Monthly Boarding Assembly Pillar 4 Online Safety

During our Monthly Boarding Assembly tonight, we successfully launched the fourth pillar of our Wellbeing Program: Online Safety.

As part of our ongoing commitment to the holistic well-being of our community, the Online Safety pillar aims to empower students with the knowledge and tools needed to navigate the digital landscape responsibly and safely.

 

Geneva International Motor Show

Although it is generally acknowledged that the automobile was “officially” born with Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach’s “Benz Patent Motorwagen”, which was presented at the Paris World Fair in 1889, studies and first experiments with motor vehicles began much earlier. All over Europe, but also in Switzerland!

Isaac de Rivaz, a Swiss citizen, tried to motorize a chariot in 1775 using steam and then gas. Swiss engineers can also be credited with several significant achievements in the automobile sector from the end of the 19th century: front-wheel drive and the gear-transforming flywheel, a kind of automatic gearbox before its time, by Henriod, the overhead camshaft by Popp, the progressive extension pulley gearbox by Weber, and the asphalting of roads developed by Dr Guglielminetti.

The Swiss car industry experienced a period of euphoria at the beginning of the 20th century: there were more than 70 Swiss car manufacturers and the first races and rallies were held.

It was in this context that the first Swiss National Automobile and Cycle Exhibition was organized in Geneva in 1905. Switzerland was then at the heart of the European automobile industry and its automobile production was renowned for its reliable and luxurious products.

Today our students had the opportunity to visit ans enjoy this incredible car show . It have been exciting to explore and experience the different brands and models on display.

❄️Happy February Break!❄️

Villa Terray has just closed for the February mid-term break. We are proud of all the girls for all they have achieved throughout this half term. We hope they get to enjoy this well-deserved break and return with their batteries fully charged! The boarding house will be open again on Saturday 24th February from 9am. We are already looking forward to seeing everyone in a week’s time!

RISE Week at Collège du Léman : Internationalism

RISE is an acronym representing Respect, Internationalism, Spirit, and Excellence – the core values of College du Leman. With a school community comprising over 110 nationalities and cultures, our RISE values lie at the heart of everything we do. We firmly believe in respecting diversity, a hallmark of our school community.

During this week, we are commemorating Internationalism. Our students are actively engaged in formulating a College du Leman specific definition of Global Citizenship, and the integration of their perspectives is indispensable to this ongoing process.

 

Pillar 3, Week 4. Building Positive Relationships.

We’re currently on Week 4 of our Well-being Program, where we’re delving into the 3rd Pillar: ‘Building Positive Relationships’. During our latest session with the students, we focused on examining toxic friendships and relationships. Our main goal was to identify the signs of a toxic friendship or relationship through Kahoot scenarios.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pillar 3 Wellbeing Programme,Building Positive Relationships

Following our Pastoral Program, we are now in Week 3 of the delivery phase of the 3rd Pillar, which is focused on “Building Positive Relationships`”The focus of our assembly is to explore international friendships and identify and address “ microaggressions. These are the thinly veiled, everyday instances of racism, homophobia, sexism (and more) that you see in the world. Sometimes it’s an insult, other times it’s an errant comment or gesture. It is crucial to understand how to recognize and handle microaggressions in our interactions to foster positive relationships.

 

Pillar 3 Building Positive Friendships .Week 2

In tonight’s assembly and following our pastoral program, we intend to shift our focus inward to reflect on the qualities of friends.Positive friendships constitute an integral aspect of the journey to adulthood, as they enable children and teenagers to acquire significant social and emotional skills, such as being attuned to the thoughts, feelings, and well-being of others.

Healthy friendships and relationships are predicated on mutual care, understanding, respect, and responsibility. In such relationships, individuals are capable of solving problems together while communicating honestly, as they share at least some of the same goals and values.

Our challenge for this session was to create a compelling videos that symbolize the essence of friendship.

Boarding Assembly. Pillar 3 Building Positive Friendships

Our first Boarding Assembly in 2024 has seen the launch of The Third Pillar of our Well-being Program, Building Positive Friendships.

 

Friendships are one of the most important elements of our lives. We are social beings and despite differences between us, we can all agree that we need people around us to be fulfilled in our nature.

In Boarding, this is even more emphasized. By being away from the family, the students are led to create strong bonds to lay the foundations of their “Boarding Family”. Peers, roommates, and colleagues become like brothers, confident, close friends… in some cases, inseparable for life. The nature of this connection is then authentic, genuine and forged by the circumstances and the kinship that the setting enhances.

This third Pillar will accompany our students, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until February Break. The first Takeaway point: Identifying characteristics of positive friendships. Please see the video created by the advocates for this Pillar 3

 

 

 

Wishing you a season filled with warm moments and cherished memories.Best wishes for a wonderful Holiday and a very Happy New Year. 

Christmas Dinner at the Hilton Hotel

Last Saturday evening, the girls enjoyed our annual Christmas dinner and dance at the Hilton Hotel. The girls looked lovely in their outfits and it was lovely to see everybody helping each other to get ready for the event. What a fantastic evening of good food, good company and dancing.Thank you, Mrs. Lucelia, for organizing such a wonderful event!

Awards Ceremony

Tonight we had our First Awards Ceremony, where some of our girls received a medal for being involved in Activities (Raquel), Boarding Life ( Ana Sofia) and Academically reaching amazing grades ( Maria Clara and Jasmine). Well done to all of the winners. We are proud of you !!

 

Former Student from Ukraine came to visit us at Collège du Léman.

Today’s meeting with Kateryna was a fantastic opportunity to reconnect with one of our valued alumni. She came by to enjoy a “petit goûter” and share her memories of her time at CDL, and we were thrilled to hear about her. It’s important to us to keep in touch with our alumni and maintain a strong connection with our community, and Kateryna’s visit was a great reminder of that. We look forward to continuing to engage with our alumni in meaningful ways and nurturing the relationships that make CDL such a special place.

Gift Box Project at Collège du Léman. Wellbeing Pillar 2- Community Project

Many of us reflect on our personal values and take a meaningful look at the structure of the society we live in. It is everyone’s responsibility to come together and stand for equality, diversity, and inclusion. For that, the girls in JB Terray chose to participate in the Annual Gift Box project. Now, what is the Annual Gift Box project?
The annual gift box project is an initiative where students choose to participate by donating either money or items. This includes items like toothbrushes, soap, school supplies, socks, toys, chocolate, and more. These essential items make a significant impact on the lives of those in need. The boxes are sent to children in orphanages, schools, and hospitals who are living below the poverty line.
@thatboardingvibe

CDL Gift Box Appeal!!! #thatboardingvibe #giftboxappeal #giftwrapping #giftbox #giving #shoeboxappeal #cdl

♬ Christmas Is Coming – DM Production

 

Samedi du Partage

This great event is essential for the entire Geneva social network, supporting people in need. Volunteers engage with individuals at the supermarket, encouraging them to donate food and other hygiene products. A big thank you to all the students involved.

 

Respect Week. RISE at Collège du Léman

RISE is an acronym for Respect, Internationalism, Spirit, and Excellence – the core values of College du Leman. Our school community comprises more than 110 nationalities and cultures, and our RISE values are at the heart of everything we do. We believe in respecting diversity, which is the hallmark of our school community. Our students understand that every individual is unique, and they learn to value and appreciate these differences for the richness they bring to the school and wider community. We are confident and strong in our values and beliefs, and we strive to instil these values in our students.

 

Pillar 2. Protecting Against Bullying and Promoting Diversity. Orientation and Gender Identity

Following the first challenge, which involved creating an audio piece highlighting numerous similarities, we are set to progress to the second activity of pillar 2 in tonight’s meeting. Specifically, this activity pertains to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Our advocates’ team has proposed an interactive Question and Answer designed to provide insights into issues related to sexual orientation or gender identity. Our students will participate, scanning the QR code on the poster. Their responses( entirely anonymous) will be gathered and collated in a shared document for subsequent discussion.

 

 

Odd Socks Day !! Anti-Bullying Week at Collège du Léman

Today, we are thrilled to celebrate Odd Socks Day, an exciting initiative that embraces and celebrates the unique qualities that make each of us special. This initiative is part of our commitment to Anti-Bullying Week, promoted by our Wellbeing Advocates. We encourage all our students to join in by wearing odd socks to school, symbolizing and celebrating the wonderful diversity that makes each of us unique!

Europa Park Trip

This weekend Venus, Maria Clara and Defne had the opportunity to spend the weekend at Europa Park in Germany. A lot of fun was had by all as we enjoyed the exciting rides and delicious food that was on offer!

Wellbeing Pillar 2 .Protecting Against Bullying and Promoting Diversity

During our house meeting as part of our well-being program, the advocates for Pillar 2 proposed a challenge for roommates to create a video or audio emphasising numerous similarities.

 

Here are the results:

 

 

 

 

 

November Boarding Assembly

During our Monthly Boarding Assembly led by our Boarding director Mr. Usher, the Second Pillar of our Well-being Program was launched: Protecting against Bullying and Respecting Diversity. We are feeling proud of the presentation that Ana Sofia and Mia made about ” El dia de los Muertos” as part of our Cultural Diversity. Celebrating and understanding diverse cultural traditions is a valuable aspect of education and promotes inclusivity within our school community.

 

 

Welcome Back!

Another exciting term to come, with events such as the Pumpkin Carving Competition and the Christmas Dance ahead of us, it’s set to be a fun one!  Welcome back, girls!

National Honor Society at Collège du Léman

The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achievement), leadership, service, and character. The National Honor Society requires some sort of service to the community, school, or other organizations. Congratulations Defne for becoming a new member of the National Honor Society! We are very proud of you!   🙂

5 KM Race at Collège du Léman

This race was open to everyone, but we were especially eager to encourage students who have never run before to take their first steps towards a healthier lifestyle. It was a fantastic chance for them to achieve a personal milestone, test their limits, and have fun while doing so. We want to emphasize that there was no pressure for success; participants could stop or walk at any time during the race. Well done, runners !!

 

 

 

Sustainability Competition at Collège du Léman

 

To encourage our students to better use the recycling centres, we are launching a competition for all students of the school.At Collège du Léman, we are raising awareness of how to recycle correctly. Students are encouraged to create a short video advertisement with iMovie. All projects submitted that meet the criteria will be rewarded with House Points, REACH or CAS hours in Creativity or Responsible Citizenship / Service. Well done Maria Luiza, Mia, Ana Luica and Ava !

Monthly Boarding Assembly

This evening, we had our monthly Boarding Assembly led by Mr. Usher, our boarding director. A great opportunity for everyone to get together and share news from the month along with any announcements and any accomplishments.

Disneyland Paris

This weekend a lucky group of Boarders set off on the first trip of the year and enjoyed an exciting yet exhausting weekend at Disneyland Paris. Ava and Mia all had a great time meeting the famous characters and riding the rollercoasters!

Wellbeing Pillar 1. Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds.

Tonight’s assembly started with this wonderful video made by our fantastic team of student advocates. Certainly, the strong connection between physical health and mental health is a crucial aspect of overall well-being. It’s important to understand that physical activity doesn’t only benefit our bodies; it plays a significant role in promoting our mental well-being as well.

 

Today our VIP Teachers visited our J.B. Terray 27 Boarding House

Thank you to all the teachers who came to visit us in J.B. Terray 27 today. It was a pleasure being able to spend time with you, and we hope you enjoyed it.

Merci aux professeurs qui sont venu nous rendre visite à J.B.Terray 27  aujourd’hui. C’était un plaisir de passer du temps avec vous, et on espère que vous vous êtes amusé autant que nous.

 

 

Collège du Léman ,Community Service

Community Service is something that at CDL we feel very passionate about and try to instil in all the students of the school. Within the school, they work on the REACH programme which promotes the students to address the areas of Health and Activity, Responsible Citizenship and Creativity. They must complete thirty hours per year during their school career.

Within the Boarding House, we accomplish many of these by providing activities and opportunities to take part in events and projects.

On Sunday Ana Lucia, Maria Clara, Mia, Raquel and Maria Luiza took it upon themselves to do some litter picking in the forest path running alongside the campus. Well done girls !!

Collège du Léman, Well-Being Program Pillar 1.Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds. Sleep

At Collège du Léman, our students ‘ well-being is defined as being physically and mentally healthy and able to cope with life’s challenges positively and constructively.

Our student’s health and academics are very important and this year we want to have a different focus on their well-being by providing them with the tools that a teenager needs to maintain a healthy body and mind.

During our house assembly, tonight has seen the launch of the First Pillar of our well-being program, Nurturing Healthy Minds and Bodies

 

The aim of this pillar is to highlight the importance of SLEEP and healthy sleeping routines in our day-to-day lives. A crucial part of this pillar will be to help the students by providing them with tools to get a better quality of sleep. A good sleeping routine has been proven to have a positive impact on one’s overall well-being.

 

It’s wonderful to acknowledge and thank Ana Sofia and the other advocates for their efforts in creating these videos for this first pillar.

Amazing weekend in Verbier

This weekend we had our first Mountain Weekend in Verbier. This was a fantastic opportunity for the whole Boarding Community to spend a weekend up in the mountains. Doing this at the start of the year allowed us all to have time to bond and get to know each other while doing group-building activities and enjoying the amazing scenery.

Our girls had plenty of different activities to choose from. Some of them went mountain biking, rock climbing, or hiking. Others preferred to go to a ropes course, do multi-sports on camp.Sunday we had plenty of Carnival games.



 

 

 

 

Discovery Days.Explore Your Horizons !

Over the last week, our students have been away enjoying their Discovery Days – learning new skills and taking part in team-building activities! our Grade 11 and IB1 students have been away enjoying their Discovery Days – learning new skills and taking part in team-building activities!

Happy Jeûne Genevois ! Swiss Tradition

The Jeûne Genevois is a public holiday specific to Geneva. It falls on the Thursday after the first Sunday in September. On this special day, the people of Geneva traditionally eat prune tart.

 The practice of fasting could be observed in the. Swiss cantons as far back as the 15th century. The Diet, an assembly of the representatives of the cantons in place until 1848, organised penance and thanksgiving days. Each canton could decide what form these fasts would take.

The origin of the Jeûne Genevois dates back to the first fast recorded in Geneva, at the beginning of October 1567 following the repression of Protestants from Lyon. From 1640, fasting was seen as a moral and religious act and became an annual practice at the initiative of reformed cantons. It was seen as an act of humility and solidarity with the poorest members of society.

 

Our “ J.B. Terray 27 ” Boarding House is ready to celebrate a holiday! And since we don’t have to go to school tomorrow, we are all looking forward to the trip to Annecy which is going to be organized thanks to our great Boarding Activity Managers! !! You will be able to see the beautiful pictures of these trips tomorrow.

 Sunday tradition here at Collège du Léman:  Sunday Brunch

Just like in many (big) families, we like to gather and relax on a Sunday morning, sharing good food and talking about everything and anything. Everyone can find something they would like to eat: croissants or bacon, fruits or eggs, everything is fresh and cooked on the spot by our amazing kitchen staff.

And as it is Sunday, there is no rush. The cafeteria opens at 9.30am and closes at 11.30am, so everyone can go when they want. Such a good thing for the ones who are eager to go on activities in the morning, or for the ones who want to sleep longer.

 

 

 

Welcome to Collège du Léman!!

Welcome to Collège du Léman!! As the excitement of a new academic journey begins, we are thrilled to extend our warmest greetings to all incoming students arriving at the airport! Miss Maral is there for all of you!

Our dedicated staff and one of our Prefects students eagerly await for your arrival at our Welcome desk at the entrance of the school, ready to support you!!

Yes, we’re open, again !

Collège du Léman is welcoming all the new and “old ” boarders . Villa  J.B.Terray 27 is finally starting to come alive again after the summer break!  Wishing all the boarders a fantastic, exciting, productive, and unforgettable New School Year 2023/2024

We wish you all a well-deserved and relaxing Summer holiday!

On behalf of the Terray Team and the entire Collège du Léman community, we would like to extend our warmest wishes to all of you for a fantastic summer. It has been an incredible year filled with growth, learning, and achievements. Now it’s time to take a well-deserved break and enjoy precious moments with your loved ones.

May this summer be filled with relaxation, joy, and new experiences. Take this opportunity to recharge your batteries, explore new horizons, and create lasting memories. We look forward to welcoming you back refreshed and energized for another remarkable academic year in August.

Thank you for being part of our wonderful community. Have a fantastic summer!

Welcome Defne !

Defne, a new student who has been allocated to Villa Terray for the upcoming year, has been warmly welcomed by our House Representative, Ana Sofia. Defne, we are excited to have you as part of our Villa Terray family, and we look forward to witnessing your growth, achievements, and contributions in the upcoming academic year.

Our last delectable brunch of this academic year

A heartfelt and resounding thank you goes out to our incredible Kitchen Staff: Mr. Antonio, Mrs. Andrea, and Mr. Olivier. Their exceptional skills, dedication, and hard work have made every Sunday’s brunch an unforgettable culinary experience. Mr. Antonio’s mastery of the kitchen has continuously amazed us. Mr. Olivier’s behind-the-scenes efforts have been nothing short of extraordinary and, Mrs. Andrea’s unwavering dedication and attention to detail have played a vital role in the success of our Sunday brunches.

Thank you once again for your care, support, and dedication. Your hard work behind the scenes often goes unnoticed, but we want them to know that your efforts have not gone unnoticed and are greatly appreciated We are fortunate to have you as part of our community !!

End of Year Event

Today was our end-of-year event. There were many activities such as a sliding slide, climbing, and more water activities. Maria Clara dared to do bungee jumping. They had a great time!!!

 

Graduation

We are so proud that you have graduated, Bianka, Amanda, Dalaa, Magnolia, Sabine, Sofia, and Bozhena have made it, now you can enjoy the summer and a new stage in your lives. WE WILL MISS YOU!!

 

Leavers Assembly

Today was the Leavers Assembly for the Grade 12. It was an emotional moment for everyone. But you made it!!!! Bea and I are very proud to have spent your last year in Boarding as your House Parent. We love you!!

 

 

Well-being Pillar 5. Making Safe and Responsible Choices

Tonight, during our Boarding Assembly led by our Boarding Director Mr Usher, has been launched the final Pillar of our Well-being Program: “Making Safe and Responsible Choices”

Extremely important topic, especially as they grow older and head towards college to become fully-fledged adults. Teenagers are surrounded by many influences both online and in real life. There is much temptation and it’s important they develop their own strong healthy morals and ideals.Through the next  weeks, we will ask students to explore an area of interest relating to this pillar through a podcast or other research.

 

Well-Being ,Pillar 4. Reflection

We are at the end of our Fourth Pillar in our Well-being Program.

Tonight during our  well-being tutorial, we had the chance to discuss and reflect on this pillar with our girls.

A huge thank you to the advocates, who made this video to wrap up this pillar .

@thatboardingvibe

Online Safety ! Well done to the advocates. First video credit to @tamar #thatboardingvibe #onlinesafety #pillar4 #passwords #stoptheloop

♬ original sound – CDLivin’

 

 

 

Well-being Pillar 4. Takeaway : Scams, security and identity theft

Tonight in our Well-being Session, we focused on the take away  Scams, security and identity theft.

There are lots of things you can do to keep yourself safe online. Think before you post:

1.Don’t upload or share anything you wouldn’t want your parents, carers, teachers or future employers seeing. Once you post something, you lose control of it, especially if someone else screenshots or shares it.
Don’t share personal details
2.Keep things like your address, phone number, full name, school and date of birth private, and check what people can see in your privacy settings. Remember that people can use small clues like a school logo in a photo to find out a lot about you.
Watch out for phishing and scams
3.Phishing is when someone tries to trick you into giving them information, like your password. Someone might also try to trick you by saying they can make you famous or that they’re from a talent agency. Never click links from emails or messages that ask you to log in or share your details, even if you think they might be genuine. If you’re asked to log into a website, go to the app or site directly instead.
4.Think about who you’re talking to.There are lots of ways that people try to trick you into trusting them online. Even if you like and trust someone you’ve met online, never share personal information with them like your address, full name, or where you go to school. Find out more about grooming.
5.Keep your device secure Make sure that you’re keeping your information and device secure.
6.Never give out your password.You should never give out your password or log-in information. Make sure you pick strong, easy to remember passwords.
7.Cover your webcam .Some viruses will let someone access your webcam without you knowing, so make sure you cover your webcam whenever you’re not using it.

We have also watched these videos regarding Social Media Safety Tips and how to prevent identity theft

 

 

Well-being Pillar 4. Online Safety . Online Life vs Real Life

In today’s well-being session, we focused on Online Well-being. Firstly we began by discussing this takeaway point : Online life vs Real Life. Are you conscious of how much time you spend on your phone? and Who really wins by you spending more and more time on your apps?. Furthermore, our advocate Ana Sofia presented to the girls The Phone Detox Challenge. This could be a a really interesting project for some of our students as we aim to pose the question to them – just how obsessed are you with your phone.

 

 

Happy International Women’s Day

Today we are celebrating women all over the world and within our Nord Anglia community of schools. Magnolia, Maria Luiza, Sabine, Maria Clara, Bozhena, Sofia, Amanda, Bianka, Dalaa and Ana Sofia,  GO AHEAD !! And thank you to Mr Usher, Mrs Salamin, Mr  Salva and Mrs Lucelia for the chocolates and roses.

 

Ski Competition

Today Bianka and Amanda represented JB Terray in the ski Competition. The competition was in La Tzouma and they had a great day. Both gave their best in the competition. WELL DONE!!

 

 

Wellbeing.Pillar 4 Online Safety

The Monthly Assembly brings the launch of our 4th Pillar within our annual Well-being Program.
This Pillar, called Online Safety, will accompany our students through these next five weeks of the school year, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until the Easter Break. It’s a pleasure to announce that Ana Sofia will join the student advocate team for this Pillar 4.

Community Service at Collège du Léman. Litter Picking with Maria Luiza

Community Service is something that at CDL we feel very passionate about and try to instil in all the students of the school. Within the school, they work on the REACH programme which promotes the students to address the areas of Health and Activity, Responsible Citizenship and Creativity. They must complete thirty hours per year during their school career.

Within the Boarding House, we accomplish many of these by providing activities and opportunities to take part in events and projects.

Today Maria Luiza took it upon themselves to do some litter picking on campus. It was therefore nice to show the responsibility we feel we have towards our school community and keeping it clean.

 

Pillar 3. International friendships at Terray Boarding House

Tonight during our well-being tutorial, we focused on the reflective question: Do you embrace the international community, or do you prefer the convenience of building friendships within your own culture and language.

At Collège du Léman, teaching extends beyond the classroom. The family environment in which we live should encourage our girls to take care of each other and create a strong bond, and above all, one that will last a long time. Many friendships are formed and they find that their social circle becomes larger, more diverse, and more interesting. Friendships are a very important element in a person’s life. This is why boarders experience throughout this pillar various ways of making friends that are beneficial to them. They will also have to analyze and understand that there are situations in which certain social environments can be harmful and should be avoided, the more than well-known “bad influences”.

Respect across different nationalities is important for the school’s principle of RISE, but it is much more than just an acronym. It is the most important principle in our house as we are all coming from different countries. Living with such an amazing internationalism spirit made us all learn about different cultures and most importantly, embrace our own.

 

 

Wellbeing Pillar 3, Building Positive Friendships

The weeks before the February break, our well-being sessions continue and we will concentrate on the third pillar: Building positive friendships. Tonight, during our house assembly, we focused on: What are the benefits of an international Friendship? How does the boarding house support and encourage those friendships? What advice would you give future students coming into an international school environment? And lastly, do you know some examples of famous international friendships?

 

We also watched this interesting video about international Friendship Day

January Monthly Assembly

Our first Boarding Assembly in 2023 has seen the launch of The Third Pillar of our Well-being Program, Building Positive Friendships. In Boarding this is even more emphasized. By being away from the family, the students are led to create strong bonds to lay the foundations of their “Boarding Family”. Peers, roommates, colleagues become like brothers, confident, close friends… in some cases, inseparable for life. The nature of this connection is then authentic, genuine and forged by the circumstances and the kinship that the setting enhances. This third Pillar will accompany our students, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until February Break.

 

Welcome January 2023 !!

It is with great gratitude that we end this year, thanks to all the wonderful moments we have enjoyed in our community, in and out of the classroom, at the many artistic, sporting, and musical events that have taken place recently.

Joyeuses fêtes & Happy Holidays to all our students, staff, parents, and all those who are part of the Collège du Léman family. May 2023 bring you health and happy moments that you will cherish for a long time.

Happy holidays to all!!

J.Terray Boarding House will close its doors this weekend, and we would like to take this chance to wish all our girls and their families, Happy Winter Holidays and Happy 2023!! Enjoy these festive weeks with family, friends, and beloved ones. Stay safe !!

Terray Team

 

 

 

Winter Dance

After two years of not being able to celebrate outside the school, we were finally able to get together. It was a fun night where we all enjoyed ourselves and put on our best clothes.

Award Ceremony at Collège du Léman ,First Semester

Tonight we had “The Awards Ceremony”, where some of our girls received a medal for being involved in Activities, Boarding Life, and Academically reaching excellent grades. 

Congratulations to our girls for the awards they received at the boarding ceremony tonight 

 

Academics Award: Zembova Bianka,

 

Boarding Life Award : Gomez Hernandez, Amanda

Activities Award : El Haje , Dalaa

 

Baking Competition

Today was the Baking competition. All the houses made a cake and Terray girls did a delicious Christmas cake with Nutella. Magnolia and Ana Sofia take the lead in doing the cake.

WELL DONE!!!

Well-Being. Pillar 2 Reflective Question

We have reached the end of the Second Pillar and during our weekly pastoral tutorial, our girls had the opportunity to reflect on this second pillar of our well-being program. They have written on paper about how they all say they value diversity and if they are comfortable with differences. They also reflected on the positive effect of the Community Service and Charity actions we are taking these weeks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well-being Pillar 2.Fighting Bullying and Promoting Diversity.

Tonight during our well-being tutorial, we focused on the second takeaway of this Pillar 2: Noticing differences is normal but there are many ways to be an ally.

We reflected with the students on the notion of diversity itself. It’s easy to label diversity as something uniquely linked to ethnicity, creed or sexuality… However, there are many, many other forms of diversity. Simple things such as personal tastes or hobbies are a source of diversity, and these are at least as visible as the above-mentioned ones.

We had an interesting discussion about why we bear judgement towards someone who doesn’t have the same religion or the same beliefs and not towards someone who doesn’t listen to the same music or supports another sports team.

We also watched this video which gives a simple explanation of the real notion of differences and diversity.

Wellbeing Pillar 2 . Integration and diversity

In tonight’s house assembly, we focused on the first key takeaway of this pillar: Integration and diversity are part of the international agenda of the world’s most important institutions.  We talk about it at a lower level, at schools, work and public places. However, that topic is at the heart of the identity of all the major international organizations and that is something that sometimes we overlook to consider diversity something to think of at an individual level. Beyond the political message on the importance of diversity, institutions like the UN have a policy of promoting diversity in their work force and enabling all types of people to access job position within their ranks and therefore setting the example on integration and teamwork.   

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.
Take away point 1 – Integration and diversity are part of the international agenda of the world’s most important institutions.

We also watched this interesting video about UN volunteers

Monthly Assembly. Well-Being 2nd Pillar. Protecting Against Bullying and Promoting Diversity.

During our Monthly Boarding  Assembly led by our Boarding director Mr Usher, the Second Pillar of our Well-being Program was launched, Protecting against Bullying and Respecting Diversity.

Through the next seven weeks, we will ask students to explore an area of interest relating to this pillar through a podcast or other research. We will be asking them to take note of their thoughts and feelings. The aim of this experience is to have a lasting impact on how the students view diversity or bullying.

 

We also talked about some different topics, such as School Trips, Academics, Xmas Dinner,etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well-Being .Pillar 1. Reflective Question

 

We have  reached  the end of the First Pillar and during our weekly pastoral tutorial  our girls had the opportunity to reflect on paper about this first pillar of our well-being program. They have written about how their friends and the people around them have a positive impact on their healthy balanced lifestyle regarding nutrition and physical activity.

Happy Spanish Day !! Internationalism at Collège du Léman

This national holiday commemorates the exact date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas.

Columbus was attempting to find a western sea route to India. After leaving the Canary Islands, Columbus’ ships had been sailing west for five weeks, when on the morning of October 12th 1492, land was spotted.

The sighting is recorded as having been made by a lookout, but Columbus insisted that he had seen a light from land a few hours earlier, therefore making sure that he was awarded a lifetime pension from the Spanish Royal family for being the first person to spot land.

They then made landfall at an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador, though it is not sure which island in the Bahamas this actually was.

Columbus’ voyages across the Atlantic Ocean initiated the European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

Teachers came to our house this afternoon

A HUGE thank you to Mrs Samarra, Mr Levy, Mrs Chung, Mr Van Leeuwen, Mrs Thompson, Mrs Jody Kallay, Mrs Gonzalvez, Mrs Robinson, Mr Botcheff, Mrs Balbe, Mrs Lemale, Mrs Enrech, Mrs Tandy, Mr Fitzgerald, Mr Levy,  Mrs Robinson, Mrs Van Moorsel, Mrs Mitchell and Mrs R.B.  to visit us in J.B. Terray 27 today. It was a pleasure being able to spend time with you, and we hope you enjoyed yourselves too.

Weekend Activities

This weekend the girls from Terray were busy Ana Sofia did Tennis, Magnolia Bodyshapping, Amanda, Bianka, and Dalaa join the  Chess club and Selin did Baking delicious macarons. Well done girls!!!

Wellbeing. Pillar 1. Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds

In tonight’s house assembly, we focused on the second key takeaway of this pillar: The importance of a healthy balanced diet for sports and everyday life.

Staying healthy is at the top of nearly everyone’s priority list, and our daily choices can determine just how healthy we are. Not everything is in our control, but the habits and approaches we take to our health can often make a difference between being healthy and unhealthy

We also watched this video and we discussed how a healthy balanced diet can benefit them with sports performance, as well as academic performance, brain development and growth.

Laundry service, delivered

Laundry Time | Funny emoji, Funny emoticons, Emoji love

This week, Sabine has made use of the laundry service, which the School provides for our students (Monday morning pick-up/Wednesday afternoon delivery) as well as choosing a weekly slot in case she wants to do her laundry in the house by herself.  

 

CP1 class, benefits of reading by Bianka

This morning CP1 students enjoyed Bianka’s video focused on the benefits of reading .This Well-being class has been led by Mrs Amanda Gardiner (IB Core and Reach Coordinator)  and Mrs Jana Krainova (Head of IB Programmes ,IBDP Coordinator and Pastoral Head)

Bianka made this video about the benefits of reading and how books can help not only to deal with stress but also with anxiety.

Amazing weekend in Verbier

This weekend we had our first Mountain Weekend in Verbier. This was a fantastic opportunity for the whole Boarding Community to spend a weekend up in the mountains. Doing this at the start of the year allowed us all to have time to bond and get to know each other while doing group-building activities and enjoying the amazing scenery.

Our girls had plenty of different activities to choose from. Some of them went mountain biking, rock climbing, or hiking. Others preferred to go to a ropes course, do multi-sports on camp or a Via Ferrata. The girls also had the chance to do study hall in the afternoon. Sunday we had plenty of Carnival games. They all had a lovely time and Selin won a silver medal for the house!!

 

Happy Jeûne Genevois ! Swiss Tradition.🇨🇭

The Jeûne Genevois is a public holiday specific to Geneva. It falls on the Thursday after the first Sunday in September. On this special day, the people of Geneva traditionally eat prune tart.

 

 

 
 The practice of fasting could be observed in the Swiss cantons as far back as the 15th century. The Diet, an assembly of the representatives of the cantons in place until 1848, organised penance and thanksgiving days. Each canton could decide what form these fasts would take.
 
The origin of the Jeûne Genevois dates back to the first fast recorded in Geneva, at the beginning of October 1567 following the repression of Protestants from Lyon. From 1640, fasting was seen as a moral and religious act and became an annual practice at the initiative of reformed cantons. It was seen as an act of humility and solidarity with the poorest members of society.
 

Our “ J.B. Terray 27 ” Boarding House is ready to celebrate a holiday! And since we don’t have to go to school tomorrow, we are all looking forward to celebrate our first mountain weekend in Verbier.

  .Flag: Switzerland on Apple iOS 13.3

Wellbeing. Pillar 1. Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds

At Collège du Léman, our students ‘ well-being is defined as being physically and mentally healthy and able to cope with life’s challenges positively and constructively.
Our student’s health and academics are very important and this year we want to have a different focus on their well-being by providing them with the tools that a teenager needs to maintain a healthy body and mind.
During our house assembly, tonight has seen the launch of the First Pillar of our well-being program, Nurturing Healthy Minds and Bodies and we watched this interesting video about Discover how we can use sport and our hobbies to maintain a healthy mental balance.
This pillar aims to highlight the importance of a healthy body and mind in our day to day to lives. A crucial part of this pillar will be to help the students maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle in many aspects, including sleeping patterns, physical activity, nutrition, and relaxation methods.
We will be having discussions with our students over the next few weeks in our House meetings based on these two takeaway points 1: First: Discover how we can use sport and our hobbies to maintain a healthy mental balance and Second: The importance of a healthy balanced diet.
We will ask our students a reflective question:  How have their friends helped them in achieving a healthy balanced lifestyle regarding nutrition and physical activity
This first Pillar will accompany our students through these first weeks of the school year, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until the October Break.
Throughout this school year, students will be encouraged to complete an individual project and a community project for each of the five Pillars of Well-being. These projects are focused on activities that are meant to support growth and self-awareness. We believe that this will allow our students of all age groups to take ownership of their well-being.

 

Informal Meeting with teachers at Collège du Léman.

This afternoon we had our first meeting with our boarders’ teachers to discuss their first weeks settling into her new academic year at Collège du Léman.

Sofia’s Advisory Teacher, Mrs. Samarra

Maria Clara’s Advisory Teacher, Mr. Mc Guire

Magno, Selin, and Bozhena’s Advisory Teacher, Mrs. Skidmore

Amanda’s Advisory Teacher, Mr. Van Leeuwen

Ana Sofia’s Advisory Teacher, Mrs. Murray

Dalaa’s Advisory Teacher, Mr. Penrose

Bianka’s Advisory Teacher, Mrs. Tandy

 

Sabine? Advisory Teacher, Mr. Botcheff

 

Thank you for helping to make this welcome event a success and for reassuring the parents that their daughters are in good hands for the year ahead!
 

 

Yes, we’re open, again !

Collège du Léman is welcoming all the new and “old ” boarders . Villa  J.B.Terray 27 is finally starting to come alive again after the summer break!  Wishing all the boarders a fantastic, exciting, productive, and unforgettable New School Year 2022/2023

 

Wishing you all a fantastic Summer !!

Happy holidays! !! We wish you all a well-deserved and relaxing Summer holiday! Thank you to our J.B. Terray girls: Arlene, Muslima, Galia, Angelina, Katia, Bozhena, Bianka, Amaliya, Joelle, Lia and Sofia for making this year so special and enjoyable for us.   We shall miss you!

Boarding Team ( Your Swiss Family )

From Villa Terray , A HUGE thank you to our Partners in Crime for their support, resilience and perseverance this year !! 🙏

Mrs Pauline Nord, General Director

Mr James Bearblock (High Principal ), Jana Krainova-Samuda ( Head of IB Programmes),  Mr Philip Shaw (Deputy High School Principal , AP Coordinator  and Charity Coordinator , Ms Tracy Usher ( High School Administrative Assistant)

Mrs Amanda Gardiner ( IB Core and Reach Coordinator. English and Theory of Knowledge Teacher )

Mrs Melanie Batey ( University Advisor )

Our wonderful Admissions Team lead by Mrs Laura Bayat

Mrs Claire Rocheteau (Camps Manager ), Matthew Svenningsen and  Annick Quard ( Camp Coordinators)

XCR Activities Team

 

Our  Kitchen Staff lead by Mr Olivier

 

Our nurses, Mrs Floriane Maitre and Mrs Aliénor Régis

Mrs Paula Vieira  ( Our Cleaning Lady)

 

Mrs Marina Karpova ( Guidance Counsellor and Learning Support Services )

Our IT Team lead by Mr  Jean-François

Mr Carlos Riberio (Administrative Assistant)

Mrs Rosario Bautista ( Book Store )

Mr Jean Pierre ( Security Staff )

Mr Alain ( Crossing Staff )

 

 

Hichem Mékacher ( Reception)

And special mention to Mr Usher ( Boarding Director )

 

Madam Salamin (  Deputy Head Boarding )

 

and  Mr Salva Politano  ( Deputy Head of Boarding and Pastoral Program)

 

 

 

 

Collège du Léman, Open House

Is an international school really that different? Come and find out why we think beyond academic success. Learn how our holistic approach inspires to students to acquire 21st century skills and be ready for the future.

Join us on campus and speak to our Middle School, High School Principals and students on campus as they share what makes their experience unique.

Register today!

 

Joul, Ascension long weekend at CDL

Visit Chillon Castle 

Chillon Castle is an island castle located on Lake Geneva.  It is situated at the eastern end of the lake, on the narrow shore between Montreux and Villeneuve, which gives access to the Alpine valley of the Rhône. Chillon is amongst the most visited medieval castles in Switzerland

Pool time 

Brunch Time

 

Community Service, Litter picking campus

Meditation Day

Wellbeing Programme Pillar 5 Making Safe and Responsible Choices.

 

During our well-being tutorial, we focused on Attachment figures this week, the second key takeaway of this Pillar 5.  Attachment theory focuses on relationships and bonds (particularly long-term) between people, including those between a parent and child and between romantic partners. The quality of our early attachments profoundly influences two things:

• our personality
• Our relationships later in life

Depending on their attachment style, our students are either able to empathize with others, share feelings with other people, show trust, engage in long-term relationships, have high self-esteem, enjoy intimate relationships, seek out support etc., or not.

Since our attachment styles are formed so early, we neither remember much about this stage of development nor do we have control over it. Therefore, our attachment traits are typically subconscious and automatic. Consequently, we might find ourselves repeating the same unhealthy patterns, in our relationships with ourselves and with others, repeatedly.

So, since Awareness is the beginning of change, tonight we  asked our girls to take an attachment questionnaire quiz to help them figure out their attachment style.

 

Wellbeing Programme Pillar 5 Making Safe and Responsible Choices.

In tonight’s house assembly, we focused on the first key takeaway of this pillar: Time in, How do you connect with the inner world?

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 behaviours 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.

 

 

Monthly Boarding Assembly. Pillar 5 Making Safe and Responsible Choices

Tonight, during our Virtual Boarding  Assembly, has been launched the final Pillar of our Wellbeing Programme: “Making Safe and Responsible Choices”. Extremely important topic, especially as they grow older and head towards college to become fully-fledged adults. Teenagers are surrounded by many influences both online and in real life. There is much temptation and it’s important they develop their own strong healthy morals and ideals.

 

 

 

 

Community Service at Collège du Léman. Litter Picking with Joelle

Community Service is something that at CDL we feel very passionate about and try to instil in all the students of the school. Within the school, they work on the REACH programme which promotes the students to address the areas of Health and Activity, Responsible Citizenship and Creativity. They must complete thirty hours per year during their school career.

Within the Boarding House, we accomplish many of these by providing activities and opportunities to take part in events and projects.

Today Joul took it upon themselves to do some litter picking on campus. It was therefore nice to show the responsibility we feel we have towards our school community and keeping it clean.

RISE at Collège du Léman

Today, we’re looking back at all the community’s work on the “R” in RISE: Respect!
🎶 “R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me”, just like the song, so we asked the entire CDL community and compiled some of the many great answers here!

 

 

 

Wellbeing Session. Pillar 4. Online Wellbeing

In today’s wellbeing session, we focused on Online Wellbeing.  Firstly we began by discussing these takeaway points: Are you conscious of how much time you spend on your phone? and Who really wins by you spending more and more time on your apps?. Furthermore,  girls answered this Digital Phone Detox Challenge as part of their individual projects for this Pillar 4

We also watched the video that has been made by the Student Advocate Group.

Wellbeing Session. Pillar 4. Your Online Life

 

Following our Pastoral Program, this week during our house assembly we discussed two interesting points about our “Online Life”. First one: What is our true reason for posting our pictures, videos online and second one Why do we think society now values followers, likes and comments on someone’s post as a measure of their success

Think before you post       Social media concept.

Also, we watched the video that has been made by the Student Advocate Group for this Pillar 4.

 

Wellbeing Session. Pillar 4. Online safety

 

During our house assembly and following our wellbeing program, tonight we focused on  the topic What you post…. at that moment

There are lots of things you can do to keep yourself safe online.

Think before you post
Don’t upload or share anything you wouldn’t want your parents, careers, teachers or future employers seeing. Once you post something, you lose control of it, especially if someone else screenshots or shares it.
Don’t share personal details
Keep things like your address, phone number, full name, school and date of birth private, and check what people can see in your privacy settings. Remember that people can use small clues like a school logo in a photo to find out a lot about you.
Watch out for phishing and scams
Phishing is when someone tries to trick you into giving them information, like your password. Someone might also try to trick you by saying they can make you famous or that they’re from a talent agency. Never click links from emails or messages that ask you to log in or share your details, even if you think they might be genuine. If you’re asked to log into a website, go to the app or site directly instead.
Think about who you’re talking to
There are lots of ways that people try to trick you into trusting them online. Even if you like and trust someone you’ve met online, never share personal information with them like your address, full name, or where you go to school. Find out more about grooming.
Keep your device secure
Make sure that you’re keeping your information and device security.
Never give out your password
You should never give out your password or log-in information. Make sure you pick strong, easy to remember passwords.
Cover your webcam
Some viruses will let someone access your webcam without you knowing, so make sure you cover your webcam whenever you’re not using it.

We also watched this interesting video :

Monthly House Assembly

Tonight, during our Monthly Boarding  Assembly, has been launched the fourth Pillar of our Wellbeing Program: Online Safety. The takeaways we will cover this Pillar are: Cyberbullying, Online Life, and Online Wellbeing.  This pillar will accompany our students through these next five weeks of the school year, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until the Easter Break.

Also, two of our students gave a powerful presentation about the importance of peace and friendship regarding the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

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International Dinners at Collège du Léman, Malaysian Dinner

                                                                                                The Malaysian Chef

                                                                                             Vegetarian dish with tofu

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                             Shrimps Laksa

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Poultry Rendang

Collège du Léman, first boarding ski weekend in Crans Montana 💭⛷️🏂

We had a fantastic weekend up in Crans Montana. The whole boarding community went together to have a Swiss Alp experience. The snowfall was wonderful and they all had a great time. We stayed in La Moubra. The students had a choice of skiing, snowboarding or staying at camp and doing activities. It was a great experience. The conditions were excellent for experienced and beginner skiers.

 

Maps of Crans Montana ski resort in Switzerland | SNO ®

 

 

 

Well-Being Session. Pillar 3 Boundaries

Following our well-being program Pillar 3, tonight, during our weekly house assembly we discussed Boundaries,  and why is this so important in building positive relationships.?

Setting boundaries is an important part of establishing one’s identity and is crucial for mental health and well-being. Setting healthy boundaries can have many benefits, including helping people make decisions based on what is best for them, not just the people around them. This autonomy is an important part of self-care. Healthy boundaries are a crucial component of self-care.

Boundaries can be described as how emotionally close you let people get to you. They are also where you draw the line within a relationship. They say how much you are willing to give or take before requiring that things change or deciding to call it quits. …

Boundaries are one of the measures of relationship health.

We also watched this interesting video about how we can set healthy boundaries with toxic people.

 

February Break is almost here !!

                                                             

                                                         

    We need your flight tickets for February Break 

 From Friday 18th February to Sunday 27th February 

Building positive friendship. Well-being. Pillar 3. Individual projects. Games.

Teenagers learn when adults act as good role models. But when it comes to developing great communication and social skills, practice with other kids can be invaluable. Building strong social skills can help teens make friends and feel better equipped to deal with stress and other issues as they develop and grow knowing there is support from the people around them.
One of the best ways for kids to learn to communicate well is to have them interact in a group and use the teachable moments which are created. Board games are fun and one of the easiest ways for kids to engage with one another. Playing a game requires patience, being able to take turns, agreeing to and sticking to the rules, and being a good friend – whether you win or lose.

UNO and JENGA are great games for building decision-making skills and improving hand-to-eye coordination.  But, most importantly, the aim of these games is to teach kids the importance of being patient, how to be a good friend under pressure, and how to contain their excitement when a friend knocks the tower over!

 

Campus Litter Picking. Community Service

This weekend we continued our weekly Community Service by tidying up our campus and the local area. We feel we have a duty to care for where we live and the land we borrow from nature. It is important for students to be able to give their time and energy and take this moment to reflect. Everything that they pick up, has been dropped by another person. If only we all took responsibility for our own trash and recycled it, we would all be living in a better place.

 

Collecting fruits by Bianka and Arlene

In our community, we believe that fruits are very important for the daily food intake, and as we are supporting a healthy lifestyle, every Tuesday and Saturday, we are getting the fruits-sources of many essential nutrients that are under-consumed, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate.

Thank you to our boarding managers for these delicious fruits and also thank you to Bianka and Arlene for your help today.

 

Boarding Assembly. Pillar 3 Building Positive Friendships

Our first Boarding Assembly in 2022 has seen the launch of The Third Pillar of our Well-being Program, Building Positive Friendships.

Friendships are one of the most important elements of our lives. We are social beings and despite differences between us we can all agree that we need people around us to be fulfilled in our nature.

In Boarding this is even more emphasized. By being away from the family, the students are led to create strong bonds to lay the foundations of their “Boarding Family”. Peers, roommates, colleagues become like brothers, confidents, close friends… in some cases, inseparable for life. The nature of this connection is then authentic, genuine and forged by the circumstances and the kinship that the setting enhances.


This third Pillar will accompany our students, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until February Break. The two takeaway points for this pillar are: What is a Toxic Friendship and, Boundaries, Why is this so important.

Collège du Léman, Winter Camp 2022 ⛷ in Crans Montana

Registrations are still open for our Annual Winter Camp in Crans Montana Winter Camp | Collège du Léman – International School – Geneva, Switzerland (nordangliaeducation.com)

All students who are 16 and older are required to have a valid G2 Covid Pass (Vaccine or recovery) to be able to attend our Winter Camp due to the rules in place at the hotel and for activities.

For more information, contact our Camp Team: camps@cdl.ch  🎿

Geneva Tradition: Marmite De L’Escalade

 

 

” For two weeks in December, the city of Geneva goes Escalade mad. As Roy Probert found, the people dress up in period costume and pay homage to a humble soup pot that saved the free world. Or something.

Geneva may be renowned as the world capital of peace and humanitarian work. But during the Escalade period, the citizens of the city show a surprising fondness for guns, swords and canons.

All Swiss people, it seems, have a secret love of dressing up in period costume, polishing muskets and playing fifes and drums. The Genevans are no different. But when they do it, they are remembering a decisive event which arguably made the city what it is today.

The actual day of the Escalade is December 12. It is Geneva’s 4th of July and Bastille Day, though, in keeping with Geneva’s puritan past, it’s celebrated with rather more sobriety. It marks the night when the small Protestant city-state defeated the Catholic forces of the Duke of Savoy and, it’s claimed, cemented its place as a bastion of freedom and tolerance.

“If it had not been for the Escalade, we would probably be French now. And that’s worth celebrating,” says Jean-Michel, who, like his father and grandfather before him, is a member of the 1602 Society, which organises the annual Escalade procession through Geneva’s Old Town.

But what, the visitor will be forgiven for asking, is the significance of the chocolate cauldrons that seem to be in every shop window in the city from the middle of November till the middle of December?

These are “marmites”, and they symbolise the soup pot which played a crucial role in defeating the French hordes.

The story goes something like this: On the night of December 11, the Duke of Savoy launched a surprise attack on the city. As they scaled the city walls with ladders (escalade means to scale) his men were spotted by a woman now affectionately known as Mère Royaume, who poured a pot of boiling vegetable soup over their heads and raised the alarm.

In reality, it was not Catherine Cheynel (Mère Royaume’s real name) who raised the alarm. But she was one of thousands of ordinary Geneva citizens who helped fight off the Savoyards, and her inventive weapon became the symbol of the Escalade.

Today the marmite is made of chocolate and filled with marzipan vegetables. Tradition dictates that the youngest and oldest people smash the chocolate pot and recite the phrase: “Thus perish the enemies of the republic”. In French, of course.

The really serious escalade festivities take place on the weekend closest to December 12. Members of the 1602 Society, dressed in those authentic Reformation period costumes, stage an understated, but fascinating procession through the old town.

At intervals along the way, they stop and a proclamation is read out (the same proclamation that was made after the Duke had been put to flight), muskets and canons are fired and the Geneva anthem Cé qu’è lainô (He who is on High) is sung.

Very few people seem to know what the 68 verses of Cé qu’è lainô mean, as they were written in an ancient Geneva patois. But that does not stop young and old belting it out with gusto. And nowadays they just stick to four verses, which helps.

In short, it’s not particularly complementary about the Savoyards. One verse goes something like this: “On the darkest night they came, and it wasn’t to have a drink. It was to loot our homes and kill us for no good reason.” Thank heavens the Genevans won.

“They have quite a story to tell,” says Keith Kentopp, an American who has lived in Geneva for some 30 years and one of the few foreigners in the 1602 Society.

There are around 2,600 members of the company of whom some 700 are allowed to wear costumes.

“There is nothing Disneyesque or commercialised about this. We know who the main characters of the Escalade were and we all have a role to play,” Kentopp says.

“It’s fun to dress up, but in a time of shifting values, the Escalade represents a kind of continuity. It’s about patriotism, tradition, and basic ideals like freedom.”

It’s also important to place the Escalade in its historical context. It happened at a time of massive religious upheavals in Europe, just before the outbreak of the Thirty Years War.

“It was only a small episode in history. Today we would call it a commando raid,” says Christian Colquhon, a former secretary general of the 1602 Society. “But the following year a peace treaty was signed which brought peace to this region.”

The defeat of the Catholic forces from France and northern Italy also confirmed Geneva’s position as a haven for dissidents and persecuted minorities.

“Many specialists agree,” says Colquhon, “if the Duke of Savoy had taken the city that night, it would not be the city that we know today – city of peace, a city of the world and the headquarters of the United Nations.”

 

Award Ceremony at Collège du Léman ,First Semester

Tonight we had “The Awards Ceremony”, where some of our girls received a medal for being involved in Activities, Boarding Life, and Academically reaching excellent grades. 

Congratulations to our girls for the awards they received at the boarding ceremony tonight 

Academics Award:  Katia 

 

Academics Award :Muslima

 

Boarding Life Award  : Bianka

 

Activities Award :Sofia

Boarding House Review at Collège du Léman

Our students attended a session today with Mr Usher and Mr Salva regarding the first stage of the House Review. This process is something that the Boarding Department completes every two years, to ensure the happiness and safety of the students in their second homes.

As parents and guardians, you will also receive a House Review Survey which gives you an opportunity to share your opinion on several topics.

Wellbeing Pillar 2, Charity and Community Service

In our weekly wellbeing meeting, we have talked about the important role Community Service plays at Collège du Léman. How can we participate, what are the positive effects of our actions in favour of the community and what kind of sense and fulfilment we can find.  These are some of the questions we have talked through in our meeting discovering very positive answers.

Our school encourages all students to connect with the greater community, giving them the opportunity to engage with a variety of activities. Terray girls have helped to mentor students, clean up lake Geneva, helping staff in our everyday tasks, teach younger students, etc.

We also watched this video about the Benefits of Community Service

 

Community Service at Collège du Léman

This weekend we continued our weekly Community Service by tidying up our campus and the local area. We feel we have a duty to care for where we live and the land we borrow from nature. It is important for students to be able to give their time and energy and take this moment to reflect. Everything that they pick up, has been dropped by another person. If only we all took responsibility for our own trash and recycled it, we would all be living in a better place.

 

 

 

Respect Week at Collège du Léman

 

As part of our school-wide RISE week for Respect, and to draw further attention to be more respectful on our CDL campus, we have decided to focus on a theme: One small step makes a big difference.

In our J.B. Terray 27 Boarding House, we have created this image below to suggest one small effort that they can do in relation to Respect.

 

 

Wellbeing Pillar 2 . Discrimination and Diversity

This week in our Wellbeing session we focused on Respecting Diversity and Discrimination.

Diversity refers to the ways that we all are different from one another. Some differences can be our gender, sexuality, ethnicity or culture, religion or spirituality, family, how much money we have (our social standing), age, body size, and ability. We believe diversity (all the things that make us different) should be appreciated and celebrated! Loving differences starts with being curious and open-minded when someone seems different from us.

Discrimination is when people treat others badly because they are different from them in some way. A form of discrimination called oppression is often used to take power away from an individual or a group of people. It can be hard if we experience discrimination, but there are supports and ways of resisting.

We also watched this video about Bullying and Diversity

Wellbeing Pillar 2 . Protecting Against Bullying and Promoting Diversity

During our house assembly and following our wellbeing program, tonight we focused on Racism and Stereotypes and how they lead to bullying.

We discriminate because we feel we protect ourselves, as a group, from those who are not just like us. Bullying is a result of a stereotype which quite often does not represent the truth.

There are several types of bullying that teenagers can experience, though some can be more obvious than others.

Being capable of identifying the forms of bullying and where they come from is the first step to enhance the awareness and feel confident to effectively tackle it around us.

Four common types of bullying :

Physical Bullying- This type of bullying involves hitting, kicking, punching, pushing and tripping, or stealing or damaging personal property. Physical bullying can cause both short term and long term damage

Verbal Bullying- Verbal bullying involves name-calling, insults, teasing, threats or homophobic or racist remarks. While verbal bullying can start out harmless, it can mount to levels that start affecting the individual target. Some signs of verbal bullying include things such as being withdrawn, becoming moody or a change in appetite.

Social Bullying- Social bullying, referred to as covert bullying, is often hard to recognize and can be carried out behind the target back. It’s often done to harm someone’s social status and/or to cause humiliation. Signs of this type of bullying include shifting towards being alone, mood changes and becoming withdrawn from a group of friends. Examples of this type of social bullying include:

  • Lying and spreading rumours
  • Rudely mimicking someone
  • Playing nasty tricks to embarrass and humiliate
  • Negative facial or physical gestures
  • Encouraging others to exclude someone
  • Damaging someone’s social acceptance or reputation

Cyber Bullying- This certain type of bullying can be overt and covert bullying behaviour. The bully would use digital technologies, including hardware like computers and smartphones, and software such as social media, texts, websites and other online platforms. Cyber can happen both in public or private and sometimes only the target and the bully know it’s occurring. Signs of cyberbullying may involve your child, after being on their phone or social media sites, more and becoming sad or anxious afterwards. Cyberbullying includes:

  • Abusive or mean text messages or posts, images or videos
  • Purposely excluding others online
  • Posting nasty gossip or rumours online
  • Imitating people online or using their log-in to hurt them

We also watched this interesting video about stereotypes and bullying.

 

First Parents Teacher Meeting

Today we had our First Virtual Parent & Teacher Meetings and we are so proud of the girls and all the positive feedback we received.

We would also like to thank our Teachers and staff from Collège du Léman, which are directly and indirectly involved in their education and wellbeing. We are sure they are on the path of Lifelong learning, the voluntary act of learning throughout life. Discover the benefits of a learning mind-set for personal and professional development and we can only thank everyone for providing them with that.

Congratulation girls, for all your efforts and dedication.  We are proud of you!!  This is the way to go.  Go ahead  !!

Well-Being 2nd Pillar Protecting Against Bullying and Promoting Diversity. Empathy Workshop with Mrs. Jody

After our October Break, we started the Second Pillar of our Wellbeing Programme, focused on Protecting against Bullying and Respecting Diversity. 

Through the next seven weeks, we will be asking students to explore an area of interest relating to this pillar through a podcast or other research area. We will be asking them to take note of their thoughts and feelings. The aim of this experience is to have a lasting impact on how the students view diversity or bullying. 

Tonight, during our weekly house assembly, we discussed what bullying is, what bullying includes, and how to deal with bullying at school.  Furthermore, and as we did in our First Pillar, students will think about an individual and a community project to carry out during this period, until the Christmas Break.

Tonight we had a special guest, Mrs Jody our boarding counsellor. The girls were happy to meet Mrs Jody and very grateful for this wonderful workshop.

Happy Spanish Day !! Internationalism at Collège du Léman

This national holiday commemorates the exact date when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the Americas.

Columbus was attempting to find a western sea route to India. After leaving the Canary Islands, Columbus’ ships had been sailing west for five weeks, when on the morning of October 12th 1492, land was spotted.

The sighting is recorded as having been made by a lookout, but Columbus insisted that he had seen a light from land a few hours earlier, therefore making sure that he was awarded a lifetime pension from the Spanish Royal family for being the first person to spot land.

They then made landfall at an island in the Bahamas, which he named San Salvador, though it is not sure which island in the Bahamas this actually was.

Columbus’ voyages across the Atlantic Ocean initiated the European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

 

Cleaning up Lake Versoix !!

Our girls managed to spend several hours on Saturday giving back to the community by cleaning up Lake Versoix, we were very proud of our House’s turnout as most of the girls were keen to get involved and never once complained as the day became tiresome. Good job girls, Proud of you !!

 

 

Saturday Snack, fruits.

In our community, we believe that fruits are very important for the daily food intake, and as we are supporting a healthy lifestyle, every Tuesday and Saturday, we are getting the fruits-sources of many essential nutrients that are under-consumed, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate. Thank you to our boarding managers for these delicious fruits!

MEDITATION SESSION

Comments after the meditation session from our girls:

Lia: “It allows us to learn and perceive all senses”

Bozhena: “Every bone in my body was relaxed and it seemed that I was in sync with my body and my mind. Great experience.”

Katia: “Meditation is being present in the moment”

Bianka: “After the session, mediation is adquiered and perfected with practice. The more you practice the better you are at it and you are more connected to the environment.”

Sofia: “It was really nice to be able to feel things that normally we don’t have the time to even be aware of.”

Arlene: “I liked it because it is something that you cannot do right or wrong because there is no results just what you feel and how you understand and applied it into your life.”

Galia: “It allowed me to find some equilibrium and be more connected with my body. To be able to put all the worries aside and concentrate only in what that happening in that instant. ”

Amaliya: “Although this activity was not my favorite one, I like the state of mind that I was left with after the session.”

Muslima: “The body almost can do it all but is the mind who we need to convince. Being able to leave all my worries for a while was really rewarding .”

Mindfulness session with Mrs. Jody

The thing that separates the good schools from the great, is about how well they understand that what they teach, doesn’t just lie in the academic. For as high as our academic standards at C.D.L are and how hard our students work; what we pride ourselves on is an education that can prepare us for when life truly begins.

And much like the academic, the basics is where it all comes together. Because maintaining a healthy body and mind doesn’t require much creativity. But it does require routine. Simple maintenance in the most obvious areas. Getting enough sleep. Eating well. Reducing time spent between them and electronics. And it’s easy to forget that. So at C.D.L, in our Wellness sessions, we bring our girls at Villa Terray together to remind them about those healthy basics and getting them involved in revitalising their interest in them.

Featured below is a photograph of our boarding C.D.L counsellor Mrs Jody supervising a mindfulness exercise.

 

Wellbeing Pillar 1 – Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds – Hobbies

We are now entering the fifth week of the Wellbeing Pillar 1. This week the topic to be covered in the Boarding Houses will be based around positive activities. We would like the students to ask themselves ‘how do they spend their free time?’ This is linked to the second takeaway point of this pillar which is: ‘How can we use our hobbies to de-stress?’ Therefore, we would like the students to first identify their hobbies (perhaps relating to sport, art, reading or music etc), then encourage them all to use these extremely beneficial activities as a positive form of relaxation or destressing.

Having a hobby is a great way to spend your spare time and unwind from your daily routine – whether it’s learning a new skill, doing something outdoors, reading, or doing something musical or artistic.
Spending time on an activity that you enjoy can improve your mental health and wellbeing. Research shows that people with hobbies are less likely to suffer from stress, low mood, and depression.

Activities that get you out and about can make you feel happier and more relaxed. Group activities like team sports can improve your communication skills and relationships with others.

 

Your interests may be creative, athletic, academic, or something distinctly personal. You may choose a hobby that you can do alone or as part of a group. Whatever your interests are, there is sure to be a hobby out there for you. What matters is that it is something you find meaningful and enjoyable.

Wellbeing Pillar 1 Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds – Stress

We are now entering the fourth week of the first Pillar of our wellbeing programme – Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds.
The second takeaway point from this pillar is ‘How can we use our hobbies to de-stress?’. Every single one of us is faced with a certain level of stress in our lives at some point. We appreciate that our students with have pressures and stress to deal with from many different aspects of their lives, therefore it is crucial that we talk about how we can help identify these stressors and how we can help manage those stress levels. This is another big step in identifying how we can maintain a healthy mind in order to benefit our well-being.

During our Boarding House assembly this week, we specifically talked to the students about ‘How can we identify personal stressors. The idea behind this topic is that it’s important to learn how to identify what it is exactly that is putting under stress before we then find appropriate activities and strategies to help alleviate that stress.

We also watched this interesting video about how we can provide them with more knowledge surrounding stress management.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival !! Chinese Tradition

Mooncake Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is also called the Moon Festival or the Mooncake Festival. It traditionally falls on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which is in September or early October on the Gregorian calendar.

In 2021, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on September 21st (Tuesday). Chinese people have a 3-day public holiday from September 19th to 21st.

A “mid-autumn festival” is also celebrated in many other Asian communities besides China. In China, it’s a reunion time for families, just like Thanksgiving, while in Vietnam, it’s more like a children’s day.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most important festival in China after the Chinese New Year. Chinese people celebrate it by gathering for dinners, worshipping the moon, lighting paper lanterns, eating mooncakes, etc.

Thank you to our Boarding Direction for these delicious mooncakes !!

 

Do emoji ever die? The true story behind the images on our iPhones

Muslima in “Les Roches Global Hospitality Education”

🏅 A group of 8 IBCP students are taking part in a fantastic challenge this week hosted by Les Roches Global Hospitality Education – Switzerland

🍽️  Supervised by experts, they had a week to prepare the best dining experience possible: from decorating a pop-up restaurant, to planning, cooking, and serving a 3-course meal for 8 demanding judges, including the Director General of Les Roches and a team of hospitality specialists. We wish them the best of luck! 🍀

Wellbeing Session,1st Pillar.The effects of screen time before sleeping 😴

We are now entering the third week of the Wellbeing Pillar 1. This week the topic to be covered is The effects of screen time before sleeping’This is again linked to the first takeaway point of this pillar which is: How important is sleep?’ 

Can't Sleep At Night? Here Are Five Ways You Can Tackle Insomnia

We care about all the elements which interfere with the life of our students. One of these is the time spent in front of screens before sleeping.

The Link Between Your Cell Phone and Insomnia - Sisters in Health

Using phones, or any screens for that matter, before you go to sleep has an effect on your health and subsequently your wellbeing. Scrolling through your phone or watching something on your laptop at bedtime can keep your mind psychologically engaged, preventing your brain from switching off effectively at the end of the day. The blue light that comes off the screens reduces the melatonin levels in your body. Melatonin is the hormone within the body that controls your sleep cycles. It is also possible that scrolling and watching can trigger emotions within your brain that will delay your sleep and can lead to you lying awake reflecting on those emotions. We would like to outline the importance of sleep to our students so that they are fully prepared and they give themselves the best opportunity possible to achieve their full potential – in all aspects of their lives. Allowing the brain the sufficient amount of time to rest and recover means we give ourselves the best chance to having a healthy mind, and a healthy body

 

We also watched this interesting video about How smartphones affect our sleep

 

 

Today our VIP Teachers visited our J.B. Terray 27 Boarding House

Merci aux professeurs qui sont venu nous rendre visite à J.B.Terray 27  aujourd’hui. C’était un plaisir de passer du temps avec vous, et on espère que vous vous êtes amusé autant que nous (non seulement à cause de notre nourriture !)  🙂

Thank you to all the teachers that came to visit us in J.B. Terray 27 today. It was a pleasure being able to spend time with you, and we hope you enjoyed yourselves too (not only because of our food!)  🙂

 

 

 

Wellbeing First Pillar, Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds. Sleep 😴

Following our Pastoral Program, tonight we had our second Wellbeing session focused on The effects from lack of sleep and How does it affect all areas of our life.

The discussion was interesting. Everybody shared the reasons that can make us go late to bed: social media, homework, stress, etc. Using  their answers we set up a new action plan: 

1- Unlike us, who have grown up without the internet and mobile phones, our students were born into the age of the Internet and for them, it is something intrinsic and second nature.  Students need 7/ 8 hours per night to sleep. Due to their lack of sleep, we made a deal: During the week, they are not allowed to use mobile phones after 22.30. 

2- To help relax their body and mind after an intensive daily routine, we suggested that they take a shower and drink a tea or infusion before bedtime. Obviously, family calls/chats are important as well as attending yoga classes or meditating, all helping them feel more relaxed.

 3- They need at least five meals: breakfast, snack at school, lunch, snack after school, and dinner. We suggested that they avoid eating fast food and energy drinks. Best to drink water. Tuck shop is cancelled so they can buy their healthy food. 

4- They must practice more sports. Almost all of them have signed up for 1 or 2 activities during the week/weekend: fitness, volleyball, horse, soccer, tennis.

We also watched this interesting video about How sleep affects our brain. 

Happy Jeûne Genevois !! Swiss Tradition

The Jeûne Genevois is a public holiday specific to Geneva. It falls on the Thursday after the first Sunday in September. On this special day, the people of Geneva traditionally eat prune tart.

 Tarte aux pruneaux (plum pie)  is often served as dessert in Geneva homes on Jeûne genevois. Any knowledge as to how this tradition began seems to have been lost, although it may have come about as a means to allow women and housekeepers a way to spend the day in prayer, having cooked plum pies the day before (area plums being in season).

The practice of fasting could be observed in the. Swiss cantons as far back as the 15th century. The Diet, an assembly of the representatives of the cantons in place until 1848, organised penance and thanksgiving days. Each canton could decide what form these fasts would take.

The origin of the Jeûne Genevois dates back to the first fast recorded in Geneva, at the beginning of October 1567, following the repression of Protestants from Lyon. From 1640, fasting was seen as a moral and religious act and became an annual practice at the initiative of reformed cantons. It was seen as an act of humility and solidarity with the poorest members of society.

Our “ J.B. Terray 27 ” Boarding House is ready to celebrate a holiday! And since we don’t have to go to school tomorrow, we are all looking forward to the trip to Lausanne to visit the Olympic Museum. This excursion is going to be organized thanks to our great Boarding Activity Managers! !!  You will be able to see the beautiful pictures of these trips tomorrow.

Wellbeing First Pillar, Nurturing healthy bodies and minds.

As a new school year begins, J.B. Terray 27 and the whole boarding community will be focusing on looking after ourselves and others around us. We will be spending an hour a week together concentrating on what it means to have a positive attitude towards our own wellbeing and the benefits it can bring us both academically, socially, and personally. This will be a 5 pillar program carried out over the year, focusing on different areas of our lives. Tonight we had a special guest, Mrs Jody our boarding counselor. The girls were happy to get to know Mrs Jody and very grateful for her visit and support.

 

The first pillar we are building is Nurturing healthy bodies and minds. This first Pillar will accompany our girls through these first weeks of the school year, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until the October Break. During the next weeks, we will cover crucial topics such as sleep, nutrition, exercise, and emotional regulation which will be the main focus of this Pillar.  

We strongly believe in the importance of sport and activities and the extensive benefits they have on both our physical and emotional well-being. We think it’s very important that where we work hard, rest and relaxation are also vital. This can be provided by sports also, but other constructive ways to look after ourselves emotionally can be reading, listening to music, meditating, making things or yoga. 

   Throughout this school year, students will be encouraged to complete an individual project and a community project for each pillar of well-being. Our community project will involve the whole Boarding House.

 

Yes, we’re open, again !

Collège du Léman is welcoming all the new and “old ” boarders . Villa  J.B.Terray 27 is finally starting to come alive again after the summer break!  Wishing all the boarders a fantastic, exciting, productive, and unforgettable New School Year 2021/2022

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Wishing you all a fantastic Summer !!

Happy holidays! We wish you all a well-deserved and relaxing Summer holiday! Thank you to our J.B. Terray girls: Diana, Louise, Ruijin, Kateryna, Alina, Maeva, Isabella, Lia and Katia for making this year so special and enjoyable for us.   We shall miss you!

Boarding Team ( Your Swiss Family )

 

 

Last Assembly of the year and stay safe Movie

The girls had their last boarding assembly of the year and we are very proud to announce that Katia is going to be a Prefect next year!!! Welldone Kati 🙂

The girls also watched the stay safe movie and we had a great discussion about it after and how this can be in the real world. It was great to have their point of view.

Stay safe girls 🙂

Big Day, Graduation 2021 🎓

We are proud of you, Louise Lacoste, Ruijin Song , Isabella Peterson, Alina Kazmina, Diana Mokabber , Maeva Vasquez and Kateryna Yalpachyk  ! We are wishing you all the best for your future . God bless you girls !   Go ahead!!  We love you

Boarding Team ( your stepfamily in Geneva )


 

 

Wellbeing Pillar 5. Self-Discipline

Following our Pastoral Programme , we watched this interesting video about How Happiness is dependent on self-discipline.

Self-discipline, or self control, means taking possession of our own mind. The power of thought is the only thing over which and human being has complete unquestionable control. We have the power of the self-determination, the ability to choose what out thoughts and action will be. If you direct your thought and control your emotions, you will ordain your destiny.

Take charge of your life. You are what you think !

 

Well-being 5 Pillar. Decision Making. Consequences. Mistakes. The adolescent brain.

Following our Well-Being Programme, today’s conversation was about decision making and consequences.

Decision making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision, gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions. Using a step-by-step decision-making process can help us make more deliberate, thoughtful decisions by organizing relevant information and defining alternatives.

The Consequences of Choice: The Final Step in Decision Making

Before moving ahead with a decision, it is imperative to consider possible adverse consequences of feasible alternatives. The negative consequences of any action are as tangible as its benefits, sometimes more so. Once a decision has been made and implemented, any of its negative effects will eventually become real problems. The effects of decisions—good or bad—always outlive the decision-making process that produced them.

 

We all make mistakes . Helping teenagers learn from their mistakes

In today’s world where we tend to focus on success and money, mistakes are frowned on. This attitude has been past on to our teenagers. Some parents don’t expect their teens to make a mistake or fail at something. If their teen does make a mistake, the consequences can be severe.

Teenagers are very aware of the pressure on them to succeed and never make a mistake. Many teens who make mistakes are terrified of telling their parents because they fear their reaction. Some teens even consider suicide if they failed a test at school. Teens feel this pressure because parents arrange for tutors so they will get good grades. Also parents are sending their teens to courses to prepare them for the SAT test and parents are also arranging for consultants to help their teens get into good colleges. This is a great deal of pressure and stress.

Think back to when your son or daughter was learning to stand or walk. When the child fell, you would tell them good job for trying and keep trying because you will get it. We say this all the time to our little children. However, for some reason when that little child becomes a teenager, mistakes are not as acceptable and often teens get into trouble for making a mistake.

Yes, as a teen their mistakes get bigger and can be very serious. Obviously if a teenager made a mistake of shop lifting or driving while drunk, these are very serious issues and deserve negative consequences the first time they occur. However, if the mistake is they forgot to do their homework or they came home 20 minutes after curfew, these are not as serious and do not require a severe consequence. Remember the consequence needs to be related to the mistake. If it is too severe or if there is no consequence, the teen will not learn anything.

As parents, we need to remember that teens are starting to learn about relationships and how to handle responsibilities as adults. When they were younger they needed to learn how to walk and had to be toilet trained. We were patient with them as little children, why not be patient with them as teens?

When your teenager makes a normal life mistake, instead of getting mad or frustrated look at it as a teaching opportunity and a bonding opportunity. When your teen makes a mistake this gives you an opportunity to discuss what type of adult you would like to see them mature in to and what values as an adult you hope they will have. It is also a chance to grow closer because if you talk with your teen it give you the opportunity to learn about them and for your teen to learn about you.

We also  watched this interesting  video about the adolescent brain by Dan Siegel

It’s not so easy being an adolescent these days. We become aware of the world around us, are flooded with input through digital media about our extended global family, and learn about the world’s intense and overwhelming problems. And even more, puberty’s onset is getting earlier, and the time between our childhood dependence and adult responsibility over the last century has moved from a couple of years to a dozen or more.

For adolescents, this means that the pruning down of existing neurons and the laying down of myelin sheaths connecting the remaining linked neurons will continue years after we stop referring to them as “teenagers”

 

💃 Happy International Dance Day! 🎶 at Collége du Lèman

🎬 We are very proud of our students who were selected to represent CDL in Juilliard’s Construct-A-Dance challenge. This involved them creating, choreographing, dancing and filming themselves in groups. 🕺

🏅 Our brilliant dancers and passionate teachers Veronika and Sophie were awarded a certificate for their hard work. 👏

#collegeduleman #internationalschool #ecoleinternationale #boardingschool #geneva #switzerland #juilliard #contructadancechallenge #internationaldanceday #dance #madeforcreativity

Eat a fruit or not? Decisions after decisions. Wellbeing pillar 5.

Today we had a chat over some fruits and it was about decision making. I took an apple and I asked them whether they wanted to eat it or not? And the conversation started there.

I asked them have you ever wondered just how many decisions you make in a day? I got frowned faces. So I answered this question, neuroscientists predict it’s a mind-blowing 35,000! (Yes, I searched about it before, like I do every time we are about to have a debate about a wellbeing project.).

Then I went on to ask them if they could number how many decisions they had to make since they woke up. I started my list by, when I woke up I saw it was 7am so I questioned myself whether I should get up or stay in bed 30more mins. It followed by whether I should drink my coffee with or without milk,  go straight to the computer or enjoy my coffee in the sun, drink a second one or wait for brunch, enjoy the sun or open my phone to check messages etc. Then they started to think of all the decisions they made until then and realised that they were actually a lot!

I told them that someone once told me that life is just a series of decisions, one right after another, each determining the life that we lead. Sometimes the decisions are small and inconsequential, like my morning selections. However, sometimes the decisions are big. They have the power to shape us, such as which college to attend, and the degree to pursue, whom to marry or where to settle down. And the ripple effect that follows can feel like you’re riding a tidal wave. Regardless-big or small, every day these choices are written into our story.

So we talked about how to get to the root of decision making and we came up with these 6 steps;

  1. Identify the problem/conflict to be solved.
  2. Gather relevant information.
  3. Brainstorm possible solutions.
  4. Identify potential consequences.
  5. Make a choice.
  6. Take action

This was a great interaction time and now they know that learning to make their own choices help them be more independent, responsible, and confident. It gives them a sense of control over their lives, reducing anxiety and promoting resilience. Furthermore, it encourages self-exploration and helps them to solidify their values.

Let’s continue with more decision making; whether to eat another fruit or stop there? Let’s apply the 6 steps and make a decision!

 

Virtual Monthly Boarding Assembly. April

Tonight, during our Virtual Boarding  Assembly, has been launched the final Pillar of our Wellbeing Programme: “Making Safe and Responsible Choices”

The key take-away points for this Pillar will be three : first , the ESSENCE of teen brain and the science behind decision making process ; second , consequences and third , self-discipline.

Also, our girls will be given only two choices for their Individual Projects. They will have to join either the discipline revolution project or the happiness project

Wellbeing Pillar 4- Who are our followers?

What makes social media actually ‘social’ are the connections users make with other users on the platforms. Every social networking site handles these connections differently, calling them ‘connections’, ‘friends’ and ‘followers’, amongst others. Having friends and followers is how we find out what other people say and do. Your friends and followers are much more likely to see your online content than those outside of your network, which is why it’s important to be mindful of who you connect with and what you share. On some platforms, if two accounts follow each other, this may allow additional communication channels such as private messaging.

Some tips to stay safe online;

1. Be Cautious of Sharing Too Much

2. Adjust Privacy Settings

3. Limit Details About Work History

4. Verify Who You’re Connecting With

5. Keep Control of Comments – Be Aware of Impersonators

6. Don’t Share Personal Details

7. Check Out Your Own Account

8. Know Employer Boundaries or Acceptable Use Policies

9. Control What Information is Shared with Outside Sources

10. Be Careful of Over-Friending

11. Consider Forming a New Social Network

12. Single Sign-On: Open ID

13. What Goes Online Stays Online

14. Know How to Block Unfriendly Followers

15. Keep Passwords Strong

 

And last but not least, enjoy your social media, but don’t forget to enjoy your social life  ❤️

Recycling for our responsibilities and future.

The girls have been doing a community project this last two weeks, going over the recycling rubbish and separating them once again. They are not only doing it to deal with the consequences of some of their actions but also to save their own planet.

These bins are only supposed to be for PET, but, as you can see in the picture, there are thousands of different things in them that are not PET bottles.


The girls were pleased to do this and at the same time shocked to see how disrespectful the others are towards our planet. Here is a recorded message from them;

Thank you, girls, not only for showing that you are responsible for your actions but towards our planet! As I said before, I am sure you are growing up to be great women.

Well-Being Tutorial 4th PIllar. Before and after Internet: How Things Changed.

This afternoon, over some strawberries and cream, we started discussing if they remembered their lives when they were very young before they could actually start playing with the internet.

I also talked about my experience and we had a nice chat that led to different discussions, like, What do you most like about the internet? What do you use most? What you don’t like? and If something bad happened to them related to the internet, bullying, shaming and etc.

I t was nice to see so many different points of view and freely discuss it 🙂 Here are some things for you to reflect on before and after the internet.

 

 

 

 

Taking resposibility.

I am proud to say that the girls took their responsibilities into their hands and went ahead with this recycling sorting task in the school.

Seeing you being responsible for the consequences of your actions and completing this task with great intention could not make me less happy.

I am sure you are growing up to be great ladies 🙂 Let’s go for a second round of helping hands tomorrow too, this time with music!


Community Project. 4 Pillar Well-Being Tutorial

Following our Pastoral Programme and as part of our Community Project for our Wellbeing Pillar 4 Online Safety, we were watching the movie You’ve got mail,1998. This film reveals the boundaries of the online relationship: no specifics, including no names, career or class information, or family connections.

Second Virtual Parent Teacher Meeting

Today we had our Second Virtual Parent & Teacher Meetings and we are so proud of the girls and all the positive feedback we received.

We would also like to thank our Teachers and staff from Collège du Léman, which are directly and indirectly involved in their education and wellbeing. We are sure they are on the path of Lifelong learning, the voluntary act of learning throughout life. Discover the benefits of a learning mind-set for personal and professional development and we can only thank everyone for providing them with that.

Congratulation girls, for all your efforts and dedication.  We are proud of you!!  This is the way to go.  Go ahead, is the last stretch !!

Well-being Tutorial : Pillar 4. What goes online & staying safe

This week in our Wellbeing Session, we have watched some videos regarding Online safety and  Staying safe.

 

TIPS TO STAY SAFE ONLINE

There are lots of things you can do to keep yourself safe online.

Think before you post
Don’t upload or share anything you wouldn’t want your parents, carers, teachers or future employers seeing. Once you post something, you lose control of it, especially if someone else screenshots or shares it.
Don’t share personal details
Keep things like your address, phone number, full name, school and date of birth private, and check what people can see in your privacy settings. Remember that people can use small clues like a school logo in a photo to find out a lot about you.
Watch out for phishing and scams
Phishing is when someone tries to trick you into giving them information, like your password. Someone might also try to trick you by saying they can make you famous or that they’re from a talent agency. Never click links from emails or messages that ask you to log in or share your details, even if you think they might be genuine. If you’re asked to log into a website, go to the app or site directly instead.
Think about who you’re talking to
There are lots of ways that people try to trick you into trusting them online. Even if you like and trust someone you’ve met online, never share personal information with them like your address, full name, or where you go to school. Find out more about grooming.
Keep your device secure
Make sure that you’re keeping your information and device secure.
Never give out your password
You should never give out your password or log-in information. Make sure you pick strong, easy to remember passwords.
Cover your webcam
Some viruses will let someone access your webcam without you knowing, so make sure you cover your webcam whenever you’re not using it.

Healthy cookies and Challenge with Diana :)

Diana was feeling like the weather didn’t help with the mood today, so we decided to make some healthy cookies for everyone in the house and we ended up doing an abbs workout challenge to kick some more endorphin in.

The cookies were so yummy, thank you, Diana 🙂

And here goes the hard work to burn them off, kick some endorphin in and give us a smile 🙂

Saturday is paid off 🙂

Virtual Monthly Boarding Assembly. March

This term brings the launch of our 4th pillar within our annual Wellbeing Programme. This pillar called Online Safety will accompany our students through these next five weeks of the school year, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until the Easter Break. During our weekly well-being tutorials, we will cover crucial topics such as What Goes Online, Stays Online;  Who are your Friends/Followers; and Safety First Workshop Online Harassment which will be the main focus of this Pillar. Also, our girls will be encouraged to complete an individual and community project, just as they did during the last pillars.

We also have to thank Maeva and Diana, our Prefects for their help with tonight’s topics, full details about A.P. Mock exams, last ski day, Talent Show and Boarding Phrase Competition to name a few. Thanks for your contribution!
Girls, enjoy your apple pie & hot milk 
Boarding Team

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away“

In our community, we believe that fruits are very important for the daily food intake, and as we are supporting a healthy lifestyle, every Tuesday and Saturday we are getting the fruits-sources of many essential nutrients that are under-consumed, including potassium, dietary fibre, vitamin C, and folate.

It’s the winter break!

J.Terray will close its doors tomorrow morning and we hope everyone will enjoy their break and recharge the batteries 🙂

Enjoy the winter break, and be ready for some snow fun like our super Maeva!

 

We will be waiting for you from next week girls!!!

Another Successful Virtual Boarding Assembly

A very important topic was brought up during our virtual house assembly, which is also a part of our Wellbeing  Pastoral Programme. Peer pressure and the role of positive friendships in youth development. Adolescence is a period of rapid change —physically, emotionally, and socially—and relationships with friends play an important role in adolescents’ lives as they become increasingly independent, develop their own identity, and grapple with self-esteem. Positive friendships provide youth with companionship, support, and a sense of belonging. They can encourage or reinforce healthy behaviours, and evidence suggests that positive companies in adolescence can lay the groundwork for successful adult relationships, including romantic relationships.

 

 

 

Sunday Study time and snacks.

Today was filled with snacks and concentration. The girls have been studying since early and why not having some snacks to keep concentration level at its best?

Well done for the hard work girls! We are so proud of you! 🙂

 

A special Thank you to the direction for providing these super delicous food!

Ski Day 🎿 🏂

On Saturday the Boarding School headed for the mountains (Leysin and Villars) for a ski day of fun in the snow. The girls had a great time skiing and snowboarding with plenty of fresh snow.

Skier on Apple iOS 14.2Google (Android 11)

Respect Week- Respect others. Respect the environment. Respect yourself.

 

Along with Mr Usher, the prefects decided that for the respect week CDL should focus on respect for the environment. So on this sunny day, good music and a great willingness to see our community clean, Maeva, Lia and Isabella decided to take part in it and we all went litter picking around our community.

During our walk, we discussed how we can help improve our environment and what are the things we should do to educate those that don’t. Just as we were passing by a shop, a man who saw we were picking up litter, was smoking and we all waited to see if he would throw it out on the street or in the bin and at the end, he threw it in the bin and the girls decided to go and congratulate him and thank him for his care towards our environment.

Full trash bags and big smiley faces!

The girls were impressed with the number of cigarette buds that are thrown in the streets and Maeva wanted to make sure we show that to everyone so they can learn how to respect our environment.

Litter team on attack!

Well done girls, we are so proud of you!!!

Well-Being Session : Peer Pressure

Following our Well-Being Programme, our house assembly this time was about Peer Pressure.

Peers are people who are part of the same social group, so the term “peer pressure” means the influence that peers can have on each other. Although peer pressure does not necessarily have to be negative, the term “pressure” implies that the process influences people to do things that may be resistant to, or might not otherwise choose to do.
So usually the term “peer pressure” is used when people are talking about behaviors that are not considered socially acceptable or desirable, such as experimentation with alcohol or drugs. The term “peer pressure” is not usually used to describe socially desirable behaviors, such as exercising or studying.
Is Peer Pressure Always Bad?
In reality, peer pressure can be either a positive or negative influence that one peer, or group of peers, has on another person.
Positive Peer Pressure
Peer pressure could influence a young person to become involved in sports. This involvement could be positive, leading to exposure to healthy lifestyles and role models, and eventually leading the young person to become a positive role model herself.
Negative Peer Pressure
That same peer pressure could lead the same young person to over-identify with sports, putting exercise and competition above all else.
If taken to an extreme, she may develop exercise addiction, causing her to neglect schoolwork and social activities, and ultimately, use exercise and competition in sports as her main outlet for coping with the stresses of life. This can also lead to numerous health consequences.

 

 

Well-being Session : Describing your role model

This afternoon a fruitful conversation took place in our lounge during our snack time and all the girls were engaging with great interest.

What is the definition of a role model? Someone that you look up to.

We all have role models.

What are their qualities?

They have high moral values and they are honest.

They project confidence.

Role models demonstrate their commitment to a desired goal and are willing to invest the necessary time and effort to achieve success.
They don’t give up easily and they persevere when confronted by obstacles. Their passion to succeed inspires youngsters to follow through and reach the goals they set for themselves.

In order for role models to be influential, they must show respect for others.

Role models inspire others with an upbeat, optimistic outlook on life.

In J.B. Terray Boarding House, everyone’s role model or models come from family members. Grand-parents and parents who managed to succeed in life with their perseverance and positive energy. Strong passionate people who are kind and compassionate. We are all lucky and grateful to have these people in our lives. We want to learn from them and set the example to others as they did.

And you know…. you might be this role model. It’s all about good intentions and kind actions.

First Virtual Boarding Assembly in 2021 and 3rd Pillar

 

During our first Virtual Boarding Assembly in 2021 has seen the launch of The Third Pillar of our Well-being Programme, Building Positive Friendships.

This third Pillar will accompany our students, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until February Break.

Throughout these weeks, we will cover crucial topics such as Friendship groups, Positive role model, Sociability, Confidence/Motivation…

Friendship is a very important part of our lives.

For teenagers, good friends can be:

– like a personal support group

– a sense of belonging, a feeling of being valued and help with developing confidence

-the sense of security and comfort that comes from being with others going through similar experiences

-information about the changes that puberty brings, and what’s going on physically and emotionally

-a way to experiment with different values, roles, identities, and ideas

– experience in getting along with people of the opposite sex.

-a social group to do new things with, especially things that are different from what families do.

 

 

 

 

 

Terray is open again !

Jb Terray is now open and we are excited to see everyone’s beautiful faces again!

We are sure you all had a great family time together and got your batteries charged for another wonderful and hard-working term full of energy, realizations, and great health!

We can wait to see you all again!! Safe travels and see you soon!

Thank you !!

Thank you to Mrs. Nord, our  Director General, for these delicious biscuits!!

Thank you to Mr. Usher, Boarding Director, and Mrs. Salamin, Deputy Head of Boarding, for these swiss chocolates !!

And thank you to Mrs. Jody and Mr. Salva, our Pastoral Programm Team for your continuous support in these difficult times !!

 

 

Goodbye dinner party with and diversity discussion.

Tonight we had vegetarian lasagna and milk pudding to celebrate the last weekend before the holidays!

The girls were happy to eat at home and have a quiet time before going to bed for the last week of school! The main conversation was about how excited they are to go back home 🙂 But also, we discussed what do they do and how they call the end of year celebrations back in their country.

This was a nice way to discuss diversity around the theme of  “end of year celebrations” and also other celebrations. The girls seemed very mature towards this theme and discussed how important it is to be respectful of different cultures and beliefs. In another word, we tested each other to check how well we knew our own culture.

In the end, we learned that the best way to understand other people’s cultures is to first examine your own. Most of us take our background for granted, and we’re rarely challenged to evaluate it. However, it’s only through appreciating our own unique cultural makeup that we can fully appreciate others’.

What is it that you believe in? What biases do you have? What behaviours define you, and would any of them seem odd or unusual to someone with a different culture? These aren’t easy questions to answer, but they did open their eyes to understanding other cultures.

We all have our unique filter through which we view the world, and recognising that fact makes it easier to see other points of view.

And was this way that we finished the day, and guess what, we all learned different card games from each other country 🙂

 

End of the year dinner party

Today was the end of the Year dinner party.

The girls were happy to be celebrating this evening together. Even though the hygiene measures were restricted and well followed, we did have an amazing evening with extremely delicious food.

They have been working hard this year and they have fully deserved this moment.

The decoration was amazing, everyone enjoyed it, no need for more words, the pictures speak for themselves ! 🙂



 

Well-being: Culture and Geneva Tradition : L’Escalade

Due to the health situation linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, the school parades, the historic parade, the Course de l’Escalade and numerous events within the different districts have been cancelled. One sure value can nevertheless be enjoyed: the chocolate cauldron: La Marmite de L’Escalade ”

L’Escalade takes its name from the assault on the ramparts of the City of Geneva by the troops of the Duke of Savoy during the night of 11/12 December 1602. Every year in December, the Fête de l’Escalade commemorates the victory of Geneva with a blend of humour and tradition.

” For two weeks in December, the city of Geneva goes Escalade mad. As Roy Probert found, the people dress up in period costume and pay homage to a humble soup pot that saved the free world. Or something.

Geneva may be renowned as the world capital of peace and humanitarian work. But during the Escalade period, the citizens of the city show a surprising fondness for guns, swords and canons.

All Swiss people, it seems, have a secret love of dressing up in period costume, polishing muskets and playing fifes and drums. The Genevans are no different. But when they do it, they are remembering a decisive event which arguably made the city what it is today.

The actual day of the Escalade is December 12. It is Geneva’s 4th of July and Bastille Day, though in keeping with Geneva’s puritan past, it’s celebrated with rather more sobriety. It marks the night when the small Protestant city state defeated the Catholic forces of the Duke of Savoy and, it’s claimed, cemented its place as a bastion of freedom and tolerance.

“If it had not been for the Escalade, we would probably be French now. And that’s worth celebrating,” says Jean-Michel, who, like his father and grandfather before him, is a member of the 1602 Society, which organises the annual Escalade procession through Geneva’s Old Town.

But what, the visitor will be forgiven for asking, is the significance of the chocolate cauldrons that seem to be in every shop window in the city from the middle of November till the middle of December?

These are “marmites”, and they symbolise the soup pot which played a crucial role in defeating the French hordes.

The story goes something like this: On the night of December 11, the Duke of Savoy launched a surprise attack on the city. As they scaled the city walls with ladders (escalade means to scale) his men were spotted by a woman now affectionately known as Mère Royaume, who poured a pot of boiling vegetable soup over their heads and raised the alarm.

In reality, it was not Catherine Cheynel (Mère Royaume’s real name) who raised the alarm. But she was one of thousands of ordinary Geneva citizens who helped fight off the Savoyards, and her inventive weapon became the symbol of the Escalade.

Today the marmite is made of chocolate and filled with marzipan vegetables. Tradition dictates that the youngest and oldest people smash the chocolate pot and recite the phrase: “Thus perish the enemies of the republic”. In French, of course.

The really serious escalade festivities take place on the weekend closest to December 12. Members of the 1602 Society, dressed in those authentic Reformation period costumes, stage an understated, but fascinating procession through the old town.

At intervals along the way, they stop and a proclamation is read out (the same proclamation that was made after the Duke had been put to flight), muskets and canons are fired and the Geneva anthem Cé qu’è lainô (He who is on High) is sung.

Very few people seem to know what the 68 verses of Cé qu’è lainô mean, as they were written in an ancient Geneva patois. But that does not stop young and old belting it out with gusto. And nowadays they just stick to four verses, which helps.

In short, it’s not particularly complementary about the Savoyards. One verse goes something like this: “On the darkest night they came, and it wasn’t to have a drink. It was to loot our homes and kill us for no good reason.” Thank heavens the Genevans won.

“They have quite a story to tell,” says Keith Kentopp, an American who has lived in Geneva for some 30 years and one of the few foreigners in the 1602 Society.

There are around 2,600 members of the company of whom some 700 are allowed to wear costumes.

“There is nothing Disneyesque or commercialised about this. We know who the main characters of the Escalade were and we all have a role to play,” Kentopp says.

“It’s fun to dress up, but in a time of shifting values, the Escalade represents a kind of continuity. It’s about patriotism, tradition, and basic ideals like freedom.”

It’s also important to place the Escalade in its historical context. It happened at a time of massive religious upheavals in Europe, just before the outbreak of the Thirty Years War.

“It was only a small episode in history. Today we would call it a commando raid,” says Christian Colquhon, a former secretary general of the 1602 Society. “But the following year a peace treaty was signed which brought peace to this region.”

The defeat of the Catholic forces from France and northern Italy also confirmed Geneva’s position as a haven for dissidents and persecuted minorities.

“Many specialists agree,” says Colquhon, “if the Duke of Savoy had taken the city that night, it would not be the city that we know today – city of peace, a city of the world and the headquarters of the United Nations.”

 

J.B. Terray 27 Boarding House well represented at the Virtual Awards Ceremony 2020 !!

Tonight we had our First Virtual Awards Ceremony led by Mr. Usher, our Boarding Director, where some of our girls received a medal for being involved in Activities, Boarding Life and Academically reaching amazing grades. Well done to all of the winners. We are proud of you !!

Louise received the Boarding Life Award for her involvement and spirit in our house.

 

Kateryna got a medal for her outstanding participation in the school and boarding activities.

 

Katia won the award for the highest GPA  in her academic program in Grade 11 AP and Maeva was awarded for the highest GPA in her academic program in Grade 12 AP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boarding Community Spirit and Solidarity at Collège du Léman: Praying for Lebanon

It will be four months since the explosion in Lebanon, which affected several of our CDL family. To respect this and show our support, tonight, our students had Lebanon’s flag in a window, and they stood around it, praying and shining the light from their phones towards the window: ‘Light for Hope’ 🙏

Well-being Tutorial. Diversity and Non-Violent Communication

Following our Pastoral Programme, tonight we had a nice discussion about being in a community with people from different cultures. We came to the conclusion that we can find a lot of things in common with people even from a completely different continent. We shouldn’t be prejudiced, in the end, we are all differently same. We are valuable human beings who deserve to be treated with kindness and understanding. We were very happy to see the girls getting along and work together as a small group in a big international community.

We also watched a video on nonviolent communication.

 

Painting

Tonight, Jessica made an excellent presentation about how we can read a painting.

1- Have a look: attention

2- Reading artworks through topic or subject: topics

3- What is that about symbolism

4- How would they do that: biographical information.

5- Anyone can do that: emotions & feelings

Diversity and bullying and mug cakes- What do they have in common?

Here is a smiley “Cupcake mug” to cheer up your tummy 🙂 But what does it have to do with Diversity? Let me start…

The discussion was; How do you bake cakes back in your country? As we all know, east Asian food, for example, doesn’t have cheese or dairy as much as other parts of the globe. It was only in the late ’90s that it started being advertised. Knowing that the question arose; So you guys didn’t have cakes, oh my god!? And a nice discussion about diversity and cakes started.

All that led us to understand the importance of a diverse community and how each one of their educational experience can be enriched by living among people from a variety of backgrounds. Here, we embrace our similarities and celebrate our differences.

We discussed the importance of supporting each other to be their most authentic self and accepting these of others will propel them to thrive in their relationships, work, and life-long learning in the future. Being in a multicultural and diverse school teaches students cultural competency in real-time, how to engage in spaces and with other students and adults from different backgrounds than their own. It helps them learn how to understand the social and emotional reactions and experiences of their peers, often unlike their own.

Of course, we did all that munching on our cake mugs, that for instance didn’t have any milk and yet, tasted just like it did! Once again we proved that being different is not bad, only it was from a different point of view 🙂

 

Well-Being Assembly, Meditation Challenge

We are sure that some of us might be experiencing different feelings due to this extraordinary situation. We are experiencing a pandemic. It is normal to feel overwhelmed with emotions. Sometimes we feel sad, scared, and a bit worried. But there is a way to avoid falling into a sad spiral.

During our weekly assembly, the tip to take care of our mental health was practicing mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness meditation can bring to our girls, clarity and calm. It’s a practice that encourages them to be present, acknowledge their emotions, and let it go. And it’s all grounded by breathing.

The regular practice of it will help them to be less overwhelmed with all the emotions triggered by the pandemic. It will remind them all feelings are normal and it’s okay. And eventually, what they’re feeling will end.”

 

 

Well-Being. Presentations of the 2nd Pillar Individual Projects

During our boarding assembly, all of our girls made an excellent presentation of their individual projects for this Second Pillar focused on Protecting against Bullying and Respecting Diversity.
Well done girls !!
Lia Presentation: International Cooperation
Alina Presentation: Bullying
Lou Lou Presentation: Internationalism
Diana Presentation: Bullying
Katia Presentation: Internationalism at CDL
Isabella Presentation: Peer Pressure
Jessica Paper-Cutting. Chinese Tradition
Maeva Presentation: Respecting Diversity
Kateryna Presentation: Cultures

 


 

Wellbeing Pillar 2- Community Project

Promoting diversity and protecting against bullying- Wellbeing Pillar 2, community project.

Many of us are using lockdown to reflect on our personal values and take a meaningful look at the structure of the society we live in. It is everyone’s responsibility to come together and stand for equality, diversity and inclusion. For that, the girls in JB Terray chose to participate in the Annual Gift Box project. Now, what is the annual Gift Box project?

The annual gift box project is a project where students choose to participate by donating either money or items. This includes items like toothbrush, soap, school supplies, socks, toys, chocolate and etc. Essential items that make their lives easier. The boxes are sent to needy children in orphanages, schools and hospitals in Eastern Europe who are living below poverty.

We spent the afternoon preparing the boxes, and as you can see, the girls were thrilled to be part of this.

 

Thank you, girls, for all your effort and kindness!

 

Spirit Week at Collège du Léman

 

This past week we celebrated ‘Spirit’ from our school motto and each section of the school did a project to demonstrate their Community Spirit. Within the Boarding Community, we aligned this with our Wellbeing Pillar 2- Promoting Diversity and Protecting Against Bullying. We believe we have a strong bond as a Boarding Community and that together with the diversity among us we bridge cultures to come together and show our community spirit. To demonstrate this we created a video.

Wellbeing Tutorial. Respecting Diversity at Collège du Léman

This week in our Wellbeing session we focused on Respecting Diversity. Our ‘RISE’ values of Respect, Internationalism, Spirit and Excellence, are at the heart of everything we do, bringing together more than 110 nationalities and cultures to create one family.

Respect for diversity is the hallmark of our school community that is confident and strong in its values and beliefs. When students understand that each individual is unique with their own individual differences they can begin to value and appreciate these for the richness they bring to the school and wider community.

What language do you speak? What is your religion? What holidays do you celebrate? What is your racial identification? What is your ethnic identity? What is your culture? Why is cultural diversity so important?

Our culture is what shapes us, it shapes our behavior and our identity. Culture is our way of living, it refers to the shared language, beliefs, values, norms, behaviors, and material objects that are passed down from one generation to the next.

WHAT DOES “CULTURALLY DIVERSE” MEAN?

The term “culturally diverse” is often used interchangeably with the concept of “multiculturalism.”

Sociologist Dr. Caleb Rosado, who specializes in diversity and multiculturalism, described seven important actions involved in the definition of multiculturalism:

  • recognition of the abundant diversity of cultures;
  • respect for the differences;
  • acknowledging the validity of different cultural expressions and contributions;
  • valuing what other cultures offer;
  • encouraging the contribution of diverse groups;
  • empowering people to strengthen themselves and others to achieve their maximum potential by being critical of their own biases; and
  • celebrating rather than just tolerating the differences in order to bring about unity through diversity.

    WHY IS CULTURAL DIVERSITY A “GOOD THING”?

    Cultural diversity is important because our country, workplaces, and schools increasingly consist of various cultural, racial, and ethnic groups. We can learn from one another, but first, we must have a level of understanding about each other. Learning about other cultures helps us understand different perspectives within the world in which we live. It helps dispel negative stereotypes and personal biases about different groups.

    In addition, cultural diversity helps us recognize and respect “ways of being” that are not necessarily our own. So that as we interact with others we can build bridges to trust, respect, and understanding across cultures. Furthermore, this diversity makes our country a more interesting place to live. As people from diverse cultures contribute language skills, new ways of thinking, new knowledge, and different experiences.

    HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT CULTURAL DIVERSITY?

    • Increase your level of understanding about other cultures by interacting with people outside of your own culture
    • Avoid imposing values on others that may conflict or be inconsistent with other cultures
    • When interacting with others who may not be proficient in English, recognize that their limitations in English proficiency in no way reflects their level of intellectual functioning
    • Recognize and understand that concepts within the helping profession, such as family, gender roles, spirituality, and emotional well-being, vary significantly among cultures and influence behavior
    • Within the workplace, educational setting, and/or clinical setting, advocate for the use of materials that are representative of the various cultural groups within the local community and the society in general
    • Intervene in an appropriate manner when you observe others engaging in behaviors that show cultural insensitivity, bias, or prejudice
    • Be proactive in listening, accepting, and welcoming people and ideas that are different from your own

What does Spirit week have to do with diversity and bullying, our 2° Pillar of the Wellbeing program?

This educational sequence entitled Spirit Week consists of an integration week which students spend some time together, an opportunity to promote community at school and learn about each other’s diversity and do activities creating cohesion and wellbeing within the community school.

Unfortunately, with the pandemic situation, this doesn’t allow us to be close together but we did manage to, within the limits, spend a moment in the open air to try and pass on the message to the students. We got together, sang a song and wrote, using ourselves, the word SPIRT.

But what does the SPIRIT week have to do with our 2° pillar? The second pillar is about Diversity and protecting against bullying. Diversity improves critical-thinking skills, builds empathy and encourages students to think differently. Diversity is everything that makes people different from each other. This includes many different factors: race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, ability, age, religious belief, or political conviction. All these factors work together to inform how students (and everyone else) encounter the world. Therefore we are all different and our differences should be respected. As John Lennon once said;

“Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion, too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace…”

Well done girls!!!

Well-Being 2nd Pillar

After our October Break, we started the Second Pillar of our Wellbeing Programme, focused on Protecting against Bullying and Respecting Diversity. 

Through the next seven weeks, we will be asking students to explore an area of interest relating to this pillar through a podcast or other research area. We will be asking them to take note of their thoughts and feelings. The aim of this experience is to have a lasting impact on how the students view diversity or bullying. 

Tonight, during our weekly house assembly, we discussed what bullying is, what bullying includes, and how to deal with bullying at school.  Furthermore, and as we did in our First Pillar, students will think about an individual and a community project to carry out during this period, until the Christmas Break.

Thank you to our House Representative Kateryna and to our House Captain, Louise for your support

 

First Virtual University Fair at Collège du Léman

Today, we had the pleasure of hosting our first virtual university fair with the Council of International Schools for Grade 11 and 12, Première and Terminale. Students had the opportunity to interact with more than 20 prestigious universities from 8 countries around the world!

#collegeduleman #internationalschool #madeforyou #university #classof2021 #classof2022 #future #virtualfair #geneva #IEuniversity #HultBusinessSchool #universityofbath #universityofbristol #concordiauniversity #universityofwarwick #universityofstandrews #universityofedinburgh

October Break Snack

To say goodbye for the October Break in a proper way, we had creps, ice-cream and fruit for a snack on Friday before everyone would leave!

We wish you all a great break, get all your energy back, charge your batteries and don’t forget to take care fo yourself and the others around you!

We will be waiting for you all with a warm welcoming 🙂


Yoga for Wellbeing- Community Project.

Yoga for Wellbeing.

For our wellbeing community project this Sunday we all decided to do a 20mins session of  Yoga for wellbeing.

In these challenging times, it is especially vital to maintain inner balance, peace, and wellbeing. We did a Yogic practice that cleanses the *nadis – the pathways through which pranic energy flows – resulting in a balanced system and psychological wellbeing.

Benefits:

  • Enhance vitality, focus, memory, and productivity
  • Stabilize the body, mind, and emotions
  • Strengthen and stabilize the spine
  • Relief from back pain, stress, anxiety, and tension
  • Alleviate chronic ailments and improve the overall health
  • A lasting sense of joy, peace, and fulfilment

Thank you, girls, for these 20 minutes of sharing and relaxation!

 

*In yoga theory, nadis is a life force energy. In the physical body, the nadis are channels carrying air, water, nutrients, blood and other bodily fluids around and are similar to the arteriesveinscapillariesbronchiolesnerveslymph canals and so on.[1]

In the subtle and the causal body, the nadis are channels for so-called cosmic, vital, seminal, mental, intellectual, etc. energies (collectively described as prana) and are important for sensations, consciousness and the spiritual aura.

Well-Being. Individual Projects.1st Pillar Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds

Well done girls !

 Lia

Mood and feelings journal

Alina Presentation Managing Stress
 Louise

Painting to increase relaxation

 Diana Presentation Benefits of saffron
 Katia Presentation about healthy lifestyle
 Isabella Presentation: Why alcohol is bad
 Ruijin Playing HULUSI
Maeva Nutrition classes. Exercise (swimming, walks). Reflection on these new habits
Kateryna Mandalas.

Monthly Boarding Assembly

Tonight we had our Monthly Boarding Assembly led Mr Usher, as usual. One of the Boarding Prefects, Diana gave an awesome speech about friendship issues and  making friends in boarding .Thank you Diana for your contribution !!

World Heart Day

World Heart Day is celebrated every year on 29 September

In May 2012, world leaders committed to reducing global mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is accountable for nearly half of all NCD deaths making it the world’s number one killer. World Heart Day is, therefore, the perfect platform for the CVD community to unite in the fight against CVD and reduce the global disease burden.

Created by the World Heart Federation, World Heart Day informs people around the globe that CVD, including heart disease and stroke, is the world’s leading cause of death claiming 17.9 million lives each year, and highlights the actions that individuals can take to prevent and control CVD. It aims to drive action to educate people that by controlling risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity, at least 80% of premature deaths from heart disease and stroke could be avoided.

World Heart Day is a global campaign during which individuals, families, communities, and governments around the world participate in activities to take charge of their heart health and that of others. Through this campaign, the World Heart Federation unites people from all countries and backgrounds in the fight against the CVD burden and inspires and drives international action to encourage heart-healthy living across the world. We and our members believe in a world where heart health for everyone is a fundamental human right and a crucial element of global health justice.

Izzuddin Faalan, Maldives, illuminated in red for World Heart Day.

Well-Being Community Project- First Pillar

Food is not only fuel, food is pleasure and the basis for a healthy life.

Following our Pastoral Programme we baked apple pies for other barding houses. Our First Pillar is based on Nurturing Healthy Minds and Bodies and we decided to bake these pies because it induces students to eat more fruits.

 

 

This pie in special doesn’t have any sugar, so it is a different way to eat fruit in a heathy way.

Well-Being Workshop: Emotion Regulation

Following our Pastoral Programme today we had our first Wellbeing Workshop organised by the boarding school and our counselor, Mrs Jody .
Focused on Emotion Regulation, we all learned about expressing and dealing with our emotions. We worked in small groups and tried to solve scenarios, and  understand our feelings.
It was lovely to see our girls listening to each other and creating a safe space for everyone to feel welcome to share their feelings.

 

Keeping the balance #Wellbeing

It is important that we identify what can make us happy, healthy and confident and keep a balance with our achievements or academic skills.

During this month Terray girls are reflecting on their quality of Sleep, Nutrition, Mood, Physical activity, Leisure time and School.

This insight can help us to find  where is our balance or what are the consequences of choosing bad habits, how is all connected and the most important… how can all we find opportunities to improve our well being with small changes 🙂

Well-Being. Nurturing Healthy & Minds and Bodies

If you really want to eat, keep climbing the fruits are on the top of the tree. Stretch your hands and keep stretching them! Success in on the top, keep going!!

In our community we believe that fruits are very important for the daily food intake, and as we are supporting a healthy lifestyle, every Tuesday and Saturday we are getting the fruits-sources of many essential nutrients that are under consumed, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate.

Also, a healthy and well-balanced diet supports brain development!

In 2008 scientists have proved that a diet that includes fruit can also increase your focus in the classroom, so you will be able to learn new information and get higher test scores…

 

 

Swiss Tradition Jeûne Genevois

Happy Jeûne Genevois !!

The Jeûne Genevois is a public holiday specific to Geneva. It falls on the Thursday after the first Sunday in September. On this special day, the people of Geneva traditionally eat prune tart.

 The practice of fasting could be observed in the. Swiss cantons as far back as the 15th century. The Diet, an assembly of the representatives of the cantons in place until 1848, organised penance and thanksgiving days. Each canton could decide what form these fasts would take.

The origin of the Jeûne Genevois dates back to the first fast recorded in Geneva, at the beginning of October 1567 following the repression of Protestants from Lyon. From 1640, fasting was seen as a moral and religious act and became an annual practice at the initiative of reformed cantons. It was seen as an act of humility and solidarity with the poorest members of society.

Our “ J.B. Terray 27 ” Boarding House is ready to celebrate a holiday! And since we don’t have to go to school tomorrow, we are all looking forward to the trips to AquaPark and Charles Chaplin Museum in Vevey which are going to be organized thanks to our great Boarding Activity Managers! !! You will be able to see the beautiful pictures of these trips tomorrow.

Have a great holiday, everyone !!

Flag: Switzerland on Apple iOS 13.3


Weekly House Assembly

For our Weekly Assembly we had an amazing time. Thank you  Maeva for your help with tonight’s topics , full details about Covid protocol at CdL, University Choices, individual pastoral project, house rules, reach hours programme, activities,….

Thanks for your contribution !

 

Nurturing Healthy Bodies and Minds – Pillar 1 #Wellbeing

At College du Leman our students’ ‘wellbeing’ is defined as being physically and mentally healthy and be able to cope with life’s challenges in a positive and constructive manner. Our students’ health and academics are very important and this year we want to have a different focus on their wellbeing by providing them with the tools that a teenager needs to maintain a healthy body and mind.

This week has seen the launch of the first Pillar of our well-being programme, Nurturing Healthy Minds and Bodies

This first Pillar will accompany our students through these first weeks of the school year, and it will offer them the opportunity to work on a range of many different projects and activities until the October Break.

Throughout this school year, students will be encouraged to complete an individual project and a community project for each pillar of well-being. These projects are focused on activities that are meant to support growth and self-awareness. We believe that this will allow our students of all age groups to take ownership of their wellbeing.

Parents, students, educators, walk with us this path. We count on your support to make the best for our students wellbeing.

Week 1 Well-Being Program at Collège du Léman. We care about our students !

As a new school year begins and following our Pastoral Program, tonight we had our First Well-Being Tutorial. This will be a 5 Pillar Program carried out over the year, focusing on different areas of our lives. We will be focusing on looking after ourselves and others around us. We will be spending an hour a week together concentrating on what it means to have a positive attitude towards our own well being and the benefits it can bring us both academically, socially, and personally. 

 

 

As a novelty, this year we use Padlet to choose a challenge. Padlet is an online virtual “bulletin” board which can be used by students and tutors to post notes on a common page.Students can choose their individual project and the House Parents can share community ideas. The notes posted by tutors and students can contain links, videos, images, and document files.
 
During this first session focused on Nurturing Healthy Minds and Bodies, we began by asking them to give us a synonym for the word Well-Being and what personal association they have with that word. Understanding the initial concept is important. Some of their responses included: feeling happy, healthy, calm, lively, vital, energetic, having a good sense of humor and being glad.
 
Following, we asked them questions like:
 
– How many hours do you sleep and what time do you approximately fall asleep?
– How do you manage to relax in the face of problems in general?
– How many meals do you have per day and what do you eat? What do you drink?
– What sports do you practice and how often? Do you practice yoga or meditation?
 We discussed it together and we set up a new action plan:
 
1– Unlike us, who have grown up without the internet and mobile phones, our students were born into the age of the Internet and for them, it is something intrinsic and second nature.  Students need 7/ 8 hours per night to sleep. Due to their lack of sleep, we made a deal: During the week, they are not allowed to use mobile phones after 22.30. 
 
2- To help relax their body and mind after an intensive daily routine, we suggested that they take a shower and drink a tea or infusion before bedtime. Obviously, family calls/chats are important as well as attending yoga classes or meditating, all helping them feel more relaxed.
 
3- They need at least five meals: breakfast, snack at school, lunch, snack after school, and dinner. We suggested that they avoid eating fast food and energy drinks. Best to drink water. Tuck shop is cancelled so they can buy their health food.
 

 4- They must practice more sports. Almost all of them have signed up for 1 or 2 activities during the week/weekend: fitness, volleyball, horse, soccer, tennis, and pool.

 
In the next weeks our Well-Being sessions we will cover sleeping patterns, healthy eating habits, sports, meditation and any other ideas we find relevant in order to give tools to the girls to balance their lives and build up in a positive frame and with the structure needed to the achievement of their full potential.

 

Welcome back from J.B. Terray !!

We hope you all had a wonderful summer – the staff of J.B. Terray are ready and eager to welcome you all back for the 2018-2019 academic year!

Your team this year is made up of House Parent Beatriz Lourido Fernandez, Deputy House Parent

We look forward to seeing you all soon, if you have any questions before getting here please contact terray@cdl.ch

Yummy baking from Rikka! 🍰

During the year Rikka was attending the weekly culinary classes with our school chef making great recipes. Now she has sent us this picture of an amazing cake she has prepared for her bother’s birthday….. Looks delicious!

Well done Rikka!

We wish you a deserved rest After 4 weeks of a Virtual Learning Experience!

It has been a challenge but Well done to all the Villa Terray girls: Olivia, Rikka, Helen, Jialin, Aya, Ana Sofia, Jasmine, Natalina and Julia 🙂
We are looking forward to seeing you back in the House as soon as possible, we miss you tremendously!

Please see a little video message from us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-dEx7CcnfA&feature=youtu.be

Making safe and responsible choices #Wellbeing

During these weeks, we have started a new topic from our Wellbeing program. Pillar 4 making safe and responsible choices.  Extremely important topic, especially as they grow older and head towards college to become fully-fledged adults.

In this last session, we have to talk about Peer pressure, that represents both a challenge and decision for teens, as they struggle to choose between what they know is right and what their friends are doing.

Not only we have discussed about right choices but we have talked about how to say NO.  As a part of the session, we did a role-play putting in practice refusal skills with body language and assertive communication.

Thank you, girls, for your honest talk about teens challenges.

Ski week photos!

Many of our students spent February break in the amazing resort of Crans Montana! Among them, it was Helen who snowboarded 6 days, notably improving her level!

Kids enjoyed tremendously with also many activities as bowling, escape room, cinema, skating, swimming pool…..

Have a look at these wonderful pictures 🙂

Social Skills #WellBeing

Friendly folks are not the same as folks who are your friends.  It’s nice to feel welcomed when you attend an activity, but it’s much more valuable to have relationships that thrive outside of the meetings. But how do we build those relationships?. Sometimes relationships will grow quickly on their own, but if they don’t, how do you encourage them to grow? Fortunately, making friends is a skill that we can develop.

In the last session of the Wellbeing programme -third Pillar: Building positive friendships, we have talked about tools and strategies that can take us to fulfiling friendships and, through an acting game, Terray girls have represented some of these social skills. We can practice them every day and will help in almost any situation.: smiling, making eye contact, finding common interest, empathize…

Thank you girls, for such a wonderful session 🙂  !

Sunday Choreography

Watch this video with Natalina picking up this Style dance Choreography

Boarding Assembly artists 🎵

Each of our monthly assemblies begins with a brilliant interpretation of our students.

In our February assembly, we have been able to count on Gabriel who, with only his voice and creating loops, has achieved this wonderful melody.

Please listen carefully……….

Study Hall

As we approach some exams of the second Marking Period, students thoughts have turned to revision.  The importance of revision is twofold. Firstly, it helps you to remember what the students covered some time ago. Secondly, If done correctly it will help increase your confidence and reduce anxiety.

Keep revising girls, you will be well prepared!

International friendship #WellBeing

This week in our Well-Being session we have explored the benefits of making friends from around the world in School.

Internationalism is a cornerstone at CDL, a school with more than 110 nationalities. Only in Villa Terray, we count with 8 different and this is going to lead to many international friends.

Terray girls came up with many benefits such as the cultural exchange, learning languages or a greater sense of empathy for the world. After this discussion, we played a quiz about international food which made us laugh out loud!

Sunday cinema : Little women

This Sunday Terray went to the cinema to watch Greta Gerwig’s newest film, Little Women.

Based on the classic American novel by Louisa May Alcott, the movie tells the story of the March sisters and their family. The sisters are all living their lives in their own way and bucking conventions all the while.

It’s a story with no real villain and a lot of love, friendship and compassion. We are glad you enjoyed it!

Cooking class 🍳

One of the extracurricular activities that Rikka enjoy the most is cooking.  With our chef students learnt tasty recipes from all over the world. So far Rikka has cooked churros, lasagna, cupcakes and this week…. an amazing Rissotto.

Keep learning to cook beautiful and delicious meals, Rikka!   🙂

What makes a good life? #Wellbeing

Last night we continued with Pillar 3 of our Wellbeing program, Building positive friendship. 

We watched a very inspirational video from a Harvard University researcher, about the longest study on human happiness. For over 75 years, they did interviews, medical tests, and checked up on people to see how they were doing. And what they found about happiness surprised them.

The fourth director of the study, in his TED talk video, “What makes a good life? Lessons from the longest study on happiness” says that while many young people tend to think that fame, fortune, and hard work will bring them happiness, it’s actually our social connections that are most important for our well being.

Waldinger explains the three lessons the researchers learned. First, having social connections is better for our health and well being—and conversely, loneliness kills. Second, having higher-quality close connections is more important for our well-being than the number of connections. Third, having good relationships is not only good for our bodies but also for our brains.

The girls were really interested in knowing about this study and all together discussed what implies a good friendship.

Thank you, girls, for your thoughtful words.

Building positive friendship #WellBeing

Teenagers learn when adults act as good role models. But when it comes to developing great communication and social skills, practise with other kids can be invaluable. Building strong social skills can help teens make friends and feel better equipped to deal with stress and other issues as they develop and grow knowing there is support from the people around them.
One of the best ways for kids to learn to communicate well is to have them interact in a group and use the teachable moments which are created. Board games are fun and one of the easiest ways for kids to engage with one another. Playing a game requires patience, being able to take turns, agreeing to and sticking to the rules, and being a good friend – whether you win or lose.

Tonight to introduce Pillar 3 of our wellbeing program: Building positive friendship we have played Jenga,  a game of coordination where players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of blocks. Each block removed is then placed on top of the tower, creating an increasingly taller and more unstable structure. May not be ground-breaking or new, but, with a few simple tweaks, it can be used to teach valuable communication skill.

Jenga is a great game for building decision-making skills and improving hand-to-eye coordination.  But, most importantly, the aim of this game is to teach kids the importance of being patient, how to be a good friend under pressure, and how to contain their excitement when a friend knocks the tower over!

It was a great start for a great topic! 🙂

January Boarding Assebly

Tonight’s assembly started with a brilliant interpretation of   ‘O sole mio from our Boarding trio the Three Tenors!… followed by the many upcoming events for this new year :

  • CDL TALKS, inspiring new leaders-  with Ismael Fernandez the 28th of January
  • Mountain weekend + Winter camps
  • Wellbeing – pillar 3:  ” Building positive friendship”

We also had Sofia, Miss Cristina, Mr Usher and Mr Salva talking about important matters as Healthy habits, Environment or friendship.

Thanks everybody for a great assembly 🙂

Charity #Wellbeing

In our Wellbeing latest conversations  (Pillar 2 Protecting against Bullying and Respecting Diversity) we focused on Charity, “providing for those in need; generosity and giving”  finding that even small actions can make a significant difference.

As previous years Boarding students have been very enthusiastic participating in the Christmas Action Project where presents are prepared and delivered to foster homes with children.

Terray girls decide to do their bit. They bought a personalised gift,  wrapped it nicely and attached a meaningful message. Natalina and Olivia were one of the lucky students who accompanied the delivery of the presents with Mr Usher and Mr Salva and they couldn’t be happier seeing the smile of the kids receiving their present 🙂

During yesterday’s Boarding Assembly Olivia, Natalina and Johannes shared their experience with all the Boarding students and expressed the positive impact of this action.

Thank you for your generosity!

Europa park + Freiburg trip

The CDL group including Ana S., Maeva and Louise travelled to Germany’s biggest amusement park.  Europa Park is situated in the town of Rust near Freiburg and has beaten the global competition to win the award for the best amusement park in the world several times in a row. Europa Park is first and so far the only park in Europe to be given this award!

Also, the students played a visit to the traditional Freiburg Christmas Market in the heart of the beautiful old quarter.

That was a great weekend!

 

Aya and Helen ART exhibition 🎨

One of the highlights of this week has been the participation of Aya and Helen in the art exhibition held by Webster University. Congratulation girls for your participation!

“Creativity is contagious, pass it on” – Albert Einstein

Community Service #Wellbeing

In our weekly wellbeing meeting, we have talked about the important role Community service plays at Collège du Léman. How can we participate, what are the positive effects of our actions in favour of the community and what kind of sense and fulfilment we can find.  These are some of the questions we have talked through in our meeting discovering very positive answers.

Our school encourages all students to connect with the greater community, giving them the opportunity to engage with a variety of activities. Terray girls have helped to mentor students, cleaning up lake Geneva, helping staff in our everyday tasks, teaching younger students, etc..  Some of our girls started really early! like Ana Sofia who helped to clean up the beaches of her hometown with her family as you can see in the picture below 🙂

Wonderful to see your kind spirit girls!

Rikka’s trip to Paris ! 🇫🇷

During last weekend in Paris…..

On Saturday CDL students visited iconic places as the Louvre Museum, Montmartre or Champs Elysées, finishing the day at the Arc de Triomphe with amazing views from the top.

On Sunday they went to the famous Eiffel Tower, climbing to the top of the tower where they had an incredible panoramic of Paris. Afterwards, they enjoyed a nice excursion by boat through the Seine River where they could see how is now the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Thank you for the pictures Rikka!

 

RESPECT by Aya #Values #WellBeing

Respect is on the cornerstone principles of our School ( RISE: Respect, internationalism, spirit and excellence). It denotes both a positive feeling of esteem for a person and also specific actions and conducts representative of that esteem. Respect can be defined as allowing yourself and others to do and be their best.

But “How does respect look? How does respect sound? How does respect feel?”

We have revised this concept with the help of a very personal Aya’s presentation.  She has shown a lot of gratitude to the ones who work closer with students, Teachers and House Parents and has displayed very meaningful reasons to respect them.

Most of us had a special teacher that had a lasting effect on us so, last but not least, Aya encouraged us to talk about a teacher who was important in our life’s 🙂

Thank you Aya for your thoughtful words!

Anti-Bullying Presentation by Olivia #WellBeing

Today we have continued with the second pillar of the Well-being program: Protecting against bullying & respecting diversity with an excellent Olivia’s presentation about Bullying .

We have learnt about it; what is , people affected: those who are bullied, those who bully, those who witness bullying and their negative effects in all of them. Olivia did a fantastic job not only preparing this presentation but sharing her own experience and facilitating that everyone in the house shared their experience too.

Thanks Olivia, brilliant work!

Masterchef competition 👩‍🍳

Terray girls took the masterchef competition to another level with this incredible Terray Cake!

Ana Sofia’s creation has Austro-Hungarian roots, it is a light sponge with the main ingredient being almonds and hazelnuts. It is filled with homemade raspberry/strawberry jam, as well as crème pâtissière and chocolate cream. On the top it has 11 choux craquelin, covered in caramel filled with vanilla crème chantille or crème pâtissière. The piping is meant to resemble the very classic gâteau St-Honoré.

Very proud of your effort!

Terray trip to Lyon 🦁

Check out the pictures of our Saturday trip to Lyon  !!!

It is the third largest city in France, after Paris and Marseille and is set on a hilly site at the confluence of the Rhône and Saône rivers.

We wandered the streets of the old town, Vieux Lyon and around the nice squares of Presqu’île. We climbed the hill to to arrive to the Ancient Theatre of Fourvière. We visited Lyon Cathedral and we had a french lunch just next to its door. Not forgeting we crossed some of the many Lyon’s bridges and discovered the lively street markets.   🙂

Nous avons fait un bon voyage!

Terray family dinner

Such a great time yesteday in our House dinner!  We cook a delicious homemade menu with pumpkin soup, spaghettis au pesto, tuna empanada, Spanish omelette and a churros dessert!

Thank you girls for such an amaizing time together and for your cooking skills !

Boarding Assembly. Prefects in action!

Prefects are students that have proven they can be trustworthy and responsible. They have an interest in obtaining a leadership role in the House amongst their peers and they help bridge the gap in a number of areas between our Boarding community at large and the staff.

We are very lucky to count with two Prefects in Villa Terray, Ana Sofia and Natalina!  They were helping in our last Boarding assembly. Also, Natalina went on stage to talk about the hidden reality of “brands”.

Thank you girls for your active collaboration!

Challenging Stereotypes #Wellbeing

Last week we started the second pillar of our well being Program: Protecting against bullying & respecting diversity.

During two sessions we have explored the term Stereotype. Studying in such a diverse School community, it is important that we challenge many stereotypes around us in order to respect each other.

With different games and discussions we have been looking about gender, looks and nationality stereotypes. Our discussion focused on identify them, think about their origin and their negative impact on our community.

Often when we begin to interact with people who are different from us, our experience of the “other” expands. It’s important to surface these general ideas about others that plays in our head. Once stereotypes are challenged repeatedly, it makes it harder to stereotype in the future.

https://www.nordangliaeducation.com/en/our-schools/switzerland/cdl/students/international-diversity

A bit late but with love <3

We hope that our wonderful Miss Henar spent a great Birthday on the 28th October and we all wish her lots of happiness and love!! Thank you for everything you do, for being so caring, kind and dedicated! Lots of love!! Sofia and the girls <3

Sugar quiz night #wellbeing

Following our last session in Healthy nutrition, this week we have talked about sugar in our diet.
Teenagers have the highest intake of sugar among all population and, as any food, can be harmful if taken in excess. Especially sugars added during processing foods such as sodas, candies, pastries and snacks.

With a quiz game we have checked the daily intake recommended for teenagers and the surprising amount of sugar in some of our favourite drinks and foods!

A good Sleep #WellbeingTuesdays

This week we have discussed the importance of sleeping well. We started taking a questionaire about our routines and the scores showed that almost all of us should improve the cuantity and quality of sleep!

The disccussion after was interesting. Everybody shared the reasons that can make us go late to bed: social media, homework, stress, etc.. and we compared them with the one’s from the teens of the following video

Finally, after expolring ways to improve our sleep, we took a challenge …No phones or computers in our beedroom during the night. How was it?… Some of them read a book, others were chatting before bedtime but all of us saw that is possible to disconnect earlier from our phones and find ways to get better rest 🙂

Thank you girls. It was great to hear your ideas!

Meditation #WellbeingTuesdays

In our third session we have talked about meditation and the ways we quiet our mind down.

We have also listened to a guided meditation podcast. The theme was accepting change.  As a senior high students there are many changes to be faced and sometimes we have desperately tried to prevent and stop change from happening.
Instead of resisting, it is better to allow change to unfold and try to understand what’s transforming and why.

The girls enjoyed of this calmed session and took some time after to relax before coming back to study.

Thank you girls for your ideas and your willingness to participate 🙂

 

A glorious sports day!

Villa Terray girls did their very best along with the boys of Concha and the girls of Louis Yung 7 team. It was a terrfic afternoon where they battled it out across a whole field events, including badmintong shooting, tug of war, three legs race, ping pong race, keep the ball up and basket.

Thank you girls for your energy!

Furry Friends 🐶

This week we had the visit of Yuna, a very friendly Yorkshire terrier. The girls were playing with her and enjoying of her sweet company.

No long after….. Olivia was walking our neighbour Dixie, a cute cocker spaniel.  They went for a stroll and came back very cheerful after their first walk  together 🙂

Réserve naturelle Les Douves #WellbeingTuesdays

Last Tuesday we had our second Wellbeign session and we focused on the benefits of nature. We went for a walk in the nearby forest, part of Les Douves nature reserve.

We did this activity because just a walk in the woods can awaken the innermost feelings of happiness and peace.

After our walk we shared how we were feeling and noticing we were much happier and relaxed.

Studies show benefits of walking in nature like reducing stress, helping with depression, helping brain fuction or increasing positivity. A great discovery to realise how such a simple action can help us so much boosting our wellbeing.

Thank you for an amazing walk girls!

https://www.ge.ch/document/nature-petits-guides-reserves-bois-versoix/telecharger

Wellbeing wheel 🎡

As a firts step in our Wellbeing programme, today, we have discussed what it means Wellbeing with the girls of Villa Terray.

It is important that we identify what can make us happy, healthy and confident and keep a balance with our achivements or academic skills.

To identify the wholeness of this concept we have created a Wellbeing wheel and we have chosen 6 values:

Sleep, Nutrition, Mood, Physical activity, Leisure time and managing School.

We have measured them in a scale from 1 to 10 reflecting how we are currently doing and we conected the dots linking one to the next so that all of the spokes on the Wellbeing Wheels.

It helped us to think where is our balance or what are the consecuences of choosing bad habits, how is all connected and the most important… how can all we find opportunities to improve our wellbeing with small changes 🙂