School Year 2021-2021 - Useful Information
July 2021
Useful Information School Year 2021-2022
Dear Parents,
It has been an extraordinary 18 months, and while the world continues to cope with the pandemic, we will be delighted to see our returning students and welcome a diverse group of new students.
As we prepare for the coming school year, we would like to highlight the following important developments:
Our first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme cohort begins and we wish our students great success.
Following this growth, La Garenne welcomes nearly a dozen additional IB-trained members of the Faculty & Staff.
Subject options have expanded allowing more choices based on student interests and talent.
Likewise, new exciting Extra-Curricular Activities will be added.
Parents will receive more frequent information about the academic progress of students.
Tentatively, we are very pleased to confirm the return of Educational Trips to complement and reinforce the academic programme. The dates and European destinations will be announced soon. We intend to offer these trips if international travel guidelines can be adhered to and we can ensure the health and safety of participating students.
Once again for this new academic year, the whole team will do its utmost to provide your children and/or young adults with all they need to succeed during their time at La Garenne and beyond.
Find below important information for the Academic Year 2021-2022 and we thank you in advance for reading it carefully.
We had a very successful summer camp and now, we humbly ask for your understanding, as we take and give our teams a short holiday. The office will be closed from Monday 9th August until Monday 23rd August 2021.
Our main priority is the safety of the whole community and therefore we ask that you please read carefully our COVID-19 protocol which we will continue to adapt.
Since March 2020, we have learned a lot about protecting our community. In the event that COVID response measures change, we are prepared to revert to past protocols and, if necessary, provide student quarantines at the school for students coming from “At-Risk” countries.
La Garenne supports the global vaccination effort and 90% of Faculty and Staff will be fully vaccinated by the start of term. Please register the vaccination of your child and travel with certified documentation. For non-vaccinated persons, we will require you to provide a negative test result in advance or be tested upon arrival. Like last year, we have dedicated one of our boarding houses (Millenium) to be used in case of a suspicious case or positive COVID test result.
Vaccination Date for 12+ year old students in Term 1
La Garenne will offer one opportunity for students to get vaccinated in Term 1. The injection dates are 15 September (first jab) and 20 October (second jab). The Swiss government authorizes only the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine for this age group.
Please email health@la-garenne.ch to reserve your child's vaccination. Alternative dates are NOT POSSIBLE.
Please read the Handbooks thoroughly as they include all of the information concerning school life, academic programmes, extra-curricular activities and communication with parents.
Please find, on the following link, the school calendar for the academic year 2021-2022.
Please confirm by Monday 20 September, by sending an email to smelchior@la-garenne.ch, if your child will be remaining at La Garenne for the October half-term holiday. The school will organize a trip if Swiss and international travel guidelines can be adhered to and we can ensure the health and safety of participating students.
Throughout the school year, we are able to offer private lessons in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese or Japanese. Music lessons for Piano or guitar are available. Additional options such as the yearly photo album or health package are also available.
If you are interested in any of the above choices, please complete the form below and submit it. Please be aware that some choices are very popular and there may not always be a place available, in which case we will inform you.
The start of the academic year is important, therefore please respect the days and schedules planned for the arrival of your child(ren).
New students and Prefects should arrive on Saturday 4th September between 10:00 and 16:00 (check-in, visit of the campus, uniforms, etc.)
Returning boarding students are expected to arrive on Sunday 5th September between 10:00 and 17:30.
Day students are expected on Sunday 5th September between 10:00 and 12:00 to pick up their uniforms.
On Monday 6th September, classes will begin for all students at 08:00.
Arrival at Geneva Airport and Transport to La Garenne
If you are sending your child by airplane, please provide us with the travel itinerary and the Unaccompanied Minor payment confirmation to info@la-garenne.ch as soon as possible (if required).
We remind you that all arrivals at the airport between 10:00 and 16:00 on the above official arrival dates will travel free of charge to La Garenne.
School transport is available only to students. Mr Serafim Leite de Azevedo - the school driver is responsible for meeting all the “UM” (Unaccompanied Minors) and other students arriving during the scheduled times mentioned above, provided their flight details have been sent to the school office prior to arrival.
Details for the “UM” (Unaccompanied Minor) forms are as follows:
La Garenne International School
Ch. des Chavasses 23
CH 1885 Chesières
Tel: +41 (0) 24 495 24 53
Your contact person is: Mr. Serafim Leite de Azevedo (Swiss Passport N°: X1105102)
Mr. Serafim Azevedo
For parents meeting us at the airport, the meeting point will be at the La Garenne individual desk in the designated area of the visitors' centre, on the arrival floor level.
Students Arriving With Parents
If you are accompanying your child(ren) directly to school on the arrival day, please send the estimated time of your arrival time to smelchior@la-garenne.ch as soon as possible. Students arriving with parents are expected between 10:00 and 17:30.
So that your child's room can feel a bit more like home, please remember to bring some personal items (photos, soft toys, etc).
We remind parents to give your child(ren) the code or key of the suitcase(s) and to put a name tag on each suitcase.
Please make sure to include everything on the list. Should this not be the case, school will buy missing items and the cost will be added to the parent's account. It is also important to provide the WINTER CLOTHING items at the start of Term 1 in the case that weather conditions turn cold sooner.
All clothes should have the student’s name and first three letters of their surname sewn on the inside of each piece of clothing. Should this not be the case, it will be done for them on their arrival and the family will be invoiced. Example for: John Smith – Write: John Smi.
Thank you in advance for providing everything on the list. Please do not add any other items. The school is not responsible for any items that have not been labelled.
Please find the list of stationery that we recommend for students here. A complete set of school materials can also be bought directly from school (CHF 250.-).
Students will be provided with all the necessary equipment for their classes apart from a pencil case, which we suggest they bring themselves.
The Direction declines any responsibility for money lost if it is not given to the school office for safe-keeping. Parents are advised not to give the students more money than is authorised by the school.
Only Le Roc students may have a pre-loaded direct debit card.
We remind all parents that students are not allowed to have more money than is stipulated within the relevant Handbook. Any extra money will be confiscated and held for the student in the main office.
For students celebrating their birthday during the academic year, do not hesitate to let us know if you wish for us to organise a special celebration (cake, gift, drink, etc.). If this is the case, we thank you in advance for providing us with an additional amount of CHF 250.-
Prior to arrival at school, we ask that you check your child(ren) carefully for head lice. Please inform the school if lice are found and if a treatment is already underway. All children will be checked again upon arrival and treated if necessary.
Our school is passionate about ensuring all students receive support in both their physical health and mindful happiness. For these reasons, the school offers the following health benefits:
Beauty session(beautician)
Termly naturopath (based on the personal assessment of each child by a naturopathic specialist. Natural medicines, vitamins and oils are prescribed accordingly, to reinforce the immune system and improve general wellbeing)
Osteopath session
Massage session (relaxing and sport massage)
Please contact the Health Centre for any further information at health@la-garenne.ch
A former pupil of La Garenne, our photographer Philippe Latour has been a professional photographer for over 10 years. He joined our team three years ago, as he wanted to offer our students unforgettable memories of their time at La Garenne. Philippe knows La Garenne extremely well and it is a genuine pleasure for him to capture the best moments experienced by your children over the course of the school year. The years will pass but their time at La Garenne will be preserved forever.
Options per term: Package 1: 20 photos during the term - CHF 350 Package 2: 30 photos during the term - CHF 450 Package 3: 50 photos during the term - CHF 650
Options for the school year: Package 4: 60 photos during the school year - CHF 900 Package 5: 90 photos during the school year - CHF 1'200 Package 6: 150 photos during the school year - CHF 1'800
The choice of this option does not mean that these pictures will appear with our daily photos on the school's website or the pages of various social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. At the end of each term, you will receive a virtual album directly via a "Flickr" type Internet link. The photos will be in high definition.
A high-quality paper album, designed and hand-made in Italy, featuring photos of your chosen option, placed inside a most elegant box. This will be a wonderful souvenir that your children will keep for life!
"My Year at La Garenne" CHF 900.- (including production, mounting photos from the file, printing and sending to your postal address) - (e.g. 60 photos + "My Year at La Garenne" = CHF 1'800.-)
Should any families wish to donate books or magazines in the student's own language, we thank you in advance. We strongly advise that all students bring books to read in their mother tongue language.
