Daniel Littman and Emilie Carrof
The Montessori Seeds of Knowledge school is going from strength to strength. Having relocated from Vich during the summer of 2021, the bilingual school opened the door’s at new premises in Etoy on 30 August 2021, just in time to commemorate the school’s tenth anniversary. Knowitall.ch published an article about this at the following link.
Since then, the numbers of students have continued to grow and the staff have been working hard to constantly develop their program. The age 3-6 classrooms are thriving, and the spacious age 6-12 classroom boasts an amazing 60 students under the guidance of four adults. The 12-15 age section have welcomed new staff as well as developing a permaculture section which allows the 12-15 age students to start a micro-economy programme, where they sell their home grown produce plus artisanal dried fruits to the families in the school community.
New Nido section for children 18-36 months
2023 brings new opportunities for the school, as they will open a ‘Nido’ section for children aged 18-36 months. The Nido room, (which means ‘nest’) offers the child a nurturing and rich environment, with a specialised focus on the five senses, developing skills towards autonomy plus emotional and social development. The rooms have been thoughtfully planned out to allow the children the opportunity to explore and thrive.
Philippa at her daughter’s graduation in Bath, UK last month
When we heard that Philippa Dobree-Carey had written a book about how to manoeuvre children into a university, we had to know more! We asked her to answer the following questions and she has even offered a great lifetime discount on her membership subscription.
Why did you start? What has been the inspiration?
Having successfully installed my children, who graduated from high school in 2018 and 2020 into their respective universities in the UK and Switzerland, I realized my acquired knowledge could be a help to other parents and students who may be also be confused by what to do, what to buy, and where to even start. With each installation into student accommodation, and then packing them up at the end of the year, I made myself lists, tips and templates to remember for next time, which then turned into a really organized kit that we referred to in terms of inventory, not forgetting things, and remembering what NOT to take next time!
Have you been working on this idea forever, or was it something that came to you recently?
I had started to develop training materials which I pitched to the Ecolint La Chataigneraie campus with the intention of running a summer program for IB graduates, to prepare them with some life skills before going to university. While my children know how to cook, iron, stick to a budget and go food shopping, I was aware that their peers may not have the same knowledge! The school was interested in the project and while I was developing the course further to roll out in 2020, COVID-19 struck, and the school then had to cope with switching to remote learning, which threw a spanner in the works. I therefore switched gears, and started to note my ideas into a book format.
What is the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome?
Timing and Technology! I work full time as a Change Management Coordinator for The Global Fund, therefore this was a personal project outside of working hours and at weekends. Obviously my strength and expertise lies in time and project management so the biggest obstacle was keeping my energy levels up, in addition to managing a household, settling two adult children in UK and Swiss universities, a husband, a puppy and all the organisation that those require! The second obstacle was technology – which has now increased and improved my skillset in terms of knowledge on publishing, website development and social media – although my children would beg to differ on the latter, so I let them handle that side of things! Tiktoks and being in front of a camera are not really my cup of tea!
As a follow up for our previous article that was very popular with our readers, here is some more fun French knowledge to have under your hat next time you need to sound more "like a local"! This excerpt from Know-it-all passport® 11th edition, pages 461-463, will help you fit in! Click here for part one that we published on the 15th August 2022!
Can you complete these sentences? Choose from these words to fill out the sentences*.
If you are having a staycation this year, it might be a good idea to see how good your French lingo is. Sometimes people try their hardest to speak French, but clearly are just translating from their own language. Maybe this excerpt from Know-it-all passport® 11th edition, pages 461-463, will help you fit in! Part two is published at this link.
Accents
Some French words change meaning with or without accents. In February 2016, the French Language Academy declared they were to simplify the French written language. However, it will be hard to implement!
stain = tache
task = tâche
young = jeune
fast from eating = jeûne
of the / Some = des
as of = dès
wall = mur
ripe = mûr
on = sur
sure / confident = sûr
or = ou
where = où
the = la
here = là
Masculine vs Feminine
Be careful if you accidently add the wrong gender to some words! You will change their meaning!
Ecole Mosaic, the bilingual and multicultural school in Champel, Geneva, has appointed Jean-François Lopez as its new Director General. Mr. Lopez will start on 16th August and joins from Institut International de Lancy, where he was Directeur des Sections Française et Bilingue Primaire. He replaces Sylvie Johannot, the founder of Ecole Mosaic, who is retiring.
Mr. Lopez has held senior leadership positions in international schools in Europe, the U.S. and Middle East over the past 15 years. He will bring very relevant experience to his new role, notably a deep understanding of bilingualism, which will ensure that Ecole Mosaic continues to develop its pioneering educational programme. Mr. Lopez is also passionate about multiculturalism and his diverse experience across the world will support the school’s mission to produce very open-minded students.
Sylvie Johannot, founder of Ecole Mosaic and outgoing Head of School said, “Jean-François is the perfect fit for Ecole Mosaic and I am very positive about the new ideas that he will bring, to ensure that the school keeps going from strength to strength.”
