“They let you travel without moving your feet”

– Jhumpa Lahiri

Another evening of reading flies by as the boys continue on their little travels through their books.

We learnt lot of new words today, myself included! Patrick Rothfuss has quite an extensive vocabulary.

I learnt the words askant, which means to regard something with suspicion or disapproval, and effulgent, which is when something is particularly radiant or shines brightly.

Adrian inquired after the word homeroom, which the other boys were a bit perplexed about…but then Adrian explained that in the French section, it’s called Vie Scolaire.

It’s always quite entertaining finding different ways to explain words in the context of the house, and we definitely have some very… creative…examples.

Here are some of the other words:

Calmly, Receiving, Silence, Exclaimed, Indecisive, Fortunately, Genius, Wrapped.

Wednesday are always quite a busy day, with so much going on that it goes by in the blink of an eye!

For our international dinner, we enjoyed some delicious Chinese food!

Our dear Mr. Jack reunited with the lads!

Yet another round of spot the Roner!

Nice to see that Gianni’s evolved to a thumbs up!

Matthew and Vincent, livin’ la vida loca like usual

“Wait, wait! Daniel will be here in a sec, he’s just going for round 3!”

After our House Meeting, all the boys gathered round to see their rewards for being punctual and discuss some trading strategies.

Samwise hunting for rewards, no one is safe!

This evening some of our boys celebrated the Lunar New Year by going out and enjoying a meal together!

Some of our boys stayed home, but we celebrated with them here by ordering some delicious food of our own and sitting down to eat it together here in Concha!

This evening, our very own Daniel, courageous that he is, performed for us in the High School Musical Showcase!

Tonight we enjoyed another round of our Reading Club!

We had quite a few new words tonight, and the boys had a lot of fun coming up with examples of how the words would be used.

Many words were quite similar and context was important to define them, like whisper and muttered or astonished and perturbed.

Some words made it quite clear the tone of the chapter they were reading, like paranoia, bitterly, and fitful.

Others were more whimsical, like glitter, brandish, decorate and soapy.

And then there’s copperplate…which is just fun to say.

For some of our boys, the act of preparing dumplings and eating them together during the lead up to the Lunar New Year is a common practice that is supposed to bring prosperity, luck and success in the new year, and the amount increases the more dumplings you eat!

So together with the guidance of their parents, they prepared some traditional dumplings from scratch!

Fanbo working away, smiling at the thought of how delicious these are going to be

Jiarui laser focused

Fanyang after over 30 min of chopping away! Joao stepped in as relief for a moment

Look at how green these finely chopped green onions are!

Now for assembly, an arduous process that requires focus and some dexterous hands

A little flour toss to avoid sticking

We just love it when a plan comes together

Getting all our dumplings in a row

The delicious final product. The boys did such an incredible job for their time making these by themselves!

Hello everyone!

We are back!

We’re looking forward to welcoming all of the boys back to Concha and we are excited for all that is to come in this new semester!

…a mug of hot chocolate would be nice!

The Winter Break is here! We wish you all a lovely holiday, filled with good food, quality family time, lots of fun and even more rest.

See you in the New Year!

Best,

Tarun, Manu, Zach, Steph, Jack and Victor

For his Sports Science class, Joao was tasked with cooking a high protein meal with plenty or iron and potassium to help with recovery after sport. He had to buy all the ingredients, cook them himself and plate it up!

He did quite a good job and made a very delicious and nutritious meal (details & recipe below):

Meal: Grilled Chicken Quinoa Bowl with Roasted Vegetables

• Carbohydrates: Quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes for glycogen replenishment.
• Proteins: Grilled chicken breast for muscle repair and recovery.
• Fats: Avocado slices for essential fatty acids and energy.

Micronutrients:

• Iron (from quinoa and spinach): To improve oxygen transport in the blood.
• Potassium (from sweet potatoes and avocado): To support electrolyte balance and prevent cramping.

Ingredients

• Protein: 150g grilled chicken breast (skinless, boneless)
• Carbohydrates:
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup roasted sweet potatoes (cubed)
• Fats:
• 1/2 avocado (sliced)
• 1 tsp olive oil (for roasting)

Micronutrient Sources:

• 1 cup steamed spinach
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
• Seasoning: Salt, pepper, paprika, and a squeeze of lemon (vitamin C aids iron absorption)

Preparation

• Grill Chicken: Season the chicken with paprika, salt, and pepper. Grill until cooked through.
• Cook Quinoa: Rinse and cook quinoa according to package instructions.
• Roast Sweet Potatoes: Toss cubed sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast at 200°C (400°F) for 25 minutes.
• Prepare Vegetables: Steam spinach lightly and slice avocado and tomatoes.
• Assemble: In a bowl, layer quinoa, sweet potatoes, spinach, and cherry tomatoes. Add grilled chicken and avocado slices. Top with lemon juice.

Nutritional Profile (Approximate)

• Calories: 600 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 60g
• Proteins: 40g
• Fats: 20g
• Iron: 6 mg
• Potassium: 1200 mg

Verdict: delicious.