1. Comenius Newspaper
Zeitung zum Comenius-Treffen in Finnland
In der Woche vom 19. – 26.04.2009 trafen sich Schüler aus Den
Haag (Niederlande), Tonbridge (Großbritannien), Halle
(Deutschland) und Helsinki. Gemeinsam arbeiteten sie an dem
2-jährigen Comenius-Projekt:
Kinder der Welt-Welt der Kinder;
Das Leben und Lernen der Kinder
Europas.
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3. Die Woche in Finnland
Monday 20.04.2009 21.4.2009 Tuesday
The first day started in the gym of the This was the city day. First we got the bus
Oulunkylän Yhteiskoulu with music played and went to the design and technology
by Finish students. It sounded very nice for museum. There we had a guided tour, which
everybody. After that the principal of the took half an hour.
school gave us a warm welcome introducing Then we took the bus and went to the city.
her school by using a short powerpoint There we had 45 minutes free time for
presentation. We watched a film about eating and to do other stuff. For lunch we
Helsinki, as well. had bread, banana and juice. And we could
After that we were divided into groups and go to Mc Donald’s if we wanted.
played some games to get to know each
other better. Then Finish students showed us
their wonderful school building explaining Then we had a city tour by bus. There we
everything in detail. It was interesting for saw the sights of Helsinki.
the guests to see the differences between Then we had some free time for half an
their own school and the Finish one. hour.
Then they went to the cafeteria for lunch. Then we went to Kiasma which is a
The food was delicious. Food is very museum. After Kiasma we could go home.
important for Finish people.
After that we made a tour through
Oulunkylän. Finish guys showed us the
important sights for example the churches
and the forest with an old bunker.
Our first day ended and we went home to
our host families.
Isabell Schweyen
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4. 22.04.2009 Wednesday
On Wednesday the guests went to normal lessons with the other Finnish pupils. it was interesting
to see how the Finnish lessons go on: the teachers have got technology and the atmosphere was
very different to the school at home.¨
After school, we went to the Oulukylän curlinghalli and started to play curling together. Students
and teachers were as excited as each other and enjoyed the fun together.
When we finished that, we started to work on our presentations for the week: texts for a
magazine, power point presentations and so on.
Isabell Schweyen
23.04.2009 Thursday
The trip to Tallinn
On Thursday we had to get up very early When we finished the tour everybody was
because we went on a trip to Tallinn, the hungry and was happy about the wonderful
capital of Estonia. buffet in a hotel restaurant. After that we
We boarded the ship at half past seven and had two hours free time that could be used
we had to be at the port at 6.45. The ship to buy some souvenirs or go shopping or
was huge but very nice and after a journey just enjoy the feeling of Tallinn.
of two hours we arrived in Tallinn. At 16.30 we took a ship back to Helsinki
We went on a tour through the city with a and we arrived in Finland at half past eight.
bus and a guide who explained the relevance The day was hard for everybody but very
of important buildings to us in German,, but nice and a special experience.
a teacher from England translated it into
English. After driving by bus we walked Isabell
through the old town that was founded in the Schweyen,
middle ages. Olivia Ogunko
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5. 24.04.2009 Friday
School started at 8.45. We did the Comenius project 3 hours. We had lunch from 12.00 to 12.45.
When it was 13.00 o’clock, the bus left from the school and went 20 km to Nuuksio which is a
conservation area. We had a walk about 4 km to Kattila.
We had a barbecue and a great time together.
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6. Host family
Meine Gastfamilie
Meine Gastfamilie ist sehr nett und freundlich, der Name meiner Gastgeberin ist Viia und der
ihrer Schwester ist Virpa. Sie haben Eltern und die Mutter ist Virpa. Sie haben zwei Papageien
und nicht, wie sie einander. Die weiblichen Papagei namens Nelly-The-Zerstörer und die
männlichen Papagei heißt Hebe. Ich lebe in dem Haus, zusammen mit meiner Freundin
Georgina.
Olivia Ogunko
I stay with a girl called Helena. I live with her in her house with her mother and father. It’s a nice
and cosy house! I speak English with them. They are helpful and tell me different things about
Finland. We eat with each other in the evening and it tastes always very good. I’ve eaten very
nice things this week. I’ve eaten chicken pasta, potatoes, wraps and they took me out for dinner
at an Italian. All these things are not very different from the Netherlands. I feel comfortable in
their house because they are very kind. I can use the shower if I want, also I can watch TV and
more things. It makes me feel at home. One very different thing from Finland is the sauna.
Everyone here has one, I went twice to the sauna it’s hot but very nice. Helena showed me her
class and after school she taught me a game and we went to Helsinki there we went shopping.
This week in Finland was very nice. Marah Wagner
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7. Oulunkylän Yhteiskoulu
Oulunkylän Yhteiskoulu is a big private school in the
Oulunkylän district of Helsinki. It was founded in 1924, and
has both the upper level of comprehensive school (grades 7th
to 9th (age 13 to 15) and the upper secondary school (age 16 to
18). The school is free as all the fees are paid by the
government (about 6000 Euros for each pupil per month), and
school lunch is also free. Students can choose what to have for
their lunch.
There are approximately 880 students and 60 teachers in
Oulunkylän
Yhteiskoulu and they all work in the same
buildings. There are many sofas in the school so
students can rest between the lessons.
The school is about 9 km north of the centre of
Helsinki and it does not take long to get to the
centre by bus or train.
The school has long traditions in music and acting as well as the students’ good results in other
studies.
In addition to learning students and teachers organize theme days, sports events, excursions to
museums and exhibitions, festivals, trips to the theatre and they participate in local or national
projects.
The school is well equipped with a gym, sports field, sauna, canteen and a nearby curling hall.
The school follows the national Finnish curriculum but
concentrates on music and science. There are 18 compulsory
subjects that the students must work at and eight optional
subjects.
There is a special music class which any student who lives in
the city of Helsinki can apply to. To get into the music class,
the student must pass a special test.
There is also a special class which is, ‘Mathematical-
Scientific’. Students are chosen on reasons of interest and good results after completing the
lower level.
The classrooms are well-equipped with technology, such as computers and projectors. The
classes are quite small-the number of pupils for each class can vary from 18 to 32.
The first lesson starts at 8:15 and the last lesson ends at 15:50. The students have a 5 or 10
minute break between lessons in which they can relax.
Konstanze Bergunder und Amalia Austin
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8. Finnish lessons
General atmosphere
Finnish pupils have much freedom and fun Not only students talk in the lessons but
in their lessons. In some lessons they can teachers as well. By explaining and
listen to music and talk to eachother. Pupils discussing everything in detail they make
don’t seem to be stressed and they enjoy the lessons more interesting and funny. So
learning. They also give their opinion and students and teachers work together in a
help their classmates in the class. friendly, calm and openminded way. The
equipment is also very good. Computers,
Sometimes students don’t concentrate and cameras and beamers are in every
aren’t interested, but teachers aren’t angry classroom. It’s easier for teachers to teach
about it. When teachers are stressed, there is and for students to learn. If teachers use
no happiness of learning and learning these things very well there is a high
success. Then students listen to music and happiness of learning and learning success.
seem to be bored.
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9. Teaching methods and media used in class
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10. Differences between the schoolsystems
Finland
• Projectors are better
• Lesson are 45 minutes
• Lots of double lessons
• Al the tables are just for one person
• The teachers teach a lot with the projector.
• They use many books
• Teachers don’t use the whiteboard very much.
Netherlands
• In Holland we don’t use projectors very much
• The lessons are 50 minutes
• The break is always at the same time.
• Double lessons are only for PE
• Some tables are for one
• Some tables are for two
• Teachers teach sometimes with the projectors ( almost not)
• We don’t use books
• Teachers write a lot on the whiteboard
Daniel Drewes and Noor Nitsche
England
• We have a stricter school- better enforced rules and teachers will tolerate no nonsense!
o This helps us know what is expected and it is always clear how we should behave.
The clear structure helps us to study properly.
• We have a beautiful school uniform! J
• We have a bigger school with more pupils and teachers; because of this we have lots of
subject options
• Although we are worked very hard, there are lots of support options available so that’s
good for example the mentoring system
• We used to be tested in the May of Year 9 by the SATS tests
• In May/June of Year 11 you are tested in about 9-14 subjects (GCSE) that you have
chosen
• In May/June of Year 12 there are AS exams
• At the end of Year 13 there are huge final exams in 3-5 that you have chosen to pursue at
a higher level
• If you are exceptionally good at a subject you can take the exams early for example we
all took the SATS in year 8 and some people take their GCSE exams in Year 10.
• The subjects are taught diffferently:
o Technology is used a lot for example: IT rooms, laptops and interactive
whiteboards
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11. • In our language lessons the teachers really try and involve us and make it really fun. This
makes it better than just listening and writing things down
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