insights echo - c.ymcdn.com · echo No 8 • SPRING 2011 editorial 2 introduction I am doing a lot...

insights

insights

Bringing art to life

The human touch

Growing, growing…grown?

quoi de neuf ?

It’s happening

In good hands

Improving our school

Teachers in training

esprit ecolint

Timeline

Making peace

Pregny turned forty

les anciens et pas so old Memory lane

coming up or just been

Handing over the reins

Investing in our schools

A vos agendas…

No 8 • SPRING 2011

echo

ecolint magazine in partnership with the Alumni Association

echo No 8 • SPRING 2011

editorial

22

introduction

I am doing a lot of “last things” at the moment : chairing my last Ecolint Education Conference, speaking at my last Students’ League of Nations, planning my last Year 11 Study Day, writing my last editorial for echo. Shortly I will be attending my last Board and Campus Development Group meetings, and at last, after eight years, be able to remind myself during the week what my house and garden look like in daylight. The last thing I shall most regret will be the graduation ceremony in the Greek Theatre at LGB. As for many former students that event has come to sum up for me many of the things I know I will miss about Ecolint.

Hundreds of students will also be experiencing many last things at the end of this year, as they either move to other schools or come to the end of their schooling. Their memories of their time at Ecolint are going to be much more formative than mine as their lives still lie ahead of them. I hope most of them have been happy here for most of their time – not all of the time because happiness is not our lot all of the time and growing up is coping with that too – and above all that they have learned a great deal and acquired a love of learning that will last them all of their lives. The reminiscences in this edition of former students Alvaro de Soto and Katarina Hellberg show with what affection this school can be held by students and how its values can mark their lives.

Many members of staff, as every year, will also be leaving. Some of them, like John Douglas (who left in December), Sandra Oakley and Michel Chinal, who is leaving as Principal of the La Châtaigneraie campus, whom you can read about in this edition, have given virtually their whole working lives to the school. They will be remembered with fondness by generations of former students long after the inevitably more remote figure of the Director-General has faded

into a paragraph (though one hopes a positive paragraph) in the new history of the school that we hope to publish early in 2012.

In reading the draft chapters of this new school history I have been struck by how fortunate we have been over the years in the quality of many of our teachers and their ability to bring their enthusiasms – for literature, history, science, languages, the arts, and the things of the mind generally – into their teaching and the lives of their students. I have been much preoccupied as Director-General with strategic plans, budgets and policies and procedures, all of which are essential to the smooth-running of our complex Foundation. I have never been in any doubt, however, that the most outstanding things that happen in this school, and that mark indelibly our students, only happen because teachers have taken the initiative and been creative and visionary. I am thinking of the many visits to other countries they organise each year – the “service learning” projects you can read about in this edition – that bring students into contact with peoples whose way of life is different from their own and that leave them with a respect for difference and a passionate concern to reduce injustice. I am thinking also of the plays, concerts, Odyssey of the Mind projects, International Award expeditions and celebrations of Hispanic culture through film festivals and literary competitions, that are a feature of our crowded annual calendar and that only happen thanks to a host of spontaneous initiatives on the part of our teachers.

For the last few years I have been spending at least half a day in each of

our eight schools each year. Having visited many schools over many years in the UK I still cannot get over the courtesy and liveliness of most of the classes I visited. Although we are not exempt from adolescent boredom and surliness – how could we be ? – it is rare and what I experience again and again is a relationship of ease between teachers and students, a high level of mutual respect and courtesy, and a willingness to learn. This and the extraordinary diversity of our 130+ nationalities and 80+ mother tongues is what above all I shall miss when I step down at the end of the year from my role as “Principal of the Principals”.

The last title was given to me by a Year 4 class recently when I visited them and they were asked if they knew what I did. I do wish I had heard it earlier as it sounds so much grander than “Director-General”. I have greatly enjoyed being “Principal of the Principals” for the last eight years, a period which has been the most satisfying of a long and varied career.

I wish the whole Ecolint community all the best as it moves forward over the next thirteen years, under what I know will be the inspired leadership of my colleague and friend Vicky Tuck, towards the celebration of its centenary in 2024. If spared, that is an event for which I hope I shall receive an invitation.

Dr Nicholas Tate, Director-General, Ecolint

a Word from the DG

introduction

Nous sommes conscients qu’il y a peu d’articles en français dans cette édition de votre magazine echo, mais c’est par pur hasard que les personnes rencontrées en entretien s’exprimaient majoritairement en anglais.

3echo No 8 • SPRING 2011

insights

How long have you been at Ecolint ?I have worked at Ecolint since 1990 but also taught here for two years in the early 1970s. Why did you become a teacher ?I quickly realised that what interests me most about teaching is the human contact and working towards the future, in the hope of making a better world. We are all in an immense sink-ing ship and we are constantly bailing water but we still somehow remain afloat. I think teachers are a part of this survival process ! I feel at ease with people, challenged and thrilled with shaping human reality which is const-antly questioning and in motion but always linked to some kind of hope. I thought I could add my grain of salt to this eternal process. Why Art ?Perhaps because Art is the subject in which you can cheat the least. The results are there. I enjoy playing an important part in the students’ work and their results. Teaching Art is not just about techniques or know-how but more about the students, what and when to say the right thing for them to react positively and, if needs be, negat-ively. Then they will become positive and, ultimately, hopefully improve the image they have of themselves.

What is the best thing about your job ?The best and the worst things are linked. The best is being able to witness the emerging and budding of the rose from the beginning to the end, discovering the amazing colours of spring. Each spring is different from every other spring. In my subject you get to witness the surprise and amazement of students as they see their ideas turning into art and coming to life. What is the worst ?In an Art class, being very down to earth, I have to anticipate danger, both literally and figuratively. Literally, the students’ ideas have no limit and are often beyond the realms of imagination and this can be difficult to control and channel in the right way. After many years, experience does help me to guide students and point them in the right direction. In the back of my mind, I am always ready to react swiftly and intelligently so they do not get too carr- ied away. Bearing in mind that one mis-placed comment or misunderstanding could ruin a student’s perception of art and of their own artistic abilities for a lifetime, so I am always very careful ! How has the teaching of Art changed over the years ?Teaching Art has not really changed very much. But I would say that the explor-ation methods are more varied now. It is easy to use the internet to find inform-ation and pictures which make the pace

of classes quicker. In an Art class where there are many simultaneous demands, being able to get the necessary inform-ation for each student more quickly means that I have more time to spend with all my students. What do you think Art brings to the students ?Art can bring self respect as well as respect for others. Students also dis-cover that nothing is impossible and that, with a bit of guidance and a grasp of basic principles, they can go a step further than they thought they could. None of us is there to judge or to be judged. We are all just moving forward and discovering new things about our own inner world and the world around us. Both worlds go hand in hand, for better or worse, and it is our personal struggle to find the balance in both. What do you think about the new Arts Centre that is being planned for LGB ?No artist could dream of anything better. The Arts Centre’s potential for unit- ing the arts is amazing. So, of course, I really do hope it will be built quickly. However, I would like to add that the greatest arts centre is anywhere where teachers believe in their students’ pot-ential and help them to develop their enthusiasm, imagination and, above all, their own belief in their future !

Anything else you would like to add ?Yes, I realised very late how fortunate I am to work in such an international environment. Now, I breathe this inter-national air as if I were at the top of Mont-Blanc.

insightsBringing art to lifeAn interview with Karen Reymond-Dorsay, Arts teacher,

Middle School, La Grande Boissière, Ecolint

With the Arts Centre community campaign in full swing on our La Grande Boissière campus, echo was delighted to interview Middle School Arts teacher, Karen Reymond-Dorsay and hear her views on teaching Art and how she thinks the new Arts Centre will make a difference.

So far, over CHF 108,000 of the target of CHF 2 million for the Arts Centre Community campaign has been raised. For more information, please visit the Arts Centre web pages at: www.ecolint-arts.ch



editorial

4

Name, position and why do you think community action projects are important ?

How do these projects change /affect our students ?

Describe a recent project and what does it involves for our students ?

Frazer Cairns, Principal of the Campus and Secondary School, Campus des Nations. I think that such projects have an immediate positive effect. But the greatest benefit is actually much longer term and tied to the education of our students. A participant who later becomes influential may make a more informed decision when faced with questions about aid, collaboration or about equality and their decision could positively impact on a far greater number of people.

Students often see that helping takes energy and commitment. You haven’t really helped a person if you hand over some money and then later just walk away. What students seem to learn is much more personal – that they are often capable of much more than they had ever imagined.

This year at Nations there is a new project to go to Mafia Island which is off the coast of Tanzania. The students will camp on the island and take part in two projects: digging the foundations and making the bricks that will go to make up a new classroom at a secondary school and helping with the tagging and conservation of whale sharks in the area.

Ariela Hakim, Principal’s Administra-tive Assistant, Secondary School, La Grande Boissière (LGB). I feel that students gain a lot from these trips. Most of our students live in an environment where they want for nothing and, although most have travelled a lot, some have not seen poverty or educational condi-tions elsewhere. Each and every student that has travelled with us to Senegal, for example, has returned a different person, with different values. They appreciate what they have and most express a wish to continue with projects that will have a positive impact.

I find that travelling with students to places such as Morocco or Senegal gives them a different perspective on life. One student after last year’s trip sums up well, “The trip was an unforgettable exper-ience for everyone and students will always remember the friendliness of the people they met, the liveliness and warmth of the children in the schools, and the incredible bonds created across cultures.”

Last year, we travelled with 24 students to Senegal where they worked in the construction of a library, the improve-ment of classrooms in another school and the planting of trees in two differ-ent schools. Students interacted with local students and their families. The project started four years ago with a group of 18 students. This year, 39 students will be travelling to Senegal with myself, Momar Ndoye and Momar Seck, the two other main organisers from La Grande Boissière.

Olivier Revaz, Professeur de français et Responsable du Département de français, La Châtaigneraie. La sensibilisation aux grandes causes humanitaires de notre monde est essentielle pour l’éducation de nos élèves. Dans le mot “humanitaire”, il y a l’homme dans toute sa diversité et sa fraternité. Nous vivons sur une même planète et la solidarité doit être une finalité pour tout un chacun. Les défis actuels sont énormes pour éradiquer les malheurs de notre monde.

Notre mission humanitaire au Népal met les élèves devant des réalités impor-tantes de notre monde. Ils peuvent ainsi en prendre conscience et apporter leurs contributions humanitaires concrètes. Les élèves reviennent changés du Népal par ce contact étroit qu’ils ont eu avec les orphelins de Sagarmatha, la pau-vreté des populations himalayennes, et d’autres cultures. Ils peuvent mesurer par eux-mêmes l’ampleur de la tâche quand on décide d’aider concrètement nos amis népalais en venant sur place.

Nos élèves soutiennent l’orphelinat Sagarma- tha à Kathmandu (www.sassnepal.org.np). Lors des dernières missions, nous avons refait la peinture et les sanitaires de l’orphelinat, assaini les installations d’eau, offert du matériel scolaire, débloqué une aide d’ur- gence pour des frais médicaux et pour l’achat de sac de riz et de dal. Pour 2011, il est prévu d’assumer tous les frais d’écolage, le matériel et les vêtements pour la rentrée scolaire, d’offrir des ordinateurs portables pour une école dans le Solu Kumbu et d’y construire une cuisine équipée (actuellement elle se fait à même le sol).

The human touch

4 echo No 7 • SPRING 2011

Ecolint opened in 1924 in collaboration with the founding members of the League of Nations to provide an international education for their children while they were in Geneva. Unsurprisingly, humanitarianism has always been an important part of Ecolint’s educational philosophy. At any one time, many of our Primary and Secondary School students are involved in a variety of projects, helping others both locally and much further afield. This article learns from some of those responsible for these projects as to why community action and service learning are such a force for good. It also provides an insight into some of the projects going on in our schools.


insights

5

insights

By Michaelene Stack, Director of Development, Ecolint

insights

«Vis comme si tu devais mourir demain, apprends comme si tu devais vivre toujours.» Gandhi


Name, position and why do you think community action projects are important ?

How do these projects change /affect our students ?

Describe a recent project and what does it involves for our students ?

Estelle Hughes, CAS Coordinator, Campus des Nations. Although I am not very fond of the word humanitarian , I must acknowledge it underlines the need to keep in touch with our humane side. However, it is crucial to shed the possible superiority complex that the notion of humanitarian work sometimes entails. My role as a CAS coordinator is to open my students’ eyes to the fact that there is a world out there where they are needed. In order to rise to the challenge of world citizenship they have to learn about the complexities of service work and ask themselves the right questions : What does genuine commitment look like ? How do I communicate with the community I would like to help ? What are the success criteria for service ? It is important to keep the students in contact with service learning throughout their school experience, without significant gaps. In service learning, continuity means growth.

Some quotes from Year 13 students’ end of year reflections show how service learning has made them more open-minded.

“Service was a challenge to me bec-ause I found myself so fully booked. When it functioned in the end, it gave the idea of helping others a more positive dimension. Now I think it is do-able.”

“I met asylum seekers for the first time.” “In Ecuador, the main strength I gained was the ability to work as a team. I planned my own trip, raised the money and prepared the itinerary with my friends. There was a language barrier in many of my service projects, including in Ecuador so I had to learn how to communicate with different cultures.”

I would like to mention the soup kitchen project led by Mrs. Christine Blom, parent and School Nurse. Four times a year, students go and cook food for an economically fragile pop-ulation in the heart of Geneva. This activity allows students to discover an unknown side of Switzerland. Some could argue that cooking a meal is simply not enough but, by doing so, the group contributes to a chain of solidarity and they meet new people whose humanity they learn to resp-ect. The beauty of this very simple project is in the fact that it unites parents, teachers and students from our Primary and Secondary Schools. Planning, creative fundraising, hands-on work and human contact make the soup kitchen sessions a valuable pedagogical adventure.

Vicky Seymour, Biology Teacher and CAS Coordinator, La Châtaigneraie. I am not a fan of the word humanitarianism since I feel that it implies that our students are giving more than they are gaining from their involv-ement in outreach projects. Service learning seems to give a more realistic description. “Ecolink” is a new initiative piloting at La Châtaigneraie, hoping to offer a central point of communication for the range of service opportunities across the Foundation. As well as supporting collaboration between teachers, the ambition is to give students increased ownership over projects and to develop a deeper understanding of the challenges to be faced therein. It also allows for greater vertical continuation from Primary through to Year 13.

We all need to take the focus of our lives beyond our daily and immediate concerns and look outwards to issues affecting the global community. By extending our perspective to other people, other cultures and new environ- ments we can challenge our world view and increase our appreciation of what life has to offer and modify our actions based on a wider set of priorities. Service learning gives our students the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of complex issues in today’s world.

During the Tanzania project, students explore different communities including spending time with host families and Maasai tribes to experience the warmth of Tanzanian hospitality. They also work tutoring groups of local A-level students, with the rewards and frustrations assoc-ated with this! Funds raised before the trip are used in educational building projects and since 2006, in supporting the Watu teachers’ resource centre to increase access to profes-sional development, encourage collab-oration and provide IT, library and labor-atory facilities for use by local students.

If you have any questions or would like to support any of these projects, please contact those in charge by email to : [email protected]


editorial

6

Consuelo Ramos, Director of Admissions, Ecolint

Where were you and what did you do before joining Ecolint ? Before joining Ecolint I was at the Toronto French School, Canada’s largest independent school, where I worked as Director of Admissions for 14 years.

What are the current challenges in placing students at Ecolint ? Ecolint is constantly challenged to meet the demand for student places. Demand for places is usually beyond our capacity. Though the world continues to exper-ience a challenging economic environ-ment, the school saw a 30% increase in the number of applications received in January 2011, compared to 2010. We are currently building a new Primary School and expanding the Secondary School at La Châtaigneraie. This will make room for over 500 new students.

How do you see admissions evolving ?Information technology is changing the way schools interact and connect with parents. We are now in the process of revamping our website to make applic-ations much easier for families. Beyond this, there are many exciting initiatives under way using new information tech-nology to facilitate the interactions between parents and the school, as well as to give us new information

about our prospective students and parents. We are also upgrading the ad-missions database to lay the foundation for future productivity enhancements.

The need for human contact will not dis-appear, as families still need to “connect” with us in person to get a more intimate experience of Ecolint and a deeper appreciation of our vision, values and the wonder-ful people who work here !

Anything else you would like to add ?Assisting parents in choosing the right school for their children is a very reward-ing process and I am very fortunate to play a role in it. I am a strong believer that parents play a crucial role in cont-inuously improving Ecolint through their participation and feedback. I have already enjoyed meeting a good number of parents and I am looking forward to meeting many more.

John Douglas, former Director of Admissions, Ecolint

During his 38 years at Ecolint, John went from being a teacher of Geography, to Head of the Geography Department, to Assistant Principal, to School Principal then Campus Principal and finally ending up as Director of Admissions.

As Director of Admissions, how did your role evolve as the school evolved ?When I started, each campus was dealing with its own admissions and,

at La Grande Boissière, each school was carrying out its own admissions. The initial challenge was to put in place a system to centralise admissions and then to keep improving it to deal with the growth. We moved from paper lists on the walls in the first year to working with increasingly computerised inform-ation. But I always believed that decis-ions on which places to offer and to whom had to remain as individual judg-ments within the Admissions Policy, using the best available information.

The role remained pretty much the same. Information had to go out to parents and School Principals were responsible for making decisions on individual students. The main evolution was that everything grew, especially demand for places. The main challeng-es were that budgets became tighter so the highest possible enrolment was needed. Notice of departures was being given later and later which made allocating places more challenging.

What were the most challenging things about overseeing admissions at Ecolint ?Ensuring systems were in place and resisting pressure from parents and emp-loyers who were trying to have priority over places. Also, ensuring that School Principals provided us with the necessary information about places at their schools. The biggest challenge, that at times became quite disheartening, was having to say “no” to so many parents looking for school places for their children.

What are you doing with yourself these days ?I am splitting my time between Geneva and Valais, depending on the weather, and planning how to refurbish a thirty year old chalet. I am also reading for the first time in many years and seeing more of my grandsons.

Growing, growing…grown?

6

insights

Ecolint started out in 1924 with a handful of students and a rabbit. It is now a Foundation with three campuses, eight schools, 4,000 students and 1,000 staff. And from next September, an additional 500 students will be able to enrol at Ecolint. The job of dealing with admissions has also evolved and echo was happy to catch up with the current Director of Admissions, Consuelo Ramos, and her predecessor, John Douglas, who retired last year, to ask them about the issues and challenges of allocating school places.


An interview with Consuelo Ramos, current Director of Admissions, and John Douglas, former Director of Admissions, Ecolint


insights

7

insights


quoi de neuf ?

How long have you been a teacher at Ecolint ?I have been teaching at Ecolint for 8 years.

How would you sum up your role ?I am a teacher of Humanities and Assistant Principal which involves helping look after the logistics of the Secondary School at Campus des Nations.

What is your teaching style ?I like to teach through enquiry, with a passion for the use of information technology to keep the curriculum up to date and engaging for the students.

What is the best thing about your job ?No day is the same, I am never sure

what will happen on the way into work and as a result the days, weeks and months seem to fly past!

Least favourite thing or something you would like to change ?There is a huge amount of expertise in the Foundation and I would like to be able to spend time with coll-eagues from other campuses to discuss approaches to different aspects of my job.

What does being a teacher mean to you ?As a Humanities teacher my main objective is to create engaging less-ons that spark interest in the world around us, and for students to realise that they have ownership of the environment and with that comes responsibility.

What are the three best things about being a teacher at Ecolint ?Colleagues and students and their open-mindedness.

Your maxim ? Work hard and try something new.

In good handsTeachers are often the reason why your children come home from school with a spring in their step. This is the second in a regular feature interviewing a teacher at Ecolint to find out a little more about what they do and how and why they do it. Jamie Williams, Humanities teacher and Assistant Principal of the Secondary School at Campus des Nations, answers our questions.

An interview with Jamie Williams, Humanities teacher and Assistant Principal, Secondary School, Campus des Nations, Ecolint

It’s happening !

The North American Ecolint Alumni Reunion 30 September to 1 October 2011

The weekend event will be held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. The hotel has recently been renovated and looks fantastic. We have guest rooms at the fabulous rate of $99 per night.The weekend will begin with a welcome reception and cocktails on the Friday, followed by a dinner dance on the Saturday, with our very own musical accompaniment, the Jeff Berkin band.This is a great opportunity to piggy-back on the event and set up your own personal or class reunions, for example LGB ’72 are planning an event.

For more information and details of the contact person (Pennie Aldrich), please visit the alumni website: http://alumni.ecolint.ch and look under the “Upcoming Events” section.Information will also be sent out electronically. So, if you haven’t already, please send your name and email to [email protected] to receive mailings or register on the alumni website (it’s free and only takes two minutes!).


editorial

8

Improving our school

echo No 7 • AUTUMN 2010

Over the decades, Ecolint has expanded and invested in many new buildings (as the timeline on pages 12-13 shows). And the investment in capital projects continues today to improve the learning environment for each and every student.

“The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement.” Unknown author

The oldest and most eclectic of the three campuses of Ecolint, La Grande Boissière, is not about to lose its mantel as innov-ator and vanguard, even if our building is still in the pre-construction phase !

The New Year saw the revelation of the Wilmotte touch on the planned Arts Centre… a whole new skin has been proposed for what will be this state of the art (no pun intended) building. Our architect M. Jean-Michel Wilmotte (www.wilmotte.fr) has proposed an

elegant and sharp façade for what will be one of our campus’s emblematic build-ings. I have no doubt we will hear loud words both in praise and horror.

As with all of Ecolint’s capital projects we are methodically working our way through the administrative stages of applying for permis. Our demande d’autorisation de construire was submit-ted in February. With the agreement of the Governing Board at their March meeting we have started preparation of

the tender packages so by this Summer we can begin negotiations with an entreprise générale.

Financially we are not quite there yet. With the enormous support of our school community we have now secured CHF 13 million of the CHF 20 million required to build the Arts Centre. I am grateful both to those who gave six figure sums and have named rooms within the building and to those of you who bought tickets for the wonderful community campaign Gala Dinner at the Four Seasons, Hôtel des Bergues on the 28th April.

We still need your further financial sup-port to be able to commence construc-tion. If you would like to know more about giving to the Arts Centre, please contact Michaelene Stack, Director of Development, on +41 (0)22 787 26 63 or email :[email protected] or visitwww.ecolint-arts.ch

A new skin at La Grande Boissière, by Jean Guy Carpentier, Campus Principal

echo No 8 • SPRING 2011 9echo No 8 • SPRING 2011

By Jean-Guy Carpentier, Campus Principal, La Grande Boissière, Michel Chinal, Directeur du Campus, La Châtaigneraie

and Martial Thévenaz, Administrateur du Campus, Campus des Nations

¢Une nouvelle Ecole primaire autonome avec sa propre cafétéria. ¢Une Ecole secondaire répartie dans les trois grands bâtiments : l’ancien bâtiment centenaire, le bâtiment primaire actuel (inauguré en 1981) surélevé et le bâtiment des sciences, datant de 1993 avec la surélévation du Centre Multimédia créé en 2001. ¢Des installations sportives compre-nant deux bâtiments, un terrain de foot synthétique, un terrain de basket et un parcours santé.

¢La Ferme sera réservée à la réception et aux services du campus.

Développement de l’Ecole secondaire :

¢A partir de septembre 2011, l’Ecole secondaire utilisera le bâtiment primaire actuel. ¢Les bâtiments préfabriqués seront éliminés. ¢Un étage supplémentaire sera cons-truit sur le bâtiment primaire actuel.

La nouvelle Ecole primaire :

Le bâtiment comprendra des salles de classe, des locaux spécialisés pour l’art, la musique, les langues, l’informa-tique et le soutien scolaire. Sont égale- ment prévus une cafétéria avec cuisine équipée, une salle de rythmique pour les plus jeunes, une aula de 220 places, une infirmerie, une salle des profes-seurs et des espaces administratifs. Le bâtiment respecte les exigences environnementales imposées par le Minergie®.

Depuis le début de l’année, plus d’une centaine d’ouvriers travaillent sans relâche pour ces travaux du second œuvre afin d’atteindre cette date importante de l’été 2011 qui mar-quera la fin des travaux et la remise des clefs à notre institution. Il s’agit d’installateurs électriques, de ferblan-tiers, d’étancheurs, d’installateurs de

chauffage, de sanitaires et de ventila-tion, d’ascensoristes, de maçons, de plâtriers et peintres, de menuisiers, et d’ouvriers de terrassement.

Au mois d’avril ont débuté les travaux d’aménagement extérieur. Bien que toute la zone arrière du bâtiment reste bloquée, nos élèves pourront déjà ap-

précier une partie de l’aménagement sur la toiture de la nouvelle salle de gym qui sera dotée d’un terrain de basketball. Un deuxième petit terrain de basketball ainsi qu’un mini terrain de football seront créés pour la nouvelle année scolaire 2011.

Depuis plusieurs semaines, de nom-breux élèves et professeurs ont eu la chance de visiter les futurs locaux qui prennent forme : de la double salle de gymnastique (et son ample coin supporters) à la nouvelle salle polyva-lente de danse, des salles de science aux salles de classe, de l’immense bibliothèque aux locaux techniques et des bureaux administratifs aux salles d’éducation spécialisée.

Tous se réjouissent bien sûr de pouvoir bénéficier de cette surface supplémen-taire de travail et de loisir…

quoi de neuf ?

Un nouveau visage pour l’automne à La Châtaigneraie, by Michel Chinal, Directeur du Campus

Le second œuvre en pleine ébullition à Campus des Nations, by Martial Thévenaz, Administrateur du Campus


Teachers in training

1. Brooke Bandler, Primary2. My passion for children and

continuous learning. 3. Fantastic ! 4. Putting into practice the theory

we learned and actually being in the classroom and getting some excellent experience.

5. When you want to regain control of the class, ask one of the classmates to help you by taking over the class and ask them to regain control.

6. Seeing the light on a child’s face when he understood a difficult concept I was teaching him.

1. Shireen Ali-Khan, Primary2. My previous career as a psych-

ologist and researcher and parenthood.

3. Provoking much thought and self- reflection as a basis on which to build my own philosophy of education.

4. Without hesitation, it is the children. 5. It was not something that was said

but was more powerful, when one of the School Principals came to our class to share her own research experiences. This was a tremendous act of support for what we are doing as trainees.

6. Singing on the school bus with 24 pupils on our way to a swimming

The first cohort of twelve trainee teachers on the Durham University / Ecolint International Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course have almost completed their training. They have had school experience placements on all three campuses and are looking forward to graduating at the end of June. In this article, we hear from some of them about their experiences so far. For further details about the course, please see www.ecolint.ch / School Life / PGCE (International).

We asked the trainee teachers to consider the following questions :

Q1 : What is your name and what will you teach ?Q2 : What made you want to become a teacher ?Q3 : How are you finding the International PGCE course?Q4 : What have you enjoyed most about your school experience placements ?Q5 : What is the best piece of advice you have been given by a teacher so far ?Q6 : Can you share your best moment of teacher training so far ?

11echo No 8 • SPRING 2011 11

By Alison Ball, Director of Professional Studies, PGCE (International), Ecolint


quoi de neuf ?

lesson. We were out of tune and proud of it!

1. Nathalie Weinstein, Secondary, Modern Foreign Languages, French & Italian

2. When I am teaching, time flies. I like working in an environment where the raison d’être is the happiness and success of the students.

3. Very interesting and rewarding, a positive change in atmosphere from my previous work places (London law firms and publishing).

4. The challenge of thinking up ideas so students participate and enjoy lessons and the feeling when they work !

5. Don’t be afraid of silence.6. The smiles on students’ faces

when they understand. One Year 10 student almost shouted, “I get it!” when she finally understood a grammar point !

1. Dagmar Dijkstra, Primary2. I love working with children and

worked as an assistant with special needs children for a year.

3. This is a very well-rounded course. At the schools, the teachers have been very helpful and welcoming.

4. Working with the students and trying out the different techniques learned during observations and theory lessons.

5. Always stay calm, never shout. Give students time to process and respond.

6. Working with the students on a performance piece, observing and watching what they came up with was inspiring and a good learning experience.

1. Laura Italici, Secondary, Economics & Maths

2. My passion for learning and love of children, as well as a desire to work in a dynamic school environment.

3. A lot of work, particularly during the placements ! Balancing the academic part of the course, run by

Durham University, with the school placements and family commitments is certainly a challenge !

4. Being with the students and meeting the amazing teachers at Ecolint.

5. It’s normal to find it difficult at the beginning.

6. Learning how complicated teaching is. Good teachers make it look easy !

1. James Eddis, Secondary, History2. As part of my previous job with the

Imperial War Museum in London, I led school trips abroad to battlefield sites. What I enjoyed most was explaining the past to our teenage learners. Every teacher who accompanied the trip begged me to teach history for my own sake, as I clearly love it.

3. The course is much more demanding than I expected. The hours spent preparing lessons are intense.

4. The theatre of teaching. It’s performance with meaning. You get to be funny, insightful and constructive with a captive audience, for their benefit.

5. Be yourself.6. Being given a half eaten bar of

chocolate as a farewell gift.

1. Vickie L. Hayek, Secondary, Maths & History

2. I have been volunteering for the past twenty years with PTA organisations. This makes me happy and it is where I get my positive energies.

3. I have found the programme to be very comprehensive, with lots of material to cover and sixteen weeks of practical experience. The relationships I have formed with my classmates and colleagues are outstanding.

4. Meeting all the teachers and staff and working as a team in the various departments. I have learned a lot about teaching and classrooms that I never knew before.

5. Always have a back-up plan. Technology and other things can change your planning.

6. When teaching Mathematics or History I love to see the “light bulb” of understanding illuminate.

1. Nicola Vickers, Primary2. I had been teaching English to adults

but jumped at the chance to train to work with children – they are such good fun ! I love their energy, their sparkle.

3. It’s an endlessly fascinating, demanding and exciting programme. The twelve trainees are a very solid and supportive team.

4. Getting to know the children, first and foremost, but also discovering all the teamwork and support behind the scenes.

5. Get yourself organised and love your children.

6. My Year 6 group put on a fabulous debate. Listening to the mature and thoughtful responses to parents’ questions made me so proud of them – and myself!

1. Paula Behrens Sesso, Secondary, Geography

2. For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to teach. I love the enthusiasm that young people bring into school.

3. My teachers had a huge impact on my academic and life choices. I feel privileged to be entering a profession with such great responsibility.

4. The PGCE course has been very enlightening. The lecturers are extremely knowledgeable and information is not only theoretical but also very practical. The mentors who have worked with us are amazing teachers and practitioners.

5. When you first observe teachers you try to emulate and copy them but I have really enjoyed discovering my own teaching style.

6. I enjoy seeing the progress that students make every day.


editorial

ww....u

Ecole Internationalede Genève

Genève

Monde

1924 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960

1924 Foundation of the School

1925 First boy boarders admitted; girls followed in 1926

1929 Move to La Grande Boissière. First scholarship students admitted, including Victoria Stereva, later to establish an important archive. Mme Maurette becomes directrice

1935 The school, suffering a considerable decline in enrolment due to the Great Depression, draws up a memorandum for the Board on the subject

1936 The School, continuing to suffer as a result of the Great Depression, has printed Financial Conditions for the Boarding Department

1940 School-in-exile at Hendaye followed by escape to England of a group of students and teachers

1942 The school feeds itself during the war years from its own vegetable garden

1944 Some students forced to stay at the school by the War able to leave following the liberation of their home countries. Anne-Marie Walters parachuted into occupied France as Special Operations Executive agent

1945 Drama teacher Philip Drummond Thompson, who had previously appeared in an anti-Nazi play in the 1930s, was at last able to leave Switzerland. School tries to contact alumni with whom it had lost contact during the War. Ceremony to mark the end of the War in Europe

1949 Mme Maurette retires as directrice after 20 years in the job. Fred Roquette becomes directeur with Bill Oats as his assistant given the increasing number of anglophone students

1953 First Students’ United Nations (SUN) session

1953 Château bought by the Canton for the use of the school

1924 Installation du Secrétariat général de la Société des Nations (SDN) au Palais Wilson Premier Salon international de l’automobile

1927 Création par Rolex de la première montre étanche

1932 Manifestation et fusillade à Plainpalais

1932-1934 Conférence du désarmement

1927 Charles Lindbergh makes the first successful crossing of the Atlantic by plane

1929 Black Thursday on Wall Street

1936 Berlin Olympic Games (attended by Douglas Deane) The Hindenburg airship crashes near New York

1939 Beginning of the Second World War

1940 German victories in the West/Battle of Britain

1941 Mahatma Gandhi becomes President of the Indian Congress

1956 Opening of the Greek Theatre

1958 The school reaches 1,000 students for the first time

1950 Chinese military invasion of TibetOutbreak of the Korean War

1952 Maria Callas receives a forty-minute ovation at the end of her per-formance of Norma at La Scala, Milan

1953 Death of Stalin

1945 Atomic bombardment of Hiroshima End of World War II in Europe and in Asia

1949 Foundation of NATOMao Tse-tung declares the Peoples’ Republic of China

1964 Retirement of Fred Roquette as directeur

1946 Genève devient le siège européen des Nations Unies

1947 Premier vol Swissair Genève-New York-Genève

1948 Installation de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS)

1950 Installation de l’Organisation météorologique mondiale (OMM)

1951 Le Jet d’eau atteint 140m de haut

1953-1954 Création du CERN

1955 Installation de l’Horloge fleurie

1959 400e anniversaire de l’Université de Genève

1960 Adoption du suffrage féminin à Genève

1957 Treaty of Rome, creation of the European Economic Community

1958 The Second Berlin Crisis begins, following a threatening speech by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev

1962 The first Beatles record appears

1963 Assassination of J.F. Kennedy

1964 Dismissal of Khrushchev as Soviet leader

Ecolint

«I believe that education, the art of giving shape to human powers and adapting them to social service, is the supreme art; one calling into its service the best of artists.» John Dewey «C’est qu’il y a à l’école une atmosphère indéfinis-sable qui vous imprègne lentement et finit par vous modeler si vous acceptez d’être réceptif. Cet «esprit Ecolint» a son caractère propre. Il est plus et mieux que le reflet des tendances diverses et souvent opposées de ceux qui le créent et l’enrichissent continuellement.» Louis Johannot, ancien élève, 1949 « Nous ignorons ce que notre nature nous permet d’être.»Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1930 The American astronomer Tombaugh discovers Pluto, the ninth planet in the solar system

1933 Berlin book burning: 20,000 books considered decadent, corrupting and hostile to the German ideal are burned by the Nazis

1936 Inauguration du Palais des Nations, siège mondial de la Société des Nations

1938 Installation du premier secrétariat du Conseil oecuménique des Eglises

1944 Arrivée des forces armées américaines à la frontière genevoise

1930-1931 The school has 226 students of 26 nationalities

1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

1966 Following tensions between the two Language Programmes, the Conciliation Commission is set up. It recommends that a Director-General should be appointed to bring together the Language Programmes

1968 The new Foundation of the International School of Geneva comes into being (First meeting of the Foundation Board). The IB Diploma Programme in English and French largely created by teachers at the International School of Geneva

1971 Distribution of the first IB Diplomas in the Greek Theatre by Lord Mountbatten

1974 Merger with the Lycée des Nations and creation of the La Châtaigneraie campus. The Foundation exceeds 2,000 students for the first time. 50th Anniversary Celebrations – Red Book published

1975 Merger with the United Nations Primary School

1978 René-François Lejeune retires as Director-General after two terms in office

1986 New Primary School, Les Marronniers, opens on the LGB Campus

1987 Inauguration of the Pregny Extension

1991 George Walker becomes Director-General

1994 More than 100 nationalities in the student body of the Foun-dation for the first time

1999 A unified Secondary School comes into existence at LGB leading to the creation of the Tronc Commun. A History of the School by Michael Knight is published. George Walker leaves to become Director-General of the IBO

2003 Nicholas Tate becomes Director-General

2004 Student assembly to com-memorate the 80

th anniversary of the school. M. Charles Beer, Geneva State Councillor for Education, visits the school and speaks to alumni

2011 Nicholas Tate retires after eight years and Vicky Tuck becomes Director-General

2005 Opening of Campus des Nations – an all IB School – with consequent closing of the Rigot and Mies campuses

2008 One hundred years of educa-tion on the La Châtaigneraie site. 4,000 students enrolled in the Foun-dation for the first time, an increase of c.1,000 in less than ten years

2009 Alumni Worldwide Reunion marks the 85

th Anniversary of the school

1977 Installation du siège mondial de Serono

1978 Première Course de l’Escalade

1985 Rencontre Reagan-GorbatchevLe nombre de 25,000 frontaliers est atteint

1987 Première édition du Salon international du livre

1991 Naissance du World Wide Web au CERNPremière édition du Salon international de la haute horlogerie

2003 Une manifestation rassemble de 20,000 à 30,000 personnes contre le sommet du G8 qui se tient à ÉvianL’accord de Genève : un plan pour résoudre le conflit israélo-palestinien Inauguration du nouveau stade de Genève

1967 “Summer of love” in San Francisco

1969 Neil Armstrong walks on the moon

1971 The People’s Republic takes the China seat at the United Nations replacing Taiwan

1974 India explodes its first Atom bomb

1977 Construction of the Centre Pompidou by the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers

1978 ‘Boat People’ begin to flee Vietnam

1979 Ruhollah Khomeini installs a republic in Iran

1981 Marguerite Yourcenar is the first woman to be admitted to the Académie Française

1982 The compact disc is born

1984 American researchers identify the AIDS virus

1986 Chernobyl Explosion in the USSR

1987 Financial Crash

1989 Fall of the Berlin WallThe fifty-franc Swatch revolutio-nises the image of the watch

1994 Oslo Accords on Israeli-Palestinian Problem Nelson Mandela and Frederik de Klerk head the first multiracial government in South Africa

1996 Dolly, the sheep, is the first mammal to be cloned

1999 Agreement to move to a new European currency, the Euro

2001 Attack on the World Trade Cen-ter in New-York

2003 US led invasion of Iraq topples Saddam Hussein More than 10 million people demon-strate against the war in Iraq, in over 600 towns throughout the world

2006 New Horizons, the first space probe towards Pluto, is successfully launched

2008 Barack Obama elected President of the USA

2011 Une terrible tragédie a secoué le nord-est du Japon : un séisme de 9.0 sur l’échelle de Richter suivi par un tsunami. Au moins 11’000 morts et plus de 16’700 portés disparus

1965 Proclamation des principes fondamentaux de la Croix-Rouge

1967 Installation de l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)

1981 Inauguration de Palexpo 1995 Fondation de l’ONUSIDA

1999 Installation de Procter & Gamble (planification straté-gique pour l’Europe, le Proche et Moyen-Orient ainsi que l’Afrique)

2009 500e anniversaire de la

naissance de Calvin2010 In the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator built by CERN, the first planned collisions took place

1981 The school has 2,573 students from 83 nationalities

12

Time line


insights

13

ww....u

Ecole Internationalede Genève

Genève

Monde

1924 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960

1924 Foundation of the School

1925 First boy boarders admitted; girls followed in 1926

1929 Move to La Grande Boissière. First scholarship students admitted, including Victoria Stereva, later to establish an important archive. Mme Maurette becomes directrice

1935 The school, suffering a considerable decline in enrolment due to the Great Depression, draws up a memorandum for the Board on the subject

1936 The School, continuing to suffer as a result of the Great Depression, has printed Financial Conditions for the Boarding Department

1940 School-in-exile at Hendaye followed by escape to England of a group of students and teachers

1942 The school feeds itself during the war years from its own vegetable garden

1944 Some students forced to stay at the school by the War able to leave following the liberation of their home countries. Anne-Marie Walters parachuted into occupied France as Special Operations Executive agent

1945 Drama teacher Philip Drummond Thompson, who had previously appeared in an anti-Nazi play in the 1930s, was at last able to leave Switzerland. School tries to contact alumni with whom it had lost contact during the War. Ceremony to mark the end of the War in Europe

1949 Mme Maurette retires as directrice after 20 years in the job. Fred Roquette becomes directeur with Bill Oats as his assistant given the increasing number of anglophone students

1953 First Students’ United Nations (SUN) session

1953 Château bought by the Canton for the use of the school

1924 Installation du Secrétariat général de la Société des Nations (SDN) au Palais Wilson Premier Salon international de l’automobile

1927 Création par Rolex de la première montre étanche

1932 Manifestation et fusillade à Plainpalais

1932-1934 Conférence du désarmement

1927 Charles Lindbergh makes the first successful crossing of the Atlantic by plane

1929 Black Thursday on Wall Street

1936 Berlin Olympic Games (attended by Douglas Deane) The Hindenburg airship crashes near New York

1939 Beginning of the Second World War

1940 German victories in the West/Battle of Britain

1941 Mahatma Gandhi becomes President of the Indian Congress

1956 Opening of the Greek Theatre

1958 The school reaches 1,000 students for the first time

1950 Chinese military invasion of TibetOutbreak of the Korean War

1952 Maria Callas receives a forty-minute ovation at the end of her per-formance of Norma at La Scala, Milan

1953 Death of Stalin

1945 Atomic bombardment of Hiroshima End of World War II in Europe and in Asia

1949 Foundation of NATOMao Tse-tung declares the Peoples’ Republic of China

1964 Retirement of Fred Roquette as directeur

1946 Genève devient le siège européen des Nations Unies

1947 Premier vol Swissair Genève-New York-Genève

1948 Installation de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS)

1950 Installation de l’Organisation météorologique mondiale (OMM)

1951 Le Jet d’eau atteint 140m de haut

1953-1954 Création du CERN

1955 Installation de l’Horloge fleurie

1959 400e anniversaire de l’Université de Genève

1960 Adoption du suffrage féminin à Genève

1957 Treaty of Rome, creation of the European Economic Community

1958 The Second Berlin Crisis begins, following a threatening speech by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev

1962 The first Beatles record appears

1963 Assassination of J.F. Kennedy

1964 Dismissal of Khrushchev as Soviet leader

Ecolint

«I believe that education, the art of giving shape to human powers and adapting them to social service, is the supreme art; one calling into its service the best of artists.» John Dewey «C’est qu’il y a à l’école une atmosphère indéfinis-sable qui vous imprègne lentement et finit par vous modeler si vous acceptez d’être réceptif. Cet «esprit Ecolint» a son caractère propre. Il est plus et mieux que le reflet des tendances diverses et souvent opposées de ceux qui le créent et l’enrichissent continuellement.» Louis Johannot, ancien élève, 1949 « Nous ignorons ce que notre nature nous permet d’être.»Jean-Jacques Rousseau

1930 The American astronomer Tombaugh discovers Pluto, the ninth planet in the solar system

1933 Berlin book burning: 20,000 books considered decadent, corrupting and hostile to the German ideal are burned by the Nazis

1936 Inauguration du Palais des Nations, siège mondial de la Société des Nations

1938 Installation du premier secrétariat du Conseil oecuménique des Eglises

1944 Arrivée des forces armées américaines à la frontière genevoise

1930-1931 The school has 226 students of 26 nationalities

1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

1966 Following tensions between the two Language Programmes, the Conciliation Commission is set up. It recommends that a Director-General should be appointed to bring together the Language Programmes

1968 The new Foundation of the International School of Geneva comes into being (First meeting of the Foundation Board). The IB Diploma Programme in English and French largely created by teachers at the International School of Geneva

1971 Distribution of the first IB Diplomas in the Greek Theatre by Lord Mountbatten

1974 Merger with the Lycée des Nations and creation of the La Châtaigneraie campus. The Foundation exceeds 2,000 students for the first time. 50th Anniversary Celebrations – Red Book published

1975 Merger with the United Nations Primary School

1978 René-François Lejeune retires as Director-General after two terms in office

1986 New Primary School, Les Marronniers, opens on the LGB Campus

1987 Inauguration of the Pregny Extension

1991 George Walker becomes Director-General

1994 More than 100 nationalities in the student body of the Foun-dation for the first time

1999 A unified Secondary School comes into existence at LGB leading to the creation of the Tronc Commun. A History of the School by Michael Knight is published. George Walker leaves to become Director-General of the IBO

2003 Nicholas Tate becomes Director-General

2004 Student assembly to com-memorate the 80th anniversary of the school. M. Charles Beer, Geneva State Councillor for Education, visits the school and speaks to alumni

2011 Nicholas Tate retires after eight years and Vicky Tuck becomes Director-General

2005 Opening of Campus des Nations – an all IB School – with consequent closing of the Rigot and Mies campuses

2008 One hundred years of educa-tion on the La Châtaigneraie site. 4,000 students enrolled in the Foun-dation for the first time, an increase of c.1,000 in less than ten years

2009 Alumni Worldwide Reunion marks the 85

th Anniversary of the school

1977 Installation du siège mondial de Serono

1978 Première Course de l’Escalade

1985 Rencontre Reagan-GorbatchevLe nombre de 25,000 frontaliers est atteint

1987 Première édition du Salon international du livre

1991 Naissance du World Wide Web au CERNPremière édition du Salon international de la haute horlogerie

2003 Une manifestation rassemble de 20,000 à 30,000 personnes contre le sommet du G8 qui se tient à ÉvianL’accord de Genève : un plan pour résoudre le conflit israélo-palestinien Inauguration du nouveau stade de Genève

1967 “Summer of love” in San Francisco

1969 Neil Armstrong walks on the moon

1971 The People’s Republic takes the China seat at the United Nations replacing Taiwan

1974 India explodes its first Atom bomb

1977 Construction of the Centre Pompidou by the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers

1978 ‘Boat People’ begin to flee Vietnam

1979 Ruhollah Khomeini installs a republic in Iran

1981 Marguerite Yourcenar is the first woman to be admitted to the Académie Française

1982 The compact disc is born

1984 American researchers identify the AIDS virus

1986 Chernobyl Explosion in the USSR

1987 Financial Crash

1989 Fall of the Berlin WallThe fifty-franc Swatch revolutio-nises the image of the watch

1994 Oslo Accords on Israeli-Palestinian Problem Nelson Mandela and Frederik de Klerk head the first multiracial government in South Africa

1996 Dolly, the sheep, is the first mammal to be cloned

1999 Agreement to move to a new European currency, the Euro

2001 Attack on the World Trade Cen-ter in New-York

2003 US led invasion of Iraq topples Saddam Hussein More than 10 million people demon-strate against the war in Iraq, in over 600 towns throughout the world

2006 New Horizons, the first space probe towards Pluto, is successfully launched

2008 Barack Obama elected President of the USA

2011 Une terrible tragédie a secoué le nord-est du Japon : un séisme de 9.0 sur l’échelle de Richter suivi par un tsunami. Au moins 11’000 morts et plus de 16’700 portés disparus

1965 Proclamation des principes fondamentaux de la Croix-Rouge

1967 Installation de l’Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)

1981 Inauguration de Palexpo 1995 Fondation de l’ONUSIDA

1999 Installation de Procter & Gamble (planification straté-gique pour l’Europe, le Proche et Moyen-Orient ainsi que l’Afrique)

2009 500e anniversaire de la

naissance de Calvin2010 In the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator built by CERN, the first planned collisions took place

1981 The school has 2,573 students from 83 nationalities

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Time line


editorial

14

Making peaceBy Krista Clausnitzer, echo magazine editor

Alvaro de Soto, a diplomat, Ambassador and international peace-maker at the United Nations (UN) for more than 25 years, found himself at Ecolint in 1949. Aged six, his family had moved to Geneva when his father’s diplomatic career was “rudely interrupted by the overthrow of Peru’s democratically elected President to whom he had been Chief of Staff”. At that time there was only one campus, La Grande Boissière, where Alvaro stayed until his graduation in 1960. It was a great pleasure to hear from Alvaro about his time at Ecolint and how it has impacted on his life since.

How did you come to be at Ecolint ?My father, exiled and jobless, found work at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva. My only brother Hernando, better known as Ernie in those days, was one year ahead of me at Ecolint.

What did you do after leaving Ecolint ?I went back to university in Peru to study law and international relations and eventually entered the diplomatic service myself. I later joined the UN because Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, with whom I had worked closely as a Peruvian diplomat, asked me to work with him in the UN Secretariat when he became Secretary-General. He left after two terms spanning ten years, but I stayed on for another fifteen at the request of his two successors. I won’t bore you with the positions I held over such a long period of time but my most noteworthy work was in conflict resolution, which was almost non-existent when I joined the UN in 1982 but has since grown exponentially. I am proud of having led the negotiations that ended the decade-long war in El Salvador, as well as of my work in Cyprus which brought efforts farther along than they had ever gotten before. However, there were disappointments as well, in Myanmar, the Western Sahara and in the Middle East.

As your father was also a diplomat, do you feel you followed in his footsteps ?I suppose that by becoming a diplomat I did follow in my father’s footsteps. But in his case becoming an international civil servant was a necessity rather than a choice. It was only many years after his abrupt departure that he was able to resume his diplomatic career.

What did your mother do during all this? Were you all happy in Geneva ?My mother was happy to stay at home while we were growing up. Though my brother and I had barely lived in Peru, our parents made sure that we grew up as Peruvians through their constant stories and evocations. They would occasionally awe me by lapsing into poetry. I recall my Geneva years as an extremely happy period, of awakening to life’s bounty and the world’s richness. The memory plays tricks: I seem to have air-brushed out the trials and turmoil of adolescence.

Where do you live now and what are you doing ?I tend to gravitate to New York where I’ve spent most of my adult life and two of my children were born. But at this very moment I’m a Visiting Professor at Sciences Po in Paris. I teach a Masters-level course on conflict resolution, with an emphasis on the new issues that mediators have to deal with after the Cold War, when most conflict is internal to states rather than international –the issues that neither Talleyrand nor Kissinger had to reckon with. I have eight classes devoted to specific cases, most of which I had the privilege of being involved in.

Did your time at Ecolint affect your choices in life ?No question about it. Ecolint rooted in me values which I treasure : the splendour of diversity, the imperative of tolerance and the rewards of inclusion.

What is the best thing about Ecolint ?My career has taken me all over the world and the best thing about Ecolint

is that it is so portable : like Paris in Hemingway’s book, Ecolint is a moveable feast.

Three best memories of Ecolint ?1/ The girls. 2/ My athletic triumph : a silver medal in the high jump in an inter-school competition. 3/ In my last year I was taking twelve periods of History, five of Modern European History, and seven of “Contemporary” History. The teacher, Bob Leach, made it all come alive in the classroom. I also grew fond of Mme Briquet, a severe but impish English teacher. My parents in Spanish and Mme Briquet in English instilled in me an abiding love of the musical beauty of words. At Ecolint I began, in the words of Seamus Heaney, “a journey into the wideness of the world beyond, a journey into the wideness of language, a journey where each point of arrival… turned out to be a stepping stone rather than a destination.”

Worst memory?Leaving.

This magazine is not the first Ecolint publication called echo. Can you explain the history of the other echo publication and how it came into existence ?Until 1959 the yearbook, Reflet, was generated by boarders. That year a group of us got together with one or two boarders and (in my brother’s words) we hijacked it. A contest was held to choose the name. My proposal, echo, won. As I saw it, both were metaphors meaning essentially the same, one visual, the other aural. echo had the advantage of dove-tailing with the name of the school.

esprit ecolint


insightsPregny turned forty esprit ecolint


By Sandra Oakley, Primary teacher, Pregny, Campus des Nations

In 2010, Pregny celebrated its 40th birthday. But its full history goes back even further. In 1949, the United Nations (UN) School provided a nursery education for twelve children of UN staff members. It relocated in its second year to a farm building at Rigot, generously made available by the Canton of Geneva. Then in 1966, the UN School expanded to offer primary education and enrol-ment passed one hundred students.

Demand for places continued and with the help of the United Nations organisations, a lease was secured on the Pregny land. The driving forces behind this project were Joyce Wakenshaw, the Director of the School at the time, and Arie Groenendijk who was on the Board of the UN School and who later became the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Foundation of Ecolint.

Initially, it was thought that the students would be housed in portakabins. But Jean-Marc Lamunière, a school parent and well-known architect, said that he could create a building that would cost less and have more functionality than portakabins and would definitely be more aesthetically pleasing. He designed the unique “mecchano” pre-fabricated metal structure that still stands today and is now a “protected” site.

The original building had four classrooms located around a sky-lit central space and opened in June 1970. At that time Years 1 to 3 were housed at Pregny, while the Early Childhood classes continued to be at Rigot. But enrolment quickly passed the two hundred mark and, in 1974, 25th anniversary of the UN School, an extension was added to provide two additional classrooms and a gymnasium.

In 1975, with the encouragement of the UN organisations and the Geneva authorities, the UN School merged with the existing schools at La Grande Boissière and La Châtaigneraie to join the Foundation of the International School of Geneva. From 1977, classes for older children were gradually added and the first Year 6 students “graduated” from Pregny in June 1980. After some years of planning and fundraising, a further extension designed by the original architect was added in October 1987, providing rooms for Art and Music, a library and a teachers’ room. In 2004, a second floor was added which provided two more classrooms, a larger library and room for the Learning Centre. In 2005, with the opening of Campus des Nations, the upper primary classes moved to the new building in Saconnex. Rigot closed its doors and the nursery programme relocated to Pregny which underwent a complete interior renovation. To this day, Pregny provides an education to children aged 3 to 7 years old, offering the Early Years programme to students who can then go on to Campus des Nations.

Pregny’s students were asked what they thought about their school.

What do you like best about your school ?

We make new friends, the gym, bake sales, the library, the playground, there are sales to raise money for other countries, I like all the teachers, it’s big, there are lots of things to play on, we can play football, what we do and learn, there are lots of trees and it’s shady in the Summer, the classrooms are nice and big.

What is your favourite lesson ?

PE, Maths, Art, Gym, French, Music and writing. Then one little girl said “I like everything” and there was a chorus of voices saying, “I like everything, too.”

If you could change one thing about school, what would it be ?

It’s too noisy, the cubbies / coat racks are too small, have a swimming pool, have a cafeteria, no more music, more break-time, let the children teach teachers, would like to play outside more, wish there was less mud.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary, the Director-General hosted an evening reception on 11 November, 2010. Representatives of the UN, Ecolint’s Governing Board, staff past and present and a student from 1970 even attended. One of the original architects was present and he was so pleased to see the building still in use and so vibrant after four decades. It was a nostalgic evening and an opportunity for everyone to share their fond memories of the early days of our much-loved school.


editorial

16

les anciens et pas so oldMemory lane

Katarina Hellberg joined Ecolint in Year 3 at La Grande Boissière and stayed for ten years, from 1966 -1976 until her graduation. Here she shares some of her memories of her teachers and what she liked best about her time at Ecolint.

“It is no easy task to render that special Ecolint atmosphere into words. But here are some of my Ecolint imprints, a mix of memories, thoughts and flashbacks that tend to pop up time and again, all the more so since I began working as a teacher myself. What a wide range of role models ! Not that I consciously imitate anyone, but in tricky situations,when planning lessons or when teach-ing, I get these flashbacks of my former Ecolint teachers’ words, jokes or attitudes, of their creative and often unconvent-ional teaching methods and their ways of dealing with difficult situations.

My very first day at Ecolint was in Year 3, just after the Christmas holidays. Shy and with a limited knowledge of English, taught only by my mother a few months prior to our departure from Sweden for Geneva, I was presented to my class. The classroom of the old Primary School building, the one next to the ‘Château’ surprised me. In those days the building had green shutters, creak-ing wooden doors and a peculiar smell of heaters. I loved it. It was so cosy and intimate. Like the warm welcome from my teacher and class. What a surprise to see everyone in the classroom busy with different tasks. No straight rows of desks, no teacher at the blackboard or sitting at a desk at the front like I was used to. Some pupils were busy draw-ing, others were reading, doing Maths or writing stories and the teacher mingled with the pupils, sat down beside them at their desks, went around checking what each and everyone was doing, seeing if anyone needed help. I remember getting more help and attention from my teacher than the others that year, so that in Year 4, with Mr Barnett as my teacher, I had no difficulties at all.

I loved the school grounds with the variety of buildings, each with its own atmosphere and charm, history and personality. The

Greek Theatre impressed me, of course, and all of the green open space with trees, the woods and the sports field. Such a contrast to the asphalt playground of the school I had attended in Sweden.

As for the teachers, a parade of faces, phrases, words of wisdom, jokes and quirks. ‘Do you get it ?’, asked Mr Bonnan with his contagious enthusiasm for his subject, Maths. He made it so enjoyable, practically everyone caught on, unforgettable, Mr Bonnan, so energetic, filling the board with figures from one end to the other.

Mme Bonhomme, with her gurgling laughter, always in a good mood, well, almost always. What we would not do for Mme Bonhomme ?! French poetry to learn by heart and recite standing up in class, French grammar, loads of exercises, dictées to prepare, essays and explications de texte to write and we did not even realise how hard we worked, she made it feel so easy.

Mr Hembrow in Drama and English. I adored his classes, always, ‘in full control’ , like he said we had to be, on stage as in life. He was so creative, encouraging and inspiring. Mr Hunt, another Drama teacher, who had said that, as a principle, he never stayed for more than a year at each school. He stayed for two years at Ecolint.

Preparing for my International Baccal-aureate (IB), in Biology, Mr Dilley, at once demanding, easy-going and understand-ing, or, the quiet manner of Mr Short, in English, always encouraging us to think deeper, write more, go further in our

analyses. He encouraged us to keep a watch on what went on outside of school, to go see plays, movies and performances and on our own initiative. He made us understand literature as culture, as a part of life, as life.

I chose to study Philosophy in my IB because of Mr Quin’s captivating teach-ing and his theory of knowledge. He came into class, cane in hand and with a slight limp, in my eyes then, a little old man, in tie and suit, most probably extremely severe, narrow-minded and boring. My preconception, of course, soon diss-olved. Slowly he installed himself at the teacher’s desk, carefully placed his cane beside him, took his time for the roll-call, to explain why he walked with a limp, that it was an injury sustained in the war. He had won us over. The whole class was all ears when, in a low voice, he proceeded with his teaching. Mr Quin made me see every-thing in a new light. He opened new horizons with his words. Philosophy helped me develop my writing skills, with tests every Friday in philosophical essay-writing I became more self- confident writing essays in all my other subjects.

Though I could go on forever writing, I feel I should stop here, hoping I have managed to convey some of what Ecolint means to me.”

Katarina Hellberg, LGB ‘76


insights

17

coming up or just been


After eight years at the helm, Dr Tate will be retiring as Director-General (DG) of Ecolint at the end of this school year. Vicky Tuck, currently Principal of Cheltenham Ladies’ College, will take over as Director-General from August 2011. During his tenure, Dr Tate has overseen many positive changes. In this interview Dr Tate sheds some light on what the past eight years have been like for him.

By Krista Clausnitzer, echo magazine editor

What stands out about your time at Ecolint ?Things that stand out are the incredible variety of the job. Every day is different. The work is very challenging intellectually and covers a whole range of issues, often ethical in nature. Decisions regarding right or wrong are often required. The great deal of time I spend in my car travelling between campuses also stands out !

What were your previous careers and what experience do you feel has been most relevant here at Ecolint ?In England, I was previously Headmaster of a boys’ boarding school and before that the Government’s Chief Adviser on curriculum assessment and qualification. Having worked closely with Government Ministers, I think this gave me the necess-ary political sensitivity and having respon-sibility for a national education system helped develop my sense of perspective and oversight. Other habits that have helped at Ecolint are lots of stamina and a ruthless ability to prioritise.

How would you describe your manage- ment style and how has it served you ?I think I am very good at picking up ideas from other people, a bit like a jackdaw, I collect shiny ideas and make them happen. My key relationships at Ecolint have been with the Directors and Principals and my main role has been to support and chal-lenge them in equal measure.

What do you enjoy most about being DG?In my previous job, I often couldn’t clearly see the results of my work. Tens of thous-ands of schools were concerned by the various decisions, changes and recomm-endations within my remit. Sometimes at Ecolint I can gauge the impact I am having and the results can be seen quickly which is very satisfying. I am often

the last port of call for “difficult” issues concerning staff, students and parents. It is very challenging to resolve these issues and rewarding to reach a satisfactory conclusion.

What do you enjoy least about being DG ?I won’t miss the hundreds of emails that I have to read and send. This weekend alone I sent 172 emails. I feel like Sisyphus rolling the stone up the mountain and each morning it has rolled down again, into my inbox.

What will you miss most about working at Ecolint? I will miss working in a multilingual environment. Before coming to Ecolint, I could read and understand French well but my spoken French has definitely improved. I really enjoy working with so many nationalities and will miss the opening to the wider world that Ecolint represents. I fear that England will feel very provincial after Ecolint. Being DG is a big job, there are 4,000 students and 1,000 staff here, I will miss doing some-thing so important.

What has been the biggest challenge in your career ?In some of my previous jobs I have worked with some very difficult people and this made me tougher and gave me an ability to put up with difficult situations. It also gave me empathy with people who don’t have power who are being man-aged by someone they don’t trust!

What do you think was your biggest achievement as DG ?For some reason what springs to mind is the French diplomat Talleyrand when asked his greatest achievement his reply was, “I have survived”.

If you could do it all again, is there anything you would do differently ?I would try to make more time to be involved in the bigger picture, more strategic things and be less involved in the detailed tasks.

How has your time at Ecolint changed you ?I have got older and have more grey hairs! My French has greatly improved and it is a great pleasure to read much more in French.

How have you changed Ecolint ?Changes have always been a group effort. Over the past eight years we have built a new Campus at Nations, added two new floors and opened the Extended Support Programme at La Grande Boissière, built a Sports Centre and new Primary School at La Châtaigneraie and greatly improved facilities on all campuses. We have also become more active in terms of Foundation-wide activities with the Pedagogical Days, Year 11 Study Days, an Annual Ecolint Education Conference and we are more involved in the international school community. We have managerially adapted to being a big institution and, for example, have formalised the relations between the DG, the Board and all the other Directors. The school now has policies, procedures and processes that are appropriate to a big school.

What are you planning to do next? Do you have a particular hobby or other activity which you are looking forward to doing more of ? I had some interests and friends before I was DG but have forgotten what and who they are ! I would like to spend more time with my family, especially my six grandchildren. I would also like to visit more of Switzerland, revive my Spanish and reread Proust.

Handing over the reins


editorial

18

coming up or just beenInvesting in our schools

We decided this year to concentrate our efforts at both La Châtaigneraie and Campus des Nations on raising money to improve sports and recreational facilities. They provide opportunities for relaxation, socialisation and creativity. Young people learn through play and benefit enormously from enjoying fun activities with their friends.

La Châtaigneraie, health and stamina in focusThe Annual Fund project this year is to build a fitness trail of 1.3 kilometres with 12 exercise stations. The fitness trail, costing CHF 100,000, is to be financed with the support of the whole La Chât community and will help students improve their health and stamina whilst doing a fun sporting activity. This new facility will complement the magnificent Sports Centre and other outside equipment. So far, over CHF 14,800 has been raised in support of this project. If you haven’t already, please support this project to improve students’ health and well-being !

Campus des Nations, improving playing facilitiesThe Annual Fund has a target of CHF 35,000 to improve play facilities and purchase equipment such as basketball rings, giant chess sets and tables with game board tops. So far we have raised over CHF 9,700. It’s not too late to give to this project – our students need your support !

For further information on the Annual Fund, please contact me on +41 (0)22 787 26 19 or send an email to [email protected]. Donations can be made online via the school’s website www.ecolint.ch / Supporting Ecolint / Annual Fund.

Sally Urwin, Development & Communications Associate, Ecolint

The Annual Fund and Arts Centre community campaign 2010 - 2011

For more information, please visit the Arts Centre website at www.ecolint-arts.ch.

La Grande Boissière, at the heart of the artsThis year, there is no Annual Fund at La Grande Boissière to concentrate on an intensive community campaign to finance the building of the Arts Centre, a stimulating learning, performance and communal space for students

from all three campuses. The Arts Centre will be the creative hub of the school and a focus for

Theatre, Music and Visual Arts to be opened in 2012. We aim to raise a

further CHF 2 million in community support for this project.


insights

Foundation events

24 May 2011 Consultative General Assembly at La Châtaigneraie, 7.30 p.m.

Graduation ceremonies

27 May 2011 La Châtaigneraie

24 June 2011 La Grande Boissière

28 June 2011 Campus des Nations

Kermesses – Please come & join us !

28 May 2011 La Grande Boissière

11 June 2011 Campus des Nations

18 June 2011 La Châtaigneraie

Summer Camp Programmes

July & August 2011

Multisport, Drama, Creative Play, Music and Explore Nature at La Châtaigneraie, La Grande Boissière and Campus des Nations for children aged 4 and older.Full dates & registration details at www.ecolint.ch

Alumni events

30 Sept-1 Oct 2011

North US Ecolint Alumni Reunion, Arlington, Virginia (please see advert on page 7)

For further information, please check the alumni website: http://alumni.ecolint.ch

Each year on our three campuses, many events are open to all community members. Why not come and join us? Please check the school and alumni websites for more information about dates or please call the schools directly.

Sur nos trois campus, chaque année de nombreux événements scolaires sont ouverts à nos alumni junior et senior. Vous êtes cordialement invité à y assister.

Dates and details will be updated regularly and are available on our websites :

Alumni community at http : // alumni.ecolint.chSchool website : www.ecolint.ch

Reception telephone numbers :La Chât : +41 (0)22 960 91 11LGB : +41 (0)22 787 24 00Nations : +41 (0)22 770 47 00

Coming up in 2011

19

coming up or just beenA vos agendas...

Ecolint is a not for profit educational Foundation created in 1924

We depend on your support to continue providing the highest quality international education, please consider :

¢ Leaving us a Legacy or making an Endowment

Make a difference. For more information, please contact Sally Urwin, Development & Communications Associate Email : [email protected] Tel : +41 (0)22 787 26 19


editorial

Impressum echo magazineMichaelene Stack, Director of Development | Catherine Mérigay, Development & Communications Associate | Marie-Christine Muller, Development & Alumni Assistant | Nicolas Smiricky, Development & Information Officer | Sally Urwin, Development & Communications Associate | Sandra Venturini, Assistant to the Director of Development Edited by : Krista Clausnitzer | Designed by : Blaise Demierre | Printed by : PCL Presses Centrales S.A. | Production : 12,500 copies © Copyright of the International School of Geneva, April 2011

The International School of Geneva does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion or national origin in its admission policies or in the administration of any of its programmes. Submission of articles, letters and photos from staff, current and former students and their families is welcomed. echo is published twice a year by the Development and Alumni Relations Office, International School of Geneva and is also available on the school and alumni websites. For more information about echo or to submit information for publication, please contact the Director of Development at the addresses above. If you would like additional copies of echo, please contact Nicolas Smiricky. The Development and Alumni Relations Office has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this edition is accurate and complete. However, despite our sincere desire to avoid errors, they do occur occasionally.

Our address : International School of Geneva62, route de ChêneCH - 1208 Geneva

School website : www.ecolint.chAlumni community : http : // [email protected] | Tel : +41 (0)22 787 26 19 | Fax : +41 (0)22 787 26 [email protected] | Tel : +41 (0)22 787 25 55 | Fax : +41 (0)22 787 26 35

echo magazine is published twice yearly (in the Autumn and Spring). It has a print run of 12,500 and is distributed to current and former students and their families, our staff and corporate and institutional partners. The next issue is due out in Autumn 2011. If you would like to advertise in echo magazine, please contact [email protected] or call +41 (0)22 787 26 19.

Advertising in echo

Une interro surprise, pour moi, ça s’appelle comme ça parce qu’on ne sait jamais sur quelles horreurs on va tomber en les corrigeant.

Humour de prof de gym : un sport collectif, ça ne veut pas dire que tout le monde doit attraper la balle en même temps !

Humour capillaire : j’ai peut-être moins de cheveux que vous au-dessus du crâne, mais j’ai plus de choses en-dessous !

A linguistics professor was lecturing to his English class one day. «In English,» he said, «A double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative.» A voice from the back of the room piped up, «Yeah, right.»

Humour

Where are you now ?

Please join our alumni community http://alumni.ecolint.ch

Update your contact details via [email protected]

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