We have been busy since the weekend started. Christmas decorations, chasing each other around, visiting other boarding houses to play games and baking our cake for tomorrows competition.

At Champs Des Bois, there’s never a dull moment. We’re relishing a long winter weekend, engaging in activities we truly enjoy.

Each month, Champs des Bois students and house parents deepen their knowledge about Switzerland. This month, the focus is on natural landmarks, famous monuments, and historical places.” Keep checking our blog to discover next month’s Swiss topic!

A moment of immense pride for our Champs Des Bois Boarders unfolded when their painting was enlarged into a billboard proudly displayed at the entrance of CDL. The students found great joy in participating in this project on World Children’s Day. The concept revolved around a painting created by the students, symbolizing the essence of love and a warm embrace of inclusion for children worldwide. The underlying message of this artwork is to raise awareness and serve as a reminder that children’s rights must be honored, safeguarded, and fulfilled, regardless of their location in the world. Irrespective of diverse cultural backgrounds, every child deserves an equal opportunity to soar and carve their own unique path. This concept is represented by painting the children uniformly in grey, while using contrasting colors for the worlds and doors to depict the diverse possibilities and experiences children face globally, each with their own set of limitations and challenges.

“I would like to extend a huge thank you to Mr. Roger, the Senior House Parent from Leman, for selecting CDB for this project, and to  Ms Manuella, the digital content creator for the billboard.”

Embracing Unity in Diversity!

Students gathered to discuss and reflect on the similarities and differences that make each of us wonderfully distinct. To bring these insights to life, we employed a Venn diagram exercise, pairing roommates to explore the intricacies of their individuality. The beauty of this exercise lies in its simplicity. Students eagerly shared in conversations, discovering facets of their roommates’. The Venn diagrams, serving as visual representations of their discussions, became windows into the rich tapestry of our diverse community. Through exercises like these, we celebrate the uniqueness of each student and house parents.

What a spectacular show we saw this Sunday! We went to La Rosey and they told a wonderful story about a siberian tiger, and an incredibly talented sand artist was creating art simultaneously with the play that was being performed.

Some of our boys visited the Olympus Boarding House and have started to learn how to play pool. Begginer’s luck on their side they proved themselves worther of a good match.

A huge thank you to our Prefects who took the time to create interactive board games to support our young boarders in learning French. Merci 🙂

On one of those rainy Sundays, we thought to enjoy various indoor activities and games, we had senior visitors who joined in and we made a start on a painting project. Whilst others boarders went to Cailler chocolate factory and Tennis lessons.

Happy 12th birthday Yingfan! 🎉🎂🎈

May this year be full of exciting adventures, new discoveries, and wonderful moments. Enjoy every moment of being 12 and make beautiful memories to cherish. Here’s to an amazing year ahead and a fantastic birthday celebration!

Fierce competition every year!!!!

Halloween is students’ favourite day of the year, dressing up, visiting other boarding houses, and hustling for sweets.  We had a great time.

An enormous thanks to our incredible chefs and kitchen staff for creating unforgettable celebrations! The students were truly spoiled. The Halloween party continues this evening… BEWARE !!!

We would like to welcome back all our boys to Champs Des Bois.

Here is a picture of our very own Donny, he was the first to arrive back to our house.

A truly enjoyable game took place between CDL day students and boarders, Thank you to our dedicated colleague Perrine who organised this wonderful entertainment for us all. Despite losing, we can only congratulate the boarders for their performance.

C’est merveilleux de voir nos élèves du secondaire s’investir avec autant de dévouement dans l’enseignement du français et partager leur bonne humeur avec les jeunes internes. Ils ont consacré du temps à préparer des jeux interactifs pour captiver leur attention et passer un moment agréable. Un grand merci à eux pour leur précieuse contribution et leur engagement envers l’apprentissage et le partage de connaissances. C’est grâce à de tels efforts que notre communauté scolaire prospère. Bravo!

Today, our grade 5 student Mana was the only boy from Champs Des Bois to run the 5km race organised by our school. Both students and staff took part in the race. And our very own Mana was a medal winner. We are all so proud of his bravery and determination. Well done Mana!

Well done to these young men for making the mature decision to finish their homework before the weekend!

A Happy Sunday 🙂

Our Boys proudly watched the live ceremony at Tian’anmen Square. We wish a Happy National Day to all our Chinese students and the people of China. Xièxiè

On a beautiful sunny day, the students enjoyed the afternoon in our garden exploring, playing and gardening, especially in a world filled with screens and gadgets, there’s something truly magical about watching students getting their hands dirty in the soil and discovering the wonders of nature up close.

The full moon is a symbol of family reunion and an evening of celebration to light lanterns, eat moon cakes and appreciate a special meal together. We were delighted to receive this wonderful mooncake box that we shared to mark this event.

A Breath of Fresh Air, A Trip to the Mountain with all the class 🙂

Incorporating meditation into our nightly routine can help our boarders enjoy restful nights and wake up feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the day ahead.

As a school, we couldn’t be prouder of the initiative taken by our Prefects and senior boarders. Their willingness to share their knowledge and make learning French fun is an opportunity for senior boarders to connect and mentor younger students.

We have a wide variety of amazing Clubs and Activities to offer in Collège du Léman. It’s wonderful to see our young boarders so engaged in these wonderful opportunities!

This afternoon we all went for a lovely stroll to the nearby stoney lakeside beach. We spent time chatting, skimming stones, enjoying the wildlife and admiring the spectacular views across the water.

Teachers paid a special visit to our boarding house. It was an afternoon filled with warmth, excitement, and a delightful afternoon tea.Our students took immense pride in guiding their teachers through the boarding house, offering insights into their room setups, and all the communal areas in the house. It was a chance for teachers to connect with students on a personal level, to understand their daily routines, challenges, and joys.

Thank you to our dedicated teachers for taking the time to engage with our boarding house students. Your presence today meant the world to them, and it’s moments like these that make our school community truly special.

Brunch is the only thing that’s mandatory on Sunday!!! A Huge THANK YOU to our wonderful Kitchen staff.

The breathtaking view of the Swiss Alps left the borders in awe, and they truly relished this extraordinary experience.

A perfect weekend escape for CDL boarders at Fiesh Resort, the students shared unforgettable moments, breathtaking views, and lifelong memories in this mountain haven. Thank you to our fantastic Camp team who organises these fabulous outings.

Jeûne Genevois is a public holiday in the canton of Geneva where people observe a fasting day and indulge in a special homemade plum pie.

Grade 4 working hard on their project about famous folktales from home.

Looking for an adrenaline rush and some serious outdoor fun? Look no further! This weekend, our boarders have two fantastic activities lined up that are guaranteed to get their spirits soaring – Acrobranche and Paddle Boarding! 🌊🌲 Others enjoyed joining a new woodwork workshop and watering our vegetable-raised beds 🙂 We decided to end this beautiful day by stopping at our local grocery store for some essentials.

We travelled to Senegal with this exquisite dinner, Mate chicken was delicious, served with an exotic salad and for pudding a traditional banana and chocolate cake.

Today, we had a birthday at Champs Des Bois. We celebrated with presents, music, cakes, games and friends.

This evening, one of our families came to Champs Des Bois to help their sons with their homework.

Today, the boys from Champs Des Bois went to an Aqua-park. They had a chance to enjoy lots of different things such as the slides, lazy river, wave pool and jacuzzi.

Today we visited a nearby park. The boys from Champs Des Bois had lots of fun running into the wide open spaces and exploring on the various play areas that were on offer.

We are lucky to have such an amazing variety of activities and clubs over the weekend. Our children chose a nice mix between sporty and hands on activities, cooking, wood works, climbing and tennis.

We started the weekend with a bang. Our Friday evening consisted of sports. Basketball and hockey were firm favourites amongst the boys from Champs Des Bois.

We started off this evening with a little bit of studying. Nothing too serious, we wanted to see the children’s reading levels. Some of our young ones wanted to get an early start in learning French and Mr. Alex is here and ready to help with pronunciation.

Our Boarding students had their first day at CDL, the boys ejoyed meeting new friends and new teachers.

A great few days filled with wonderful activities to allow students to bond, get to know each other better and build some strong friendships.

A fabulous afternoon with the young boarders, the escape games kept them entertained and working well in teams. We finished the afternoon in the pool cooling down.

Today marked the beginning of our academic year; seeing parents, agents and new students on campus was delightful. Get ready for a fantastic ride, your experience starts now and we are here to ensure it’s nothing short of amazing!!!

A warm welcome back from Collège Du Léman Boarding Team.

From Champs Des Bois Team, we are delighted to welcome you back for the exciting year 2023-2024

A huge congratulations to our boys on their graduation! We are so proud of their achievements and successes. Well done Grade 5

Bravo, young musicians!

I want to take a moment to applaud and celebrate the grade 3 exceptional musical performance. Your talent and dedication were truly remarkable, and you captivated the audience with your wonderful music and singing abilities.

Well Done Ms Picasso and her Team!

Donny was at the observatory learning about space, he came home enchanted with his day trip, and the rest of the boys enjoyed an afternoon by the pool. Today was our last Brunch together, we took time to enjoy this copious meal and discuss our summer plans!!

Donny ran and Bomb Dived in the pool, he swam, swam and swam until closing time.  LOVE IT

Thank you Coach Roquain, My last private tennis lesson of the year!!

Nicholas attending his classmate’s birthday, a nice day at Aquapark

Boys having fun in the garden, Big thank you to Ms Bea for this archery set!!

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ― Nelson Mandela 

Jin was anxious about this fun boat activity, so I accompanied him this morning when he saw the first student in action. He took his courage and overcame his fear! The quote above just resonated with this FABULOUS Achievement.

Today, we shared a wonderful moment with the students, teachers, Boarding staff and all the people who made this experience memorable for the young boarders. This afternoon’s drinks were a token of appreciation. The students were able to make little speeches, and they were presented with their end-of-year boarding portfolios. which they truly loved!!!  I knew this personalized present will give them their timeline since their arrival at Collège du Léman.  Thank you Everyone for being part of this wonderful Journey at CDB:-)

Kids’ favourite Burgers, hotdogs and cold ice tea!!! and  Donny making funny faces 🙂

Remarkable graduation ceremony, every child was awarded a new belt, and we had a chance to try some katas, this sport teaches students to learn about the values of perseverance, respect, loyalty, and discipline. Well done Donny for this great achievement.

All grade 5’s performed a fantastic performance this evening, their dance teacher proudly shared that they chose and agreed on the choreography themselves. Well done to Cinar and Nicholas for taking part.

Donny is a very talented kid for drawing, he loves this character in a movie.

He had a lot of fun drawing and coloring it.

A fantastic afternoon organised by our boarding activity leader Ms Lucélia, Champs Des Bois students played all the games available to them whilst Donny spent 4 hours swimming none stop 🙂 we indulged in yummy ice creams, popcorn, candy floss and drinks. Later, in the evening dinner was at a great food truck with Mexican wraps. Great way to finish this year on a happy note and fun day! Thank you Lucélia

This morning started with an amazing cookery workshop, the students baked a delicious Charlotte cake, and the end result was superb. Whilst Donny enjoyed scootering around campus and exploring the banana leaves 🙂 For lunch Jinwoo a senior student invited Jin for a belated birthday treat, it was postponed until he finished his exams, Jinwoo has been volunteering at CDB since the start of the year, he has been a role model for the younger boarders and his help every Wednesday was very much appreciated and valued. Later in the afternoon, the students enjoyed an old classic film, Mrs Doubtfire.

Exquisite cuisine from Singapore for our special dinner, students and house parents enjoyed outdoor dining making the most of the lovely weather.

Ms Dia the Photography teacher shared these pictures with me today, the topic was friendship. The students captured some fantastic shots of each other, and at the same time, they were having a fun time. The first picture speaks for itself !!!

Jin impressed us by cycling 27 km, he kept a good pace despite a small tumble on the pavement, we stopped at Coppet for refreshments then we checked a wonderful annual town sale where people sell unwanted items from their attic. I found Jin’s perfect present an old tennis racket dating from 1940’s. He was thrilled and happy with this special gift. Then we continued our venture to another nearby town Nyon, for a well-deserved ice cream. The cycle back was slightly harder for me but we’ve done it. A great day 🙂

On Saturday, June 3rd 2023, Cinar, Nicholas and I went for a trip to Geneva.

The boys had a great time: we went to MANOR, bought Japanese snacks and went to McDonald’s. Cinar had bought the Oreos McFlurry with caramel coulis for the first time and he actually loved it !!

Little photoshoot with Mr. Jin in Champs Des Bois.

Today I was delighted to take my two girls to the stables, their commitment to attending weekly shows excellent effort. They are so comfortable being around horses. We left for a nice local woodland walk, the weather was beautiful. What a FANTASTIC start to a day 🙂

On Friday, it was an amazing and sunny day.

Donny had a lot of fun with his little ballon is was trying to blow.

Donny worked on his school project with a senior boarder, she was very patient and supportive.

We decided to make miniature animals out of soft clay, and the results are not bad on the first try. Donny decided to make his own object the results is quite astonishing.

Thank you, Mr Manu, for a surprise visit with a nice cold treat during this hot weather.

Melissa invited her friend Julie for a play at CDB, the girls are just adorable xoxo

Melissa’s mum paid us a visit this afternoon and brought some delicious cakes for all the boys who celebrated their birthdays *Cinar, Jin and Luca.* A thoughtful treat thank you

We

 Prior to taking his shower, Donny acted out being a chicken, he was so funny 🙂 these are priceless moments with younger boarders!

An extra day off for the students, who clearly enjoyed a day trip to Luna Park Funfair in Lausanne. Whilst other boarders stayed and equally enjoyed activities in CDB, we went for a long walk that stopped by the lake. As soon as the boys got back they wanted to play football, and then they returned home to sample Jin’s cake. The verdict was very positive no leftovers 🙂

One of our older boarding students, Chady from Leman Boarding House (Grade 9), was kind enough to step in as Coach for our young football enthusiasts. It was great to see them all running drills, listening to his advice and most of all having fun!

After a delicious Sunday brunch we went for a lovely stroll through the trees. We followed the stream and then detoured to the Sports Centre, where we did some laps, worked out a bit and played some more football.

Here is a wonderful video of Melissa showing off her horse-riding technique.

A quiet but fulfilling day overall!! a milder weather today we sat and finished our stone painting activity, please stay tuned for the end result:-) As always there is always something for the students to enjoy, from baking brownies, climbing, tennis, Olympus court, afternoon movie and some gardening. Fun Fun Fun…

Fantastic day out in Geneva sightseeing, shopping and enjoying a delicious artisanal ice cream by the lake. The boys invited their best friend James for a sleepover. Overall we had an enchanting day together 🙂

What an awesome time we had at Jin’s birthday party. We bounced and bounced and bounced until we couldn’t bounce anymore.

Today we are celebrating Jin’s 11th Birthday, he was delighted to have a slice of his cake prior to the big party on Thursday. We wish him an amazing day with his friends and may all his dreams come true.

Luca put in some great times on his laps around the circuit. It was a wet race but Luca did his best to not slip off the track!

At CDL we manifest the acronym ”RISE”, ”I” stands for Internationalism. CDL International Day was a magnificent event planned by the PFA to raise money for charities. CDL families from as many as 25 nationalities set up food stalls with their home country’s cuisine for all to try. It was amazing to see an incredible mix of all cultures and everyone enjoying themselves.

”The best part of climbing is when it all clicks and gravity ceases to exist.” – Chris Sharma

On Monday May 7th, 2023 it was a pretty sunny day and Melissa and I enjoyed being outside, on the grass, listening to music and singing together.

It was very hot, so she enjoyed snacking on a watermelon popsicle.

Today, on Sunday May 7th 2023, we celebrated Cinar’s 11th birthday.

We shared a delicious double chocolate cake, sang happy birthday and wished him all the best for the year ahead. It was pretty fun!

A great way to connect kids

Jin, Cinar, Nicholas, and Donny were all having fun.
Cinar was practicing his shooting’s skills with Nicholas.
Nicholas also was practicing his goalies’ skills with Jin.

Donny was also enjoying being with the boys and Mr. Zac.

The boys are having fun by playing football.

Climbing Club is always a success with our young climbers. This week the boys had fun in the climbing gym and made sure to put enough chalk on their hands to stick to the wall.

Jin started getting artsy this weekend using some spray paints and experimenting with new techniques of art that he hadn’t tried until now.

Every Wednesday we have older boarders visiting for a couple of hours, we are delighted to have them around so the students were busy baking cookies for them!!!

Students are enjoying outdoor activities, Melissa and Nicholas attended their photography workshop at the lake, and the remaining boarders had a great time playing in the garden.

We had a nice stroll together down to the lake again after a big brunch. We skipped stones, played with the water and said hi to the ducks.

The amazing views across the lake are only a short walk away from Collège du Léman. We went for some fresh air and to throw some stones.

Horse riders and wall climbers!

A wonderful first few days back to Boarding, from new hairstyles, baking, stone painting and a good game of badminton.

A warm welcome to Shirley our new House Tutor

We are excited to welcome back our young boarders from their Easter Break.  We are embarking on the last leg of the school year, and we will try our best to provide them with a rich experience, filled with exciting summer activities and lots of fun!!!

Luca’s 9th birthday falls during the Easter break, and tonight we wanted to celebrate with him. We shared a delicious double chocolate cake, sang happy birthday in 5 different languages and wished him all the best for the year ahead.

Climbing is a top choice for the boys on the weekend, they like to attend this club together and have really helped each other improve by pushing themselves to do harder climbs.

Also, we love going to Olympus sports gym to play whatever sport that we feel like. Today we tried a bit of table-tennis, basketball, football and even some improvised dances by Donny.

Melissa and Hannah love spending time at the stables with their favourite horses and ponies. It was a bit rainy this weekend but still nice under the shelter that the stables provided.

Today we spent our afternoon in Villa Franconis and helped Mr. Tarun set up a microscope. We then used tweezers and other tools to collect things from the garden and around the house to put under the lenses and investigate. We tried pollen from the flowers, onion peel and even a hair from Mr. Tarun’s head!

The students enjoyed a fierce Easter hunt in the house this afternoon, then we had a little tea party and of course they were discussing their findings 🙂

At CDB we covered the topic of Online Safety for over 2 weeks, To conclude this pillar students completed an online game and a quiz. Then we discussed their safety during their online activities. This led nicely to explaining the rules at Champs Des Bois on devices and why they are in place.

• 30 minutes of device time weekly and 1 hour during the weekend
• Using their devices downstairs and not in their rooms
• Call to their parents are permitted anytime and can be done privately in their room.
• Ipads and phones are kept safely in the office

Let’s celebrate our Community and School Spirit! A day packed with great activities 🙂

The second part of St Patrick’s Mishap,

This has been by far the best St Partick’s quest the students have encountered, it kept us all very much entertained these past 3 days.

1. The students had to find 7 puzzles hidden in the dining hall
2. Put them together and solve the challenge
3. They had to take 7 selfies with items described in the challenge and then forward these pictures to the highest building on campus.
4.   This led to today’s  challenge as the students earned the trust of Seamus they had to help find over 200 coins scattered in the garden
5. If the students found at least half they will receive a huge reward
6. The reward was BIG 🙂

A massive Thank you Mr Gordon from Champs Des Bois Students, we truly enjoyed this mystery mission and solving the clues was fun! The reward was super generous and we shall enjoy every bit of it immensely.

CDB

If one place can do Brunch, CDL can! Every Sunday our Boarders and House Parents look forward to this wonderful selection of food. Our chefs and kitchen staff are incredible Thank you 🙂

A massive thank you to Senior House Parent Mr Gordon for engaging CDB students in this quest, they truly enjoyed receiving a hand-delivered letter this morning to begin this St. Patrick’s Day Mishap, their curiosity and eagerness to solve the mystery were enchanting. We agreed to continue this quest and wore something green for dinner. We collected a box left in our pigeonhole, and the boys were keen to open it as soon as we got home, challenge 2 was complete we drew our Leprechauns on the mini canvas provided. STAY TUNNED, the quest continues…

We decided to go for a walk this afternoon with the boys and visited the festichoc exhibition taking place in Versoix.

The boys meant to perform on stage this evening but unfortunately, stage fright changed our plan. Nevertheless, we came up with a plan B, You can watch the video below which captures that moment. The fastest challenge to solve a Rubik’s cube goes to *Jin 41 seconds*, *Nicholas 54 seconds* and *Luca 1 minute 30*You can watch the video below that captures that moment.

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A short drive from Collège du Léman and we are in such an awesome park. We had a great time playing tag, swinging on the swings, climbing on the jungle gym and whizzing around on the zip-line!

The boys remembered the skateboards that were tucked away in the house and wanted to try skateboarding this weekend. With a few helpful tips they manged to get on the boards and ride. So cool guys!

Jin and Donny made some mini boats together and went to the stream to test them. They managed to float and they had a little race against each other. It was a lovely walk down to the lake were the boys stopped to take in the scenery.

The boat trip tied in nicely with Jin’s IPC homework as a nice experiment of the topic that they are studying in his class.

Well done boy!

This four-legged dog has made many happy people today in  Champs Des Bois, her friendliness and playfulness were a breath of fresh air. The boarders really enjoyed having a dog home the wellness Dixie brought was priceless.

CDB students learned how to make these lovely crumpets, they didn’t know the difference between a crumpet and a pancake? Crumpet batter is similar to a pancake batter but with a raising agent which makes it bubble and become thicker, light and fluffier than a pancake.

The boys had a great time in Olympus, a great space to enjoy all sorts of activities and socialise with other boarders.

We started painting these tins for our planting project at the start of the week, and now the students added details to their tins, we are extremely happy with the results!

Originating from France in late 1950, scoubidou is still a very popular knotting craft! we all had a go-to unwind 🙂

Children must know that the internet, and social media in particular, can make it very easy to share our information with people we don’t know. For example, on a social media profile, they may disclose their full name, the area in which they live, and where they go to school. Would you drop your information for others to find? The internet leaves trails too… Don’t let STRANGERS find your details. these are the type of reflective questions we will discuss in the house.                                                                                                                                            Teaching children the importance of social media safety is essential, here in Champs Des Bois students will start brainstorming this important Pillar about online safety throughout the next 2 weeks.

Another great start to the weekend. Luca and Nicholas did a fantastic job representing Champs des Bois in our inter-house ski competition, Hannah was reunited with her favorite pony Candy and Cinar, Donny and Jin improved their climbing skills. What a fun day!

  Our first trial of making something out of clay   *Carrot, pig, Rubiks cubes, football, birds feeder*            

Lazy snooze this morning for some boarders after an intense week at Crans Montana, the weather was splendid today we decide to start planting our seeds in line with the spring early planting guide. Jin had a marvellous time on the trampoline, Whilst the others were busy building a new lego kit! Later in the afternoon we went for a stroll in the area and pick up some sushi treats. After dinner, we decided to have a little game in Olympus. Overall it was a chill day doing what we enjoy most 🙂

We would like to wish everybody a lovely ski break. We are looking forward to seeing all the children back again soon!

We were able to share a few techniques to release stress with Ms Marina this afternoon. The boys had a good giggle, and a great social activity. Thank you

CDB students arrived this afternoon to find this wonderful addition to our garden, and they were thrilled with this superb trampoline. A massive thank you to our head of boarding for purchasing this trampoline for the kids. They love it

This afternoon, Melissa’s mother came to teach us how to make the perfect dumplings, she catered for all including the vegetarians, and it was truly an amazing experience with all the students. Sharing a culinary experience on Sunday with several visitors who filled the house with such a warm homey feeling. We agreed to repeat this again with another dish from around the world.

Despite a cold start here in Versoix, the weather changed and we had a lovely sunshine today 🙂 We enjoyed a long cycle in the area, then we picked up Donny from woodcraft. After lunch, we left for Geneva for some more treats!!! In the meantime Ms Erika took the girls horse riding. Overall it was pretty good day!!!

IMG_9875 IMG_9881

As always, Friday evening our young boarders can stay later than usual, the weekend mode is on, and the boys love playing in Olympus so much. We captured that moment, some fierce games were on last night!!!

A real treat for us this evening, Sushi, Dumplings, Mochi, Steamed Rice and all the trimmings… Students favourite food 🙂

Number 1  🙂

Nicholas made us proud this evening by representing CDB during our boarding quiz night, he was fast and knowledgeable !! He prepared well and reviewed random questions about Switzerland. It paid off!!

At Collège Du Léman, charity and service for others is something that we like to embed with our Boarders. With this type of contribution, we allow all students to understand why these actions are taken! Collectively we can support people in need and locked in poverty. Hopefully one day together we can abolish hunger in the world and around us.

This weekend the children wanted to relax and play in the big garden we have here in Champs des Bois. They also had fun participating in their weekly activities and clubs such as climbing, woodcraft and ice skating!

A fantastic 2nd weekend at Fiesch, the students were able to enjoy various snow activities from snowboarding to skiing, ice-skating or trips for non-skiers. I took a group to a near town from Fiesch called Brig where we had a great time sightseeing this lovely place and we enjoyed  a shared lunch at McDonald’s, students’ favourite place to eat 🙂 overall it was a fabulous weekend that ended too fast.

As part of our friendship pillar programme, CDB agreed for each student to make a pancake of choice to give to someone in the house as a caring gesture. We had two visitors who also enjoyed this yummy treat.

Tonight we discussed this wellbeing Pillar with our boarders, and we decided to conduct several games throughout the week to emphasise the importance of positive friendships. We also would like to foster these friendships qualities amongst our students in the boarding house and school. To complete this pillar we asked each boarder to make a friendship bracelet to give to their best friend as a token of appreciation.

HOW TO BE A GOOD FRIEND

“Friends share, play together, laugh with each other, a good friend cheer you up, be there for you, listen to you, makes you feel good, friends you can trust and share memorable moments”.

Low temperatures but high spirits up in the Swiss Alps. What a remarkable weekend we’ve had together.

Champs des Bois and the rest of the Boarding Houses traveled to a lovely ski resort high in the mountains. We all wrapped up warm and spent our time snowboarding or skiing, relaxing in the thermal baths, playing Bingo or board-games or even hiking to the summit at 3984m – with a little helping hand from a gondola and a chairlift.

Our New Boarder performed in his primary assembly to share with his peers how the Lunar New Year is celebrated,  alongside him other students who also contributed to this wonderful event.

The second part of our weekend was filled with Chess club, Escape rooms, Nature Walk, Climbing, the best Brunch ever and a birthday party all happening here in CDL. Our younger boarders picking up some new skills and having lots of fun.

Another great weekend enjoying ourselves in CDL campus and a wide range of activities on offer for our boarders to choose from.

New activities to explore this 2nd term, our student made this clay mouse which he proudly put on display in his bedroom. We played various board games after school the boarders love to compete against their House Parents.

This evening during our 1st welcome-back Assembly, these 2 students made us proud House Parents. They stood in front of an audience and read beautifully a lovely poem that we wrote about diversity. I am delighted that our senior House Parent Mr Antonio gave our younger boarder an opportunity to showcase their work.

                                                              Diversity

 If I could change the world to a rainbow

What if everyone was forced to see

The world exactly like me

A world where all think as one

So, we do not judge anyone!

What if one person chose to know

In unity we stand is the way to go

What if one person desire to grow

And invites humanity to this show

What if one person’s heart sought love

To purify and unite us all

What if that person rose above

Throw away hatred, spread only love

If someday I sit on top of this world

Bring on changes with a single word

RAINBOW

A rainbow of diversity

A rainbow of beauty

A rainbow of bright happy colours

A rainbow of happiness

A rainbow of forgiveness

A rainbow sent from above with a blazing brilliant sight

A life multicoloured is a life unified

A very warm welcome to these 2 boys to Champs des Bois, we are delighted the house is filling up with wonderful students. Let’s start making memories and have fun doing it!!!

A good old classic game of Monopoly is just the perfect way to spend the afternoon when it’s too wet to go outside and play! Plus this super cool Dragon Ball Z version is great, thanks for sharing and letting us play Nicholas!

We are back in the Boarding House and have a new student joining us for this term. Welcome Cinar, he’s a fan of footy and also a keen mathlete!

We wish  all our students and their families a wonderful Christmas, enjoy your holidays and see you all in the New Year

This afternoon we had a lovely farewell party for our boarder Yifan, who is sadly returning home earlier. We couldn’t let her go without a proper celebration. The afternoon started with a scavenger hunt they made 2 teams, of course, boys vs girls. Followed by a sweet and chocolate search around the house 🙂 the students had a marvellous time! We had dinner at home and Hannah’s mother surprised us with a delicious cake. We had many visitors from other houses too. Yifan’s was thrilled and sad at the same time. So we took this opportunity to present her with an end-of-semester portfolio filled with many memorable moments made at CDL.  GOODBYE, YOU WILL BE MISSED!!!

On Sunday, the boys took part in the traditional breaking of the chocolate Marmite. This
Geneva tradition celebrates the Mère Royaume pouring her cauldron of hot soup over the
enemies during the Savoyard invasion in 1602, keeping them from advancing any further.

This morning we had a visit from Jack Frost. There was a lovely blanket of fresh white snow covering the garden. Let’s wrap up warm today!

At CDB the students each decorated their piece of the gingerbread house to enter another fierce competition, some boarding houses delivered some fantastic designs. Stay tuned for the announcement !! which boarding house will win?? let’s hope we made the first 3 🙂

The boarding life Award has been given to Nicholas for his outstanding contribution in day to day life in CDB and the Activities Award has been given to Hannah for her sheer commitment and hard work in attending a wide range of activities.

At Champs des Bois we discussed how insects and birds needed shelter during these winter months so we decided to start a little project to make a bug hotel. The boys learned some great DIY skills and it helped their creativity by using various resources and upcycling them 🙂

Jam-packed schedule this Saturday * Climbing, horse riding, Thai massage, movie and Take away, Melissa’s parents attended horse riding lessons and invited our boarders for lunch, only one student could attend a fabulous Japanese lunch and treats for all (bubble tea for House parents and students) later in the afternoon a private tennis lesson followed by a Thai massage. In the evening an older boarder from Olympus invited the boys to pick up some sushi and we happily watched a movie.

Jin and Nicholas participated in the Christmas decorating this weekend, with a little help from Mr Zach to reach the top of the tree!

Today all the Boarding Houses competed in a Bake Off Competition. Our boys decided to make a sponge cake and decorate it with strawberries, cream and lots of sprinkles! We hope the judges liked it!

This past Thursday we were lucky enough to be treated to a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. The Chefs prepared a delicious meal and students and staff had decorated the dining hall very nicely. We all shared what we were thankful for and had a lovely celebration together.

We discovered Canadian food this evening, their cuisine looks fairly good and taste great! the fries were divine mixed inside a combo box with cheese, veg and sauce. DELICIOUS 🙂

Today both students had an incredible day at their horse riding lesson, the weather was just fabulous the teacher decided to take them on a ride locally, it was just perfect. We then cleaned the ponies and she taught them how to care and use all the equipment accordingly to their use . We took time to stroke other horses and truly embraced the experience immensely and that includes me.

At Champs Des Bois, we had a private session with our professional photographer Dia who came to our boarding house and taught our students how to create fantastic picture effects using various strategies. The pictures below were made by using different lights and movements then the camera captures these movements and sequences of lights, together the outcome is just incredible. We had lots of fun, messing about and creating these outstanding art pieces 🙂

A great Asian supper this evening infused with lots of wonderful flavours. We are always looking forward to Wednesdays special meals from around the world. Thank you to our great kitchen team 🙂

Our students covered a very important topic part of our wellbeing program, we took the time to watch a short video on respecting diversity and being mindful of bullying others, we then brainstorm what the words meant in real life. They all discussed how important to support and respect others despite their background and ethnicity and we came up with written quotes for our display board. We truly enjoyed this group activity  helping our young boarders to understand the importance of words and acts.

On Sunday, Yifan celebrated her 10th birthday. We were very excited to be able to share this special day with her. We enjoyed playing laser tag with the other Junior Houses, classic party games like ”the floor is lava” and ”hide n seek”. Then we all gathered together to sing her Happy Birthday in the afternoon.

On Saturday, the children enjoyed their weekly activities and had lots of fun getting muddy in the garden!

A great weekend filled with many wonderful activities, the kids made a start  deweeding an area of the garden, we are planning to create a sensory garden *project ongoing…* continue following our blog to watch the progress.  Cooking and baking club made some delicious brownies and biscuits. Each week students who takes on the same activity such as horse riding  shows a great deal of improvement in their skills.  Saturday the weather was pleasant we went to Geneva for some shopping and sightseeing and finally Sunday we indulged in our Sunday brunch then I performed my sound bath therapy with a special assistant 🙂

Students enjoyed dressing up for Halloween tonight and trick or treat in different boarding houses. However, they were not many tricks but much more treats 🙂

A fantastic trip to Portugal for half term!

We had an exceptional dinner at home last night, the kids helped to mark a special moment In CDB with our House Parent Alex! *First shopping trip to Coop  * Menu agreement Chinese meal  * Menu prep and table set up * scrumptious supper * games to complete the night. It was a great evening overall 🙂

Today at the primary school children dressed up to close this term and bring a flavour of Halloween. This celebration brought so much excitement and  fun in the playground this morning.