Years 7, 8 and 9 began their new IMYC units.

The Big Idea for the Year 7 unit is Balance    

Things are more stable when different elements are in the correct or best possible proportions.

The Entry Point involved the students taking part in a yoga lesson, examining ideas of physical and mental balance. This led on to a discussion on the broader aspects of balance, including such things as diet, work/life balance and ecosystems. The students will now to go on to further explore this Big Idea in their individual subjects.

Now the fun summer camp is over, we look forward to seeing you at our amazing Winter Camp.

We propose two alternatives: “SUPER SKI” (skiing all day) or “INTEGRATION & SKI” (classes in the morning, ski in the afternoon).
We look forward to meeting you, registration is now open!

Register Now: https://winter.la-garenne.ch/admissions-winter/

2018-2019 is a milestone year for La Garenne. As part of our aim for constant improvement, we are moving steadily towards full accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS). We have successfully completed our Preparatory Study and have now been given the green light to begin the full Self Study. This will involve the whole school community and the students will be very much part of the process.

The students are at the core of any school and their input will be essential in our 360-degree overview of La Garenne. As part of the process, a comprehensive Community Survey will be undertaken in the autumn term, covering all aspects of life at La Garenne. This will involve students, parents, teachers and staff and will be available in a wide range of languages. Everyone is actively encouraged to participate, as this will be a great source of data for us as we move forward.

From September 2018, we will be introducing club activities designed to help the students develop their self-confidence as well as their public speaking and presentation skills. Communication is an increasingly important element in today’s world and we believe that developing these skills will be of great help to our students in the future.

Next year we aim to spend more time learning outside the classroom. Experiential learning will be by way of field trips, visits, outdoor lessons and ‘collapsed-timetable days’. Here the learning for a whole day will focus on a theme that will be examined by way of a variety of hands-on activities.  

We are actively working to develop the global perspectives of our students. Global Citizenship will be an element of the taught curriculum and teachers in all subject areas will be highlighting links to global issues in their individual fields of study. In preparing our students to be true global citizens we will be working hard to develop their knowledge and understanding of other cultures and different lifestyles. This will be within the taught curriculum and by way of assembles, activities and various focused events.

In the coming school year, both in class and beyond the classroom, we will continue to actively encourage the students to read as much as possible - in English and French, as well as in their Mother Language.

Study will continue to be integrated into the school day, taking place after classes and before clubs. Furthermore, it is the students’ regular specialist teachers who supervise the study. This means that more effective guidance can be given during study time. Students who prove themselves to be independent learners will have more flexibility as to how and when they study. The evenings are then free for some sports, in-house activities and personal study as well as social and personal time. These are vital elements in individual development and advancement.

This week, the children in the Monkeys’ class have enjoyed playing some team games on the interactive whiteboard. These games have helped them practise their vocabulary around the different topics we have studied, as well as work together and communicate in English. The game ‘Wheel of Riches’ on Linguascope is a particular favourite, and they have all been very competitive!

On Thursday, the children spoke and wrote about themselves. They began the day sorting words into groups of nouns, verbs and adjectives, and then used the adjectives to describe their physical appearance and personality. They enjoyed having a go at drawing the other side of their faces!

The children also looked at some more advance vocabulary associated with homes and houses. They described the types of houses that they live in, in their home countries and they rooms that are in them!

The children enjoyed reading, watching and retelling the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’. They worked in groups to order the story sections, using sequencing cards, then retell the story using a story map, and lastly, retell the story orally to the class. All the children spoke clearly and were not afraid to try, even when they were not sure of the correct English words to use; it was lovely to see the children helping each other.