“Winter is coming.” says Sean Bean in George R.R. Martins’ opus ‘Game of Thrones’. Do you guys remember Game of Thrones? I do. The games. The thrones. All of that stuff. And then there was a disappointing couple of seasons that ended on a weak note that left everyone embarrassed that the dragons and the magical ice people were ever that exciting to them in the first place.

The mountain weekends are far from over. But the Ski-Weekends are sadly shuttered until next year.

But this season absolutely did not end on a downer. In fact, it was a brighter note than any of us could have hoped for.

We shredded and carved. No powder was left un-churned and not a single jump was left free of boarders daring each other to go for it. The weather was on our side with a bluer than blue sky and a full sun at our backs. A truly radiant long weekend.

The gang’s not all here. True, we had lighter numbers, but that made it all the more bespoke for our boarders. Smaller more flexible numbers led to an exploration of our mountain opportunities to the fullest extent.

The gruesome twosome (left to right – Ivan and Gary) come to a boil in the luscious waters of the mountain-side spa. Switzerland is famous for its spa facilities. Descended from the marble sanitariums that clustered the peaks and crags of the Swiss Alps, catering to the rich and mentally infirm to re-center themselves before returning to their railway empires. And the same can be said with our two future titans of industry.

Aleksei straps up for a pure day of snowboarding. The day, still brimming with potential and definitely explored to its fullest.

(left to right) Ilya, Nikita L. and Maksim take a rest at the edge of the skating rink. It’s funny how knowing how everything runs now that we’ve been up the mountain a number of times both increases the fun that we have as well as the relaxation. There’s a significant portion of the stress that’s removed when one has a certain idea what to expect from certain activities. We got a lot done and were all exhausted at the end of the day, but we all did it with a stress-free ease that is so welcomed this late in the season.

David takes flight in the unforgettable RealFly simulated sky-diving experience. As much as it might be a giant fan keeping our boy afloat in the air, it makes it no less impressive when he pulls dips and spirals that only a falcon could dream to execute. And yet here we are, a human in an odd outfit and helmet as graceful as a bird.

Nikita L. sends one downrange at the pins who betrayed his family.

Ilya follows up with another cataclysmically powerful bowl that caused strikes to occur in Malaysian bowling alleys on the other side of the world.

We had a smashing time up on the mountain. A fitting sendoff to the unique skiing period that we organise and keep running here at CDL. What would living at the foot of the Alps be without as many trips into the frosty bosom to conquer the slopes as we could muster?

As usual, the mountain weekends are about much more than just Olympus, we we’ve featured a smattering of other slightly less important folks who were having an equally good time.

Mr. James provides combat training on the slopes. Surprise attacks can’t be a surprise of they’re listed on the schedule.

Mr. Nathan, Miss. Maria-Sophia and Miss. Vic enjoying a sunny day at the skating rink!

Nobody is as ready for action as our CDL ski posse. Truly a group of ski-slingers to be reckoned with.

The Champ-Des-Bois crew all cresting the peak with everyone else.

Sophia, Jasmina and Akmaral from VDL enjoy the crisp weather up at the top of the world. Or at least on the patio of the La Moubra Hotel, a firm favourite for any and all Crans-Montana related trips.

And so, ladies and gents, the ski season at CDL has come to a wonderful close. Best of the best from not just the Olympus boys, but the entire CDL squad as well!

There are many ways to engage with REACH hours. They are a self-initiated project that displays independent engagement with many different areas. There are REACH hours dedicated to physical exercise, to community projects and to creativity.

And there are many different ways of going about achieving them and the Olympus staff are always available to find new and creative ways to help boarders earn their hours in new and innovative ways.

Some of us are not as creatively inclined as others and with Gabriel, he wasn’t sure how to go about earning his hours. And so Mr. Jakob from the Olympus staff organised a small extra-curricular club, just for Gabriel’s Creative Reach hours. This is ‘Art Appreciation’ with Gabriel:

Kent Monkman ‘Resurgence of The People’ 2019 M.O.M.A

Within the Art Appreciation club, Mr. Jakob and Gabriel and a rotating cast of guests take a look at contemporary and classical pieces of art. Above, we can see a piece by Native American artist Kent Monkman, which channels a lot of socially conscious energy, but an enormous amount of classical imagery as well. The ‘Art Appreciation’ activity is all about generating discussion and looking as closely as we can. Using the iPad is great for this. It can be passed around and it is extremely intuitive to pinch the screen to zoom in and inspect the myriad details present in each and every piece. We all read art differently. And we also read many the same.

Gabriel is joined by Mirsadi and Maximilian in admiring a Pablo Picasso piece.

It’s always hugely rewarding to get other eyes in on the game, to comment on, agree or disagree. It all starts with a simple image and conversation always develops into so much more. It’s impossible to look at a piece of art and not begin to think. Whether we like it or not, feel like we don’t have the place to say anything of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art, we always react, wether we like to or not. And so much can come out of the simplest of images. Art is and always has been a mirror. Looking outward as the things we choose to make is always just as much of an act of introspection than it is simple observation.

Pablo Picasso ‘Guernica’ 1937

David Shrigley ‘Dishonourable Person’ 2016

And some of it, is just silly.

Have a look. Have a think. It doesn’t matter what conclusion you came to. Engagement is the first step. And your gut does the rest.

We look forwards to having many more conversations about art here in Olympus and we hope to bring some of that to yourselves, as well! Have a google. There’s so much good art out there. And so much bad art, as well.

Best of the Best from The Olympus Boys!

This is Week 3 of the Online Safety Pillar

We focused on “Your Online Live”

Every parent is concerned about their children meeting strangers or new people in life and whether they will be a good influence. However, less thought is given to the hundreds, thousands or sometimes millions of strangers that are viewing their pictures, profiles or online presence. With the multitude of online influencers who share their life online, young people have been conditioned to aspire to this. We now have a generation that post their pictures and videos online for all to see. As part of this generational change, it is our job as parents and educators to question this, keep them safe and guide them. We need to help them have perspective that chasing a ‘Like’ is not a worthy desire when the consequence may be their safety.

This is Week 2 of the Online Safety Pillar 

We focused on “What you post … in that moment”

The goal is to make students aware that what they post can have consequences. When we make a funny comment; or create a meme from a friends picture; or post a video of our friends doing something silly – all of these can have consequences in that moment, but also for the future. What we post online stays online forever without our control of what happens after we post it. Not only can it emotionally affect our friends, but it could also be seen by others.

Dear All. It is the weekend, once again. We’re not sure when the weekends are going to run out but they just keep coming! So I guess we’re going to have to make the most of it while we still have the chance! And that doesn’t mean aimless, rip-roaring fun. It can also mean, focus and discipline and the betterment or ourselves as human beings…while having rip-roaring fun.

Olympus’ own Mr. Gordon (the handsome gentleman in powerade blue) in the midst of intellectual combat as CDL’s own CHESSMANIA is in full swing. A gauntlet of chess matches headed up by our best and brightest!

The Climbing Crew! Headed up by Mr. Ronan (the escaped Cro Magnon warrior exhibit in the back) and Mr. Rodrigo (the man playing off having fallen as some kind of fancy break-dance move). Repping Olympus are Aleksei (crossed arms blonde hair) and Maksim (Nike cap totally not accidentally glued on).

Spider Maks, Spider Maks! There’s not a single skill, that he lacks! Climbs a wall, any size! Until he falls, and then he cries! LOOK OUTTTT! HERE COMES THAT SPIDER-MAKS!

Climbing is all in the mind. If you believe yourself to be climbing, you are.

Ladies and gentleman! It’s been another wonderful weekend! What have ‘you’ been up to? I hope that it’s been promoting either your body or your mind. It’s easy to make that fun and it keeps us healthy, especially in these unpredictable times!

Best of the best from Olympus!

Jaam nga am, everybody! Jaam rek, Yow nag?

It’s another wonderful international dinner here at CDL! And this week we have the privilege of savouring some fine Senegalese cuisine!

The flag of the placid and populous West African State of Senegal. The green representing the Colour of The Prophet as as much as 90% of the Senegalese populace is Muslim. The golden yellow in the centre is the exegesis of creativity and passion and the red is the colour of the blood and life that flows between the people of this proud country.

The formidable Coat of Arms of Senegal.

We are immensely proud to have so many guest chefs here at CDL to bring a piece of their culture to us so that we can devour it and pester them for seconds. We’ve got a hunger of knowledge and foreign cuisine, here at CDL and we haven’t been satiated yet! With a kitchen crew like this, there’s never fear of a hitch when dining our way around the world!

Food is the ultimate communal experience. Since man stoked the flames of the bonfire, cooking and eating around the hearth and hearts of a community has been one of the oldest and strongest cornerstones in human togetherness. And this meshes perfectly with CDL as the ultimate communal experience.

Another wonderful community trip around the world. About 55cm. The circumference of our dinner plates.

We hope that you take your stomach on an adventure, soon! It’s always worth it at CDL!

This week we started Pillar 4 of our Wellbeing Programme.

Online Safety

We introduced the Pillar this week in our Monthly Assembly. Our students spend a lot of their time online whether as part of their academics, social life or indeed free time. It is therefore important we aid them with the right tools to navigate this online world just as we do in the real world. It is important they are educated not only on the benefits of technology but also on their responsibility of protecting themselves and others.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I write to you from a hospital bed. Well, not really. But it definitely feels like I should be in traction because the whiplash that I’ve gotten from how fast this semester blew by is crazy! It feels like just a week ago that I was writing a blog post about the delectable Malaysian food that was served in the cafeteria…well, actually that ‘was’ about a week ago, give or take.

The point is this. The Winter Camp is the best. And this post is going to stray a little from the formula here, because much like the winter camp itself, this post isn’t all about Olympus. It’s about so much more.

The Winter Camp is held in February and it consists of a whole week in Crans-Montana packed with activities and copious amounts of skiing. As much skiing as the human soul can handle.

The Troops, putting everyone to shame with their splendour and enthusiasm!

Where I would usually be rattling on about our fabulous boys (and they really ‘are’ the best) the Winter Camp isn’t just for boarders! It’s for the whole lot, including day-students, which is a wonderful opportunity to bring them all the bests parts of boarding at CDL. It’s also the reason that this post is going to be more about the Winter Camp as a whole. Still mainly featuring the unbeatable Olympus Boys, but also giving the spotlight to some other fabulous CDL folks!

I’m amazed that there wasn’t more altitude sickness with all the gymnastics that were put on display. Maybe I’m just jealous as I was at the foot of the mountain. Getting some sleep, sure. But look at that view.

You’ll undoubtedly recognise Crans-Montana as the same wonderful location that we take our boarders to over the ski weekends. This unbeatable locale has all your mountain-holidaying needs!

The wonderful Parc Hotel was in turn to be haunted by our rowdy bunch. Nice place. Good, sturdy furniture.

The Gang from the front.

The Gang from the back.

The Invisible People convention is in town. At a different hotel, I mean. This is just…well, this is just the dining hall.

Oh, this? It’s just the unbeatable view of the Swiss Alps.

The day hasn’t even begun and the fancy moves are already being busted out.

Kitted up and ready to Rock and also perhaps Roll, provided we have the time.

We have a very diverse selection of skill-levels and disciplines that we entertain with the Ski Camps. We cater to all levels and source the best local instructors and guides for smooth rides and also a little bit of risk-taking from time to time to get the blood flowing. There really is no better place for a novice and experts, together.

I’ve got an idea for a film where people go nuts in a mountain hotel. I feel like a type-writer should be involved, but here it seems the high quality of the salad bar has done it.

‘Cheese In Repose’ (2022) Beatriz Lourido Fernandez

Tony. The best of the best. Slides with the best.

Improvised Bob-sledding featuring (left to right) Rodrigo, Yuto, Ayu and Ryunosuke.

Richard belts across the ice with a young lady.

(right) Local goons Gary and Ivan pack the snowballs tightly for a surprise attack.

A beautiful night by the frozen lake.

This is a picture of three of our CDL Campers hanging out in a haunted house. The strange man on the right wasn’t there when the picture was taken. Spooky.

Sr. Xavi battles in another frighteningly intense game of UNO against the ever-competitive campers.

Billiards comes from the french word ‘Billiards’ meaning ‘Less Fun Ball-Pit’

For those of us who don’t own an ice-axe, the in-door facilities here are top of the line.

‘Comfortable Headwear No. 1’ (2022) Beatriz Lourido Fernandez

(left to right) Ivan and Richard plunge their souls into the Valhalla-worthy sport of curling.

‘Comfortable Headwear No. 2’ (2022) Beatriz Lourido Fernandez

Good times at the bowling alley!

‘A View From The Bench’ (2022) Xavier Benenaula

There’s nothing like the CDL Winter Camp. Except for the CDL Summer Camp, which is just as great. But it’s in the summer. As the name implies. Stick around to find out more about that. 

Good lord! What a wonderful week. And to think that it’s back to school from here. For all of us. So until next time, hold on to your hats, keep your mittens about you and don’t be afraid to have fun!

Best of the best from the CDL Winter Camp (2022) Crew!

PSYCH! It’s got nothing to do with Hamburg! It’s BURGER NIGHT!

(left to right) Nikita, Adam, Rayan, Gary and Max begin assembling the burgers of the future we all deserve. Beyond space, time and flavour.

(left to right) Ivan, Richard, Aleksei and Kevin coming in for seconds!

(left to right) Rayan and Gary get ready to construct the best burgers they’ve ever had the pleasure of eating.

(left to right) Nikita talks a big game as he ladles on the sauce while Adam gazes off camera is something that couldn’t be more important than the freshly assembled burger on his plate.

(left to right) Nikita, Toma, Imanali, Alexandre, Boris, Kirill and Rayan tuck on into another lovely in-house dinner!

Best of the best from the Olympus Boys!