Welcoming New Students

Every ski season, students join us for an unforgettable ski experience. We have had the pleasure of welcoming people from all over the world, including Peru, Brazil and Iran. These opportunities are incredibly enriching for both campers and boarders. The campers get to ski in the Swiss Alps, while the boarders get to meet new people and new perspectives. We have been extremely proud of our boarders, as they were very welcoming, taking new students out for dinner, showing them around town and giving them a taste of what a real La Garenne student is like. In fact, many campers want to come back, a true statement of our students’ social and empathy skills. Thanks to the boarders, the campers will treasure their newly formed memories of La Garenne and Villars for life.

 

ECAs and Weekend Activities

Due to students’ skiing commitments this term, we reduced the number of compulsory ECAs. Having said that, some of our boarders still wanted to do just as many and we are proud of their proactivity. We have a brand new gym which is used day in day out by our future body-builders. In terms of ECAs, students have been able to choose from academic subject clinics, creative activities, sports and even helping out at a nearby refugee centre. Our most popular options were yoga, robotics and our Wednesday Fondue outing in which we are transported by a ski-doo to the magnificent Solalex Valley.

At the weekend, we make the most of our surroundings, taking students out to explore our own beautiful canton of Vaud, including our students’ favourite: Montreux. We have also been playing padel tennis, karting, relaxing at the privatised thermal baths in Villars, watching movies on cinemas booked only for us, as well as trying out curling and of course hitting the pistes in our ski resort.

 

LG Outdoor Programme

In addition to our weekend excursions, students had to take part in the outdoor programme: they had to choose from ice-climbing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing or ski touring. Additionally, they spent a weekend away at another ski resort such as Grimentz or even Courmayeur at the foot of Mont Blanc. Not only do they gain in confidence - heading down a steep slope on skis can be intimidating - but they also develop the resilience needed to never ever give up.

 

Fixtures, School Challenge and House Competition

Our athletes showed their competitive nature during different fixtures held in and around Villars. We had some fantastic results, including our snowboarders who took home most of the prizes (1st Team Slalom, 1st Individual male, 1st Individual female). Our girls’ volleyball team keeps improving, as does our younger girls’ football team. We would like to thank those students who represent our school and constantly demonstrate their commitment to training, week after week, in as many disciplines as possible. Well done. This also goes for those who travelled all the way to Frankfurt to take part in the MUN (Model United Nations) conference. Last, but not least, our students took part in a school challenge that consisted of running a rather challenging obstacle course. Well done everyone.

 

School Trip (Paris)

Yet again, a rather busy term. Despite this, intrepid boarders took their suitcases (the big ones to make sure some shopping will fit), and headed to the City of Love - Paris. They visited the Tour Eiffel, the Opéra Garnier, the Sacré Coeur, saw a Lion King live performance, took part in a graffiti workshop and before they had time to stop and think, they were back in Villars. Their behaviour was outstanding, so congratulations are in order!

 

Birthdays

We have had many birthday celebrations this term and we would like to congratulate again those lucky boarders who got to do their favourite activity, eat at their favourite restaurant and taste a delicious cake baked freshly by our local partner. Happy birthday LC, Yu, Eloy, Mark, Hugo, Charlie, Carla, Kaloyan, Taiki, Vlad, Shoei and Daniil. Happy birthday also to our boarding colleagues Naji and Mouna!

 

Boarders of the Week

Every week we choose two students who stand out for different reasons. Sometimes it is because of their positive attitude, while for others we acknowledge their contribution towards life in the boarding house, either by carrying out their duties to a high standard, or helping house parents or their peers. The outstanding students this term are:

• 12th January: Camila and Hugo
• 19th January: Sasha and Mark
• 26th January: Ava and Roman
• 2nd February: Maria Laura and Marcelo (winter campers)
• 9th February: Angelika and Alejandro
• 16th February: Carla and Eloy
• 23rd February: Samira and Vlad
• 2nd March: Maki and Taiki

 

As a reward for their contribution this term, our boarders of the week were taken by train to a special evening where we had an exquisite dinner in the middle of our Villars ski slopes, surrounded by a full moon and a clear sky.

 

 

GRADUATION AND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

We are planning a spectacular double celebration in Summer 2023. This will mark the first graduation of our International Baccalaureate students. In addition, we will be celebrating the 76th anniversary of the founding of La Garenne.

All students will take part in the School Show and festivities on 16th and 17th June and you are cordially invited to attend. As this will be a very busy time, and accommodation in the village is limited, we recommend you to book your hotel stay now.

You can find a list of recommendations on our website here.

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ACADEMICS

We are celebrating some great results in external examinations this term (DELF French & IELTS English). Some of our older students have also received excellent university offers from King’s, Durham, Bath, EHL and Bayes Business School.

These highly respected universities have very competitive entrance requirements. From January, most students will be preparing for Cambridge English and more DELF French exams. The students will have further presentations from visiting universities as well as the opportunity to tour Swiss universities nearby.

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SPORTS

La Garenne has taken part in a large number of sports competitions such as Volleyball, Football, cross country and golf.

After the success of Juventus intensive soccer camp and bringing in a professional volleyball coach, we now want to extend masterclasses to other sports including table tennis and padel (tennis).

 

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SCHOOL TRIPS

All students will take part in educational trips over the next two terms:

• Primary: London,UK: Young Voices
• Secondary: Paris, France: long weekend
• DP1: London and Oxford, UK: university visits
• M1 to M3: Morocco or NASA (Orlando, USA)*
• M4 to DP1: Kenya or Iceland*

*Choice of trips. Places will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

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UPGRADING OUR FACILITIES

We would like to thank our generous parents who have allowed us to turn the top floor of Academia into a library and provided a large LED screen for our Community Floor. We are pleased to announce that we are also creating a new science lab for the middle school, refurbishing two music rooms and enhancing our school gym equipment.

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IMPORTANT DATES FOR TERM 2

Please check the 2023 calendar here: School Calendar 

• January 15-19: Young Voices (Year 3 to Year 6)
• February 4-5: Year 1 and 4 (Sledging - Trient), Year 5&6 (Ski - Leysin)
• February 11-12: MYP1 and 2 (Snowshoeing - Jura), MYP3 (Cross Country - Jura)
• February 17: Valentine’s Day Party
• February 19: School Challenge
• February 24-26: Long Weekend in Paris (Le Roc students)
• March 4-5: MYP4&5 (Ski - Zinal & St-Luc)
• March 10-12: DP1 (Ski Leukerbad), DP2 (Ski - Courmayeur)
• March 14: School Ski Race
• March 16: Term ends at 16:00

 

 

Kings College, London

It's that time of year when students eagerly check their emails to find out which university has responded to their applications, hoping for positive news. At La Garenne, the offers are flooding in from top universities in the UK and further afield.

So far our hard-working students have bagged offers from Bayes Business School, Durham, Kings and many more. Clearly this is just the start of the journey to higher education and our students know that getting their heads down and studying hard will see these offers turn into concrete places.

University of Durham

Our prefects and a group of students came back to school a couple of days early this term in order to welcome new students. We know how challenging starting in a new environment can be, so we all worked hard to make the transition as smooth as possible. We organised a scavenger hunt and we showed off our beautiful surroundings, our facilities, our students’ favourite restaurants and key places in Villars. We congratulate all our new students for settling in so well.

 

We would like to congratulate all our students who have just received their certificates for completing their Personal Projects.

In the final year of the Middle Years Programme, students had to explore an area of personal interest over an extended period. The idea is to give them the opportunity to consolidate their learning and develop important skills they will need in both further education and life beyond the classroom. It also helps them develop confidence to become principled, lifelong learners.

La Garenne sudents needed to complete three elements to be awarded their final achievement grades:

• Product or outcome: evidence of tangible or intangible results: what the student was aiming to achieve or create;
• Process journal: ideas, criteria, developments, challenges, plans, research, possible solutions and progress reports;
• Report: an account of the project and its impact, to a structure that follows the assessment criteria. The report includes a bibliography and evidence from the process journal that documents students’ development and achievements.

The projects were assessed by La Garenne's supervisors and externally moderated by the International Baccalaureate organisation to ensure they met globally consistent standards of excellence. Well done and continue this hard work now you are in DP1 and studying for your Diplomas!