Lemania-Verbier International School Brochure 2014

© VERBIER St-Bernard_YG
EDUCATIONAL
EXCELLENCE IN VERBIER
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MISSION
We aim to provide our students with a first class, well rounded education while being immersed in a
beautiful and safe mountain environment.
Learning at our school is inspired by critical thinking, creativity and an open mindedness to the cultures
and beliefs of others. With a strong emphasis on sports and the arts, we believe in developing the
personality of each student and helping them to become principled global citizens.
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SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY
Enabling each child to fulfil their potential
Choosing your child’s education is one of the
most important decisions you will ever make.
We teach our pupils to be self-confident, creative
and critical thinkers determined to do their best.
Lemania-Verbier International School delivers a
first-class education in a truly unrivalled location.
We are a bilingual international school in English
and French, for children aged 3 to 18 years of age.
Our school is located in the heart of Verbier in the
beautiful Val de Bagnes region of the Swiss Alps.
We place a strong emphasis on sports and the
arts ; we want to inspire our children to become
independent young people, ready and well
prepared for the next stage in their school career.
Our aim is to enable each child to fulfil their
intellectual potential, whilst encouraging them to
find genuine enjoyment from participation in the
many artistic, sporting and cultural activities that
our school has to offer.
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© Mark Shapiro
© Mark Shapiro
KINDERGARTEN,
PRIMARY
AND MIDDLE SCHOOL
We believe in small classes and in providing our
students with a tailored education. Our teachers
implement up-to-date teaching practices and are
well resourced allowing them to help children develop to their full potential. We are fortunate to benefit
from an international teaching staff who are highly
motivated and bring with them a broad spectrum of
teaching experience.
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– the teaching of sciences in small groups
– a focus on the quality of handwriting in all
languages
– access to IT from the early years
– full integration of sport in the curriculum
set in our extraordinary mountain environment
– Kindergarten : 3 - 4
– Primary School : 5 - 10
– Middle School : 11 - 15
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Our children benefit from unique features, such
as :
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We follow the English national curriculum throughout in order to ensure continuity in learning.
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© Mark Shapiro
© Mark Shapiro
HIGH SCHOOL
Passport to higher education.
PREPARATORY YEAR PROGRAMME
THE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME
The Preparatory Year Programme is designed to answer the needs of a wide range of
students. It is the bridge between our Middle
School and the International Baccalaureate
Diploma Programme (DP).
One of the best characteristics of the IB Diploma
Programme is the balance between academic learning and the development of social awareness in
students.
Like the DP, the Preparatory Year Programme
aims to provide students with a balance between
their Academic and Social lives. Academically, the
Programme comprises of two English Courses,
Mathematics, Sciences, Computer Sciences, and
French. Socially, we teach our students to play
an important role in and to have responsibilities
towards their community, on local, regional and
global issues.
PREPARATORY YEAR : INTAKE COURSE
This Programme is designed for students who wish
to improve their English and Mathematics skills and
competence. In addition to this, the course aims to
create awareness among students of global issues.
The Intake Course is delivered twice a year, September-December or January-June.
Academically, the Programme is designed to prepare students for the various challenges they will
face at University and beyond. There are six core
subject areas and students must choose one subject from each group. This ensures breadth of
knowledge and understanding. Each subject can
be taught at two levels, high or standard. A great
strength of the DP is its Extended Essay (a self
based research paper).
The IB Recognition Team strategically partner with
universities and governments to help develop IB
recognition policies. Currently the IBO consists
of around 3'600 IB World Schools in over 147
countries throughout the world. The IB diploma is a
passport to higher education.
Lemania Verbier International School is a candidate school* for the
Diploma Programme. This school is pursuing authorization as an IB
World School. IB World Schools share a common philosophy – a commitment to high-quality, challenging, international education – that we
believe is important for our students.
* Only schools authorized by the IB Organization can offer any of its
three academic programmes : the Primary Years Programme (PYP),
the Middle Years Programme (MYP) or the Diploma Programme (and
in addition the IB Career-related Certificate). Candidate status gives
no guarantee that authorization will be granted. For further information
about the IB and its programmes visit http://www.ibo.org.
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SPORTS AND
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Confidence boosting
We are passionate about sport and proud of the
opportunities we provide for all our children.
We are fortunate to be situated at the centre of
one of the world’s finest ski resorts and we take full
advantage. During the Winter term, children ski two
afternoons per week with « École Suisse de Ski ». At
weekends we run a Ski Club for all abilities. A skiracing programme is also available for enthusiastic
and talented skiers.
We have regular sports events that can be a real
confidence booster for children of all ages, as well
as helping children to keep fit and encouraging a
healthy life style.
Our team sports encourage children to develop
teamwork and leadership skills and to learn a sense
of fair play and sportsmanship.
The school’s ever growing competitive sports programme is for all levels of ability.
Skiing, ice-skating, ice hockey and climbing form
the core of our Autumn and Winter terms sports
programmes. In the summer term we focus on
tennis, golf, athletics and swimming.
Art and music both play key roles in the development of imagination, creativity and self-confidence
in our students. We nurture and develop artistic
talent and encourage students to let their natural
instincts guide them.
Music is also at the heart of Verbier and LemaniaVerbier International School. Every summer Verbier
hosts the internationally renowned Verbier Festival,
a showcase of classical musical excellence. The
Festival is just one source of inspiration for the musical and cultural development of our students.
THE ARTS PROGRAMME AT VERBIER INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL INCLUDES :
– Musical instrument instruction
– Singing
– Pottery
– Painting
– Theatre
– Photography
– Sculpture
– Museum visits & cultural excursions
– Circus training
AFTER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO :
– Horseback riding
–Football
–Ballet
–Tennis
–Volleyball
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–Basketball
–Swimming
–Climbing
–Snowboarding
–Skiing
– Ice hockey
– Ice skating
– Chess club
–Singing
–Choir
–Dance
–Handicrafts
–Art
– Russian, Chinese and other language lessons
© Mark Shapiro
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© VERBIER St-Bernard_YG
© Valais Tourisme
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© Mark Shapiro
© VERBIER St-Bernard_YG
© Mark Shapiro
BOARDING
SCHOOL
Authentic mountain cosiness.
From September 2014 we will be offering the
opportunity for full-time and weekly boarding.
It will be a very cosy boarding experience in a fun
and relaxed environment where children can feel
safe and comfortable whilst benefiting from the
wonderful opportunities that our beautiful and
healthy environment has to offer.
Boarding develops independence, social skills,
self-motivation, respect for others and above all
self-confidence.
Our balanced approach between academic
achievement, the arts and sport will be reflected
in boarding life. At weekends, optional activities
will compliment the sports and extra-curricular
programme offered during the week.
Our boarding house is located near the school
in Verbier's old village, surrounded by authentic
and rustic mazots and immersed in quiet village
life.
Every effort will be made to make the children feel
at home with the security and comfort of living
arrangements supervised by our caring and very
attentive housemasters.
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© VERBIER St-Bernard_FP
VERBIER
Nurturing education through a unique mix
of culture and sports.
Bruxelles
München
Hamburg
München
Basel
Zurich
St Gallen
London
Paris
Bern
Luzern
Gstaad
Lausanne
Brig
Sion
Geneva
Lyon
Barcelona
VERBIER
Lugano
Torino
Milano
Wien
Perched on a sunny plateau in the heart of the
mountains, with its slate-roofed chalets, Verbier
has carefully maintained its charm as an alpine
village. Verbier is the gateway to the 4 Vallées ski
area – with nearly 100 ski lifts and more than 400 km
of ski runs for all levels of expertise. Mont-Fort, the
highest point of the ski area (3'330 m), offers a
panorama over the Matterhorn, the Combins and
the Mont-Blanc ranges.
The Val de Bagnes stretches for more than 25
kilometres, from Le Châble to the impressive
Mauvoisin Dam. This is a veritable kaleidoscope
of surroundings – from picturesque villages to
eternal glaciers. The region is one of Switzerland’s
greatest nature reserves.
Milano
The language of the region is French but the majority of residents speak English. German is also
widely spoken. The views of the surrounding
mountains, forests and valleys are spectacular
and most properties in Verbier are built in a traditional style, incorporating locally-sourced wood
and stone.
Verbier is unrivalled for winter and summer sports,
as well as offering many non-sporting and cultural activities, all set in a healthy and safe mountain
environment.
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© VERBIER St-Bernard_FP
Verbier proudly hosts international sporting and
cultural events every year.
World Cup Ski Alpinisme, January
The Coupe du Monde de Ski-Alpnisme. Verbier is
one of the key stages in this exciting event.
Xtreme Ski (World Freeride Tour), March
As the last stop on the Freeride World Tour, the
Xtreme Verbier is truly a one-to-watch event. It is
held at the end of March.
XSPEED, April
Come and watch some of the world’s top speed
skiers as they fly down Mont Fort in the World XSpeed Ski Open Race finals. The race track starts
at 3330 m and descends to 2900 m. Competitors
hurtle down 880 m of piste at speeds of more
than 200 km per hour !
Patrouille des Glaciers (PDG), April
The legendary PDG team competition starts in
Zermatt and travels via Arolla, to finish Verbier.
Artist Residency, June/July
The 3D Foundation selects up to 15 emerging
and established artists, for a 5 week sculpture
residency based in Verbier. The artists complete
one sculpture each, which will then become part
of the Verbier 3-D Sculpture Park and exhibited
on the mountain for the following year.
Verbier Music Festival, July
The Verbier Festival offers an outstanding programme of concerts featuring the biggest names
in classical music today.
Trail Verbier Saint-Bernard, July
Every year, Verbier hosts the Trail Verbier SaintBernard. This is a series of endurance races
which attract athletes from all over the world.
Competitors race distances of 29, 61 or 110 km
over incredibly challenging moutain terrain.
Grand Raid, August
Crossing six valleys for a total distance of 121 km
and a positive vertical gain of 5430 m, the Grand
Raid is the longest single stage mountain bike
race in the world !
Show Jumping, August
The Verbier International Show Jumping competition hosts some of the best riders in the world.
3D Sculpture Park, Year Round
ALSO HOSTED IN VERBIER :
Tour de France
A legendary stage of the 2009 Tour de France
culminated with a spectacular Verbier finish.
Tour de Romandie and Tour de Suisse These two major swiss cycle races are regularly
staged in Verbier.
Rallye du Valais
The Rallye du Valais has been a steadfast event
in the Swiss motoring calendar for many years.
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GOVERNANCE
Swiss heritage serving an international community.
Two non-profit organisations have joined forces
to foster a genuine international education experience in the heart of the Swiss Alps.
The Verbier International School foundation is governed by a body of high caliber individuals with a
broad spectrum of professional and educational
experience who are committed to the success of
the school and the promotion of high standards
of educational achievement.
Lemania Swiss Education Group was founded
in 1908 by Dr Paul Du Pasquier and is now at the
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centre of one of the major groups of private schools in Switzerland. Thousands of Lemania’s graduates have been accepted to major institutions
and have achieved their career goals. Today, the
group is managed by the third generation of the
family founders. Lemania Swiss Education Group
consists of 12 schools and colleges, including
two accredited schools of business and two IB
World schools.
Lemania College Sion, the first IB World school
in Valais, operates in close cooperation with
Lemania-Verbier International School.
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© VERBIER St-Bernard_YG
We look forward to welcoming you and your family to Verbier.
Lemania-Verbier International School
Chalet Mascotte, rte de Verbier Station 88
1936 Verbier - Switzerland
T + 41 27 565 26 56
info@lvis.ch - www.lvis.ch
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