Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
On Wednesday, we held our Cross-country Race & Fun Run, invariably one of the most exciting days of the year at GES. Though I felt the chill of the autumn weather – my own fault as I was not running! – I had a marvellous morning cheering on our children and speaking with the very many parents who took time out of their busy schedules to watch the races at our Primary site, then see off our older students as they took off for our Secondary campus. So many people, adults and children alike, commented on how fantastic it was to have all teachers and students gather together in their Houses and support each other in their warm-up and their races. A highlight for me was chatting with Oscar, Bryan and Yvette’s grandfather, a former GES Governor, who recounted some of the history of our beautiful, old main building, and the expansion of the campus over the years. How wonderful to see our Primary school through the eyes of someone who has known and loved it for many decades!
This morning our Primary children and staff were privileged to attend a special assembly led by Nurse Polly on the occasion of World Restart a Heart Day (officially, 16 October). Nurse Polly’s theme, “Empowering the Next Generation of Lifesavers”, supported by age-appropriate explanations and a demonstration of CPR techniques, was a powerful message to our young learners. Years 5 and 6 students have been specifically challenged to share their knowledge with family and friends through our half-term break, so do not be surprised if your child offers to show you how they could save a life.
In the coming weeks, more information will be shared about Nurse Polly’s plans for further First Aid training in school, including:
· further first aid awareness sessions for Primary school students through PSHE lessons;
· training for Secondary school students, including a demonstration of the proper use of defibrillators;
· pediatric first aid training sessions for parents (details to follow);
· for senior students, preparation for obtaining the first aid certificate recognised by the canton of Geneva, as the first step toward obtaining their driving licence.
A few shout-outs before I close my final newsletter message of this half-term:
· Congratulations to our two Year 13 students who have already received offers from Russell Group universities in the UK!
· Thank you to our intern, Flavia, who spent this week with us, helping in Early Years and Key Stage 1. Flavia’s attention and enthusiasm has been a pleasure for our teachers and children, and we hope she will visit again soon.
· Safe and happy travels to our Gold Duke of Edinburgh candidates, along with Mr Pearce and Ms Magowan. The first photos we have received from the beautiful island of Santorini have made those of us still at school very jealous.
Hopefully you will manage to take some time off with your children over the next two weeks. I look forward to hearing stories of their exciting adventures when we return to school on Monday 3 November.
Please remember that Halloween will be celebrated at Primary on our first day back, with fancy dress and a bake sale. On that day, too, our Years 7-9 footballers will represent GES with pride at St George’s School.
Happy half-term, everyone, all the best,
Christina Matillon
Inter-House Cross Country Race
Our entire school took part in the beloved annual GES Inter-House Cross Country Race on Wednesday!
After a joint warm-up led by our amazing Sports Leaders and House Captains, students in Year 1 to Year 13 successively launched into their race, running alongside peers of the same age. For our Primary students, races took place on the field of our Primary campus, while Secondary runners took on the challenge to race – both leisurely and competitively – all the way back to Secondary on a trail that took them through the woods of Versoix and along the nearby river.
Sporting their House colours and cheered by their teachers and the many families who joined us for the occasion, this fun morning saw our school turn into a colourful wave of red, yellow, green and blue!
Huge congratulations go to our winners:
Primary Houses
· 1st place Léman (31 points)
· 2nd place Rhône (29 points)
· 3rd place Dôle (27 points)
· 4th place Jura (21 points)
Secondary Individual Runners
· 1st place: William (Year 12) for Jura
· 2nd place: Hugo (Year 12) for Jura
· 3rd place: James (Year 8) for Dôle
The full list of winners per category is available here.
This week in class
It was a very exciting day in Reception last Friday as our class celebrated Fred the Frog’s 5th birthday! Students decided to organise a little party for him and each wrote an invitation to give to their friends. They made many birthday cards, wrapped presents and drew lots of pictures for Fred! On his special day, our little bakers made cakes, played party games, and even had a special ‘worm’ treat (worms are his favourite!).
Our Reception students had a very special visit from Lucas and Alexander’s Mum this week, who told them all about Canadian Thanksgiving and how the farmers are incredibly busy collecting in the harvest at this time of year. Our learners discussed what they are thankful for and worked together to find Canada on the map, noticing just how big it is compared to Switzerland and how many huge mountains and lakes it holds, just like in Switzerland! Our students also discovered that it can get down to -30°C in Canada in the winter!
Year 1 scientists have been busy expanding their scientific vocabulary this half-term through their topic “Materials”. After investigating a variety of materials to discover which were the most waterproof, absorbent, transparent, and opaque, they applied their findings to design and build their own houses using suitable materials.
For their final lesson, they explored new vocabulary such as elastic, stretchy, elasticity, and plasticity, and even introduced some French scientific terms – “élastique” and “non élastique” – to help them test and classify everyday materials.
Well done, Year 1!
Bringing together all of their learning from this first half-term, including their English focus text Iggy Peck, Architect, their Humanities enquiry question “Have people always lived in a house like mine?”, and their Science topic on Materials, Year 1 had a fantastic time becoming architects during Art class! Students designed and created their own “Houses in a Box” using a variety of modelling materials to represent homes from different periods in history, including Tudor, Victorian, and Modern houses — and even a cosy thatched cottage! It was wonderful to hear them confidently using their new subject-specific vocabulary, drawing on both scientific and historical terms.
Later in the week, our students were thrilled to welcome guest speaker Samantha Harrison (Lucas’s Mum), a real-life architect! Samantha shared fascinating insights into how architects design and create buildings and our learners were captivated as she showcased unique and unusual structures from around the world and explained how architects think and work in three dimensions.
Travelling back through history, students also explored how architecture has changed over time – a wonderful way to bring our learning together. Thank you, Samantha, for inspiring our future architects!
Year 5 created a conscience alley to offer advice to Prince Ivan (the protagonist in their class text, The Firebird). In the role of Prince Ivan, Austin and Ora found the arguments from both sides so convincing that they were unable to come down firmly in favour of either side.
A special shout-out goes to Austin for his eloquent response to the conscience alley experience. Austin really got into the role as Prince Ivan and thoughtfully reflected on the conflicting advice offered by his peers.
Our Year 9 biologists continued their research this week, by analysing their “cleaned” water samples using a microscope and agar plates! By taking a (very!) close look at their samples to check for the presence of microorganisms in the agar plates, they were able to measure just how clean the water really was.
Beyond the Classroom
Rhône House Hits the Right Notes
Well done to all of our Key Stage 1 and 2 singers who sang their hearts out in the 2025 House Singing Competition on Tuesday!
Singing in both French and English, every house impressed our visiting judges, Sue Power and Anne Evrard. The audience was even treated to some rapping from some of the older children!
It was a tough decision, but after much deliberation, the judges declared Rhône the champions. Well done, Rhône!
A big thank you to the staff and EYFS children for being such a brilliant audience, and to our House Captains for presenting the competition so confidently.
Training Tomorrow's First Responders
Our Primary students had an important assembly this morning led by Nurse Polly, in celebration of Restart a Heart Day. Learning that in countries where children are taught about CPR survival rates of people suffering cardiac arrest are greater, our school community were reminded how to perform CPR through a fun video by the European Resuscitation Council.
In learning about the this life-saving technique, students were reminded that they must ensure their own safety before acting to help others and call an adult or the emergency services before performing CPR.
Students in Year 5 and 6 received extra training in workshops following assembly during which they practised administering CPR on mannequins. Learning how to interlock their hands and place them in the right position on the sternum, our first responders were taught the appropriate rhythm and depth for performing chest compressions.
Geneva From Above
Year 2 had a great day travelling up the Salève by cable car yesterday, learning all about Geneva from above. Dodging the fog to identify different landmarks, students debated whether they were physical or human features using their bird’s-eye view of the city and surrounding area. They also enjoyed two great workshops, learning more about the Salève and its habitats, which helped them link Geography to their current Science topic.
Meeting the Author of Escape to Pompeii
Our Year 3 students were lucky to meet Christina Balit, the author of the book Escape to Pompeii, which they have been reading in class.
Learning about Christina’s inspiration for the book, our learners heard about her passion for Roman history and how the tragedy of the eruption of Vesuvius enabled later generations to understand so much about how Romans lived.
An author, illustrator and painter, Christina told the class about the process of creating a book: starting with getting to know the story (especially if someone else has written it), then deciding how many paintings to create and how the story can be broken up into pages, where to insert double-page spreads and designing thumbnails. Researching the period in which a story is set is also an important part of the process in order to get the houses, clothes and objects looking just right. Only once all that work is done does she draft artwork in pencil until she is happy with it, sends it to the publisher for everything to be approved and then paints the artwork. Christina illustrated her explanations by showing first and final drafts of her sketches and the finished painted versions of drawings so that our learners could see the changes that a publisher might suggest.
Drawing inspiration from Escape to Pompeii’s story line and illustrations, our Year 3 class practised on their own creative writing.
A Trip to Roman Nyon
Year 5 enjoyed a fabulous trip to the Musée Romain de Nyon on Tuesday morning. The museum guide showed them the vestiges of Roman life in Nyon, explaining how the Roman settlement was organised with a basilica, a meat and fish market, an amphitheatre and public baths. Our historians learned how our ancestors transported oysters from the Mediterranean in amphorae filled with sea water. Together with grapes, olive oil and wine, they must have had quite luxurious banquets!
International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction
To mark the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, students across Secondary took part in assemblies to understand what disaster risk is and what can be done to reduce it.
Learning that disasters are increasing in frequency and that their costs have been assessed at a staggering $2.3 trillion annually, our learners considered the various causes of disasters and whether or not anything can be done to prevent them. While some disasters, such as those caused by earthquakes and volcanoes, cannot be pre-empted or even anticipated, others, such as calamities resulting from extreme weather, flooding, landslides or wildfires, can be mitigated.
Brainstorming about what can be done to reduce the risk of disaster, our students realised a multitude of actions can be taken to protect vulnerable populations, which include political lobbying, fighting climate change, working as a hazard planner or engineer or volunteering as a disaster responder.
A Healthy Hike up to Brigerabad
Our intrepid campers in Year 9 took part in an outdoor expedition to Brigerabad in the canton of Valais.
Hiking up from the Brig train station on a route planned by students preparing their Duke of Edinburgh International Award and guided by experienced outdoor education instructors, Clara Buelhoff and Wendy Shaw, our adventurers enjoyed some spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and valley.
After setting up at the campsite, they rewarded themselves with a dip in the nearby open-air thermal baths, whose water temperature can reach a balmy 42°C. Known for its healing properties, the springwater which feeds the baths is famed for treating rheumatic conditions and osteoarthritis. A great end to a fun trip!
A Surreal Trip for Year 12 Art Students
Our A Level Art students embarked on a journey through the surreal and spiritual at the Collection de l’Art Brut in Lausanne, home to an extraordinary collection founded by French artist Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985). Art brut, meaning “raw art,” describes work created outside of conventional art institutions, often by people with no formal training such as psychiatric patients or prisoners. Dubuffet valued this kind of art for its honesty and emotional vulnerability, seeing it as pure, unfiltered creativity.
The stories behind the artworks are often deeply moving, showing how making art can be a way to communicate, cope or find freedom. For our students, the visit was a powerful reminder that art isn’t just about technique, it is about the courage to express our inner worlds.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Pop Cake Madness at ASC
Our After School Care participants took to their spoons and measuring cups this week to prepare some scrumptious pop cakes. Taking turns to add the various ingredients and then carefully moulding each pop cake, our students could hardly wait to tuck into these delightful treats.
Well done, ASC!
Preparations Underway at Performing Arts Club
It has been lovely visiting our Performing Arts Clubs and seeing how enthusiastically our students are working! Our ballerinas, street dancers, tap dancers and choir children are all busy preparing for the Christmas Rising Stars concert, while our Key Stage 1 thespians have been exploring the musical story of Little Red Riding Hood.
It has been a busy time for Year 3-4 Performing Arts Club, too, as students have been learning their lines, songs and dances ready for their performance of The Jungle Book in January.
Judo Club Winners
Congratulations to our Year 4 students, Zane and Angus, who represented their school in their recent judo competition at Lancy-Palettes!
Coming in second and third place, our judokas made us proud!
We hope their achievements will inspire them – and the rest of the team – to keep moving forward, growing, and following their dreams.
Scaling the pH Ladder in Science Club
Our Year 6 chemists turned their investigations to the pH scale this week during Science Club. By testing the pH values of different everyday substances, including iced tea, toothpaste, shampoo, bleach, and water, they learned about the difference between acidic, basic and neutral substances and how these measurements are important in day-to-day applications in medicine, water treatment, agronomy and more!
Netball Friendly
Our Senior netballers, with support from some of our Moyennes and even a few Juniors to complete the team, played a friendly match on Tuesday night against La Châtaigneraie. It was their first time playing together this season, and they brought great energy to the court.
The girls played fiercely and showed strong teamwork throughout the game. Although no official score was kept, a solid estimate suggests that at least 20 baskets were scored by our team – an impressive effort!
Well done to all the players for pushing themselves to try new positions and for dedicating their time to improving their game in a fun and competitive environment!
Community News
Reminder | Course de l'Escalade
Our school’s Course de l’Escalade registrations have reached 96 sign-ups so far! With only four weeks to go until the deadline, help us reach our goal of going beyond 100 registrations for Team GES!
Joining the GES Team:
When you register your child/ren – and we hope you will do so! – please sign them up as part of the GES group via this link (i.e. not as an individual runner).
· The cost for participating children is CHF 26, which will be invoiced to you by the school once sign-ups have closed.
· Please register early as there are limited places in each category (2024 races filled up quickly).
There are three categories of races that may be of interest:
· Children and Youth races: The children’s/youth races will take place on Sunday 7 December. Children/teenagers aged 6 or older (born between 2008-2019) can participate as part of the GES school team. Each runner will receive an official, individual placement in their own age group and their individual times will also be recorded as part of Team GES.
· Child-Parent races: Children born in 2020 or 2021 have the opportunity to run with one of their parents. The aim is to introduce 4 and 5 year olds to the Escalade races and prepare them to run alone in the future. Only one adult (minimum 16-years old) can accompany each child. We encourage you to sign up as part of Team GES team if you and your child are running in this category, too.
· Adult races: Adults are also welcome to register individually via this link, however, you will not be able to sign up as part of Team GES. We do invite you to get in touch with us should you wish to wear GES colours during your race.
We look forward to seeing many GES families participate in this wonderful community event!
Second-hand Costume Sale
The incredible Hulk visited our Primary campus today for the much-awaited Second-hand Costume Sale organised by our wonderful Parents’ Association.
With something for everyone, from Spiderman to Princess Elsa, from colourful hats to beautiful Venetian masks, our Primary community came away with some fantastic costumes that will certainly come in handy for all those celebrating Halloween!
Christmas Box Gift Appeal
A big, heartfelt THANK YOU to all the families who donated items for the Christmas Gift Box Project organised with the support of our Parents’ Association, as well as to the parents, grand-parents and students who have helped to create beautiful gift boxes for people in need in Eastern and Southeastern Europe.
We will continue to accept donations after the half-term break and kindly ask all the families wishing to contribute for the following items, which we are still missing:
· Toys (no batteries): cars, soft toys, collectibles, complete small puzzles, jumping ropes, balls, lego, bubbles, dominos
· Stickers and colouring books
· School exercise books
· Shampoo and shower gel
· Chocolate bars (no nuts please!)
Our gift box packing room will reopen on Tuesday 4 November on the 1st floor of the Primary Jura building, and will continue to operate every afternoon. Anyone wanting to lend a hand in the confection of gift boxes is welcome to join!
The gift boxes will be collected during the third week of November to be shipped to those in need.
Primary House Pumpkin Challenge
Can you make a spooky, fun or unique Halloween pumpkin?
Such is the challenge that our Primary House Captains have set for their school community! See below the competition rules and terms:
· With the help of an adult, carefully carve your pumpkin.
· You can draw onto or paint your pumpkin if you don’t want to carve it.
· Print out a photo to bring into school or ask your parents to email a photo of your pumpkin to your class teacher at the latest by Wednesday 5 November.
· Everyone who participates will receive a star for their House.
· House Captains will choose the three best pumpkins per class.
· First place winners in each class will win a supernova star award (5 stars), second place will earn 3 stars and those who come in 3rd place will receive 2 stars.
Have fun with this spooky challenge!
Tasty Treats for our Runners
Thank you to our Parents’ Association for the delicious bake sale they organised at our Secondary campus on Wednesday in time for the arrival of our cross-country runners. Providing welcome sustenance to our hungry athletes after their race, this bake sale helped raise 598 CHF in support of the current Secondary fund.
