The name “La Nouvelle École,” means the new school – and the name is apt for more than just the fact that it is an education establishment.
Based in Geneva, the school was founded, not just to educate children, but to develop an understanding of one of the things that truly matter: contributing to the community and the planet as a whole. As a result, the school adopts revolutionary and child-centered teaching methods to help the children learn.
We caught up with the co-founder, Aviv Pode to discuss the new school and his plans for the future :
Q: Tell us about your experience and why you decided to open Montessori schools.
I have always been passionate about education and have a solid background in philanthropy and environmental initiatives such as building public schools in developing countries, planting trees and rebuilding animal shelters. My experiences led me to the realisation that children are our future and we need to invest in teaching them from an early age about the importance of being positive contributors to their communities and the planet. Our school is designed with these core values in mind and executed with various Montessori elements.
Q: What do you think are the benefits of Montessori school system?
The Montessori philosophy encompasses different ideas but essentially the method aims to develop children’s self-confidence, independence, curiosity and creativity. We handpicked various Montessori concepts such as the use of eco friendly wooden materials, providing a healthy organic and balanced diet, and highly individualised child led learning. We believe adapting these concepts offer a more personalised approach to guiding the children so they can run forward academically.
Q: Who are these schools for? Who is the typical clientele?
Our new school in Geneva is open to all children ages 3-7 years old. Our clientele are families living in and around Geneva with an interest in providing the best possible learning environment for their children. French and English are taught throughout the day as well as a variety of academic programs. Unique to our school are our diverse creative programs available for the children to pick based on their interests. We offer classical ballet, private music lessons, Yoga, gymnastics, art, and much more. We encourage parents to book a visit to our school with the opportunity to meet our academic, pastoral and admissions staff.
Q: What is your school Philosphy?
Caring for the environment is a core value at our school. It was really important to us as founders to create a school that has only a positive impact on our community and the planet and to encourage our future leaders the importance of being positive environmental contributors. As a result, we have implemented an eco curriculum, teaching the children gardening, charity, wildlife preservation, plastic pollution, biodiversity and recycling to encourage them to make positive choices early in life while educating them about the world around us.
Q: What are your plans for the future?
In the last couple of years we have achieved so many goals from planting over 5,000 trees in Australia and Africa in cooperation with One-Tree-Planted, providing clean drinking water and sanitation solutions to remote communities through Water For People and supporting climate change research through TogetherBand. I intend to continue my current humanitarian and environmental partnerships around the world and expand into other philanthropic projects.
To learn more about how the highly trained staff at La Nouvelle École support and guide the children in developing their confidence, self-confidence, and natural love of learning so that they can become lifelong learners, visit La Nouvelle Ecole Geneva
