This week we had our Boarding Award Ceremony to celebrate some of the achievements made during 1st Semester. We acknowledged those in each House who showed outstanding enthusiasm, motivation, and involvement in the Boarding Activity program. We also had an award for Boarding Life, for those who exhibited all the qualities we would wish for in a global citizen and who are good role models through their actions within the boarding community.

Winning the Boarding Life award were James, Louis, Billy and Otabek. These boys are polite, respectful, and courteous to both their peers and staff. They are held in high regards within the House. They are happy and willing to assist the House Parents and often take on extra responsibilities within the house. They also willingly volunteer their time to help others and to participate in the Boarding House events.

From Olympus, winning the Activity Awards were Tim, Alexandre, Temur and Maksim. These boys enthusiastically participate in the afternoon activity schedule along with enjoying the sports facilities on offer during social time in the evenings. They also eagerly participate in the weekend program, taking advantage of the trips on offer or the activities offered.

We also acknowledged those boys who have done well academically this year and were proud that so many from Olympus were represented. Well done to Wenyan, Kaishu, Guanchen, Bruno and Adi

This weekend has been a special one. Our students have been involved in many activities:

First, Adi played basketball on Friday. This same day, Dmytro and Herman went to Europa Park. They have had a wonderful weekend there.

Secondly, Aleksei and Maksim had a great time climbing on Saturday.

On Sunday, on the one hand, Christiaan and Artem had a nice chess time. On the other hand, James represented very well Olympus in the Escalade race.

This week the students were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to Europa Park. It is a very fun and magical place but even more so when decorated for Christmas.

In the Boarding House, the pool table has become quite the focus. To elevate this to another level we have started a pool tournament thanks to Mr Miguel. We have over 15 participants who must all play the best of three against each other. It is proving to be a lot of fun and adding to our House Spirit.

With the World Cup in full action, we are enjoying this in our own style. With such a diverse boarding community a lot of the countries are being supported which adds to a friendly rivalry among the students. We are playing the matches each day on the big screen, but then each House is also doing it in its own way also.

Football is a very popular sport within the Boarding Community. We, therefore, have an ongoing football tournament between the boarding houses. As we are well represented in Olympus, we have two teams competing in this tournament. So far, we are winning in all our matches and are hoping for overall success in the tournament.

Celebrating the diversity among our boarding community is always on ongoing goal for us. We talk about it through our Wellbeing Pillar, we live it through our interactions and learning from others, and we get to share it through events such as our International Dinners. Tonight it was Chilian. While the food may appear simple, the flavours were spectacular.

This weekend has been a very special one, as many of our students have been involved in many activities.

At Olympus we have also been busy preparing our Christmas decorations.

The weekend culminated in a very busy baking competition in which our master baker, Alex, presented what was undoubtedly the best of the participating cakes.

On the Friday evening Louis, Gary, Ivan and Temur trained together to improve their badminton skills. Tim and Murat also played.

Jinwoo (pictured left), as well as Ayu, Ryu and Ilya, were trying out tennis on Saturday morning. On the other hand, Herman and Aleksei (pictured centre and right, respectively) attended their usual climbing class. Also on Saturday, Navi went to the woodcraft workshop, and Adi and Läel were training basketball.

At the end of the day, Nikolai participated in our annual “Samedi du Partage”, encouraging people to donate food for people in need. It is actions like this that make a difference to the well-being of all people.

Kirill (on the right in the photo on the left) was part of the community service battalion, helping with the maintenance and welfare of the school. He also attended a very useful Grounding session with the boarding school counsellor. On the other hand, Alex (pictured right), with the invaluable help of Nikolai, submitted his pastry creation to the baking competition. Nikolai also participated with Christiaan, as they do every Sunday, in the chess club.

Finally, all our Olympus students (in the photos, from left to right, Navi, Billy and Nikita) collaborated in the preparation of the Christmas decorations, promising that next year, 2023, will be even better than this one.