With the students on holiday, we are preparing the school again for their arrival. After a busy six weeks, the team will clean from top to botttom, cut the grass and prepare the classes for the children who return next week. The second half of the term will be a very busy one with the  return of Year 9 from their school trip, the Halloween party, the trip to Europa Park and not to mention four weeks later sitting the first of the year's exams in December. We pride ourselves on working hard whether it be the students or the staff who always do their best to make sure the school upholds the values we pride ourselves on.

The mid-term break is already upon us and the students are very excited to have a short break before returning for the second half of the term. It has been a very quick start to the year and we have not seen the time fly by. The students have enjoyed the start to the term and as usual, the in-school competitions have been very popular. This week we had the final of the pool competition and the ping-pong as well. We are looking forward to the winter sports starting to introduce many other competitions which we will be able to organise with the snow and activities outside. I wish all the students an excellent break.

Discipline within the boarding school has always been a subject of conversation, whether it be over a coffee with the boarding staff, a meeting with parents or a 'fun' meeting with students who forgot how to behave and what was expected of them! Discipline within La Garenne is first and foremost dealt with in a family manner, in other words, as with our own children, we discuss the situation at hand. Once discussed, we are able to decide what measures, if any, need to be taken and in the long term, how the student is expected to change and what is expected of them.

It is never easy for a group of students from different backgrounds to adapt and understand what is expected of them so to help, we provide guidance in the School Rules book as well as posters in the rooms with clear instructions concerning how to leave a room neat and tidy, as well as a score sheet for the housekeeping staff to award smiley faces if five days in a row, the room is tidy.

At the end of the term, the room with the most smiley faces goes out for dinner with their house parents! It is difficult for a student to understand what we expect of them unless we are clear, just saying,'You must tidy your room," or ," You need to behave," means many different things to different students so clarification is always needed. Discipline is the backbone to any structure and students appreciate knowing what is expected of them and striving to do their best to do so.

During the school term, the students have designated reading evenings. This helps them to focus on the task at hand as well as learn a new skill whether it be time management, improving their reading skills or just learning about how to make use of their time and of course, the importance of reading within the school week. In order to help the younger students, some of whom who do not have these skills as yet, the older Junior students visit them during the week in order to read together and help them to appreciate reading. It is also an important time for the older and younger students who are able to spend time together as in any other family. The students enjoy the time together and it is always very popular whether it be with the younger students or their older visitors.

At La Garenne the students arrive from many different countries and, of course, many different cultures. They have to adapt, learn, study and understand what is expected of them. In order to do so they receive a lot of care and attention but most of all, we live and learn as one family.

This is the most easiest and natural way of growing up with a good solid foundation and excellent social skills not to mention that it creates strong bonds between the students and staff and the students usually continue so once they finish their studies with us. It is important that the students help each other when need be and that they take care of each other, no matter their age. Some of the children come from families with many brothers and sisters, others may not. What is important though is feeling part of a big family. It is very easy to say to a child that they are expected to be responsible but it is a skill which cannot be transferred orally, it has to be learnt and most of the time, through trial and error, this usually continues throughout our lives as adults as well.

We shouldn't though forget that getting it wrong from time to time is also important in order to learn that we have to pick ourselves up and start again, we help the students to understand that achieving a goal can sometimes be more fulfilling if the pathway getting there was a difficult one, that is sometimes an achievement in itself. When joining La Garenne as a student or member of staff, it is first of all joining a big family with a variety of characters, attitudes, beliefs, opinions and some madness as well, just as any normal family!