The score is not important… Participating is the key…

PS- But WE won 😀

Our topic today was focused on the complexity of the human brain during adolescence.

This topic could have given food for thought ( and conversation for hours ) but we have used a nice summary in the shape of this great video by Dan Siegel.

Despite being a short video it gives us a nice introduction to processes like Pruning and Myelin formation which are extremely important to youngsters.

In short, it is important to retain that a teenager’s brain is in constant development, it changes everyday and it is far from completing its maturing. In fact, adolescence is an extremely exciting period where the brain suffers a lot of challenging dynamics which, when nurtured and guided, allow the teenager to develop in a balanced and creative way.

As a part of ourselves, which command all our ideas, feelings and thoughts, it is essential to keep our brain in great shape and allow it to blossom ( with good amounts of sleep, a healthy diet and regular exercise – mental and physical ).

A quick discussion was held about how easy it is to take decisions. While Aryavir claimed it was easy to follow your gut feeling, Junior argued that “no, a serious decision needs to be pondered and can’t be taken lightly”. The agreement was that of course it depends on the impact and complexity of the decisions. One cannot compare deciding between pizza or tacos and which university to apply to.

With the opening of the final term of this year we enter as well in our final Wellbeing Pillar.

This Pillar has the peculiarity of embodying all the teachings and lessons from the previous ones and reaches out for something that is and will always in our lives.

Making responsible choices is certainly one of the most challenging things in one’s life and it is not always an easy task.

As teenagers, students are faced with the overwhelming responsibility of making choices which may affect forever (or for a long time) their lives… and often a lot of pondering, maturing and reflection is needed. Then these choices may prove to be right or wrong and it is our job as individuals to be ready to face it, take on the consequences and eventually learn from these situations. Let’s face it… sometimes what seemed to be the best choice, happens not to be. It’s life.

In a senior House like ours, this is even more evident as students need to focus and decide on such important matters as choosing which Universities to apply to. Where to study next? How will I manage on my own..?

The list exhaustive, endless and there is no specific key for this, but common sense, listening to sound advice and thorough reflection can help a lot.

These will be the key take-away points for this Pillar:
• The ESSENCE of teen brain and the science behind decision making process
• Consequences
• Self-discipline

Students will be given only two choices for their Individual Projects. They will have to
join either:
• The discipline revolution project, or
• The happiness project

More information will follow. It’s your decision to come again to this blog 😀

Easter break tasted great for all of us but it is now time to come back for the final term.

With the sunnier days around us, we face the end of the school year but never forgetting the safety measures. We are heading in the right direction. Many more activities are going to be available and even in Geneva one can sit in a terrace and enjoy a drink ( soft drink ) or an ice-cream by the lake… But let’s keep ourselves safe until the end.

Welcome back everyone 😀

It’s the end of a long, fulfilling and intense term that started right after New Year.

Before we attack the final term of the school year, everybody is happy to enjoy a deserved break. Days have been full with skiing, activities, schoolwork, bonding, celebrating and wellbeing.

If one looks at the posts below, one can have a proper glimpse of how rich this term was and how together, the boys have fought and in the majority of the cases, achieved the goals they had for this period.

Now it is however time to relax for a couple of weeks, enjoy the first rays of sun of an announced Spring and recharge batteries for the final push. As we return we will be focusing on Making Responsible Choices: a topic that affects us all, in our lives, regardless of our age and experience. We are all called to take decisions and be accountable for them, therefore it is really important we make them right and in full awareness of what is at stake.

That will be our next and final Wellbeing Pillar for the year.

But in the meantime… have a wonderful time, everyone. See you in a couple of weeks. 🙂