3rd and 4th graders in the autumn forest

Mrs. Kaisa Loponen 4th grade teacher
Mrs. Sanna Kokko, 3rd grade teacher

Early in the September morning the 3rd and 4t graders of our school left school to go and have a trip to forest. The bagbags were full of warm clothes, packed lunch and hot chocholoade. A trip of few kilometers was nice with the bikes. After leaving the bikes they had to walk a while to destination.

 The students divided to groups and every group's first task was to build a wood house for themselves. While building they figured out names for the group. After the work it was lunch time. The groups worked together co-operatively planning stories: what happens in forest after leaving, who is moving to our house and what kind of creatures capture them. The work continues in the classroom following days combining Finnish studies and art. They examined also trees, measured heights and calculated ages. They played also Capture the Flag-game.

The goal for the day was to get familiar with the other class, problem solving, creativity and have fun in the forest with bright autumn colors. All the goal were reached and the day was a success. For now on the co-operation between the classes goes well and naturally.

The day was so nice that we are going to do it again some day!

Saturday at School, Community Walk

Jukka Miettunen
Pedagogical manager

Today 28.9 we had a special day at Patamäki School. Together with Parents Commitee and teachers we organised a Community Walk. 1st graders walked together with 5th graders as a godstudents. 2nd graders were with 6th graders same way. A lot of parents followed the classes learning as well the history.

Every class walked a route of 3 km in the neighbourhood to learn the history of Maikkula and Patamäki area. Neighbours, parents and grand parents had organised checkpoints by the route.

First one was the Maikkula Mansion. When arriving to the yard, the view is the same as in the 19th century: Fredrika’s House from the 1860’s at the river bank, an 18th century’s barn, stable and worker’s quarters Väentupa to the right and the main building from the 1830’s at the centre. We could imagine tarboats going down Ouluriver bringing wealth for the area. We heard stories about big salmon catches in the 1860’s- They were dazzling: even 82.000 kg!











Next checkpoint was Maikkula reserve troop barracs.
The buildings from Russian power time were still there giving visions of that time.

Next refreshing checkpoint was ground water taps where we could drink clear and cold water discussing about the water cycle. Most of the Oulu people get their drinking water from Oulu river after purification.

Next we found out where our famous Laanaoja (small river which goes thru the city) get its start. It quite near to our school.

After walking a while we stopped at old shop of Huuskonen which was very famous in 1960s. We heard stories time before big Super Markets conquered the area.

On the last checkpoint we conquered the Lion mountain and had some traditonal Finnish games with a help of two parents.

Finally it was time to get back to school and eat sausages, rolls and juice. It was so tasty!

The feedback was excellent! All participants got a huge amount of valuable information about the history of the area. The feeling of strong community and caring was present.

Thank you all for your contribution!

Silent Films with 5th grade

Jukka Miettunen
5th grade teacher

As a part of Finnish and media studies 5th graders made silent films with own mobile phones and edited it with Microsoft Movie Tool. The main focus was that the dialogue was transmitted through muted gestures, mime and title cards.The film should also contain some kind of surprise also.

21st Century Skills aimed were collaboration, creativity and use of technology.

Once again work was fun and educating. Here's one production called "Surprise Quest".

Enjoy!

Literacy Day

Mrs. Paula Vorne

2nd grade teacher

Today, the 8^th of September,  is United Nations International Literacy Day. Literacy is something that we in Finland take for granted. Every child goes to school and gets free education for minimum of nine years no matter where in Finland they live.  Schools follow their own curriculum which has to be based on the national guidelines of curriculum so the base of education is the same in every school in our country. 

We celebrated the International Literacy Day with 2nd and 6th grade students. Every student brought their favorite book to school and they read the stories to each other in small groups. 6th grades godstudents also gave feedback to the smaller students how they could improve their reading skills. 

  

More information on the themes of the International Literacy Day:

 http://www.unesco.org/new/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/literacy-day/