Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
The atmosphere in the Senior school is one of quiet determination this week as formal examinations continue. Our GCSE, AS- and A-level students have been the picture of “keep calm and carry on” as they navigate this period with fantastic focus.
Meanwhile, the rest of the school is far from quiet. Teachers, Administrators and students have been putting their multi-tasking skills to the test as, in addition to academics, we prepare for a plethora of end-of-year events and activities. Our diaries from now until the end of term are particularly packed. Of note over the next two weeks:
· Next Tuesday to Friday, our Years 5 and 6 classes will head off on a residential trip to the Château d’Oex. Students and their teachers will, no doubt, have already started to pack their bags in anticipation of what is sure to be a highlight of the year!
· On Thursday 21st May, GES will host a Cat F Girls & Boys Football tournament on our Primary field. Our footballers in Years 3 and 4 will take part, demonstrating to our guests from participating schools not only their talent, but also their outstanding sportsmanship.
· Secondary Sports Day will kick-off at 8h00 on Tuesday 26th May at the Centre Sportif de Versoix. Cheering squads are encouraged to add to the excitement as school records are challenged in a wide range of disciplines.
· Rehearsals are in full swing for our Primary Performing Arts Club’s performance of Aladdin, to which parents and families are invited at 17h30 on Thursday 28th May at L’espace culturel de Gentod.
· Our annual whole-school International Fair is not to be missed! Come one, come all to our Primary campus on Friday 29th May from 15h30 – or earlier, if you would like to lend a hand (see below for more details on how you can do so) – to enjoy this delicious flavour of GES’ rich multicultural heritage.
Remember that school is closed for a well-deserved four-day weekend, as well as on the bank holiday a week later:
· Thursday 14th & Friday 15th May: School Closed (mid-term break)
· Monday 25th May: School Closed (bank holiday)
However, as per our specific communications to Senior students and their parents, we will be open for those sitting exams on the above days.
This Friday, 15th May, is the International Day of Families. Even though we will not be in school that day, it is a reminder to appreciate the “family feel” that makes GES so special. We are not just a collection of classrooms; we are a community that cares for one another, across year groups and even across campuses. We sometimes take this quality for granted, but it is an aspect of our school that is quite unique and to be treasured.
Whether you will be spending this short break together at home or heading off on an adventure, I wish you a joyful and thoroughly restful long weekend with your loved ones.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Year 7-8 Campout in Annecy
Our Year 7 and 8 campers had a wonderful time on their Outdoor Education expedition to the shores of Lake Annecy!
Students were able to explore the beautiful area around the Camping Idéal campsite and observe the ecosystems that live in the shallow waters of the lake and along the shore. Dipping their feet in the cool waters of the lake while enjoying the warm sun was certainly a highlight of the trip, prompting some of our Year 7 students to share their experiences of the trip during their French lessons back at school: “J’ai bien aimé quand on est allé au lac et qu’on a mis les pieds dans l’eau!”
Our campers also enjoyed spending all their extra energy at the campsite’s water park, which featured a swimming pool and slides: “J’ai adoré la piscine et les toboggans – c’était trop cool!” They also had fun exchanging with fellow campers through sports: “C’était mémorable car nous avons joué au foot avec les autres campeurs.“
Well done to all our students for their impeccable behaviour throughout the trip and their natural curiosity to explore the fascinating natural world at their feet, and thank you to our accompanying staff, Mr Pearce, Mr Feeney, Ms Lanfranco and Mr Dupont-Panon.
Beyond the classroom
Staying Safe at Home
Year 1 students enjoyed a fantastic session with Nurse Polly about staying safe and knowing what to do in an emergency. They began by identifying hazards and dangers around the home and discussing ways to keep themselves safe and avoid accidents.
Our learners were also reminded about the important emergency number, 112, and practised what they might say on the phone if they ever needed to make an emergency call. Students did a wonderful job thinking carefully about how to stay calm and give clear information.
To finish the session, they watched a video about a boy helping his friend who was beginning to have an asthma attack. They talked about how he stayed calm, got help, and made sure his friend used his inhaler.
Our students learned that the most important thing to do in an emergency is to stay calm and call for help. Thank you, Nurse Polly, for a really informative session!
Investigating the LHC
On Monday, Year 5 students were treated to a fascinating presentation on CERN by scientist and father to Noam, Andrea Giammanco.
Our budding scientists learned about particles and marvelled at how these are racing around a 27 kilometre circuit, at unbelievable speed, beneath our feet in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), to investigate what happens when they collide. Students were interested to learn that scientists don’t have all the answers (yet!) as scientists at CERN are trying to understand dark matter and antimatter.
Maths Awards at Secondary
No fewer than 37 of our students participated in the recent UK Maths Trust Junior Mathematical Challenge, a 60-minute multiple choice challenge designed to put students’ mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency to the test.
Results came in this week and we are proud to announce that 18 mathematicians received awards for their excellent performances:
Gold: Sebastian, Jaylen and Aleyna
Silver: Maisie, Arthur, Romain and Fiona
Bronze: Vasco, Qisya, Arun, Niamh, Rosalie, Gabriel, John, Emma, Eva, Chloe and Miri
Congratulations to all of them and well done to everyone who participated.
Celebrating Global Road Safety Week
As part of Global Road Safety Week, our Secondary students took part in an important assembly led by Mr Pearce on road safety awareness.
Looking closely at what measures people can take to remain safe in cars, Mr Pearce insisted on the importance of always wearing seatbelts, noting that a large percentage of fatal car accident victims were not wearing seatbelts at the moment of impact.
Mr Pearce also highlighted that the most effective awareness tool for road safety is peer interaction, and he invited students to role play scenarios in pairs such as reminding someone to put their seatbelt on or telling them not to distract the driver.
Click here to see the full presentation of the assembly.
Extra-Curricular Activities
Touring Africa and Australia
Primary students in our Around the World Club have travelled far and wide! During their visit to Africa, they had fun learning about the different animals that live there and moving like animals through drama and music. They also enjoyed learning Che Che Kule, a traditional call-and-response song from Ghana in West Africa, and accompanying it with African Djémbe drums.
Our globetrotters then flew to the other side of the world, to Australia, where they discovered that their seasons and daytime are opposite to ours. They explored traditional Australian Aboriginal dot paintings and used this inspiring technique to design and create their own colourful Australian boomerangs.
Well done to everyone in Around the World Club — stay tuned for where their passports will be stamped next!
A Hair-Raising Session at Science Club
Our Year 6 Science Club goers had a fun session this week learning about the mechanisms of electrostatic forces in causing objects to attract or repel each other. By rubbing a balloon on their hair, they were able to observe how, as the negatively charged electrons in the balloon interacted with the positively charged hair, the charge imbalance made their hair (and other objects such as feathers) stand on end.
They then took their investigations further with a hilarious, hair-raising demonstration using the lab’s electrostatic generator!
Baking for a Good Cause
Our very own Bishop, Mariana, Max and Reuben in Year 9 organised a mouth-watering bake sale today over at Secondary as part of the volunteering pillar of their Duke of Edinburgh International Award.
Their efforts went towards raising funds for the Feed the Needy charity, which runs a soup kitchen every third Saturday of the month, serving hot meals to around 150 homeless and underprivileged people from around Geneva.
In addition to their fundraising efforts with the bake sale, this group of dedicated students will also lend their time at the Jardin Montbrillant soup kitchen, helping serve food.
We are proud of their commitment to helping others and delighted that so many of their Secondary peers purchased a tasty treat today in support of this noble cause.
Cycling Along
Ahead of their Duke of Edinburgh International Award tour of the lake, our Year 10 students took to their bicycles to practise cycling and refresh their knowledge of road safety and safe group riding.
Taking a circuitous route through the countryside and wooded areas around school, they were able to get a taste for what awaits them during their Silver Duke of Edinburgh three-day expedition in a few weeks.
Community News
Celebrating the Swiss Fête des mères
In preparation for Swiss Mother’s Day last Sunday, students in Primary took advantage of their French lessons to craft some beautiful cards for their mamans.
Pouring all their love into their creations, they made sure to write in perfect French all the activities they love doing with their mothers, and we are sure our GES Mums were delighted to receive such beautiful gifts last Sunday.
House Games Evening at Primary
Our Year 6 students hosted a fantastic House Games Evening this week for their peers in Reception to Year 5!
Planned, organised and led entirely by our oldest students in Primary, who all demonstrated tremendous leadership, teamwork and creativity, the evening was a wonderful celebration of our school’s House spirit and sense of community, bringing learners from different year groups together to enjoy themselves, make new friendships and have fun.
It was especially lovely to see the enthusiasm and kindness shown by Year 6, who were excellent role models and ensured that every child felt welcome and included. A huge well done to all of Year 6 for their hard work, enthusiasm and outstanding organisation. The event was a great success and a memorable experience for everyone who attended!
Save the Date | International Fair
Our school’s International Fair is only a short two weeks away!
Save the date and join on Friday 29 May for this beloved community event open to all GES families and staff.
We are still looking for Secondary students volunteers to run the face painting stall at the International Fair. For Secondary students wanting to lend a hand at this great event: please click here to register your interest.
Alumni News | Welcome back, Emily Gulley!
We were thrilled to welcome back accomplished author and GES alumna, Emily Gulley, today!
Emily spent her Primary years at GES and left 15 years ago to attend Secondary school in England. During the pandemic lockdown, she developed a passion for writing and began writing a series of books set in the 1920s and based on a fictitious school in the UK. The stories follow a set of characters and their daily adventures and pranks. We are lucky to have two of her novels now in the library!
Emily met with our Year 4 students this morning, who heard about her journey as a writer but also her memories of what GES was like before they were born! Our students asked really smart questions about the process of writing, from first draft to the publishing stage, and to their question about who her favourite teacher was at GES, Mme Durey was the obvious answer!
