For Year 8, the school garden has become their outdoor classroom during their current block lessons. Here, they work practically, harvest, and learn.

From sowing to harvesting, the class has tended vegetable beds until the crops were ready. Along the way, they’ve learned how food grows and what it means to take responsibility for nature.
Beetroot, carrots, onions, and herbs – the students harvested together, and the fruits of their labour are now being processed in the school kitchen.
In the garden, everyone works together – whether transplanting, watering, or harvesting.

🌿 This Is Valuable:
Practical Knowledge: The students understand where food comes from and the effort and patience it requires.
Sustainability: They learn to work resourcefully and respect nature.
Health & Nutrition: Fresh vegetables from their own garden not only taste delicious – they also create pride and awareness in holding the results of their hard work and seeing what ends up on their plates.

Year 8’s outdoor classroom

#Plants #Botany #School #Rogaland #Stavanger #Pedagogy #Nature #Biology #Turnip #SFO #Skole #Barnetrinn #Ungdomstrinn #VGS #Videregående #VideregåendeSkole #Food #Teaching #BrassicaOleraceaGongylodes #Biodiversity #Norge

Have you ever wondered how icebergs float? With this fun tool, you can draw your own iceberg and watch it float in the water – just like in real life!

Icebergs float because they are less dense than water, so about 10% of their mass stays above the surface. But how they float depends on their shape and mass distribution -_try_it_out_here!

✨ Try these challenges!

1. The spinning iceberg
Can you draw an iceberg that spins or flips upside down when it’s done? What shape makes it rotate?

2. The unmovable iceberg
Draw an iceberg that doesn’t move at all when it’s finished. How can you balance it perfectly?

3. The diving iceberg
Draw an iceberg that dips deep into the water for a second before floating back up. How does its shape affect the way it moves?

4. The tiny tips
Create an iceberg where only two tiny bits stick out of the water – like the peaks of a hidden mountain. Can you make it look like a real Arctic giant with just these small hints above the surface?

5. The creative iceberg
Draw an iceberg that looks like a house, or a fantasy shape ... or an animal – can you design it so it still can breathe?

🧊 Link: joshdata.me/iceberger.html

Experiment with shapes and designs to see how they affect floating.
Figure out how to make your iceberg behave the way you want it to!

#Education #Teaching #Learning #School #Stavanger #Pedagogy #Lærer #Rogaland #Fysikk #Isostasy #Puzzles #Art #Science #Isfjell #Gaming #CreativeThinking #Iceberg #Physics #Ice #Is #Drawing #Density #Humour #Buoyancy #Densitet #Norge #Skole #Undervisning

On 22 September, we marked the autumn equinox – the days are getting shorter, temperatures are dropping, and our school bees are also preparing for winter.

🏡 Inside the Hive the bees are gathering the last supplies (honey and pollen) and consolidating the hive – they are reducing brood production and preparing for the colder months. From late summer/autumn onwards, winter bees are being raised. These bees live much longer (up to 6 months) compared to summer bees and are hardier, enabling them to sustain the hive through winter. They form a cluster around the queen to keep her warm, vibrating their wings to generate heat. Additionally, the hive is thoroughly cleaned to prevent mould and diseases.
🌼 Outside the Hive, on warm days, the bees still fly out to collect nectar and pollen from late-blooming plants. They can still find heather, dandelions, sunflowers, autumn anemones and ivy. The bees also collect water in autumn to process honey and keep the hive humid.

What Are Beekeepers Doing in Autumn?
Beekeepers check if the bees have enough supplies for winter. If not, they provide sugar syrup or fondant. In autumn, treating against Varroa mites is particularly important to keep the bees healthy. They also check if the hive is strong enough to survive winter. Weak colonies are merged or supported. Some beekeepers add insulation to the hives to protect the bees from the cold.
This way, the bees can start winter strong and healthy.

A peek into the hive: Preparing the bees for the colder months

#Honey #Beekeeping #School #Honning #Rogaland #Stavanger #Nature #Apiary #Environment #HederaHelix #Teaching #Education #Undervisning #AnemoneHupehensis #Helianthus #TaraxacumOfficinale #CallunaVulgaris #Høst #AutumnEquinox #Pets #Globalhealth #Bees #Biology #Bier #birøkt #Skole #Norge #Food #Bikube #Skole

"In April 1812, the young sailor Ejner Tevig and the crew of the Norwegian ship Haabet discover an English brig in the North Sea. The Cannon Boat War with England is at its peak, and thousands of Norwegian sailors are captured and sent to English prisons. Yet, the captain of Haabet decides to capture the English brig. That was a decision they should never have made ..."
Arrfjes is an exciting historical sea novel for young adults, written by the double Upris Prize winner Terje Torkildsen.

This week, we had the pleasure of welcoming actor and author Terje Torkildsen to our school.

Torkildsen is currently in the spotlight with his young adult novel Arrfjes, which is this year’s featured book in the "Hele Stavanger leser" project. Year 10 are already reading it, and we’re sure many more will be curious to dive into this and his other books.

The pupils from all grades had many questions for the author, and they received thoughtful and detailed answers. It was a wonderful meeting with a prominent local author – and a special opportunity to learn more about the rich history and language of Norway, as Arrfjes is written in Nynorsk, a beautiful and important part of our cultural heritage.

Terje Torkildsen

#Education #Teaching #Learning #School #Stavanger #Pedagogy #Lærer #Rogaland #Nynorsk #Ungdomstrinn #Arrfjes #Norsk #NorskLitteratur #TerjeTorkildsen #History #Humanities #Books #War #Krig #HeleStavangerLeser #Bok #Litteratur #Schule #Forfatter

In the physics block of Year 9, the topic was force and energy. The pupils got to experience this topic hands-on – they shot arrows with a bow!

This involves the fundamental principles of mechanics:
• Force and motion: How does a force act on a body? How is energy transferred?
• Energy conversion: How is the elastic potential energy of the bow converted into the kinetic energy of the arrow?
• Precision and calculation: How do angle, tension, and air resistance affect the trajectory of an arrow?

🎯 Archery is a wonderful example of the application of physical laws:
• Elastic potential energy: When the bow is drawn, elastic energy is stored.
• Kinetic energy: When released, this energy is transferred to the arrow – it flies!
• Conservation of energy: The total energy (elastic potential energy + kinetic energy) remains constant – a fundamental principle of physics.

Newton would be proud: Year 9 explores the laws of motion!

#Education #Teaching #Learning #School #Stavanger #Pedagogy #Lærer #Rogaland #Fysikk #Ungdomstrinn #Science #Archery #Bow #Arrow #Physics #Pil #Bue #Energy #Schule #Force #Escuela #Ecole #Law #Norge #Skole #Undervisning

The Year 3 pupils have learned how bees live, how they produce honey, why they pollinate flowers, and how a beehive works. They have discovered why bees are so important for nature and how they work together to keep a colony alive.
In addition, they have created their own textbooks with drawings, texts, and labels – and processed their knowledge creatively!

Creating their own books with text, illustrations, and annotations is a highly effective learning method. When students actively engage with the material, they process it more deeply and retain it longer. By drawing bees, flowers, or honeycombs, they connect visual and verbal information—the brain remembers better when multiple senses are involved.

Every child has its own learning style, and through independent design, they can structure the content in their own words and logic. A self-made book gives children a sense of achievement. They identify with their work and take pride in their knowledge—boosting motivation in the long run.

With their newfound expertise on bees, pollination, and hives, the Year 3 pupils are now fully prepared to join the school’s beekeeping club—and put their knowledge into practice!

A snapshot of Year 3’s learning journey.

#Honey #Beekeeping #School #Honning #Rogaland #Barnetrinn #Science #Pets #Biology #Nature #Art #Beehive #Apiary #Teaching #Bees #Biology #Bier #birøkt #Skole #Pets #Norge #Food #Bikube #Skole

They feast on carrion:
As the only bees on Earth, they’ve completely ditched pollen and nectar, instead specialising in rotting fruit and animal carcasses.

At first glance, they look just like their plant-loving cousins: dark brown, compact, and about 1 cm long. But their most important tool is their long, sturdy proboscis—not for sipping nectar, but for licking up meat juices! They also have reinforced jaws to tear off chunks of flesh.

These three species call the tropical rainforests of Central and South America home. They live in colonial nests, often sharing their habitat with ants and wasps—which they sometimes use as a protein source.

Unlike honeybees, they don’t build wax combs. Instead, they create specially coated cells from resins and plant materials inside hollow tree trunks, underground burrows, or abandoned termite nests.

The bees bite off small pieces of flesh from dead animals, pre-chew it in their crop, and carry it back to the nest. There, they regurgitate the meat into food cells. Thanks to special bacteria, the flesh transforms into a jelly-like, honey-like liquid within 12–16 days. This "meat honey" is packed with proteins and sugars—a superfood for their larvae!

(Species: Trigona necrophaga, Trigona hypogea, and Trigona crassipes)

Trigona spinipes (Irapuã) – Foto: José Reynaldo da Fonseca, CC-BY-SA 4.0

#Honey #Beekeeping #School #Honning #Rogaland #Stavanger #Nature #Apiary #Environment #MeatHoney #Pets #TrigonaNecrophaga #Bees #TrigonaHypogea #TrigonaCrassipes #Biology #Bier #birøkt #Skole #KjøttHonning #Norge #Bikube #Skole

The 4th grade pupils have been learning about types of grain in their German lessons. They got to know Hafer, Gerste, Weizen and Roggen and connected the new vocabulary with colourful pictures.

Each type has its own special characteristics – from the nutrient-rich Gerste to the versatile Weizen, the robust Roggen, and the healthy Hafer.

🥐 Roggen (Rye / Rug): medium-length awns, bread, porridge
🥐 Hafer (Oats / Havre): grains on a panicle, biscuits, bread, porridge
🥐 Weizen (Wheat / Hvete): ear without awns, versatile, bread, porridge, biscuits, cake
🥐Gerste (Barley / Bygg): long awns, porridge, bread; in Germany, they brew beer from it, but only adults are allowed to drink it 😉

From bread to beer: Grain has shaped the diet and culture of Central Europe for centuries

#Language #German #School #Språk #Rogaland #Stavanger #Tysk #Deutsch #Deutschunterricht #Getreide #Grain #Hafer #Gerste #Bread #Porridge #Awns #Barley #Bygg #Roggen #Weizen #Rye #Rug #Oats #Bier #Havre #Skole #Wheat #Norge #Food #Hvete #Skole

Although fungi do not technically belong to botany, they are still part of the botany curriculum. Traditionally, fungi are often covered in biology or botany lessons because they are closely interconnected with plants in their way of life—whether through symbioses like mycorrhiza, which promote plant growth, or through their role in the nutrient cycle of ecosystems.

Last week, the pupils took a closer look at fungi and lichens. They learned about the structure of fungi and the functions they perform in nature—as decomposers, symbionts, or even parasites.
The differences between lichens (a symbiosis of fungus and alga/cyanobacterium) and fungi were also discussed. Lichens are pioneers of colonisation (e.g., on rocks or tree bark) and play an important role in ecosystems.

A fascinating insight into a world that, while not part of botany, is essential for the way plants and ecosystems function as we know them!

Life stages of a fungus

#Reinlav #Botany #VG3 #Ecology #Sopp #Rogaland #Stavanger #Mushroom #Pedagogy #VGS #CladoniaPortentosa #Science #FlyAgaric #FlyAmanita #Cladonia #Biology #RødFluesopp #AmanitaMuscaria #Biodiversity #Environment #Ecology #Skole #Teaching #School #Norge

Over the past three weeks, the VG3 students have been studying natural and artificial selection as well as biodiversity in their biology block.

This included three exciting excursion destinations:
🌾 At Ullandhaug Økologiske Gård, they learned how sustainable agriculture works—from breeding resilient plants to understanding the principles of artificial selection that play a role in ecological animal husbandry.
🌾 In the Botanical Garden, they explored the diversity of the plant world, learned about plant adaptation strategies to different habitats, and how natural selection operates in ecosystems.
🌾 At Ormen Lange, they observed natural habitats by the water and on land, interactions between native plant and animal species, and they deepened their understanding of biodiversity and ecological relationships.

Excursion: VG3 in the greenhouse

#Plants #Botany #VG3 #Ecology #Greenhouse #Rogaland #Stavanger #Pedagogy #VGS #Animals #Science #Food #Biology #Healthcare #Bondegård #Biodiversity #Environment #Ecology #Skole #Teaching #School #Norge