Indskoling (Grades 0-3.)
Emerging Talents and New Beginnings
For our youngest learners, the school year began with big smiles, fluttering flags and a few butterflies in their stomachs. On the first day of school, the new Grade 0 learners were welcomed by the oldest students in the Upper Secondary School, who lined the path in the traditional flag parade. It marked the beginning of a year filled with new experiences, new friendships and plenty of learning.
Discovering the World
In the Lower Primary School, learning is about much more than books and classrooms. It is about exploring, investigating and being curious about the world around us.
Throughout the year, learners took part in a variety of excursions that brought learning to life. One class visited the Copenhagen Museum and became archaeologists for a day, washing, sorting and examining artefacts discovered beneath the streets of Copenhagen. The experience provided a fascinating glimpse into the city’s hidden history.
Other learners travelled into the world of imagination through literature, creative projects and theatre experiences, while many explored topics such as dinosaurs, insects, animals and marine life. In Grade 1, learners completed their first independent research projects, writing, illustrating and presenting their work to their classmates. Through these activities, they were introduced to research skills, presentation techniques and the joy of sharing knowledge with others.
A Love of Reading and the Confidence to Shine
One of the most important milestones in the early years is learning to read. To support this journey, weekly reading cafés were held from Easter until the summer holidays, giving learners the opportunity to practise with their first phonics-based books, either independently or with a reading partner. These small moments played a big role in building confidence, enthusiasm and a lifelong love of reading.
Throughout the year, learners also developed their confidence in presenting, performing and sharing their ideas. From their first presentations to creative performances for classmates and families, they gained valuable experience in finding and using their own voice.
Community Across the School
One of the special things about NGG is the strong sense of community across age groups. Friendship classes are a wonderful example of this. Throughout the year, learners from different year groups read together, played together and built relationships that extended beyond their own classrooms.
One of the traditions that best reflects the NGG spirit takes place before the written examinations in the Upper Secondary School. The youngest learners create small blue hearts filled with encouraging messages and good wishes for the oldest students. It is a simple but powerful symbol of the care and connection that unite the school community from the youngest learners to the oldest students.
Creativity and Room to Grow
Creativity flourished through a wide range of art projects during the year. Learners explored colour, perspective, shadows, origami and nature studies, developing both their artistic skills and their confidence in expressing themselves.
Among the many projects, learners created self-portraits that now feature on their year group birthday calendars – small works of art that celebrate each individual learner and their unique personality.
Through studies of fish, marine life and observation drawing, learners discovered how creativity and academic learning can work hand in hand.
New Spaces and New Connections
One of the biggest milestones of the year was the move to NGG’s new school building. The Lower Primary School moved into bright and modern learning spaces centred around the Aula, providing plenty of room for learning, play and community.
The move has also brought Danish and international learners of the same age even closer together in their daily lives. This creates new opportunities to learn from one another, build friendships across cultures and experience the international dimension that is such a natural part of life at NGG.
English already plays an important role from Grade 0, and by meeting international classmates and hearing English used in everyday situations, learners quickly discover that language is something to be lived as well as learned.
New Flavours and New Habits
Another major change arrived with the move to the new school building, where our youngest learners in Grades 0–3 became part of Denmark’s national school lunch pilot programme.
Each day, learners now gather around a shared meal and have the opportunity to try new dishes, ingredients and textures. For many children, it has been an exciting journey of discovering new favourites and expanding their tastes.
The meals are about much more than food. They have become an important part of community life, where learners inspire one another to try new things and experience the joy of sharing a meal together. In this way, lunch has become another opportunity to strengthen independence, curiosity and a sense of belonging.
A Year of Big Steps
Looking back on the school year, it is not only the major events that stand out. It is also the many small moments: reading a book independently for the first time, presenting in front of classmates, forming new friendships, creating artwork, completing the cycling proficiency test and experiencing the excitement of discovering something new.
Together, these moments are what make the Lower Primary School such a special place and help our youngest learners grow, learn and find their place within the NGG community every day.
