We continued the fun of the House Competitions with a Ginger Bread House Build.
From Olympus we had Nikita, Boris and Adam constructing ours. While all the other houses went for the traditional cottage build we wanted to go above and beyond and created a Mansion.
@thatboardingvibe Ginger Bread House Competition #thatboardingvibe #gingerbreadhouse #gingerbreadman #gingerbreadhousechallenge #boardingcompetition ♬ The Gingerbread House – Teresa Brewer
This week we had our Boarding Award Ceremony to celebrate some of the achievements made during 1st Semester. We acknowledged those in each House who showed outstanding enthusiasm, motivation, and involvement in the Boarding Activity program. We also had an award for Boarding Life, for those who exhibited all the qualities we would wish for in a global citizen and who are good role models through their actions within the boarding community.
Winning the Boarding Life award were James, Louis, Billy and Otabek. These boys are polite, respectful, and courteous to both their peers and staff. They are held in high regards within the House. They are happy and willing to assist the House Parents and often take on extra responsibilities within the house. They also willingly volunteer their time to help others and to participate in the Boarding House events.
From Olympus, winning the Activity Awards were Tim, Alexandre, Temur and Maksim. These boys enthusiastically participate in the afternoon activity schedule along with enjoying the sports facilities on offer during social time in the evenings. They also eagerly participate in the weekend program, taking advantage of the trips on offer or the activities offered.
We also acknowledged those boys who have done well academically this year and were proud that so many from Olympus were represented. Well done to Wenyan, Kaishu, Guanchen, Bruno and Adi
This week the students were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to Europa Park. It is a very fun and magical place but even more so when decorated for Christmas.
The 2nd takeaway point for this Pillar is;
Noticing differences is normal but there are many ways to be an ally.
When we first meet someone it is very easy to first focus on the differences – their ethnicity, what they are wearing, how animated they are, their speech, their physicality, their presence etc. We all have an unconscious bias that then forms an unfair first impression. This can be a positive or negative preconception.
It is only when we get to know the person, that we truly understand the similarities between us. Whether that is liking the same music, or sports club, or food or views.
Starting from the basics we are all human, all want to be loved and all want to be treated kindly. We should start with the thought that we should treat others how we wish to be treated, irrelative of first impressions or prejudgements.
This week we started the second pillar of our Wellbeing Programme.
This pillar is led by Mr Antonio who is guiding us down this important journey.
Wouldn’t it be a boring world if everyone was exactly the same? If we all looked identical, dressed alike, ate the same foods, spoke the same language, the world would be pretty uninteresting! What makes the world exciting is that we’re all different. Diversity simply means differences.
At CDL we like to celebrate the diverse range of differences that our community brings together. It is important we show tolerance and understanding to those who at first appear different to our own normals. And through showing acceptance to all and kindness to each other, we in turn reduce any worry of bullying within our community.
The first takeaway point of this pillar is;
Integration and diversity are part of the international agenda of the world’s most important institutions.
When we think of many big companies such as Google, Facebook, Walmart, and Mcdonald’s – we do not think of them as representing one specific person. They represent all and therefore employ a diverse range of staff in order to ensure there is a good representation of all cultures, values and lifestyles.
Globally what we want to achieve with this point is that students understand that Diversity and Integration are present far beyond the school environment or our individual background and that it’s a top priority in the world today. Sometimes, this might be overlooked, and we believe it’s important they acknowledge that the work and reflection being done here is echoed in the World Leading Institutions.
We have now reached the end of Pillar 1.
We focused on the two takeaway points of;
Discovering how we can use sport and our hobbies to maintain a healthy mental balance
The importance of a healthy balanced diet for sports and everyday life
As we reflect back on what we have learnt over this Pillar we asked the boys to think about the following question
We asked the boys to think about this and then write down their responses so we could make it into a picture collage.
We continued on our journey along Pillar 1 by focusing on a 2nd important point.
Health is intrinsically linked to our diet. Our diet directly influences the body’s functions and builds our physical strength. A balanced diet helps us maintain good mental and physical wellbeing.
From a young age, we’re taught that eating well helps us look and feel our physical best. What we’re not always told is that good nutrition significantly affects our mental health, too. A healthy, well-balanced diet can help us think clearly and feel more alert. It can also improve concentration and attention span.
Conversely, an inadequate diet can lead to fatigue, impaired decision-making, and can slow down reaction time. In fact, a poor diet can actually aggravate, and may even lead to, stress and depression.
In addition eating well for physical activity and sport can have many benefits including:
This is a very broad topic which takes into consideration anything and everything that leads to our mental and physical wellbeing. In order to focus us on a particular area, Mr Rob the advocate for this pillar has challenged us first to think about;
Discovering how we can use sport and our hobbies to maintain a healthy mental balance
We all have hobbies and passions but perhaps we are not conscious of how good these can be for us. We discussed this in our House Meeting and had a presentation on the topic from Adi. He presented to the rest of the House how it is important we make time to continue our hobbies in the busy boarding life we lead. Adi likes to play the guitar and finds this both a challenge to keep his mind alert, active and learning; but it is also therapeutic and relaxing for him. He feels calmer and more relaxed after he spends 20 minutes practising and it gives him a sense of accomplishment which boosts his self-esteem.
Likewise, anyone who enjoys running, painting, juggling, judo, cooking or the 1001 other hobbies that we have will benefit from making sure we take the time to do and enjoy them!
