A group of four pupils and two teachers, from Wallace High School recently visited the beautiful fjords of Norway as part of the Comenius project, which the school is currently involved in. The conference was held at Ole Vig Videregande Skole in Stjordal, Norway and was also attended by pupils and teachers from Johannes Kepler Gymnasium, Weil Der Stadt, Germany.
The group, comprising of Kerry Martin, Aaron McIntyre, Jack Bann, Laura Abernethy and teachers Ms Brown and Ms Bill, spent five fun filled days, from Wednesday 21 October until Sunday 25 October, getting to know the other participants.
After three long flights, the group were excited to be reunited with the friends they had made after a visit from the partner schools in November 2008. The trip gave the students an opportunity to explore the wonderful sights of Norway while meeting the other groups and work on the Comenius project together. After their arrival, the students were taken to meet their host families.
They met up later as the Norwegian students cooked up some tasty Norwegian food for the group to taste. The students were up early the next morning as they got the opportunity to experience school the Norwegian way. The group worked together and discussed how much progress they had made since their last meeting in November 2008. They then talked through some ideas on how to improve the pda devices that each group will produce about their town.
The pupils also got to experience an English class. The evening concluded with a round of 10 pen bowling. The Friday gave us the opportunity to explore Stjordal, including some tea and coffee by candle light in the beautiful fort and visiting Hell railway station and rock carvings. The afternoon was spent making some recordings for the pda device, while the group turned competitive as they all had a go at laser x and go-karting in the evening. On Saturday, we travelled to Norway’s third biggest city, Trondheim. The Sverresborg cultural history museum and Nidarosdomen cathedral gave the group an opportunity to see the rich and beautiful culture and history of Norway.
The group then literally shopped until they dropped, finding everything from trolls to chocolate, while some members took the opportunity to see the amazing science museum. A goodbye meal at Frati restaurant gave everyone a chance to reflect on the amazing experiences they had together in the last five days. Everyone was up early on the final day as we said our last goodbyes and began the long journey home.
The trip offered the students an opportunity to experience the culture of another country and make some new friends. We were certainly sad to say goodbye and enjoyed every second of an activity packed five days. The chance to develop the ideas for the project was also fantastic. We are now looking forward to our final meeting in Germany, in March 2010.
Last modified: November 17, 2009
