Finland
Sammalselän Koulu
Suonenjoki is a small town that is 350 km north of Helsinki. Suonenjoki is in the province of Eastern Finland and it is part of the Northern Savonia region. The population is about 7500. Suonenjoki is famous for its strawberries, and it even has a festival called Strawberry Carnival. Sammalselkä school is a small school near Suonenjoki centre. Our school has 129 pupils studying from grades 1-6. There are also two special needs classes, one for grades 1-2, and one for grades 3-6. Our school's principal and special needs teacher is Tuula Pesonen. We have six class teachers, one English and Swedish teacher, two special needs teachers and six school assistants. Pupils study Finnish, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Religion, History, English (grades 3-6), Swedish (grade 6), Music, Art, Crafts, Social Studies (grades 4, 6) and Physical Education. Schoolday usually starts at 8.00 in the morning. Lessons are 45 minutes with 15-minute recess after the lesson. Pupils get a free lunch at the school. School ends at 12-14 o’clock. Pupils from 1-2 grades can stay at school after their school day. It's called afternoon club. There, they make their homework and play with other pupils. There are at least two assistants to take care of the pupils. They are having a snack there. Our school offer every year a few clubs for our pupils. The clubs we're offering are related to PE, Art and Music. Clubs are free to join.
