Who should we fear? In any case, great job Kotaro for this detailed and accurate carving of our Halloween pumpkin… The scariest job ever

Well done and thank you to Taichi and Ayam for taking part on this initiative. It is great to see you aware of the needs of the society around you and above all, caring about the school and the lovely environment around us.

The community appreciates your efforts.

Our first break of the year has arrived. Time to relax and enjoy for a week before coming back, slightly refreshed for a push until Winter break.

Quite a lot to celebrate but quite a lot to prepare too so we wish everyone a wonderful time and we looking forward to seeing you all soon next week.

Enjoy your break.

Show day… for weeks Aryan, Justin and Albion have been rehearsing for the drama show.

It was nice to see them on stage. Albion and Justin brought to stage a poem while Aryan was part of the cast of “The Prophet”. The boys did great and it was even more interesting that the audience was invited to discuss with all the actors after their show to discuss ideas and ask questions about how they built their characters or how they felt on stage.

Well done to everyone and thank you for a nice evening 🙂

What to do on a rainy weekend?

Meet Ayam the Chef, proudly showing his Pizza Calzone done in Cooking Club on Saturday

Sunday was the bake-off. Cake was at the menu. Ayam the chef, seconded by his apprentice Junior, the chef-to-be, worked on a marble cake to be presented for the House Competition.

The visual result is great… I am not telling you about the taste because you might want to try it too 🙂

Great job Ayam!:)

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 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.