We have opened our session with some minutes of meditation… We dimmed the lights, played some relaxing music and let ourselves go with the chilling moment.

A few minutes can be enough to create a soothing effect. Mark and Rakann voice how this tiny fraction of time made them feel relaxed and away for tension, problems, anxiety.

It was a great warmer to the topic of this meeting: “How hobbies help releasing stress.”

Everyone has a hobby and therefore a way of putting away our problems, at least for a moment.

Junior is keen on reading – he enjoys it, he acknowledges the intellectual benefits of it and he feels relaxed while reading.

Mark is keen on sports and music – when he plays his mind is away, thinking of the melody and the harmonies.

Misha plays online… which is ok, as long as within reasonable limits. He gets a sense of evasion which helps him cope with the real world.

During this Pillar we have tried to entice the boys to find ways of improving their physical and mental wellbeing, not just with sports but with any other way they feel they benefit of an improvement in their quality of living.

Research shows that people with hobbies are less likely to suffer from stress, low mood, and depression. Activities that get you out and about can make you feel happier and more relaxed. Group activities like team sports can improve your communication skills and relationships with others.

And these are things we will try to keep pushing throughout the school year.

Here is the crew that went to do some time of Community Service in the woods today, picking up some rubbish and making a good use of their Sunday afternoon to the benefit of the whole local community.

Well done to all.

We all have heard that, and we all do it… But this explanation is so concise and straight to the point that it made us all think about it and wonder about a change of practice.

Smartphones are great devices but they need to be taken into account carefully. Overusing it becomes a worrying practice.

And when it comes to sleeping, we are probably talking about the most essential function of our body. Neglecting it is a major mistake which can lead to serious damage if not addressed.

Sleeping is great, delicious and the key to a healthy life.

And for the sake of curiosity, check the 22 interesting facts below 🙂

Some of the High School teachers came for a visit… We welcomed them in our terrace, and organized for some treats to share with them and to make them feel welcome.

This is a great opportunity to get to establish a little bit more of a personal connection with them and for them to have an idea of what the life of a boarder is all about.

Teachers, if you are reading this, you are always welcome to pop up for a visit, a chat or simply to say Hi. Our doors are open 🙂

This weekend we were in Leysin, a beautiful place in the middle of the Alps.

On Saturday we were able to do some activities such as climbing, horse riding, visit the Aiger castle, accrobranching, orienteering, etc…

And today we enjoyed a lot of outdoor games in competition with the other houses of course.

We leave you some pictures so you can see how we have enjoyed it.

This little video introduced our Wellbeing session today and served as a reminder of something we all know but don’t always respect.

Sleeping is definitely one of most important functions of our body and it plays a key role in the regulation of all the other system.

Lack of sleep provokes an unhealthy balance which can have visible effects in a short and long term. Obviously one bad night of sleep is not enough to hugely disrupt our “machine” but several nights, in a row, without proper recovery can lead to several health problems and a dramatic lack of energy.

Hand in hand with it we also used our session to introduce our Boarding Counselling team who challenged us to try a few minutes of very simple meditation. The aim was simply to allow us to relax and it is visible that some took the challenge seriously while those in the back row, were quickly overwhelmed by the benefits of meditation and the help it provides to fall asleep… (everything is related 🙂 )

All in all a curious experience for some and we will surely continue to work on this in future sessions.

Aryan picks up the balls with Love in his legs 🙂

and Ayam poses for the camera 🙂

With the start of school, we have started our Boarding Programme and naturally our weekly House Assemblies.

The first one is always an important one ( they all are, but the first… is the first ) so we gathered some chocolate bars and sat down in our common room for a chat.

Among many other practicalities of our House and important notices… and after finishing the chocolate bars we entered our Wellbeing programme… (after the chocolate bars 🙂 )

Our first pillar is “Healthy bodies and minds” and for as evident and obvious this topic may be, there is always plenty to talk about, think of and apply for our personal balance.