Any good photographer needed for advice

For school, i need to get a picture of my school, but related to the title 'hidden [my school]'
do you have any ideas? I was thinking taking a picture of my school sort of hidden behind greenery, so you can only see it through the gaps in the bush, or if its misty, make it so you can only just see it. Do you have any ideas?
also another thing, how can i find what aperture and exposure time i should have, cos atm i mainly use auto.
btw i got a nikon 1 if that helps.

The mist idea is good, but maybe approach this a little more metaphorically and a bit less literally. Are there areas of the school, not visible from the perimeter that are picturesque? Shoot the little spaces between buildings, nooks where students gather that are out of the mainstream areas. Look for details in the architecture that you see every day, but don't really notice.

To start with, read the manual and determine how to set the ISO, shutter and aperture manually. Put the camera on 100 speed ISO. Put the camera on shutter priority and set the shutter for 1/125 or 1/250. These speeds are fast enough for hand holding - I'm guessing you don't have a tripod. By using the shutter priority setting, the camera will choose the aperture.

Usually the light meter is engaged by pressing the shutter button half way down. Your camera has impressive metering abilities considering its size. You can use centerweighted metering - which will read the area 4.5 meters around the center point - good for landscapes and general exposure. Centerweighted metering is the default setting. You also have a spot function which is great for portraits/faces or architectural details. You will have to read your manual to determine how the meter indicates a correct exposure - look through the viewfinder and press the shutter half way. Something should light up in there, or you will see an arrow or needle. When the light turns green or the arrow is centered, you are at the correct exposure. Shoot the picture.

I'm not familiar with your camera, but the specs looked impressive for such a small camera. Read and study the manual, go shoot pictures and judge each batch. Use the camera's EXIF data to learn how each change in exposure changes the result. The only way to get good at this is to make a lot of mistakes. Using the best light available to you will also help: the first light at sunrise and the last light at sunset are your best friends. Shoot early in the am, go back and process the images, figure out what worked and what didn't, then go shoot some more at sunset.