GSoM parent Rachel Digman wrote a lovely portrait of our school (and one of our families) for the Nakoma/Shorewood Hills neighborhood magazine. Check it out here (file may take a minute to load).
Some impressions from our 2015 Sommerfest (Slideshow)
This is the day when our students perform for their families — from Goethes “Gefunden” to an enduring song about a stolen coconut. A big thank you to everyone who participated — and especially to our wonderful teachers.
(Friendly reminder: Online registration for 2015-16 is open. Early bird discount until July 15.)
Our first summer camp was a big success
25 children (6-12 years old) had a great time at our first GSoM summer camp (June 15-19, 2015). A big thank you to everyone who helped make it happen, especially Chris Tabisz, who was in charge of putting the camp together, and Morgan Achterberg, who was the local coordinator. Thanks to Chris’ initiative, we received a financial grant from the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (ZfA), which helped keep tuition low.
The topic of our camp was “Märchen” (fairy tales). Here kids learn about German fairy tales with Bernie Schlafke and his guitar.
Which fairy tale is being acted out here? (Hint: A pair of siblings captured in the woods is involved.)
Students are decorating “poisonous” apple cookies for another fairy tale.
Storyboard for the same tale.
Having fun outside.
A big thank you to our six teachers and three volunteers…
…and, of course, to our students for making our first camp a big success!
See you back in the fall! Registration is open (deadline for early bird discount: July 15).
Milestone for our school: first round of A1 proficiency exams
A1-Zertifikat
Congrats to our Deutsch 3 students and their teacher, Catalina Thomsen! The students took the A1-Vergleichsprüfung a couple of weeks ago and received their certificates from the ZfA (Central Agency for German Schools Abroad) today.
The A1 exam tests children’s language skills in the domains of listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing and is the first in a series of exams that lead to the German Language Diploma (DSD).
This was the first year in which we were authorized to offer the A1-Exam. We look forward to preparing more students for this fun exam next year (Deutsch 2/3; DaF 2). Online registration is open!
Welcome from the President
June 10, 2015
Dear Families and Friends of the German School of Madison,
As the school year 2014-15 is coming to a close, our Board of Directors has been busy planning the next school year. The last year was very exciting for us because it was the first year that we offered significantly increased instruction time for our DaM (Deutsch als Muttersprache) and DaF (German as a Foreign Language) classes. This is an important requirement to receive funding from the ZfA (Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen/ Central Agency for Schools Abroad) and an important step in becoming a member in the PASCH initiative, a global network of recognized German language schools. In the school year 2014-15, we were also able to offer the A1-exam to our Deutsch 3 students for the first time. This, too, was an important step for us, as it provides a measure of the quality of our instruction and our students’ learning progress.
The changes that began in the school year 2014-15 will continue in 2015-16. The amount of our instruction time will remain unchanged and we will work towards offering the A1- and possibly A2-exam to more students. In the last year, the GSoM received a ZfA grant of more than EUR 800 towards the purchase of schoolbooks. We are happy to announce that the ZfA has renewed our book grant for 2015-16!
Our parent participation program was also a huge success and will continue in 2015-16. We would like to thank all parents and friends of the school who have participated as volunteers in our various school activities over the past year. Your help is critical in allowing us to continue to offer a number of exciting community events such as the Laternenfest, the St. Nikolaus celebration, and Fasching . Please be sure to sign up as a volunteer for next year!
Our registration for 2015-16 will open later in June. You will receive an email with instructions from our office once registration is open.
[Update: Online registration is now available.]
Returning students should have received a recommendation for the next school year. If you are new to our school and would like to enroll your child in one of our classes, please contact our office at germanschoolofmadison@gmail.com. We will gladly assist you in choosing the right class for your child.
The tuition for 2015-16 will remain unchanged. Please note that we offer an Early Bird special ($25 off per child, if you register by July 15). In addition, families who enroll more than one child at our school, receive a 10% sibling discount on the less expensive class/classes they register for. For more information on our registration process, our classes, tuition, and scholarships, please visit our webpage at germanschoolofmadison.org
Herzlich,
Catrin Weimbs, President
German School of Madison
Badger Blättchen, June Edition
2015-16 School Year
We are currently planning for the 2015-16 school year. Classes will again take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Neighborhood House, with several weekend project classes at the Shorewood Community Center. Registration will open in June (we will notify all families of current students).
New month, new Badger Blättchen
Here’s the latest edition of Das Badger Blättchen 2015 Mai, produced by our Youth Group under the direction of Chris Tabisz.
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