Weekends have a relaxed feel, a home from home.

This Sunday our girls after a leisurely and delicious brunch,enjoyed among others, crossfit,climbing ,bodyshaping and snow hiking with Huskies.

Sunday today and it is time for our soup.We had a  chat with the girls about the importance of eating seasonal vegetables and fruits.They retain more nutrients than their counterparts making them the better choice for your health. Other benefits of eating seasonally : Supports local farmers who choose to farm sustainably and preserves the environment.

We enjoyed a creamy  leek soup and olive oil drizzled  croutons  !!

Certainly tennis is one of our hit weekend activities.With our state-of-the-art indoor court facilities our students enjoy and exercise in safety, protected from weather conditions.

There is one food that definitely unites most of the civilizations of the world: bread.Throughout recorded history  it has been a prominent food in large parts of the world and is one of the oldest man-made foods, having been of significant importance to  households and often the only food parents could provide to their children in times of despair.

The carbohydrates which are rich provide energy and nourishment just to face the day, they also contain proteins, salts and vitamins essential for the proper functioning of the body.

And what better than homemade whole wheat bread…New Portena bakes!!

Sanny,Becky,Ria,Manya,Katia, Doria and Carina learned the secrets of a good  Phat-Thai today in cooking class!!

A wish for you on your birthday, whatever you ask may you receive, whatever you seek may you find, whatever you wish may it be fulfilled on your birthday and always. Happy birthday Crystal!!

A very warm welcome to Linda who comes from China and joined the 9th grade!!Our aim is to ensure that you, and all our students, have access to the best possible opportunities and experiences during your time in CDL, so that you can reach your full potential and are better prepared for the future.

Ms Jody Kallay is our new boarding counselor , very well known and respected among CDL community.

Welcome aboard! All boarding community is very happy to have you with us.

A very important topic was brought up during our house assembly which is also a part of our wellbeing programme this year.

The Role of Positive Friendships in Youth Development

Adolescence is a period of rapid change —physically, emotionally, and socially—and relationships with friends play an important role in the lives of adolescents as they become increasingly independent , develop their own identity, and grapple with self-esteem.Positive friendships provide youth with companionship, support, and a sense of belonging. They can encourage or reinforce healthy behaviors, and evidence suggests that positive friendships in adolescence can lay the groundwork for successful adult relationships, including romantic relationships.

And at the end each of us had to pick a heart-shaped card with an attribute written on it and hand it to the person we think possesses this quality..a lot of smiles and good vibes from this evening for all of us!!

Our talented and motivated Crystal will participate  in Youth Forum of Switzerland representing CDL along with 4 more day students,in Zug.

The vision: Connecting changemakers to address the challenges facing our planet.

The Youth Forum Switzerland is committed to:

• Exploring relevant issues in inclusive, respectful, and constructive ways.
• Connecting youth and the world’s leading changemakers to inspire innovative solutions to pressing global issues.
• Empowering youth to become purposeful changemakers.Carbon neutrality and being a zero waste organization.

 The Youth Forum Switzerland will measure its impact through:

• Assessing youth understanding and engagement with global issues.

• Curating student initiatives launched through participation in the Youth Forum Switzerland

You are welcome to visit : https://www.youthforumswitzerland.ch/

This assembly was a little about history and a lot about people who make an impact and stand out for their actions and voice about equality,diversity,freedom of speech,justice and honor.We focused on the importance to see the good things that happen everyday and everywhere rather than surround ourselves and our loved ones with negativity.

Good vibes and positive  attitude  from Albion,Giorgio,Amir and Sofia.Albion and Giorgio demonstrating tenor abilities,Amir accompanied them on the piano and Sofia gave an inspiring speech about the importance of exercise our bodies and souls.

At the end we had the pleasure of welcoming our Ms Cristina on stage where she pointed out that good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle. Combined with physical activity, your eating habits  can help you reach and maintain a healthy life. “let food be your medicine and medicine be your food”

First of all Happy New Year to everyone and welcome home. We hope you had enjoyed the break : )

Our girls are back and ready to start the New Year full of energy ^^

Wishing you a season filled with warm moments and cherished memories.Best wishes for a wonderful Holiday and a very Happy New Year. 

We are 100% New Portena : )

Have an amazing  evening Ladies…you deserve it!

Delicious food and homemade desserts..

Also babies on board!!!

GIVING TO CHARITY MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD.😁GIVING TO CHARITY STRENGTHENS PERSONAL VALUES.👌👏GIVING IS MORE IMPACTFUL THAN EVER👍👍.GIVING TO CHARITY INTRODUCES OUR BOARDERS TO THE IMPORTANCE OF GENEROSITY🎈.

Alison and Cherry helped Mr Salva tonight gathering all the gifts our girls donated to a child shelter.A noble cause which we hope will put a lot of smiles to child faces😊😊

There is no better temptation than chocolate smell ! !! And admiring breathtaking landscapes of Gruyères. At the top of the hill, take a deep breath of pure mountain air and listen to the cowbells in the pasturelands. It was a memorable day for all of us, full of tasting and nice feelings.

Memories of school Educational trips are among the most prominent of the formative years, largely because they are a welcome break in the routine for both students and teachers. While their purpose is essentially to educate, they can also be a fun bonding experience for everyone involved.

Ghida is not only amazing in academics but she is also a great athlete.

Congrats Ghida for your great job!

Today in the Boarding Award Ceremony we have received many medals. Congratulation to all of you, you are doing an amazing job!

As a school with almost over 100 nationalities present , diversity is our common language.It helps us recognize and respect “ways of being” that are not necessarily our own. So that as we interact with others we can build bridges to trust, respect, and understanding.It helps dispel negative stereotypes and personal biases about different groups. With that in mind we discussed a lot and at the end of our session the girls were encouraged to bring something from home,that they always keep with them no matter where they are,which shows their culture and  to share it with their housemates.

Ekaterina showed us a presentation about her beloved Moscow.

Steph showed us handcrafted bags from Bali, and pointed the importance of spirituality of Balinese people

Doria and Camila talked with passion about Peking Opera.Louise shared secrets of French cuisine.Kokoro told us about Osechi and its importance to Japanese people.Yuqi prepared traditional tea from her city in 3 different tastes. Alison  holding  a Chinese artcraft who she keeps for good luck, finally decided to put it in New Portena for all of us!!!!💖💕❤🙌🙌

Eva and Manya gave a heartbreaking speech about the importance of their families in their lives.

Yesterday we were part of the CdL Charity Christmas Market, we baked different pastries and we sold them. It was a great experience.

Thank you very much girls ^^

Today is Thanksgiving and we wanted to celebrate it with our American students, the Usher family invited us to join them. Thank you very much, it was really good!

Quick brainstorming of what we think each point means.

We’ll try to implement them in our day to day life.

Cooking is a great way to express your creativity and our boarders make the most out  of it on their free time..Lolita is mastering Vegetable soup

Yesterday we went to Lausanne to enjoy the marine fauna of the AQUATIS. It was an amazing experience!,

3 inspiring plays ,grades 9,10 and IG2,many many guests and a memorable evening for all.

Drama Kings and Queens..NOT!!!Our borders with great acting skills ,lightened our evening.

From “girls are not good in maths” and “men are so insensitive” to “he is getting a bit senile with age” or “some people struggle at university”, there’s no shortage of common stereotypes about social groups. Chances are we have heard most of these examples at some point. In fact, stereotypes are a bit like air: invisible but always present.With the girls tonight we tried to clear the air bit , about this hugely important issue, merely by  being aware of the damaging effects that stereotypes can have.

At the end of our session we played a game..a small piece of paper with the name of a country was placed in ones girls forehead, while the others should share stereotypes about people and culture of this country and the aim was for the girl with the paper in her forehead to guess ,according to these stereotypes, the country the rest of the girls were talking about.The girls acknowledge the inaccuracy of these stereotypes by simply not recognising  them in their friends behavior, in the house and school.We may not be able to avoid stereotypes completely and immediately, but we can try to clear the air of them.

From badminton to horse riding and Vitam park to Natural history Museum, this weekend was a great experience once again.

We have prepared an afternoon snack for our girls,a nice surprise at the end of a demanding day at school.

We are always happy to host Ladies and Gentlemen from other houses..we have a big house and even bigger hearts!

Our Star though is Zihao who cooks for our Ladies…and plus he cleans to perfection!!

You are our Winners…Elegant and motivated  Ladies!!!

We are so proud of you!

Well done to  Anca,Ria,Louise,Doria,Camila,Eva and our petite Isla!!!

They prepared an elegant and demanding dish.Cauliflower velvet puree,edamame and romenesko bites,glazed saint jacques in herb and noisettes butter.Perfection!!

Before the girls start preparing the dish for our masterchef competition, we enjoyed a hot traxana soup!

Twice a week all boarding houses receive a big basket of seasonal fresh fruits and all of borders enjoy them between meals.

Cooking class today with chef Fred and Katia, Antonia,Kate and Sanny made Churros!!!!

Explore the cuisine of a different culture can be a way to celebrate and develop your own understanding of cultural diversity!!

Doria and Lolita surely proven that by devouring a big tray of Musaka, a traditional Greek dish.

It is important to have a snack and get ready for the afternoon.

Our girls have already eaten most of it.

Enjoy the fruit girls : )

We are so excited to have you in New Portena.  Welcome aboard!!

What Is Bullying?

Girls You ROCK!!!

We have just started our well-being pillar 2 and we have begun with a quick presentation and an activity about inclusion.

We knew something new for each of us.

Thank you Miss Eva for taking care of us 🙂

Great job team, well done!

We worked all together to create an amazing pumpking house ^^

How said Halloween should always be scary?

Diwali, Deepawali or Dipavali is the Hindu festival of lights, which is celebrated every autumn in the northern hemisphere. One of the most popular festivals of Hinduism, Diwali or Deepavali symbolises the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil and knowledge over ignorance”.

Happy Diwali to ALL!!

After a reving break  we can’t wait to welcome back all our New Portena  Ladies!!We are looking forward for another amazing half term with a lot of smiles and effort.

Ms Terri, Ms Rosana, Ms Cristina , Ms Eva

Today for our wellbeing session we got familiar with the many benefits of Turmeric or Curcuma root as it is also known.Girls devoured  a delicious vegetable soup with this incredibly beneficial spice.

Turmeric among others,

• Detoxifies the Body,
• Lowers Cortisol Levels,
• Improves Your Complexion,
• Balances Blood Sugar,Improves Cardiovascular Health,
• Calms the Digestive System,
• Sharpens Memory,
• Lowers Blood Pressure ,
• Works as an Natural Headache Remedy,
• Calms Eczema,
• Fights Inflammation and
• Helps You Get a Better Sleep

Girls also learned  how to prepare hot beverages to fight common flue that bursts  this time of the year.

This weekend we had our first boarding trip.DISNEY PARIS

Many more to come, stay tuned

Sundays will never be the same…because we will have warm and delicious soups accompanying your study hall.

If you want to help come, if you want a specific soup tell.Slouuuuuurpppppp

Tonight TOM KHA soup

Huskies are loving, gentle, and playful, they do well in families with active children and adults. These dogs tend to be social and relaxed. They also don’t bark much, but do enjoy howling on occasion.

A Husky loves to be in a centre of attention.And today they were as Susana and the rest of our boarders enjoyed hiking with them, an amazing and rewarding experience.

Season finale for our weekend lake activities and Ghida feast over this with some serious wakeboarding skills!!!

And since winter is coming …We will introduce many activities,with or without snow,for them to enjoy.

Yes we chatted about serious issues, we had lots of thoughts and we shared practices…but at the end we placed an Oreo on our foreheads trying to scroll it down to our mouths without touching it  and without dropping it..The result?Absolutely hilarious!!!

Alty, an amazing pianist.She sparkles our afternoons

Breathing: it should be the most natural thing in the world. We do it without thinking, some 20,000 times a day. And from their very first gasp, babies respire as nature intended, ribs expanding, torso rising and falling.

Poor breathing techniques adopted over time are responsible for increasing stress and anxiety, lowering energy levels and even affecting cardiovascular health. The good news, is that we can reverse these effects simply by relearning how to breathe properly.

New Portena Ladies practiced 8 different techniques of breathing and elevated their energy levels.

You are welcome to try …click and breathe

breathing techniques

Ms Kata showed us how to make chocolate chip cookies tonight!!Mesmerising smells in New Portena this evening..

Our fast and furious tried karting this weekend…These Ladies can sure drive fast and safe!

Cooking with Chef Fred has become iconic in New PORTENA and it is always in high demand from our girls as a weekend activity.Dear parents you should expect some delicious dishes in the upcoming fall break.

We tried to spend at least 10 minutes of the day for ourselves.

During the monthly boarding assembly, our new Portena girl, Stephanie Peretz gave an awesome speech about social media and how it can affect our lifes.

All our new girls studying downstairs

Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong, and healthy, and we need that flexibility to maintain a range of motion in the joints. Without it, the muscles shorten and become tight.

Our Sofia from VDL organised our first stretching session.At the end we relaxed having to think about 3 good things that happened the passed week,smile and be thankful.

Anca and Ghida with oars on hand!!

Renata and Susana and Alty proved that today in their cooking activity!

We have new games just arrived for New Portena girls.

Are you ready for the weekend?

Meet Ben who has become an expert in carpet rolling!!!

This week we had  a new entry 🙂  in New Portena,Alty. We look forward to sharing some incredible moments together! Welcome to the house!

Tonight we were happy to have Ms Kata and Ms Dace offering  fulfilling practices on how to take care of our skin and how to use wisely makeup so we can feel and look flawless.Thank you Ladies for this amazing workshop.More to come from those two…

May you continue to improve as a person with each passing year.

Wishing you a very happy birthday.

Tonight during our house assembly we were delighted to have with us  some of our mentors and prefects who enthusiastically shared their experience in CDL, spoked about the difficulties they faced  when  they first arrived and shared  ideas and practices which boosted the confidence of our girls.They also reassured them  that they will stand by them whatever they may need.We could not be more proud of them.

A new initiative launched yesterday ,where a network of today’s most influential figures across business, arts, politics and more will donate some of their valuable  time , open up their thoughts and curious-fuelling experiences to our students and CDL community.

Yesterday we were privileged to welcome Mr Edward GIRARDET who gave an inspiring speech about his life and work.We were all urged and motivated to write as much we can,express ourselves and feelings,take nothing for granted, search,question and think.

In our wellbeing session tonight we covered the vital issue of sleep and how the lack of it can severely affect our health.

The girls were motivated at the end to do an experiment to find out if they actually have enough sleep.

Along with nutrition and exercise, good sleep is one of the pillars of health.

You simply cannot achieve optimal health without taking care of your sleep.

A place all of our girls enjoy and cook often, inviting friends and spend quality time with nice food.

Plum pie and plum jam…yes

Numerous studies have shown the importance of Dog Walking. Benefits include improved cardiovascular fitness, lower blood pressure, stronger muscles and bones (built up by walking regularly), and decreased stress. A regular walk is vitally important for your pet’s health too..We offer our boarders this unique experience ,to Have fun with Dixie.This afternoon Kate took her for her walk and hey both enjoyed it endlessly. 

For our wellbeing day we tried a spanish merienda full of colours and fruits.

We cut the fruit and spent time together trying to introduce and know Alty, our new Portena girl 🙂

We did banana, apple and 100 % chocolate shake. Of course SUGARFREE ; )

We enjoyed it outside in our wonderful terrace.

Our new student Sofia is ready for Discovery Days with her roommates 🙂

We continue with our cooking skills, this time we work together  Ville du Lac and New Portena.

We baked carrot and peanut butter cookies.

HEALTHY AND YUMMY

We have new tennis players in the house 🙂

Yuqi and Stephanie the next step is the Laver Cup ^^

GO FOR IT!!!

After our house meeting we enjoyed our time together while eating cake and trying to know each other a bit more.

We always talk globally, but how about individually?

Let’s help ourselves ^^

Choose your food wisely. YOU ARE what you eat and what you cook in the kitchen and how much effort you put into dedicates how you look and feel. … Our Ladies prepared bagels with 2 ingredients , Greek yogurt and whole wheat flour!!

Sanny’s art skills!!!

One of our exceptional Ladies ,Senior House Parent of OLD PORTENA has her birthday tomorrow and also leave to have her second baby!!!We send you all our love and wish  health and prosperity to you and your beautiful family.

Introducing a brand new activity, which became super popular, Cooking with Chef Fred!!

Our neighbor house,Old Portena had an amazing time picking up fresh apples form the farm and they kindly donated us a big box.Surely they will be devoured in a few hours,WE THANK YOU SO MUCH young Ladies.

Connections between online communication, social life and well-being.Was social media  meant to help us work smarter?Or  has it only given us additional work?These were only some of the topics that we discussed yesterday during our house assembly.Stephanie gave an impeccable speech,made all of us think deeper and made this evening memorable.Thank you Steph!!

During our house assembly tonight we talked a lot over how social media Influences our mental health and overall happiness.Then the girls had to discuss in groups and come up with ideas and propositions.And this is what Doria,Susana,Louise,Kokoro and Eva brought to the table on how to limit the time we spend on social media..and we couldn’t agree more Ladies!!!

Well done to Ria Puri our new House Captain and Ekatarina Balabina our new House Rep.  Do us proud ladies

As we have finished all our homework, tonight we have had a reading experience during our study period to get a bit closer to the beautiful world of imagination. 

Today we have visited Lausanne and the Olympic museum 

Lovely Renata ^^ 

Ghida showed us her immense talent skills 🙂

#futurewimbledonchampion

This afternoon, as part of our wellbeing programme this year, a small group of our Ladies had the chance to explore the surrounding forest, paths and recreational areas.They chatted a lot and enjoyed the calmness  of the environment as no phones were allowed 0n our walk.More to come…

Sunday New Portena Ladies had a boat tour in lake Leman and had the chance to explore Geneva!!

Today our Ladies enjoyed many activities offered during the weekend.Of course Wakeboarding was a top of the list, but also cycling in a beautiful forest close to our campus.

Some of our ladies took some time to explore our beautiful city Geneva.

Our amazing girls tried, Basketball, card games, making pancakes, movies, piano, baby cuddles and singing, all in one night !  Phew 🙂

,

Yesterday our girls attended the welcome dinner.  Food and company was amazing !

Some of our ladies took a little trip to the local shops and stopped for a beautiful picture with our Lac Leman as their setting.  Stunning !

First night in New Portena for many of our new Ladies. Chatting, cooking, laughing and enjoying each others company. A great way to start.

Tonight all our students participated in treasure hunt game. Lots of fun and a great way for them to get familiar with our extended campus. Many thanks to our Prefects this year, who organised everything.

Tonight we had our welcome assembly followed by a cocktail dinner.We had the chance to meet all new and old students with their parents.We were extremely happy to see all those new enthusiastic faces, eager to start their Journey in CDL.

New Portena, with Ms Terri, Ms Rosana, Ms Cristina and Ms Eva  welcome you!

Let’s have an amazing year!

We are saying goodbye to a successful school year and we wish everyone to enjoy the summer.

LESSONS START ON WEDNESDAY 28TH AUGUST AND HOUSES OPEN ON MONDAY 26TH AUGUST

We are having the first strawberries in our garden and the color is just incredible! With this raining and cold weather it has been a little difficult but we are getting some results.

This afternoon the girls donated lots of old text books that we have collected in the House throughout the year to two worthy causes. Some of the books will be going towards a small library in the Democratic Republic of Congo, whilst others will be sent to Greek Refuges.

This weekend the girls have been working extremely hard and have spent most of their time revising for their upcoming exams. In order to keep their brains ticking over we shared a watermelon given to us by Miss Dace, and made fruit smoothies. Keep it up girls, your hard work and efforts will pay off!

Alina made the most of the recent hot weather by enjoying an hour on the lake on the Banana Boat!

Happy to see Stephanie enjoying playing tennis and being active 🙂

It was time for Natalina to try paddleboard again! Lovely weekend

Malia and Sanny are having a great time with amazing weather in Athens!

Yesterday, Helen turned 17 years old! 🙂 We had some chocolate cake and shared some time together outside in the garden

This afternoon Alina and Tatiana enjoyed an afternoon on the water as they went white water rafting down the River Dranse! A lot of laughter and excitement was on show!

Big congratulations to Sophie and Louise who got a scholarship for the next school year 🙂

Yesterday, we had a celebration of two ladies turning 16!!

お誕生日おめでとうございます

A few weekends ago Ria, Helen Li and Natalina had the opportunity to take part in a Digital Workshop in Geneva, focusing on ways to use multimedia approaches in their learning. The three of them had a great time and came away having learnt some impressive new skills!

Alina pick to do Golf this weekend and even if the sun didn’t come out she had a nice time playing this sport!

Kokoro is one of these girls that she is smiling most of the time and making the best on her day… She really enjoyed it!

This is an excellent time of the year to play tennis outside so Becky, Kokoro, Aya, and Christine didn’t want to miss one of their favorite sport!

Despite the lake activities falling victim to some Spring showers yesterday, today Katya, Kokoro and Tatiana enjoyed a lovely sunny day in Annecy. The girls followed a guided tour before making the most of some time to explore by themselves.

Steph is performing in a show next week and used our House Assembly as a chance to practice singing in front of an audience. She performed Lay Me Down by Sam Smith and did a great job!

Here is Natalina playing Lasertag during the weekend! 🙂

Well done for being active and sportive!

We planted tomatoes cherries, strawberries, zucchini, coriander, and basil… Let’s see what happened

Last night we had a special visit in the house, Former students who had been living here came back to answer questions about life after CDL

The theme for this year’s Photo Competition was Values, and our entry won us 5th place! Good work ladies!

As Malia came back from her South Africa Trip on Sunday night, we decided to do some crunchies cereal bar and here is our result!

Margie was selected to receive an award of excellence and last Wednesday she shared some of their most proud moments being a Prefect in the Boarding. Margie and Constanza explained to everyone what is the role and how can a student became a Prefect. Well done ladies!

Alina loves to make a balance in her daily life and today she made really good juice! We encourage our ladies to take care of themselves and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

Malia was lucky enough to have one of the spots on our very exciting trip to South Africa which ran over the Easter Break. Malia had the opportunity to carry out community service work as well as having the amazing experience of going on a safari! We’re looking forward to seeing the rest of the pictures!

New Portena is open and we are eagerly awaiting the return of all our girls. We can’t wait to hear all about what they’ve been up to over the two week break!

Malia and Noora had an amazing time in Barcelona visiting the ” Sagrada Familia” and watching the Barcelona F.C as one of the main activities. They also enjoyed as well the weather and the delicious food. Both of our girls came very happily from their trip.

We are very proud of Steph, Malia and Sophie who won the awards for the highest GPA in their academic programmes in Grade 9. Steph and Malia achieved an impressive 3.75 and 3.76 respectively, while Sophie has scored 5.3/6 in her 3ème programme.

In addition to this, Crystal also won an award for the highest GPA in IG2, an amazing 4.04. 

We are very proud of all of our girls in New Portena who’s hard work and dedication has contributed to a House average GPA of 3.26! Amazing work, ladies!

Congratulations to Natalina and Becky who were the deserved winners of the Activity Award at last night’s Boarding Awards Ceremony. This award is given to the students with the highest Activity attendance, and those who create a varied programme for themselves. Well done girls!

Congratulations to Sophie and Herluce who won the Boarding Life Award at the Boarding Awards Ceremony last night. This award is given to those who embrace being part of the Boarding Community and are enthusiastic about the opportunities and experiences available to them. Well done girls!

Happy Birthday Katya; 15 today! We hope you’ve had a lovely day so far and enjoy your evening with your friends!

Congratulations to all of the New Portena girls who participated so enthusiastically in last week’s Boarding Talent Show, earning themselves 2nd place! Also a big well done to the rest of the Boarding Community for putting on such a great show!

The girls did a live recreation of the Girls Like You video by Maroon 5 and Cardi B!

Stephanie, Yuqi, Sanny, Herluce, Ayumi, Malia, and Sophie went to visit the Red Cross Museum as part of our program to get to know the culture and history in Geneva.

This amazing artwork from Liza was exposed yesterday in the Auditorium. Good work and keep it up! 🙂

After a busy week of mock exams, Liza enjoyed a calm morning at the Art Workshop making beautiful butterflies!

‘Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them’

Our talent girls had a performance last night in the Auditorium. Well done !!

Here we have Yuqi & Amy in ice skating during the last ski- weekend! Always missing the mountain 🙂

Please join us for the annual Alumni Boarders’ Dinner on Friday, April 26th at 6.30pm at Collège du Léman!!

Please RSVP via: bit.ly/2E8M4Pn

It wasn’t just skiing and snowboarding on offer for those who took part in Ski Week. Natalina and Herluce followed the Non Ski programme and had the chance to visit the local thermal baths. A calm and relaxing time was had by all!

New Portena is now up and running after the February break and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of all the girls. Katya, Natalina, Christine, Herluce, Tatiana, Alina, Helen Li and Noora have all returned from an exciting Ski Week in Crans Montana and we look forward to hearing what the rest of our girls have been up to. See you soon!

Congratulations to Liza who took part in the Snowboard Race on Saturday in Crans Montana and won the girl’s category!

This weekend Ayumi was busy representing the school at the Junior Maths Competition in Vienna, Austria. We are very proud of her participation and are eagerly awaiting the results. Well done Ayumi!

This evening the girls have been celebrating Margie’s 18th birthday by spending time together in the lounge and sharing a delicious chocolate cake. Happy Birthday Margie, we wish you all the best!

One of the thing that we more enjoyed is spending time with our girls talking and talking…

A good way to have fun during the weekend was learning how to cook Mexican food

Especially to all our Chinese girls in the house

Still thinking about the sunny day in Crans- Montana participating with our girls in the mountain…Snowboarding, ice skating, curling, snow-tubing, and other activities about last weekend

This afternoon we returned home from our first of three weekends in Crans Montana! The girls had the chance to take part in a variety of activities including skiing, snowboarding, ice skating and snowtubing. We all had an exhausting but great time! More pictures to follow..

New Portena is now open and ready to welcome you all back for an exciting and busy term ahead! We hope you all had a lovely and enjoyable holiday and wish you a Happy New Year. Have a safe journey back to Geneva and we look forward to seeing you all soon!

We wish you all the best in this lovely time and a Happy New Year from all our girls…

Tonight we celebrated the end of a successful first term by having a lovely and festive dinner in the house, and we also swapped Secret Santa gifts. Have a great and well deserved break, girls!

This Christmas many of the girls in New Portena have contributed to the Christmas Action Project. The goal of the project is to spread a little extra love to children in Geneva who may be in foster care, or are refugees, and are away from their families during the festive period. The girls received a card from a child asking for something they really wanted this Christmas, and the girls then went out and found them this gift, and also wrote a little note to give it that extra special touch. A total of 30 presents will be sent from the Boarding Community. Well done girls, a lovely project and a great cause!

Having enjoyed the recent trip to Paris, this weekend Manya took part in the festive trip to Stuttgart where she visited the Porsche Museum and explored the Christmas Markets!

This afternoon Margie took part in a Yoga class which will take place every Sunday, giving the students (and Mr Usher) an opportunity to relax away from the stress and pressures of their busy schedules.

Here in New Portena we are beginning to get into the festive spirit and this weekend has seen the addition of our Christmas Tree and our new snowman friend!

Herluce had a busy Saturday morning learning a new routine at Hip-Hop!

This weekend Manya, Sanny and Helen had the chance to go to Paris for the weekend where they visited the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation.

Our girls Ria, Margie, Xuqin, Jing Yi did an amazing job putting their best effort to bake brownies, lemon cupcakes, cookies, and cereal marshmallow for a good cause! The stand raised 458.70chf.

This weekend a number of the girls got their creative juices flowing at the Saturday morning Art Workshop.

Here we see Liza, Helen, Tatiana, Jasmine, Becky and Christine all focusing hard on their latest projects!

Yesterday Alina, Katya and Tatiana took part in the House Masterchef Competition, well done girls, a truly delicious effort!

Well done to Helen, Liza and Natalina who used their creativity skills to earn us 5th place in the Pumpkin Carving House Competition – a great effort from the girls!

Becky and Yuqi had great fun stretching their legs and putting their tennis skills to the test on Sunday morning – a great post Brunch workout!

This weekend a lucky group of girls had the opportunity to spend the weekend at Europa-Park in Germany. A lot of fun was had by all as we enjoyed the exciting rides and delicious food that was on offer!

Today the girls had their first day of school of another exciting term to come. With events such as the Pumpkin Carving Competition and the Christmas Dance ahead of us, it’s set to be a fun one! Welcome back girls!

All of the team in New Portena would like to wish you a Happy Holiday and we hope you enjoy having your daughter back with you, wherever you may be. Have a great time girls!

This month’s focus topic for our House Assemblies was E-Safety and Cyber Bullying.

Tonight we watched a Ted Talk, sourced by Steph, about how we should think carefully about what we type and post online.

Last week we also posted a photo on Facebook and asked people to comment with their location, and share it when they have seen it. Too often the girls can post, comment and share things without thinking and we wanted to show them how far wide these things can end up with just a few clicks. Within 24 hours the photo had been shared over 100 times, half of those by people unknown to the original poster. The maps below show all the locations the photo reached.

This weekend a lucky group of Boarders set off on the first trip of the year and enjoyed an exciting yet exhausting weekend at Disneyland Paris. Aya, Yuqi, Christine, Jasmine and Amy all had a great time meeting the famous characters and riding the rollercoasters!

This weekend saw the start of some of the winter based activities and Steph was lucky enough to get a place on the Hiking with Huskies activity! A great way to spend the last weekend before the October break.

Tonight Helen was officially welcomed into the National Honor’s Society! Well done Helen, we’re so proud of you!

In our recent House Assembly the girls worked together to create an advice sheet for new students coming to CdL, giving them tips on how to settle in and make new friends. Well done to Olivia and Crystal for leading the two groups!

On Tuesday this girls did their best for the house… So well done!!!

Congratulations to Helen Li who has been accepted into the National Honor’s Society. An amazing achievement that all of New Portena are very proud of!

It’s taken us a month but we finally managed to get all the girls in the same place at the same time – introducing New Portena 2018-2019!

On Sunday we held the first House Competition of the school year – Sports Day!

Over the last week our Grade 11 and IB1 students have been away enjoying their Discovery Days – learning new skills and taking part in team building activities!

This weekend saw the arrival of Diana, who joins New Portena from Iran, and will be studying in Grade 10!

This weekend the local area hosted the annual Lake Geneva clean up – an initiative to keep our stunning lake clean and beautiful . Celine, Helen and Jasmine dedicated their free time to go along and help with the big tidy. Well done girls, we are very proud of your efforts!

The girls have made the most of the lovely weather this weekend and got involved in a whole variety of activities, including golf, rafting and zumba.

Today Celine had the amazing experience of going Paragliding and it’s fair to say she was on top of the world!

On Thursday it was Jeune Genevois, a public holiday here in Geneva. As there was no school some of the girls took the opportunity to visit Chamonix and Mer du Glace.

Here we see Manya, Ria and Helen enjoying the spectacular view!

Tonight we challenged the girls to move an Oreo from their forehead to their mouth, without using their hands. There were some great faces on show and Sophie came out as champion!

Over the last few days we have spent time getting to know all of our new boarders and taking part in fun activities to get to know each other. We wish you all a great year here at College du Leman!

We hope you all had a wonderful summer – the staff of New Portena are ready and eager to welcome you all back for the 2018-2019 academic year!

Your team this year is made up of House Parent Terri Davis, Deputy House Parent Rosana Busso, and House Tutors Jemma Stanton and Cristina Sanchez.

We look forward to seeing you all soon, if you have any questions before getting here please contact newportena@cdl.ch

This weekend Aya and Natalina put a new sporting skill to the test and tried out their golfing techniques!

This afternoon some of the girls watched Prince Harry marry Meghan Markle while enjoying a traditional English afternoon tea!

Crystal has made the most of the first long weekend of May by taking part in the Swiss Experience Trip and getting a closer look at the beautiful country we live in!

As we move into a busy exam period the girls have been sharing their top tips for revision with each other!

Alina has bought a juice maker to share with the house so the girls are enjoying the hot weather with some home made healthy juices!

This week we have welcomed two new students to New Portena – Andrea has joined us from Japan and is in Grade 10 while Kokoro is also from Japan and has joined Grade 9.

Many of the girls spent Sunday enjoying a competitive game of Laser Tag!

Happy 17th Birthday Valeria, from all your extended family here in New Portena. We hope you had a great day!

Welcome to Charlotte who joins New Portena, starting in Grade 10!

Here at CDL the boarding community have been busy creating Christmas boxes to send to children in Eastern Europe.

There are many children in Eastern Europe who may not receive presents this Christmas so these boxes will definitely put a smile on their faces.

The boxes include school supplies, toys, snacks and items used for personal hygiene. The New Portena girls have put a lot of heart into this project and managed to complete eight boxes to send off this Christmas.

This weekend the girls enjoyed activities such as tennis and a trip to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne!

It was lovely to see all the girl’s smiling faces arriving back in the house over the weekend. Here’s to another busy term of hard work and new activities. Welcome back girls!

Happy Birthday to Irina, Scarlett and Aya who have all been celebrating their birthdays over the weekend!

Yum yum, lots of cake in New Portena!