Culture

=﻿Culture= We visit a lot of cultural places in the village: The Cultural arena - the church - Public Library - Museum

The Cultural arena[[image:Untitled_0_01_43-12.jpg width="320" height="180" align="right" caption="From the musical Mamma Mia"]]
We just got a new cultural arena in Birkeland and we look forward to start using it!

At the start of the school year of 2009/2010 we made a change in the local curriculum in music, saying that year 7 every year should set up a musical. This is based on the competence aims of the Knowledge Promotion Reform. They say among other things, that the students should perform their song, play and dance in collaboration with others. The s tudents should be able to sing in unison with an emphasis on intonation, tone and expression. They should also be able to play simple melodies, dance Norwegian and foreign dances, understand and apply pulse , rhythm, form , melody , sound and dynamics. We see that our students benefit greatly from participating in a musical. Not everyone can have the main roles, but there are many roles to fill in a musical production. There is need for someone to create sets and props, digital wallpapers and costumes. We need prompters, dancers and someone to sing in the choir. Lights and sound must be controlled and we need someone to work backstage, someone that can get things on an off stage at the right time at all times. Someone must handle the PR, make posters and write articles for the school's website. It all culminates in performances for the parents, year 1 - 6 at the school and last, but not least, a performance where the whole community is invited! The previous years we've had to use the sports hall for our perfomances, but from now on we can start using our new cultural arena! We can hardly wait!

Mamma Mia spring 2010 Olsenbanden på Rocker'n spring 2011
 * Musicals set up by Birkeland school:**

The church
Birkenes Church is our local church. Every Christmas we have a Christmas service the last day of school. Pupils in year 1 also make decorations hanging in the church throughout Christmas. Year 2 are responsible for singing performances.

In 2008 the church celebrated its 150th anniversary. In this connection, several of the classes participated in an arts competition - " our church " - announced by the church office.

Here are some of the winning entries.

The public library
The public library is situated in the centre of our village.

The classes often visit the public library, to borrow books or to visit with authors invited by the library. Year 3 and year 6 get invited to these visits every year.

The museum
The school has a good working cooperation with the museum. There are different arrangements during the Cultural week, but also arrangements during the year. Year 3 visit the museum every year to participate in the programme called "From grain to bread" and year 5 participate in the programme called "The blacksmith and the iron".