Message from Mr Williams, Head
Dear Parents,
Next Friday 3 May is our International Day and evening at the Primary school. All parents and students from across the school are invited to join us for a celebration of the diversity that makes up our GES community. Please come along after school and join us for food and fun. This will be our last big community event this academic year, and we hope to have a healthy and enthusiastic turn-out amongst Primary and Secondary students and families from 4pm.
At our Secondary school this week, students took part in their final PSHE day of the year. This new way of delivering PSHE has been popular with the students and staff as everyone gets to spend a whole day learning about key life skills and other important topics. Our eldest Secondary students are now focussing on their GCSE and A Level exams with Drama and Art & Design practical exams now completed, and the language oral exams starting on Monday. A big thank you to the Secondary staff for all the work that is going into preparing the students for these key exams.
At our Primary school, children are preparing for the UN Children’s Walk that will take place on Monday 6 May. Mme Durey has been teaching them a catchy French tune to sing on the walk and Miss Parker will be sharing sponsorship information for this event shortly.
I hope you have a great weekend,
Mr Williams
From the Primary School
Save the Date | Beauty and the Beast
Save the date!
It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that Year 5 and 6 invite you to their performance of Beauty and the Beast.
Join us on Thursday 23 May at 17:30 the Espace Culturel de Genthod for an evening of song and dance.
Free admission
A vos agendas !
C’est avec une profonde fierté et un immense plaisir que les classes 5 et 6 vous invitent à leur spectacle Beauty and the Beast.
Rejoignez-nous le jeudi 23 mai à 17h30 à l’Espace Culturel de Genthod pour une soirée de chant et de danse.
Entrée libre
Mathematics News from Primary
Congratulations to Sebastian Birchall in Year 6 who received a bronze award in the Primary Maths Challenge bonus round. The bonus round sees the top scoring students of November’s maths challenge compete by answering a series of more complex mathematical questions. We are very proud of you, Sebastian!
In other news, children in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 will take part in our annual Maths morning event next week. They will work in their Houses with children from other year groups to complete a series of exciting maths activities. We look forward to sharing photos with you next week.
Another Distinguished Pianist at Primary
Further to last week’s results, we were delighted to learn that Year 5’s David Lescrenier also received a Distinction in his ABRSM Grade 3 piano exam!
Bravo, David!
Gospel Vocal Lab En Famille
Calling all gospel enthusiasts in Years 3 to 6!
We are delighted to invite you to an exciting French music workshop with local gospel singer, Amy Lanzafame.
Open to students in Years 3 to 6 and their parents, this free workshop will take place on Saturday 25 May, between 10:30 and 12:30 in the Primary Gym.
There are limited places available and we therefore kindly ask you to register your interest by email to [email protected].
News from Secondary
An Action-packed Journey to the Hospice du Grand St Bernard
A group of intrepid students took part in an overnight trip to the Hospice du Grand Saint Bernard as part of their Outdoor Club expeditions. Year 12’s Theo Gill reports back about their trip:
Upon arrival in Bourg-Saint-Bernard, we encountered our first difficulty as Benjie realised his bag was too small, meaning he had to leave behind his change of clothes (which Mr Pearce said were unnecessary anyway). Setting off in the sunshine, hiking up to the Hospice took approximately two hours, but it felt like much less in the company of our two inspiring teachers. We ate lunch in the Hospice: a delectable meal of soup, cheese and bread. We were also provided with free tea as we were considered pilgrims.
Emerging a second time from the Hospice, we embarked on a journey to the Col du Mont Mort, soon to be thwarted by horrendous ice. Following five minutes of gruelling ascent, the use of ski crampons was not sufficient to prevent Benjie losing both skis and sliding down the slope we had just climbed! A rapid change of plan saw us descend into Italy, before heading towards the Fenêtre d’en Haut. Mr Wright bravely broke trail in lamentable snow conditions, as we suffered along behind him. Returning was not as easy as expected as a broken binding, vicious headwind and a precipitous icy traverse slowed progress.
Finally returned to the Hospice, we consoled ourselves with more tea! Later, delicious slop supplemented by Aromat provided a divine level of nourishment, while dense slices of raspberry pie ensured that our recovery from the adventure earlier in the day was complete. Washing the meal down with a medley of blueberry syrup and water resulted in our taste buds buzzing like an African hornet. The meal was followed by an in-depth astronomy lesson from Mr Wright, covering the solar eclipse and the Northern Lights.
Waking up to a heavenly choir and a fierce gale buffeting the windows, we were relieved as we were informed that we were allowed to go home! Upon setting off, Mr Wright also had an issue with his ski binding but his level of expertise allowed him to gracefully tackle the treacherous terrain and blizzard in Telemark mode. Fate seemed to be on our side, as we all arrived safely, Theo’s binding ejecting itself from his ski metres away from the car park. Breathing a sigh of relief, we extracted ourselves from the moist equipment, relaxing as Benjie serenaded us with a choice of songs, ranging from house to jazz.
A Successful Geography Fieldwork Trip
Year 12 geographers had the wonderful opportunity to complete their fieldwork as part of their A Levels in El Raval, Barcelona. Our students spent four days exploring the contrasting neighbourhoods of the area, collecting primary data including environmental surveys, air pollution readings and photographic evidence.
Back at school, they will start on their write-up of this fieldwork after their AS exams.
PSHE Day 5
As part of our Personal, Social, Health, Citizenship and Economic Education (PSHE) programme, our older students had a helpful and constructive exchange yesterday about sexual health and sexuality, hearing expert advice from Geneviève Preti, sexual health specialist with the Sexual Health and Family Planning Unit of the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG).
Learning about local provisions and resources in the Geneva area, they were made aware of institutions and medical professionals whom they can turn to for counselling.
Breathing Deeply in P.E.
In their P.E. lessons, our GCSE students not only take part in different sports disciplines, but they also develop an in-depth, theoretical understanding of the anatomical processes that are activated when doing sport.
This week, the focus was on the respiratory system. Our students created working models of lungs which enabled them to appreciate just how important, specific and interconnected each structure of this system is in ensuring optimal gas exchange in the human body.
School news
Thank You to Our Team of Creative Mums
Things were hotting up in the art room on Thursday morning with preparations for our upcoming Primary and Secondary productions – Beauty and the Beast and The Addams Family.
Our dedicated team of creative mums were hard at work making castles, gravestones and tea cups whilst the cast have been busy polishing their lines and choreography – a busy time, but great fun!
Little Ducklings are back!
Little Ducklings is our free stay-and-play group for families with children aged from birth to 4 years old.
Hosted by our Early Years team, sessions take place on Wednesdays (8:40 – 9:40, from 1st May to 12 June 2024*) and offer a wonderful opportunity to meet new families whilst enjoying the Early Years outside learning area at our Primary school campus in Genthod.
Click here to find out more and sign up
*Owing to half-term, please note there will be no Little Ducklings session on Wednesday 8 May.
International Carnival - Friday 3 May
Just one week to go until the International Carnival!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to come together, to share in some delicious food from around the world and to celebrate the cultural diversity we are lucky to have at GES.
A huge thank you to all of our volunteers; the event simply would not be possible without parents in our community who are willing to get involved. It is not too late to sign up through the spreadsheet below.
A big thank you and see you there!
Faces of GES
Our Faces of GES series returns to Primary, with a spotlight on none other than Adwoa Ajuebor, whose beaming smile and addictive good humour greet students, parents and staff every day. Adwoa joined GES in August 2021, coming to us from a Swiss bank and, prior to that, from a number of international schools in the Geneva area. With a degree in Psychology, Adwoa has always been passionate about helping others, especially young people in the areas of (un)employment, training and skill development. In fact, she founded a successful social enterprise called Deztiny Driven while she lived in London, with the aim of empowering, informing and accompanying young people from marginalised areas through workshops, personal development training and mentoring. For Adwoa, working at GES is the perfect way to combine her dedication to supporting youth and her belief in education and training as the surest path to success for youngsters.
Beyond ensuring that students feel well and safe when they are school, Adwoa is also an indefatigable source of good and friendly advice for students, all of whom she knows by name. Key to creating the sense of community which she so values in our school, Adwoa has a soft spot for Sports Day at the end of the year, from which she has many fond memories.
A keen explorer of new places, including restaurants, Adwoa is herself an accomplished baker. Her hidden talent? Fun facts! With a unique knack for uncovering curious, intriguing and little-known facts, Adwoa is an expert at doing extensive research whenever she learns anything new, and will gladly impart her new-found knowledge on those around her.
