Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
Oh, what a difference the weather makes!
On Wednesday of this week, GES Primary children valiantly represented our school at the ADISR Cross-country Competition. This race, organised by the association of private international schools in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, was attended by students in Years 3-6, and was a terrific opportunity for our runners to show their stuff! Unfortunately, the rain had other plans, making for an extremely slippery course and a difficult slog all round. Well done to Team GES for taking the soggy conditions in their stride, literally, with grace and good humour. As Mr Sheppard-Burgess said, we will consider this race to be a warm-up for next year when, hopefully, clouds will be scarce and the ground dry.
Today, on the other hand, was warm and dry when Years 7 and 8 students set off on a camping trip to Lake Annecy. Accompanied by Mr Pearce, Mr Feeney, Mr Dupont-Panon and Ms Lanfranco, our young adventurers travelled by coach to their campsite and an afternoon filled with a variety of water-based activities in the sunshine. This evening, they will eat dinner together, light a campfire and play games under the stars and, after a good night of sleep in tents, they will enjoy another day in the great outdoors before coming home.
Senior students are now well into their end-of-year exams and working hard to earn their GCSE, AS- and A-level qualifications with flying colours. Though it feels like this year is going by all too quickly, these exams have been a long time coming and I am sure that students will be feeling a certain relief that they can finally get on with showing how much and well they have learnt. “Bon courage” to all of them, and in particular those who will be in school at the end of next week when Swiss schools are closed, but British ones not.
For all but those writing exams, remember that Thursday 14th and Friday 15th May are bank holidays in Geneva, giving us a glorious, four-day weekend. It is not too late to make a plan to take full advantage of it!
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Running in the Rain
Runners in Years 3, 4, 5 and 6 braved the pouring rain on Wednesday to take part in the annual ADISR Cross-Country race over at Collège Champittet.
Our students demonstrated incredible resilience and athleticism throughout the event. While the soaking conditions and timing challenges required some quick thinking, the day was defined by the attitude of our runners. We are immensely proud of how our athletes handled the cold and wet with such grace, returning to the bus with high spirits and many stories to tell about their accomplishments.
Well done to Alexandra, Austin, Mariia, Arnaud, Leo, Elenna, Daisy, Lili, Bryan, Danny, Aidan, Chloe, Cosmo, Francisco, Sophia, Enzo, Rodrigo and Josephine for their tremendous efforts and a huge thank you to the parents who braved the weather to support Team GES – your help was truly invaluable!
This week in class
Reception students started off their new topic, “How do things grow and change?”, by taking a peek into Mrs Mackenzie’s basket and realising that the “things”’ inside – which looked like little sausages – were covered in soil. After finding out that they were seeds and bulbs, our little gardeners decided to plant them in their outdoor area and see what happens, making a mental note to give them a little drink every few days to help them grow.
Our students also discovered the important jobs that each part of a plant does and became little scientists for the day by setting up an experiment to see whether the stem of a plant really does take water up to the flower. By adding food colouring to little pots of water and putting a pale yellow flower into each pot, they predicted that the flowers might turn the colour of the water in the pot — and the flower in the red pot definitely did with the petals starting to turn red!
Students thoroughly enjoyed comparing different types of seeds and read the story Jasper’s Beanstalk. This inspired them to write letters to Jasper, telling him what they thought might be at the top of his beanstalk!
Combining their learning about nature with their study of French artist, Georges Seurat, students enjoyed having a go at the technique of pointillism using cotton buds to make little dots on their flower drawings.
With our visiting artist, Regina Adame, our “Little Monet” artists in Year 1 have enjoyed an introduction to impressionism through a range of media including sponge, finger painting and pastel. They spent time designing and creating their own versions of Claude Monet’s famous painting, Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies.
Later in the week, our Year 1 students stepped into the shoes of tree surgeons! They explored the beautiful, wooded school grounds to collect leaves from different trees. After sorting them into piles of similar shapes, they used information cards to identify each leaf. Their investigations then took them into the forest to observe holly, and they discovered that the leaves are more spiky at the bottom of the tree than at the top, a defence mechanism to stop herbivores from eating the lower branches!
Year 2 mathematicians have had hands-on lessons these past few weeks, exploring their topic on “Measurement”. Using all kinds of measuring equipment, they measured different types of items to deepen their understanding of mass, capacity, temperature, length and height. Their investigations into volume was especially fruitful as it culminated in the concoction of tasty fruit mocktails! Maths is fun!
In their Humanities lessons, Year 5 have begun a unit on activism. After a brainstorming session last week on the term “Activism”, they were asked to reflect on the word “protest”, coming up with a range of words that illustrate their ideas. Students Carys and Gabriel were so inspired by the concept of activism through art that they brought in some Banksy items from home! Commenting on the week’s lesson, Ms Marceau said “I am reassured that our future is in safe hands with this cohort of young activists, who have blown me away with the level of their engagement, prior knowledge and ability to advocate for their rights.”
Well done, everybody!
Using their knowledge of the different parts of a flower, our Year 7 botanists have been exploring fruit formation. They dissected different fruits, identifying the parts of what used to be a flower. They then dissected kidney beans to observe the different parts of a seed, and took a close look at an open coconut to study how different plants germinate in different ways in order to survive the environmental conditions they live in.
This week was all about designing and carrying out their own chemical investigations for our Year 8 scientists. Independently planning, selecting and ordering equipment and researching a method, our chemists came up with a wide range of experiments to put their scientific knowledge and skills to the test:
· Jaylen, Bram, James and Seb carried out the foamy “elephant toothpaste” and “devil’s toothpaste” experiment to explore the role of catalysts in decomposition.
· Arun and Thomas looked at rates of reaction by reacting hydrochloric acid and calcium carbonate.
· Joan, Miri, Michelle and Lara made bath bombs to understand how changing the amounts of ingredients affects fizziness.
· Fiona and Vasco investigated the reaction between polystyrene and acetone.
· Gabriel, Arthur, Seb and Kyle investigated invisible ink using a thermal reaction.
· Lottie and Niamh made a volcano using baking soda and vinegar to create a rapid eruption of carbon dioxide.
· Eva and Rosalie made smoke from concentrated ammonia and hydrochloric acid.
· Yves and Xander carried out flame tests to identify specific metal ions.
Beyond the Classroom
A Trip to the Animal Park
Year 1 had the best day at La Garenne Animal Park! Our students had such fun spotting all of the local Swiss animals and were excellent at recalling their knowledge of animal groups and animal diets. They learned so many new facts about the different animals and were even able to name some of the trees by identifying their leaf shapes, recalling their work from their Science lessons!
They finished the day with a well-deserved ice cream treat and some playtime in the park’s gardens!
Well done, Year 1!
First Aid Lessons at Primary
Our very own Nurse Polly has been making the rounds of our Primary classrooms to impart important first aid lessons to our young learners.
Year 2 had their final session this week during which they reflected on how they can help someone who is injured. They practised being kind, comforting and understanding how others might be feeling if they are injured or unwell.
For Year 3 students, Nurse Polly invited them to role-play different scenarios involving injuries (such as car or bicycle accidents or fires), teaching them how to respond effectively and safely to a person in need of help.
Important lessons that can save lives!
A Chocolatey Assembly
Year 6 students led this week’s Primary assembly, focusing on a very important subject: Fairtrade chocolate! The gym was transformed into a newsroom with special reports from cocoa farmers, supply chain stakeholders and consumers. Their audience of peers went away with the conviction to think carefully when they are next helping with grocery shopping and to look out for the Fairtrade symbol on items such as bananas, coffee and cotton products.
Fantastic work, Year 6!
Raising Awareness about Ticks and Lyme Disease
Our Secondary students all took part in two important assemblies this week about Lyme disease.
Learning about the symptoms of this bacterial infection, which include a bull’s-eye rash, fever, headache and fatigue, students understood the importance of protecting themselves from ticks, especially at this time of year when these insects are especially active and the weather is propitious for outdoor activities in woody, bushy and tall grass areas.
After studying how Lyme disease is transmitted through the saliva of the tick, our students were reminded to check their bodies after being outdoors and taught how to remove ticks properly and clean the bite area.
Click here for full information from the Swiss Public Health authorities about ticks, their bites and the risk zones in Switzerland .
Celebrating a Century Dedicated to the Natural World
In celebration of Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday today, our Year 7 and 8 campers became explorers for the afternoon. Equipped with nets, magnifying glasses and a digital microscope, they scouted for local wildlife in the environment near lake Annecy.
Community News
Save the Date | International Fair
Three more weeks to go before our International Fair!
Coming up on Friday 29 May, this annual event is open to GES families and staff from Primary and Secondary. Join us for an afternoon of celebration of our school’s cultural diversity and strong community spirit!
There will be games and activity stalls, music and delicious food from around the world.
Secondary student volunteers wishing to help out with at the International Fair with food and drink stalls, games art and leisure workshops, decorations, entertainment or logistics, and parents wishing to contribute food from their home countries are welcome to register their availability with our wonderful Parents’ Association via the links below:
Ukrainian Storytime in Primary
Our Language Ambassadors have continued their efforts towards the promotion and celebration of our school’s languages with a new storytime session in the Library.
Thank you to Mariia, who spent time telling a story in Ukrainian about a small plant that wondered what it would become. Our students learned a few words in Ukrainian and now know how to say “a Haribo tree”!
Calling our Secondary Volunteers
Calling our Secondary students to lend their time in support of underprivileged children in Eastern European!
On Saturday 30 May at the Coop in Versoix, students working in pairs have the chance to volunteer an hour (or more!) of their time in this fundraising initiative to help children out of poverty. Their mission will be to assist the clientèle of Coop in packing their grocery shopping at the tills. In exchange, Coop has accepted to make a generous donation in support of the cause.
Beyond the satisfaction, well-being and positive impact that these fundraising initiatives bring, this event is a great opportunity for students to develop their leadership skills and build up their portfolio of evidence for their future university applications.
Full details will be shared with students next week, including the registration form to join this humanitarian initiative.
New Emergency Number in Switzerland
As of 1st May, a new Swiss emergency number – 142 – has been created specifically to support victims of domestic violence. This is a key step in Switzerland’s concerted efforts against domestic violence and the protection of victims, especially women. This anonymous helpline can be called by victims and/or their relatives to get help, be directed to the nearest emergency shelter or safe haven, and obtain information on how to deal with situations of domestic violence.
As a reminder, you can find below the emergency numbers in Switzerland:
· All emergencies (Switzerland and Europe): 112
· Police: 117
· Fire brigade: 118
· La Main Tendue (emotional distress line): 143
· Ambulance: 144
· Poison: 145
· Child and teenager emergency line: 147
Click here for more information about Switzerland’s efforts against domestic violence.
