Pietarsaaren lukio

Pietarsaaren lukio (Pietarsaari general secondary school) has got 125 pupils and 15 teachers. We live on the west coast of Finland, which is a strongly Swedish speaking area. In Pietarsaari, having a population of about twenty thousand inhabitants, we, Finnish speakers, live as a minority which apparently affects our life and interaction. In addition, we live under strong multicultural influence since Pietarsaari takes a relatively large number of refugees yearly. This brings us challenges and opportunities to develop our multicultural alignment in our school.

Pulp- and paper industry plays an important role in the peoples´s lives in Pietarsaari region. Therefore both students and teachers in Pietarsaari comperehensive and upper secondary school participated in a vast environmental project in the 1990´s studing the affects and significance of the industry.

The mission of our general secondary school is to provide nurturing and challenging environments that emphasize democratic values, cultural diversity and life-long learning.  Students will be provided with opportunities to gain knowledge and to develop critical and creative-thinking abilities in ethical and social issues. Our students can develop their skills in advanced courses of Finnish language, including emotional expression, drama and creative writing. In sports they are offered training in soccer, ice hockey and indoor bandy (floor ball) several hours per week.

We also emphasize the fact that our students need to learn the principles and concepts of science, acquire the basic scientific reasoning and procedural skills, and understand the logic that makes science so successful.  Regarding the students practical skills, the ability to use computer as a tool for calculations and data manipulations along with the interactive learning environments such as virtual laboratory simulations is considered crucial.

In Finland in general, as well as in our school, we need to strengthen our social bonds and fellowship in our community. Unfortunately, in Finland the alienation of young people and their social exclusion are growing problems. We would like to support the growth of young people and stand for their well-being as well as to encourage them to do their best and to support their development, to become socialized and active citizens in the world which they will inherit.