It was wonderful to see so many smiley faces entering Academia this morning. The children were excited to be back at school and they were motivated to start the second half of the term. We enjoyed hearing all about their adventures over the holidays.

We have got a busy week planned for the children; the Reception and Year 1 & 2 class will be visiting Labyrinthe Aventure and a local farm with their teachers on Thursday and Friday while the Year 3 - Year 9 children will be exploring Europa Park. Let's not forget our Halloween Party for the whole school on Saturday, look out for some spooky photos next week!

Let's catch up with our Year 1 & 2 class and see what they have been learning.

Lisa and Simon enjoyed recording sentences for their story to help them to write them. The children have been practising their beautiful handwriting using a range of different media and in maths they have learned how to sort 2D shapes using Venn diagrams through practical and interactive activities.

The Year 9 ‘Cruisers’ have now reached the halfway stage of their Mediterranean adventure. After driving over the Alps to Genoa, we boarded the MSC Meraviglia in Genoa.

An overnight sail took us to Naples, in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Crossing the busy city, the group visited the ancient town of Pompeii, which was buried by a volcanic eruption in 79AD. The ruins that have been unearthed are like a time capsule, a snapshot of life in Roman times. Pompeii ceased to exist in a matter of hours but the ruins are so well preserved that we can truly imagine what life was like in that distant era.

Leaving Naples, we headed down the Italian coast to the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea - Sicily. Here we discovered the city of Messina and another volcano of a very different type - Mount Etna. Driving through the towns and villages on the volcano’s slopes, we reached one of the mountain’s multiple craters, only to find negative temperatures and snow! This surprise gave us a taste of the winter to come back in Switzerland.

We then headed south to Malta, visiting the fascinating ancient city of Valletta with its narrow streets, fortresses and grand churches and ancient public buildings. Tonight we set sail for Barcelona, sailing all day tomorrow across the western Mediterranean.

The cruise is totally living up to expectations, providing fun for the students and at the same time offering them a unique educational and life experience.

This term we are still lucky enough to have good weather and we will be able to continue our outdoor expeditions and weekend activities in the mountains. A popular choice with the students, they enjoy taking part in the outdoor walks and camping expeditions, especially when they have to try and put up a tent late at night and find all the pieces in the dark! It is great fun and at the same time develops their character and leadership skills, these will be useful later in life. With the winter soon upon us, the activities are adapted slightly and the students will be able to sleep indoors when on an expedition but with the burning log fires and evening stories, they will continue to have a fantastic experience.

The first term is flying by and with this in mind, the preparation for term 2 and the ski season has already started. The students will be receiving their ski jackets and uniforms in order to be sure we are all ready for the ski season in January. If there are any parents who wish to provide their own equipment, please do so and send it with the students when they return in a few days. The second term is a very busy one with expeditions, ski lessons, competitions and class work so the students will be very busy. We are happy that the season looks good for the moment and we hope there will be a lot of snow!

With the students on holiday, we are preparing the school again for their arrival. After a busy six weeks, the team will clean from top to botttom, cut the grass and prepare the classes for the children who return next week. The second half of the term will be a very busy one with the  return of Year 9 from their school trip, the Halloween party, the trip to Europa Park and not to mention four weeks later sitting the first of the year's exams in December. We pride ourselves on working hard whether it be the students or the staff who always do their best to make sure the school upholds the values we pride ourselves on.