09 Dec Siblings Weekend, Movember, Christmas Spirit, Highlight of the Month and Ranum's Christmas Spirit
Dear Reader,
Welcome to this week's newsletter, filled with Christmas cheer, great stories and wonderful memories. This weekend we had the pleasure of having the school filled with new life and energy when the siblings of the student team were invited to visit. In addition, the week offered the first Cultural Studies lesson of the school year and the use of the snowboard hill.
In addition, expectations for the weekend are high, as the students are going to a student party tonight. Read about all this, and much more, in this week's newsletter - enjoy.
Siblings Weekend
A thousand, thousand, thousand THANKS for an absolutely fantastic sibling weekend. The school was filled to the brim this weekend with sibling love, smiles and laughter as the students' siblings were invited to visit. The weekend included a film marathon, Nerf war, acrobatics, design, ball games and baking.
And of course there was our annual look-a-like competition, and you can see some of the pictures right here. Can't get enough? See the rest on our Flickr, by clicking here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ranumefterskole/albums/72177720304218387
First cultural studies lesson
On Monday, students were able to put faces to their classmates and teachers for the first time, in their respective Cultural Subjects. Therefore, the lesson consisted of shaking games, review of lesson plans and introduction to the trips. The students are now on their final Cultural Subjects and therefore the booking of plane tickets for the trips is in full swing.
These cultural subjects have been created this year:
Bonaire, Coral Restoration
Brazil
Thailand, Sailing
South Africa, Cape Town
Namibia, Wildlife Conservation
Cuba
Japan
Taiwan, Chinese Cuisine and Culture
Road Trip, USA
Turkey
South Korea
Texas, Homestay
Nepal, High Trek
Nepal, Culture
Europe, Road Trip
Malaysia
Bali
Canada, Ski and Winterlife
Costa Rica
New Zealand, Sailing
South Korea
Movember
Movember: “an annual, month-long event that involves growing a moustache in the month of November." And that's exactly what Administrative Manager Carl and Music Teacher Jonas invited last November when they encouraged all male staff to take part in Movember.
The result was 8 men who grew the most beautiful moustaches! You can see (or admire) them right above!
The Christmas spirit is spreading
On Wednesday and Thursday, the snow fell nicely over Ranum Efterskole College, and it lured the students out. Board Performance took advantage of the snow to have their first snowboard hill ride of the year, and got a jump start on training for our big ski trip in January. A whopping 470 students and 50 staff will be joining us when the trip heads to Sweden. The remaining 30 or so pupils will be going to Prague, with both trips taking place in week 2.
Already in last week's newsletter we could show you the beginning of our new Christmas calendar, Ranum's Christmas Spirit. It aims to spread Christmas cheer every day in December, and is knitted together by our Social Media student team here at school. So far the episodes have included mistletoe, free hugs, collecting Christmas goodies for our headteacher and Christmas gifts for local pizzeria La Mancha.
Watch one of the episodes here, and the rest can be found on our Facebook page - Merry Christmas!
Here you see a morning in Kærhuset, with nice breakfast, Christmas lights and joy.
Highlight of the month
Last month, we were able to introduce a new monthly segment in our newsletters called Highlight of the Month. The Highlight of the Month aims to highlight a department, a staff member or an employee who really deserves to be honoured a little. Last month we thanked the kitchen for their always excellent work and great humour. This month we are highlighting Ann-Sophie, who has been employed at the school since 2006.
When you call the school, Ann-Sophie is the first person you get through to, and is thus a "voice to the outside world". She also works with student intake, the Nepal Culture trip, various administrative tasks and fairs. But all is not as it used to be for Ann-Sophie.
In January, Hungarian teacher Hanga started at the school, and the love was unstoppable. They are now engaged, and live together in Næsby, close to the school.
In addition, Ann-Sophie has this week taken a new job. She has been with the school for 16 years, and has been a big part of our office and communications department since day one. This week she has a new title, Event Coordinator and Teacher. She will be in charge of our trade fair visits, our 20th anniversary and various open house events. In addition, she will be the Contact and Sailing Teacher. Huge congratulations on the new title Ann-Sophie - it's so well deserved!
Olav Storm, headmaster, says the following about Ann-Sophie:
"I knew Ann-Sophie from her job in a sailmaking company and knew that she could keep a lot of threads and tasks going at the same time, so when I met Ann-Sophie in the harbour, I sailed over in a small dinghy and asked if she wanted to be part of Ranum. That was in 2006, and since then Ann-Sophie has been part of the school's DNA."
Close to 100,000!
TikTok is a social media for sharing small videos, and has become huge among today's youth. So in late 2021, REC created a TiKTok account and started posting small videos of travel, everyday life and efterskole trends. This has now borne fruit, and in just 500 likes our account will pass 100,000 likes. That's a big milestone for us here at the school, and we want to share it with all of you out there!
You can see a few videos from the profile here. Please note that only the first video on each post is from Ranum Efterskole's account.
This weekend
This weekend there is a student party, which is held by the Voluntary Parents Council. The three students Alma, Smilla and Anna Kirstine have put a few words on what a student party weekend offers:
What happens at school before a student party?
"When we get off school, everyone gets ready and borrows clothes for each other. Other than that, we run around, but we're very united in the whole process. Then we always eat lasagna before the student party, where it serves as a running dinner in the cafeteria. You also pick up your access wristband in a classroom so you can come to the party.
Then we get on the 10 buses that transport us, and drive together to Haverslev Hallen."
What's happening at the party?
"At the party, you get a card and use it to buy drinks at the bar. It's all facilitated by the Parents' Council.
After the party, the parents stand outside the enclosure, and almost everyone has to either go home with someone, or have someone go home with them. That way, as many students as possible can come to the party, even if they live far away from the hall."
Alma will bring home two students, Rosa and Olivia. They are both from Zealand, and will stay with Alma all weekend in Aalborg. They will be going to Art By Me, a Christmas market and ice skating.
Niarn warms up
As a warm-up for the student party, all 10th grade students, as well as large parts of the 9th grade class, attended a lecture by the Danish rapper Niarn. The lecture is called "With Liv, Mine Reglis", and deals with both Niarn's career and abuse.
The lecture was thought-provoking and a great end to a good week.
Give a summer camp stay for Christmas!
The (maybe) best Christmas present of the year!
If you're looking for your child/grandchild/sister's boyfriend's daughter's Christmas present this year, we've got the wildest adventure of the year, right here! A summer at Ranum means friendships for life, experiences and personal & professional development!
Choose from:
International Summer Camp
Different Styles Dance Camp
English Language Camp
Cheerleading Camp
Read more on our website, via the link here: https://www.ranumefterskole.dk/sommercamps/
Meet us at trade fairs
Traditionally, we spend the weekends in January and February at various fairs in the Danish country. Here is a small overview of the fairs we are at:
In addition to the efterskole fairs, we will also be at the Boat Show Denmark fairs on 24 - 26 February, and 2 - 5 March.
The fairs are a unique opportunity to meet the school off campus, and have a good chat with both students and staff at the school. But if you still want a glimpse of the school's surroundings and facilities, here's another opportunity:
Efterskole evening is on 11 January from 18-21, and is a great opportunity to see the school. We'll be inviting you in for some lovely efterskole atmosphere, and there will also be presentations in our Festive Hall, tours and the chance to meet former pupils. You can already register for the Afterschool Evening by pressing here
Christmas greetings from here
We send virtual Christmas hugs all the way from Ranum, and out to all of you out there. Have a great weekend,