Dear Families,

I hope that you had a lovely long weekend last week and managed to do something outdoors to enjoy these last glorious days of summer sunshine. In school, it has been a packed week of house activities, student council elections and lots of great learning.

Today our Board of Governors visited the Secondary campus and, as always, we are grateful for their time and their commitment to the school. They had the opportunity to see our Key Stage 3 classes hard at work but missed many of our more senior students who were away on various educational trips:

• Year 10 and 11 students taking part in our Outdoor Club are on kayaks following the Rhône river, starting in Seyssel and aiming to arrive in Yenne tomorrow
• Year 11 Biology students are visiting the Moiry glacier, investigating population size in
  contrasting habitats
• Year 13 Geography students are also visiting the Moiry glacier today, investigating glacial processes, and will extend the experience through a glacier walk
• Year 12 Outdoor Club is hiking near the Lac de Taney in the Valais

Also today, ten ‘Under 11’ girls proudly represented our school at a Football competition at Nations with Madame Bugeja and, tomorrow, around 50 GES athletes will run in the SGIS Cross-Country competition in Berne. We are all rooting for our students and hoping their efforts will be rewarded with the medals they deserve.

I would like to thank all staff members who are accompanying the children on these fantastic excursions, in particular those who are taking time out of their weekends to do so.

One of the most unique and special elements of GES is our community.
Both in and out of school, our families help each other, socialise and look out for each other. In school we welcome the contribution of our parent volunteers and parent reps to make events run smoothly and ensure that there is a drink and something to eat. The class representatives are there to welcome new families and ensure that everyone knows what is happening in school at any given time.

I want to thank everyone that takes part and helps with these roles; they are voluntary and can take up a lot of time and energy. We realise that everyone is busy, so this year parent reps will be asking for volunteers just for specific events.
It would be great if as many people as possible could give up an hour or two to help out when asked. Our school staff and, especially, our children will really appreciate your support!

Have a lovely weekend.

Matt Williams
Head