This evening we had our annual pumpkin carving extravaganza.
This was also our third House Competition.
We put forward our best pumpkin designer and carver for this task who were Henry and Junqi.
They made a gruesome creation and we hope it scored well.
We have now moved onto the second pillar of our wellbeing programme and our focus is on Protecting against Bullying and Respecting Diversity.
Bullying is a tragic part of many students school lives. A reported 1 in 5 students may experience some form of bullying. It is also an unnecessary part and avoidable!
In our small groups, we first sought to understand what the student’s definitions of bullying were. A few struggled to put into words their thoughts on this and from the different nationalities and backgrounds, we had different definitions.
When a person uses strength to harm others
When someone seeks to harm
Its an action against others to harass a single person
A repeated, unwanted, aggressive behaviour
Threatening, forcing and dominating weak people
We then discussed our views on this and agreed bullying had to be a repeated offence. That the act had to be unwanted and that it was an imbalance of power.
Our formal definition is
Bullying is a deliberate and repeated unwanted aggressive act or word, involving a real or perceived imbalance of power. Bullying can be verbal, social, or physical, and includes communications made in writing or electronically. Students who bully use their power to control or harm others. Power can be physical strength, popularity, or access to embarrassing information.
We then continued to discuss situations in which we have felt the impact of this. How this made us feel and what we did about it.
We then discussed what we as individuals and as a community could do to try and prevent bullying here.
The student’s thoughts were:
We need to be respectful of others opinions
We need to show an understanding of differences
We need to smile more
We need to be more resilient
We need to educate people on the harm of bullying
We need to show a zero-tolerance towards bullying and if we see something, then we should say something
Last weekend we finished our water programme as the water temperature starts to drop and we brace ourselves for the upcoming winter. Throughout the last months, we have enjoyed wakeboarding, banana boating, kayaking and paddleboarding. We are very fortunate to be so close to the lake and to have these activities on offer each weekend.
Last weeks heros were Vansh and Mikhail.
We are delighted to announce that Leo was inducted last night into the National Honor Society (NHS)
The (NHS) is a worldwide organisation established to recognize outstanding high school students. More than just an honor roll, NHS serves to recognize those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, and character – the four pillars of the organization.
This weekend we had Dmitry, Kirill and Mikhail taking on the advanced biking activity. This is only for the most elite riders who elect to go off-road and into the forest woods to do the biking trails.
One of our newest activities which is turning out to be very popular is our cooking activity.
Each weekend the students have the opportunity to learn how to cook some fine dining meals. This is done with our very talented chef Fred.
This week it was Chicken Curry, however, as you will see from the presentation it is of exquisite quality.
We had Dmitry, Luther, Spencer and Junqi taking part on Saturday.
This week in our Wellbeing Tutorial we decided to get out and get active! Following on from last week in which we discussed exercise and activity we used our time to go for a walk.
Our mission was 30 mins of walking to the local supermarket and back. Secondly, we also ventured into Coop to find something healthy that we had not tried before. The boys took this challenge on board.
It was a good opportunity to get some fresh air, go for a brisk walk, mingle and talk. In the supermarket, the boys eagerly found new items of a healthy variety which they had not purchased before.
This week we started the annual House Competitions. These are events and challenges run throughout the year which pits Boarding Houses against each other in order to have an overall winner at the end of the year. Competitions include cooking, skiing, quizzes, talent shows and many more.
The first event was the Sports Competition in which we competed against the 14 other houses in a series of different mini-games
I am very proud to announce that Leman 1 won!!!!
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This month we had our inaugural summer Mountain Weekend. This was a fantastic opportunity for the whole Boarding Community to spend a weekend up in the mountains. Doing this at the start of the year allowed us all to have time to bond and get to know each other while doing group building activities and enjoying the amazing scenery.
This week in our Wellbeing time we focused on Exercise.
This gave us the opportunity to discuss in-depth what we considered exercise to be and what sort of activities that we consider are exercising.
We then discussed why exercising was important, what benefits we percieved from it and why it was necessary both for the body and the mind.
This was followed by a self-reflection on our own weekly routine. What form of exercise do we do each day, 2-3 times a week, or just once a week? We then thought about what we should do less of in order to give us the time to do more exercise. For example, 30 mins less of YouTube videos to allow us to go on a walk or play a game of ping-pong.
We have now reached the summer vacation!!!
We which all the boys, families and friends a very happy fun-filled holiday time.
We share with you our latest art project to commemorate all the boys from the 2018-2019 year which is displayed on our terrace.
New Student Arrival Sunday 25th August
Returning Student Arrival Tuesday 27th August
This year we held two Charity Events in aid of the Tomas Costa Appeal.
These events went fantastically well and we raised a good amount of money. However, they were also fun and enjoyed by the Boarding Community.
The first was the Epic Boarding Concert and Auction
Our Second event was Pie Target.
This seen students nominate which member of staff to be put behind a target to have pies thrown at them.
In Total Léman 1 raised 1733 CHF through our events!!!
This year Léman 1 worked really hard to try and compete in the House Competitions. It is commendable that the boys were able to plan, develop, practise and deliver in the competitions. It is a testament to the House Spirit that the boys were able to motivate each other and all 28 work together to do so well.
We are pleased that overall after all the competitions we placed 2nd!!
Competitions:- Quiz, Sports, Ski, Cooking, Pumpkin carving, Talent show, Blog
This is the second year running where we have placed 2nd. Well done boys.
On Sunday we had our End of Year Event. This was an amazing event enjoyed by all. There was a very energetic fun atmosphere with lots of activities to take part in. Here are the highlights.
This weekend we have one of our school trips to Athens.
Below is the report of the trip so far and some photos.
Day 1
On Friday there was a full day trip orangised to the beautiful city of Lucerne. It has preserved medieval architecture and sits amid snowcapped mountains on Lake Lucerne.
We enjoyed a stunning bus journey full of scenic views before arriving at the transport museum. This is an impressive collection of different forms from transport from their conception to modern uses. We had a guided tour here, before moving to the town centre for lunch and some time to explore the local area.
Very soon our Grade 12 students will be finishing their time here at Collège du Léman.
As they depart we will share some nice stories of their time here. But first, we should look back to their younger days.
dav
Yesterday we continued our monthly theme of Achieving Goals in our weekly assembly.
This assembly was led by Vansh who decided to put together a powerpoint presentation. His presentation outlined to the students; why goals are important, how to create goals and what type of goals we can have in life. Vansh did a good job engaging everyone and keeping their attention.
Ramadan is the holy month in which Muslims around the world fast from dawn to dusk. I have personally started partaking in Ramadan since I was 11; for the majority of the years that I fasted, they either occurred during the summer, or at the very end of the school year, in which I would be in an environment where most of the people around me would also fast. Nevertheless, this is the first Ramadan that I have spent in an environment, where people don’t know much about fasting that occurs during Ramadan. It is very common for me to be asked by bewildered non-Muslims: you can`t eat/drink anything? Not even water? For the whole day?! What is the point of Ramadan anyway? Ramadan has two points: firstly, it is a test of faith for all Muslims, how far would some of us go in order to believe the word of God, and to what extent would we obey what He tells us to do?
Secondly, it is to make us realise what we have and to cherish it. Although I may jokingly complain about my hunger with my friends, I would feel ashamed to genuinely complain about fasting. Here I am, blessed with so much, how could I have the nerve to complain, when boys my age are struggling to survive in other parts of the world? Ramadan also makes a crucial point, to empathise with those who would give anything to have what I have. This is why I fast, and this is why Ramadan is a very important event to me and my religion.
Ramadan Moubarak!
by Adam Kallali
Outside of the School Medical Center there is a notice board. They keep their board regularly updated with useful information and advice. Usually, this is around preventative measures to try and keep us all healthy. The relevant topic currently is Exam Preparation and dealing with exam stress. Here is the advice:
Today is International School Nurse Day. A day in which we should remember to take a moment to thank the hardworking medical staff of CDL. Most students at some stage in their school career will visit the school nurse or come into contact with them. They are unsung heroes who help us when in need, but also work hard to try and prevent us from becoming unwell and promote healthy living. Thank you Floriane, Rachel and Emmanuelle
reference : https://www.nasn.org/advocacy/school-nurse-day
As every Tuesday, we had international cuisine prepared for us by caters in Geneva. Tonight’s menu was from Africa and they prepared some very delicious foods for us which were enjoyed by all. They also put some decoration up in the dining room to add some character to the evening.
Taha is our resident Léman 1 poet. It has been a passion of his for some time and he enjoys reading it but has not yet experimented much with writing his own. Taha did us the pleasure of reading some of his favourite poems at our recent Epic Boarding Concert
Here is a video of his performance.
This summer, Collège du Léman will partner with the Juventus Academy to provide a unique opportunity in Geneva.
The Juventus Academy Geneva Training Camp is open to youngsters, boys and girls, aged 8 to 18, regardless of whether or not they already play competitive football. The method adopted by J-Academy for teaching children the skills to play football closely follows the children’s own development as young people, from their introduction to the game to physical maturity.
The camp offers a perfect environment for student fulfilment. After training sessions, Boarding students will have the opportunity to benefit from the international Summer Camp ambiance during evening activities and week-end excursions.
A great way to combine their passion for football and international friendship
reference: http://www.cdlcamps.ch/welcome-to-the-juventus-academy-geneva-organised-by-college-du-leman/
Today is a favourite day of the year for many students across the world, however, most do not know about it.
If your teacher is nice enough they may observe it. This day is aimed at giving children a little time back to explore things instead of homework. Having time to meet with friends, discover a new passion or get to know nature better (not to sit and play video games). This day is observed twice a year and is in reaction to studies by Standford University who found that students in America are doing on average 17.5 hours of school work outside of the classroom.
reference: https://happydays-365.com/no-homework-day/national-no-homework-day-may-6/
Each year along with the multitude of activities and excursions we offer at the weekend. We also offer trips to different destinations around the world.
This year so far the trips have been to Disneyland, Surfing in Fuerteventura, Paris, Stuttgart, Rome, Barcelona and South Africa. Trips still to come this year are to Madrid, Athens and Monaco.
These trips are a great way for students to visit countries within Europe and further. They are able to do these with their friends and also be able to learn about cultures and give back to societies. The most recent trip to South Africa seen the students travel through the country taking in the sights and learning about the culture. They also gave back to the local community by visiting an orphanage to play with the children, cook for them and help with maintenance. You can see the short video of this trip below.
This Sunday we had a trip to France to have a game of Lasertag. 45 students were in attendance with 7 from Léman 1.
Mikhail proudly came first in each of his games and overall between all the teams. It was a fast paced highly energetic activity which everyone enjoyed.
The concert within Victoria Hall was a wonderful event.
The majestic venue was the perfect place for Daniel to showcase his talents. He performed amazingly each of his pieces of music which received a standing ovation. It was wonderful to see the event supported by so many Collège du Léman staff who got to see Daniel in a different perspective outside of school. Friends from the Boarding House, along with his House Parents were able to share this celebration. Well Done Daniel.
