Congratulations to the Léman basketball team who won the second place at the tournament against Zurich International School !!! We are particularly proud of our two boys, Teodoro and Roi who did an amazing job in the team. They are not only making us proud but the whole school.
Tonight we are celebrating Amirhossein’s birthday with a delicious cheese cake. What a blissful moment with his closest friends. Happy birthday Amirhossein !!!
Our weekly wellbeing session, evolved around signals that can be good or bad in terms of how a friendship is developing. Surely we are all aware of this but when we observe another person’s behavior and attitude we get triggered in a positive way when they do something that is reassuring and caring, or negative with it’s the opposite.
The activity proposed was to run a Kahoot, and spot some red, yellow or green flags which can guide us to assess the situation.
Congratulations to Aydan who scored the highest score… we trust he is a good friend 🙂 More important than that was to reflect on how these signs can be read and how to react to them. There are no fully right or wrong answers and it’s for each one to identify what they consider to be a decent code of ethics and a pattern on behavior in a healthy friendship.
This weekend, the Leman boys had to split up in two different locations. The juniors of the house went back to Leysin where they could continue to enjoy winter activities such as skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, etc. In addition, they had the opportunity to go to a spa where they could relax during the afternoon and also had fun at the toboggan park, what a lot of laughs they had!
The seniors could go to Crans Montana, where they enjoyed skiing and snowboarding.
They had a great time and enjoyed this weekend off campus!
Today we have a very double special celebration as our two prefects Roi and Yosuke turn 18 and 19 respectively.
A moment to remember with friends and family from Leman …
Happy Birthday Roi and Yosuke !!
Momo’s Geography Teacher challenged him to envision and create a sustainable city. He worked extensively to create a centre engineered to improve environmental impact through precise urban planning, renewable energies and good management.
We later realised that this eco-friendly goal was achieved right in front of our eyes as many Leman students and HouseParents worked sustainably together to help Momo complete his fantastic project.
Well done Momo!!
This take away point is particularly relevant as we all have been involved in a situation of this kind… as a “microagressor” or as a “microaggressed”.
We have all shared jokes where we comment about someone’s nationality, sexual orientation, creed, physical appearance, etc… There is no denying about that.
However we agreed that it’s important to think on how the receiver of the joke might perceive it. Will he be affected? Does he take it well or is he vulnerable? Has he had a good day or has he had some traumatic experiences related to this topic?
Despite not having a harmful intention, microaggressions can have a deeper impact in the receiver, and more surprisingly, unexpected ones.
The take-away point is to raise awareness on how sensitive this can be and perhaps, build a stronger awareness on how our words can affect those around us.
Something to follow and observe in the coming months… 🙂
The Boarding House wishes an happy birthday to Masafumi ! He had the chance to enjoy a good chocolate cake with his close friends. What a good time !
We are glad to say that we had a wonderful week-end in Leysin ! Over the week-end our boys enjoyed many winter activities. A lot of them decided to conquer the swiss slopes by going skiing or snowboarding with an instructor. If going on the slopes were not their cup of tea, they visited the magnificent glacier 3000 where they enjoyed the fresh air and the views. For the most adventurous ones, the tobogganing activity certainly gave them strong sensations ! At night, they had the chance to discover and enjoy typical mountain dishes such as raclette. On Sunday, they could either go back on the slopes, take some time to study or go ice skating. So good to see the boys so happy !!
We are glad to say that we had a wonderful week-end in Leysin ! Over the week-end our boys enjoyed many winter activities. A lot of them decided to conquer the swiss slopes by going skiing or snowboarding with an instructor. If going on the slopes were not their cup of tea, they visited the magnificent glacier 3000 where they enjoyed the fresh air and the views. For the most adventurous ones, the tobogganing activity certainly gave them strong sensations ! At night, they had the chance to discover and enjoy typical mountain dishes such as raclette. On Sunday, they could either go back on the slopes, take some time to study or go ice skating. So good to see the boys so happy !!
What are the qualities of a good friend ? What do we look for when we have a friend ?
Just to have a more accurate view of the opinions we have ran a quick survey on the main feature that our boys look for in a friend. We won’t be surprised to see that the 5 main answers are totally linked they naturally they complement each other and are deeply rooted in our sense of affection and bonding.
The main one was loyalty but this can be a form of respect. Caring is a sign of trust and support… and it was interesting to see that Love appeared a few times as the sum up of what friendships are about.
This exercise allowed us to reflect on something so simple and innocent as the way we bond with other people and how naturally we are inclined to get closer with people who inspire us some of these nobles values.
Many other answers were given, some of them mentioned once or twice… Brotherhood, Honour, Company, Help, Honesty…
… aren’t they all valid as well?
We bring you the winter edition of The Philosophy Society.
In it, you will be able to read opinions expressed by students and address different topics. Have a look at it!
Besides, Otabek, a boy from Léman, is the chairman of this society.
After the first week of classes, we have reached the weekend and the boys have been able to enjoy the activities on the campus. As always we had our hours of tennis, climbing, horse riding and cooking class with the chef, where this time they cooked cordon bleu and mashed potatoes. As a special activity, they had Laser Tag. Leman played against Olympus, where they drew. So, we will have to see in another field to have a tiebreaker and a winner.
We have now entered a new chapter of our Wellbeing Program which is Pillar 3 and centers on Building Positive Friendships and Relationships.
As Parents, we try to motivate our students to understand the values and skills that will help form these positive connections as having friends can greatly help them learn about themselves and the uniqueness of others. Friendship experiences teach us how to build successful relationships, handle conflict and contribute positively to the lives of others. We are certain that our students will experience many joys and challenges among friends and everyone plays a key role in helping to understand how to process their positive and negative experiences.
To launch this important reflection we interviewed some of our Leman boys and asked the following question:
What qualities do you look for in a friend?
Have a look at their opinions:
All the Léman team wishes you a wonderful new year ! We are delighted to welcome back our amazing students to the boarding house. As we are entering the second semester, we will have amazing activities such as the mountain week-end, the trip to Rome and Finland and outstanding weekend activities. Welcome back everybody !
This evening our talented Jason took on this Musical challenge and joined the WATU Winter Concert in aid of one of our school’s charities. Whether he was playing or singing, he was enjoying every minute and we are proud he joined his fellow Musicians.
Well done Jason!
The whole Léman family at the Boarding Winter Ball 2023!!!
This annual celebration commemorates the successful thwarting of the Duke of Savoy’s attempt to gain control over Geneva. It includes a unique food tradition that involves chocolate.
Each year, the citizens of Geneva take part in the tradition of smashing a chocolate marmite (cauldron). Decorated with the city’s colors — red and yellow, the cauldron also features its coat of arms. People typically smash it on December 12, and there is a specific ritual that accompanies this process. Within a family household, for example, the youngest and the oldest join hands and recite the phrase, “Ainsi périrent (or périssent) les ennemis de la République.” This translates to something like, “Thus perished (or perishes) the enemies of the Republic!” Then, they smash the chocolate cauldron with their clasped fists.
The attack of the Savoyards on Geneva took place during the evening of December 11, 1602. That night, when the soldiers arrived and the church bells sounded the alarm, the citizens of Geneva took it upon themselves to stop the invasion. Legend has it that Mère Royaume, a woman who was cooking a pot of soup, threw her cauldron and its scalding contents out the window to prevent the enemy from advancing. Although a rather violent act, it symbolizes the spirit of the Genevois during this battle. Regular citizens taking the initiative to protect their city! And, succeeding! To honor the occasion, chocolatiers in Geneva began creating cauldrons that are made of chocolate and filled with sweet little marzipan versions of Mère Royaume’s vegetables. The cauldron tradition apparently did not become established until the 1880s.
Thank you to Amir, our Head-boy who read the script of this historical event to our new students who then enjoyed the sweets and the chocolate 🙂
Last Saturday, Liusen took part in a fencing tournament in Martigny. The team won the bronze medal which made us very proud. This has only just begun however our Leman boy has shown immense dedication and we are very happy to see him back in tournaments perfecting his art. We look forward to seeing how his fencing year continues …
Léman House was massively represented in the Awards Ceremony for the Semester 1.
Our Boarding House is now with lots of “medalists” for their fantastic achievements in these first few months of the year.
The first award of the night was for Boarding Life. The students who get this award represent the identity of Boarding through their commitment towards others, respect for the rules, sense of community and positive energy. Our winners are Liusen, Adi, Masafumi, Apollo and Léon.
The Activities Award goes to the students who show excellence by making the most of the endless opportunities in terms of evening and weekend activities, who push and challenge themselves to new heights and achievements. These 5 boys, Teo, Ignacy, Stefan, Antoni and Léon are our heroes.
Then we move on with the Academic Awards.
Adi with the best average score in Seconde ( French Section )…
… Aijuka in Première ( French Section ).
Antonio for the best score in IG2.
Liusen and Apollo in Grade 10 (with the other winners).
Antoni ( with the other winners ) in IB1.
Roi, Amir and Amirhossein for Grade 12 and IBCP2.
A special mention to Jinde and Yosuke for their awards as well in grade 11 and IB2.
We are immensely proud of all of you and are looking forward to seeing everyone get more awards during the year.
Léman Rocks 😀
This weekend, the boys built a gingerbread house. The idea was to make a replica of our house, Leman. Judge for yourselves, but it looks great and has the bearing of many of the boys. Let’s hope we win! Let’s go Leman!
