Sweet sweet weekend 👩‍🍳

This weekend the house was very quiet which can only mean one thing: time for baking!

On Saturday, we baked some delicious “American-style” cookies, and although they were very flat and not as thick as they should have been, they were great!

On Sunday we let our imagination run wild and made banana muffins with dark chocolate and milk chocolate. Needless to say, both recipes were a great success.

Wellbeing Pillar: Self-Care and Boundaries

On this week’s house assembly, we continued working on our 3rd Pillar. Today we talked about Self-Care and Setting Boundaries, as we believe it is fundamental for students to understand that looking after themselves isn’t selfish—it’s necessary— and they need to learn to protect and prioritize themselves.

This week’s takeaway point is You can’t pour from an empty cup—taking care of yourself helps you build better relationships.

 

During the presentation, we defined terms like Self-Care and Boundaries, and we gave a few ideas and tips to feel better when we feel tired or stressed. Whatever it is sleeping, talking to your parents, reading a book or watching a movie, finding little pleasures that help you fill up your cup is essential to take care of yourself.

Discovering new hobbies🎨

Kseniia is passionate about creative activities as they help her relax and disconnect from her school work. At first, she spent her free time coloring with her friends, but now she has discovered a new ally: air-drying clay.

Kseniia now spends her free time inviting friends over to her house for a ‘competition’, as you can see in the picture; whoever makes a more accurate representation of the model wins. We won’t say which ones have been made by Kseniia, but we have to say that, fortunately, she has made huge improvements since last time!

Academic achievements 👩‍🏫

Today we had an express assembly to congratulate the 117 interns who have achieved honours in the first semester of the school year. Among these interns are our girls Alejandra, Haruka, Kseniia, and Manuela.

With effort, time, and dedication, great academic achievements can be reached—these girls are a true example for the rest of the house to follow.

Congratulations girls!

Wellbeing Pillar: Building a Positive Relationship with Yourself

During tonight’s assembly, we launched our third Wellbeing Pillar. Over the next three weeks, we will learn how to build a strong and positive relationship with ourselves.

Throughout the session, we discussed Self-Acceptance and shared some tips for accepting each other as we are.

Ultimately, each girl shared something positive about themselves or something they were proud of achieving in the last couple of weeks. From being proud of returning from the holidays on time to being proud of finishing a 3 summative day successfully, the girls shared their thoughts.

As a boarding community, and as House Parents, we want to make sure that our boarders accept and love each other as they are. Teenagers are very impressionable and it is important that they understand that they should never change for anyone and that the only opinion that matters about themselves is the one they have.

The year of the Snake🐍

The Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in many Asian cultures and it marks the start of the lunar calendar year. This celebration symbolizes fresh beginnings and hopes for prosperity, happiness, and good fortune. Usually, before the holiday begins, families clean their homes to sweep away bad luck. They decorate with red lanterns, couplets, and paper cuttings.

One of the children’s favorite traditions is receiving red envelopes filled with money, wishing them good fortune. Fireworks and lion or dragon dances are common, believed to ward off evil spirits and bring prosperity. As it occurs in many cultures, food is the center of the celebration and each dish carries symbolic meaning. Dumplings represent wealth, fish symbolize abundance, and rice cakes signify progress.

Every year we celebrate this important day with our Asian students; a way to bring them a piece of home far from home.

Happy Lunar New Year!

A weekend on the slopes⛷️⛸️📚

What a wonderful weekend we just had in the Crans-Montana ski resort!

Our senior students, including Ada and Serena, went on their first ski trip of the year to the Swiss Alps! Whether it was skiing, ice skating, enjoying the city, or studying, the girls had a great weekend that helped them unwind from the stresses of the routine. This weekend has been the perfect time to recharge our batteries and enjoy the fresh air that the mountains and snow have to offer.

Kseniia, Haruka, Manuela, and Sofiya are facing their last year with us as they will graduate in June, and this weekend has been an unforgettable experience that they will carry with them forever. It is these kinds of memories that they will take with them after graduation that make boarding school life a unique experience.

Dinner in the house – French Edition

Last night, we celebrated our first Dinner in the House of the semester and Serena’s first dinner in the house! For dinner, we enjoyed some delicious turkey Croque-Monsieur with French fries. During the evening, we shared our excitement for this weekend, as we will visit the beautiful alpine resort of Crans-Montana.

 

Campus live 👩‍🍳

This past weekend brought a peaceful atmosphere to campus, as most of the girls ventured off for their own adventures. For those who stayed behind, it was a relaxing change of pace. The house felt calm and quiet, offering a chance to unwind and enjoy some slower moments.

Sofiya made the most of her time on campus, turning the quiet weekend into an opportunity for creativity and connection. She enjoyed experimenting in our cooking club, whipping up delicious recipes that filled the house with wonderful aromas once she brought us her creation. She also spent quality time with her friends walking around Versoix and enjoying a lovely lunch in Geneva.

While the house may have been quieter than usual, the weekend was a reminder that simple joys can create memorable moments. A peaceful campus sometimes makes for the best kind of weekend.