From October 6-11th, Oakdale will be a buzz with temporary new students through the student exchange program.

Twenty-five students will be coming from Denmark where school is done a little bit differently than here in the United States.

Grading is done differently there; for example, a scale from 1 to 7 determines the grade a student will receive. 1 being least satisfactory and 7 being most satisfactory.

Like most students in the States would hope for, school starts later in the day in Denmark, usually at about 8:00 AM. They may be onto something, as Denmark is ranked considerably higher in the world than the United States in the three main subjects: math, reading and science.

Despite the differences in the education process, these Danish teenagers will be spending 5 luxurious days in Frederick County, taking in the sights and attending Oakdale.

When the students arrive Friday, October 6th, they will attend the football game against rival, Linganore to see what a competitive high school American football game is like.

The following weekend, they will be spending time with their host families, experiencing what Maryland is like.

The next Monday and Tuesday they will be attending Oakdale, following their host brother or sister’s schedule, learning what a typical American school day consists of, and making presentations to classes.

After their time here at Oakdale, they will make their way to Washington, DC, to complete a final project in order to graduate.

Mrs. Bethany Brown, the coordinator of Oakdale’s end of the program, believes that this will be a special occasion for both the Danish students and the Oakdalians: “I really think it’ll be a unique experience for them [The Danish students] to see what our traditions are like,” expressed Brown.

All of the students making the trip from Denmark are in their last year of school, on track to attend university, or college as we call it here in the States.

Madison Spencer, a sophomore, is very excited about the new students coming in, “I feel like the new students will add a new dynamic to the student body.”

When these students arrive, don’t be afraid to reach out and say hello. After all, Denmark is one of the friendliest countries in the world.