echo - Issue 18 - Spring 2016

E C O L I N T M AG A Z I N E • N ° 1 8

S P R I N G / P R I N T E M P S 2 016

LONGUE VIE À ALEXANDRE !

HOUSE; HAVEN; HOME. Reflections of a former boarder RÉFUGIÉS EN EUROPE Une communauté solidaire

WELCOME

BIENVENUE

CONTENTS

We celebrate the return of an Ecolint “celebrity” on the cover of this issue of echo, with the new Alexandre settling nicely into the courtyard at La Grande Boissière.

Elsewhere in the magazine another key figure from Ecolint’s history, former Director General George Walker, shares some memories, while a former boarder looks back at life in the “Internat”.

C’est le retour d’une célébrité écolintienne que nous fêtons en couverture de ce numéro : le nouvel Alexandre a pris racine dans la cour principale de La Grande Boissière ! Vous croiserez plus loin une autre figure clé de l’Ecolint en la personne de l’ancien directeur général George Walker, qui nous fait part de ses souvenirs, tandis qu’un ancien pensionnaire se remémore la vie à l’époque de l’internat.

3

A Word from the DG

4

Alexandre / CIS Report

5

Refugee crisis

6

George Walker writes

7

A new hall for Nations

8

Histories of Ecolint

9

Curriculum development

10

Fostering enterprise

11

The Keeney Weldon Library

12

Alumni teaching at Ecolint

14

Boarding house life

16

Alumni architects

19

From the archives: Paul Dupuy

20

The Back Board

Returning to the present, we report on initiatives to engage students in social enterprise, our community’s response to the refugee crisis in Europe, and the inauguration of the refurbished Aula on our Saconnex site. And this is just a sample of the delights that await you in the Spring 2016 issue of echo magazine. We look forward to receiving your feedback!

echo.magazine@ecolint.ch

De retour au présent, nous abordons la sensibilisation des élèves à l’entreprenariat social, la réponse de notre communauté à la crise des réfugiés en Europe et l’inauguration d’une nouvelle aula dans le bâtiment de Saconnex.

Ceci n’est qu’un aperçu des plaisirs qui vous attendent dans cette édition du printemps 2016. Nous nous réjouissons de recevoir vos commentaires !

CONTACTS EMAIL & TELEPHONE Foundation administration@ecolint.ch +41 (0)22 787 24 00 Admissions admissions@ecolint.ch +41 (0)22 787 26 30 Alumni Office alumni@ecolint.ch +41 (0)22 787 25 55 Campus des Nations reception.nat@ecolint.ch +41 (0)22 770 47 00 La Châtaigneraie reception.cha@ecolint.ch +41 (0)22 960 91 11 La Grande Boissière reception.lgb@ecolint.ch +41 (0)22 787 24 00

WEB Foundation: www.ecolint.ch Boutique: www.ecolint.ch/boutique Alumni: alumni.ecolint.ch Ecolint Camps: www.ecolint-camps.ch

MAKE A GIFT Ecolint is a not-for-profit Foundation. Our Development Associate Brian Wahlen is available to discuss ways of providing additional support via a regular or once-off donation. Taxpayers from various jurisdictions, including the US, the UK and Switzerland, can benefit from tax deductions.

Visit: www.ecolint.ch/support

www.ecolintusa.org (for US taxpayers)

Contact: brian.wahlen@ecolint.ch

+41 (0)22 787 26 19

IMPRESSUM Editor-in-Chief: Michael Kewley (Director of Marketing & Stakeholder Relations) Managing Editor: Eoghan O’Sullivan (Head of Alumni Relations) Editorial Team: Catherine Mérigay (Communications Manager), Francis Poncioni (Graphic Designer), Alejandro Rodriguez-Giovo (Foundation Archivist).

Printed by PCL Presses Centrales S.A. / Production 14,000 copies International School of Geneva, 62, route de Chêne, CH-1208 Geneva Echo is published twice a year by the Marketing & Stakeholder Relations Department, International School of Geneva and is also available on the school and alumni websites. For more information about echo or to submit information for publication, or if you would like additional copies, please contact the Managing Editor (eoghan.osullivan@ecolint.ch). The Marketing & Stakeholder Relations Department has made every effort to ensure that the information contained in this edition is accurate and complete.

However, despite our sincere desire to avoid errors they might occur. © Copyright International School of Geneva, April 2016.

2

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

ON THE COVER: Last November Loïs Meyhoffer, Ecolint's first student and oldest alumna, unveiled a plaque at the foot of the newly planted American black walnut in the main courtyard at LGB. The tree, to be known as Alexandre, replaced its namesake, which stood nearby for around 200 years until its removal in 1976. (See page 4)

A WORD FROM THE DG HOLISTIC This is the perhaps the biggest area of all as it touches on our core purpose. To determine what we mean when we talk about providing a holistic education, we need to have clarity about the purpose of education. It can be about the building of character and the forming of citizens who can contribute positively to society by their resourcefulness, good judgement and confidence; the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake; the route to social mobility; self-actualisation and personal autonomy in a financial, vocational, social and emotional sense; the transmission of civilisation’s values and knowledge; and the fostering of a love of learning which we hope will be lifelong.

While we have made great strides with our current strategic plan, Our Focus for the Future, we have started to think about its successor. To this end we have launched the Strategic Conversation at Ecolint and invited staff to discuss how well we are doing and what we need to do next under four headings: Sustainable; Distinctive; International; Holistic. Here is just a sample of the topics we are reflecting on.

SUSTAINABLE Sustainability involves our investment in and development of our staff, succession planning and leadership development; drawing fully on the expertise across the Foundation. Sustainability is also about our physical spaces, our facilities, our grounds.

Which buildings might not be suitable for learning in 10 years’ time without some investment? How are we using the built environment to support learning? What is the work that needs doing and, from a Foundation standpoint, in what order should we do the work?

To sustain our principle of inclusivity we are reflecting on how we might live out our commitment to diversity and widen access to children whose socio-economic status means that their parents cannot afford the fees. And then, of course, there is our response to climate change and our engagement both in terms of education and by example in working towards goals such as reducing energy consumption and waste.

DISTINCTIVE Nous sommes tous conscients que l’Ecolint a des qualités précieuses qui assurent notre pérennité depuis 92 ans : nos valeurs fortes, notre mission, l’approche centrée sur l'enfant et notre statut de fondation à but non lucratif.

Our child-at-the-centre pedagogy was groundbreaking early in our history. What does groundbreaking look like today? With the adult that we want the child to become in mind, we need to be clear where we stand in the debate on what students need to learn; on knowledge, concepts and skills; on numeracy and literacy.

What is cognitive science teaching us and where might we want to go pedagogically, if anywhere, in a world crowded with initiatives and contrasting theory? Compte tenu de l'état du monde, pourrions-nous faire d’avantage en faveur de l’éducation pour la paix?

Vicky Tuck

Our uniquely diverse student body is perhaps the most distinctive element of all. Few schools are located in such an international city. That means that we have a remarkable set of alumni. What more could we do to involve them in the life of our school?

Of course, there is a health warning on distinctiveness. We need to bear in mind that today’s students are here for this single opportunity for education as children and not guinea pigs. Parents want to feel their children are at an exciting school but they also want consistency, reliability, experience, wisdom.

INTERNATIONAL An international education in 2016 is a balance of knowledge transmission, promoting values and behaviours and reinforcing them with actions and initiatives.

We have recently done a great deal to help our students understand the plight of refugees and to forge meaningful links (see page 5). We need to consider how to redefine service learning for this next decade and how to take the fullest advantage of all our links with the international community in Geneva. What can we and our students do to help promote human rights, especially in those parts of the world where the concept itself is alien?

What should our next strategic plan set out to do in terms of preparing our students for the world of work which awaits them, we hope, in the post-globalisation era?

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

We are reflecting on the importance of reading – not just as a skill but as a fundamental ingredient of a good life; on the place of technology in a humanist international education; on wellbeing and mindfulness, where mental health statistics among the world’s young are unlikely to improve. Neither is the pace of change likely to slow down and political issues which make us feel less secure may not recede.

Our students sometimes talk about the need to develop school spirit. The need to feel they belong to something bigger than them is important, especially to those for whom life has more variables, the third culture kids. What are the rituals in our schools that contribute to this sense of spirit?

Strategic planning is a reflection and a dialogue that begins with us agreeing on what is precious and still contemporary, asking disconcerting questions that may disrupt, answering them honestly, distilling the emerging ideas, testing them, costing them, of course, and planning how to bring them to life. We have remarkable talent and expertise across the Foundation.

Together we are well placed to secure the future of Ecolint as we work on this next strategic plan. As a stakeholder, please feel welcome to join the Strategic Conversation between now and June.

Vicky Tuck Director General

3

NEWS AND VIEWS UN SEUL ARBRE VOUS MANQUE, ET TOUT EST DÉPEUPLÉ !

(Left to right) Alejandro Rodriguez-Giovo (LGB ‘72, Foundation Archivist), Karin Raton (LGB ‘70, former co-chair of the Alumni Association Central Comittee), Loïs Meyhoffer (honorary member of the Committee), Jean-Guy Carpentier (former LGB Campus Principal), Gisela Vargas (LGB ‘90, chair of the Committee), Theo Gill (LGB ‘69, secretary of the Committee), and Eoghan O’Sullivan (Head of Alumni Relations).

Il nous est tous arrivé de nous trouver déboussolés devant le vide laissé par un arbre déraciné qui, il y a peu, se dressait comme une imperturbable évidence dans notre paysage visuel.

C’est ce que les élèves, enseignants et parents de l’Ecolint ont vécu, un jour de 1976, lorsque le célèbre Alexandre, un superbe noyer noir d’Amérique, a dû être abattu. Planté aux environs de 1750 par Jean-Robert Tronchin, alors propriétaire de La Grande Boissière, l’arbre devenu majestueux souffrait des maux du grand âge. Quel malheureux paradoxe… avoir abrité tant de monde sous ses branchages et devenir une menace pour la sécurité des passants ! La triste mais nécessaire décision fut donc prise.

UN HÉRITIER, ENFIN !

Si grand a été son impact sur des générations d’écolintiens qu’Alexandre se devait de revenir à la vie. C’est désormais chose faite depuis novembre 2015, grâce à la plantation de son juvénile successeur : de même essence que son ancêtre, le nouveau Juglans nigra déploie orgueilleusement ses branches, certes encore délicates, dans la cour principale du campus.

4

C’est grâce au legs d’Henri Baum (LGB ’36), remis à l’école par l’Association des Alumni, que La Grande Boissière a pu retrouver son Alexandre.

La cérémonie organisée pour marquer cet événement a rassemblé l’Association des Alumni, des parents, des élèves et des collaborateurs actuels et anciens. Deux invités de marque nous ont fait l’honneur de leur présence : Loïs Meyhoffer, notre toute première élève, et Jean-Guy Carpentier, ancien directeur de La Grande Boissière et fraîchement retraité.

Loïs Meyhoffer, qui fêtait ses 97 printemps quelques jours plus tard, a eu le plaisir de jeter une pelletée de terre symbolique sur les racines du noyer. Elle a également dévoilé la plaque rendant hommage au vénérable et saluant l’arrivée du novice.

Puisse-t-il à son tour être le témoin privilégié de deux cent cinquante ans de confidences, bavardages, rires et parfois larmes. Longue vie à Alexandre !

Catherine Mérigay

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

“AN OUTSTANDING SCHOOL” In March we welcomed a team of visitors from the Council of International Schools and the Middle States Association, the two peer-based accreditation bodies we work with to ensure that our standards are in line with best practice of schools around the world. This visit was the five year interim check, following up on progress made since the last accreditation visit in 2011.

The team of six seasoned educators, most of whom have substantial school leadership experience, spent time across the Foundation meeting with staff, parents and students, observing lessons and extracurricular activities, and performing a range of checks on security measures and other procedures.

At the close of their visit they gave a report to the Conférence des Directeurs.

We were delighted to hear that they recognized significant progress in the last five years, commending the strategic plan Our Focus for the Future and the advancements that it has enabled in a number of key areas. These were

not just in the quality of our pedagogical provision overall, but also in the use of ICT, data-driven decision making, and operational improvements across the different schools and Foundation departments.

Most gratifying were the observations that Ecolint is an outstanding school, that our students are proud to attend Ecolint, their parents are happy with the school, and that staff members are extremely passionate, willing to go the extra mile for their students.

The visitors also saw first-hand how our guiding principles are lived out every day and were impressed that the Governing Board so clearly understands its important governance responsibilities.

The visitors encouraged us to take great pride in what we have achieved, but to continue to be true to our mission, seeking to “do better than our previous best” and not to rest on our laurels.

Karen Taylor, Director of Education

IN BRIEF… > The Foundation now has an official Facebook page.

Find and “Like” it at www.facebook.com/ecolint > A total of 20 Ecolint Alumni Escalade Dinners took place around the world in December. Find reports and photos at alumni.ecolint.ch/escalade2015 > Alumni should ensure their LinkedIn profile is connected to the school’s official LinkedIn page. (Editing the entry for Ecolint under your education details should create the link automatically.) > Kermesse dates for 2016: LGB on 28 May; Nations on 4 June; La Chât on 11 June.

UNE COMMUNAUTÉ SOLIDAIRE L’ECOLINT S’EST TOUJOURS IMPLIQUÉE DANS LE SOUTIEN AUX RÉFUGIÉS. EN RÉPONSE À LA CRISE MIGRATOIRE QUE CONNAÎT ACTUELLEMENT L’EUROPE, UNE FORTE MOBILISATION S’EST AINSI MANIFESTÉE AU SEIN DE LA FONDATION. UNE ÉLÈVE, UN ENSEIGNANT, UNE ALUMNA ET UN PARENT TÉMOIGNENT.

MARCUS JAMES

SAMIA ALLEGRA JONSON

> LGB Middle School Teacher As the situation of refugees trying to make their way to and through Europe was becoming increasingly desperate, in 2015 I visited the refugee camp in Calais with fellow teacher James Smith, carrying with us messages of hope from the students. It was an eye-opening experience that strengthened our resolve to do more.

Last February our Community Engagement Week brought guests from local and international organizations for a series of dialogues that helped to inspire students with solutions, showing the humans behind the labels, and motivating them to act in achievable ways, understanding what can be personally gained from supporting others.

We obtained 30 discarded lifejackets – many of which were ineffectual fakes – from Lesvos and created an installation where students came face-toface with a tactile representation of the dangers the refugees faced on their journeys. Funds raised during the International Lunch were distributed among the classes, who prioritized how this money would be spent.

This chain of aid, from donation to the hands of a refugee will be followed up, focusing on the role of volunteers and how money is not the only solution, but that people and time are essential. I’m grateful to my Middle School colleagues and the PTA for their support.

One of the student-designed t-shirts for CalAid.

> Year 8, LGB Middle School

Alexis McGivern spoke to students during Community Engagement Week.

ALEXIS MCGIVERN > La Chât ’11

«Crans accueillera une cinquantaine de migrants». Ce titre de journal a attiré mon attention en septembre dernier. Ayant suivi la crise des réfugiés pendant l’été, je me sentais impuissante face à cette situation qui a ébranlé l’Europe et déclenché des réactions pouvant se traduire par une perte d’humanité. Avec des frontières qui se fermaient chaque jour, j’étais contente de pouvoir accueillir les personnes qui ont traversé tellement d’obstacles pour pouvoir venir dans notre pays.

J’ai commencé comme bénévole dans le groupe d’accueil de mon village, Crans-près-Céligny, pour apprendre le français aux requérants d’asile, tous des hommes célibataires venant de divers pays. L’éducation est le grand ennemi de l’ignorance; en effet, mes études à l’Ecolint m’ont appris qu’être privilégié s’accompagne d’une obligation d’agir pour améliorer la vie des autres. C’est en rencontrant mes nouveaux amis requérants que j’ai mieux compris les raisons qui les ont poussés à fuir leur pays, leurs craintes et leurs rêves pour l’avenir. Nos intérêts communs, comme le foot ou la danse, et bien sûr le rire, nous ont réunis et ont créé un lien qui transcende nos différentes origines.

Nous avons le devoir et la responsabilité de nous battre contre l’intolérance et le racisme, et de chercher la vérité derrière les campagnes de haine ou de peur.

Jamais je n’aurais pensé vivre une telle aventure l’année de mes treize ans. Avec le Student Council, nous nous sommes rendus au Centre des réfugiés de Vernier et avons visité l’Hospice général qui traite les dossiers de tous ces malheureux. Sur le chemin, je me suis posé plein de questions qui me tourmentaient. Comment allaisje réagir face au désespoir des parents ayant quitté leur pays pour atterrir dans une patrie où tout leur est inconnu ? Et les enfants, comment allais-je regarder la tristesse dans leurs yeux? Toutes ces questions me troublaient profondément.

Arrivée au centre, mes craintes avaient presque disparu lorsqu’une jeune iraquienne me prit par la main et me demanda de jouer au bowling.

A la fin de la partie, l'enfant me conduisit dans la cour de récréation où, subitement, un jeu de mon enfance vint à mon esprit : dessiner une marelle et enseigner à un petit groupe d’enfants à y jouer de façon à créer un esprit de jeu au sein de la communauté. Ce que j'avais prévu arriva! Si j'ai pu faire oublier à ces enfants leur tristesse l’espace d’une heure, j'ai gagné mon pari. Je repartis du centre de Vernier le cœur plus léger et, surtout, heureuse d'avoir accompli une mission humanitaire.

LISA SHUKOV > Ecolint Parent

Going to volunteer in Greece last November was one of the most intensely challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. Like so many others, I was horrified by the deteriorating situation in Syria and the flood of frightened refugees desperately trying to make their way to Europe. As a photographer I can appreciate the impact an image can have and this crisis had no shortage of powerful images.

After talking with my family I decided I would fly to Lesvos and volunteer with the Starfish group on the front lines of the crisis.

It was a big leap not knowing anyone there nor what to expect.

After a morning training session I worked my first nine-hour shift in the transit camp helping 800+ people who had arrived that morning find warm clothes and food. The scale was unbelievable; it was heart-breaking. Each day I did something new; each area I volunteered in challenged me in a different way. Seeing people in their most vulnerable state and trying to help them made me truly grateful for all I had and all I was able to do for them.

My most vivid memories are of organizing boat rescues with the Coast Guard, helping cold, scared people on to dry land and sharing their relief at making the journey safely when so many others hadn’t. The benefits of volunteering at home or abroad are immeasurable; one extra pair of hands really does make a difference.

NEXT STEPS Educators for Refugees: https://www.facebook.com/educatingaboutrefugeecrisis1 CalAid t-shirts designed by Ecolint students: http://bit.ly/1QeAzBI For advice on volunteering locally: alexis.mcgivern@gmail.com

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

5

THE PAST IMPERFECT GEORGE WALKER WAS ECOLINT’S DIRECTOR GENERAL FROM 1991 TO 1999.

HE SUBSEQUENTLY BECAME DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT IN 2006. HE IS NOW LIVING IN ENGLAND.

to help. But here was a strange thing: everyone was prepared to get me from sea level to the first base camp of fluency but at that point they all went home, leaving me to respond alone to the much tougher challenge of struggling from adequate to competent. And the toughest measure of competence was answering the telephone. Oh the nightmare of answering the telephone: a poor line, an unstoppable machine-gun delivery from the other end, a topic of life-threatening importance (or they wouldn’t be bothering the Director General) and no visual clues at all.

Oh dear: a surprise discovery has brought back all kinds of hidden memories.

Tidying up some cluttered bookshelves I have just come across my trusty French pocket dictionary, which used to sit on my desk at Ecolint, ready to rescue me in moments of linguistic impasse. It reminds me that one of the many things I miss about Geneva is being surrounded by the buzz of different languages, even though my own contribution was small and often inaccurate. Of course, we do hear Polish spoken regularly around the East of England these days, but even that somehow doesn't convey the same impression of international goodwill.

The legendary Marie-Thérèse Maurette, directrice of Ecolint from 1929 to 1949, insisted on the importance of languages in an international education. She gave two reasons: first, Pratiquer deux langues, c’est avoir deux fenêtres ouvertes sur le même paysage, mais qui vous permettent d’en contempler deux aspects différents ; and second, Le rôle d’une langue pour élargir l’horizon et amoindrir la notion «d’étranger» est très grand.

And I would add a third reason – by agreeing to have a conversation, a formal meeting or a written report in someone else’s language, you are signalling your respect for a different culture even though it may put you at a temporary disadvantage.

My biggest linguistic challenge as Director General was chairing the annual meeting with the private bank, Lombard Odier, that looked after the Ecolint pension fund. After a few years my already lopsided French vocabulary had become further unbalanced by the technical language of financial investment: a language that finds the

6

EMBARRASSED SILENCE But there were moments of triumph even if some were short-lived. I remember going to a faculty meeting in the Château at LGB with principal, Joseph Fischer. I sat quietly at the back but, predictably, when the meeting reached a controversial topic the teachers wanted to have the Director General’s opinion. Well, I said, without a moment’s hesitation, je suis tout à fait d’accord avec Joseph. Politically shrewd and linguistically perfect! There was an embarrassed silence and some awkward shuffling of papers.

What had I said? Was it the wrong tense?

Was there a wrong gender? Should I have used the subjunctive?

George Walker, Ecolint’s Director General from 1991 to 1999.

Swiss at their most articulate. Vous y êtes? asked Professor Beausoleil, the bank’s pensions expert, as he unveiled yet another complex set of figures. I was not there in English, never mind in French.

LANGUAGE FOR LEADERS It soon became clear that successful leadership of Ecolint would depend on my mastery of the future tense; indeed I think this could become a key performance indicator in any language. Leadership is concerned with change and that means doing things differently in the future, so the ability to express future aspirations, risks and benefits in a manner that promotes commitment and confidence, and reduces fear of the unknown, is a crucial leadership skill. How many grand schemes have come to nothing because “shall” was used instead of “will”? Yet I cannot think of a single book that discusses the language of leadership.

Of course in a bilingual school like Ecolint there are plenty of colleagues willing

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

After the meeting was over, a wise French teacher took me on one side and said “You know, you must not refer to our doyen as ‘Joseph’ in a formal meeting. I have been his friend for twenty years but he is still M. Fischer.” A valuable reminder that our language is an expression of our culture.

Now: where did I put my Polish dictionary?

AULA LÀ!

STUDENTS AND STAFF AT THE CAMPUS DES NATIONS’ SACONNEX SITE WELCOMED IN JANUARY 2016 THE UNVEILING OF THEIR REFURBISHED AULA. HEAD OF ARTS ANDREW CLOSE GATHERED THE VIEWS OF SOME OF ITS FIRST USERS.

After ten years of varied and useful service, the prime multi-functional space in our school building has been transformed into a state-of-the-art performance and presentation venue. It is now a beautiful hall, with facilities for projection, lighting and sound that make it both a technically advanced performance space and an adaptable venue for a busy school. Such a transformation is a testament to the vision and drive of the school’s administration, in particular its Campus Principal, Lesley Meyer.

BRIGHT FUTURE FOR ARTS William Coates is a Year 10 student who is developing great skills as a lighting and sound technician. I asked him what he thinks of the new facilities: “We have some amazing new equipment to work with. It’s great to have the new lighting rig and board; it means we can hang more lamps and improve our technical capabilities to support the shows at Campus des Nations. It’s also nice to have a cooler space to work in - I haven't lost a litre of sweat (like I used to) since I have been lighting shows in the new Aula!”

FLEXIBLE ENVIRONMENT As a teacher, our new Aula is invaluable as a flexible performance environment, but perhaps the change is best expressed in the words of our students. Take, for example, Ottavia Austin, who acted in Rehearsal at Versailles, the featured Year 11 drama production this year: “Since its inauguration in January the new Aula has been a centre for arts and performances. Already in these months we have had two full scale productions and a film premiere as well as numerous assemblies where we could appreciate the creativity and hard work of others.

As one of the actresses in Rehearsal at Versailles, the new Aula allowed me and my fellow performers to feel as if we were in a real theatre and thus helped us to boost the quality of our performance.

It also allowed the audience to focus more on the play and drew them into the context.”

Paula Santiago Martinez played Mushu, the dragon.

I asked two Year 11 students who will be among the first to study the IB Diploma theatre course at Nations for their thoughts on the Aula. Katarina Sams said “now it is truly an art space, to perform or to exhibit pieces of art; I felt like a true artist on the stage.” For Davide Serrao “it is a massive improvement from our old aula, and this is shown by the quality of the plays our students performed this year. I hope the school continues to give support and value to the arts.”

Students can now gain experience with state-of-the-art sound and lighting equipment.

As you can see, the students really appreciate the investment and importance given to their artistic life. As I write this, the DP and CP Art exhibition is coming to a close, and we have held our first Film vernissage on home turf, both events displaying the adaptability of this space.

It would be fair to say that the new Aula will be seen in Nations’ history as a coming of age for its Performing and Visual Arts.

The inaugural performance of Disney’s Mulan JR brought an explosion of colour to the newly refurbished Aula.

Louisa von Waechter and Jack Leech were among the Year 5 and 6 students on stage.

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

7

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ECOLINT HISTORIES WHILE GLOSSY VOLUMES EXALTING THE HISTORY AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF SCHOOLS ARE NOT UNCOMMON, IT TAKES A MATURE, CONFIDENT INSTITUTION SUCH AS ECOLINT TO PRODUCE NOT MERE WINDOW-DRESSING BUT NO FEWER THAN FIVE IN-DEPTH CRITICAL STUDIES OF ITS DEVELOPMENT. FOUNDATION ARCHIVIST ALEJANDRO RODRIGUEZ-GIOVO SURVEYS THE LANDSCAPE.

The earliest volume was the classic Ecole Internationale de Genève – Son premier demi-siècle, published in 1974. This handsome tome, bound in crimson cloth embossed with gold letters, intersperses its documented historical overview with a fascinating and endlessly rewarding potpourri of candid but articulate reminiscences by key witnesses. It was collaboratively compiled and collectively edited under the supervision of the Director General at the time, RenéFrançois Lejeune – a distinguished thinker and educator, leader of the Résistance in 1944 and Chevalier des Palmes académiques.

A remarkable feature of this bilingual work is its meticulous, pre-computer editing – errors of any kind are few and far between.

To commemorate its 75th anniversary in 1999, the school commissioned the historian Michael Knight to produce a more systematic and homogenous account of its development.

Knight, a teacher at Ecolint since 1961, was an ideal choice of author, not only because of his historiographical expertise but also because he was closely involved with Robert J. Leach in the genesis of the International Baccalaureate. Knight’s Ecolint: A Portrait of the International School of Geneva, 1924-1999, is in many ways a reflection of its author, who could easily have been mistaken for a highranking diplomat: rigorously researched but suave, witty and gently incisive.

Marie-Thérèse Maurette: Pioneer of International Education (2009), a hugely entertaining and inspiring biography of Ecolint’s second director, who guided the fortunes of our school through two momentous and formative decades (1929-1949), was a personal project of George Walker, Ecolint’s Director General between 1991 and 1999.

A chemist by training and classical pianist by vocation, Walker shares the values and internationalist passion of the subject of his book, but combines them with the academic thoroughness and objectivity one might expect in so august an educator. In charting the life of the charismatic, idiosyncratic and occasionally controversial Mme Maurette,

8

Walker provides numerous, fascinating insights into Ecolint’s colourful, complex and noble history.

tenace de certains de ses enseignants que celui d’une démarche volontariste de l’institution en tant que telle.

For good or ill, these are fast-paced times, and to delay a new assessment of Ecolint’s history till 2024 – the year of our centennial – doubtless seemed like procrastination. In a commendable spirit of carpe diem, a new account was therefore commissioned by Director General Nicholas Tate with a view to our 90th anniversary in 2014. The project was entrusted respectively in French and in English to Othman Hamayed and Conan de Wilde. The result, Ecolint: A History of the International School of Geneva, which covers the development of the school from its birth to the appointment of Vicky Tuck as Director General in 2011, could not be more engagingly informative, lucid and balanced.

His co-author, Conan de Wilde, is no less clear-eyed in his analysis. As an Ecolint alumnus, and later a teacher of English and Theory of Knowledge, head of department, curriculum co-ordinator and currently vice-principal, de Wilde has our school in his DNA. Both de Wilde and Hamayed are – each with his own distinctive style, within the best conventions of the language in which he is expressing himself – masters of pleasingly readable prose.

“...a fascinating and endlessly rewarding potpourri of candid but articulate reminiscences by key witnesses.”

Hamayed had contributed to decades of Ecolintian life from a multiplicity of perspectives, successively as teacher of French, head of department, director of a unified francophone/anglophone Secondary School at La Grande Boissière and the Foundation’s first Director of Education, as well as a pioneering staff representative in the crafting of the school’s first Convention collective de travail (CCT). As someone who lives and breathes multiculturalism and is imbued to the core with everything that Ecolint stands for, he is a natural standard-bearer for our school, but his historical narrative is refreshingly free of institutional pieties and slogans and makes no attempt to circumvent the less flattering episodes in Ecolint’s sometimes turbulent existence. A typical sentence is: L’essor de cette éducation internationale dont avaient rêvé les pionniers de l’Ecolint est, comme on vient de le voir, davantage l’aboutissement de l’idéalisme

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

In the opening paragraph of this article I refer to five works dedicated to our school’s history.

Even the most diligent Ecolint bibliographers may be unaware of the elusive fifth, immensely valuable though it is. It so happened that in the Spring Term of 1973-74, the Governing Board commissioned Robert J. Leach to contribute a systematic and continuous account of the school’s history, to be integrated into the celebrated “Red Book” referred to above, lest the latter prove too disjointed and anecdotal.

Leach, the legendary history teacher and uncompromising idealist who masterminded both the International Baccalaureate and Students’ United Nations, produced a 125-page typescript that was turned down in its unexpurgated form as too idiosyncratic and controversial – Leach was never one to sweep anything under the carpet. Undaunted, Leach published the full version in a humble, photocopied format and distributed it to all colleagues and to the Governing Board, with Lejeune’s consent.

To the best of my knowledge, a single, precious copy survives in the Foundation’s archives. It bears glorious testimony to Ecolint’s truest spirit, which will not capitulate to a pensée unique. This is the spirit that keeps alive the critical thinking Ecolint has always striven to instil in its students, and educates for peace in the light of our paramount principle, stated in the famous Article 4 of our Charter: that all human beings are equal not just in rights and in dignity, but in value.

AU XXIe SIÈCLE, IL FAUT SAVOIR CE QUE L’ON SAIT DANS LA FOULÉE DES «PRINCIPES DIRECTEURS SUR L’APPRENTISSAGE AU XXIe SIÈCLE», CO-RÉDIGÉS PAR L’ECOLINT ET L’UNESCO, L’ECOLE SECONDAIRE DE LA GRANDE BOISSIÈRE REDÉFINIT LE PROGRAMME DES ANNÉES 9 À 11. CATHERINE MÉRIGAY A RENCONTRÉ CONRAD HUGHES, DIRECTEUR DU CAMPUS ET DE L’ECOLE SECONDAIRE.

Que doit-on enseigner à nos élèves et comment? En ce début de XXIe siècle, jamais les pédagogues ne se seront autant posé la question, et on les comprend : la mondialisation, la technologie envahissante, les incertitudes géopolitiques et l’explosion de l’information instantanée participent au décor complexe dans lequel la génération actuelle doit – et devra – évoluer.

«La vision traditionnelle d’une solide éducation était auparavant fondée sur l’apprentissage des contenus plutôt que sur le développement des aptitudes», nous rappelle Conrad Hughes. Au fil du temps cependant, d’autres domaines, tels que les compétences relationnelles, l’autonomie dans l’apprentissage et la créativité, sont peu à peu devenus essentiels à une éducation holistique. Aujourd’hui, les connaissances exclusivement livresques ont vécu, vive le savoir-vivre ensemble et le savoir-apprendre.

SAVOIR ET SAVOIR-ÊTRE, UNE JUSTE COMBINAISON Conrad Hughes tient toutefois à préciser que «si ces compétences extra-académiques sont aujourd’hui indispensables, n’oublions pas qu’au cours du XXe siècle, le niveau de maîtrise de l’orthographe, de l’histoire et de l’arithmétique de base a décliné de manière préoccupante, et ce même chez les adultes considérés comme instruits.»

Ainsi, la solution pour tendre vers une éducation globale de qualité a été de mettre l’accent sur l’épanouissement personnel et social de l’élève, tout en demeurant exigeant sur la réussite académique.

Las ! L’évolution du monde contemporain ayant une fâcheuse tendance à s’accélérer, cette approche ne semble plus suffisante pour remplir le cartable de nos élèves.

«Notre nouveau programme devra incarner l’interaction entre les disciplines académiques et des domaines novateurs tels que les compétences interculturelles, la pratique de la philosophie, le développement du caractère, l’entreprenariat, l’analyse des images et le raisonnement

scientifique.» Ainsi, l’acquisition de la conscience de son propre savoir – ou métacognition – est incorporée, tel le lait dans la pâte, à l’enseignement des contenus académiques qui reste fondamental. Elève, connais-toi toi-même, mais n’oublie pas de connaître le monde!

ANNÉE 1 (2015-2016) Depuis quelques mois déjà, la direction et les enseignants de l’Ecole secondaire de LGB analysent le programme actuel des années 9 à 11 à la lumière des dix éléments fondamentaux d’un enseignement adapté au XXIe siècle identifiés dans les Principes directeurs (voir encadré).

Cette première année est consacrée à la réflexion, à l’élaboration de nouvelles activités pédagogiques et, surtout, à la mise en place d’une évaluation de ces activités. «Il est inutile d’introduire de nouvelles compétences à acquérir si les critères d’évaluation ne sont pas déterminés en parallèle», précise Conrad Hughes. Pourquoi les années 9 à 11 ? «Situées entre l’Ecole moyenne et le diplôme, ces années sont idéales car elles ne sont pas régies par un cadre très formalisé», explique le directeur.

Vue 3D du projet STEM.

ANNÉE 2 (2016-2017) L’année sera marquée par l’inauguration, dans un étage réaménagé du bâtiment Salève, du Centre STEM (acronyme anglais signifiant science, technologie, ingénierie et mathématiques). «L’idée est d’offrir aux élèves un espace adapté à une nouvelle approche des sciences qui promeut l’interdisciplinarité, l’innovation, la créativité et les applications réelles, précise le directeur.

A titre d’exemple, les expériences passives

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

Les «Principes directeurs» 1. L’honnêteté intellectuelle 2. La maîtrise de l’information et des médias 3. La pensée critique 4. La créativité 5. L’apprentissage des matières STEM 6. L’apprentissage fondé sur les concepts 7. La santé et la pleine conscience 8. L’apprentissage par le service 9. Le soutien scolaire 10. L’évaluation Retrouvez le texte intégral des Principes directeurs sur : www.ecolint.ch/principes-directeurs

et prédéterminées, telles que la reproduction de réactions chimiques en laboratoire, feront place au questionnement venant de l’élève et à la validation par des expérimentations qui ont un véritable sens.»

L’architecture du Centre STEM sera conçue pour stimuler la créativité et refléter les principes d’interdisciplinarité, de collaboration et d’investigation.

ANNÉE 3 (2017-2018) La dernière année verra la finalisation du nouveau programme, sa publication et son application en classe. «Bien entendu, outre leur participation active à cette redéfinition, les enseignants bénéficieront de formations de haut niveau tout au long du processus», ajoute le directeur.

Conrad Hughes en est persuadé, «l’apprentissage des compétences adaptées au XXIe siècle représente un bénéfice considérable pour nos élèves. Elles sont en outre un outil extrêmement puissant pour propager les valeurs fondamentales que sont la tolérance et la solidarité entre les peuples.»

9

ENCOURAGING ENTERPRISE STUDENTS AT LA CHÂTAIGNERAIE HAVE BEEN DEVELOPING THEIR SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP SKILLS THROUGH THE MICRO-TYCO COMPETITION. IAN SMITH, WHO TEACHES BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, REPORTS ON THEIR SUCCESS.

The promotion of enterprise and social entrepreneurship benefits students in two ways: it provides them with practical skills for financial literacy and it enhances their awareness of local and global initiatives to address issues of inequality, sustainability and development. At La Châtaigneraie, since September 2015, we’ve been working to provide a framework to nurture an entrepreneurial mind-set and encourage our students to work collaboratively on projects.

Ecolint’s Guiding Principles for Learning in the 21st Century task us with preparing students for “an age characterized by breath-taking technological and scientific advance, ethical and social challenge and unprecedented longevity”. To this end, enterprise learning aims to foster innovation, emotional intelligence and the project management skills that will be demanded by employers in the future.

A recent World Economic Forum report titled The Future of Jobs predicts rising demand for skill sets that are not today considered crucial. It stresses the need to help children become the new generation of global problem solvers “who innovate as technologists, think as entrepreneurs, and act as social change agents”.

“Overall, social skills— such as persuasion, emotional intelligence and teaching others—will be in higher demand across industries than narrow technical skills, such as programming or equipment operation and control. In essence, technical skills will need to be supplemented with strong social and collaboration skills.”

MICRO-FINANCE INITIATIVE A presentation by Dr Mick Jackson, founder of social enterprise incubator WildHearts (wildheartsinaction.org), kicked off our involvement in their Micro-Tyco competition. Five Year 12 IB Business students took on the challenge of raising as much money as possible in one month

10

starting with an initial microloan of 1 CHF. ‘SwissFrank’ was the initiative of Kipling Edgecombe-Walker, Saskia Smith, Emily Mulder, Hyeng-Ji Yun and Yasmin Karusu.

They established a brand, logo and media profile – initially built around 1 CHF coins painted red – with the purpose of raising revenue to support female entrepreneurs in the developing world.

The SwissFrank sponsored silence.

Following group addresses to an assembly and to parents, each member of the SwissFrank team mentored a Year 7 tutor group, implementing the business plan they had developed. The Year 7 students did chores at home to raise seed capital and then sold a variety of goods and services in school and beyond throughout November.

There was also a sponsored 24-hour silence and a SwissFrank party.

By the end of the month they had raised 3,600 CHF, which was converted into thirty micro-loans in India and Kenya. The students were thrilled to be placed second worldwide in the schools section of the Micro-Tyco competition. The WildHearts mission is that business can and must be a force for good; through their successful participation in MicroTyco our students developed their business and employability skills while also supporting entrepreneurs in the developing world.

To celebrate their success, the SwissFrank team was invited to attend We Day, organized by Canadian charity Free The

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

FROM LUNCHTIME TO LAUNCH-TIME Wednesdays at noon, during the LGB Secondary School lunch break, twelve Year 10 students convene in a conference room in the Centre des arts to discuss the future of SanusVita. This virtual (and fictional) company is developing a next-generation topical cream that speeds up wound-healing and makes light scars vanish. Led by history teacher David Rimer, this lunchtime club mixes entrepreneurship with roleplay and teaches students about equity and loans, options and shares, project management, product-market fit, presenting as a group and positioning one’s ideas. SanusVita was their brainchild and the final deliverable of the club will be a presentation they build together in an iterative fashion. Once the presentation is ready, they will present as a group to their peers, teachers, members of the venture community in Geneva and past club alumni.

Children, at London’s Wembley Arena in March. They were joined by invited Year 7 students, staff and parents and were congratulated in person by CEO of WildHearts Mick Jackson and presented with the Micro-Tyco 2016 trophy.

In 2016, SwissFrank have challenged Year 7 to raise funds to support our school service visits to Nepal and India. Furthermore, following a presentation by Rajni Sriram, co-founder of international children’s charity Wings of Hope, the SwissFrank collective are one of six teams of Year 12 students participating in the Wings of Hope Achievement Award. Each will submit a video diary of their work, forming part of the CAS element of the IB programme.

KEENEY’S LIBRARY ECOLINT’S LIBRARIES ARE THE BEATING HEARTS OF THE FOUNDATION’S SCHOOLS, AS POPULAR IN THIS ELECTRONIC AGE AS THEY HAVE EVER BEEN. THE LIBRARY AT LA CHÂTAIGNERAIE PRIMARY SCHOOL, WRITES SCHOOL PRINCIPAL JENNIFER ARMSTRONG, IS APTLY NAMED IN HONOUR OF A TEACHER WHOSE LOVE OF READING INSPIRED GENERATIONS OF STUDENTS.

Every day outside my office door, I see young children with their blue book bags entering the Keeney Weldon library to exchange their books. They exit shortly thereafter bubbly with excitement about the reading they can share with their parents that evening. This early morning activity is followed by a steady flow of traffic into the library, every day. From entire classes of students to small groups and individuals, teachers and parents, everyone is smiling and happy all day long. One can’t help wondering about the magic of this place!

La Chât Primary. Keeney, an American who planned to come to Switzerland for a short time but ended up staying permanently, was a passionate educator with a particular love of reading. Sadly she passed away in 2001, long before I arrived, so I have only had the opportunity to learn about Keeney through her husband Ted, a former Ecolint teacher himself, and from staff who had the pleasure of working with her. Certainly it would seem that she would be pleased to see the central role played by the library in the life of the learning community at the school.

library assistant, tend to the needs of the entire community. With an impressive bilingual fiction and non-fiction collection, books in many of our world languages, and a professional and parent resource collection, there is something for every inquiring mind. John and Isabelle plan closely with year groups to support the investigations under way in the PYP Programme, often co-teaching research and reference skills with their colleagues.

As is true for all our Ecolint libraries in 2015-2016, this means both print and online

It seems fitting to think of a library as a crossroads of any school, a place where members of the community cross paths with one another, each of them headed in their own direction, be it on a quest to find something out, or a desire to find a great story in which to get happily lost. It is a

Ted Weldon with La Chât librarian John Kolosowski, during his visit to the Keeney Weldon Library in November 2015.

Keeney Weldon

place that is as much about where we are coming from as it is about where we are going to, who we are and who we might become.

REMEMBERING KEENEY Our library at La Châtaigneraie is named for Keeney Weldon, a former member of the teaching staff first at Pregny-Rigot and then

Ted Weldon, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, still visits the school from time to time, reading stories to a rapt audience of students or simply telling them about Keeney. A plaque outside the library, specifically mounted low on the wall so that Primary students can read it, tells the story of Ted and Keeney’s life together and her tragically premature death.

environments and everything from search mechanisms to academic honesty.

The Keeney Weldon Library is a busy place, but not so busy as to prevent our librarians from finding the time to help a student discover that perfect book, the one that continues to inspire a love of reading and a love of learning.

A COMMUNITY RESOURCE The current librarians, John Kolosowski and Isabelle Sieler, along with Helen Lacy,

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

11

COMING FULL CIRCLE IN EACH ISSUE OF ECHO WE MEET ALUMNI WHO ARE NOW TEACHING AT ECOLINT. BELOW WE HEAR FROM ANNE LAURENT (LGB/LA CHAT ’85) AND ANNEMARIE OHMS (LA CHAT ’94).

Anne LAURENT (LGB / La Chât ‘85) > Enseignante de français, classe 7 > Ecole Moyenne, La Grande Boissière Quand avez-vous commencé à enseigner à l’Ecolint et sur quel campus ?

J’ai commencé à enseigner à l’Ecole Moyenne, dans le Programme Francophone Bilingue en 1999. Pour mémoire, les classes moyennes ont été créées en 1980, à l’époque du Directeur Général Léo Fernig, sous la houlette de mon père Maurice Laurent qui en a été le doyen de 1980 à 1984. En 1985, ce sont les classes bilingues qui ont vu le jour. Ma mère Christiane Laurent ainsi que mon père ont enseigné à l’école de 1970 à 2000 pour l’un et 2002 pour l’autre.

A quelle période étiez-vous élève et sur quel campus ?

De 1972 à 1981 à LGB et de 1983 à 1985 à La Châtaigneraie où j’ai passé la Maturité Fédérale, option scientifique.

Qu’avez-vous fait après l’Ecolint?

J’ai commencé à étudier en Lettres à l’Université de Genève. Puis je suis partie à Taïwan pendant un an pour perfectionner mon chinois (langue que j’étudiais à l’Université). A mon retour, j’ai terminé mes études de Lettres et un Magistère à Aix-enProvence (France).

Qu’est-ce qui vous a poussé à enseigner ?

Je n’ai pas commencé à enseigner directement après mes études car il me semblait important de toucher à d’autres domaines que l’éducation afin de compléter ma formation personnelle. Mais c’est au fond de moi ce que j’ai toujours voulu faire.

Si j’ai choisi l’Ecolint, c’est que j’y avais été heureuse et que suite à mes expériences de vie, j’étais bien consciente que notre école transmet des valeurs essentielles en lesquelles je crois profondément.

12

Avez-vous parfois des souvenirs de votre vie d’élève qui ressurgissent ?

Oui, une grande liberté d’expression, une liberté pas toujours évidente à gérer, mais qui m’a conduite à devenir responsable de mes actes.

En quoi l’Ecolint d’aujourd’hui diffèret-elle de celle que vous avez connue comme élève ?

Elle est plus grande et à l’époque, la hiérarchie était moins prédominante.

Qu’est-ce qui est resté inchangé ?

L’esprit communautaire, les relations privilégiées et uniques entre professeurs et élèves.

Qu’appréciez-vous le plus dans le métier d’enseignant ?

J’aime le contact des jeunes, leur vivacité, leur intelligence, leur sensibilité, leurs difficultés, leur ouverture d’esprit. J’espère leur apporter un peu de l’humanité dont je suis pétrie, mais il est indéniable qu’eux m’apportent énormément.

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

Que changeriez-vous à l’école si vous aviez une baguette magique ?

J’aimerais une école qui parvienne à trouver un sage équilibre entre tradition, recherche de qualité et créativité. A mon sens, la spécificité est une richesse immense et incontestable qui inspire à la fois les professeurs et les élèves.

Annemarie OHMS (La Chât ’94) > Bilingual Year 6 Teacher > Primary School, La Châtaigneraie When and how did you start teaching at Ecolint?

I worked previously at an international school in the area but it was always my dream to teach at La Châtaigneraie. Later, while I was working in a school in the Netherlands, I got a call from the Vice-Principal at La Chât asking me to cover for a teacher on maternity leave. I did not hesitate and moved back to Switzerland. I taught language B French and English for two and a half years before moving to Year 6 as a bilingual teacher, which means I teach half the school year in French and the other half in English.

When were you a student and at which campus?

I arrived in Switzerland from the Netherlands in 1985 when my dad got a position at the International Organization for Migration. I went to the local school in Founex for the first two weeks, but my parents moved me to La Châtaigneraie as soon as a space became available. My older brother and sister were already at the school.

What did you do after leaving Ecolint?

I left La Châtaigneraie and Switzerland in 1994 and went to London to study theatre.

When I finished my studies I returned to Switzerland to earn some money to go travelling. I never ended up travelling as I fell in love and had a baby boy instead. Although I was a happy mother, I wasn’t happy with my office job. In 2006, I took a chance and went to Madrid to get the CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I also knew someone who was teaching EAL (English as an Additional Language) at an international school in the area and she took me under her wing. I spent three fantastic months learning and teaching all grades of the primary school.

(I would like to take this opportunity to thank Meg Michelmore: I am very grateful to her for sharing her time and expertise.)

During that time I found my calling and ended up moving back to the Netherlands to get my Bachelor of Education degree in Utrecht. Meg and I are now colleagues at La Châtaigneraie.

What or who inspired you to be a teacher?

In hindsight, I believe I was always meant to be a teacher. It runs in the family: my brother, grandparents, uncles and aunts are all teachers.

My late sister inspired me the most to become a teacher. She had three children

and she was an amazing parent. She taught me how to listen and understand children and she challenged me to keep thinking outside of the box. I have friends who work in education and I was able to get experience in the classroom before deciding to study again. People and relationships are key in realizing what your calling is and getting you where you are supposed to be.

As soon as I decided to study again I knew my goal would be to work at La Châtaigneraie. I have so many great memories of my own education here as a child. I knew the school had become bilingual and was a PYP/IB school. So as soon as I got the call, I did not hesitate to uproot my son again and move back to Switzerland. I never regretted that move.

Sometimes you just have to take a chance.

Are you ever reminded of your former life at school?

There is a new beautiful building for the Primary and therefore it is quite different. I do still see some of my old teachers, who are now colleagues, on the secondary campus (Mr Wingate and Mrs Hoesli) as well as Bruno Chabalet from the Service technique. Furthermore, four others from my school year are also working on this campus.

What are the main differences about Ecolint compared to when you were at school?

The school has changed in size and technologically. We didn’t have smartboards in our day. If we needed to watch a video a huge television would be wheeled into the classroom. The World Wide Web didn’t exist. Our access to information was limited compared to now. One of the other

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

differences is that the Primary now follows the IB PYP (Primary Years Programme), which is inquiry based and bilingual.

I think the spirit and the core values of the school are the same. That is why I feel so at home being here, I guess. However, when I was at school there was a lot of competition between LGB and La Chât. I don’t feel any rivalry now, being a teacher.

What are the best things about being a teacher?

The best thing about being a teacher is that every day is different. Teachers get to be lifelong learners. We don’t just learn from our students on a daily basis but also the school challenges our professional development and sends us on courses.

We get inspirational people coming from all over the world talking to our students and the teachers. I feel very privileged to be a teacher, especially in this environment.

What would you do at school if you had a magic wand?

If I had a magic wand I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, maybe I’d bring back the cows that used to roam around the portacabins during maths with Mr. Peiris.

Anything else you would like to add?

There are many people I would like to thank in helping me be part of this amazing community. In order to avoid sounding like I won the Oscars, I will thank them in person.

13

HOUSE; HAVEN; HOME. THE BOARDING HOUSES SERVED AS A HOME AWAY FROM HOME FOR HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS OVER THE YEARS. MANY WERE SAD TO SEE THE PROGRAMME WOUND DOWN AT THE END OF THE NINETIES. YESIM ATAYOLU, A BOARDER FROM 1979-86 AND FOUNDER OF A FACEBOOK GROUP FOR FORMER BOARDERS, REFLECTS ON THE ECOLINT INTERN EXPERIENCE.

“The boarding programme really came into its own during World War II when diplomatic families were recalled to face uncertain futures at home and arranged to leave their children at Ecolint,” explains Jeff Goodwin, a boarder from Tennessee between 1961 and 1967, whose parents had relocated to Sicily. For them the outstanding academic reputation of the school, combined with the co-ed boarding programme, seemed to be the best choice for Jeff and his sister Linda.

In the years that followed, the Internat, as it was known, became a safe haven for students whose countries were experiencing political turmoil. For other families, boarding at Ecolint was simply a way to give their children an opportunity to develop social skills, learn to communicate and cohabit with others. Such was the reflection of Ivan Ovando-Lacroux (LGB ’99), a boarder from France between 1994 and 1996, whose mother was working for the UN in Kenya.

HARD TO ENTER, HARDER TO LEAVE Whatever the reasons were for being there, it was hard to enter and even harder to leave. In the 1970s and 1980s approximately 60 students were accommodated in three main residences: the Grande Villa for the junior girls, Villa Verey for the senior girls and the top floor of the Grand Bâtiment for the boys.

The boarding programme at Ecolint was run sort of like a family business. The host families were not outsiders hired to take care of us but rather Ecolint’s very own teachers: the Luggs, the Garstangs, the Unitts, the Anthonys, the Phillipses, the Jorgensens, the Preeces, the Wises and others along the way, doing their best to give us a near-home experience.

The boarding programme’s existence across six decades was not always plain sailing. Mariko Terazaki (LGB ’74, née Gardner) writes about how she and her

14

fellow boarders were left “feeling displaced physically and emotionally” when they were unexpectedly relocated away from the campus in the early 1970s.

The programme had enough take-up to be viable into the mid-1990s, when it began to wind down. By then there were just enough boarders to be accommodated on the top floor of the Grand Bâtiment, with the service ultimately closing in 2001.

AT HOME WITH THE UNITTS My journey at the International School of Geneva began in the autumn of 1979, following my parents’ decision to distance me from the violent political scene that had erupted in Turkey in the late 1970s. The Grande Villa became my home away from home. My first room was located on the second floor, right across from the stairs facing the then Primary School (now the Middle School), though my favourite room was the one facing the Chemin de la Chevillarde.

Mr and Mrs Unitt were house parents of the Grande Villa until 1983. I am eternally grateful to them for making me feel as close to home as possible with their barbecues, crêpes, bedtime tea and cookies, horror movie nights and – my favourite – sleepovers in their caravan, which was parked in the garden.

One particular memory that stands out for me goes back to my first year at the Grande Villa. Being the youngest girl in the house, I was quite easily persuaded to undertake daring acts. One such was sliding down three flights of stairs inside the wicker laundry basket, only to end up at Mrs Unitt’s feet with a hefty carpet repair bill!

Boarding life away from friends, family and country was scary at times. As an 11 year-

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

From the LGB Yearbook 1981; Yesim’s sister Yonca Atayolu Ables is fourth from the right kneeling/sitting.

old among older girls, I remember having to lock my door to play with my Barbie dolls. The first three years were emotionally rough. Overnight, I had to learn to share, wait for my turn, be on time, manage my weekly allowance of CHF 20, organize my laundry, give up my Barbies, get my work done and keep myself safe.

FINDING EACH OTHER ON FACEBOOK Reconnecting with other boarders who had similar experiences and rekindling fond memories were the reasons behind creating the “Ecolint Boarders” Facebook Group, where I have “met” many boarders from different generations.

Jeff Goodwin describes his days at the boarding house in the 1960s as amazing and overwhelming at the same time.

He enjoyed the abundance of snow and fun ski trips while being aware of the

The boys from the Senior Villa, 1967; Jeff Goodwin is standing fourth from the left.

The boys from the Grand Bâtiment in 1996 – a “species in extinction”.

The girls in the Grande Villa, circa 1985. Yesim Atayolu is seated second from the right, holding Nathalie, the first daughter of house parents Mr & Mrs Phillips.

Grande Villa circa 1981; Mr and Mrs Unitt and the girls.

responsibility his father had entrusted him with in a phone call from Sicily: should the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis have reached apocalyptic proportions, his job, at age 13, was to take care of his sister.

Ivan Ovando-Lacroux was a member of a “species in extinction”, as he refers to the last group of boarders. He quotes the poet Borges: “being here gave me the feeling of having roots”. Being a boarder was an important learning experience: respecting shared community spaces like the bathroom and kitchen, or the landline phone on which everyone needed time to call home. But he also recalls the postdinner study hours, followed by soccer with friends, attending a powerful Ben Harper concert, and carrying a table from the cafeteria for an al fresco breakfast on rare sunny weekends; all wonderful memories that he still cherishes.

My sister Yonca Atayolu Ables, who was a boarder from 1977-84, clearly remembers a sombre farewell to our mother in front of the Road Runner burger joint. But she realizes now that the seven years she spent as a boarder, rooming with Annik Petch, roller-skating around the courtyard after dinner, travelling for hours in the most uncomfortable of minivans to reach Zermatt and Leysin, gingerly walking up the stairs of the Grande Villa trying not to make any noise because she’s missed the curfew, and courageously rappelling down the fire escape for our annual fire drills, were in fact some of the best days of her life.

AN EARLY INTERN WRITES… “What makes Internat life so wonderful is the closeness and companionship of so many distinct individuals from different cultures, who somehow manage to blend together and form the many faceted intern personality. And what a personality it is!”

Patricia Williams, AZKOUL quotedJULIAN in the 1959 Ecolint Annual Journal. (See echo issue 3)

“We were a big part of the school’s heart; for us it was never school, it was home,” writes Jeff Goodwin on the Ecolint Boarders Facebook Group. I couldn’t agree more.

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

15

ECOLINT BY CHANCE; ARCHITECTS BY DESIGN CONTINUING OUR SERIES FOCUSING ON ALUMNI WORKING WITHIN A PARTICULAR PROFESSIONAL FIELD, WE MEET FIVE ARCHITECTS AT DIFFERENT POINTS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE CAREERS.

Bernard PLOJOUX (LGB ’61) Je suis né dans une famille d’artistes, ma mère était peintre et mon père sculpteur ensemblier (architecte d’intérieur) et professeur à l’Ecole des Arts Décoratifs. Très vite, grâce à la vision 3D innée, à l’observation et à la douceur des couleurs, j’ai été naturellement attiré par l’architecture et n’ai jamais envisagé un autre métier.

De santé fragile, j’ai dû interrompre à plusieurs reprises mes études et j’ai poursuivi par un travail personnel en autodictate. J’ai été inscrit au Registre A des architectes en 1975, ce qui m’a permis d’exercer mon métier tel que je le désirais, avec beaucoup de passion et sans contrainte.

J’ai travaillé dans plusieurs bureaux, notamment celui de M. Otto Glaus à Zurich, qui avait collaboré avec Le Corbusier. M. Glaus était un homme intègre, droit, et l’un des meilleurs architectes suisses. Quelques années plus tard j’ai ouvert mon propre bureau.

Depuis une dizaine d’années, ma fille Delphine, qui a également suivi une partie de sa scolarité à l’Ecolint, puis à l’EPFL, a rejoint mon équipe en qualité d’architecte, puis d’associée.

Au cours de ma carrière, j’ai pu réaliser de belles villas privées, des transformations et particulièrement des rénovations dans des bâtiments des XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, notamment le jumelage de deux magnifiques immeubles du secteur bancaire à la Corraterie. Je pourrais également citer des ouvrages d’art tels que fresques, peintures, ainsi qu’un tennis entièrement souterrain.

La réalisation du bâtiment de l’Ecole primaire des Marronniers, avec ses 6 villages de 4 classes chacun, a été une des plus belles périodes de ma vie Les moindres détails avaient été examinés avec la directrice de l’époque, des professeurs et des élèves, et le

16

résultat a été le fruit d’une belle coordination.

Sur le campus de La Grande Boissière, j’ai également réalisé la cafétéria ainsi que la surélévation des bâtiments Les Cèdres, Le Salève et Les Marronniers. J’ai également entrepris diverses transformations sur le campus de La Châtaigneraie. J’ai été heureux à l’Ecolint, à la fois en tant qu’élève, parent d’élève et architecte.

Pour les élèves et futurs étudiants en architecture, je me permets simplement de les rendre attentifs aux points suivants : avoir une excellente vision dans l’espace ; aimer dessiner et réaliser beaucoup de croquis d’objets, meubles, bâtiments ou autres ; être curieux de tout ; profiter des années qui précèdent l’université pour parfaire sa culture générale ; être perspicace et persévérant.

Ce métier n’est pas une routine, car chaque projet est une nouvelle aventure ; travailler, travailler et encore travailler (les journées d’un architecte durent souvent 12 à 15 heures) ; «A vingt ans, on croit tout savoir, et à quatrevingt ans on s’aperçoit qu’on ne sait rien».

Luiana MAKUNDI (LGB ’94) At school I was obsessed with fine art – drawing and painting. I had been crazy about art since 2nd grade in Tanzania. At Ecolint, art was one of my high level courses. I also used to love maths and geography throughout Secondary school, and that is why I looked for a profession that would utilize my three passions.

My first study visa to the USA said “Architecture”. However, the “family college” I attended did not offer any architectural degrees, so I studied double majors in Studio Arts and Art History, and a minor in Graphic Design, with the intention of pursing architecture later at Master’s level. I worked as an architect in Washington DC for nine years before returning to Tanzania in 2009. Since then I have been teaching Architecture and Interior Design

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

BERNARD PLOJOUX

LUIANA MAKUNDI at a university, while pursuing academic research and design consultancy work in the same area. I now use both my art and architectural backgrounds in my work.

The design of a school building is very important to the students’ experiences.

It’s taking space and making it into a place, a positive identity which fosters a sense of pride in belonging. Architecture can give identity as well as engage, uplift and inspire those who come in contact with it. Admittedly for younger students the relationship is more on an unconscious level, but there are tangible experiences.

“No news is good news”… if design is unsuccessful, we would know.

Architecture is a lifestyle, not just a career, or a 9 to 5 job. Like anything else in life, architecture has its ups and downs. Breaking into the field can be difficult, however, if you love to create, art

I am still in the early stages of my career, having just finished my third year at University, where hard work has enabled me to obtain a Bachelor’s degree with Distinction.

Through those first three years I undertook summer work experience in Costa Rica and I am now interning full time at an architecture firm in Geneva. It is both educational and fun so hopefully it will help me head back to finish my Master’s degree on a high note.

FRANCISCO J. RODRIGUEZ BARRIENTOS

CHRISTINE MUELLER GUPTA or design, new or old buildings, this is THE thing to commit to. Architecture is also a very complex profession tied to many disciplines, to some of which students are exposed throughout their long academic and professional training. Not all architects are designers. And not all graduates of Architecture are architects. A degree in Architecture allows one to work in construction management, in engineering services, retail, teaching, research and publications, drafting and rendering, marketing, the list goes on.

Francisco J. RODRIGUEZ BARRIENTOS (Nations ‘12) My interest in architecture emerged before my time at Ecolint, which I attended from Year 7 to 13. Nonetheless at Nations courses such as Design and Technology, as well as Art, helped me increase my creativity and imagination. Then classes such as History, where we were taught about the architecture in ancient civilizations, and Geography, where we had to design homes made from recycled materials, made me realize that architecture was a career I would love to pursue.

Architecture has a very expressive form and will always interact with the people and environment that it surrounds. Take for instance a student’s experience within a school building, where you spend much of your pre-adult life. It is very important that a school is designed in a way that will help with students’ development. Nations, for example, has a very good design in terms of social fluidity within the school. The vast corridors and open spaces, as well as the strong visual connections within the vertical circulation, reinforce this idea of constant communication and interaction. This allows students to form bonds easily with classmates and teachers. In addition to the social advantages, this design can help prevent instances of bullying taking place owing to its complete openness.

Architecture is a very broad field compared to what you get in the IB at school. In my spare time at school I had learnt how to use Google SketchUp and this helped me a lot. I would suggest those considering a career in architecture to learn other basic programs such as Photoshop and InDesign during their free time. Architecture courses are very demanding as your work is regularly critiqued by teachers. You must have the drive and passion to be able to come out on top, despite the long hours of study and other challenges along the way.

If you stay determined, you will see that it is a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Christine MUELLER GUPTA (Pregny-Rigot / La Chât ’92) I was fascinated by the vernacular architecture we visited during school field trips (Avenches, Ballenberg, Colmar, Village des Boris etc..). I was curious about different construction methods, materials and the resulting spatial forms. I really enjoyed writing up field trip reports and making sense of the resulting architectural forms within a larger cultural context. Architecture is a discipline intrinsically connected to geography, history and culture.

I moved to New Delhi, India almost 10 years ago with my husband and

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

professional partner. Our firm’s work is a result of our multicultural education and travel. Studying architecture, both at undergraduate and graduate level enabled me to synthesize and combine several subjects and life experiences. My schooling and teachers encouraged me to take risks and instilled a work ethic I maintain today.

Our office, vir.mueller architects, strives to create timeless aesthetic relationships, evoking the spirit of contemporary culture, ecology, and technology. According primacy to the process of design, our work evolves as a response to the particular character of each programme, site and budget. At every scale, we emphasize the integrity of material and craftsmanship, establishing a fundamental relationship between the physical environment, and the art of making architecture. We believe in working very closely with our consultants and in embracing sustainability as an engineering mandate in a manner that is inherently elemental. We have learnt that a simple structural diagram can create provocative architecture.

Our physical environment affects us immensely and influences our capacity and inclination to learn. The double height space with exposed wooden trusses in the “nap room” at Rigot, Pregny’s bright orange and central assembly space, and the narrow stairs (and window seat ledges) overlooking the tennis courts at La Châtaigneraie all had a significant impact on my education.

We are by nature phototropic creatures and thrive when we can remain connected with landscape. Learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom, and children therefore need a healthy balance between indoor and outdoor spaces. A hierarchy of spaces, from intimate to large-group and from casual to formal, is essential in any welldesigned school.

Studying architecture opens doors in multiple disciplines. Schools of Architecture are very diverse in their programme and degree offerings. Architecture, landscape design, urban design, planning, industrial design, product design and interior design are only a few ways designers contribute and give definition to our physical environment.

Ana Mekhala OLTRAMARE (La Chât ’91) J’ai beaucoup voyagé étant enfant. La visite des villes et surtout des bâtiments publics tels que les musées, les bibliothèques, les églises, etc., ont éveillé en moi un fort

17

ECOLINT BY CHANCE; ARCHITECTS BY DESIGN

intérêt pour les œuvres architecturales, déjà à un jeune âge. Ma mère étant décoratrice d’intérieur, j’ai toujours baigné dans un cadre où la décoration et l’aménagement des espaces intérieurs avaient une place prépondérante. A l’école, j’aimais beaucoup l’art et le design. J’adorais les voitures et tous les objets «beaux». J’étais assez forte en maths et j’aimais aussi la physique.

Ces éléments m’ont aidé à me diriger très naturellement vers l’architecture.

Après mes études universitaires entre l’Ecole d’architecture de Genève et l’EPFL, je suis partie tout d’abord à Londres, et après pour faire un «post-grad» à Barcelone. Je suis rentrée par la suite en Suisse et j’ai eu la chance d’ouvrir directement un bureau d’architecture à Nyon avec une amie proche. C’était un pari un peu osé de ne pas passer en tout cas quelques années dans un autre bureau pour acquérir de l’expérience avant de me lancer, mais je suis heureuse de l’avoir fait !

Durant ces derniers 12 ans, nous avons travaillé surtout dans le résidentiel - constructions neuves et rénovations. Nous sommes restés assez petits, maximum 10 personnes, pour pouvoir suivre chaque dossier individuellement, de la conception jusqu’au design du mobilier intérieur. Chaque rencontre avec un nouveau client a donné lieu à une aventure singulière.

Je pense que nous ne pouvons pas rester indifférents à ce qui nous entoure, dans le positif ou le négatif. Les bâtiments et les espaces dans lesquels nous vivons, travaillons, étudions, nous transmettent des émotions qui peuvent passer de la sérénité à l’anxiété, du bien-être à l’hostilité, de la joie à la tristesse, même à la peur. Un bâtiment scolaire qui arrive à convier la joie, la sérénité et le bien-être sera un lieu qui favorise la réflexion, le calme, le bonheur et la joie d’apprendre.

C’est un métier passionnant, avec une longue période d’apprentissage certes, même après des années d’études. C’est un métier qui vous accapare, qui ne vous lâche pas, vous devenez «architecte», ce n’est jamais juste un métier. C’est encore aujourd’hui un milieu d’hommes, très macho, mais ce n’est pas pour cela qu’il ne faudrait pas vous lancer en tant que femme. Je pense que le côté féminin manque souvent dans l’architecture de nos villes. Cela a comme répercussion la conception de bâtiments issus de gestes forts et majestueux, mais de temps à autre, manquant de finesse, de détails subtils et délicats que les femmes apportent souvent.

C’est un métier dur avec beaucoup de responsabilités, mais quelle joie et sentiment

ANA MEKHALA OLTRAMARE de plénitude vous pouvez sentir devant une de vos propres œuvres ! Difficile souvent de «laisser partir le bébé».

A HIGH FLIER Another notable alumnus in the realm of architecture is David Marks (LGB ’71), who with his wife Julia Barfield founded the practice that delivered the iconic London Eye and the soon-to-open i360, the “world’s first vertical cable car” in Brighton, UK. David features in the Ecolint Entrepreneurs blog on our alumni website: alumni.ecolint.ch/entrepreneurs

BUILDING THE FUTURE TOGETHER The International School of Geneva is a not-for-profit foundation and our day-to-day costs are covered by tuition fees.

The school relies on financial support from our community and partners to help achieve development projects.

Get in touch to discuss how you can help!

• Different ways of giving • Support for specific projects • Donor recognition opportunities • Legacies

With your support, we can make a difference for current and future generations of Ecolint students.

18

N°18 | spr ing / pr int emps 2016

>>>

Contact Brian Wahlen, Development Associate, at brian.wahlen@ecolint.ch or +41 (0)22 787 26 19

>>> Visit us at www.ecolint.ch/support

PAUL DUPUY: ECOLINT ECCENTRIC HORS PAIR EVERY HUMANE AND TOLERANT SCHOOL HAS ITS SHARE OF INNOCUOUS ECCENTRICS, BUT FEW TAKE THE RISK OF ALLOWING THE MOST GIFTED AMONG THEM TO BE THEMSELVES. THE PROTOTYPE OF ALL GREAT ECOLINT ECCENTRICS WAS PAUL DUPUY (1856-1948), WRITES FOUNDATION ARCHIVIST ALEJANDRO RODRIGUEZ-GIOVO.

It’s hard to believe that an Ecolint teacher, who taught in the very same Vieille Maison and Grand Bâtiment rooms that are still used today, was a first-hand witness of the Franco-Prussian War and of the savage suppression of the Paris Commune in 1871. Those who have been captivated by Paul Dupuy Robert Harris’ scrupulously researched novel An Officer and a Spy (2014), about the notorious case of Alfred Dreyfus, will be fascinated to learn that Dupuy played a prominent role – alongside the likes of Emile Zola – in defending Dreyfus, and at the time published a detailed analysis of Le Petit Bleu, an allegedly incriminating telegram around which so much of Harris’ novel revolves.

VERITABLE RENAISSANCE MAN Before joining the nascent Ecolint in 1925, aged almost 70 but animated with the vigour and enthusiasm of a young man, Dupuy had taught for some 50 years, in part contemporaneously with Louis Pasteur, at the prestigious Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris, which he had revolutionized with his discipline libre methods. Although at the Ecole Normale he had attained elevated positions, and had been appointed Officier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1919, in Ecolint he displayed his characteristic indifference towards personal ambition by returning to the classroom, thus sharing his wealth of wisdom and knowledge through daily interaction with children from all over the world. Dupuy was a veritable Renaissance man, who used Geography (to which he referred as “Culture internationale”) to teach just about everything. His passionate, uncompromising style swept students along in a cultural whirlwind in which they could not be merely passive observers; in keeping with one of our school’s central tenets, Dupuy insisted that they be the protagonists of their own education.

One of his former students, Raynald Werner, described the experience thus:

Quand j’étais son élève à l’Ecole, c’était l’homme universel que j’avais alors pour maître : avec Molière, il rendait le bon sens palpable et plaisant ; avec Victor Hugo, il faisait sa large part, dans un programme scolaire, au sentiment, à l’idéal, au besoin inné de générosité ; avec MichelAnge – dont il reproduisait à la craie de couleur, des morceaux de la Chapelle Sixtine sur les parois de ses classes – il nous familiarisait, sans théorie, mais par l’exemple et l’imitation (vrai processus éducatif) avec les canons d’une esthétique indiscutable.

Dupuy was a law unto himself; no manager dared tamper with his teaching. As one of his contemporaries, quoted in George Walker’s superb biography (see page 8) of MarieThérèse Maurette (Dupuy’s daughter and Ecolint’s second director), put it: He was successful with his pupils and had no interest in the principles of pedagogy.

Either you understood children and loved the subject you had to teach, or you did not.

Othman Hamayed and Conan de Wilde, in Ecolint (2014), describe Dupuy as “an Ecolint legend” who was “a great teacher, but he was also a manager’s nightmare and was keen to avoid pedagogical discussions, preferring to get on with the job of teaching.”

He was a living and breathing curriculum in action: stimulating, enriching and gloriously unaccountable. His former students cherished their memory of him for decades; when Dupuy died in 1948 (aged 92, having retired from Ecolint at 80), they paid homage with moving speeches at his graveside in Cologny. Titu Radulesco said: M. Dupuy nous a enrichis d’une foule de connaissances que l’on ne trouve pas communément dans les manuels. Mais, ce faisant, il nous a donné un bien autrement précieux : il nous a enseigné à fonder notre

N ° 18 | s pr i ng / pr i nt em ps 2016

jugement sur la connaissance exacte et objective des faits, il nous a appris à bien regarder et à bien réfléchir.

George Walker is convinced that “it was Dupuy who began to construct the foundations of a credible international education.

His beliefs were powerfully expressed in an address he gave to Ecolint students to mark the 10th anniversary of the Council of the League of Nations (…). First, he said, it is not enough simply to make friends: Votre camaraderie, si elle n’était que de jeux et de travaux scolaires, n’aurait ici que peu de valeur. Il faut qu’elle se double d’une camaraderie plus profonde, qui vous associe à l’idée d’ou cette maison est née. (…) Sachez que la richesse du monde est faite de cette diversité de physionomies nationales, qu’il n’est aucune nation à qui l’humanité tout entière ne soit redevable de quelque bienfait : que vous êtes ici pour vous familiariser avec ces diversités, pour contribuer à les réunir en un seul faisceau de concorde volontaire.”

HERSCH ON DUPUY It is fitting that this account’s final words about Dupuy should be those of his Ecolint colleague (and equally notable eccentric) Jeanne Hersch, the distinguished philosopher who later became a renowned professor at the University of Geneva, where she taught for 21 years.

M. Dupuy aimait la vérité. Ce n’était pas pour lui une vertu, mais un instinct passionné, un besoin vital de propreté. (…) L’amour de la vérité, lorsqu’il est ainsi ardent jusqu’à la minutie, empêche toujours le fanatisme, cette pauvreté du cœur, de sacrifier l’homme à quelque évidence prétendue. Ainsi l’amour de l’homme n’était pas pour lui une faiblesse intellectuelle, ni l’amour de la vérité une dureté du cœur.

May the noble spirit of Paul Dupuy haunt every Ecolint classroom – we can wish for nothing more beneficial.

19

THE BACK BOARD

The Scenic Route

You may have missed…

The varied paths some of our teachers followed prior to joining Ecolint.

The birth of the Greek Theatre CHARLES FLEMING Teaching at La Chât Primary School since 2012

MALCOLM STACK

ALEXANDRE SABBAG

History Teacher at LGB Secondary since 2005

Year 2 Classroom Teacher at Pregny Early Years Centre since 2012

What did you do for a living before coming to teach here?

Before coming to La Châtaigneraie I was a professional chef. I have been a head chef in small restaurants, a sous chef in a large hotel, an instructor at a culinary school and a personal chef for a small private bank. I now also teach skiing, hockey and kids’ sports. I was a stay-athome parent for six years before retraining as a Primary Classroom Assistant and now I am an Extended Support Programme Assistant.

I am a working-class boy from London. I went to university when I was thirty, having been a professional soldier for thirteen years. I became a barrister, and then moved into teaching for the job satisfaction.

I am truly fortunate to have had an array of professional incarnations before becoming a teacher. After graduating from McGill University, I worked for two years as a freelance journalist for several Canadian publications. After completing my Master’s degree in Geneva in International History & Politics, I was quickly swept up into the UN system and worked as a Press Officer for almost five years. While I have had many other odd jobs (including NGO project manager, sandwich maker and peewee league hockey coach), I have never been happier than in the classroom!

How, if at all, do you bring your former career into the classroom?

Working in kitchens produced some challenging moments and I call on that experience sometimes when working with children. As a chef I developed coaching skills working with my apprentices and cooks in showing them how I needed food to be prepared. My cooking knowledge is often called upon in school during maths class, such as when making a quatre quarts cake with the students to explain fractions and measurement, or using ratios to scale up a recipe. Another recent example was helping design a writing exercise for an instructional text in the form of a recipe.

These jobs have given me certain expectations of my students: that they are prepared to argue and fight their corner, and that they face setbacks with a sense of humour and perspective. It could always be much, much worse.

Alumni, find us on …

Facebook facebook.com/ecolintalumni

I strive to bring my passion and enthusiasm for writing into the classroom. Although my year two students are still young and inexperienced as writers, I think of my classroom as a safe and inspirational learning environment, where children are given time to explore different types of writing, from short stories and funny poems to quirky recipes and news articles! We also work on developing key research and interviewing skills, which is something I learned during my years as a journalist. I could probably teach a few of my students to make a mean ham, cheese and avocado sandwich too.

An AlumBlog post about the construction of the Greek Theatre, based on contemporary accounts of students who were there at the time.

> alumni.ecolint.ch/ greektheatre

The Music Room

A new section of the website focusing on alumni who are or were professional musicians, including a Spotify playlist of their music. > alumni.ecolint.ch/ musicroom

Meet Michael from Marketing

Ecolint appointed its first Director of Marketing in 2015.

He was invited to write an AlumBlog post to introduce himself and his role to the alumni community. > alumni.ecolint.ch/ meetmichael

Change of address ? Get in touch !

Email: alumni@ecolint.ch

LinkedIn sl.ecolint.ch/linkedin

Telephone:

Twitter twitter.com/ecolintalumni

Web: alumni.ecolint.ch

(Alumni can update their own details on the website.)

Pinterest sl.ecolint.ch/pinterest-alumni

+41 (0)22 787 25 55