Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
Where has this week gone? Even more than usual, these five days have flown by and I, once again, find myself reflecting on all that’s gone on in school as I write to you. We have had children away on residential trips from both campuses, and their presence has been missed, but we are looking forward to their return in the coming hours. From all accounts, they have had safe and very happy travels.
We have also had much cause for joy and pride as we gathered as a community on Wednesday to congratulate our Year 11 class for completing their GCSEs, and we will roll out the bandwagon for our Year 13 class this evening to celebrate the completion of their A Levels. Next week, we will do the same for our senior Primary children, our Year 6 students who will move up and over to Versoix to join Secondary in August.
Our Performing Arts department is putting the final touches to their production of Willy Wonka to which you are invited on Tuesday evening at the Salle de Spectacle in Genthod. We hope to see many of you, too, at the whole-school year-end picnic on the Primary field next Friday at lunchtime.
Please note that lessons will end early on our last day of school: 12:00 in Secondary, and 12:20 in Primary.
I wish everyone an excellent weekend, hopefully by a swimming pool or the lake, and a wonderful last week of term. Please don’t leave for the summer without saying goodbye!
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Congratulations Year 11!
We were delighted to host a celebration of our Year 11 students this week to mark the completion of their GCSE course at GES.
Welcoming parents, siblings and friends, this event was a wonderful occasion to celebrate their hard work, dedication and perseverance throughout these last two years.
We are proud of how far they have come, how much they have matured and the terrific example they have set for their younger peers. We are confident that we will have many impressive results to celebrate this summer when students receive their final grades, and that all their efforts will have thoroughly prepared them to embark on the next stage of their education journey: the A Level programme!
This week in class
Over the past few weeks, Pre-school students have taken a dive into the oceans to explore fascinating animals and their habitats. They looked at a map and discussed which parts were land and which were water, before sorting animals into land or sea creatures, using the vocabulary “sur terre ou dans la mer”.
This week, they discovered that the water tray was polluted with rubbish and learned what that meant for animals who live in the water. They read The Undersea Cleaning Spree and L’océan de Petit Poisson, which inspired them to become “Litter Detectives” to collect and sort litter from around the school to help keep our oceans clean.
On behalf of Pre-school, please remember to put your rubbish in the bins, and help protect the animals in the deep blue sea!
On Monday morning, Year 4 took part in the Mathematical Association’s “First Maths Challenge”, a fun and engaging competition designed to stretch their problem-solving skills. Our students approached each of the 20 questions with enthusiasm, showing resilience and courage when faced with tricky challenges.
We are incredibly proud of their positive attitude and determination throughout the experience.
Year 5 showed fantastic teamwork in their Maths investigation this week. They worked systematically to find all the different ways to build a set of five cubes, each leaving a different number of faces exposed.
The rules were simple: the cubes had to be joined face-to-face and be stable enough not to topple over. The aim was to explore how different arrangements affected the number of visible faces.
Although the rules were straightforward, there were many possibilities — and plenty of patterns to spot!
Our Year 12 chemists have had a busy week of experiments in class this week! Starting the week with a close look at how to measure rates of reaction, our students monitored the changes in concentration of reactants and products over time by using techniques such as gas collection, mass loss, colorimetry and titration.
Their investigations continued as they carried out the “Iodine Clock” experiment. Mixing two clear solutions that, after a short delay, suddenly turn dark blue, they were able to grasp the concept of reaction kinetics, testing their time predictions by considering the concentrations of the reactants used.
Beyond the Classroom
A Tour of the Bioparc for Pre-school
Pre-school students had the BEST Tuesday during their trip to the Bioparc in Bellevue. The highlight of the trip was definitely meeting a very special, temporary visitor: a two headed tortoise! Students heard about how he has two brains, two stomachs, four lungs, and they were even able to watch him tuck into a tasty salad.
The enjoyment continued further in the park as our young learners saw meerkats, peacocks, pigs and many more exciting animals!
A Day at the Park for Year 1
Year 1 had a fun-filled day in the sun at Signal de Bougy yesterday with many varied activities to take part in. They enjoyed visiting the many animals who call the park home, went go-kart racing, took boat rides and relaxed during a tour on the “petit train”. In the hot afternoon, they cooled off with a refreshing ice-cream.
What a great way to celebrate the end of a wonderful year!
A Celebratory Trip Down River
In celebration of the end of their GCSEs, our intrepid Year 11 adventurers enjoyed a well-deserved and pleasantly cooling rafting trip this week. Donning their wetsuits and equipped with buoyancy aids and helmets, they launched off from the Rafting Loisirs base near the Pont de Sierne in Veyrier, descending the river to the Pointe de la Jonction.
A thoroughly enjoyable morning and a fun way to round off the year!
Y12 Museum of Reformation
In preparation for their A Level History Non-Examined Assessment (NEA), our Year 12 historians were given a guided tour of the Musée international de la Réforme in Geneva yesterday morning.
Receiving in-depth insights into the origins, development and legacy of the Reformation, a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity that marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the early modern period in Europe, our students gained a thorough understanding of the historical context that lies behind their NEA.
An Artistic Trip to Lausanne
On Wednesday this week a group of our Year 12 Art and English Literature students, along with three enthusiastic Year 8 students, took a memorable trip to Lausanne to visit Plateforme 10 – the city’s impressive arts district.
Our first stop was the Photo Elysée, where we explored Sport à l’Épreuve (“Sport Under Scrutiny”), a powerful photographic exhibition examining the physical, cultural and emotional dimensions of sport through a diverse range of images. We also had the chance to see the vibrant and thought provoking work of Tyler Mitchell, whose photographs challenge traditional representations of Black identity and joy. From there, we moved on to the Design Museum, where the Soleil (“Sun”) exhibition explored the sun’s influence on art, design, science and innovation – a fascinating blend of history, creativity, and future-thinking. The inventive displays in this exhibition were especially popular with our younger students. We ended the day with a visit to the outstanding permanent collection, which spans two floors and showcases a remarkable array of Swiss art from the 19th and early 20th centuries.
It was a great day out, filled with conversation and inspiration – and right on our doorstep. If you’re looking for a cultural outing over the summer, the exhibitions change regularly, offering something new every few months.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Hungry Caterpillars at ASC
After School Care was finger-licking good this week as our young chefs prepared some colourful caterpillars and flowers with fruit and chocolate! A yummy but healthy delight to cool off in the afternoon heat.
3... 2... 1... LIFT OFF!
As the countdown to the summer holidays begins, so too did our Science Club goers count down as they excitedly watched for their rockets to fly into the air.
After all, what better way is there to mark the final Science Club of the year than to design, build and launch your very own rocket? Congratulations to the winning team, whose creation shot all the way up to the third floor of the building!
As this extra-curricular activity draws to a close, we would like to give a special shout out to Karen in Year 12, who has helped out at every single Science Club session of the year. Juggling a busy schedule of A Level studies and personal commitments, Karen has always been present to lend a hand to the Science team and share her passion for science with her younger peers. Thank you for all your help, Karen, and we hope you will enjoy your copy of The Disappearing Spoon over the summer!
Community News
Our Very Own Swiss Field Hockey Champion
Congratulations to Year 5 student, Teo, and his U12 USTS team, who were crowned Swiss Field Hockey Champions!
After two days of intense competition, bringing together 18 teams from across Switzerland, the young players had the joy of celebrating a well-deserved victory in this mixed-gender sport that requires discipline, endurance, and precision.
Back at school, Teo shared the excitement of his win with his class, showing video clips from the thrilling final. Well done, Teo!
Second Edition of our Rounders Match
The much-awaited second edition of our Year 6 versus staff rounders match took place this week!
Competing to the cheers of the Primary School who had assembled to watch, our athletes set a brilliant example for their peers as they displayed teamwork, collaboration and friendly sportsmanship all throughout the match.
We very much look forward to hosting this event again next year for what has now become a true GES tradition
We’re pleased to share this article from International School Parent Magazine, written by our Head of Pastoral Care and Designated Safeguarding Lead, Mariann Csoma.
In the article, Mariann explains what safeguarding is, why it is important, and most importantly how critical it is that there is a strong partnership between parents or guardians and the school in ensuring that all children remain safe, healthy and emotionally secure both in and outside school.
Deeply embedded in the culture of GES since day one, working with parents in a close partnership to ensure that the young people in our care thrive in all aspects of their life is one of the many reasons we are able to achieve such excellent academic results and produce confident, happy and successful alumni.
