Calm down time and having a little read with the Grade 8s. It is nice to see them in their own worlds and how their vocabulary is flourishing each time we run through the tricky words.

Top words of the evening:

Resignedly: (adverb) in a way that expresses giving in to the insistence of another or to circumstances beyond one’s control.

Busted: (adjective) in trouble; caught doing something bad or wrong.

Hyper: (adjective) overexcited; overstimulated.

Fanbo, Javi & Firdavs – Caught in the plot.

Jiarui found a quiet spot to himself.

Well done to our young ones for being great students. Our Head of Boarding Mr. Usher wanted to give a big thank you to the students for being great examples here at Collège du Léman. Our Concha representatives are Alex, Juze, Eduardo and Fanyang – good job boys and keep it up!

Congratulations!

Juze & Fanyang on stage.

Boarding and Crans Montana are back together. Unbelievable weather, skiing, snowboarding, ice-skating, sledging, snowshoeing, bowling. It was non-stop fun and activities for everyone in boarding. Our boys showed respect towards their ski instructors and all House Parents on duty in the mountains. They really showed great effort skiing and snowboarding, the beginners enjoyed their first experience in the Swiss Alps and really tried their best. Well done everyone!

Not a cloud in sight

Sam was selected once again to represent Collège du Léman and joined the basketball team. This time the Panthers traveled for a tournament against 10 other teams. Sam  played really well contributing to his team with, and I quote, ”Quite a lot of points”. We’re sure he’s being modest. So proud of this young talent and great to see him trying his best to succeed in all areas of his life.

He’s cooking!

Another calm night in the common area with our young Grade 8s, each reading their chosen books. It’s wonderful to see their vocabulary progressing as we go over and log in their reading diaries key words they may have misinterpreted or not understood. 

Adrian is deep in another world and Firdavs is distracted by the camera.

Javi and Sam doing great and Jerry too – but needs to work on that posture.

Jiarui and Fanbo find it more comfy on the beanbags.

Our boys ceremonially make sure to visit Olympus Gym every evening. They usually practice their hooping skills and tonight wasn’t any different. Check out these epic pics of the Concha Team balling together!

Which way is he going?

This way? – That way?

It’s a Fanbo Fade-away!!

Another great Saturday morning at the climbing gym filled with great energy. After a gentle warm-up, our boys were eager to climb and get on the wall.

Quique is showing that he can keep up with the others as he moves up to another grade of climbing difficulty. Firdavs had fun swinging from the top when he completed his climbs. João was once again relentless and his determination is admirable, his arms will most definitely be sore later on today. Rodrigo’s cool and calm style of climbing is a joy to watch, he’s a natural and his flow is something special.

We hope to see these boys more often in the Climbing Club because, separately they are all good climbers but seeing them work together today as team can only lead to greater success. Awesome stuff lads!

Quique battling with the top of this boulder problem.

Fist bump for Firdavs

A face-off between João and his nemisis!

Rodrigo’s posing while climbing – too easy!

Climbing Club is always a hit with our young boarders. This weekend many of our Concha boys joined the club. After the warm up, we worked on basic techniques like keeping arms straight, body positioning and footwork.

This sport really drives the boys determiation, problem solving skills, strength and resilience. Every time they complete a boulder problem it’s giving them necessary life skills that young ones need. Today it was finding the way to push through and do a difficult climb that took many attempts, however, in day to day life they may need to study harder for a subject they are struggling with or prepare for a challenging test. If they can apply the motivation and mental strength they used in the climbing gym to these everyday experiences, they are destined for success!

Firdavs made it to the TOP!

João, focused and in the zone.

Sharing techniques about how to solve the boulder problem.

Fanbo’s turn to show us how it’s done.

Let’s see what we can learn from João’s skills.

Tim’s going to give it his best try now!

Smooth moves from Rodrigo, almost dancing on the wall!

Double success and double victory hang from Firdavs and Rodrigo – Well Done!

A great day of climbing for Rodrigo, he really pushed himself to the next level!

The kitchen in Concha is getting lots of use lately and while at the beginning of the year our boys were not very experienced chefs, they are now making delicious meals for themselves and their friends. Fanyang made perfect egg noodles with pork, vegetables and a spicy sauce.

We have quite a few good cooks in the house and it might be time to put together our own Master Chef cooking competion, I’m sure the judges would be impressed.

Chef Fanyang and two lucky customers

Winding down after a very eventfull weekend and getting back into the weekly routine. The boys have a few important tests coming up and are studying hard together at the desk.