Message from Mr Williams, Head
Dear Parents,
This week was Science Week and, at our Primary school, there has been a whole range of exciting activities going on. From morning challenges for students and parents, to a range of practical experiences, students have been learning, experimenting and debating key scientific principles. A massive thanks to Mr Bradley for organising such great activities and to the Primary team for delivering them with such scientific passion! A special thank you to all the parents who have been answering questions all week, too!
In Secondary, our Years 11 to 13 students have been completing their mock exams in preparation for the real GCSE, AS and A Level exams starting in May. The atmosphere has been one of quiet determination and staff have fed back on how seriously students are taking these important practice examinations.
With only two weeks left of term, we are busier than ever on both campuses with all of the following planned:
- iSAMS Europe conference at our Primary campus on Wednesday 20 March
- Journée de la Francophonie on Thursday 21 March
- Culture Vultures trip to The Complete Works of Shakespeare on Sunday 24 March
- ISI inspection on Monday 25 March
- Year 3 and 4 show, Back in Time, on Tuesday 26 March
- Music recital on Wednesday 27 March
For your diaries, note that on the last day of term, Thursday 28 March, lessons end at 12.00 at Secondary and 12.20 at Primary, and there will be no After School Care or extra-curricular activities on that day.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Williams
From the Primary School
A Smashing Success for Science Week
This week has been all about Science at Primary!
Our youngest students combined science and art to look at seasons and how nature changes all throughout the year. They also took a tour of the plants on campus, stopping to admire and pose in front of the beautiful magnolia tree, whose blooms will soon open.
In Year 1, students worked on their capital letters, practising them by brainstorming and writing out famous scientists’ names.
Year 4 physicists explored the fascinating topic of acoustics, learning about how sound travels, in which states of matter it does so best, and what this means for those with hearing difficulties.
En français, les élèves ont pu pratiquer leur conjugaison en recherchant et présentant un scientifique au passé composé.
With participation from all areas of the school, Science Week also involved our parents, who took on the challenge of tackling Year 6 curriculum questions to win House points for their children.
Classroom Countdown in Year 1
Year 1 mathematicians had a fabulous time in their “Introduction to the Place Value” unit.
Thanks to their careful counting and diligent efforts in grouping items by 10, they now know how many buttons, cubes and counters they have in class, and have thoroughly reorganised all these easily misplaced objects!
Reminder | Back in Time
Come join the magical adventures of Peter and Layla as they journey from the future to the past in the upcoming Year 3 and 4 show, Back in Time.
Full of bilingual acting, singing, dancing and the beautiful stage design that has been supported by Key Stage 2 Art Club, this show is not to be missed!
Tuesday 26 March 2024 at 17:30
Espace culture de Genthod
Free admission
Take a sneak peek at preparations for this much awaited show! See here for photos from our Art Club. Our artists have been pooling their creativity and talents to create the back-drops and stage design for the show.
Rejoignez l’aventure magique de Peter et Layla! Du futur vers le passé, voyagez avec eux dans le prochain spectacle des classes 3 et 4, Back in Time.
Ne manquez pas cette production où théâtre, danse et chant bilingues s’entremêlent avec pour toile de fond la décoration produite par les enfants du club d’art de Key Stage 2.
Mardi 26 mars 2024 à 17h30
Espace culture de Genthod
Entrée libre
Découvrez un aperçu des préparations pour ce spectacle tant attendu ! Cliquez ici pour voir des photos de notre Club d’art. Nos artistes travaillent d’arrâche-pied pour créer le décor et la scénographie pour le spectacle.
Save the Date | Easter Bake Sale
The much-awaited Easter Bake Sale is coming up on Thursday 28 March, the last day of term!
Please bring in cakes and sweet treats to Primary campus during drop-off that day. These must be nut-free.
Don’t forget to send in 2 CHF with your child for them to buy something tasty during breaktime!
News from After School Care
There is an unmistakably paschal air in After School Care of late! Inspired by the chocolaty treats of this time of year, our little chefs concocted their own savoury versions of Easter eggs… in pizza form!
They have also been busy designing and decorating their lovely Easter display.
News from Secondary
LAMDA Preparations in Full Swing
As part of our Extra-Curricular Programme, our students can sit examinations with the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), one of the UK’s most prestigious drama schools. These are performance-based and have been carefully refined and developed over many years by experts in education, acting and communication.
This week, students sitting their final LAMDA exams in May had the opportunity to participate in preparation and training sessions with a visiting LAMDA examiner from the UK, who coached them on their monologue technique and delivery.
A Green Thumbs-up at Secondary
Spring is in the air and our campuses are timidly coming to life with all the colours of nature.
Year 9 students, Vincent and James, volunteered to help things along this week by planting some lovely daffodils and pansies generously gifted to the school by one of our families. Rolling their sleeves up and taking out all sorts of gardening implements, they raked, shovelled and planted, making sure to find optimal spots for these flowers to make a new home.
School news
Call for Volunteers | International Carnival
Save the date and get involved in our International Carnival on Friday 3 May!
After the huge success of last year’s event, this year’s carnival will follow the same format. We encourage everyone to join in, with groups of parents from the same country/region putting together a food stall to share and celebrate the diversity we have at school.
Please use this spreadsheet to sign up to a country (or add a new one!) and let us know what dish or dishes you want to bring along on the day. Nothing is too small or too big!
Bring along flags, maps, posters and bunting to decorate your stall.
Do you have a traditional dress or costume? Please wear it!
Children will be invited to dress up for school that day and there will be a passport game and scavenger hunt at the carnival, too.
Get in touch with your Class Rep if you have any questions or need help finding other families to work with.
Faces of GES
Our Faces of GES takes us to Secondary today to meet Jen Brewin, Maths teacher who joined us in August 2020, and whose responsibilities also include oversight of our Secondary House competitions and the Student Council. Jen came to us from Huntington School in York and, prior to that, Highgate School in London. Dedicated to making children enjoy and succeed in Maths, Jen especially likes working with our Year 12 and 13 students to guide them through their A Level course and facilitate their involvement in their Houses or as Student Council leaders.
Her motto: “If you are unhappy with a situation and you are in a position to change it, make the change, even if it’s scary”. This outlook underpins all her exchanges with the House and Student Council leaders, as she urges them to stand up for what they believe in and be advocates for their peers. Beyond the student leaders, Jen makes sure she gets to know all students and encourage inter-House and cross-year group interactions and camaraderie. In fact, one of her fondest memories of GES was the cheeky fun that went into Year 7’s portrait drawings of older students as part of the Senior House Christmas Quiz last term!
A ski, cycling and running enthusiast, Jen is drawn to the wilderness of the far north, whose dramatic and sometimes surreal landscapes have captivated her over years of travelling to such places as Iceland, Norway, the Scottish isles, the Yukon territory and Alaska.
