Message from Mr Williams, Head
Dear Families,
It was wonderful to see our Year 5 and Year 6 parents and children who joined the Year 6 to 7 Transition event on Wednesday evening. Thank you to everyone who came and everyone who has already secured their children’s places for next year. My presentation is now available online via My School Portal and, should you have any questions about transition, the curriculum, GCSEs and A Levels, please get in touch with the team at Secondary via email to Christina, Head of Secondary Admissions ([email protected]).
At Secondary, we gave feedback to students on their progress via the Y11 and Y13 parent-student-teacher meetings that took place on Thursday. It was great to have parents’ involvement and support in target-setting for mock exams, and for parents to see how and what their children are doing!
It has also been a busy week for our sports teams. Our Y7-9 Netball squad competed at St George’s on Wednesday and performed superbly, with fantastic results. The under-14 team won all of their matches, playing some slick netball along the way, and the U13 team demonstrated great fighting spirit, with a tense draw in a closely fought contest.
I would also like to congratulate the students who competed in the SGIS football tournament yesterday. Some superb performances resulted in two wins and a draw in six games. We are very proud of the fantastic team spirit shown and, in true GES style, the support for all players and teams who attended the tournament. Well done to all the GES players!
Today, our Secondary campus was livelier than usual! All Secondary students from Year 7 to Year 13 took part in a full-day enrichment programme focused on Personal, Social and Health Education. Topics such as mental health were explored in depth and students came away with tips on managing their stress levels and well-being – a critically important skill, particularly in exam years.
Half term is fast approaching and will be upon us at the end of next week. As a reminder, we finish at the end of the regular school day on Friday 13 October (15:20 at Primary, and 15:30 at Secondary). All extra-curricular activities and After School Care will take place as usual.
Have a great weekend,
Matt Williams
Head
From the French Department
Classe 6 au Théâtre des Marionnettes
Les enfants de Classe 6 ont lu en classe un résumé de l’histoire et ont découvert qui était Jack London.
Cette semaine ils ont pu apprécier une interprétation théâtrale de cette histoire au célèbre théâtre des marionnettes de Genève et découvrir une mise en scène incroyable qui nous a transporté jusqu’en Alaska à l’époque de la ruée vers l’or.
Ils ont pu voir comment différentes marionnettes ont été utilisées (à fils, à mains, objets) pour représenter un même personnage. Nous recommendons vivement ce spectacle (à partir de 9 ans).
From your Secondary teachers
Student Council elections
Thank you to everyone for voting, and especially to the students who put themselves forward for election.
Along with our Year 13 Student Council Leaders, Tolani, Karlis, Clara and Harry, here are this year’s representatives for each year group and each tutor group:
- Evie for Year 7
- Matt for Year 8
- Blaithin for Year 9
- Alfie for Year 10
- Jasmin for Year 12
- Paul for GDP/LVC tutor group
- James for TRO/SPR tutor group
- Marisa for KML/SMA tutor group
- Omar for LAP/RKE tutor group
The students had their first meeting yesterday and, among various topics, they already discussed organising a Halloween party including a bake sale, and a Christmas disco after school before the holiday. To be continued…
LAMDA exams 2024
Following the tremendous success achieved by our students in 2023, GES is once again pairing with Switzerland’s premier English speaking performing arts training school, Simply Theatre, and offering LAMDA exams in Acting.
LAMDA (London Academy of Music & Dramatic Arts) is one of the UK’s most prestigious drama schools. They offer performance based examinations which have been carefully refined and developed over many years by experts in
education, acting and communication.
Candidates will have to learn either one, two or three monologues dependant on level of entry. Students will initially choose pieces to perform with the help of their coach.
All details on application process can be found here. Please note the deadline is 29 October 2023, and Ms Empson remains available if you have any questions ([email protected]).
Sport and PE
Escalade update
We have reached 99 and broken last year’s record – Well done, GES!
For any latecomers, registrations are officially open until Monday 13 November.
Please register children via this group to be part of the GES team, and not individually.
Thank you to all parents who also ordered the new GES long-sleeve t-shirt – we are placing the order this afternoon in order to receive them in time for the races.
Ski camp 2024 - Final reminder
A final reminder that we still have spaces for our upcoming residential ski trip on 2 – 6 January 2024 in Saas-Grund & Saas-Fee.
The trip is open to Year 6 and Secondary students.
Please refer to the letter, sent on 5 June, for all the details.
Registration is open until next Friday 13 October – please visit My School Portal, under Sport & Extra-Curricular, Ski Residential Trip 2024, to make a deposit payment of CHF 250 and secure your child’s place.
Request for help
Parent expertise survey: Supporting your children's educational experience
At GES, we are continuously looking at enhancing our curriculum, celebrating our diverse and international community and enriching children’s experiences.
We always enjoy visits from our parents, whether for assemblies about a festival, talks to a specific year group, demonstration of a traditional dance, or arts and craft sessions which link to our curriculum.
Therefore we would be very grateful if you could complete this Google form by next Friday 13 October, to share your ideas and range of expertise.
Many thanks in advance for your time and ongoing support.
Don du Choeur Sneakers collection
Just like last year, the Don du Choeur was contacted by the Vestiaire Social de Genève, which is again concerned about the lack of shoes and trainers to be provided to children and teenagers from underprivileged families.
The charity is therefore organising a sneaker collection in all local schools.
If you have a good pair of shoes at home that your child is no longer wearing, we would be grateful if you could tie the laces together and bring them to school at morning drop-off or afternoon pick-up by Monday 30 October (straight after half-term).
