Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík
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| Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík | |
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| Address | |
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| Lækjargötu 7, 101 Reykjavík, |
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| Information | |
| Headteacher | Yngvi Pétursson |
| Established | 1056 |
| Homepage | http://www.mr.is/ |
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Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík or MR is the oldest gymnasium (Icelandic: Menntaskóli) in Reykjavík, Iceland.
The school traces its origin to 1056, when a school was established in Skálholt, and it remains one of the oldest institutions in Iceland. The school was moved to Reykjavík in 1786, but poor housing conditions forced it to move again in 1805 to Bessastaðir near Reykjavík. In 1846 the school was moved to its current location, and a new building was erected for it in Reykjavík. This was the largest building in the country at the time and can be seen on the 500 Icelandic krona bill. It was used initially when Alþingi began to meet again in Reykjavík after a few years hiatus and thus it is in this building where the Icelandic independence hero, Jón Sigurðsson led the MPs in their famous phrase, 'Vér mótmælum allir'.
The school had previously been known as "Lærðiskólinn" (Learned School), "Latínuskólinn" (The Latin School) or by the Latin title "Scholae Reykjavicensis", but received its present name in 1937.
Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík offers a four-year course of study. It usually ends with a degree (stúdentspróf) which gives the graduating student the right to advance to an Icelandic university.
Many Icelandic politicians, including former Prime Minister Davíð Oddsson and the current President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, attended MR. Almost every Prime Minister of Iceland, notable exceptions being Halldór Ásgrímsson, Ólafur Jóhannesson and Þorsteinn Pálsson, have been students in the school. Geir H. Haarde, Davíð's successor as chairman of the Independence Party and the current Prime Minister, also took over from him as chairman of the student body ("inspector scholae"). The current President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, was also the president of the other student body, the Framtíðin.
Some notable Icelandic authors have also attended MR, amongst them Tómas Guðmundsson, Guðmundur G. Hagalín, and Davíð Stefánsson. Halldór Kiljan Laxness, a Nobel-prize winning author, also attended the school for some time but dropped out. Another attendee, Niels Ryberg Finsen won the Nobel Prize in medicine.
Noted Icelandic scholar Sveinbjörn Egilsson served as the first rector of the school from its founding in Reykjavík in 1846.
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[edit] Culture and traditions
Due to the high age and long history of the school, many traditions have evolved between the students. For example: The hall fight and singing of the Brevitate Vitae.
[edit] The Hall Fight
Every year at the end of spring semester the students of MR organize a fight in the halls of the main building. A bell is placed on the ground floor of the building and the seniors aim to reach that bell and ring it while other students try to fight them and prevent them from doing so. Should the seniors succeed their task, the younger students are to attend next class. During the fight, some or all senior students are covered in dirt.
[edit] The Freshmen Day
One day in the first weeks of school is a special day for newcomers (Icelandic: busadagur). The day starts with the seniors dressing up in white toga cloaks and painting their faces. The seniors then march around the school and gather the newcomers out to the school grounds where they are then thrown high into the air. The tradition of throwing newcomers into the air is old - but the part of dressing up in toga was added by seniors in 1991 (graduating in 1992). On this day (and the next few days after) students tend to sing the song "De Brevitate Vitae." The following night a freshmen ball is held.
[edit] The Fiddle Dance (Fiðluballið)
The fiddle dance is by many described as a fancy promenade ball where live fiddle music is played and students wear their best garments while dancing elegantly.
The tradition was started in the 60's and was meant to be an iconoclasm to the hippie culture at the time. Reverend Geir Waage is rumored to have been the originator of the dance. It was only held once.
In 1992 it was resurrected by Dagur B. Eggertsson, inspector scholae . It is now an annual event.
[edit] Published writings
The two student bodies maintain a number of periodic publications. Amongst them are:
- The School Paper - Articles about the past year; published once a year.
- Loki Laufeyjarson - A newspaper about daily life and events in the school; published roughly once every month.
- Skinfaxi - Similar to the school paper but with different writers and editors.
- De Rerum Natura - A scientific magazine published by the science club every year.
- Yggdrasill & The Novelist News - Two magazines published by the Novelist club every year.
- Menntaskólatíðindi - A bi-monthly newspaper.
[edit] Debating
The students of MR regularly hold debating competitions. These competitions are held very often and a lot of traditions have evolved around them. "Framtíðin" is a debating society for MR students and it is also one of the oldest clubs in Iceland (founded in 1883). Sólbjartur is an annual debating competition in which each class of MR is free to send one or more teams to debate. The winning team receives the title "Sólbjartur" (Literally: Sun-bright) and the best debater of the winning team receives the title "Orator Scholae" (Latin: Spokesman of the school). Another annual competition is held, called "Orator Minor" (Latin: The next-best spokesman). Orator Minor is a competition where people debate about randomly selected subjects in one-on-one battles and only have ten minutes to prepare their speeches. However, Orator Minor, from the year 2007, is held more than once every year, even up to five times.
[edit] Quizzing
MR is greatly renowned for its excellent results in Gettu betur, an annual quiz show for gymnasiums on the Icelandic national television. MR has won the quiz show 14 times out of 23, including an eleven-times winning streak 1993-2003. MR is the current holder of the trophy Hljóðneminn (2008). An annual quiz competition is held, for which each class sends in one or more teams to compete against others. This competition is called "Ratatoskur", named after the famous squirrel from Nordic mythology.
[edit] Housing
The number of students has grown rapidly since the founding of the school. This has led to the expanding of the school's housing. The flagship and main building of the school is still the front house, which was built in 1846. Several houses and additions have been built since. These buildings include:
- Íþaka is the library and study hall of MR. It was built in the year 1867 as a gift to Icelanders from Charles Kelsall, a wealthy English merchant. The ground floor is a quiet room in which students find peace and comfort to read and study (as well as dictionaries and such). The upper floor is a library and a historical archive.
- Fjósið (The Cowshed) is a small wooden house with two classrooms east of the main building. It was originally used to store fire-fighting equipment and later used to house the rector's cows.
- Íþróttahöllin (The Sports-Palace) is the oldest sports hall in Iceland and for a long time it was the biggest, although it is thought to be very small by today's standards.
- Þrælakistan (The Slave Chest) is a very small building connected to the Gym. It currently contains modern weight-lifting equipment but historically has contained fairly antiquated weight-lifting equipment.
- Casa Christi (Latin: House of Christ) is an old house with several classrooms. It is relatively big compared to other houses in the area. This building was once used by the Reykjavík YMCA, thus the name "Casa Christi". The building is due for demolishing in near future for a new and better building to be constructed
- Casa Nova (Latin: New House) is a relatively new house and probably the biggest one. It has many classrooms and is also the center for the students' social gatherings. A comfort lounge and a cafeteria is located in the basement of the building.
- Villa Nova (Latin: New Apartment) is the groundskeeper's shed and a storage room for the school. It also used to house the offices of the student bodies before Amtmannsstígur 2 was taken into service.
- Elísabetarhús (Elizabeth's House) also known as "Minni Elísabetar" (Memoirs of Elizabeth) is the latest addition to the school's housing. It has several classrooms, including perfect classrooms for vocational scientific training. Known as Casa Subuculae before it was fully taken into service.
- Amtmannsstígur 2 is the teachers' lounge. It also houses a few offices and serves as a meeting place for the student bodies.
[edit] Rectors from 1846
1846-1851: Sveinbjörn Egilsson
1851-1867: Bjarni Jónsson
1867-1872: Jens Sigurðsson
1872-1895: Jón Þorkelsson
1895-1904: Björn M. Ólsen
1904-1913: Steingrímur Thorsteinsson
1913-1928: Geir Zoëga
1928-1929: Þorleifur H. Bjarnason
1929-1956: Pálmi Hannesson
1956-1965: Kristinn Ármannsson
1965-1970: Einar Magnússon
1970-1996: Guðni Guðmundsson
1996-2001: Ragnheiður Torfadóttir
2001-Present: Yngvi Pétursson
