28 Oct Newsletter 28 October 2011

Dear reader!
The autumn holidays ended on Sunday evening, when all 250 young people returned to Ranum Efterskole together with the 16 guest students from Thailand and brought the buildings back to life. The new heating system worked and even though there was a slight smell of smoke in the corridors, there was a great joy of reunion everywhere.
The week has offered a wide range of activities in addition to the academic subjects. On Tuesday the dance team went to a show in Aalborg, and the same evening a new club subject started in the art of forging iron on an esse. It was a very warm and exciting evening in the company of an experienced guest teacher.

Thursday was martial arts training with a professional in Bakkehallen. The sailing team has been training for the practical skills test and is now ready for the test next week. In the profile subjects, on Tuesday the teams prepared travelogues and presentations and on Wednesday there was a presentation for all the students with pictures, films and storytelling. It was a great and festive afternoon.

Wednesday evening we were visited by Aalborg University's choir Amarylis, who sang love songs in all genres. It was a really nice prelude to the Spildansk day on Thursday, where all students and teachers gathered in the ballroom at 11 am to sing Danish songs together with the rest of Denmark on P2.
On Thursday evening our Thai students had prepared a marvellous farewell dinner with many different dishes: hot, hotter and hottest, as well as sweet, sour, hot and completely different from what we are used to at home. The boiled chicken feet and the chilli dressing were a big hit and most people wanted to try them! After the great dinner, the Thais made a big show in the ballroom for all students, where they first performed Klods Hans in Danish, and made a show of traditional Thai dance followed by a modern dance show. They made a huge effort and the Danish students were deeply impressed!

Today, Friday, there has been regular classes until noon and during noon we have had contact group time and room cleaning. At the Friday assembly we officially said goodbye to the Thai students who were presented with their school certificates and AFS exchange certificate. There was a great atmosphere and recognition of our guests and they will certainly be missed in the near future. The Thai guests presented the school with a very nice commemorative plate. It can be seen in the exhibition by the Ballroom from next week.

Subsequently, we in the teacher group have held an evaluation of the school's everyday life and it is great to be able to realise that we have a strong common ground. We also had time for a planning meeting for the next period with the theme Globalisation and World Citizen, and the students will get a presentation in the coming week.

Pedagogically, we have reached the autumn, and at the same time as we got a new student, we have unfortunately also had to say goodbye to a student. There are several who now have to fight a little extra to hold on to not just letting go of the reins when the small problems of everyday life return after the fantastic experiences on the profile subject trips. However, the many activities and especially the sky-high expectations for the upcoming profile subjects, club and cultural subjects help to set a positive expectation for the next period. These days, the contact teachers are giving a little status greeting to the parents of their contact pupils, so that the contact is strengthened as we move towards the dark winter time.

The coming week will see the start of new skills subjects on Monday, profile subjects on Tuesday and Wednesday, and movement subjects on Thursday. On Wednesday afternoon, journalist and explorer Erik Bjerre will be here. He will talk about his travelling experiences and about learning and communicating along the way. The talk is for all profile subjects and sets a framework for the pupils' task of communicating and reflecting on their experiences and knowledge in the profile subjects. After the presentation, the Nepal team sets off on a road trip, where we will work on teamwork, endurance, map reading and not least increase the knowledge of both students and teachers in the subject. Remember headlamp, backpack, good shoes and warm clothes.
All pupils have received a new timetable with many new activity subjects. The academic subjects have not changed and it is very important that they are followed very closely in the next period leading up to the final exams. In a few weeks we will be giving the first report card, so now is the chance to work towards an extra boost.

There are more than 120 students and therefore the house is busy at the weekend. Remember, it's time for indoor shoes after the weekend!

Best regards and have a great weekend!

Olav Storm
supervisor

NB:
The volunteer parents' council held a meeting with the student party committee, Sunday evening, and made the final arrangements for the student party on 11 November. Although we as a school are not involved in the party in any way, many parents have contacted the school about the event with questions, so on behalf of the parents' council and the party committee, we sent out information by email on Tuesday. Volunteer parents are still missing and we encourage on behalf of the parents' council and the student party committee to sign up so that it can be a safe and good party.