Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð
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Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð or MH (Hamrahlíð High School) is an Icelandic gymnasium (is: menntaskóli) founded in 1966 at the initiative of the Icelandic Ministry of Education. The first graduates matriculated in 1970. The school was based on the traditional class system from the year 1966 to 1973 when a points-based system was adopted. The points system was an initiative that allowed the students to choose their own courses and earn points towards their matriculation. The points awarded for each course were relative to the difficulty level of the courses. The required amount of points for graduation is 140 and students complete an average of 17 - 20 per semester. This system was soon adopted by several other schools and is widepread in Iceland today. The main advantages of the points system is that it gives students more control over their timetable and the order in which they take their courses. MH was also the first school to offer evening classes catered to older students. The school's first rector was Guðmundur Arnlaugsson and the school building is located by the street Hamrahlíð in Reykjavík.
MH is also the first and only school in Iceland to offer students the IB diploma program which is a 3 year program. Typically it takes 4 years to graduate within the points-based system.
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[edit] NFMH
One of MH's biggest attractions for new students is the renowned social life of the school, which is mostly in the hands of Nemendafélag Menntaskólans við Hamrahlíð ("MH Student Association", usually abbreviated NFMH). NFMH boasts of being one of the largest and most active student associations in Iceland and NFMH is sub-categorized into smaller clubs and leagues with specific roles and agendas, commonly known as Stórfélagið ("the great alliance").
[edit] The Choir
The school choir, Kór Menntaskólans við Hamrahlíð was founded 1967, a year after the school's opening. The choir was founded by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir in cooperation with the rector, Guðmundur Arnlaugsson. Students who are members of the choir normally leave the choir upon graduation, but many alumnus join Hamrahlíðarkórinn, also conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. Hamrahlíðarkórinn was established in 1982 when members of the school choir wanted to continue to work and perform with Þorgerður despite having graduated from MH.
[edit] Mararþaraborg
Mararþaraborg is a little store that is run by members of the choir to finance various activities of the choir. The store is located in the north cellar next to Atlantis and its reputation for excellent noodles and other snack food is renowned throughout the school. The manager of Mararþaraborg at each time holds the title "Mayor of Mararþaraborg".
[edit] The School Building
The building that houses MH was built during the cold war and was therefore also designed to be an emergency shelter and a civic emergency center during crisis situation. A good example of its civic emergency use is that when the mountain Eldfell erupted on January 23, 1973, the school was opened for refugees from the Westman Islands, and the school was open until the eruption had ended. During that time over 1000 people stayed in the school a few days.
There is a second school building in construction just east of the main building. It is due to be completed in the autumn of 2006.
The school is divided into several different areas that each has its own name, history, culture and social structure. The areas are as follows:
[edit] Matgarður
Matgarður is the school's central dining and rest area for students to use, three of six entrances to the school lead into the area and the area houses a little over 600 students during the day. In Matgarður you also find the largest cafeteria in the school, simply called Matsalan (The Grocery). It is not uncommon during lunch breaks that members of NFMH introduce oncoming activities in Matgarður to increase participation. Many famous bands and artists have played in MH, including Damien Rice, Mínus, Ampop and many more.
[edit] Miðgarður
Miðgarður (named after the realm of men in Norse mythology) is on the first floor and has seats and tables for around 200-300 students. It also houses a large number of the schools computer equipment meant for the use of the students. The biggest landmark in Miðgarður is without doubt Miðgarðsormurinn, a large knitted serpent that has been in creation for many years and gained its name from the serpent who circles Miðgarður in Norse mythology. It is about 200 metres long and is still growing.
[edit] Mikligarður
Mikligarður (an older Icelandic name for Istanbul) is the school's grand hall and as such is used on multiple occasions. It is, among other things, used for graduation, dimmisjón, Morfís competitions and choir practices.
[edit] Norðurkjallari
Norðurkjallari (Northern Cellar) is one of the students lounge which also serves as the main social venue for various events. Norðurkjallari or NKJ houses Nemó, the meeting room of the students body council, Bessastaðir, the file cabinet, Myrkrakompan, the photographers dark room and finally Himnaríki, a mysterious place guarded by the Golden Gate. NKJ is also the only place in the school where school authorities have not established a wireless network connection, claiming that students who dwell in NKJ outside classes do not study there and the wireless network would therefore not be used for an academic purpose and is hence not justifiable.
NKJ is divided into different areas defined by a selection of historical names. The main entrance hall goes by the name Búlgaría, where students are able to buy soft drinks and coffee via self service.
Búlgaría leads into Texas and Helvíti (Hell), a corridor which leads to Himnaríki (Heaven), Mararþaraborg, Nemó and Atlantis. Further inside, Bessastaðir's entrance hides behind a sofa along with the mysterious forever locked door to MH's Undirheimar. Finally, Rauða herbergið embraces you with remnants of NFMH's past glory.
[edit] Undirheimar
Undirheimar ("the Underworld") is a place hidden beneath Miðgarður and has been shrouded in mystery for many years. Formerly used as a concert space and resting place for students boasting its full size Viking ship on the south wall, its entrances remain locked today and the janitor has used Undirheimar as a storage room for some time now. The reason Undirheimar was locked up is because of its low ceiling and hazardous fire exits.
The doors to Undirheimar are located in NKJ, next to Bessastaðir, and also next to the yellow lockers beneath Miðgarður's north staircase.
[edit] Útgarður
Finally, Útgarður is a natural haven located in the middle section of the school building. This garden often serves as a venue for certain courses to do outdoors experiments. It also creates a soothing atmosphere during class displaying its calm natural view into classrooms surrounding the garden and one wall of Miðgarður is covered by a window looking into Útgarður.
