Issue: 6 | Friday 16th April 2021

Message from the Head

Dear Parents,

Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter break. Despite the cold mornings, the students and staff have been enjoying getting outside and enjoying the warmth of the GES community this week. Our year 11 have come back to a set of mock exams and year 10 and their parents will be celebrating their exam results during parent teacher meetings on 21 April.

Next week we are celebrating Earth Day (see more details further down) across both primary and secondary. It is vital that we share with the students the importance of looking after our planet and saving resources as well as living in a more sustainable way. We will be doing lots of activities with the students across the school to help them understand how to look after our planet.

We are rapidly filling places for next academic year and next Tuesday we will be holding one of our regular A level marketing events. This is a great opportunity to hear more about A levels and the courses that we offer. Please do share the event link with your contacts.

At the other end of the school, I am pleased to let you know that our Little Ducklings play sessions will restart. We are allowed to run these again, following the changes to the recent Covid guidelines. Little Ducklings play sessions take place in Genthod park as gatherings of 15 people max. are now allowed. The first session will be next Wednesday 21 April, and you will need to register online beforehand – please do share the event with friends or colleagues with young children.

Matt Williams

Morning Routine and Playground Safety at Primary

Arrival and Registration

We would like to remind all parents that children from Reception to Year 6 should be in their classroom at 08:30, ready to begin learning (when the bell rings) each morning.

Registration takes place at 08:40 (09:00 for Nursery) by which time all children should already be in school so as not to miss valuable teaching time.

MUGA use
Secondly, a reminder that the MUGA (Multi-Use Games Area) can only be used when a GES staff member is present.

With many thanks for helping us keep your children safe on the school site.

Student's success

We are always extremely proud of our pupils’ achievements, which also include their activities outside GES.

Congratulations to Saheli in Year 5 who got a merit (the second top band) for her MTB Grade 1 Singing exam! 

We look forward to sharing more student success stories throughout the term.

 

International School Parent Magazine article

The Spring edition of the International School Parent Magazine is now out!

If you did not have the time during the holiday, here is a link to an article from International School Parent Magazine in which our Head, Matt Williams speaks about his background and outlines the vision for GES.

We hope you enjoy the read.

From your Sport and PE Department

Sports Day

We have had a brilliant first week of the Summer term in the Sports Department.

The students have already started on the Athletics Unit of Work which will conclude with one of GES’s most popular events, Sports Day.

On Sports Day, students will have the chance to win points for their houses by competing against each other in a fun, ability-appropriate and competitive athletics meet. Over the course of the next month, the students will be practising their running, throwing and jumping events during PE lessons and Sports clubs in order to be ready for the big day. 

Miss Shibil's Netball coaching role

A huge congratulations to Miss Shibil on being appointed to the Swiss Netball National Coaching Group.

Miss Shibil will join the Performance and Development team and will share her wealth of knowledge in the Player Pathway Programme which she has implemented in England, Dubai and now Switzerland.

Well done Shibs! We are so proud of you.

Mr Stimpson

Earth Day

Our planet is an amazing place, but it needs our help to thrive!

That’s why each year on April 22, more than a billion people celebrate Earth Day to protect the planet from things like pollution and deforestation.

This year marks the 51st anniversary of the world’s largest environmental movement! Appropriately, this year, the global focus is Restore our Earth.

Across GES Primary and Secondary school, the students will be taking part in activities focusing on making our world a happier, healthier place to live.

Environmental education empowers students around the world to solve the climate crisis and develop the skills, optimism and resolve to lead the environmental movement of tomorrow.

We look forward to an exciting and eventful day.

Rosalyn Scott and Harriet Skinner

Primary Colouring Competition

We hope you are enjoying the beautiful Treasured Alps colouring books which were distributed before the holiday.

In case you have not managed to finish your colouring, we are extending the deadline to Monday, 19 April. So please send your artwork to [email protected].

The best artwork(s) will be published in the next edition of the International School Parent (ISP) magazine and we will have a special GES treat for everyone who submits a colouring.

Next week's events

Tuesday 20 April

10:30-12:00 - Y9 Mbots Robotics lesson with TechLabs 19:00-20:00 - A Level Open event

Wednesday 21 April

9:00-10:00 - Little Ducklings at Genthod park 17:30-19:30 - Y10 Parent-Student-Teacher meetings via Zoom

Thursday 22 April

All day - Earth Day 13:30-15:00 - Reception Genthod walk

Friday 23 April

9:30-11:00 - Y8 Mbots Robotics lesson with TechLabs

What's on social media?

News & Blogs

Blog Post 18 March 2021

L’enseignement du français chez les plus jeunes

Réjane Durey, responsable du Département de Français à GES Primary, nous explique comment rendre les leçons ludiques.

Blog Post 1 December 2020

Calling all Mathematicians…

Living internationally and thinking about applying for Maths, Physics or Computer Science at university? If so, you have to read this!

Blog Post 21 September 2020

Lessons from Lockdown

The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 led to the closure of schools all around the world. Tim Meunier, summarises how his school managed to provide continuity of high-quality education.