First set up in 2010, TEDxLausanne, represents just one of the hundreds of worldwide TEDx events, organized each year with the aim of igniting discussion and ideas within communities at the local level. With a group of over 30 international and dynamic volunteers, keen to attract the best speakers in the region, you can be sure that this year’s event in Lausanne will spark the interest of all who attend, drawing the audience out of its comfort zone and guiding them to look at issues from another point of view.
You, me, us, them…we are more and more connected, through traveling, computers, networks, smart phones and everyday objects… but are we really? As information and knowledge become increasingly and freely accessible how are we bridging the gaps that create conflicts, poverty and pollution? What, how and to whom are we really communicating? What do we gain and what do we lose when we exchange? Who is innovating, and how are they doing it? What happens when interaction is lost and how do we restore it? How do we work together, and what could we do as individuals to make it better?
International Cottage School opens a bilingual eco nursery in Vevey
The International Cottage School in Vevey has recently opened a bilingual eco nursery, welcoming up to 21 children from the ages of 18 months to 3 years old.
Managed by Nursery Director, Nathalie Graber, and supported by Nursery Assistant Director, Nathalie Bondar, the new crèche offers a child-centered program integrating both Montessori and Reggio Emilia philosophy and activities.
With a strong emphasis on inquiry-based activities, science workshops and languages (French, English, Spanish and Russian), the nursery provides the ideal preparation for entry into the IB Primary Years Program of The International Cottage School, which has recently moved to separate premises on the Quai de la Veveyse on Lake Geneva. You can read more about developments at the main campus in our separate article here.
Institut Polycours has just celebrated its 10th birthday with the launch of a new website, outlining the wide range of education services it now offers the local community of Lausanne and surrounding areas. At the same time, the organization has just relocated to impressive new office space, allowing it to provide a larger choice of services in-house.
Founded by Laure Caron in 2003-4, the organization offers educational support services ranging from social skill coaching for teenagers and language courses for adults, through to special needs support for children and professional development training for schools. Polycours also offers considerable support for families who are either in transition, struggling to find the right educational setting for their children, or who have been living in the region for a while and need help identifying the right kind of support for their needs.
A new independent British international day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 5 to 18 will open in Crans-Montana next year.
Set to open in September 2015, Le Régent Crans Montana College will offer academic programs in English that follow the British national curriculum. Targeted at children aged 5 to 13, the Junior School will provide students with the foundation for success in their later school careers, whether they are taking 13+ Common Entrance examinations prior to moving onto schools in the UK, or staying on in the Senior School to take both GCSE and IGCSE examinations, as well as the IB Diploma in their final year at the school.
Central to the school’s teaching methods will be the development of key 21st century skills, including creative thinking, communication (including Mandarin), problem solving, collaboration, entrepreneurship, risk taking, leadership and digital literacy. ESL (English as a Second Language) courses will also be offered for non-native speakers.
This day used to be called the "Journée nationale des filles" but has since been renamed in Geneva: Futur en tous genres and in Vaud: Osée tous les métiers. In the canton of Geneva it is for those in grade 7 HarmoS (5th grade) and in Vaud for 7-9 HarmoS (5-7th grades). The idea is to have your daughter go to the workplace of a man (father, uncle, grandparent) and the son to go with a woman (mother, aunt, grandmother).
During this day, parents can show their children where they work, what they do, and how a normal work day is presented. Not only do they go with them to work, but they should dress appropriately according to the job at hand. If the mother is a banker, then the son should dress as professionally as possible. If the father is a garage mechanic, then the daughter must dress in jeans and then coveralls. The idea to cross the genders is to eliminate the stereotyping of jobs that are perceived as feminine or masculine.
