May 10th Hateigsskoli School Visit & Sightseeing

Here are pictures from our school visit and walking around Reykjavik. Since Karla & I have fallen a bit behind, we might skip writing anything in this entry and just leave you with captioned pictures. 

The view from our hotel's front door.

Hateigsskoli is consistently rated as on of the top five schools in Reykjavik in academic performance and student/parent/teacher satisfaction.

Hateigsskoli has about 400 students in grade 1-10. Grades 1 & 2 are in a segregated area of the school and have there own separate playground for recess.  Students stay with the same teacher for grades 1-4, and then get another teacher for grades 5-8.  The principal champions the use of creative activities (dance, drama, art, woodworking, etc.) as facilitators of academic learning.  He also stresses ensuring all students and parents feel safe about the school, preventing bullying and promoting respect for others.

Self-portraits n the school entryway.

Dance class is mandatory for everyone through the 8th grade.   These girls were really enjoying it.

The boys were not quite so enthusiastic, but they were participating well.

Their classrooms look very similar to ours.

Maybe she didn't really want her picture taken after all.

This was part of a 4th grade classroom where students chose between several learning stations.  They are supposed to develop independent learning skills and collaborative learning skills as well as the content.  These two are working with microscopes.

These students are working with electrical circuits.

Back in 1986 when President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev held a summit in Reykjavik, the children of Hateigsskoli wrote a letter asking them to find peace.  Gorbachev's wife Raisa was moved by it and presented them with this sculpture.  The school is still very proud of it.

Principal Asgeir Beinteinsson talking with his students during art class, along with Kristin, Danielle, Moriah, & Kairsten.

Quilted self-portraits.

A student sharing some of his MP3s with Kristin.

In drama class, students act out a play based on one of the ancient Icelandic sagas. 

 

After a great school visit, Paige and Kristin model the Icelandic school crossing sign.

A small yard on the walk back from Hateigsskoli.

A unique Methodist church between our hotel and the school.

 

Along the shopping street, most stores had stuffed seals, puffins, and polar bears for sale.

Our multi-taskers: shopping, sightseeing, taking pictures, and discussing the school visit all at once.

One of the side streets going north down to the harbor.

A variety of buildings.  That's the harbor in the background (North Atlantic).

Buildings seemed to be either shades of white or else very bright colors.

 

Graffiti in bloom.

Trolls aren't ubiquitous here as they are in Norway, but there are still a few around.

The shopping street.

Houses and apartments.  Wood is scarce (no trees), so residential dwellings are concrete or a type of plaster.

Hallgrimm's Church, 240 feet high with seating for 1200, is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Rekjavik.

This statue of Leif Ericsson, located in front of Hallgrimm's Church, was presented to the people of Iceland by the United States government in 1930 in honor of the 1000th anniversary of his founding Vineland.

A street in front of the church that heads west down to the Atlantic Ocean (not the harbor here).

Hallgrimm's Church has a phenomenal pipe organ.

Another street leading down to the harbor.

Another brightly painted house.

A spiral staircase fire escape.

A view of buildings and the Methodist church partway across town. 

Since Iceland is surrounded by water and has many inland lakes as well, swimming instruction is a mandatory component of the school curriculum. With all of Iceland's geothermal energy, they can heat pools very inexpensively, so there are many municipal swimming pools throughout the community, and they are well used.

Like us, Icelanders drive on the right side of the road.  One of these cars is illegally parked.

More residential buildings.

More graffiti.

OK, so maybe there are a few buildings that are neither a shade of white nor fluorescent.

Clouds rolling in over the mountains across the harbor.

 

Obviously, that's Red Cross Iceland.

There are several Italian, Chinese, and Thai eating places within walking distance of our hotel, as well as traditional Icelandic restaurants.  This one seems to think their food is very tasty.