Although we offer a wide range of activities for the boys to sign up for, Olympus is still a home. And just like any home, not every moment is filled with something big or elaborate. We also encourage a sense of normality and comfort in the house. It’s often in these quieter, unstructured moments that conversations flow more easily and relationships grow.

Whether they’re playing pool or table football, watching a film together, cooking, fixing something around the house or putting up decorations, these simple moments matter. It’s easy to overlook them, but they’re often where the real connection happens.

Decorations are up in Olympus!!!

@thatboardingvibe We are ready! #thatboardingvibe #schoolchristmas #christmasdecorations #boardingschool #olympus ♬ sonido original – Aztinay𓇼

Our theme this week is Excellence, and it’s been a good chance to remind the boys that it isn’t only found on a podium or in a spotlight. We’ve already celebrated one of our students for his remarkable performance on the volleyball court, but excellence shows up in many quieter ways throughout the week and we make sure to highlight those too.

Every time a student scores above 90 % on a test, they earn a spin on our Win Wheel. It’s a small moment, but it recognises effort, consistency and pride in their work.

At our weekly House Meeting, we also take time to acknowledge anyone who had zero lates the week before, the cleanest room of the week, any positive ISAMS entries or encouraging emails from teachers, and anyone who represented Olympus or CDL on a team. These little milestones matter. They show the boys that excellence is often built from simple, repeatable habits.

Once the announcements are done, we wrap things up with our traditional end-of-meeting game. Each week it’s something different, and we draw random names from the box to decide who gets to play. The atmosphere is always electric with the rest of the house cheering, laughing, and urging on whoever is up next. It’s a light moment, but it keeps our community connected.

Excellence doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It grows in spaces like this: where hard work is noticed, good habits are encouraged, and everyone gets the chance to take part.

To celebrate CDL’s ‘Excellence week’ we wanted to share with you some of the excellent sporting achievements of our students. Over the weekend Daniyal represented Collège du Léman in the Nord Anglia U19 European Volleyball Tournament, where the school took home first place in both the girls and boys competition. In his short time at CDL Daniyal has proven himself quite the athlete and we hope his excellence inspires other boys to strive for their best in sports or even try a new sport!

Additionally, the CDL Climbing Cup took place over the weekend, with Olympus being represented by Marco and Maxim. Maxim displayed his climbing talents by finishing runner-up in the competition, Well done Maxim! Marco also performed excellently placing in tenth. Two fine performances by Olympus boys.

We hope this excellence is infectious through the House and encourages others to do their best.

As part of a homework task for AP Geography, boys in the class were asked to cook a dish from their home country. William showed himself to be quite the chef in the kitchen, aided by his sous-chef and roommate Santiago. They cooked the famous Nigerian and West African, staple dish of Jollof rice. A dish known for its powerful punch of flavour and colour, with chillies, onions, tomatoes and other spices really giving it a kick of flavour that leaves you wanting more! Once cooked, William was kind enough to give the boys and staff a try, with it receiving glowing praise for its tastiness! In Olympus we hope to see this sort of tradition continue as it builds a nice sense of community and camaraderie in the House.

The days grow shorter and the mornings become more crisp, it is a sure-fire sign of one thing and one thing only, that winter is here! Students will have begun to notice the changes over the last few weeks, needing to add more and more layers to battle the cold. Now we are starting to have the visual and meteorological confirmation of this with the overnight temperature hitting zero degrees Celsius. The freezing temperatures left their mark over the football fields of the College with students waking up to seeing them covered in thick frost. Moreover, the temperatures are promising to plunge into the negatives later in the week, potentially bring the first bit of snow for the winter – anyone up for building a snowman? It is important that students wrap up and keep warm to ensure they don’t get sick and can enjoy the winter.

This weekend the students came together for something a little different from our usual routine. Each house donated money to support our annual Gift Box Appeal, and with those funds we were able to buy a range of small but meaningful items for children in orphanages across Eastern Europe.

What made the afternoon special wasn’t just the cause, but the atmosphere. Students gave up their free time to help sort, organise and pack the gifts. The dining room turned into a small production line — wrapping paper on one table, toiletries and toys on another, and plenty of teamwork holding it all together.

There was a real sense of purpose in the room. The students were focused and proud to be doing something that will make a child’s Christmas a little brighter.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and took part. It was a good reminder of what our community can achieve when we pull together.

@thatboardingvibe 2025 Gift Box Appeal #thatboardingvibe #schoollife #giftboxappeal #shoeboxappeal ♬ Christmas Nostalgia – NC MUSIC

It is has been a busy two weeks returning to school, with birthdays, trips, activities and parent-teacher meetings. Over the weekend the house celebrated the birthdays of Sava and Henry, it is really nice to see the way the boys embrace these special occasions with one another.

Additionally, the boys are really enjoying the activities offered on the weekend such as horse riding, cooking classes and Mr László’s dance class. As well, as doing their bit to help pick up rubbish around the lake to ensure it continues to look pristine, even as the lake is used frequented during the late autumn and winter months.

Finally, over the weekend there was a school trip to Barcelona, which was attended by Marco and Maxim. The boys visited famous Gaudi’s architectural marvels such as La Sagrada Familia and La Padrera, as well as being given time to explore the city and all its wonderful sites. They took in a night of Spanish culture with a Flamenco and Spanish guitar show, followed by a dinner by the beach to soak in the Barcelona coast line. On Sunday they visited the famous Camp Nou – the home of FC Barcelona and had a stadium tour, before returning on Sunday night. All in all, a successful trip with Marco and Maxim reporting on how much fun they had.

This week, Olympus was transformed into a house of cobwebs, pumpkins, and eerie laughter as our boys threw themselves into the Halloween spirit. From the moment the first decorations went up, the energy in the house shifted.

Pierre and William, did our pumpkin carving for the House Competition!

It has been great to see the boys returning from their adventure-filled October breaks! I hope it has afforded them the opportunity to get some well needed rest and recovery and allowed them to catch up with family and friends with a tale or two from their first term at CDL. The boys who went on the Tanzania and Southern Spain trips came back on Saturday with glowing reviews of their travels and the new memories they created with friends new and old. Others have arrived back and settled in beautifully, trading stories with their friends whilst unpacking their suitcases. On the academic and school side of things we have the first term’s academic review being sent out as well as Parent-Teacher interviews being held on Friday 7th of November. We are looking forward to a great second term.