Catherine McKeever has been appointed as the new Head of School at GEMS World Academy Switzerland (GWAS), succeeding Audrey Peverelli.
With a Bachelor’s and a Master’s Degree in Educational Management as well as a postgraduate Certificate of Education, Catherine draws on solid international experience gained from teaching at different schools in California, London, Dubai and now in Switzerland.
Specialized in school improvement and the development of school leadership, she focuses on empowering schools by applying simple but efficient protocols. “It is important to enable schools to make changes on their own. This leads to more and more adjustments and improvements coming from within the school and from the teachers themselves”, Catherine explains.
The environment surrounding GEMS World Academy is already very familiar to her: After having spent over 20 years in London, Catherine joined GEMS Jumeirah Primary School in Dubai in 2014, holding the position of the school Principal for two years. According to Catherine, working for GEMS World Academy is an excellent opportunity to further apply her strategies and methods within a much broader, international environment.
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With the addition of new creative classes this autumn, plus the launch of its new Wednesday PLUS programme announced recently on our website, Key English School now offers a wide range of courses, designed to help anglophone kids develop key English skills within a fun and interactive environment. Part of the ASC Education Group, Key English School has always had an excellent reputation for its high quality language courses and first started offering English classes back in 2007.
For those who like creative writing, there is a new class in Geneva this September for 11-14 year old anglophones, run by dynamic teachers, trained in using effective strategies and techniques to help motivate, develop and challenge young writers.
Another popular course returning this year for kids in the 11-14 age range is “Speak Up!”, where students are given the opportunity to discuss, debate, present and express themselves in everyday situations. Describing the course to knowitall.ch, Key English School Director, Sarah Pralong, told us, “Parents love this course as they get to see their kids’ confidence grow just as quickly as their knowledge in these classes!”
La Côte International School in Aubonne will open a new class 0 for children aged 24 – 36 months in September 2016.
As with all the school’s Foundation Stage classes, ‘Foundation 0’ staff will be working within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) guidelines based on the English National Curriculum. Practitioners will provide an enabling and nurturing environment in which to guide the children through their varying stages of development within all areas of learning. The school's aim is to provide a warm, loving and stimulating environment in which children can feel a sense of belonging, and thrive.
By observing and recording each stage of their development, practitioners will guide the children through play and planned activities, to ensure that they gain experiences that will encourage Physical development, Communication and Language skills, Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Mathematical Learning, an Understanding of the World, Creative Development and a love of Literacy.
Alison Piguet, Head of Primary at La Côte, told knowitall.ch, "All these stages of learning and development will ultimately take the children through to meeting or exceeding the EYFS learning goals at the end of the three year Foundation Stage cycle. In addition to concentrating on the seven areas of learning, the children will be exposed to both English and French which will be spoken in class, and through dedicated language sessions. During the day children will be given time for learning through play, as well as activities such as singing, music, rhyming, physical movement, games, arts and crafts, construction, and exploring with colour, texture and different materials. Activities will encourage independence, and social skills."
For more information visit: http://www.nordangliaeducation.com/en/our-schools/aubonne/learning/curriculum/early-years-2-to-3-years-old
La Côte International School Aubonne
Chemin de Clamogne 8
1170 Aubonne, Switzerland
Phone: +41 22 827 29 13
www.international-school.org
A bilingual Swiss school, Ecole La Découverte, catering for children aged 3 to 12, has just announced the opening of a new campus in Mies, scheduled for September 2017. Founded in the early 90s, this small, private school has grown in 25 years from just 13 pupils to 230, and has now increased its English-language teaching to a 50/50 bilingual level, following its recent expansion into new premises at the heart of the international quarter.
Key to the success of Ecole La Découverte has been the practice of active pedagogy, an approach which prioritizes enquiry-based learning through projects that aim to foster self-confidence, autonomy and the capacity to think for oneself. The school leadership team explained, “Our students begin by posing questions and brainstorming an activity. A process of investigation then leads to a final outcome, generated by the children. The subject matter of each project is ideally stimulated by their own interests. The students also have regular philosophy sessions, from 4 years onwards, and they participate in resolving problems and suggesting class projects in weekly class council meetings.”
They continued, "At the end of Primary, our children have learnt, in addition to the knowledge of the language, much broader skills, as they have been studying all the objectives in both languages. Furthermore, the knowledge the children has acquired in learning English, facilitates their learning of German, which is taught from the age of 8, through the Harmos program. As part of the extra-curricular program, there is also the possibility to take part in activities in Mandarin, Spanish and Arabic.”
As part of its current drive to recruit qualified and capable teachers for its children’s language courses, Key English School (KES) is offering free training to candidates who are able to sign up for a 2-year part-time teaching contract, starting in September!
In keeping with the school’s philosophy that "children learn best when they're having fun", applicants must be dynamic, friendly and positive. New members of the KES team are also expected to be flexible, responsible and hardworking. Successful candidates must, of course, enjoy teaching children, and be able to manage different levels of ability and a variety of activities in an action-packed lesson.
The free training course is intended for those without previous experience who wish to enter the profession and for teachers who wish to enhance their qualifications. Trainees will be continuously guided, monitored and assessed in all areas of the syllabus, including planning, classroom management and teaching skills, so that they will always feel encouraged and supported.
At the end of their training, successful candidates will receive an IH CTEFL – the International House Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Internationally recognized, this certificate is awarded by the International House World Organization, a global network of 160 schools in 52 countries, including ASC Education Group, parent company of Key English School. For newly qualified teachers, the certificate will open doors to an exciting and varied career in the global EFL industry, and will provide graduates with access to many teaching opportunities, not just those within the network of International House affiliated schools.
