Yesterday our girls performed their musical choices in front of their class after been practiced the whole year in their music lessons.
WELL DONE GIRLS!
This weekend felt just like summer, over 30°, sunny skies, humid weather… But still, activities went on as usual, and our girls kept up with a busy lifestyle here at CDL !
What did they do, you ask ?
Well, let us show you…
and more !
Next week, the girls will enjoy an especially long weekend of 4 days ! What will you do for the long weekend ?
Last night during our House Meeting we discussed a few topics we needed with the girls and then we watched a video Mr. Salva sent to us to launch the last pillar of our wellbeing program.
We started the delivery phase of Pillar 5: Making Safe and Responsible Choices.
As announced during the Assembly the key take-away points will be:
Time in: how do you connect with inner world?
Attachment figures: how our attachment style influences the way we make our decisions?
This week we will focus on Time in!
What we experience in our inner world, which includes our feelings, thoughts, perceptions, memories, beliefs, hopes, dreams, desires, motivations, longings etc, can occur even without us being aware of it. The lack of self-awareness entails the failure to see the patterns in our behaviors and thinking. As a result, we risk making choices that are not aligned with what we really are and with what we really want.
On the contrary, when we develop the habit to pay attention to these inner experiences we become more self-aware. This can help us have more control over the decisions and choices we make and prevent us from being at the mercy of our own feelings, desires, and external negative pressure.
On Wednesdays, we get the opportunity to enjoy our international dinners. Yesterday we also had the choice to eat outside and enjoy this beautiful sunshine. Our girls made the most of the time with their friends to charge the batteries and get ready for this difficult exam period at the end of the School Year.
It’s another week-end at our boarding house, and as usual, the girls had a lot of different activities to choose from. Some of our girls went to play some tennis. Some went horseback riding. However, as usual, cooking is a winner !
And when you’ll see what they made, you will understand why.
This month is also the fitness challenge, and today’s challenge was made for one of our girls. They had to do uppy-keepys with a football… Chihana was so good at it, that she didn’t stop at failure, she stopped when she got to 1000 !
Some of our girls also went to Geneva. Perfect time for a bit of shopping, of course !
That’s it for today. Tomorrow, all of the girls will have the opportunity to visit the beautiful town of Yvoire ! And they will get there by… boat ! Pretty exciting, no ?
We’re one month into spring and right now, the sun is shining full blast ! The trees are full and green, temperatures are nice enough and our winter jackets are gone.
You know what this means ? This means that outside activities will be possible again, biking, kayaking, walking by Leman lake, enjoying sunny evenings outside the house… We can’t wait to enjoy the beautiful weather even more !
I’m sure there will be a lot more outside pictures to share soon. 😉
Two of our girls, Luciana and Kylie, spent their Easter break surrounded by beautiful landscapes… They went to Cyprus and Greece with a fantastic group of people !
The girls got to do some historical visits, as you can imagine, but also had the opportunity to snorkle, swim, try out some survival tricks building tents, kayak, etc.
Good food, beautiful weather, fun activities, great people, it was a good break !
Thank you to the team for making this possible !
The approach of Easter breaks also means the end of this term’s wellbeing theme : our online safety.
Through the weeks, we talked about many different subjects, going from how we present ourselves online, to the pictures that should or should not be posted, and who do we follow, do we know them in real life ?
The girls brought up many good points during these discussions. Most of us agreed that we only post the good sides of our lives. And we shouldn’t believe everything influencers post, because it’s mostly a facade. We’ve also taken some time to see how much time we spend behind our screens, and to be more careful about our privacy and who we follow and who follows us back.
Although internet will continue to play a central part in all of our lives, we are now more aware and able of how to handle it.
Thank you girls and CDL team for making this a very interesting pillar !
And another round of diverse activities on the campus !
Between horse riding, cooking, running, chess, etc. There was a lot to choose from.
One activity is consistently popular on weekends… Cooking !
After all, who wouldn’t want to learn how to cook their own choux à la crème ?
Others put their brains to the test thanks to a chess game.
And others went for a walk, got to bake, or play some music. In any case, it was another busy week-end for our girls at the house !
Finally, it’s Friday ! More time for the girls to meet up with each other in other houses. Today, Luciana, Darina and Nastya spent some time at Concha Annexe.
And they got an amazing treat thanks to Miss Maria who made them some amazing chocolate and peanut butter rolls as well as jam rolls. Made with oats and apples, for our health ! Needless to say, it was delicious.
What better way to start the weekend and all the activities it brings !
This weekend Berru and Nastia played some tennis during Saturday morning, they will become professionals very soon!!
Sally, Kylie and Amy spent a lovely Sunday afternoon enjoying the company of our great Musician Rogerio from Leman 2.
Darina, Luciana and Rin practiced their best shots in Badminton.
Yustyna and Chisa enjoyed the lovely weather we are getting these days and got some inspiration for their art creations.
This weekend, we also had the Chamonix Trip. Rin and Yustyna took this opportunity to visit our neighbour country, France and its lovely mountains.
Yesterday evening we had our weekly house assembly.
We had a lot to discuss with the upcoming talent show day and many other things.
Every girl also got awarded a house prize. There were prizes for the funniest girl going till the most hard-working till the master of sports.
We are proud of each of them, for having their own different personalities, characters and various talents! 😀
Today our girls were literally put in the flowers during International Women’s Day. Darina received a beautiful note from her Father accompanied by a bouquet of gorgeous flowers. Sabina’s brother surprised her as well with a big bouquet of colourful flowers.
In the evening we all ate a delicious meal: Piadina, Grilled vegetables and houmous and Hake Parmentier.
A perfect way to end this special day! 😀
We’re always happy when it’s the weekend and we see the girls doing a lot of fun activities. Luciana went to the climbing accompanied by some boys from other houses. She showed she was really strong and climbed many difficult walls, always to the top! 😀
Sally and Kylie went to the Dinosaur expo in Geneva. Luckily they went after the Dinosaurs’ lunchtime and didn’t get eaten by any of them! ;p
The rest of our girls went cooking, enjoyed some time outside in the sun and did some groceries in their beloved Coop! 😀
Today we had our monthly assembly for February, online! The discussion for the day was the impact of charity and we concluded our pillar on friendship and healthy relationships ☺️
Today, as part of our wellbeing program, we explored healthy and toxic relationships and what to do if we find ourselves in one. The girls did a Kahoot and chose their group projects for our new Wellbeing Pillar. Some will be working on videos, posters and impactful images that reflect on friendship and how to build healthy relationships.
Last night in Collège du Léman we had our anual Winter Dinner. Nice food, fancy clothes, magical lightning and the best company made it a night not to forget. It was the perfect way to remind everyone how close they are from the holidays and this magical time of year, as well as a great opportunity to spend some time all together and dress up.
Our girls looked absolutely stunning!
Deck the halls with boughs of holly! Falalalala 😁 Today we had our Secret Santa gift exchange and we were really impressed about how much thought our girls put into their gifts. It was one of those nights in which everyone shares moments of joy and laughter, we sang, we clapped, we ate some of Maria’s homemade snacks…! Merry Christmas Old Portena!
We are reaching the end of our Pillar 2: Fighting Against bullying and promoting diversity.
Last night during the House Assembly we had the chance to talk about bullying. Ella and Alana did their presentation and showed the girls some videos of how to stop it if you see something could be going on.
“Don’t do to others something you wouldn’t like to be done to you” Alana.
What a perfect snowy day. Today we visited one of the most traditionally Swiss villages, the epicenter of cheese, chocolate and meringue: Gruyere! We enjoyed some snow fights and snowman building with some amazing views and a bit of shopping. After, we left for the Cailler chocolate factory and learned more about the history of the exclusive Swiss brand. Pictures to follow 🙂
For our school, one of the main values is RESPECT, therefore we created a House Box full of Respectful values followed by our community.
We RESPECT and VALUE:
Ourselves and our families
Other cultures and religions
The environment
The property of others
All members of our community
The laws and traditions of the societies in which we live and work
Tuesday’s mean basketball! Tonight we had a surprise in the field and we played our monthly basketball match against Concha! And what a match! This time it was super close and the girls were more motivated than ever to take the lead. We also had some special guests from New Portena, who supported the girls in the field and joined the fun. Thanks to everyone for this evening 🙂
Today is Luciana’s birthday and her brother bought her a cake to celebrate her 14th birthday.
We hope you had an amazing day.
Wishing you all the best!
What a better way to begin a Saturday than with an early tennis session!
Today is the start of the October break! Our girls are real travelers, and while many of them are returning to their home countries, others have decided to explore new places like Paris, Lisbon or even Switzerland. It has been a great start to the school year and we hope everyone comes back with lots of energy and new stories to tell.
On behalf of the Old Portena team, we wish everyone a great holiday and see you very soon!
Healthy eating is one of our main points of focus for this year, but eating healthy doesn’t mean not enjoying what we eat. Today Miss Cristina made us a delicious apple cake with cinnamon and dates. Dates are an amazing natural sweetener, full of nutrients and good energy 🙂 The girls definitely approved!
We don’t need to do great things in order to improve our wellbeing, sometimes the simple things like a walk or making healthier snack choices can have a big impact! Some of our girls stayed closer to school and tried this at the local supermarket. They were all encouraged to make at least one healthy choice in their weekly shopping and these are some of the results.
For our wellbeing session of today we proposed a drawing meditation to our girls. First, they closed their eyes and tried to be aware of their bodies and emotions. After, they drew freely with their eyes still closed listening to the meditation guide. Finally, they started filling their drawings with the shapes that expressed best their present state. We love the results 🙂
Our Well-being is one of the most important part for us. We are all starting to miss home a lot, therefore we want this to be our new home. We are trying to give ideas to make Old Portena cosier.
When you feel home and comfortable all your habits change. In this Pillar we are working on Sleep and how to get more sleep and of the best quality and feeling at home is key.
Old Portena loves sports! Today’s fitness challenge was “How many basketballs can you score in one minute?”. Alana and Chihana gave it a go and did pretty well!
Yesterday in the House Meeting we organized the Mountain Weekend to come, some news and we watched a video about body image. Here some quotes from our girls:
“Societies beauty standards are generalized. We should all love each other for who we are, non of us were born the same and we will never be the same”
“Don’t judge by looking. Inside of the body is more important than looking”
“Everyone should be confident in their own body. Everyone is different”
This month we are dedicated to wellness. As we know, taking care of our body is a great part of our wellbeing, so our girls are taking part in the Fitness Challenge organised by Mr. Rob 🙂 Today the challenge was to hit a football as many times as possible. Of course, the winner was Chihana, with a record of 3 minutes 14 seconds, and she could have kept going!
In our boarding houses, we have a House rep and House Captain to support their fellow students and give them a voice if they feel they have something they want to share. Two of our students came upfront and volunteered to take on these roles. Both of them will be a role-model to our community and we feel they are capable of this and more 🙂 Allow us to introduce them to you…
Paria Jowkar
Paria was house captain last year. As an experienced and returning student, she will lead by example and give voice to our girls in front of the whole community. She presented her candidature in the form of a poem which warmed our spirits and demonstrated her amazing use of words. We knew right away she would be perfect for this role!
Manuela Kapose
Manuela is a new student at school, but since the first day her warm and caring personality has brought her many friends and made her a support for those around her. We believe she will be a great leader for our girls.
This afternoon we enjoyed our usual afternoon in Geneva. It’s a great opportunity to relax, do some shopping, enjoy the city atmosphere and enjoy some of our favorite snacks! Today was specially busy, as we needed to get the last bits and pieces for our upcoming Mountain Weekend 🙂 after our long day, we are getting ready for a Disney movie night!
STEAM stands for Science Technology Engineering Art and Maths. For the first session of this year, our students participated in the Egg Drop challenge! Helium balloons, recycled materials, PET bottles, parachutes… and of course a little bit of art to give life to our eggs. Chisa did an amazing job and both of her eggs survived!
If you have a moment come and visit our new wellbeing space in Old Portena. Here we will inform you of all the news, activities and ideas we will use for all of us.
This year as usual we will start with our Pillar 1: Healthy minds and healthy bodies and we will focus this first week on:
How do we find our balance?
How much sleep is enough?
Over the past year, Old Portena have made wonderful memories with friends and taken part in so many activities, that we have enough photos to fill up our Memory Books! The girls will be able to keep these books forever to remember our special year together! We are looking forward to seeing the finished books next week!