Message from Mr Williams, Head
In the final newsletter of this half term I thought I would hand over to you, our parents.
Below is a video starring many of you that Madame Durey has compiled to celebrate International Mother Language day (falling next week on Tuesday 21 February).
We are really proud of our international community and whilst the spoken languages of English and French bring us together during the school day, many other languages are shared amongst our community. Thank you for taking part in this video and for giving your children and the staff a wonderful way to start the week in assembly. The second equally lovely video is from our students.
Please enjoy, have a wonderful half term and see you in a week.
Matt Williams
Head
A shout out
To our GES staff members
This half-term, we know that two of our staff members will be running half marathons, and we would like to wish them “Bonne chance!”
Tackling challenges, pushing your limits, and never giving up are indeed part of our core values, and should inspire our students.
- Ms Brewin: Brighton half marathon on Sunday 26 February
- Mrs Humphreys: Paris half marathon on Sunday 5 March
To Lauren in Year 11
Lauren Sloan has been selected for the Under 17 Swiss National Netball team this season and will be representing Switzerland at the European Netball Challenge Cup in Belfast, Northern Ireland next weekend from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 February.
Congratulations Lauren and Go Switzerland!
Students' Contribution
Musée Rath visit, by Lauren
On 18 January, the Y11 GCSE Art students went to visit Musée Rath in Geneva city centre, who have invited the National Art Gallery of Kyiv to present their exhibition “From Dusk to Dawn”. The exhibition opened in Kyiv in 2021, and explores different parts of Ukraine’s cultural heritage. The theme of the night hours is revealed through exceptional paintings and graphic works in all sorts of mediums such as oil, cutouts, pastel and print. The contrasts between darkness and light, blazing sunsets and hopeful dawns are echoed in many of the landscape paintings in the collection. The theme of the battle between light and dark is also deeply symbolic in today’s current situation with the war in Ukraine, the unfortunate reason as to why Geneva is able to view these magnificent works of art.
We (the GCSE Art students) have recently received our exam prompts and have been exploring artists to use as inspiration for our own final pieces of work. Many of us have drawn inspiration from the gallery visit looking at artists such as Konstantin Korovin (Bird Cherry), Ilya Repin (The Nun) and Anna Remizova-Vasilyeva (By the Window). The trip was a great insight into the possibilities beyond GCSE Art and at exploring art in the real world while also being useful in helping us to decide our own individual interpretations of different themes for our exam in June.
Article en français, par Nia et Stella (Classe 9)
Vendredi dernier, nous sommes allés à La Givrine dans le Jura pour dormir la nuit dans une cabane dans les bois. Après être arrivés au départ, nous avons mis des raquettes et marché pendant 2 ou 3 heures au soleil.
En arrivant à la cabane, nous avons allumé le feu dans la poêle, et nous avons préparé notre propre nourriture. On a mangé des tortillas et des nouilles et, comme dessert, des guimauves cuites au feu de bois.
Le matin, on a fait des crêpes américaines délicieuses et nous sommes repartis pour GES. C’était super cool – merci d’ avoir organisé cette sortie divertissante!
From the Sport & PE Department
Year 5 Olympics
Year 5 have been learning about the Olympics in Ancient Greece, and took part in PE this week in adapted versions of Ancient Olympic events.
Wheelbarrow races to mimic the horse and chariot races, knee tap challenge to mimic wrestling, a javelin throw and a relay to mimic the first running events from 776 B.C.
SOCS website
If you have not done already, we invite you to visit our new Sports page, a centralised place where you can find:
- Upcoming tournament dates
- Sports news and match reports
- Club links
- Team selection: can be viewed using this password GESsport! (once the password is entered, the system will automatically recognise you and you won’t need to enter the password again)
We have a number of ski competitions after half-term, and we are hoping to bring some medals home – check the page out for results.
From the teachers
Intermediate Maths Challenge, from Mr Pearce
Congratulations to everyone who earned a certificate in the Intermediate Maths Challenge. 70% of our students who took the challenge received a certificate, compared to 25% nationally in the UK. Special mentions go to William Morgan (Year 9) and Clark Dalton (Year 10), who achieved gold certificates, and Ben Whitton (Year 7).
Ben, along with the rest of Years 7 and 8, will get another chance to shine in the Junior Maths Challenge next term. Even sooner, in March, is the Swiss Maths Kangaroo, which is open to students from all year groups. We will be specifically inviting the students who attend Maths extension clubs but any student is welcome to take part – speak to Mr Pearce if you’re interested.
These challenges are taken individually, but one of the great things about Maths is the opportunities it gives for collaboration. When students are working towards the same goal, each student can make different contributions, learning from each other in the process. I remember most of my friends at university spending hours independently reading and writing, whilst the mathematicians worked together to solve the week’s fiendishly difficult problem sets. I loved the teamwork.
GES students will get the chance to experience this in the upcoming inter-house Maths challenge, which will take place on Pi Day, of course!
Casting Call - From Mrs Ball
We have been approached by the production company Lomotion for an exciting casting opportunity.
Working on a film project that will be shot in Milan from August 2023, they are looking for a 8-13 year old girl with perfect English skills for the role of Nika.
The girl does not need to be a native English-speaker, but fluent in the language.
The project will feature Italian and international actors in the leading roles of the adult cast. The family of the girl who is chosen for the role will be assured a regular paid employment contract for the five weeks of commitment to the film.
Families interested in participating can write directly to [email protected], or alternatively to Mrs Ball.
From the Libraries
World Book Day celebrations
At GES we will be celebrating World Book Day just after half-term.
On Tuesday 28 February we invite all Primary pupils (and staff) to come to school dressed up as their favourite character from a book.
On Thursday 2 March Secondary students will spend their English lessons reading, and there will be “A book and a bake” organised at break and lunch time. All the money raised from the bake sale will go to support the library.
Author Ann Bryant visit - Tuesday 7 March
On Tuesday 7 March, we will be welcoming award winning author Ann Bryant www.annbryant.co.uk to GES Primary where she will be running workshops with children from Reception to Year 6.
Two of her books will be for sale on the day and Ann will sign and personalise them.
If you would like your child to buy one of her books and have them signed, please send them into school with the money (10 – 12 CHF) on the day.
See the attached flyer for more details on the books.
