Over the half term break, our MYP4 students visited Berlin for a week packed full of history and culture. The students travelled by train to encourage them to reflect upon the environmental impact of flying. This also gave everyone plenty of time to rest up and prepare for the busy week ahead! 

On Friday, after an excellent first week back after our half term break, the Minis gathered together for their weekly assembly time. This week we started thinking about Christmas and the celebration we will share with the parents and staff at the end of the term. We want to keep the contents of our show a surprise but all the Minis will be involved and sharing ‘What Christmas means to us’ through music and poetry.
Our IPC goal for star of the week was ‘Adaptability’ and so many children received certificates for showing excellent ways to be adaptable at school, in class and out. 
Well done to everyone who received a star of the week certificate on Friday.

During the last week of this half term, Year 5 embarked on a new challenge - bringing ‘live’ news to the school community via what we liked to refer to as the ‘LG Radio Show’ aka the academic tannoy equipment!  The students in Year 5 took on this challenge as part of their IPC topic ‘Making the News’, which has involved researching and exploring the developments of news and communication methods over time. Each morning at 8am, three children broadcast the news, live, including lunch menus, announcements, weather and also world news updates. Everyone enjoyed listening to the news - stay tuned, we may decide to broadcast ‘live’ again in the near future!

Whilst all of Year 3-6 were off enjoying themselves in Europa Park, Germany, the Year 1-2 class were also out enjoying themselves, in the mountains! Year 1 and 2 took on a series of challenges set for them by ‘Professor Sparks’ from their IPC unit ‘Who am I?’. They had a lot of fun following clues and instructions, which were written in letters from the professor, in order to complete the challenge. The first part of the challenge involved attempting some of the obstacles on the way down from the ‘Crazy Moose’ restaurant near Bretaye. The children worked cooperatively, showing resilience and thoughtfulness towards others, as they attempted to climb, crawl, jump and walk along the obstacles! After a stop for a picnic lunch, the children continued following the instructions from ‘Professor Sparks’, which took them through the forest to Col de Sud, completing a photograph treasure hunt as they went.

After a super day out, having shown such excellent behaviour and enjoyment, the children enjoyed a well-earned treat at Col de Sud restaurant, before catching the train back to Villars!

The philosophy of La Garenne is underpinned by our holistic approach to education. We consciously aim to develop the links between all kinds of learning opportunities, both inside and outside the classroom. The piece of writing below is an English assignment by an MYP 3 student. He is reflecting on his personal experiences during a four-day mountain walk around Mont Blanc, which MYP 3 and MYP 4 students did at the start of term. This was written as part of an MYP Language and Literature unit on creative autobiography.

LE DEMI-TOUR DU MONT BLANC - Written by E.P.  MYP3

I enjoy hiking. I would not go so far as to say I adore it, but I enjoy it. And like most hikers, I love the sight of a mountain hut only a few minutes away, just waiting for me to arrive. Even better is the moment when I cross the threshold, remove my muddy boots and replace them with far superior footwear. Slippers - ridiculous, oversized slippers. Then comes the moment that long-distance hikers can relate to, when you walk into the refuge and behold the bed where you will spend the night. Knowing that you will be surrounded by strangers, imagining yourself during the night, unable to sneeze, cough, or fart for fear of your bedfellows’ angry stares and snorts. For a brief moment, you wish you had a bed to yourself, a bed where you could twist and turn freely, a bed where you could stretch out your limbs when you’re woken by “the early birds”, those fitness maniacs who rise before dawn to seize the day. With a sigh, you accept your fate, but as you drop your bag, you remember that not all hope is lost: there is something that could make up for a bad night. You instinctively spin around and ask if there are any showers. If you are told oui, consider yourself lucky. If you hear non, do not despair. Filth is part of the fun. Yet imagine being deprived of these pleasures upon reaching the hut after trekking for nine hours...

I experienced this modest trauma on the fifth day of Le Demi Tour du Mont Blanc. Allow me to relive my trauma for you now.

We had been tired, more worn out than usual. Earlier in the day, we had sprinted down a steep mountain road on blistered feet, hoping to catch a bus that would bring us to Courmayeur. We hoped to visit the village before our nine-hour hike. Inevitably, we missed this bus. But we were young and fit.

I can manage an extra seven kilometers, I thought. “Nineteen plus seven, twenty-six. No big deal. I can manage that.”

In fact, I was so confident in my own physical and mental prowess that I carried two packs for most of the day. Eight hours later, confidence spent, I was suffering and staring at the mountain hut like a shipwrecked sailor who has seen an island in the distance. Paradise. There it was. Only a few minutes away, just waiting for me. As I trudged up the hill I began to fantasize about those soft slippers: Would they be soft? Would they fit? Would there be any at all? Earlier in the day, I had been told there would be showers in the refuge. I could already feel the warm water trickling down my spine and how refreshed I would feel afterwards.

When you walk for hours on end with not much to talk about, you tend to zone out and slip into meditation. As I walked the last few minutes to the hut, time dissolved for me. I don’t remember how I climbed the last stretch but suddenly I was there, in paradise, surrounded by smiling friends who were dreaming of warm showers and soft slippers of their own. I turned around, exhausted but exultant, appreciating the valley and the steep path that we had ascended. The river below looked like a piece of blue string that had been laced through each crack and crevasse, weaving its way through the valley, glinting gold from the rays of the sun. Iwas so absorbed by the beauty of the landscape that I hardly noticed when someone tapped me on the back. When I turned, still in a trance, I saw the guide exit the refuge. He seemed to have a worried expression.

“There must be no space,” I joked. “We’ll have to walk back!”

The guide approached us and grimaced. “There is no space in the refuge,” he said quietly. “We’ll have to walk back.”

Was it a joke? No, it wasn’t! The refuge was overbooked. Those soft, ridiculously oversized slippers were slipping away from me. I let out a primal scream, but it came out as a whimper. Did I weep? Maybe I did. Perhaps this is why I say I enjoy hiking but don’t adore it.

E.P.  MYP3