Electives, school-wide activities and school trips
Your chosen course is about 1/3 of the total hours at Fosen Folk School. In addition, we have electives, school trips and other school-wide activities.
Electives
One day a week we have our electives. You will choose one elective in the fall, and a different one in the spring. 3 times a year we have one-week electives, where we work intensively with one subject the whole week.
The electives and week-long courses are central additions to the regular learning, which supplement and strengthen the learning on your chosen course.
Electives offered vary from year to year. Here are some examples:
- Tanning and leatherwork
- Outdoor living
- Woodwork
- Textile crafts/handwork
- Seamans' work
- Sailing
- Basketweaving
- Felting
- Dyeing with plants
- Fishing/Trapping
- Ropemaking
- Sailing
- Blacksmithing
- Leather sewing
- Knife making
- Sail making
- Log-Cabin building
Some electives are free, while others have a small fee to cover material costs.
School-wide activities
At Fosen Folk High School we try new things, think new thoughts, widen our horizons, improve the talents we are unsure about, and invest in new interests.
Much of this is done at our different courses, but much as well is done together, outside of our courses.
It is only the sum of all these lessons and activities, as well as living toghether, that makes up your learning at Fosen Folk High School. Several of the school-wide activites at Fosen are:
Morning Gathering
An important forum with songs, words of the day from students and teachers, and information about lessons and daily life at the school. The main point is "Word of the Day," there all students get a chance to speak before the school in the run of the year. It can be anything from a student's or teacher's knowledge to poetry or politics.
Seminars
Tuesday mid-mornings and a part of saturdays we have seminars. The form and contents very greatly but it could be anything from cleaning, discussions, roleplay, dance and music.
It could be politics, philosophy, history, it could be an everyday sort of topic or timeless questions about humanity, but more often than not its about something like edible plants in the forest or fire. The themes will give you inspiration for the school's organic or enviormental politics' profile, and new perspectives to be known around the world.
School parties
About once a month we have a party in the evening with good food, entertainment, sketches, and other fun! The various classes are responsible for thier own parties placed around the year.
House meetings
The students here have small "Family Groups" with a teacher there too. These are cozy little meetings with cake and coffee, and we talk about things big and small as they relate to our life here at school.
Dugnad
A good, old Norwegian custom, summed up with: Something needs doing, and a gaggle of folks gets it done in a snap! And with smiles on our faces! What could be more meaningful! We pick and carry berries and vegetables, plant herbs, chop wood, and paint buildings.
You will also go out into the woods and surrounding area to collect plants and materials to use for lessons in the kitchen. Its fun to see how much we can do in such a short time when we all work together!
New Learning Together
There are many ways to learn. With FNYF you can focus on one theme together with other interested students. It can be whatever, and you find for yourself how you work all together. Maybe through experiment, discussion, find work around town, go on learning trips, or whatever you want!...
You will get a leader to help you along, but it is up to you and your group to do your own work together.
School trips
Every fall and spring we go on a five-day trip with the whole school, sailing out into the fjord in our own open sailboats. Once we get to our island with sheep we gather those sheep all together for either slaughter in the fall, or to pluck the wool in the springs. As well as administering medicine and checking the population. The week is full of sailing, campfires, songs, and swimming in the fjord. We see eagles, and seals, eat crabs, fish and limpets, and we play games and go on little trips.