Message from Mr Williams, Head
Dear Parents,
This week, GES has been a real hive of activity, from celebrating la Journée internationale de la Francophonie, to professional development opportunities via the European iSAMS User Group Meeting, to show rehearsals, as well as students demonstrating their skills in the Swiss Maths Kangaroo.
On Wednesday, delegates attended the iSAMS (school management software) User Group Meeting, which was hosted at our wonderful Primary campus. This created a forum for colleagues from numerous schools across Europe not only to share their insights, tips, and experiences, but also to gain knowledge directly from the iSAMS experts. It was also an occasion to hear directly from fellow educators about what exciting projects they have going on in their schools.
As you can see from the pictures included later on in this newsletter, the Journée internationale de la Francophonie enabled our students to look beyond Switzerland and celebrate French-speaking cultures worldwide. UN GRAND MERCI to Madame Durey, Madame Briand and Madame Binnie for all their hard work. The school looked amazing and there were activities taking place throughout the day. Read on below for a snapshot into some of the events that were organised as part of this celebration.
Next week, two inspectors from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) will be joining us on site to carry out a compliance inspection at Primary and Secondary. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the best of GES in order to maintain our accreditation as a British School Overseas. During their visit, the team will observe lessons and activities and will meet small groups of students who will be randomly selected at both Primary and Secondary. Once we receive the results, normally a few months after the inspection, I will be able to share them with you.
Thank you to those families who have already informed us of their plans to move on from school next year. For those who haven’t already done so, please remember that our Terms and Conditions require you to inform us of an intended departure this summer by midnight of the first day after the Easter holidays. This year, that is midnight on Monday 15th April. After that date, the next date by which you can withdraw your child(ren) without incurring additional fees for the Autumn term is December 2024.
Next week, you will receive the newsletter a day earlier than usual as term finishes on Thursday at noon for Secondary and at 12:20 for Primary. There will be no After School Care at either site that day. Please note that school will be closed on Friday 29 March. Looking ahead to the start of our last term, please note that students return to school on Tuesday 16th April at the normal time.
Best wishes,
Matt Williams
From the Primary School
Nouvelle édition de la Journée de la Francophonie
Notre école primaire a fêté la Journée de la Francophonie cette semaine, pour le plaisir de petits et grands!
Venus à l’école déguisés aux couleurs ou symboles des cultures francophones, nos élèves ont organisé un magnifique défilé dans la cour pour admirer les beaux costumes créés, pour certains, spécialement pour l’occasion.
Tout au long de la journée, ils ont échangé sur tous les endroits du monde où l’on parle le français. Ils ont ensuite rempli les feuilles du bel arbre de la francophonie qui orne désormais un des couloirs de l’école.
Durant leurs cours de maths, sciences ou géographie, ils ont également pratiqué le français en regardant le vocabulaire technique de chacune de ces matières.
Les célébrations ont culminé aujourd’hui par une assemblée sur le thème de la francophonie présentée par les élèves “ambassadeurs de français”.
Playful Making in Year 1
What a fabulous afternoon of “playful making” in Year 1! Working from a choice of art prompts, our young artists explored a range of materials to invent and create their own 3D art. Prompts included:
- Make a family of things
- Make something which balances
- Make something that rocks
- Make something which stands on 3 points
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
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
Save the Date | Easter Bake Sale
Don’t forget to send in 2 CHF with your child next Thursday 28 March for them to buy a tasty treat at the Easter Bake Sale!
We invite families to bring in cakes and sweet treats to Primary campus during drop-off that day. These must be nut-free.
Message from the School Nurse
Please remember to send your child into school with a refillable water bottle. Learning and growing are thirsty work and with warmer weather arriving, it is important that our students remain well hydrated throughout the day.
Our school is a nut-free environment. Some of our students suffer from serious food allergies, including nuts. Please make sure that any food brought into school does not contain nuts or nut-based products.
News from After School Care
Our After School Care chefs are very much in a spring mood! With Easter just round the corner, what better way to prepare for it than by cooking up some delicious savoury carrot treats?
News from Secondary
Descriptive Digging for Year 7
What better spot for finding literary inspiration than the beautiful Geneva lakeside? Year 7 students did just that this week! Working individually or in groups, our budding authors drew from their wonderful surroundings and played with different vocabulary to come up with ideas for their descriptive writing exercise.
Joking that they should have brought a shovel for this outing, our students made interesting connections with the novel Holes by Louis Sachar, which they recently finished studying in class: “One thing was certain: They weren’t just digging to “build character.” They were definitely looking for something.”
First Place for Student Cíara Elliott
Our very own Cíara Elliott has come first in the very prestigious Charleston International Music Competition!
This award brings with it the promise of being recommended to any music university in the United States, should Cíara wish to apply there after her studies at GES.
We are all the more proud of Cíara for successfully managing to juggle between her many commitments these past weeks, including GCSE mocks, university exams, concerts with the Orchestre de la Suisse romande and international competitions such as the above. Well done, Cíara!
School news
Final Call for Registrations for our Summer Term Extra Curricular Activities
Registration is open for our final term’s Extra Curricular Activities programme!
We have some exciting new activities planned, ideal for enjoying the fair weather of the next few months, and will be continuing many of our favourite clubs, too.
Click here to view and register for our Primary activities. Deadline for registration is this Sunday 24 March.
Click here to see our Secondary offer. Registration can be made by email to [email protected]. Deadline for registration is next Wednesday 27 March.
Join us for the GES Music Recital!
Our Music Recital is coming up next Wednesday 27 March! Join us at 17:30 in the Chaplin Room at Secondary for what promises to be a superb showcase of the musical talents of our Primary and Secondary students.
The programme will include both classical and contemporary works performed by instrumental and voice students.
Admission is free.
Final Reminder | Spring Camps
Don’t forget to register for the spring sports camps taking place on our beautiful Primary campus during Easter break, from Monday 8 to Friday 12 April!
Delivered by our partner, Key English School, these camps welcome children aged 4 to 11 for days of exciting multisports activities.
Call for Volunteers | International Carnival
We are still looking for volunteers for our International Carnival coming up 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.
Save the date | Sports Day in Support of Underprivileged Youth
One of our families is organising a fun fundraising sports day in support of underprivileged youth in Nairobi.
Taking place on Sunday 2 June at the Salle de Sport Les Morettes in Prangins, this is the perfect opportunity for our families to do sports together while sponsoring an important cause. Football, decathlon activities, sports quizzes and more are on the menu of this action-packed day!
Faces of GES
We head over to Primary today for our Faces of GES, with a spotlight on Pre-School teacher, Emma Ryves.
A teacher for almost 20 years with experience teaching in the United Kingdom, the United States, Bermuda and Switzerland, Emma joined the GES family in 2023. Drawn to education from the earliest age when she cared for her younger brother, she originally wanted to teach History at Secondary level, but a stint working in a Reception class drew her definitively to teaching younger children, and she has never looked back since!
For Emma, facilitating learning in a play-based environment is what truly makes a difference when it comes to inspiring young children to enjoy learning and develop a thirst for exploration. Every day is different when it comes to learning, and this sense of adventure and discovery alongside her students is what inspires Emma every day.
Beyond her love of teaching, Emma enjoys being outdoors, running, skiing, walking, exploring local culture and food, and discovering new places. A real globe-trotter, she hopes to visit every country in the world!
