Bulletin 15-19 September 2025
International Day 2025 from Miss Pickard (j.pickard@vischool.ch)
Autumn Term 2025
International Day will take place on Friday 10th October between 15:00 and 16:30.
Both Primary and Secondary children will spend the afternoon learning about the different countries and parents are welcome to run stalls if they would like to. Last year we had 12 countries represented and we would love to have stalls to represent all nationalities in our community. Please email Miss Pickard if you are interested in running a stall.
Ideas for a country’s stall:
• A country’s culture using flags, costumes and other traditional items
• Creating fun fact quizzes e.g. famous people, activities, known for, types of animals,
• Play traditional or modern music from the country
• Country maps, activities or games e.g. colouring in a national design, creating a model, pinpoint the capital on a map
• Enjoying local food (nut free)
Reading Assessments with Renaissance: Supporting Our Students’ Progress in English from Mr Ian McGarry (i.mcgarry@vischool.ch)
As part of our commitment to nurturing confident and capable readers, our school will be using a suite of tools from Renaissance Learning to assess and support students’ reading development. These tools will be used with all students from Year 2 to Year 11 during the academic year.
Here’s a brief overview of the key programmes we’ll be using:
Accelerated Reader (AR) - Accelerated Reader is a reading program that helps students choose books at an appropriate level and encourages regular reading. After finishing a book, students take a short quiz to check their understanding. This helps teachers monitor progress and guide students toward books that will challenge and engage them.
Star Reading Tests - Star Reading is a computer-adaptive assessment that provides a snapshot of each student’s reading ability. The test adjusts in difficulty based on the student’s responses and gives teachers valuable data on reading comprehension, vocabulary, and overall reading level. These insights help us tailor instruction to meet individual needs.
Autumn Term 2025
MyON - MyON is a digital library offering thousands of engaging books for students to read anytime, anywhere. It supports independent reading and allows students to explore topics that interest them while building fluency and comprehension. Teachers can also assign texts linked to classroom learning.
These tools work together to give us a well-rounded picture of each student’s reading journey and ensure they are supported at every stage. We encourage you to talk with your child about what they’re reading and celebrate their progress.
If you have any questions about these programmes or how they support your child’s learning, please don’t hesitate to contact either Mr Ian McGarry, your child’s Primary Class Teacher or Secondary English teacher.
Sports Competitions – September from Mr Bompastor (n.bompastor@vischool.ch)
18 September - Golf Competition – Sion
19 September - SGIS Downhill MTB – Verbier
24 September - SGIS Swimming Primary – St. Georges (Montreux)
Sport: Core Information
Golf: As this is an outdoor activity, please ensure students wear clothing appropriate for the weather conditions, including sunscreen, sunglasses, and hats on sunny days, or rain jackets when wet weather is expected.
Tennis: Please remember to bring sports shoes, tennis racket (if you have one) and a hat.
Mountain Biking: Students bring their bikes (enduro/downhill), protective gear (helmet - full face, knee and elbow pads and chest/back protections are required), a second set of clothes to change into afterwards and lift passes.
Swimming - All students wear their PE kit to school and then change at the pool. Please ensure that students bring their swimming gear (swimming suit, swim cap, googles, flip flops, towel and hygiene items).
Year 7 – 8
Monday 15 September, 9:00 – 10:30
• Golf – Elisabet; Coco; Matteo; Linus; Zoe H; Olivia; Sasha; Kitt
Term 2025
• Tennis – Hugo; Stanley; Aleksander; Aija; Mathilda; Nicholas; Zoé K; William; Finn; Jeremy; Henry; Albert; Estelle; Evelyn
• MTB – Caio, Pierre, Leo
Wednesday 17 September, 10:50 – 12:30
• Swimming - Mathilda; Linus; Elisabet; Coco; Stanley; Nicholas; Aija; Zoé K; Hugo; Aleksander.
• Golf – Kitt; Sasha; Leo; Pierre; Caio; Estelle; Evelyn; Zoe H; Olivia
• MTB – William; Finn; Jeremy; Henry; Albert; Matteo
Year 9 - 11
Tuesday 16 September, 13:35 - 15:20
• Golf – Liam; Max; Kyan; Lars; Caesar; Marius; Otto; Kailey; Alicia; Noah.
• Tennis – Shari; Emma; Marina; Juliette; Delia; Camila; Liv; Khaleesi; Ray; Pablo; Alex; Jesus; Lucas.
• MTB – Arthur; Xavier; Torin; Yorgos; Gabriel; James; Andrew; Benjamin; Jonathan
Thursday 18 September, 9:40 - 11:40
• Golf – Kailey; Emma; Marina; Juliette; Camila; Alicia; Pablo; Alex; Jesus
• Tennis – Xavier; Torin; Yorgos; Noah; Jonathan; Andrew; Arthur; Liv; Khaleesi; Ray; Benjamim; Gabriel; James; Lucas; Delia; Shari
• MTB – Lars; Kyan; Marius; Otto; Caesar
Year 12-13
Wednesday 17 September, 9:00 – 10:30
• Golf – Diego; Zach; Oliver; Jeremy; Barack; Federico
• Tennis – Septime; Juliana; William; Aida; Emiliano; Theo; Farid; Raif; Dima; Mert; Ava; Stella; Madeleine; Clara
• MTB – Tom; Matisse; Ferran