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Below you will find a selection of the most recent entries from bloggers in our Education section.

To view the entries from individual bloggers, click on the links below:

  • Local Teacher Bloggers

    Instead of asking teachers or staff from one particular school in the area, we've decided to host all of them under one heading. We expect great things to happen on this page, so make sure to check often to read their stories, insights, explanations, and thoughts on education for children, adults, special needs, or extra-curricular.

  • Philippa Dobree-Carey is an adept project manager for an international organization in Geneva. Author of the award-winning student guide "From High School to Uni", Philippa successfully steers students step-by-step through the process of packing, preparing for and thriving in the university environment. This firsthand perspective has driven her to create a library of well-defined, pragmatic resources aimed at facilitating the transition to university life. Discover a treasure trove of invaluable resources by visiting her website www.fromhighschooltouni.com.
  • Trudi Hayes
    She is the Director of Swiss Language Group in Geneva, which comprises of three schools. Wall Street English, Swiss French School and Ecole Suisse d’Allemand. Trudi has a background in client relationship and service management and is a qualified English teacher. She and her team of language consultants help students find the best language courses for them, according to their individual objectives and requirements.
  • Sandra Steiger
    TutorsPlus Academic support manager, Sandra and has over 10 years’ experience teaching English at various schools in Switzerland. During her 6 years at the International School of Geneva, she was also the Service Learning programme Coordinator, Homeroom Mentor and Head of Year 8. Now she helps parents and students get the academic support they need.
  • Sarah Frei
    Head of Marketing and Communication at Brillantmont International School, Sarah is excited by the opportunities created by technology not only to communicate with the multicultural, far-flung school community but also to share knowledge and experiences about educational practice.
  • Sabine Hutcheson
    Sabine Hutcheson is a British-trained school teacher, with over a decade’s teaching experience in Switzerland, UK and neighbouring France. She has taught a variety of subjects to children from 5 to 18 years old, as well as to adults. After working as an Educational Consultant at TutorsPlus, Sabine is now Head of Sixth Form at the British School of Geneva.

certificate transcript

By Denise Nickerson, Educational Consultant

It’s December, and for millions of high school seniors, or students in their final year of secondary school, it’s crunch time for college and university applications. Many colleges and universities (and even UCAS, the UK higher education application clearinghouse) have January deadlines for application materials. Before they take their IB, AP, Bac, or Matu exams, they are preparing the first job applications of their lives – applying to become uni students in the fall. For all students, but especially for international students, transcripts are a very important, heavily weighted part of the university application file.

What are transcripts?
Official transcripts are academic records. They are documents issued by a school or university that provide an educational record. They include dates, subjects studied, some kind of indication of how much time was spent studying each subject, and grades or evaluation received for each academic subject. On a transcript, it should be obvious if the student in question successfully completed his courses or not. Academic credit received may also be evident. Transcripts exist in almost every country, and are used by schools and universities all over the world. They cannot be created by a parent or a student, but must be issued, printed, certified or created by an educational institution (a school, college, university, or other professional institute). Report cards or grade reports can be made into transcripts if a school does not have a transcript system in place (usually with stamps and signatures obtained officially at the school).

girlsinscience4

© Elargis Tes Horizons

By Denise Nickerson, Educational Consultant

On November 16th at Uni Mail in Geneva, nearly 400 girls participated in a day of workshops, interaction with women scientist mentors, a career fair and lunch. The girls, all age 11-14 were enjoying the third Elargis Tes Horizons event to come to Geneva since 2009. Many of them found out about the event through flyers that were distributed to girls in the Geneva area public schools. Girls from other cantons, France, and private schools were also welcomed. Incredibly, this event was entirely free of charge.
 
35 interactive workshops were offered, all led by women working in Science, Technology, Engineering or Math careers, or STEM careers. Workshops were offered in French and/or English. Each attendee was able to attend two workshops of her choice, and have one workshop period to visit the career fair and talk with professionals working in the sciences. Over 80 volunteers were on hand to help the girls register and find their workshops. Parents were also welcomed to interact with a panel of experts about how to support their daughters in the pursuit of scientific study and professions.

By Sarah Frei, Brillantmont International School

brillantmontblog schoolchoice1

The autumn holidays are already upon us and by now most children are nicely settled back into the school routine. Yet, there may be some children for whom, despite the best efforts of their teachers and their family, the start of a new school year has brought heartache. Perhaps the decision to relocate to Switzerland was a last-minute one, resulting in hastily-made decisions, based on spaces available rather than a real feeling of connection with the school. Perhaps there are other more complex questions of friendships and peer integration at play, which are having a negative impact on your child.

Everyone has their child’s happiness at heart, so whilst deciding to change schools might be a daunting task, it is not impossible. It may mean losing a school year, but is that such a big deal in the long-term? For those faced with this dilemna or for others in a less urgent situation, here are a few tips to help you choose the right school for your child.

By Sarah Frei, Brillantmont International School

brillantmont drama

There’s an English saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy “ to which I wholly subscribe! Education is not just about what goes on in the classroom. Of course, knowledge is important and we all want our children to achieve at school. However, let’s not forget the importance of “play” in a child’s developmental process. Extra-curricular activities provide the opportunity for children to thrive in a non-classroom situation, to develop new interests and discover new talents. Some children may find school challenging but can be transformed when taking on the leading role in a drama production or captaining the village football team.

In the Lake Geneva region we are lucky to have an incredible range of activities, sporting, cultural, artistic, creative right on our doorsteps (see Know-it-all passport for suggestions). So rich is the offer that simply choosing an activity becomes difficult. A word of advice however: whilst you may have been a talented dancer, forcing your daughter to take ballet when her heart’s set on rock-climbing, is going to generate some serious family discussion.

LIA May 2013 web

Léman International Academy in Cologny, Geneva

By Denise Nickerson, Educational Consultant

When it comes to educational choices here in Switzerland and neighboring France we have a dizzying array – for ourselves and our children. Families relocating to the area from all over the world want to know all about the schools before trying to figure out basics like cars, housing, even finding a local family doctor. Because children grow and change so fast, parents who are established in the area go through similar anxieties at each stage of a child’s life, questioning school choice and other educational decisions at the start of new scholastic levels. Just when we are comfortable with how our kids are doing and what they are learning, the end of an academic year comes around and we wonder what would be best for next fall. Have the needs changed? Will the homework be more challenging? As a parent, will I be able to help or even know what is going on at school?

Before becoming overwhelmed, there are some steps we can take to make sure we are actively supporting a quality education for our kids. I’ll start with the obvious ones in case the mere topic of education has you hyperventilating with stress.