. A fantastic way to bring History to life!
In Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, was Friar Lawrence a reckless meddler or a wise mentor?
Such was the question that Year 10 students debated over in their English lessons! Hearing the arguments put forth by the opposing factions, our judges assessed if the teams used relevant quotes and contextual evidence to justify their positions.
Year 12 P.E. students became teachers for a day as they prepared and presented to their peers an element of equality and barriers to participation in sports. They discussed what the possible barriers are, such as ethnicity, disability or gender, and what solutions can be implemented to break down these barriers.
Beyond the classroom
Voyage to the Land of the Pharaohs
Our Year 3 put on their Indiana Jones hats for the day as they learned all about Ancient Egypt at the Musée d’art et d’histoire.
Building on what they had studied in class, they discovered how to identify a real pharaoh, where different artefacts had been discovered and that there were nearly 800 different hieroglyphs used by Ancient Egyptians!
Achievements in the Intermediate Maths Challenge
Congratulations to the students who achieved a certificate in the recent UK Maths Trust Intermediate Mathematical Challenge! Typically aimed at students in Years 9 to 11, our students did fantastically well in showcasing their mastery of mathematical reasoning, precision and fluency of thought.
- Bronze: Noah S. and Finn
- Silver: Mitra, Jun, Griffin, Ravi, William, Arjan, Ben, Isobel and Leon
- Gold: Teddy and Sebastian
Special mention goes to Sebastian who achieved Gold despite only being in Year 7!
Guest Speaker for Women and Girls in Science Day
As part of celebrations of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Year 9 students were delighted to welcome Dr Eleonora Rossi, scientist in the ATLAS experiment at CERN, for a rich moment of exchange.
Dr Rossi talked about her own path from her PhD at Roma Tre University to her Post-Docs at the Laboratoire d’Annecy De Physique Des Particules (LAPP) and the University of Oxford. She explained what a typical day might look like for her at CERN, including data analysis on her laptop, meetings with peers and experts to discuss findings, and, what she enjoys most, teaching PhD students.
Sharing her belief that there are no barriers for women to be successful in Physics, Dr Rossi presented figures that show that women are nonetheless still underrepresented in this field:
- 18% at CERN
- 19% at University of Geneva
- 28% at EPFL
- 32% at LAPP
Our students demonstrated interest, knowledge and natural curiosity by asking many pertinent questions, such as “Why do the powerful magnets of the LHC not affect people working on it?”, “How long until the servers need to be improved or increased?”, and, more philosophically, “Is there intelligent life beyond earth?”.
Secondary House Chess Competition
This week was marked by a thrilling House chess competition at Secondary! Students from all year groups signed up and the tournament started with 16 pairs of players competing in 5-minute games all the way down to the final.
Onlooking peers encouraged their House competitors and participants demonstrated fair-play all throughout the competition, making this event a true testament to the GES school values of integrity and community.
Commenting on why they took part: Michelle in Year 7 explained she took part because she likes to be challenged and hopes to become as good as her father, who taught her to play, while Lucas in Year 13 said he particularly likes the problem-solving aspect of chess, and Timothy in Year 8 finds the tactical approach a lot of fun.
Congratulations to Teddy for making it to the final and to Omar who won the tournament!
Extra-Curricular Activities
Building Bridges in Science Club
Following from their efforts last week, our Year 6 Science Club participants completed building their bridges and put them to the test. After driving a toy car over them to evaluate how level they are, they tested their bridges’ strength by placing 100g masses on them until they started to collapse.
The results were one in a million, because there was a tie for both 1st and 2nd place ! In first place Team Maisoe and Aleyna tied with Team Enrique and John, with their bridges holding a maximum mass of 3100g. In second place there was a tie between Team Lea and Emma and Team Madieke and Esme, with their bridges holding a maximum mass of 2700g.
Well done to everyone for their ingenious creations!
A Netballing Victory
This week, our Year 10-11 netball team took on La Châtaigneraie in a thrilling friendly match – one that was requested by the GES team. Despite a tough start, with La Chât’ leading 6-0 in the first quarter, our girls showed incredible determination, seamless teamwork, and resilience, ultimately securing a fantastic 11-9 victory.
With no substitutes, every player gave their all on the court. Captain Saiari demonstrated great leadership, offering valuable pointers around the goal circle. On attack, Fali and Martha worked elegantly to get the ball into the net, while Saiari and Mohau, playing in Wing Attack and Centre, formed a strong partnership, ensuring smooth transitions without losing possession.
In defence, Katrina, Rameesah, and our last-minute addition, Nia, stepped up brilliantly, regaining possession and sending the ball back down the court. Their efforts played a crucial role in turning the game around.
Well done to all the girls for their hard work, impressive improvement, and the enthusiasm they bring to the sport!
Outdoor Trip to Cabane de Rochefort
Our Year 7-8 Outdoor Club adventurers had a fantastic time on their expedition to Cabane de Rochefort in St Cergue. Snowshoeing up to their destination, the students thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful nature around them (including possibly spotting a wolf in the distance!), spending as much time outside as possible and taking in the breathtaking sunset and sunrise. They also showed how dedicated they all are to leaving nature unscathed by their passage, enthusiastically volunteering to clean up and leave the cabin tidy for the next visitors.
Community News
Primary Parents in School
Primary parents were invited to spend the morning with their children in class this week to experience a typical day at school. Taking part in a morning Phonics, History, Maths and French lessons, some brave parents joined in with P.E., participating enthusiastically in the gymnastics exercises that were coached in French.
Over a well-deserved coffee break, parents expressed their gratitude at the opportunity to witness first-hand our approach to teaching, with some surprised at how much content is covered in a single lesson or how much better their child’s schooling is compared to their own childhood experience. A happy morning all around as students, parents and teachers enjoyed the time spent together.
Save the date | World Book Day
On Thursday 6 March, GES will celebrate the annual World Book Day with a whole school dress up day. Children are invited to come to school dressed as their favourite character from a book and be ready to share their choice with their class.
The full World Book week will kick off with a whole school assembly introducing this year’s theme ‘Read your way’ as well as a sneak peek at our whole school book of study Our Tower by Joseph Coelho. Children in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 will be completing a range of different activities throughout the week in their classes based on this beautiful story of adventure and the importance of friendships and relationships.
We will also host visiting illustrator Ewa O’Neill (and parent of John and Tom), who will run workshops with children in Reception, Year 1, Year 3 and 4. The Reception and Year 1 workshop will be based on the story Wimfiddle Finds His Voice by Amber L. Jackson, while the Year 3 and 4 workshop will be based on the story Rowdy the pirate who could not sleep by Darcy Pattison. Both books are, of course, beautifully illustrated by Ewa herself. Ewa’s workshops will focus on telling stories through pictures and bringing stories to life with artwork. A gallery of Ewa’s work will also be set up in the library throughout the week for all the children to admire and be inspired by.
Faces of GES
Our Faces of GES series travels to Primary today for a spotlight on Kenza Hileret, who joined us in August 2024 as French Learning Assistant. Coming to us from nearby Collège Champittet, Kenza is passionate about helping students overcome learning difficulties, especially when she can find creative ways to do so. Dedicated to the learners placed in her care, she strives to make sure that each student develops and takes with them strong academic and life skills.
A believer in lifelong learning, Kenza is proud of having learned English from scratch, teaching herself the language while travelling in another country. In fact, globetrotting is a strong component of her DNA! In 2020, she travelled to Australia and remained there all throughout the Covid pandemic. Having seen some of the incredible sights the land Down Under has to offer, Kenza is nonetheless enchanted every morning by the breathtaking views of the Lake Léman and the Alps from our school.
