We are all back and already the action has started. Boys are busy with  rowing, track, cricket, badminton, tennis and rugby teams. The Grade 8s are back at rugby too and have had some excellent seven-aside games so far.

While the recent loss to Oak Bay in the Boot Game may have been a tough break for the 1st Fifteen, the 2nd Fifteen had a sweet victory against our traditional rivals. Only a few people were at the “Slipper Game” but those that were would have seen a good number of boarders, many of them Bolton Boys, playing hard against the green team. Ted, Dimitri and John were solid in the middle of the pack while Artem had some amazing break-away sprints!

Some of these same boys joined the rest of the grade 11s, Mr. Bateman and Mr. Daum for a Leadership Retreat to a small island cabin. Only a short boat-ride away, the group was able to get away from the trappings of society (cell-phones) and focus on their leadership, their vision for Bolton House next year, and who can toast the best marshmallow. They took in the beautiful west-coast scenery and wild-life and proved that they will make an excellent team to lead the house. It is amazing to think that this team is made up of boys from Oman, Canada (via South Africa), China, Russia and the USA. As Hassan’s entry in the cabin’s guest book said, “This is the Life”.

The boys got back from the cabin on Sunday and right away the whole house was flung into Housegames. A whole bunch of boys played Badminton with spirit and we had some very nice results. Similarly, Kickball was very exciting and the boys chalked up at least one victory.