05 Dec REC Christmas time, concert and Friday brunch.

Dear reader!

December at an after-school school is all about fun, joy and high expectations - especially when the week ends with the students' and parents' Christmas party. The Christmas tree on top of the Seminary building and the many lit trees light up the school. In the rooms, the Christmas spirit has moved in and there is already fierce competition for the judges' favour and to create a real Christmas atmosphere.

Each morning gathering has started this week with a Christmas carol and then we have closed today's Christmas gift to everyone. These include activities such as a Christmas calendar marathon, apple slices for evening refreshments, parcel games and Christmas quizzes. Unfortunately, every night the Ranum elf forgets his hat somewhere on the school grounds and especially those awake in the morning may be lucky to catch a glimpse of the elf, and if they find the hat, there is of course a sweet reward!

In the professional classes we focus on getting students ready for the upcoming term exams in week 51. And in the profile subject lessons, we are working seriously on cultural education, preparing our own projects and several classes have had visits from guest teachers.

Monday evening Joe Slim, led by our own music teacher Carl Bennison, played a really nice concert in the ballroom. The band hail from Oxford in England and are playing their own numbers on a concert tour of several venues around the country and in Oxford this week.

On Wednesday afternoon, Nigel Hopwood gave an incredibly exciting and inspiring talk on the phenomenon of Burning Man. Through pictures, films and stories, students' perceptions of culture and diversity were bombarded and several expressed that they had been inspired to work with different cultures.

At the beginning of the week we made the first sample vote on the 45 or so proposals for new profile subjects in the 3rd period. There was a lot of energy and attention around the result, which showed that 30 subjects are going to the next round. Monday afternoon at 15.15 - the students will gather in interest groups around about 20 subjects ( we have grouped the profile subjects that are most similar) After that, there will be discussions and developments before we vote on Wednesday on which subjects will then be on the final ballot, which will be published on Saturday. This is a hyper creative and complex process that many students and teachers are very excited about, so it is eagerly awaited.

On Thursday morning we had a visit from a Chinese visiting professor Hongbo Gao and Lecturer Lotte Rahbek Schou from DPU in Aarhus, who wanted to know more about Ranum Efterskole College, our international line and meet our teachers from China. It was an exciting visit with a good dialogue about the afterschool idea, international education and how these are united in an ever changing world.

At the beginning of the week, two former students, Helene and Bettina, set up a stall in Aarhus and sold the second-hand clothes that the students had collected. They got a lot of attention for the good cause and a good DKK 1,000 in the till. The amount covers about 25 school book packs or a teacher's salary for 2 months. Bettina herself will participate as a youth guide on the next student trip to the friendship school in Nepal. Thanks for the contribution to all who provided clothes and time!

Educational: Last week, we held a pedagogical development meeting and decided to listen to a student's request for a little more air in the weekly programme, and this week we have given an hour free on Wednesday afternoons, just as we replaced morning exercise with a really delicious Friday brunch in the houses. It was a great success and something the students will definitely look forward to during the week.

Thursday evening we had a visit from P4 Nordjylland, who made a live radio report from the dining room about the big Emma gad project we are doing with students and chef Lars Jeppesen. It's fascinating how well the students have embraced the old virtues and values of consideration, order and respect. The result is a much better environment and a much more pleasant dining situation. Link to the radio programme via P4 afternoon on 4 December 2014 at approximately 17.30-18.00

Tonight, 380 students attended the Christmas party organised by the Student and Parent Party Committee. Ranum Nissen got some competition from the forest gnomes from Seminariehuset!

In the coming week there are both academic and cultural classes until Wednesday. After that, the school will be transformed into one big workshop where all the students will work on theatre, drama, music, light, sound, Christmas market, world cuisine, etc. It will be totally hectic and already on Saturday everything will be ready to welcome parents and siblings for a performance and a presentation about the many cultural trips. There will also be the opportunity to see the students' films and pictures from the first profile trips in the new cinema.
In between we will also inform about the elections for the 3rd term. It will be a super active day, and it's good that Sunday is quiet and calm, so you can recharge for the next week's term tests.

It's a great idea to bring slippers and cozy for the weeks ahead!

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