Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
Monday and Tuesday of this week were great days for me as my mornings started with meetings with the Primary Parent Representatives and the Secondary Parent Representatives, respectively. These were part of my termly meetings with members of the school’s parent community who have gathered your questions and concerns through your class WhatsApp groups and other channels, and who share these with me, then feed back to you, accordingly. The range of topics covered was varied, as always, and I was happy to receive timely and unvetted comments from all of you! The points raised tended to be campus-specific, with the exception of a desire for certain foods to be added to, or removed from, the school lunch menu. I have confirmed that we will tighten the feedback loop with our caterer to ensure nutritious and appetising meals for all our students enrolled in our hot lunch programme.
I would like to highlight one particular comment that was made by our Secondary Parent Reps regarding the improvement in quality of teaching in the last year, which was acknowledged already to be strong last year. To quote our reps, this “is great as that really is one of the selling points of GES”. I am gratified that the excellent work of our teachers and Heads of Schools is recognised and that I am able to pass on this well-deserved praise to them in this public forum! Thank you to all – teachers, for your dedication to your craft and to our students, and parents, for sharing your positive views!
A review of our school calendar has reminded me of how very much we have planned for the remainder of Term 2 and throughout Term 3. I invite you to consult our calendar which is updated regularly to see, well in advance, what pertains to you and your children. Of particular interest are our two year-end West-end-quality shows, and our annual international and year-end celebrations. Save these dates:
- International Day and Carnival – this whole-school event will be held on our Primary campus on Friday 16 May, 15:30-19:00
- Annie – a performance by our Year 5 and 6 classes, taking place at the Salle de Spectacle de Genthod on Wednesday 4 June, 17:30-19:00
- Willie Wonka Jr. – a Secondary performance, also at the Salle de Spectacle de Genthod, Tuesday 24 June, 18:00-21:00
- Whole-school Picnic – on the Primary field (or indoors, if the weather fails to cooperate) on our last day of term, Friday 28 June, 12:00-15:00
In Secondary, we will hold our final Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE) Enrichment Day of the year next Thursday. The topics covered will focus on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and will feature talks and workshops on such issues as the short- and long-term effects of drugs, alcohol, smoking, caffeine and sugar consumption, as well as preempting and managing exam stress and anxiety. A special element of the day will be a cycle training session, which will naturally coincide with the installation of our new bicycle racks with space for 18 bikes.
Finally, as per my email earlier this week, I would like to remind you of the deadline to withdraw your child from GES without liability for payment of next autumn term’s fees. If you wish to or must withdraw your child at the end of this academic year, please notify us at [email protected] by midnight on 10 April 2025. We understand that we are living in unusually uncertain times so, should you have a particular circumstance you would like to discuss with me, please do not hesitate to contact me by email or telephone.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
GES is Making History!
Seven of our Key Stage 3 historians participated in the International Academic Competitions History Bee and Bowl of Switzerland last weekend and produced some fantastic results in their category.
In the Bee, or individual competition, our students competed against 12 competitors in the Middle School category and brought home two medals! Congratulations to Vivaan for coming in 3rd and to George for sweeping the floor with 1st place!
Competing against four schools in the Bowl, one of our teams came out first at the end of the five preliminary rounds, 200 points ahead of the runner-up. Though knocked off the podium in the final round, both teams have qualified for the European final in Vienna and the International History Olympiad in Paris later this year.
Well done to everybody and thank you to our two organisers and accompanying staff, Sabine Hutcheson and John McSweeney.
This week in class
Spring has arrived at GES!
Our youngest learners in Pre-school have been exploring the campus grounds to observe how the beginning of spring is changing our environment. There was lots of excited chatter when they saw the blooming daffodils, and the buds and seedlings starting to show signs of life. All of them are looking forward to observing the other seasonal changes that spring will bring.
As part of Year 1‘s Science topic on “Seasons”, students have been learning about how temperature is affected by how near or far countries are from the equator. Our investigators created their own renditions of planet Earth to represent the temperature changes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and then used maps of the world to name different countries in the different hemispheres, discussing as they went along how warm or cold they might be during each season.
Year 5 turned into teachers this week as they peer-assessed each other’s Ocean Camp descriptions, which are all linked to their class text ‘Shackleton’s Journey’. Flagging punctuation and spelling errors, they also acknowledged excellent sections of work by using the ‘blue for brilliant’ highlighter.
Peer assessment is a wonderful exercise for students as it helps them better understand teaching benchmarks and course material by giving them a sense of ownership over their own learning. It also enables them to develop their metacognitive skills by allowing them to see any mistakes in their thinking and correct them in future assignments, while transforming their perception of assessments as useful feedback rather than as punishment.
If you’ve ever asked yourself where the centre of Switzerland is, ask our Year 10 students!
As part of their Physics curriculum, they have been learning about finding the centre of mass of an object. Putting this into practice, they were tasked with finding the centre of mass of Switzerland (or rather, of the map of Switzerland). Using their practical and theoretical knowledge, they determined that the centre of mass is in canton Obwalden!
Beyond the Classroom
Swimming Like Fish
Year 1 were so proud to receive their Red Whale swimming medals this week. Our students have all made so much progress and thoroughly enjoyed their swimming. Congratulations to all the super swimmers!
Swimming is a core component of the Key Stage 1 P.E. curriculum. Thanks to our collaboration with the Red Whale Swim School in Bellevue, our young learners are only a short distance away from this fantastic facility which features a bespoke, heated pool specially designed to teach children this indispensable skill.
Bronze Awards for Two of Our Mathematicians
Congratulations to two of our Year 6 students, Tripp and David, who beat off thousands of other entrants to be awarded a place in the Mathematical Association’s Primary Mathematics Challenge (PMC) bonus round!
Both achieved excellent results and earned themselves a Bronze Award. A superb achievement that we are very proud of!
Designed to encourage enthusiasm for and boost confidence in Maths, the PMC is open to students aged 9-11 from around the world. The challenge is structured around 25 questions, 20 of which are multiple choice, with each growing in complexity as the challenge progresses.
Geography In Action for Year 12 Students
Our Year 12 geographers have been in Shrewsbury, Birmingham and Carding Mill Valley this week to carry out their NEA Fieldwork! Wading around in streams and studying the topography of the region, our students also took a close look at Human Geography by investigating the interrelationships between people, places and environments and the processes that lead to temporal and spatial change.
While their days were spent collecting various data, their evenings involved data analysis, structuring and presentation of their final reports.
Blessed with excellent weather this whole week, our students have been looking forward to a quick visit to Cadbury World on the way back to the airport.
Extra-Curricular Activities
First Ice-Cream of the Year at ASC
Our After School Care (ASC) participants have heralded the coming of spring this week with the design of a beautiful new display! To mark the warming of the days, what better way to celebrate than by concocting delicious chocolate and fruit ice-cream.
Science Club Rocket Race
The Year 6 Science Club ended the Spring Term with a bang! Building upon their previous balloon rocket designs, they launched their rockets on the Secondary basketball pitch, attempting to overcome the 45° incline.
Tallying the scores from both weeks, the winning team is comprised of John, David and Enrique. Congratulations to them and well done to everyone for completing this tricky experiment!
International Award Preparations Underway
Duke of Edinburgh International Award expeditions involve weeks and months of careful planning ahead of the actual departure. In addition to thinking about the routes that will be taken and material that will be required, preparations can sometimes involve the practice of very down-to-earth matters such as cooking!
In their recent practice session, our Bronze adventurers tried their hand at cooking pasta and vegetables, under the watchful eye of Mr Pearce, who gave them the top tip of cooking their vegetables in their tomato sauce as it makes the outcome a lot nicer! Will they choose to do so when they are in charge during their expedition? Watch this space to find out!
Community News
A New Life for Fallen Branches
Anyone coming by Primary this week will have seen a wooden structure slowly taking shape at the entrance to the campus. This construction is the product of our very own Ludo Barthod, Facilities Manager at Primary, who took it upon his himself to build a shed to conceal the unsightly bins in the car park.
Using fallen tree trunks and branches from the school grounds, he was inspired to create a design in keeping with the natural look used throughout the school and give a second life to these gifts of nature.
Thank you, Ludo!
Coming Soon | Annie
Mark your calendars for the much-awaited performance of Annie by our Year 5 and 6 students!
Brought to you on Wednesday 4 June at 17:30 at the Salle de Spectacle de Genthod, this production will feature the musical and theatrical talents of our young thespians.
Free admission.
Save the Date | Willy Wonka Jr.
All Year 7 and 8 students will be participating in our end-of-year musical production of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka Jr.
Save the date and join us for on this delicious adventure following enigmatic sweet manufacturer Willy Wonka.
The performance will take place on Tuesday 24 June at 18:00 at the Salle de Spectacle in Genthod, a short distance away from our Primary campus.
Entrance is free and appropriate for all ages.
Faces of GES
Today’s Face of GES is Magali Ogilvie, who joined us as Head of Modern Foreign Languages in September 2024.
Having previously worked at the prestigious Wellington College in Berkshire, UK, for 9 years, and another school in the Geneva area, since her arrival at GES Magali has been struck by the positive atmosphere and the willingness of students to take on new challenges, and the opportunity to express her creativity and adaptability in the planning and delivery of lessons.
A self-confessed optimist, Magali is keen to impress upon her classes the benefits of trying hard, believing that application is much more important than potential, and she lives by the maxim “where there’s a will, there’s a way”. Magali has put this approach to work not just in developing her skills as a talented linguist and teacher, but also in her secret passion: the martial art of kickboxing!
