Message from the Head
Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of our first half term I have been reflecting on what a wonderful eight weeks it has been. Our new families and children have integrated into the GES community, we have embedded our core values, introduced and launched our new houses and welcomed our new teaching staff. As I walk around school I see a real focus on high quality and joyful learning, with students trying their hardest and staff ensuring everyone makes progress. Thank you to the teachers, learning assistants, associate staff and everyone in the community for such a great half term.
At the start of the year we launched our values, one of which is community. On Wednesday, for the first time ever, we had the whole school together from our Pre-School children to our Year 13 for our Inter House Cross Country. It was an event filled with joy and laughter as everyone cheered each other on and had a great morning. The photos in the newsletter show some of the highlights of the morning and on Twitter you can see a video of the whole school warming up.
After half term we enter the month of November. At GES, like many schools across the world, we will spend the month thinking about male physical and mental health whilst growing or wearing moustaches and fundraising for Movember. We will have a significant number of stick on moustaches available to purchase at school but would ask that you consider either growing one or buying enough stick on ones that you and your children can join us. Apologies in advance to those of you who are persuaded by your children to grow a moustache – we look forward to seeing photos at the end of the month!
A reminder too that the first day back after the half term is Halloween. At Primary we invite the Primary children (and staff) to come to school dressed up in their favourite spooky costume, and to bring a few Swiss francs, should they like to buy a treat or cake from the bake sale, organised by our Parent Reps. At Secondary, KS3 (Y7-9) are taking part in a Halloween House Competition: students can come to school in fancy dress with best-dressed prizes being awarded in Tutor Time. Dressing up is entirely optional, but we are looking forward to seeing some creative costumes from those who would like to take part.
Have a great half term – I know lots of children are looking forward to joining the holiday camps at school – looking further ahead, you can find out more and sign up for all upcoming holiday camps via our website.
See you in a couple of weeks,
Matt Williams
Head
From the School Office
Reduced hours during the holiday
We have 3 holiday camps running during the first week of the holiday, and the School Offices will therefore remain open, from 9:00 to 15:00 every day.
Emails will be checked regularly in case of an emergency.
We wish you a nice and relaxing break, and are looking forward to seeing the children in their spooky costumes upon their return to school on 31 October.
PS: On Sunday 30 October, do not forget to turn your clocks backward 1 hour.
Primary Carousel showcases - SAVE THE DATES
We are excited to invite you to our first Primary carousel showcases of the year, which will take place on:
- Monday 14 November, for Key Stage 1 and Year 3
- Thursday 17 November, for Years 4, 5 and 6
The showcases events are an opportunity for parents to see an overview of what the pupils have been learning during their creative and STEAM carousel lessons.
More details with timings and parking logistics will be sent by email after half-term.
Pupils' successes and contributions
Musical prodigy
One of our Secondary students, Cíara (Year 10) won the Riviera music competition in Switzerland. She was interviewed by RTS and this will be broadcast tomorrow Saturday morning at 9:30.
Cíara has been playing violin from the age of 4 and has won many violin competitions in France, Switzerland, Italy and the USA. She has played in Victoria Hall (Geneva) and in Carnegie Hall (New York) after winning the New York International Music Competition in July 2022.
Besides having started her GCSE courses with her classmates, she is also studying for her Bachelors degree in music at the University of Music in Lausanne. Cíara is one of the youngest artists to have been accepted into this Bachelor programme.
French Article on Just One Tree day
Merci à Ben et James en classe 7 pour leur contribution aujourd’hui:
Aujourd’hui, pour le projet Just One Tree, un groupe d’élèves (avec l’aide de M. Crabtree et la classe 11) a planté des arbres afin de lutter contre l’impact du réchauffement climatique.
Alors, on a trouvé des glands par terre et on les a mis dans des pots. On va les laisser pousser chez nous et on espère les planter à l’école primaire bientôt !
C’était très intéressant parce qu’on avait l’opportunité d’être au début d’un projet important qui va peut-être faire une différence dans notre communauté sur le long terme.
From your teachers
Escalade countdown
A reminder that Escalade registration is still open, and we ask you to do the following before Monday 7 November:
- Register your child(ren) to be part of the Escalade GES team directly via this link
- Complete the form here on My School Portal to order a GES team T-shirt (OPTIONAL)
All children/teenagers who are age 6 or above (born between 2005-2016) can participate as part of the GES school team.
The children’s/youth races will take place on Sunday 4 December.
At the moment we have 63 GES children signed up, which is great, but we definitely can do better than that – Go GES Go!
Secondary LAMDA course & Performing Arts dates for 2022-2023
Following the tremendous success achieved by our students in 2022, we are once again pairing with performing arts training school, Simply Theatre, and offering LAMDA exams in Acting. This course will take place on Thursday lunchtimes at GES Secondary starting on 17 November.
Deadline for enrolment is 30 October. Here is the application form.
Please click here for more information and do not hesitate to contact Mrs Ball via [email protected] if you have any questions.
We thought you may like to know about our upcoming shows and concerts for this academic year across both campuses – do save the dates in your calendar.
