Few facts about us
Rantakylän koulu is junior high school in the rural district of Mikkeli . There are 400 students (13-16 years) and 35 teachers in our
school. The principal of the school is Mr. Pekka Ojanen. Half of our pupils live in the countryside and are daily transported to the school. Mikkeli is a small town with 47 000 inhabitants about 230
km to Northwest of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.
In school one of our strong points is environmental education. In the Province of Mikkeli we live in a close relationship with nature, in fact, we live
quite in the middle of the Finnish heritage landscape. The Province of Mikkeli is situated in the area of the Finnish Lake District with several natural
parks and nature conservation areas, which are also our pride and focus of concern.
Another strong point is our information technology.
Our school year starts around 15th of August and ends at the end of May or the first week in June. The school year consists of 190 school days
and is divided in four periods. During the school terms there are several shorter holiday periods. A normal day consists of six lessons, each lasting 45
min, and a lunch break. Free school lunch is served for all the pupils every day.
Our nature
The area of Mikkeli belongs to the most water full part of Finland. In this area the share of water is about 25%. In the province of Mikkeli there are very many big and small ponds and lakes. The biggest lake is Saimaa. Mikkeli is situated on the lake Saimaa. Lakes are generally quite shallow, the average depth is only 7 meters, but they are important transportation routes and recreation areas. In summer plenty of people goes on holidays and weekends to their summer houses, which are in general situated on the lakes. Most of these summerhouses are built of logs of woods.
In the lakes there are many kinds of fishes, for example pikes, perches, vendaces and salmons. You are allowed to fish by small fee, however, angling is free everywhere. In the lake Saimaa there lives also the most endangered Saimaa ringed seal. This animal is a kind of relict from the ice age and there are nowadays only about 200 species left.
The ground in Finland is mostly ancient bedrock which is worn and flat. In Mikkeli and surrounding areas the highest points are only 200 metres above the sea level. The most general stones are granite and gneiss. During the Ice age the ice cover broke the ground and carried and gathered the loose part of the soil. That is the reason for the formation of small hills and sandy ridges.
The soil is quite acid and it mostly consists of poor moraine. It is suitable for growing forest. The most common trees are pine tree and spruce. There are quite a few few deciduous tree spieces in Finland, birch, aspen, linden, alder and oak are the most common ones.
In addition to trees forests and swamps grow lot of berries like blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries and cloudberries. You can freely pick berries and mushrooms everywhere in the woods. With a licence you are allowed to hunt wild animals like elks, deers, hares, and forest birds like wood grouse or black grouse. However, hunting in strictly regulated in times and areas.
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