We have officially begun our second term of classes and the boys deserve a huge amount of credit for helping to keep the school safe and operational. They have adjusted remarkably well to the new expectations and are still finding a way to have fun.
Things kicked off (literally) last Sunday with our first official round of Bolton Housegames. With the need to stay in cohorts, things look a bit different this year as we are only allowed to play inter-house games. So, to keep things exciting, 3 teams were drafted by the houseparents made up of 9 players each. These 3 teams will compete in all future Housegames and points will be accumulated with a new Bolton Trophy presented to the winners in June. Uniforms (team headbands) were selected after some Bolton trivia questions were answered by each team…

And here they are:
The Fried Shawskies (Mr. Fryer and Mr. Shaw) Team Blue


The Disco Bells (Mr. Danskin and Mr. Bell) Team White


The United KimDaums (Mr. Kim and Mr. Daum) (Team Hodgepodge)
Photo coming next housegames, sorry! But here is Hanson in action as the team photographer!

The first round of housegames included full field soccer and a campus scavenger hunt. The action was fierce and exciting with some beautiful goals, talented footwork and exciting saves. There was also some teamwork, some impressive dance moves and some unique photos!
When all was said and done, the Disco Bells emerged as the early leaders with 26 points, followed closely by the United KimDaums with 21 points. The ball did not bounce their way, but the Fried Shawskies were still able to gather a respectable 13 points. There is much action yet to be played so these early standings mean little. Check back after the next long weekend for the newest results!
The rest of the week was spent in preparation for the end of term exams and projects, but the boys still found some time to look good on their way to dinner!
We also had an opportunity to welcome back a former Bolton Head of House, Timmy Qi, who now attends Cornell and is in his final year of Architecture school. At the start of this school year he delivered a brand new vacuum to Bolton that he purchased with his internship money from the summer. This fulfilled a promise he made 5 years ago when he was elected as Head of House. It was wonderful to hear how much his time at SMUS and in Bolton House impacted his path in a positive way and he shared his love for the house with the current boys. Here is is presenting us with the vacuum in September…

… and here is the result of the new vacuum being put to good use in this week’s room cleans which saw some guest judges from Timmis House come to inspect the boys’ rooms! Needless to say room cleans were particularly good this week!

And just because the classes were transitioning into a new term, doesn’t mean anything else had to change. Here are the brave souls taking on the wet and very cold weather to hone their rugby skills…
… while LeRoy put his inner quarterback skills to the test on a lovely evening.
Next weekend is Halloween and I’m sure it will be an exciting week for everyone. We got an early start on it this weekend by decorating the foyer and carving pumpkins. Roberto made his first one ever!


The boys are doing a great job on all fronts and we are very proud of all of their efforts during the first term. We expect nothing but more of the same in the second!