The assembly this morning was all about working together. Year 1 & 2 told the story of the greedy brothers who had to co-operate in order to find a solution to their problem. We enjoyed listening to the children singing a song about the importance of working together and helping one another. Examples of when the children work together in class were shared with us and celebrated.

We also celebrated `International Mother Language Day`, it is a great opportunity to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. The students and teachers enthusiastically took part in a quiz and shared some phrases in their mother language.

In class this week the children have been busy using feely bags with secret objects (nouns) to generate adjectives for poetry writing.

The children were challenged to think of questions about magnets and magnetism as they explored.

The students had a fantastic weekend and the Valentine's party went well. The boarding committee helped Paula to set up the dining room and added all the balloons and cards. There were many cards and happy students, the meal was delicious and the roses were all over the school! One student ordered twenty-one roses for twenty-one different girls!

Congratulations to all those students who have achieved outstanding results in the epraise points totals so far this term! Epraise is the system we use for rewarding students across the school for their performance in a variety of areas. The students have their own personal log-in and can track their progress.

We also use epraise for communicating and recording the assignments given to the students for completion in study time or over the holiday periods. Points can be awarded (and sometimes deducted) in each of the following categories:

Students are given certificates when they reach Milestones during the course of the term. These are at 20 points for a Bronze Certificate, 40 points for a Silver Certificate, 60 points for a Gold Certificate and 100 points for the Diamond Award. The top scorers also receive prizes for their exceptional performances. The certificates are awarded periodically and the top students are rewarded at the end of each term. The points scored over the course of the year contribute directly to the academic awards at the end-of-year ceremony, in the presence of the parents and the whole school La Garenne community.  

We are only four weeks into the term and many students have already reached some impressive points totals. In the Cubs and Minis, thirty-one students have already reached the Bronze award. Marharyta (30 points), Beth (31 points), Eliza (32 points), Tony (33 points), Gian (33 points), and Moira (35 points) are all well on their way to the Silver Certificate.

It seems that the points are harder to gain for the Junior students but nineteen students have already reached the Bronze award. The top scorers so far this term are Valeriya (25 points), Maya (25 points), Lucia (25 points), Zoé (27 points), Lorenza (28 points) Aleia (28 points) and Yaroslav (34 points).

Well done to all those who are already at the Bronze Certificate level – now for the Silver!

La Garenne officially launched the process of Accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS). We have been members of this international organisation for the past two years and we are now ready to move on to the next stage – full accreditation. We are currently preparing a report on all aspects of life at La Garenne, leading up to a Preliminary Visit in May. The thorough report the visitors produce will highlight what we already do well and, at the same time, will provide us with guidance on how we can make things even better. The Self Study that follows next year will allow the whole school community to work together to plan for the continual development and improvement of the school. More on this nearer the time!