Last Friday the students of year 8 and 9 traveled on a beautiful sunny day to the town of Vevey to have a guided art visit and workshop. Images is a biennial contemporary outdoor/indoor photography exhibit from artists all over the world. The theme this year was "out of the ordinary". The students responded well to the four works they saw with the guides. They then participated whole heartedly in a workshop based upon the work of Coco Fronsac and her installation "Chimères et Merveilles".

I was impressed by the students capacity to appreciate the contemporary art and to relate it to the work they are looking at now in class. Moreover the workshop coordinators appreciated their participation and thoughtful work.

Finally, all of the students took great pleasure in being in the sun and enjoying a picnic and snack by the lake on a warm fall day.

Last night we had our first prefect meeting to organise the events for this term. The prefects decided to take  a quick picture before we started the meeting. This term they will be working on raising money for charity, the Halloween party and Christmas ball, not to mention implementing new ideas within the school. A busy time ahead!

A part of the IMYC course, the accreditation process and their general education, the students in Years 7, 8 and 9 follow a course in Global Citizenship. In this course we look at a wide variety of international topics. Earlier this term, we discussed the causes and effects of tropical storms, taking case studies from the recent hurricanes on the east coast of the United States, in the Philippines and in China.

We are currently examining certain aspects of the students’ host country –Switzerland. In Monday’s assembly we looked at the unique form of direct democracy and federal government that is part of Swiss political life. This led on to discussions comparing Swiss politics with the students’ home countries.

In class we are now looking at a variety of aspects of Swiss geography and culture – including its main regions, the distribution of its population and main linguistic regions, the neighbouring countries, and the Swiss cantons. Studies of the host country do not necessarily form part of the taught curriculum, but we believe it is important for the students to have some understanding of the country in which they are living and studying, as well as a wider knowledge of global issues. We are currently organising a visit to the Swiss parliament in Bern so that the students can see the government in action later on in the term.

Each morning within the boarding house, we check the rooms to make sure that everything is tidy, beds made and clean overall. The students who look after their rooms receive weekly points which give them privileges as well. Sometimes, as in the photo attached, they 'try' to get extra points which of course, never works! A good try though!