21st February was designated International Mother Language Day by UNESCO in 1999 and has been celebrated worldwide since 2000. The purpose of this day is to honour the importance of mother tongues and to raise awareness of the importance of preserving our linguistic heritage.
With a school community of over 70 different nationalities and languages, this was a great opportunity to organise the Language Week at GESS for the second time. The aim of the GESS Multilingualism Working Group was to contribute to mutual understanding and to raise general interest in language and reading.
Exhibition of multilingual books in the library
One of the most frequent feedback we get from our alumni is how they greatly appreciate the wide range of multilingual books in our libraries. During Language Week, our library team had put together a special selection of multilingual “best read” books and decorated the libraries to match the theme.
Interpretation of language in the preschool area.
The preschool section had put together a colourful programme on the topic of language and different cultures and customs. A special highlight was the joint singing and holding up of the different national flags at the playground.
(Click below the picture on the left side to see the film!)
Parents and pupils of the secondary school read aloud!
Our little ones did not have to wait for the “good night story” during the Language Week. During lunch break, parents and our secondary school students read exciting stories to the younger kids. A great break to relax!
Award ceremony of the 2nd GESS writing competition
To encourage our students to write, GESS announced the second edition of a writing competition. The result were great and exciting short stories were awarded by Mr. Pauli in the library during the Language Week.
“Passion for Reading – Passion for Writing” a talk by the authors Suffian Hakim and Shameer Bismilla.
A great lecture in the auditorium for the 4th and 5th classes. The two authors Suffian Hakim and Shameer Bismilla each read from one of their works and then had an exciting and intensive discussion about how they came to read, when they started writing and what challenges authors face when they want to publish something. Our students had many questions, which the two authors were happy to answer.
