This week the tournaments continued and Leman put forward a worthy team for the Basketball.

They competed against the Concha Attack team and were victorious.

This Weekend Mr Usher gave students the amazing opportunity to enjoy some time on the Lake. In the schools speed boat, they jetted to Geneva and back enjoying the warm water spray and views from the middle of the lake.

Another beautiful weekend here on campus with plenty of opportunities for the students to enjoy the many activities on offer. With the sun shining it was the ideal time for them to get out and enjoy the wonderful scenery we have so close.

On-campus we had- badminton, table tennis, horseriding, cooking, tennis, biking, running club, golf, chess, body shaping, stretching, speed boating and our sports complex Olympus.

We also had the option of a visit to Nyon to explore the city and see the Castle.

Please do talk to your son to see which of these options he took part in.

Leading on from our explanation of the Teenage Brain– The part of the brain called the prefrontal cortex is the last to fully develop and is responsible for critical thinking and behaviour control. From young, we learn there are consequences and learn how to make decisions. However, under the age of 13, children do not have abstract thinking skills. At that age, they are operational in their thinking. This means they understand only what is tangible and in their own environment- these are things they can see, smell, taste, hear touch etc. Conceptual thinking only starts in the teen years when they start to understand grey areas of decisions or theory. Understanding an action has consequences demands that the person understands all aspects of a decision before making that informed choice.

Therefore we as House Parents need to adjust our expectations to suit the age of development they are at. Consequences should never be given to punish a decision. We need to first help a student problem solve an alternative solution, instead of paying for their behaviour with a punishment.

Ultimately we know students will at times make the wrong decisions. However, we need them to understand these decisions, not just in relation to breaking a rule, but rather the harm they can cause to themselves, others, relationships, the community, their reputation etc.

We would much rather they take Active Responsibility for their actions.

Passive responsibility is when you do not break any rules for the fear of being held accountable by teachers or house parents, and consequently being punished.

Active responsibility is when you follow the rules because you understand that boundaries are a form of self-care and rules are there to protect you and to ensure a safe and healthy school (and house) environment for all of us!

The question for any parents is how do you get a teen to that stage. Can they learn this through education or through experiencing only the negative consequences of their actions?

During the week we started up our volleyball tournament again. Now that restrictions are starting to allow team sports the Leman House put the best together and competed against Olympus.

And we WON!

On Wednesday night we started our Basketball Tournament after many months of not being able to do so. It is another small step towards a positive future of normality and being able to do our team sports again.

Leman played against Olympus and was victorious on the court winning 38-32 and onto the next round.

After our Boarding Assembly last week and sharing the Pillar with the students, this week we start on debunking myths and understanding the process of the brain.

We watched a quick video explaining the key aspects of;

• Adolescent Brain Myths
• Pruning
• Myelin
• Use it or Lose it Pinciple
• Neuroplasticity
• Integrated Brain
• Pathway to Wellbeing

The students watched attentively as I gave them each a different question at the beginning that they had to answer at the end 🙂

As are now in the middle of Spring it is the prime time to get our Leman Terrace ready to be enjoyed. We have a whole host of outdoor furniture which the boys can relax on and get their vitamin D. For the boys who are a little more active and keen on their fitness we have the Pull Up Bar, Dip Bar and Boxing Bag. We also have our table tennis set up and ready.

In addition, we have now started planting out our flower and vegetable garden. We have some seeds planted which are starting to come through and got a little head start with some grown plants too. We are hoping for a nice offering of tomatoes, peppers, radishes, courgettes and strawberries.

This weekend we had a quest, to see which team could be the best.

They unlocked the riddle to a place, then answered questions as part of the race.

The campus of full of energy and smiles, with Champ des Bois victorious in the trials!

This past weekend there was again another great offering of activities.

We had tennis, badminton, biking, woodcrafting, running club, chess club, horse riding, cooking, photography, golf, bodyshaping, laser tag and a day trip to Morges!

Please do talk to your son about what they took advantage of.

We are now entering our 5th Pillar- Making Safe and Responsible Choices.

This topic traverses every aspect of life and indeed touches nicely on all other Pillars too. As we grow and mature we learn through exposure, experimentation and making sense of our surroundings. Adolescence is an important time for this happening and this is what we will be focusing on this Pillar.

The ESSENCE of teen brain and the science behind the decision-making process.

The objectives are to:

• Debunk some of the most misleading and disempowering myths around adolescence
• Explore how changes in brain structure during adolescence are just part of natural, innate, and healthy development which simply prepares teens for grown-up life
• Being aware of this process and honouring this unique and fascinating moment in our life, can help teens and adults (caregivers) alike to support each other
• Explore how the awareness of upsides and downsides of the different cardinal features of adolescence can help our kids to develop a fully integrated mind, and reduce and contain the risks of harm and serious injuries. At the same time, this awareness can help educators (and parents) to bring a more empathic and compassionate approach when interacting with, looking after, and guiding adolescents during these tumultuous years.

Welcome Back to Leman 1

It is nice to have the house full again and to hear everyone’s stories about their adventures during the holiday.

It is lovely we are now in spring and feel the weather changing which is energising everyone. We are looking forward to being able to start our Lake Programme and take advantage of the lovely activities there.

We hope everyone enjoys their well deserved Holiday.

Come back refreshed, motivated and excited for the last part of the school year.

A wonderful video to demonstrate the importance of not giving out personal information to strangers! Who are your followers?

@thatboardingvibeOnline Safety skit ##besafeonline ##thatboardingvibe ##wellbeing ##onlinesafety ##privacy ##teachkids ##pillar4 ##boardinglife ##🇨🇭 ##keepsafe ##fyp ##kidsafety♬ original sound – CDLivin’

Instagram, SnapChat, Facebook, TikTok – these are the most common social media platforms used in Leman 1. The platforms encourage users to share content and be rewarded with likes, hearts and comments. We all have an internal want to be liked and this is fed by the satisfaction of seeing your post or picture commented favourably on, or liked by all your friends.

As users gain this gratification there also then becomes a competitive element with friends, as to who gains the most interactions on their post. Somehow those who do better on these platforms become influencers and therefore role models for others. And in turn, people aspire to also having a following and growing their friends and followers.

This means that users who do not set their account to private, end up accumulating followers who they do not know. Amassing 100’s of followers to their account and now feeling the pressure to continue posting to feed this audience. Showing off their life in a favourable way to again gain the interaction from their followers.

So what is the problem with this?

Students can become vulnerable if they find themselves in this dilemma. They open up their lives to strangers. This then exposes them to the possibility of harassment, loss of privacy, stalking, bullying, identify theft, unwanted contact and predators. With anonymity online it becomes very difficult to know who is behind a username or profile. We, therefore, need to make sure our students are educated on how to deal with these vulnerabilities.

We teach our kids from a young age not to talk to strangers in the real world. But now a portion of their “real-world” is online.

This is the penultimate weekend before Spring Break. Positivity is high as people look forward to their holidays, the weather is changing and the days are brighter!

We again had an action-packed weekend with a lot of sign-ups from Leman 1. If you do not hear your son talking about their weekend activities then please do encourage them to take advantage of everything on offer.

This weekend we had Tennis, Badminton, Table Tennis, Fitness, Cooking, Horseriding, Biking, STEAM club, Running club, Photography, Chess club, Body Shaping, Stretching and not forgetting that opportunities to enjoy the nature around us.

Today March 21st is International Forest Day.

We have many wonderful forest parks and trails within the close vicinity of the school. We try to encourage the students over the weekend to get out and refresh themselves in nature. Sometimes in our busy lives we do not take the time to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us. Through the Wellbeing Programme, getting outside and enjoying nature has touched every Pillar.

Pillar 1- Healthy Body and Mind– Get out and get active!

Pillar 2- Promoting Diversity and Protecting against Bullying – Respect is a mutual thing in all relationships, including ours with the environment and nature.

Pillar 3- Building Positive Relationships– Learning to build resilience and ways to relax- such as walks

Pillar 4- Online Safety– Finding ways to detach from our devices and enjoy some outdoor time.

Versoix Forest

As part of Pillar 4, we are looking at the topic of Whats Goes Online Stays Online.

The internet is now part of our everyday lives, whether this is in School, Work or our Social Time. We have instant access to knowledge, entertainment, communication and being connected with others. Most of our students use a form of Social Media in their daily use of the internet. The major ones being SnapChat, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, VK, WhatsApp, WeChat, YouTube etc.

This is a great way for remaining in contact with our loved ones and friends no matter where they are in the world. We can also document our travels, adventures and life with pictures and follow others. With the ease of access, it allows us to be connected to those we find inspirational or enjoy the entertainment of.

However, when we post a picture, or make a comment, or write a blog- we need to be conscious that when it goes online, it stays online. 

A picture that we think is funny, may not appear that way to everyone. Indeed, once it is online and people can see it, then we are no longer in control of it as they can download, share it, pass it on, or post it elsewhere. We therefore, need to be conscious of whether we would feel comfortable with other people seeing that picture- parents, teachers, university, employers….

Even something we send in private to a friend – once it is in their possession we are no longer in control with what happens to it.

This becomes even more worrying when we share things publically or with hundreds of followers, subscribers or ‘friends’ who we don’t know.

Next week we will be focusing on Who are your followers?

The first weekend back after the February break and we again had it action-packed. While many of the boarders were up in the slopes enjoying the fresh snow, we still had many back on campus enjoying the activities on offer. This weekend it included tennis, badminton, table tennis, cooking, horse riding, fitness, chess, photography, Olympus facilities and a day trip to Vevey!

We had our final Ski day of 2021 on the slopes of Verbier and La Tzoumaz.

This was a well enjoyed day by all and one that will hopefully stay in the memory of those who took the opportunity.

Check out the view!

@thatboardingvibeWait for the hand trail, so slick ##thatboardingvibe ##skiday ##verbier ##swissmountains ##🇨🇭##boardinglife ##swisstourism ##snowboarding ##wellbeing ##suisse♬ Dynamite – BTS

Continuing our Wellbeing Programme we have now started our 4th Pillar. This will be on Online Safety.

This is an extremely important topic for this generation. We know that our students spend more time than we would like on their phones and laptops.  Much of this leisure time is spent on social media. While we know the benefits of this in staying connected with our family and friends, there are also things that can make us vulnerable online. These include things such as bullying, privacy, identify theft and harassment. It is therefore imperative we ensure our students have the tools to stay safe online and keep their activity healthy.

We will therefore be focusing on three elements under this umbrella term;

What Goes Online, Stays Online

Who are those Followers?

Online Harassment

For this upcoming week we will be focusing on the thought- ‘What Goes Online, Stays Online’.

Last night we celebrated the Chinese New Year.

祝你牛年吉祥

This is the year of the Ox. Oxen are the hard workers in the background, intelligent and reliable, but never demanding praise.

The dining room was decorated to add some atmosphere to the occasion and the kitchen really impressed us with the meal provided.

It is important in the International community that we have in boarding, that we share in each other’s celebrations.

This links in with our first wellbeing pillar of promoting Diversity.

It was a wonderful occasion, enjoyed by all. We wish all our family and friends a successful and prosperous year.

This weekend we had another one of our Ski Days. These are proving to be very enjoyable and gaining great feedback from the students. This weekend we were split between the two resorts Les Crossets and Morgins. We had an extra surprise when the sky turned a strange hue of yellow. This was not a photographic error but rather a rare meteorological phenomenon that occurs around three times a year in Switzerland due to dust sand travelling from the north-west African Sahara Desert and upward towards Europe.

@thatboardingvibeHow was your ski day? ##thatboardingvibe ##bau ##snowdays ##skiday ##campsrock ##wellbeing ##boardinglife ##swiss ##morgins ##cdl ##smiletoday ##lovelife ##thatsky

♬ Monster – LUM!X & Gabry Ponte

As part of our Wellbeing Pillar 3 Community project. We created a video ask the House some questions about their perceptions of friendship. Enjoy

As part of our Wellbeing Pillar 3- Building Positive Friendships, we are looking into peer pressure. We are all familiar with the feeling of being coerced to do something by our friends. Feeling that in order to fit in, or not be judged negatively, or to gain influence or credit, that we do something we ordinarily would not feel comfortable doing.

This week we explored whether Peer Pressure can also be positive. Can that pressure from friends be felt in a positive way. To instil motivation in us, or self-confidence, or help us grow.

Continuing the schools effort to celebrate the motto of R.I.S.E. this coming week will be Respect Week. To show our contribution to this effort, the Boarding Community demonstrated how we Respect the environment. On Sunday every Boarding House was challenged with caring for a particular part of Versoix. The boys of Leman undertook the forest paths behind the school and armed with tongs and bags, they cleared the area of any trash and recyclable items.

This year we are having ski days! For 5 Saturdays throughout the next couple of months, we will be offering the students the opportunity to do a full day of skiing. These are at local resorts in Switzerland which we can easily get to for the day. This Saturday we were split between the resorts of Villars and Leysin

We have continued this 2nd semester with our Wellbeing Programme. We are now onto our 3rd Pillar which is Building Positive Friendships. While this title may seem simple and straightforward, there is a lot more context behind it. Friendships are without a doubt an important and essential part of our existence as humans. We are sociable beings and now more than ever like to be connected with people. It is however important that these Friendships are positive, that the relationship is healthy, symbiotic and mutual. And finally, within the Boarding context, we are given the instant opportunity to build new relationships as soon as we arrive, from the diverse population we have. Therefore, bringing these three features together we understand its important we share without students how to Build Positive Friendships.

Within this Pillar, we will be looking at

• Authentic Connections
• The Power of Listening
• Peer Pressure
• Conflict
• Changing Friendships
• Online Friendships

In addition, we will be asking the students to again be working towards and Individual and Community Project.