APRIL 2022

Dear current and upcoming students, parents and other stakeholders

Glimpses of IB2 life: AROS visit, Galla and The Academy for Talented Youths
News from IB & Pre-IB Coordinators
Group 4 Project
Visual Arts Exhibition
Being young in Ukraine
Get to know your teachers: Maria Pertl
Subject spotlight: Chemistry

News from the IB Coordinator

Looking back at the first months of 2022, I am happy to note the gradual move towards both post-COVID being-together-in-school conditions and being a witness to students and school staff creating new traditions to strengthen social contact at the school.

And what does SCHOOL mean when I use the word? I mean the whole community housed in the building at Kileparken 25, Tilst. AKA Aarhus Gymnasium, Tilst.

Besides pre-IB and IB DP, we offer the two-year Danish HF program, the Danish baccalaureate STX, and the EUX youth education. EUX takes four years and combines a baccalaureate and vocational education, e.g., carpenter training.

It is an interesting ongoing challenge to enable integration and networking among the students enrolled in our school's different youth educations. I will use this opportunity to compliment the IB students for being significantly engaged on that matter. They are active members in many of the school committees and play a significant role in coordinating and carrying out many school events. I know I look forward to seeing their smiles during this afternoon’s Fun Run.

Saturday, we had the most significant event in years: A Galla party for the graduating students across the educations and one of the beautiful experiences that evening was to see the students dancing Les Lanciers representing an including community of so many different types of people, a diversity of nationality, religion, ethnicity, gender/non-gender, clothing-style, etc. all together – united on the dance floor.

Yesterday we held the first exam of the year. IB2 Physics. We will continue in exam mode culminating Wednesday, May 25, at the graduation. All IB2 parents are welcome at 2 PM.

"Giraffe Language" is named after the mammal with the biggest heart. Therefore, we have our own IB Giraffe wandering around reminding us to communicate openly, kindly and in a heartfelt manner.

Kind regards,

Malene Sørensen

Your way into the
wider world

Download our new brochure

News from the Pre-IB Coordinator

It seems only last week that the pre-IB students started with us and now, as the school year is starting to come to a close, they are getting ready to move into the IB after the summer.

They have worked hard to get to where they are now: young people with more developed academic English skills, a solid academic foundation, and with new and established friendships most of them are ready to take on the challenges of the IB that await them next year. Through an arduous process in the first few moths of the year, they have now chosen their 6 IB subjects. They think they know what’s coming… and luckily, we’ll be there to help and guide them when the truth reveals itself.

But the year is not quite over yet. There is still a History Research Project to complete and defend orally, 3 end-of-year tests to sit under exam conditions, a final round of pre-CAS, not to mention this afternoon’s Fun Run. They will be kept busy until the end. So, dear parents, remember to support them in their final pre-IB months so that we together can ensure they are well-rested and well-prepared for the IB.

Best wishes,

Maria Friis Lindinger

IB at AGT appetizer

If you know of any young people getting ready to choose a youth education, or of families relocating to Aarhus, please do share our video. You can also find our new IB brochure a little further up in the newsletter.

The Group 4 Project

All IB science students must complete a Group 4 Project as part of the required IB Group 4 (Science) practical program.

The following elements are expected from the Group 4 Project:

Interdisciplinary collaboration
Appreciation of the implications of science and the limitations of scientific study
Development of teamwork
Development of planning skills
Exchange or sharing of both data collected and issues raised
Approximately 10 hours of involvement time

Visual Arts Exhibition

On the 30th March, AGT celebrated the opening of the Graduation Exhibition for the Visual Arts IB2 students. For these students, this was an incredibly exciting day, as it was their chance to show off the art pieces they have been working on for the past year.

The exhibited artworks explored a range of themes and issues, from gender identity, to childhood nostalgia, to the intersection between art and mathematics. The artworks allowed us to admire the students’ skills in painting, digital art, printmaking, sculpture, drawing and photography. However, the students this year also endeavoured to use a variety of non-conventional materials such as painted plexiglass, liquid latex and crochet work.

We were extremely pleased to see many non-visual arts students turn up for the opening, to spend a cosy afternoon looking at artworks while snacking on some food and drinks. Overall, the exhibition was a great success and our Visual Arts students can really be proud of themselves! Thank you to our students for all their hard work, and to all those who showed up to show their support.

Being young in Ukraine

Christina Kozakova recently started in the pre-IB and has agreed to share her thoughts on the similarities and differences between being young here in Denmark and in Ukraine, where she lived until recently when the war broke out.

From my yet short experience as a student in Denmark, I can easily say there are quite a few differences in being a student here, versus in Ukraine. I have to start off by pointing out that the school I was enrolled in was an IB school. Therefore most of my classmates were international, so I rarely interacted with Ukrainian people.
My school being the top rated international school in the capital of Ukraine, there was a considerable amount of children from families of embassy workers. Due to which most of the students were very politically involved, and motivated other students to be as well. Politics and literature were a common discussion topic for lunch or after school hangouts with friends. Most students chose to pursue economic or political subjects in their postgraduate education, whereas others went into business.
Compared to my class right now, there is a lot more variety between the students' interests and hobbies, and politics are not discussed. A lot more of my classmates are interested in a wider variety of topics, like medicine, education, arts, or science. Students are also involved in more activities outside of school, and many work. Giving them the ability to get work experience before university, as well as interact with an even bigger variety of people.
In my school in Kyiv, a lot more people were Involved in after school activities on campus, CEESA and MUN were extremely popular and most competed to be involved in the international competitions. Most students' lives revolved around their education, leaving very little space for personal life and growth outside of school.
The structure of our classes was very different, as well as our daily schedules. Our classes weren’t very interactive, unlike here, students were not as involved in the class, and only spoke out if they were picked out by the teacher, which everyone often tried to avoid. My favorite part about being a student here would certainly be the structure of our assignments and classes. The teachers organize a lot more educational games, and have more exciting quizzes, many of our assignments are based on our understanding of the topic, rather than our memory. Students here seem to be more interested in the classes, and excited to experience school, rather than
just get the highest grade and move on. The classroom feels like a more comforting space, and students speak out even if they’re not sure about the answer, or just to guess, since they don't feel as judged by their classmates. Which brings me to my final point, diversity.
Ukraine is not a very diverse country, there aren’t that many foreigners, and most people still have very old-fashioned mindsets and opinions. Therefore people are generally not as accepting and open minded, as they could be. Classes here don’t seem as divided, as students interact with everyone. Whereas in my school In Ukraine, there were much more obvious divisions between people due to age, financial situation, gender, and popularity. Which often caused people to not interact with students who are in the same class.

Christina Kozakova, 1i

Get to Know your Teachers

Maria Pertl - Chemistry teacher

How did you come to teach at AGT?
In September 2005 I had just participated as rower in the World Rowing Championship in Gifu, Japan (LW4x), I returned to Denmark not knowing which future I was looking into. Within the first days back in Aarhus, I had seen a job posting, been to my first job interview and started my new job as a biology teacher in a temporary position. Since then, I got my teacher education and permanent position as both biology, biotechnology and chemistry teacher and took part in the application process of Langkær becoming an IB school.
What strikes you as being interesting about AGT?
AGT is an extremely dynamic and fascinating mixture of inspiring colleagues and a very diverse group of young adult students. Being challenged every day is a gift.
What about your subject(s) excites you?
I enjoy very much to bring the students into the exiting world of science experiments. Fascinating to try and build understanding about the building blocks of our world and the reactions taking place.
Which of the learner profile attributes is your favourite and which could you yourself improve on?
“Knowledgeable” - one of my big aims as a teacher is to engage students into developing skills for exploring knowledge and understanding, and in that way developing into “inquirers”. “Communicator” – as a teacher I should be able to reach the students and lead them into the right path, I strive to listen carefully and communicate in different ways to be able to engage students.
What culinary dish says something about you?
A culinary dish … well my IB2 students would maybe think of my carrot muffins. The recipe they got in their last chemistry module was written with chemical structures they needed to translate into ingredients. The list included sucrose, cinnamaldehyde, zingiberene and beta-carotene. Sweet, spicy, orange and with lots of energy 😉 Maybe that does say something about me?

Subject Spotlight: Chemistry

What is cool about your subject? Endothermic reactions 😉 Chemistry bridges into all other sciences and applies in every field of life – that is cool.

What do your students think that your subject is/is about vs. what is really is/is about? Students think: it is very difficult subject to understand and pass. Really: it requires a lot of memory by heart and hard work, but with perseverance every student is able become knowledgeable and pass chemistry.

What knowledge/skills will your students obtain? How big an importance chemical knowledge is in our normal daily life, and students will not only gain important academic knowledge, but also knowledge of how to use different chemical compounds and if necessary, take required precautions.

In what ways can students use your subject later on in life? In working life as doctor, engineer, dentist, lab technician, teacher, farmer, marine biologist etc. In daily life in the kitchen, when cleaning, when washing cloth, when choosing paint for the wall etc.

Student quote: “Can we make an explosion today?”