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Menntaskólinn við Hamrahlíð (, and usually referred to as MH) is a
public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...
gymnasium located in Hlíðahverfi,
Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
,
Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
. The school was founded in 1966 by the Icelandic Ministry of Education; with the first graduation occurring in 1970. The school's first rector was Guðmundur Arnlaugsson. The school's objective is to prepare students for rigorous tertiary studies both locally and in an international environment. It offers four Icelandic-taught programmes leading to the
Stúdentspróf In Iceland, the ''Stúdentspróf'' () is an educational diploma that counts as a qualification for university matriculation. Students aiming to earn the Stúdentspróf generally take three years, and most students earn their Stúdentspróf at age ...
qualification:
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,
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,
social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...
and
performance dance Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreography, choreogr ...
; and one English-taught programme leading to the IB Diploma. The newest addition is an "independent programme" which allows slightly more room for mixing the other ones together. The school also offers evening classes for older students and coordinates annual language tests for foreign students who wish to apply to local schools. Since foundation, the school was meant to be a pioneer project, and has therefore received relative freedom in advancing its education policy. It was the first in the country to adopt a university-style credit system, which was soon replicated by several other schools and eventually became the basis for all government-regulated upper secondary
curricula In education, a curriculum (; : curriculums or curricula ) is the totality of student experiences that occur in an educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student's experi ...
. MH is one of the most selective upper secondary schools in the country. It prides itself for its services to students with disabilities and students whose mother tongue is not Icelandic, who also enjoy priority in the selection process. Some famous Icelanders that once attended MH include
Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...
,
Paul Oscar Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson (born 16 March 1970), known internationally as Páll Óskar and Paul Oscar, is an Icelandic Pop music, pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey. He had a musical childhood, singing at private functions, with choirs an ...
and
Jón Gnarr Jón Gnarr (; born Jón Gunnar Kristinsson on 2 January 1967) is an Icelanders, Icelandic actor, comedian, and politician who served as the Mayor of Reykjavík, Mayor of Reykjavík from 2010 to 2014. He is currently a member of the Althing for ...
, the former mayor of Reykjavík.


Building

The building that houses MH was built during the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
and was therefore also designed to be an emergency shelter and a civic emergency center during a crisis situation. When the volcano
Eldfell Eldfell is a volcanic cone just over high on the Icelandic island of Heimaey in the Westman Islands. It formed in a volcanic eruption that began without warning on the eastern side of Heimaey on 23 January 1973. The name means ''Hill of Fire ...
erupted on 23 January 1973, the school was used to house more than a thousand displaced residents from the
Westman Islands Vestmannaeyjar (, sometimes anglicized as Westman Islands) is a municipality and archipelago off the south coast of Iceland. The largest island, Heimaey, has a population of 4,414, most of whom live in the archipelago's main town, Vestmannaeyj ...
, yet the school continued to carry on educational operation through the entire crisis. Functionally the school is divided into six different areas, each with its own name. The areas are:


Matgarður

Matgarður is the school's central dining and leisure area, serving more than 600 students a day. A large amount of lunch tables occupy Matgarður, enough for around 350 to 400 students to be seated. The cafeteria is known as Sómalía, and often, during lunch breaks, the members of NFMH announce upcoming school activities. Many famous bands and artists have played in MH, including
Booka Shade Booka Shade is a German house duo. It is made up of Walter Merziger and Arno Kammermeier, described as veterans of the Frankfurt electronic music scene. They have released 10 studio albums, including '' Memento'' (2004), ''Movements'' (2006), '' ...
,
Damien Rice Damien George Rice (born 7 December 1973) is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. He began his career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper (band), Juniper, who were signed to Polygram Records in 1997. The band enjoyed moderate succe ...
,
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
, Swans,
Mínus Mínus are an Icelandic alternative rock/post-hardcore band from Reykjavík, formed in 1998. They were signed to the record label Smekkleysa. Mínus have shared the stage with, among others, Metallica, Foo Fighters, and Queens of the Stone ...
, Ampop, Raein, Kid Carpet and many more. Once a year Matgarður is blessed with holy water that priest Pálmi Matthíasson blessed.


Miðgarður

Miðgarður (named after the realm of men in
Norse mythology Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
) is on the second floor and has seats and tables for around 200–300 students. It also houses a large percentage of the school's computers. The biggest landmark in Miðgarður is undoubtedly Miðgarðsormurinn, a large knitted serpent named for the one who circles Miðgarður in Norse mythology. It has been in creation for many years and is now about 200 metres long.


Mikligarður

Mikligarður is the school's grand hall, used for graduation, debating competitions ( Morfís), choir practices and acting classes.


Norðurkjallari

Norðurkjallari (Northern Cellar) is one of the student lounges which also serves as the main social venue for various events. Norðurkjallari houses the meeting room of the students body council, archives office, and the photographers' dark room. It is also the only place in the school that does not have a wireless network connection, the theory being that students do not study there, the connection would not be used for academic purposes, and therefore it is not justifiable. Norðurkjallari is divided into different areas, all given historical names. The main entrance hall is called Sómalía, where students are able to buy soft drinks and coffee. This area leads into Texas and Undirheimar, a corridor which leads to Himnaríki (Heaven), Mararþaraborg, Nemó and Atlantis. Further inside, Bessastaðir's entrance hides behind a sofa along with the mysterious always-locked door to MH's Undirheimar.


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 student lounge, with a full-size Viking ship on the south wall, because of the low ceiling and lack of proper fire exits. Undirheimar are now used for the acting committee, they have acting practises and shows there. The locked doors to Undirheimar can be found in Norðurkjallari, next to Bessastaðir, and next to the yellow lockers beneath Miðgarður's north staircase.


Útgarður

Finally, Útgarður is a natural haven located in the central section of the school building. This garden often serves as a venue for courses doing outdoor experiments. It also creates a soothing backdrop for the classrooms surrounding the area; indeed, one entire wall of Miðgarður is a window into the world of Útgarður.


Gym

The students' gym was finally finished in 2006 and is located in the new building. It has three separate areas: a gym hall, a fitness center and a multi-purpose room (used for various things like ballet, yoga, etc.)


Library

The library was also finished in 2006, and is located on the 2nd floor of the new building. It is currently the largest school library in Iceland, containing around 12.000 books.


Education

The school was based on the traditional class system from 1966 to 1972, when a credit based system was adopted, which allowed students to choose their own courses and earn credits towards graduation. Each course awards credits relative to its difficulty, with students averaging 30–35 credits per semester. Graduation requires 205 credits, so it typically takes three years to complete the entire program of study. The credit system has advantages: it gives students more control over their schedule and the order in which they take their courses. MH was the first school to offer evening classes catering to older students, and is the only school in Iceland to offer students the
International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), more commonly known as the International Baccalaureate (IB), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the I ...
(IB) diploma program, which is a two- to three-year intensive program taught in English. MH is known for its amount of different and versatile subjects. It is thought to be the most diverse gymnasium in Iceland in terms of education. Languages available to learn include Icelandic, English,
Sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...
, Japanese, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, Spanish, French,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
, Polish,
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and recently Chinese


Student union

MH's social life is mostly the responsibility of the ''Nemendafélag Menntaskólans við Hamrahlíð'' ("MH Student Association", usually abbreviated NFMH). The NFMH is one of the largest and most active student associations in Iceland, including various smaller internal clubs and leagues with specific roles and agendas, commonly known as Stórfélagið ("the great alliance"). NFMH is also the publisher of the newspaper ''Fréttapési'', which is known for its crude humor and lack of morality. In 2006 Fréttapési was a subject in the news magazine '' Kastljós'' because of their article "10 songs to rape to", which caused a public outrage in Iceland.


Choir

The school choir, Kór Menntaskólans við Hamrahlíð, was founded by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir, in cooperation with the rector, Guðmundur Arnlaugsson, in 1967, a year after the school's opening. Students who are members of the choir normally leave the choir upon graduation, but many
alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
join Hamrahlíðarkórinn, also conducted by Þorgerður Ingólfsdóttir. Hamrahlíðarkórinn was established in 1982 by members of the school choir who wanted to continue to work and perform with Þorgerður after graduating from MH.


Mararþaraborg

Mararþaraborg is a small store run by members of the choir. The store's revenues are used to fund various choir activities. The store is named after the Icelandic title of a children's book by Ingebrigt Davik called'' Æfintýri í Mararþaraborg'', or ''Det hende i Taremareby'' in the original Norwegian.


Newspapers

The student association (NFMH) publishes two student papers, ''Beneventum'' and the gossip oriented ''Fréttapési''. The later has received heavy criticism through the years for harassing students and promoting sexualised
freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-se ...
competitions.


References


External links


MH's website

NFMH MH student council website
{{Coord, 64, 07, 50, N, 21, 54, 19, W, display=title Educational institutions established in 1966 Education in Reykjavík Gymnasiums in Iceland International Baccalaureate schools in Iceland Buildings and structures in Reykjavík 1966 establishments in Iceland