Boarding schools are unique environments that offer students the opportunity to live, learn, and grow alongside their peers from all over the world. This diversity of backgrounds and cultures can be incredibly enriching for students, as it exposes them to new perspectives, ideas, and ways of life. However, in order for students to truly benefit from this diversity, it is important for them to actively seek out and form international friendships.

One of the most obvious benefits of international friendships is the opportunity to learn about different cultures. When students form friendships with peers from other countries, they have the opportunity to learn about their customs, traditions, and way of life. This can be especially valuable for students who may not have the opportunity to travel abroad or experience different cultures in their own communities.

Additionally, international friendships can help students develop important skills such as communication, empathy, and understanding. In order to form and maintain friendships with people from other cultures, students must learn to navigate linguistic and cultural differences. This can be challenging, but it can also be incredibly rewarding as it helps students develop the ability to communicate effectively with people from all over the world.

Furthermore, forming international friendships can also help students build a sense of global citizenship. When students form friendships with people from other cultures, they begin to see themselves as part of a larger global community. This can help them develop a sense of responsibility and empathy towards people from other cultures, which can be a powerful force for positive change in the world.

In conclusion, boarding school is a unique opportunity for students to live, learn and grow alongside their peers from all over the world. Making international friendships is a great way for students to benefit from this diversity and learn about different cultures, develop important skills and build a sense of global citizenship. Encourage students to actively seek out and form international friendships and make the most of this unique opportunity.

This week we have the pleasure of tasting Chinese food. It was delicious 😋.

These are some photos showing typical ingredients used in typical Chinese dishes:

• Rice and noodles.
• Chicken and beef.
• Prawns in batter.
• Fortune cookies.
• A mix of vegetables with soja and tofu.

This weekend has been a special one. Our students have been involved in many activities:

First, Louis played basketball while Alex, Murat, and Temur were playing badminton on Friday. They had a wonderful time in Olympus.

On Saturday, on the one hand, Bohdan and Murat had a great time playing tennis. Ilya, Maksim, Herman, Aleksei, Navidreza and had an amazing climbing time.

On Sunday, Billy and, Otabek enjoyed an Escape Room experience. Furthermore, Artem, Adi and Nikolai had a nice time at chess.

As we dive into Semester 2 we are all excited about what is to come. This week in our Welcome Back assembly we shared with the students all the opportunities open to them this upcoming semester. With everyone refreshed after the holidays, many have come back with new motivations and ambitions. We want to capitalise on this and help the students achieve their goals.

Every weekend we will of course have our normal multitude of activities available for the boys to choose from and we will continue to share this schedule with you each week so you can help motivate them.

We will also be having our two Mountain Weekends in Fiesch which is a new location for us and the weather promises some good snowfall before our arrival.

We had another House Dinner this week in which we got to enjoy some Indian food and ate together in Olympus.

Each week we will also continue to have our International Dinner to celebrate a different country and the diversity in our community.

We also have the trips to Barcelona and Rome this month and next.

This week also started us on Pillar 3  of the Wellbeing Programme where we will be focusing on Positive Friendships.

There is plenty to keep everyone entertained and active and we look forward to 2023.

This evening we all sat at home and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

Menu:

• Salade.
• Biryani Chicken with Naan Bread, Indian vegetables and spiced rice.
• Mango cake.

This week we have the pleasure to taste Belizean food. It was delicious.

There are some photos showing typical ingredients used in Belizean typical dishes:

• Taco: made by meat and guacamole.
• Ceviche: made by fishfood.

From Olympus Boarding School, we would like to wish all our Parents, students, Agents and friends a happy, healthy and prosperous 2023.

We would also like to welcome all our students to this new semester, where nothing but good experiences and fun things are going to happen.