ICON NEWS UPDATE

Save the date for Party Time!

Following the success of the last ICON Cocktail Party another ICON member has kindly stepped forward to host the next event!

Mark your calendars for 7:00pm, Saturday, April 20. 

To be hosted at a Central Location Downtown (Bygdoy).

An invitation is winging it`s way to you by email at the   time of writing!





News From Last Week`s ICON Member`s Meeting at Hovik

Thank you to everyone who attended our meeting this month at Hovik. We had about 40 attendees. The NorwegianTrekking Association gave us some valuable information and brochures regarding trekking in and around Norway. Hopefully you have all been motivated and inspired to organise your spring and summer breaks! Basia Lipska Larsen WOWWWWWED(!!!) us with her agility in her fantastic yoga demonstration.  It was fascinating watching her! Look out for her classes.

Message from the Marie on the Charity Team:


Dear ICON members


Wow..the raffle numbers are in from Tuesday`s meeting. We raised 1725 nok from the Raffle and 210 nok from book sales. Simply outstanding! Thanks to all for your continued support and making this happen for our charities.  The raffle goal was surpassed on Tuesday (thank you Ali, Leanne and Julia). The raffle ladies are high on life and doing a little celebration!

It`s Coffee Time!

Tuesday 26th March: The Grand Hotel from 11am

Join us at the roof top Etoile Bar for a wonderful view over the city centre.

Outside Roof Top Terrace

The Etoile Bar at the Grand

Come along and catch up with everyone......

Cross Country Skiing News

The cross country skiing group set out on their last tour last week. Thank you to Kerstin for organising.

Cross Country Skiing

Next Member`s Meeting: 16th April

Look out for details coming up about our next meeting on Tuesday 16th April.

We will be having a presentation and demonstration about the Norwegian traditional costume - the Bunad.  We will also have our Elections that day for our new ICON Committee for 2013/14. A form will be winging your way by email in the next few days.  Please give any position your consideration and drop a note to our President Vivien Black at icon.oslo.president@gmail.com if you are interested in joining the Committee.  We`d love to have you!

ICON Secretary Leanne Jensen-Daines, President Vivien Black, Treasurer Lisa Turner
Vice President Alair Brown

It`s Chocolate Time! Explore Oslo: 
Friday 19th April

By popular request the next explore Oslo tour will be of the Freia Chocolate Factory at Grunnerlokka, Oslo on Friday 19th April at 9. 30am (2 hours). A highlight of the tour will  be to see the 12 Munch paintings which are displayed in the Hall...however don`t panic, we will also see the chocolate production process and get to eat some chocolate!  The factory is only open to booked groups!  If you have not already signed up to the Explore Oslo Group, please contact janet.maybank@gmail.com

ICON Upcoming Events

ICON Member`s Meeting: Hovik  on Tuesday 19th March

Norwegian Trekking: Connecting with the Great Outdoors

With the snow quickly melting...why not take time to find out where to spend your time outdoors?  Please join us at the ICON meeting on Tuesday 19th March to hear suggestions about trekking in this beautiful country.  Back by popular demand, The Norwegian Trekking Association (Den Norske Trekking) will highlight for our members, some of the most popular places and excursions for trekking in Norway.  Den Norske Trekking is Norway`s largest outdoor activities organisation.  For more than 140 years they have been promoting trekking and improving conditions for everyone who enjoys the country`s broad range of outdoor activities.

Come and be inspired by the Great Outdoors!!

Yoga Demonstration: Immediately after the meeting 12.15-12.45pm

Madonna does it..the Crown Prince of Norway does it ...so does Natalie Portman, Christy Turlington, Sting, Spiderman...along with hipsters, actors, billionaires and other assorted gorgeous people.. Ashtanga yoga which is another form of Hatha yoga, is a physically demanding workout, with breathing exercises, that pushes the body to build up strength and stamina.  Ashtanga, at its base level, can feed a desire for accomplishment—you can’t move on to the next posture until your teacher says you’ve mastered the one you’re doing—it tends to attract the linear-thinking, type-A person. And though for many, the primary focus is yoga’s physical benefits, some become interested in the spiritual side of the discipline as well.  Perhaps one of the most attractive features of yoga is that it helps to quickly relieve pressure and provide new energy into your life.

Basia Lipska-Larsen

So here is your chance to sit back and practice Ashtanga Yoga vicariously as Basia Lipska Larsen (the highest trained yoga teacher in Norway) presents a demonstration of postures from Ashtanga`s primary, intermediate and advanced sequences.  Come along, watch and enjoy!! You needn`t bring anything or even DO anything!! She will end the demonstration by doing a few breathing exercises together, that can be interwoven immediately into your daily routines....ahhhhh...see you there!

Join the ICON Committee!

We will be very sad to say
goodbye to some of our wonderful Committee who are
moving on to pastures new at the end of this ICON year.

If you would be interested in serving on the ICON Committee, for 2013/14 please contact our President, Vivien Black by email: icon.oslo.president@gmail.com   Every member shall have the opportunity to place his or her name into consideration for any open seat on the ICON Committee and Board.  Nominations and elections are made at the AGM in April. A full description of the composition of the Committee and Board, Terms of office, and Duties can be found on the ICON website in the Members Only section (www.icon-oslo.com) 

Board and Committee Positions Available commencing August 2013:

1. Vice President  2.Treasurer  3. Activities Coordinator  4.Blog Editor  5. Hospitality 



Fancy a Coffee?

Tuesday 26th March: 

The Grand Hotel from 11am

Join us at the roof top Etoile Bar for a wonderful view over the city centre.

Outside Roof Top Terrace

The Etoile Bar at the Grand

Come along and catch up with everyone......see you

there!

A Special Thanks! 

We are delighted to announce that ICON has received a generous donation of 10,000 NOK from FMC Technologies.  This welcome donation has and will provide support for ICON and its members during the 2012/2013 season.

FMC is a leading global provider of technology solutions for the energy industry and has approximately 18,400 employees in 16 countries. 

Explore Oslo: Friday 19th April

Freia Chocolate Factory! - 

By popular request, the next explore Oslo tour will be of the Freia Chocolate Factory
at Grunnerlokka, Oslo on Friday 19th April at 9.30am (2 hours). A highlight of the tour will be to see the 12 Munch paintings which are displayed in the Hall....however, don`t panic, we will also see the chocolate production process and eat some chocolate! The factory is only open to booked groups! If you have not already signed up the The Explore Oslo Group, please contact janet.maybank@gmail.com

      

Knitting Knews!

Knitting

The knitting group got together last week at Diane`s home. Vivien is seen here sporting Pamela`s fantastic hat which she has just finished to donate to her Church Raffle. Vivien is still working on her scarf which may yet be donated to the ICON Raffle around 2014 at this rate!! However knitting is not all about the knitting....it`s about the chat! All welcome!

Don`t forget to sign up to the blog by email if you haven`t already done so!

Upcoming Events and News

Coffee Morning......Tuesday 26th February

Join us for coffee overlooking the Fjord.
We will meet from 11am at Jacob Aal , Akerbrygge
Looking forward to seeing everyone for a
catchup!

Explore Oslo .........Friday lst March

Join the Explore Oslo group to the Viking Ship Museum. The museum houses the three best preserved Viking Ships from the burial mounds in Norway pre 900 AD and other Viking artefacts.
Tour begins at 11am prompt. Please send an email to Janet.maybank@gmail.com if you would like to join the group.

ICON Sledging Team in Training

The first ICON sledging outing was a huge success!
The team set out after the ICON meeting at Frognerseteren
in February....led by our Vice-President Alair Brown.

2013 ICON sled team

Connecting with their Inner Child!

Which Language Do You Speak?

We are pleased to report that we currently have 106 members, comprising 28 different nationalities and ten members with varying dual nationality combinations!  40 of our members are new to ICON this year and we extend a huge warm welcome to you all!  We must therefore be a multi-lingual group and our membership secretary would love to compile some information on languages spoken by our membership.If you`d like to help, please can you email her at icon.oslo.membership@gmail.com Please add your name and languages spoken plus degree of fluency (e.g. basic, tourist, competent, fluent, native-speaker).

Les Miserables

A lovely event is taking place on 13th and 14th April in Norway`s oldest theatre located in Drammen (called Union Scene).  You can order tickets now. Les Miserables is presented in a concert with over 100 musicians and singers. This will be an extraordinary and unforgettable concert experience and all the songs are in English.  The tickets are not expensive and you can order them from www.unionscene.no or on telephone number 32 04 59 00.  I am delighted to tell you that one of our members is in the concert.  Prize for the first person who spots her from the audience!

Next Member Meeting:  Hovik on Tuesday 19th March

Date for your diary! At this meeting,  we will be hearing about Trekking in Norway and the best places to go.  Lovely to think about looking forward to the spring and hiking through the beautiful Norwegian country side! More details in next News Blog!

We`d Like to Get to Know You!

From time to time in our newsletter, which preceded the ICON newsblog, we included some brief ‘interviews’ with Board and Committee members.  Now we would like to extend that to our new members, so that we can get to know each other a little better.  If you would like to take part, please complete all or some of the following(and if you are not too shy include a pic) and email to our Newsblog editor at:  icon.oslo.newsletter@gmail.com   

What’s your name?
Where is your home base?
When did you move to Norway?
What brought you here?
Any children?
Where did you go on your last evening out?
What sort of food do you like?
Last film you saw?
Favourite place to live?
What are you currently reading?
When you have an hour completely to yourself, what do you do?
What do you love about Norway?

If you haven’t already done so, then please sign up for regular email updates from our Newsblog!

February/March

Upcoming Events

Film Night : Monday 10th February

"Les Miserables" at the Gimle Theater in Frogner at 2030
Cost is 100 NOK per ticket
If you wish a bite to eat beforehand, then a group will meet for dinner at Schiller s Tapas Bar. Please contact icon.oslo.vicepresident@gmail.com for more details and send an email with confirmation no later than 2200 on Sunday night if you would like to join.
Cash for cinema to Alair on the evening of the film, who has kindly offered to purchase tickets in advance online!

Members Meeting: Tuesday 11th February at Frognerseteren at 11am

Enjoy coffee and tea and the most fabulous view over the Fjord..... and for the more adventurous of us...after coffee, our Vice-President has offered to lead a Sledging group (Also known as SLEDDING) on the fun run next to Frognerseteren. Don`t forget to dress for the occasion!  Sledges and helmets can be hired at the venue! Please meet Alair after coffee if you wish to join the team!!

Coffee Morning: Tuesday 26th February

 

Jacobs Aal in Akerbrygge 
from 11am. Please join us for coffee and a chat!








Explore Oslo: Friday 1st March

The next visit is to the Viking Ship Museum on Friday 1st March, with Mr Roberts: if you would like to be added to the mailing list for this and future visits please contact janet.maybank@gmail.com

What's Been Happening!

Our first "Meet the Partners" Cocktail Party was a huge success.
We had a super turnout and everyone enjoyed sipping on copious amounts of champagne and enjoying delicious canapes. Thank you to Ali and Cheryl for all their hard work and to everyone who attended and contributed to make this evening so special. 

"Thank you for the wonderful party you organised on Friday night.  It was a great success and a great turnout!"... 

"It was a lovely party and a lot of hard work for you both. The venue looked gorgeous - and the driveway - with all the candles"...

"Thank you so much for hosting the LOVELY event last night.  We both had a great time. The food was delicious and the presentation superb. You have an unbeatable talent for decor!" 

 

ICON will be organising another event in the spring.... So.....Watch this space!

Explore Oslo

Eleven ladies in the "Explore Oslo" group had their first visit of 2013 on Monday to the Rådhus, Oslo City Hall .  Mr Roberts, their excellent guide, introduced them to the history of this unusual building which opened in 1950. The ceilings and walls in the grand ceremonial hall and the other rooms were decorated by many Norwegian artists, depicting many scenes of life in Oslo and Norway over the centuries.  Mr Roberts pointed out many scenes in the paintings which they may not have noticed theirselves and brought the history alive.  They finished the tour with a walk around the exterior in the snow, seeing the sculptures both on and in front of the building.

Activities Update


X-country skiing

This group meets every Friday from 10am until done (about 2hrs)
It is suitable for intermediate to advanced skiers.
Each tour will be based on the ability of the group and snow conditions
Contact: krass@chd-kk.com

French conversation group

This group meets every two weeks, alternating Mondays and Tuesdays for coffee and light lunch/snack at a member's home. It is relaxed and informal ... chatting in French with native French speakers.
Contact: pgeorge@online.no

Charity

Thank you everyone for all the wonderful donations you have given for the raffle and for being so generous in your purchase of tickets. Every NOK raised goes towards helping the children of our three chosen charities. We will hold a raffle at Frogneseteren next week. Please contact icon.charity@gmail.com if you are able to contribute this month.

Also thank you again to those who have been volunteering at the retirement home. You are truly giving the residents a wonderful day and your time is greatly appreciated.



Service Project Pune India

A service project in Pune India supporting the education of children in surrounding villages.

OIS has raised 35,000 Nok to date for the Service Project in Pune.
Students (29 students and 4 adults) involved in this project will be travelling to Pune India in March to help support this project.
We are excited to hear all about this trip in May.

News from The Ecole Franco Arabe Mademba Primary School in Dakar, Senegal.

Ecole Mademba Franco Arabe

Dear ICON Members,

In December my husband and I traveled to Thiaroye Sur Mer, Senegal to visit "your" school and do a little research. I am writing an article for a conference on Comparative Education. The article examines why the parents of Thiaroye are increasingly choosing private schools, such as Ecole Mademba rather than the government school. After interviewing the parents of children attending Mademba and two other private schools,distinct patterns emerged.

Despite family hardship, parents will go without essentials or borrow money from relatives to send their children to Mademba. Financial means determine whether a child can attend a private school (enrollment and monthly fees can be as much as 10-20% of household income). Government schools require an enrollment fee but no monthly fees. No one living in Thiaroye would be described as middle income, but there is a range of lower income families. 

Dr Horan with some of the children

Parents site three major issues as driving their choice of school: constant teacher strikes in government schools, quality of private schools, and security. Government teachers receive two years of teacher training beyond high school. Attaining a post with the government in Senegal generally guarantees lifelong employment at a comfortable salary. But increasingly teachers have aligned with unions favoring one or another political party. Politics as well as a desire for higher salaries has increased the number of days government schools are shut down. Private schools are more dependableand offer longer hours. Parents enjoy the fact that private schools have longer working hoursand rarely shut down. 

Streets of Thiaroye Sur Mer

When I asked about the quality of schooling, I was surprised that few answers involved academic achievements. Quality of school seemed to be judged by infrastructure (the maintenance of the building, existence of a working toilet, etc.) and class size. The fact that private school teachers were hired based on being a friend or family member of the school owner did not seem to matter. The teachers were deemed qualified merely because they had finished high school.

Kindergarten

Class size in private schools is half of the government (45:100 per teacher per class). However, lack of enough students to fill a grade forces private schools to put two grades in one classroom rather than hire another teacher.
Finally, the word security kept coming up in our conversations. I was puzzled as when I think of school security, coming from the USA, I tend to think of weapons in the school or fights among students. 

The Classroom ICON paid for

For the parents of Thiaroye sur mer, security means knowing their children are locked within the school and not wondering around the town. They are comforted by the thought that an adult is supervising their child. In contrast, the government is an open campus and children will come and leave as they want. One father of a child in government school complained that his son had to leave school and walk home every time he needed the toilet.

Visiting our school, Ecole Mademba renewed my admiration for the teachers and the daily challenges they face. The charity money raised from ICON has enabled the school to build and grow. ICON relieves some of the pressure to increase the number of students in a classroom in order pay teacher salaries, rent, and operating expenses. Mademba now serves 198 children, a feat impossile with ICON's help.
Some 35% of school aged children in Thiaroye sur mer remain unschooled. Many of their parents find no value in education and send them out to fish, the traditional way to earn money. Private schools such as Mademba are not the panecea of Senegal's education challenge. But, Mademba offers parents hope and tools to a better future for their children.

Thank you ICON for making a difference in a place of need.

Best wishes,
Dr Julie Horan

ICON's donation helps to support the basic educational needs of this Primary school. We are the only financial support this school receives.

Watoto, Uganda

An  organization that cares for orphans and vulnerable women in Uganda.
ICON's yearly donations go directly to help the orphans and women of Uganda.

ICON Community Service Program

Members who wish to volunteer any amount of  time to support the elderly with cookie baking, crafts, walk abouts, companionship and a lot of happy moments just a few areas that the volunteers of this service provide.

Should you wish to volunteer please contact Gro Larsgard through  icon.oslo.charity@gmail.com

Hospitality

Thank you again for those who brought a dish to the "Whole New You"
meeting in January.  The next meeting in Hovik will be in March. (February is at Frognesteren) If you are able to bring anything to the March meeting,or would like to help out on the day, please contact icon.hospitality@gmail.com

We look forward to seeing you at all or some of the above events. Please don't forget to check the member's only  ICON group Facebook page for helpful info from our members for our members. 
Please contact icon.president@gmail.com to request to join the group.

Reminders of Upcoming Events

"Meet the Partners" Cocktail Party -
 Friday lst February, 2013 from 7pm - 9pm

RSVP icon.oslo.charity@gmail.com no later than Friday 25th if you wish to attend this event. Full details are on the invitation which was emailed to all members.

Social Coffee Morning -
Tuesday 29th January, 2013

We welcome you to join us at Bristol Hotel from 11am. This is a really lovely traditional hotel and we will meet in the Library Bar.

February ICON Meeting for Members  

Tuesday February 12th at llam

Enjoy coffee and tea and the most fabulous view over the Fjord..... and for the more adventurous of us...after coffee, our Vice-President has offered to lead a Sledging group (Also known as SLEDDING) on the fun run next to Frogneseteren. Get a taster from the video below!! (don`t panic it`s not as scary as it looks!) Don`t forget to dress for the occasion.  Sledges and helmets can be hired at the venue!

For directions to Frogneseteren, please use the ICON website link and go to "Meetings".

 Explore Oslo - Monday 4th February, 2013

We are delighted to announce that Janet Maybank has taken on the role of Explore Oslo Leader:

The first Explore Oslo visit for this year will be a guided tour of Rådhuset: Oslo City Hall  The interior walls are covered with wonderful murals depicting life in Norway and historical events.  Learn about the history of the Rådhus and how its many rooms are used today.

Address:  Rådhuset, Fridjof Nansens Plass.  A short walk from National Theatre; turn second right after the Continental Hotel/Theatre Cafe and the City Hall is in front of you.

RSVP:  If you would like to attend please contact Janet. 

For your calendar the next visit will be to the Viking Ship Museum on Friday 1st March: more details nearer the time.


January`s Meeting...

Thank you to everyone who helped make January`s meeting such a success.

Around 50 members took part in a Motivational Morning called "A Whole New You" by Create Time For Your Life. We all worked out, and set our goals for 2013 and took part in some fun coaching exercises.

We raised nearly 2000 NOK for our Charities from our Raffle for which had some fabulous donations for Coaching Sessions from Create Time For Your Life,  Reflexology from Balansepunktet, Good Food Classes from Dine Sanser and Yoga classes from Basia Lipska-Larsen.


Notes of Interest

Membership - 105 members from 26 different countries.  Please spread the word and invite your friends!

Events in Oslo

Don`t forget to subscribe to the Events List ...Send them an email with your email address to:events.list@yahoo.com