Message from Ms Matillon, Director General
Dear Parents,
The return to school has been a busy one for our students after the long Ascension weekend, with our two senior year groups in Primary heading off to Château-d’Oex for four days of adventures in the pristine nature of the Vaud Alps. I have just had the pleasure of welcoming them as they arrived back to school and, by all accounts, the hike and visits were fantastic, the disco was amazing, and even the food was good! Judging by the smiles on the children’s faces, I know they will carry the memory of this trip with them for many years to come.
The Year 5 and 6 residential trip to Château-d’Oex marks the start of a series of overnight trips carefully planned for students during the home stretch before the summer holidays, and I am sure that the anecdotes shared about this past week will have our younger students in Years 3 and 4 looking forward to their three-day trip to Torgon in June, and build the excitement for our older students in Years 7, 8 and 9, who will travel to either Hourtin by the Atlantic Ocean for a water sports-based itinerary, or to Amsterdam, according to their preference, in the penultimate week of the academic year.
Despite only being four days long (as a reminder, Monday 25 May is Whit Monday and school will be closed), next week promises to be no less busy, with a number of community events for which we hope you will join us:
- Starting at 8am on Tuesday 26 May and running until noon, our entire Secondary community will engage in the ultimate House competition, our Secondary Sports Day! We invite parents to join us at the Centre sportif de Versoix to cheer our athletes as they give it their all, not only to defend their House colours but also to break speed and accuracy records set by peers in previous editions.
- At 5.30pm on Thursday 28 May, our actors, actresses and singers in Primary will once again shine on the stage of the Espace Culturel de Genthod with their performance of Aladdin. This show will be nothing short of a magical tour de force worthy of the genie in the lamp.
- Last, but certainly not least: our International Fair on Friday 29 May from 3:30pm will have our Primary campus opening its doors to all members of the GES community for a celebration of what makes our school so special: its tight-knit and incredibly diverse community. Organised by our wonderful Parents’ Association, with student and parent volunteers from both Primary and Secondary, this annual event is definitely a highlight of the GES calendar. The weather forecast is announcing perfect conditions for our Fair and the afternoon promises to be a great success!
Finally, a reminder to stay “cool for school” as the mercury creeps up in the coming days. Students should come wearing light clothing and sunscreen, and be equipped with water bottles, as well as hats if they are going to spend time outside. You will surely be pleased to know that the water fountain in the Primary school playground is working again, just in time for the heat!
I wish you another glorious long weekend and look forward to seeing many GES families next week at our upcoming community events.
All the best,
Christina Matillon
Year 5-6 Residential Trip to Château-d'Oex
Year 5 and 6 students had an amazing residential trip this week, which was full of discovery, adventure and unforgettable experiences.
Their journey began at the Tropiquarium and Zoo de Servion, where they observed the animals being fed and enjoyed a presentation by one of the zookeepers. They then travelled to the beautiful region of Château-d’Oex, where everyone enjoyed walks through some stunning Swiss landscapes.
During the trip, Year 6 adventurers took part in a wonderful farm experience, while Year 5 museum-goers enjoyed visiting the dizzying world of hot air ballooning at the Musée du Ballon. Our students also visited Electrobroc, where they learned about electricity in an engaging and interactive way, gaining important insights into global challenges linked with energy and individual actions that can be taken to conserve it. These are just a few examples of the many activities and experiences students enjoyed during their residential trip.
Throughout the week, they stayed in a beautiful local chalet, run by a welcoming local family, which made the experience even more special. It was a fantastic opportunity for our learners to enjoy full immersion in the Swiss environment, build independence, strengthen existing friendships, make new ones and create lasting memories.
Click here for photos of our Year 5 students in action.
See here for photos of our Year 6 adventurers.
This week in class
Bee-ing Together in Pre-School
Our Pre-school students had a buzzing good time celebrating World Bee Day on Wednesday!
Our budding apiarists discovered how busy bees collect nectar and pollen, got their creative juices flowing with beautiful bee paintings and drawings, and ended the day with the sweetest treat of all, tasting delicious honey!
A fun-filled day of learning, creativity, and lots of smiles as we celebrated these tiny but important preservers of nature.
When We Grow Up
Our Pre-school class has also been looking far into the future and exploring the theme “When We Grow Up.” Students listened to stories about different professions and discovered exciting jobs, such as those of veterinarians, doctors, footballers, and police officers. With Mme Bujega, each student carefully painted themselves in the future profession they imagine themselves in. We were so impressed by the time, effort, and wonderful details each of them added to their artwork. Future dreams truly came to life!
Into the Woods
Our Year 8 biologists took their Science lessons into the woods of Versoix for some fieldwork this week. Using a field guide, they were tasked with identifying different plant species and produce biological drawings. This exercise enabled them to put their anatomical observation skills to the test and revise their knowledge of the various cells, tissue layers, and plant organs.
A Colourful Science Experiment
Our Year 9 students are investigating the effect of surface area-to-volume ratio on the rate of diffusion. By immersing agar cubes containing phenolphthalein indicator in hydrochloric acid, they were able to observe as the cube began to change colour. The smaller the cube was, the faster it changed, illustrating that while surface area can determine the rate at which molecules can enter the cube, volume determines the amount of material needed to diffuse into the cube.
Beyond the Classroom
Broadening Linguistic Horizons
During our Primary School’s reading session led by our Language Ambassadors, Gabriel, assisted by Javier, read their peers a story in Spanish about a very exciting football match. Our keen listeners tried to remember some of the words from the story and, once the story finished, each of them asked Gabriel to teach them a word of their choice, and everyone left with a new Spanish word to remember.
Our students were also able to make connections with other languages. For example, the Spanish word for “cat” (gato) sounded similar to the French word for “cake,” while the word for “night” (noche) resembled words in Russian and Ukrainian. What a wonderful opportunity to explore languages and make connections between them!
Extra-Curricular Activities
Football Tournament Success at GES!
This week, our school proudly hosted the SGIS football tournament under bright sunshine and perfect playing conditions. A total of 26 GES students took part alongside 160 other athletes from schools across the region, creating a fantastic atmosphere of sport, teamwork and friendly competition.
Our four teams (two boys’ teams and two girls’ teams) represented the school brilliantly, showing determination, resilience, and real improvement throughout their matches. There were many memorable moments across the day, including superb goals, brave saves, strong defending, and excellent teamwork.
Highlights of the day include:
· GES Girls 1, who delivered a confident and consistent performance to claim a well-deserved bronze medal in 3rd place.
· GES Boys 1, who reached the playoff for 3rd place and fought through one of the longest penalty shoot-outs of the day, finishing 4th overall.
All teams also demonstrated wonderful progress across their matches, gaining valuable experience and showing fantastic effort throughout the tournament.
A huge thank you to Mr. Sheppard-Burgess for organising the event, and to all staff who helped make the day such a success, and a special shout out to Katrina from Year 10 for supporting and cheering on our footballers throughout the day.
Well done to all our players. A fantastic celebration of teamwork, sportsmanship, and school spirit!
LAMDA Exams
It has been a busy week for performing arts at GES!
Well done to all our students who took their London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) exams this week:
· Grade 4: Aria, James, Timothee, Guillermo and Mariana
· Grade 3: Orla, Niamh and Lottie
· Bronze: Stefan
· Gold: Nia and Marisa
They have all worked incredibly hard in their exams and we are confident that their determination, perseverance and grit will have produced some great results.
We look forward to sharing news of their exam results in a few months and to seeing how they continue to develop all the skills they have been working on this year!
Today our Year 11 Drama students filmed their last dress rehearsal for their GCSE exam. Donning their costumes, they gave it their all for their performance of ‘Our Day Out’ by Willy Russell. Break a leg!
Community News
Save the Date | International Fair
Only one week to go until our school’s International Fair happening next Friday, 29 May at our Primary campus! We hope many of you will join us for this beloved community event open to all GES families and staff.
If you are willing to volunteer some of your time to lend a hand at the Fair, be sure to get in touch with our fantastic organisers via this dedicated Parent Whatsapp group.
For those who haven’t done so already but are planning to contribute a delicious dish from their home country, please let us know what you plan on bringing by completing this form. You can still volunteer to help at the various stalls using this sign up sheet – we are still looking for at least 8 more parents to help at the bar.
Parade – The fair kicks off with a children’s parade, and parents are encouraged to join in! There will be prizes so get your thinking caps on for a costume!
Thank you all for your support so far, it promises to be a wonderful event!
Read Write Inc. Workshop for Teachers
On Tuesday our Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 teachers had a great day of training with our Read Write Inc. (RWI) mentor. This workshop involved sharing some new developments in the teaching of phonics, analysing videos of our teachers delivering RWI sessions, receiving top tips and checking through our data to analyse the progress and attainment of our students.
We are proud to share that our teachers and results are considered to be in the very top bracket of all the schools around the world who use the RWI programme – what an accolade to our academic prowess at GES!
