26 Feb Student party, lectures and spring is on its way

Dear reader,

A dramatic and exciting lecture with Carl-Mar Møller and 4 ex-soldiers from Afghanistan ended a hectic week with full activity in professional days, profile courses and evening clubs. Spring is on its way and the whole school is buzzing with life, or maybe because there is a student party tonight...

Monday night there was a really good concert with Black Horse.

Tuesday evening

..the big UV-painting project started, where students decorated shirts, trousers and T-shirts for the upcoming student party.

Wednesday

..the international Marine Science teams went on an excursion to Hirtshals, where they had the opportunity to tour and give a presentation at the Nordsømuseet.

The Friends' Days were again a success.

More than 60 students invited their friends for a few days of after-school activities and had the opportunity to follow both the academic lessons and the profile subjects. The idea of opening the school during the winter holidays to the students' friends has meant that they have been able to be together even though we don't have a winter holiday at Ranum.

At one of the week's community gatherings, Amalie performed her own music, which in terms of singing talent could easily match the X Factor Fridays of the time.

Carl-Mar paralysed 400+ youngsters

The purpose of inviting Carl-Mar a week after Joan Ørting was to focus on the more male aspects of cohabitation and existence. The students had prepared more than 40 questions, which naturally meant that there was great interest in Carl-Mar's lecture. The lecture started with a shocking gimmick, where Carl-Mar shot two student volunteers on stage with a role-playing gun. (The gimmick was not agreed with the school management, so there were many faces turned towards the headmaster, on the other hand, I had promised the students that it would be a provocative and boundary-pushing presentation).

The shots left a mark in the pit of the stomach and the room was very quiet. Then the talk got serious about male roles, expectations, challenges, the direct path to the other sex, etc. Challenging songs were sung and a number of taboo words were used to such an extent that the barriers fell and Carl-Mar's messages of love, respect and self-esteem went down a storm.

Outstanding talks by 4 ex-soldiers.

In the context of Carl-Mars presentation, 4 PTSD affected ex-soldiers told about their lives as soldiers and how it had affected their lives. Each one's story made a big impression on the students and there were many questions for the 4 veterans afterwards. One of the presenters was a woman and her experience of soldiering, the world of men and war gave a unique insight into an otherwise closed world. This talk will be remembered as one of the best of the year.

This coming weekend

..there is a creative weekend, and the following week there is a normal schedule of academic immersion, profile subjects and electives. The following weekend, students interested in dance are invited to the Hip Hop International competition in Randers, where the school also has a team.
We hope the students have a good and safe student party tonight, led by the hard-working volunteer Parent Council and about 40 parents.

Have a great weekend!

Best regards!

Olav Storm Johannsen
Principal