One year ago our Head of House, Philippe, gave a brief but rousing speech to the boys about why he should be elected as their leader. In the speech he promised to bring the Housegames Cup back to Bolton House! On Sunday that promise was made good and, while Philippe obviously played a big role in making that happen, it is clear that this accomplishment could only happen when all the boys pulled together. The motto Brotherhood, Honour, Strength was on full display these housegames. The boys worked well as a team and supported each other, they were good sportsmen in defeat and victory, and they each played their hardest and were victorious in their own way at their own time. Go Bo!

The boys had many other victories last week: golf victories, the cricket banner and silver in Tennis Provincials. Badminton, rugby and rowing are now off to their respective Provincials and Nationals. Good luck boys!

Life has otherwise carried on in its usual busy pace.

In the musical world, Jazz Night was last week. David A, Jack B, Christian, Derry and Laurent wowed the crowed with their smooth playing and singing.

As part of their year in experiential education, the grade 10s started their forensics unit. Here is Stanley dusting for fingerprints.

During lunches, many of the boys participated in a Grassroot Soccer fundraising tournament and had great fun for a great cause.

On Friday our annual fundraiser for War Child took place with ‘Keep the Beat’ – a music marathon and art sale. Richard performed on behalf on Bolton House to great applause.

The houseparents went all out this year with a whole new range of House Olympics events. In teams of seven or eight boys competed in carpentry skills, chopstick dexterity, bocce bowling, rowdy relay races, speedy tie tying and delicate balloon catching. With the overall housepoints between the boys’ houses so close it was crucial that every Bolton team and individual member do their very best at each event. They were rewarded with jumbo freezies to battle the heat of the day.

After Housegames we had our fun and fancy annual ‘SMOscars’ Gala Dinner. This is a play on the Oscars where we hand out prizes for funny categories like “messiest room”, “best hairstyle” and “most likely to return as a houseparent”. Of course the most coveted trophy is the House Cup, which you can see Philippe and Edward claiming.

The rest of the night was spent feasting on a delicious international dinner, posing for pictures (set up by Bolton’s David X and the Photo Club) and dancing the evening away.

With the House Cup safely in our possession for the year we can sit back a bit and enjoy the rest of the rapid journey to the end of the year. Much more to come!!