It's Springtime!

Hello! So much has happened during the past couple of months so let's get straight into things...

Last October, I had a thought: "How hard could it be to make an escape room?" Well, our International Studies class did make one and it was a success! I am so proud of what our students achieved. We opened our room up to the public for one week and we were fully booked. Only seven teams managed to figure out our puzzles and escape.

Here are some of our players...

We assembled six different sections of Finnish history including: Helsinki becoming a capital city, the women's right to vote, the Russian Revolution, the Civil War, Urho Kekkonen's presidency and Finland joining the EU. It was such a cool experience to wander through time!

We went from this...

To this...

We had so much fun with the students playing a number of different roles, including an army general and Nicholas II. Overall, the hard work paid off an we managed to create an atmospheric, fun, and educational activity for the community to enjoy. 

Job, well done!

There was no time to rest after our final day in the escape room though. I had to catch an early flight with a group of first-year International Studies students because we were flying to Austria to stay in Oberpullendorf!

This was part of a new Erasmus+ project all about energy and how we use it. During this trip, we examined energy and waste. It was also a great opportunity to explore a different country (which included a trip to a chocolate factory and Vienna).

Our Austrian hosts were amazing and before long, it was the final day! These projects are such a fantastic opportunity for students to explore, to make friends, and to develop their curiosity about the world around them.

Now, I couldn't make a blog post about the past couple of months without mentioning Penkarit and Wanhat. As I noted last year, Penkarit is a totally foreign concept to me as an English person. We simply have NOTHING like this back home. It was, once again, an absolute treat...

Moreover Wanhat was a beautiful event with all of the suits, dresses and dancing...

There are only ten weeks left until the end of term. Can you believe it?! Next up, visits to Dublin and the Czech Republic!

*Escape room thank-yous:

Special thanks to Antiiki Maakasiini for letting us borrow some beautiful furniture. Thanks also to Jani and Marja for their awesome items. Lastly, thanks to Halpa-Halli for lending us some pallets to build walls with!

New Year, New Escape Room...

We're baaaack!

Before we get into the really good stuff, let's have a quick recap...

It's safe to say that our International Studies students had a busy 2017. Before the Christmas holidays, they were doing their best to raise money for their upcoming Ireland trip. This included organising and hosting a children's event in the school gym. It was brilliant! There was a winter wonderland, face painting and Santa made an appearance! Who knew that he was such a great gymnast?!

The holidays were definitely well-deserved. I headed back to England for a couple of weeks which was amazing. My family and I enjoyed a traditional Christmas dinner (we open our presents and eat our big meal on the 25th). We also enjoyed pulling some Christmas crackers - these contain a paper hat that you have to wear, a tiny gift and an extremely bad joke.

My favourite part of the holiday was probably indoor skydiving though - it's absolutely hilarious!

Nonetheless, after arriving back in Kalajoki last week, it's time to focus upon 2018! Firstly, we have our Suomi 100 Escape Room to prepare. That's right, the International Studies group is creating a room where participants have to solve clues and puzzles in order to escape. The theme: Suomi 100. We're covering stuff like the Russian Revolution and the Finnish Civil War.

It's a BIG project. We've even rented the old Outlet store by Halpa Halli to hold our escape room in.

The best thing of all: it's going to be open to the public in February. Get ready to invite your friends and family to see if YOU can beat the clock.

Some of our first year International Studies students are also getting excited about visiting one of four beautiful countries in the next two years: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Ireland. It's part of a new project here in the lukio about energy in the EU.

These next couple of months promise to be absolutely crazy.

Seinajoki fair

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-LIGgj4eR-YDJJ5RBKgAGfTSXOGNZoMa_S3fEv-pzjo/edit?usp=sharing

Rwanda, Japan and Finland...

Time to catch up on some International Studies magic!

At the moment, IS1 is focusing on what we mean by "culture" and they have been learning about different countries from around the world.

Firstly, we turned to Rwanda. There were many reasons for this. For example, the students admitted that their knowledge of African nations could be improved. Also, I visited this beautiful country when I was 17 and wanted to share the experience.

A good Rwandan friend, Jean, kindly wrote answers to some questions from the students about life in Rwanda. The students asked about school, sports and all sorts of things. When asked about Africa, the reply was: "I do love the whole of Africa as a continent with a lot of diversities and a very touching historical background in every nation there."

In our next class, we turned to a very different country: Japan. We mainly explored the arts and music. The students' first challenge was to recreate Hokusai's famous Great Wave in three minutes. In pairs, one student had to paint without looking at the picture. Meanwhile, their partner could look at the picture and had to instruct them on what to do. Needless to say, it was pretty entertaining!

We also learned a bit about the history of origami and made some swans...

Afterwards, we listened to some of the popular music in the Japanese music charts right now and discussed how each song made us feel, whether we liked it or not, and how we would describe it. My friend, Emma, who is from England but currently lives in Japan told me that she (and many others) love this band...

We ended our lesson with a quiz and a photo in the snow - as you do!

The next week, our lesson saw us exploring the school and Kalajoki to take small video clips. These video clips are supposed to represent what we think of when hearing the word: "Finland". Check out our Instagram page for the completed version which was posted on the Independence Day!

From Sweden to the USA!

It's been a little while since my last blog post. Where to begin?

Well, last month, I was in Malmö with Tanja and four amazing students: Erica, Milja, Aino and Johanna. We visited this southern Swedish city as part of the Nordplus project.

While there, we saw some pretty spectacular sights including the Twisting Torso which loomed over us in all of its glory.

The whole city is a wonderful collection of lush parks, skyscrapers and open water.

As part of the project, the students had to create activities to promote Malmö and think of ways in which to market them. It only made sense that they should see some examples of successful activities already available within the city. One of these examples is Bounce, an Australian trampoline company. We simply had to test it out for ourselves...

While the student hosts showed their guests around, Tanja and I were lucky enough to have two of the teachers (Carina and Jonas) as our tour guides. Check out this stingray that we saw in the aquarium...

It's often the case that these project weeks are over far too quickly and this one was no exception. The students were soon presenting their week-long work to a member of Malmö Tourism. She was extremely impressed (while Tanja and I watched on like proud mothers)!

Soon enough, we were flying back to Kalajoki with broad smiles and newfound friendships. I must admit, I also discovered a real appreciation for Swedish food - delicious!

Returning to Kalajoki meant one thing though: AMERICAN PARTY!!! Our International Studies classes have spent week learning about different aspects of the USA and preparing for one big old party. This was to celebrate the arrival of another international assistant teacher in the area, Ahren, who lived in and loves (a lot of things about) the place!

Many chocolate brownies, one hundred hot dogs, and some games later...our party was a success!

Most recently, we enjoyed some classes on Halloween and Bonfire Night. The International Studies carved pumpkins and created their own villainous characters. They also acted out the origins of Bonfire Night which is an English celebration from 1605 created after plans to kill the king were stopped just in time.

Well, that's all for now! Stay tuned for more weird and wonderful things...

An American Party is Coming...

Awesome games? Check.

Delicious food? Check.

A big US-themed party in the lukio? COMING YOUR WAY.

On Tuesday 17th October, we are going to be partying like we're in the USA. 

"But, Chloe," I hear you ask, "Why are we having this party?"

We're having this party for a few reasons...

Firstly, we're celebrating the arrival of Kalajoki's latest international assistant teacher, Ahren. He lived and worked in the USA for several years so we'd like to pay tribute to that. 

Here is Ahren lighting a campfire in the USA!

Secondly, we're an international school so why not explore another culture in the form of games, food, and music?

Thirdly: chocolate brownies. Need I say more?

Our IS1 lessons have focused upon all things USA. In fact, students got the chance to ask a group of Americans some questions that they had about life over there and other stuff. We even challenged the Americans to say some (RATHER DIFFICULT) Finnish words (*evil laughter*).

You can watch the full video of Gaia, my friend from California, talking here. She tries to say "Lentokonesuihkuturbiinimoottoriapumekaanikkoaliupseerioppilas":

For now though, I hope that you enjoy the rest of your week!

Autumn is Here!

There’s a chill in the air which can only mean that Autumn is truly underway. Kalajoki is all berries, yellowing leaves and slightly darker mornings. I love it.

This week was test week in the lukio and so I have found myself back in Pohjankylän and Raumankarin. It’s been strange (but wonderful) working with younger kids again. Since I’ve already told a lot of the students all about England, I decided that it was time to focus upon Scotland which is where I lived for four years as a university student. We listened to the bagpipes, marvelled at deep fat fried Mars Bars and even made our own kilts.

Prior to this week the International Studies 1 classes learning about the USA and doing further preparations for our big party. We’ve got some real artists! We’ve even been making some little trailers for the party so keep your eyes open for those.

In International Studies 2, we’ve come up with a seriously exciting project idea. What is it? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see! .

Last Saturday I visited the local energy event which proved to be extremely interesting. My favourite part was using the virtual reality console - so much fun! I played a toboggan game where you have to tilt your head in order to control the vehicle’s direction while riding along a busy road. I was a bit of a safety hazard…

Things are about to get even crazier though. Next week we’re planning for another lukio project and in two weeks I’ll be flying to Sweden with Tanja and four students for the Nordplus project. Some of us have never visited Sweden before – it’s all very exciting. We’ll be staying in Malmö which will be quite different to the small island in Iceland that we visited last time, I’m sure.

For now, I hope that you all enjoy your weekend!