Introducing Mystery Class #2
Tromsø, Norway
69.68027 N, 18.97888 E
CC BY-SA 2.0DE/ Fjellheisen Velkomen to Tromsø, Norway! We hope you had fun locating us.
You Found Us!
We are the grade 5-6 Primary Years Program ("PYP") class of Tromsø International School, in Tromsø, Norway. This photo shows us having fun after one of our skiing classes. We are not wearing skis, but if you look closely at our feet you can see we are all wearing ski boots! In Norway, they say that "children are born with skis on their feet", because skiing is such a large part of our history and heritage.
Photo: Tromsø International School
Tromsø International School
This is our school building. We are in Breiviklia 1, blokk 4, Tromsø, Norway 9019, which is within the campus of the Breivika Videregående Skole (Breivika High School). There are only about 60 students in our school (primary and middle school), but we are a diverse international group because we come from 24 different countries. Our school is strategically located close to the University of Tromsø, where most of our parents work or study.
Photo: Tromsø International School
Our School Logo
This is the official logo of Tromsø International School (TIS). It was founded in January 2011, and so we just celebrated the school's five year anniversary. TIS offers the IB or International Baccalaureate programmes, and because of its far north latitude, TIS is the northernmost school that's fully accredited to offer the two IB programmes. Those two programmes include the Primary Years Programme (PYP) for students in grades 1 - 6 (ages 6 - 12) and the Middle Years Programme (MYP) for students in grades 7 - 10 (ages 13 - 16).
Logo: Tromsø International School
In the Classroom
Because we are an IB school, we do what all IB schools do, which is to inquire on what different ideas/concepts mean to us. In this photo, two of our students are engaged in a wood carving project.
Field Trip: No Such Thing as Bad Weather
In Norway we have a saying . . . "there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes." That tells you how much we LOVE to be outside, no matter what the weather! For us, happiness is playing in the snow with the sun on our faces. Here's a photo and video from our school Facebook page, showing PYP students on an outdoor visit to the Widding Gård goat farm.
Lutefisk! One of the national foods in Norway is Lutefisk, which is dried whitefish treated with lye. Here is what a serving of Lutefisk looks like on the plate.
WikiCommons/ Herranderssvensson
Pinnekjøtt
Another favorite food is Pinnekjøtt, which means Stick Meat. It is usually lamb or mutton, and is the main course for a dinner or festive meal.
WikiCommons / Nina Aldin Thune
Favorite Books
We read a lot of books from many different genres and from many different authors. But we really like the stories in the IB PYP series called Ten Tales from Different Cultures, by Andrew Peters and Polly Peters. There are 10 books in this series, which is a collection of beautifully illustrated folk tales from cultures all around the world. The books are written for ages 5 to 9, and include tales the many cultures including Korean, Czech, Malaysian, Australian, American Indian, Swedish, Turkish, British, African and Mexican.
Book Covers: IB/Follett Books(International Baccalaureate) & Styling Librarian
Our City -- Tromsø
Our city of Tromsø is located north of the Arctic Circle. How far north? The Arctic Circle is at about 66.55 N latitude, and we are at 69.68 N, so we're 3.13 degrees north of the Circle. In spite of our arctic latitude, the city is warmer than most other places on the same latitude, due to the warming effect of the Gulf Stream.
Tromsø has three main areas, with two portions located on islands and the third located on the mainland. The largest population center of Tromsø is found on the island of Tromsøya which you can see in the middle of this map, the other island section is to the west on the island called Kvaløya, and the mainland portion is the east. A bridge connects the two islands of Tromsøya and Kvaløya, and the mainland is connected to Tromsøya by the Tromsø Bridge and by the Tromsøysund Tunnel as well.
Google Maps
Looking for Aurora Borealis?
Tromsø is often listed as one of the best places to see Aurora Borealis, because of our latitude. Here is a photo of an Aurora Borealis in the sky above the city.
WikiTravel / Public Domain
Paris of the North
Tromsø has been called the "Paris of the North", because of the rich educational, historical, and cultural features of the city. Some examples include The University of Tromsø, the Polarmuseet (Polar Museum), the Tromsø Cathedral, the Arctic Cathedral, the Polariaaquarium, and the Arctic-alpine botanic garden.
The population of Tromsø is around 70,000 residents, who are called "Tromsøværinger" in Norwegian. Tromsø is said to be the most populated urban area in Northern Norway, and the third most-populated city north of the Circle.
CC BY 2.0 / Municipality of Tromso
Our Country --Kongeriket Norge
In Norwegian, our country is called "Kongeriket Norge" or Kingdom of Norway. Its location in Northern Europe, along the western edge of the Scandanavian Peninsula, gives Norway a very long ocean coastal border on the west. This coastline is a rugged one, broken by thousands of islands, and huge fjords like those in the photo.
Sweden and Finland are also on the Scandanavian Peninsula, to the east of Norway. Norway shares a long eastern border with Sweden, a short northeast border with Finland, and an even shorter border with Russia, also on the extreme north/northeast section of our Norway.
Nils-Arne Larsen
Reindeer
One of the iconic wildlife species of Norway is the reindeer. This photo was taken in our county of Troms.
CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 / Nathanael Coyne
Puffins
Another cool species here in Norway is the Puffin, which is a tourist attraction in many coastal locations like Runde, a small island community which is sometimes referred to as Bird Island.
CC BY-SA 3.0 / T.Müller
Flag and Farewell
We really enjoyed being a secret Mystery Class, and hope that you enjoyed learing about our school, city, country and culture here in Norway. We leave you with an image of our national flag of Norge.
If you want to contact us, you can write our teacher Mr. Ligtas. And if you want to learn more about our Tromsø International School, please take a look at our website, and take a look at all the videos on YouTube about our school too.
