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! ✌️

Today, we had a special dinner at home! 🍽️

Instead of going to the Léman Cafeteria as usual, we got some food delivered. The theme of this dinner was the United States, so we had some American food to have a House Dinner together 🇺🇸

Besides premium quality burgers, we got some vegetables and apple pies, to make sure the kids follow the balanced healthy diet we want them to get used to. Some of them sat around the table and others on the sofas, chatting friendly while enjoying a tasty dinner together. This is a good initiative to connect with one another and foster communication using either English or French, which makes the kids put their linguistic and social skills into practice 🗣️

We will soon have another dinner at home but, for now, we will enjoy the food from the school’s cafeteria as usual. Stay tuned for more updates about the Concha Boarding House! 🤩

Food’s ready to be served!

Mr Zach and Mr Jack serving the food and organising the queue!

Emir is ready to have dinner!

These two are such good friends!

Say “cheeeeeese” 🧀📸

Mr Jack and Mr Ishaan were in the middle of an interesting conversation with Alex 👀

Look at this crew! 🤪

A couple of days ago, Rodrigo surprised us with a drone he got during his holidays between Mexico and the States. Today, he spent a nice time outside the house using it and exploring the surroundings with Firdavs and Kike. They used it as well, which demonstrates how generous and friendly he is!

With this drone, they can see the house from above and even prank some of us (yes, I have had a “suspicious” drone behind me a couple of times…I guess whose it is! But the truth is that in this way they get to spend more time together, laugh and discover tucked away places to explore in a nearby future. Guess we will have to organise another spooky walk if they find an interesting place to visit! 👻

It’s gonna take off in no time! 🛫

Firdavs was learning how to use it, and Rodrigo was a good mentor! 🧑🏻‍🚀

Spot the drone 👀

Another weekend in the Concha Boarding House that starts in a sweet way: pancakes! 🤩🥞

Mr Tarun got everything needed to prepare the best pancakes the kids could have ever tried, from flour and milk to different toppings to make the pancakes tastier. While sitting around the table, we shared experiences and fun holiday stories. This is a nice way to connect with one another and discover new yet unknown aspects of each one of us. 😇

As you might know, in the Concha Boarding House we are a bunch of foodies. That is the reason why we are thinking of preparing a more Swiss-style food evening in the house… You will see, it’s on the works! 🤫

P.S.: By the way, it’s all of us in the house again! Rodrigo just arrived today from his autumn break. After having some lovely weeks of holidays between Mexico and the United States, he has enough energy to keep on being the brilliant student he was before the break! 💪🏻

Mr Tarun was so concentrated while making the pancakes!

Look at this crew! 🤪

Firdavs waiting for his pancakes 🙂

Tim 🤝🏼 Nutella

Daniel ate three pancakes!

Welcome back Rodri!

Time flies, especially when all the experiences lived are full of joy!

We still remember the very first days when our Concha boys were gradually arriving. Some of them were more talkative, others barely spoke, were homesick or simply trying to get used to living in a completely different environment that was not the norm for them. However, time has passed by and a friendly international community has been formed in the Boarding House.

In order to make the most of this last day, the kids have tried to spend as much quality time together as possible: at lunch, in Olympus or in the house! We organised a house sleepover in the living room for their last memory before the Autumn Break to be unforgettable.

Fanbo and Fanyang (aka The Coolest Concha Brothers) chilling before going to dinner. Look at Javi in the back coming from his Horse Riding practice! 🤠

Alex, Emir and Mr Víctor (hey, that’s me!) having dinner together 😎

Tim, Javi, Emir and Ariel with Mr Tarun enjoying their last meal together 🍽️

Meanwhile in the house, Firdavs was getting everything ready for his flight back home ✈️🇺🇿

Come on Sam, time is running out! ⏳

Of course, Tim had to play basketball before leaving 🏀

Vincent felt like playing badminton before the sleepover 🏸

Ready for a cool movie night followed by a sleepover in the living room! 🎬🍿💤

Wish you all a restful breaks. We look forward to hearing your break stories once you are back in the house!

See you in two weeks, lads! 👋🏻

Mr Tarun, Mr Manu, Mr Zach, Mr Steph, Mr Jack and Mr Víctor