Wondering what the Finnish Language school is all about? Here's an excerpt from the SMFAA's 50th anniversary book, explaining what the Finnish School is all about. "The Sudbury Finnish Language School classes begin with the students singing
Finland’s national anthem “Maamme”. For the next hour and a half, the teachers
use a variety of interesting methods to teach students the Finnish language.
The
goal of our program is to preserve the Finnish language, culture and heritage by
incorporating some of Finland’s history, customs and traditions into the school’s
lessons.
43 years ago a dedicated group of Finns determined the need to establish such
a program. Since January 10, 1971 the Finnish Language School has been
held in various locations throughout the Sudbury district. In its early years, it
was a language school program that was affiliated with the Sudbury District
School Board and later, the Rainbow School Board. They provided classroom
space and some funding. Subsequently, the Sudbury Finnish Language School
continued on its own with financial support donated by local Finnish businesses
and organizations, and individuals from the community. The school also holds
fundraising projects to raise money for the program. “Mayfair” at Finlandia
Village continues to be an annual event. The school receives some funding from
Finland’s Suomi Seura society which is dedicated to assisting the Finn school
programs offered in other countries. (We are a non-profit heritage school.) In addition, over the years, the school has also participated in the Sudbury
Finnish Grand Festivals and the International FinnGrandFest in Toronto. The
students have travelled to different cities throughout Ontario to perform plays,
skits and songs. Christmas concerts, Spring concerts and Independence Day
celebrations have been performed at the school, at churches, at Finlandia Village
and Finnish halls. The Sudbury Finnish Language School offers two 10 week sessions during the
year. The fall term is from September to December. The winter term is from
January to May. Classes are offered to three age groups. 4-7 year olds, 8-13
year olds, students (14+) and adults. All the children’s classes are free but there
is a nominal fee for the adult terms. In their lessons, teachers use songs, poems, skits, stories, visual aids and crafts
to bring the Finnish language to life. Students learn about important historic
Finnish celebrations such as Independence Day and May Day and also about
the traditional foods and celebrations for Christmas and Easter. Volunteers from
the Finnish community have demonstrated the making of crafts from straw, birch
bark and wood and also the making of “pulla” which is a traditional Finnish sweet
bun. Students have enjoyed listening to residents from the retirement home at
Finlandia Village tell about the way life was when they lived in Finland. We are thankful to the many dedicated teachers and volunteer board members
over the past 43 years whose tireless efforts have contributed to the successful
continuation of our school. We are also very grateful for the generous donations
from the community, businesses and individuals. The Sudbury Finnish Language
School is proud to be part of Sudbury’s rich multicultural mosaic."
