16 Dec Newsletter 16 December 2011

Dear reader!
Term tests and Christmas cheer don't rhyme very well, but in practice it makes sense. Because there has been time for cosiness and a little relaxation in between and especially in base camp - in the dining room of Kærhuset, there has been total Christmas fun with a regular Christmas calendar on TV and coziness around the personal scrapbooks. Although there have been no profile classes, we have been working on the preparations for the expeditions in January and especially in the Nepal group it has been hectic as a flight was rescheduled for one group and the students got out of their working groups. It takes a lot of adaptability to see the world and it has to be said that many students in the Nepal team are in good shape from the start!
On Tuesday morning a group of fresh girls got up very early and organised Santa Lucia parade. It was really cosy and spread a great atmosphere throughout the school. Thank you to everyone involved!

When pupils have not been to the final examination, they have been offered study counselling, personal development, German and English or guidance in the preparation of the OSO assignment. Last Thursday we held one hour community gathering and geography teacher Peter Kristensen talked about the issues of overpopulation and population density. It was quite surprising for the students to discover that all the people in the world would only take up ½ of Funen.Besides putting into perspective how long the car queue would be if everyone arrived by car and how much clean water would be wasted if everyone pulled out a spare toilet during their visit, we tested in practice how much RE students would take up if they had to stand just as close. This resulted in a small "clump" in front of the banquet hall, with lots of leprechauns and a few boys who thought they were heavy-pushing concert.

Pedagogically, we have had a great week. I think that some parents have had a good talk with their 1TP5 student about late night and sneaky smoking, because it has not been a topic this week. In the assembly we have talked about the importance of giving gifts - and receiving gifts. It is of course highly topical in the run-up to Christmas, and for an old elf, it is strange to hear several teenagers take it for granted that they get lots of presents, but that they do not have to give any themselves ... Now everyone is encouraged to think of friends and those at home in one way or another, and the school sponsors the postage if the students send a Christmas greeting. I hadn't realised that the students have friends all over the world, but what the heck - it's only Christmas once a year!

The RE leprechaun has been hiding incredibly well this week and only very persistent students managed to find its cap twice during the week. Perhaps it is hiding in the most stunning Christmas decorated rooms, where we are now close to the climax and only lack snow and bells ( - and that was not an invitation, dear students).

Next week: On Monday there are regular classes, but in the afternoon there are Girls' Christmas trip to Aalborg, and Mandetur in nature, no more "Christmas decorating-girl-comfort", as a celebration of the winter solstice as the Vikings did it!

The competition for the most beautiful and festive room in the category 1-2-3-4-5-6 persons room ends on Monday evening, and on Tuesday everything will be stripped down for the big Christmas clean-up. All the furniture has to be washed and all the stuff put on the bed, so the floors can get a good cleaning too! It's going to smell amazingly clean, and will be nice to come back to after Christmas!

Wednesday is the end of Christmas and fun in the whole school before we go to the beautiful Ranum church and sing Christmas carols accompanied by the music team. After church there is a big Christmas lunch, which is expected to end in dancing around and throughout the school! Parents are very welcome to join us from 2pm, where there will be a continuous flow of apple slices and coffee/tea in the canteen until all pupils are expected to be out of the house for the Christmas break at 3.30pm.

We are really looking forward to the Christmas holidays and I know the students will too, even though they will miss each other a lot!There will probably be a lot of talk about the upcoming expeditions in early January, and remember that you are always welcome to email the profile leaders if you have any questions.
Some students will need their passport during the Christmas holidays and they can get it at the office on Wednesday, provided it is returned from the visa application for India, Ghana and Nepal.
The lawn in front of the main building is dug up crosswise. This is because we have laid a new data cable between Kærhuset and Seminariehuset, and we are replacing the old uninsulated heating pipes with new district heating pipes. Now, hopefully, the snow will come soon and decorate the whole school for Christmas !

Best regards and have a great weekend!
Olav Storm
supervisor.

NB. students are collecting sponsorships/gifts and donations for children and youth in Nepal, Ghana and India. So if you have used mobile phones, glasses and laptops, as well as intact toys (must be easy to transport) - you are very welcome to bring it either after this weekend or after Christmas on 4 January when the students meet again.

We will hold the Afterschools Evening on Wednesday 11.1.12  - even though most of them have gone out into the world. If you know anyone who would like to drop by, the school is open from 4.30 - 9.30pm and there's coffee and cake for everyone!