After lots of hard work in the morning (and no coffee or Danish pastries), we then visited Ejsbøl Bornehave  Kindergarten, where we were greeted by the smell of freshly baked bread (which we had the pleasure of eating!). With very full tummies, we then had fun playing in the outdoor area! Every day, the children have two hours of outdoor play! This happens in rain, hail, snow and sometimes sunshine! The children took responsibility for their own outdoor equipment, e.g. wellies, boiler suits etc. The outdoor area had a football field, sand pit, swings (including a tyre swing) and lots of bikes and scooters. The children were allowed to choose which activities they wanted to do. Everyone played happily and put huge smiles on our faces. We were made to feel very welcome!

Continue reading "Tuesday 27th October " »

Today we arrived in Hardaslev (Hell-ov-slew) after a flight via Amsterdam which we very nearly missed due to Airport security checkpoints not liking Gateshead Angel paper weights!

Tired and hungry, we enjoyed our traditional Danish dinner of pork, sweet and sour red cabbage, crisps (I don't understand either) and boiled potatoes.

Day 2 - Monday 26th October

Breakfast was had at 8.00pm with a choice of cereal, cheese, meats, bacon bits, scrambled and boiled egg, breads and some kind of fish.

Once we found the bus station, and spent £100 on bus passes for the week, we set off on the number 302 bus in search of our first Danish school.  About 20 minutes later, we met Grethe, our main Danish host, outside Øesby Skole.

The Head Teacher greeted us and gave us an overview of the school and a tour of the building.

Facts

·         250 pupils

·         Aged 6-16yrs

·         25 teachers - yes that was 25 teachers!

·         Average class size of 20 pupils

·         Some classes are delivered by 2 teachers

·         Building consisted of General classrooms, cookery room, science lab, ICT rooms, library, teacher preparation room

·         Starts at 7:50am finishing at 12:10pm for younger children and 2:00pm for older children

·         Wrap around care started at 6:30am and finished at 5:00pm

We enjoyed looking around the school and in particular hearing the Head Teacher explain the culture of education in Denmark e.g. no inspections, no monitoring of standards, team planning and teaching, reducing pressure so that teachers could teach, allowing children to enjoy learning.

The school had a very relaxed atmosphere with children calling teachers by their first name and not wearing uniforms.  The most noticeable aspect was how children were trusted to engage in their own learning and this sometimes meant working outside the classroom and in their classroom unsupervised.  There seemed to be no real conflict between children with all seeming happy within their environment.

During morning break, we had a treat in the ultra-modern staff room (please see IKEA catalogue for details) where we were provided with drinks and Danish cakes and pastries - MMMmmmm.  Meanwhile, the children had a great time in the torrential rain jumping in what can only be described as a small pond, some with coats and some without.  Once back in class, children removed wet items, including shoes and some socks.

We saw two lessons in the morning, Danish followed by mathematics.  These were taught to the same class of children by two different teachers with the children remaining in their class whilst the teachers did the running around.  The Danish session consisted of the children reading independently, before a couple of children shared their synopsis of a text they had read previously.  Unfortunately, our Danish is not yet fluent, so although we sat attentively, we could not really make out what was being said!  However, when it came to the international language of mathematics we were back in the game.  A problem solving lesson with children working systematically to identify the number of colour combinations of small cubes, allowed us to observe the children applying their maths skills enjoyably.  All children worked from the same level workbook, provided by school, and worked without the aid of the teacher after an initial input.

Before we knew it, lunch was upon us and we were able to tuck into our "smørrebrød", special Danish open sandwiches.  This was of course followed by more pastries!  At this point, the school day had ended for the younger children who either went home or attended the after school club, upstairs where the kindergarten class had been.

After we had refuelled, we rejoined the children in the after school club, where we played games, created with LEGO, and made Halloween decorations for an upcoming party.  As the club was for the younger children (9 years and under), their English was not great and therefore we had a lot of fun trying to communicate simple ideas and information.

After a great first experience of Danish schools, we headed back to the hotel, getting drenched on the way to the bus - Why didn't we bring our waterproofs like we pester our children to, every day!

Your teachers have been on their travels and here are some photographs to prove it.  We all met up at Newcastle Airport on Sunday 25th October to take our first flight to Amsterdam.  There we continued our journey by catching another plane to Billund in Denmark.  We were met by a very kind driver who took us to the Hotel Harmonien - our home for the next six nights.

As you can see from the  photographs all your teachers were very excited and in good spirits.  We met some other pupils and teachers at the airport.  Head Teacher Mrs Fellowes-Pryne (from Chopwell)  was taking a group of children to China!  We also met another Head Teacher , Ms Duffy from St Augustine's.  She was going to Rome.  It is amazing who you meet in airports. 

By the time we arrived we were very hungry and tired.  So after a quick welcome from our host Mrs Grethe (pronounced Greta) Petersen, we quickly unpacked our clothes and headed straight to the restaurant for something to eat. We all had pork and red cabbage this is a very traditional Danish meal.  It was very nice and everyone had clean plates.

We will be visiting a small school tomorrow but I will let your teachers tell you all about this.

Continue reading "Calling all Front Street, St Peter's, Roman Road, Carr Hill, Oakfield Infants, Rowlands Gill and Wardley pupils " »