Message from the Head
Dear Parents,
I can’t believe how quickly this term has gone and that we are already at the Easter break. This week it has been wonderful to see Year 3 dressing up as ancient Egyptians and mummifying their headteacher. Secondary students have been working hard, our Year 10 students have been sitting exams this week, but they also had time to ‘walk all over cancer’ by walking a few laps to raise money and, it seems most of primary, have been creating their own miniature world on the field at break time (see the pictures below).
It has been a delight to share with primary parents the curriculum changes for next year and by the emails we have received you share our excitement around the introduction of robotics, film and animation and the language academy. We have also had wonderful feedback about our French brochure and the enhancement to French next year. The presentations for the different key stages are uploaded on My School Portal, under School Information, Presentations on Primary changes for 2021-2022. Apologies that these are slightly delayed.
Also here is a link to an article (pages 6 to 9) from International School Parent Magazine in which I was interviewed about the vision for GES and the future of our school. It was exciting to outline the future direction of the school and the changes that we plan to put in place. If there is a gap in the beautiful weather and you need something to read, please do have a look.
Finally, I wish you and your family a wonderful and relaxing Easter break.
Matt Williams
Y8 Wellbeing day - From Mrs Marett
As part of a discussion on health and emotional wellbeing in PSHCE this half term, Y8 had a great Wellbeing day on Tuesday. They started the day with an Inter tutor-group hockey competition in PE, and then had an inspiring conversation with Jamie McDonald, ‘Adventureman’, holder of the Guinness World Record for cycling 11 days non-stop on a static bike, amongst other incredible challenges.
Throughout the day, and after a picnic at the lake, the students participated in team-building and communication games, participated in a collaborative Art project, and reflected on what challenges we might want to take on, how important our emotional wellbeing is to our whole health, and what usually makes us happy.
Alexa Marett
From Mrs Pupulin, School Nurse
Firstly, well done and thank you to all secondary students for the efforts you have made wearing your masks. It is not easy at times but paramount to keeping the school safe during this pandemic.
With time having passed since the last advice was given on wearing masks at school here is a refresher to remind yourself for your return for the summer term:
- Wash or disinfect your hands before putting on your mask, as well as before and after taking it off.
- Holding the elastic ear straps/ties put your mask on your face.
- Make sure your mask covers your nose, mouth and chin.
- Masks with a thin metal strip should be placed on the bridge of your nose and bent into shape to fit your face.
- Disposable masks should have the droplet repellent side (often blue coloured) on the outside with the folds facing down.
- If you wear a washable mask, seal it in a plastic bag after use and ideally wash at 60 degrees.
- If you wear a disposable mask, put it in a closed bin when you have finished wearing it.
- Try not to touch your mask whilst wearing it, you may contaminate your fingers/hands. If you do touch your mask wash your hands.
- Both washable and disposable masks should be changed every 4 hours, when damaged or wet. This means you need to bring several masks to school for your day and remember to change your mask after lunch.
- Clean new masks should be kept separately from the dirty masks and in a clean bag.
Do not wash disposable masks and reuse them. The washing of disposable masks breaks down the tissue and makes them less or ineffective. Masks with valves are currently not recommended (WHO).
The Swiss health authorities recommend to wear disposable masks at school, but if you use a washable mask it would need to meet the ‘TESTEX community mask standard’.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Polly Pupulin
From the School Office
Daylight saving time and Holiday hours
Don’t forget this Sunday 28 March at 2:00 am, clocks will need to go forward 1 hour.
From Monday 29 March to Friday 9 April, the School Office will remain open from 9:00 to 15:00 and emails will be checked regularly for any urgent matters.
We wish you all a sunny and relaxing Easter break!
Email Communication
Some of you have alerted us to school emails that may have got lost.
In case this has happened to you as well, we would suggest you double-check your spam folder, and follow the instructions here to add the school emails to your safe list.
Thank you.
Extra-curricular activities: Preview
Wednesday Sports Academy
Sign up for the Summer Term Sports Academy is now open on My School Portal. There are great options for Primary and Secondary students.
Choose from rugby, netball, football, cricket, rounders, multisport or join the GES Sports Leaders from Year 6 and above on a Wednesday afternoon – no doubt in the sunshine.
New next term: Foley club
Foley Club, run by our visiting music teacher Marquis McGee, is all about the creation of sound effects. Foley is a process that is used in film where different props and choreography are used to create sound effects. Much of what you hear in your favorite tv shows and films are Foley. Famous examples are things like rain and thunder storms, bacon sizzling in a pan or horse footsteps actually being coconut shells.
In the club, students learn about the process, watch film clips and discuss what’s being used, and ultimately try their own hand at doing Foley. We will create fun noise-making objects, record sounds, and learn how to listen and interact with the world around us in different ways.
