HoHoHo! 🎅🏻

Today it was a magical day at the Concha Boarding House. We could feel the Christmasy vibe and celebrate this tradition together as a beautiful international family. Last week, it was the Winter Ball and this week is Secret Santa! You can tell we love Christmas here, right?

Few weeks ago, we got the kids together in the living room and assigned a name to each one of them, including both staff and other kids. In this way, they got the person they had to buy a present to. In addition, we also set a budget and helped them if they needed a hand (yes, we ended up knowing some of their Secret Santas…).

Today, we reunited with them in the living room and started picking up presents from the Christmas tree. It is a way for them to celebrate Christmas with us, get a nice present and also, carry unforgettable memories from this year at the Boarding House.

Let’s have a look at some of the presents our Concha boys got! ⬇️🎁

Look at this beeeeeeautiful tree! 🎄🥹

The Concha Gang is ready to open some cool presents! 🎁

Sam is obsessed with Pokémon cards… so he got some! 🃏

Zhengtai was in awe with his new badminton racket! 🏸

Kike got some chocolates and this cute dog! 🐾

Jiarui will play basketball even more with his new ball! 🏀

Basketball players are very lucky…look at Fanbo! ⛹️‍♂️

Firdavs got a lovely Lego set! 😱

I’m sure Edu will wear his new t-shirt tomorrow, no doubts! 🎽

Matthew is going to have a blast with this cool car! 🏎️

Adrian got a sports bag…and he celebrated it! 🎊

Alex will fly high with this helicopter 🚁

More Pokémon cards for Gianni! 💪🏻

Another basket ball for Tim 🏀

We already know what Fanyang is going to wear when he reunites with his family during the break… 😁

Damn, Daniel! It’s all about cars today 🏎️

Of course, another car to conclude the post. This time, Vincent’s! 🤩

⚠️ Warning: this post contains LOTS of pictures ⚠️

After waiting for weeks, the day finally arrived: the Winter Ball is here! 🥳

Yesterday was particularly busy. Although most of the kids had everything ready, some of them went to Geneva to buy last-minute clothes, get a meal with their friends to celebrate the end of the term before the ball itself or even to look for the perfect Secret Santa present (yes, we are doing Secret Santa but that is something we will deal with in upcoming posts…sorry I spoiled it 🤫).

Those who did not go to Geneva stayed in the house, getting enough rest or simply getting ready before everyone came back. All of them were wearing elegant black / navy suits, combined with matching (bow)ties and polished leather shoes or snow-white trainers. We have to admit everyone was punctual and we could make it on time to the bus.

After leaving school, we arrived at the Hilton Geneva Hotel, where the kids took pictures together, had an appetizer and incredible meal with House Parents and other children from different Boarding Houses and enjoyed a party with music they personally chose. Emir and Eduardo got the opportunity to be DJs for half of the night and people loved it! Some other students were congratulating them both on the amazing job they’d done.

Once it was all over, we spent some time chilling in the house living room and, as everyone felt a bit hungry, Mr Tarun prepared some noodles. All in all, a night to remember! 🤩

The Concha Gang ready for the night! 🤩

Arrived at the Hilton Hotel! 🇨🇭

You better not mess with these three! 😵‍💫

As I was saying, the Boarding experience is not only about connecting with the kids in our house, but also with the kids in other houses! 👏🏻

The Middle Schoolers were sitting on table 18 with Mr Tarun and Mr Víctor ⭐️

I also wanted to be in the picture! 🤪

Look at the Concha High School crew! 😱

Beautiful table decorations 🍽️🎄

What are these four up to? 🤔

Say cheeese! 🧀

Let’s state facts: we smashed the photo booth! (not literally) 📸

Say “pishloq” 🇺🇿🧀

Mr Víctor and Mr Stéphane wanted to prove they are cool too! 😎

I see some potential models here! 😮

These two get along really well! 🤓

Wish the third picture was bigger, it looks fun! 😂

Adrian and Gianni having fun with Laura Jane from Villa du Lac! 😁

Adrian and João had a blast at the party 🎊

Who are these fancy gentlemen?! 🧐

DJ Eduardo and DJ Emir will make you put your hands in the air! 🪩

Late night talks 🗣️

Noodles, made by Mr. Tarun, to go to bed with a full stomach! 😋

We all know the Christmasy feeling arrived at the Concha Boarding House last week, setting up the Christmas tree and all the decorations around the house. This week, the students channeled their creativity into building gingerbread houses for a Boarding competition.

The kids were buzzing with excitement as gingerbread walls were carefully assembled. They also decorated the house adding that “Concha touch” that could make it characteristic and different from the rest. They were very involved, which is truly inspiring.

While we don’t know the winner just yet, the judges are hard at work making their decision. Every gingerbread masterpiece deserves recognition, and the suspense is building as we wait to find out who will take home the title of Gingerbread Champion

Firdavs didn’t know where to start from! 😮‍💨

Kike was really into it 😎

Nathan adding his personal touches to the house 👏🏻

Eduardo and Javi working as a team!

Look at this beauty! 🥹

Concha’s Gingerbread House and some of the other house’s. Which one is your favourite? (We know your answer already 🤩)

Yesterday, our kids had the opportunity to visit the Christmas Market in Montreux. Some of them were already there the week before and wanted to go again to show their friends around.

Firdavs, who knows the city and the market itself really well, was the perfect tourist guide for the others. He showed them the best stands and restaurants in town to have an unforgettable Christmasy meal together.

The kids really enjoyed walking around the Market, exploring and discovering crafts, Swiss and other international flavours and witnessing the lights show! Although it was a bit crowded due to its growing popularity, the kids found it really enriching and it is a good way for them to get to know more about they country they are currently studying in! 🇨🇭

Look at this duo! 💪🏻

Zhengtai has amazing photography skills! 😱📸

The Christmas Market was busy! 🎄

Bon Appétit! 🍴

Christmas spirit filled the Concha Boarding House, as we invited the kids to help decorate the living room. With Christmasy decorations ready, the boys eagerly came downstairs and the fun began! 🎄😎

They worked together, laughing, making jokes and sharing decoration ideas. Christmas songs were being played in the background, adding to the warm and joyful atmosphere. The living room quickly transformed into a cozier place for them to stay, reflecting the creativity and teamwork of everyone involved. 💪🏻❄️

Moments like these remind us how special it is to come together, celebrate and make memories that will last well beyond the holiday season. 😁🎅🏻

It all started like this: Mr Tarun and Mr Jack bringing all the decorations from the basement 😱

What a good team! 🤗

Rodrigo and Edu adding some Mexican touches 🎄

That looks good, Zhengtai! 🤩

We love the idea Joe but please don’t fall! 😵‍💫

House picture, say cheeeeese! 🧀

Look at this beauty! 🎄

Another appreciation picture of our Concha tree

Let’s state facts: the last two days have been quite hectic at the Concha Boarding House! 😵‍💫

The kids had lots of energy to face another school week packed with adventures and anecdotes and also to study. Some of them had summative tests coming up and, as it should, they were really committed because they wanted to get good grades.

However, not everything was studying. The kids got the opportunity to get involved in a conversation about an important topic that is crucial for their wellbeing: online safety. Mr Manu and Mr Tarun taught them the basics to ensure they use their social media appropriately, raising awareness of the risks and dangers they may encounter. They asked questions and got answers that will be very useful for upcoming cyber-experiences. In Concha, the kids’ safety is our top priority! 💪🏻

Gianni, Adrian, Firdavs and Zhengtai were really focused on their studying! 🧐

Sam and Rodri practising for their upcoming piano test 🎹

Mr Tarun and Mr Manu explaining essential concepts to the kids! 🤔

As every weekend, our Concha boys had early wake-ups to go to the activities they had signed up for. Some of them chose cooking, others went for sports and others even decided to stay in to complete unfinished homework. They love Saturdays as it is normally something different each weekend, either activities in CDL or some nice new place to discover outside.

After an energetic lunch at the Léman Cafeteria, most of the boys went to downtown Geneva, to do some shopping, walk around and have a delicious snack with their friends out of campus. Most of the time, they come back with unforgettable memories and anecdotes to tell us, which we are eager to hear 😊

Edu and João with Scarlett from Portena cooking together! 🧑‍🍳

Daniel and our favourite brothers, Fanbo and Fanyang, also joined today’s cooking lesson!

Hit it hard, Jiarui! 🎾

We can tell Firdavs was really focused 🎾

We know you are going to reach the peak, Samwise! 🧗‍♂️

Say “hi” to the camera, Matthew! 👋🏻

Gotcha, Emir! 😆

Look at this crew having fun in Geneva! 🇨🇭

Sam having a fancy tea in Geneva (We can also see Rodri 👀)

Our favourite francophone duo playing some video games together 🎮

Over the last couple of months, we have realised the Concha living room has had multiple uses: study room, meeting room, office, leisure room… but now it is a movie theatre too!

Mr Tarun had this amazing idea of gathering some of the kids and watch a film together. He chose a classic: The Pirates of the Caribbean! 🏴‍☠️ Fun fact: the kids were not even born when this film first came out! (I was two years old myself, still pretty young tho). Our Concha boys really enjoyed the film and found this moment key to socialise and discover something different together. As they had fun, we came to the conclusion that this was not going to be the only time we arrange something like this.

Any suggestions for the next movie night? 🎥

They were so into it! 🤩

Shh, Mr Víctor! We are watching a film! 🤫

This month of November, the Fitness Challenge is taking place at CDL. Yesterday’s (November 10th) challenge was all about making fun short videos promoting physical activity. 🏋️

During the day, Concha’s House Parents and House Tutors got some of the kids to volunteer and take part in some of the videos that were sent, in an attempt to win yesterday’s challenge. We tried different sports out, danced and even had time to make some memes out of the short clips we filmed! 😂

Besides the kids, the House Team got really involved, Mr Zach was an outstanding cameraman, Mr Víctor did the editing and Mr Jack, as always, tried to foster that sporty spirit in them and even appeared in one of the videos! Do we have a potential model here? 👀

The first video is called “How to become a Boarding Superstar”, and features some of our Concha Boys playing sports. The second video, however, is a funny one, where Emir boxes as if it were a way to get ready for school after the weekend 😂

Yesterday, Friday November 8th, was Alex’s birthday! 🎉

Let’s state facts: he was lucky! Yesterday there was no school, due to the Parents-Teachers meetings and he could enjoy some time off in beautiful Geneva, where he got some treats! After that, we got a chocolate cake and gathered all of the Concha boys in the living room and sang Happy Birthday to him! 🥧

And the truth is, no matter how far they are from their countries and /or families and friends, they feel like home in Concha thanks to this cool international community they’ve created! 🤩🌍

Alex’s in good company with the Concha boys! ✌️