Newsletter 05.09.2025

A Day of Adventure and Team Spirit

Last Saturday, the GISA team embarked on an exciting and eventful trip to the Adventure Park & Center of Excellence for Experiential Learning in Aburi. Surrounded by breathtaking nature, our colleagues experienced a day filled with fun, team spirit, and shared challenges.

From the family-friendly course suitable for all ages to the demanding fitness course, there was a perfect challenge for everyone. More than physical performance, the day was about mutual encouragement, motivation, and growing together as a team.

This unforgettable experience not only strengthened the bonds within our staff but also created many joyful memories that will continue to inspire our work at GISA.

New Parent Representatives Elected

We warmly congratulate our new Parent Representatives, Pauline Becker and Kofi Ako Owiredu.

During the inaugural meeting of the new Parent Council, outgoing representative Thorsten van Honk passed the baton to the new leadership team. Headmaster Rainer Kropp-Kurta emphasized the importance of this valuable body for school life and expressed his excitement for future collaboration.

Our heartfelt thanks go to Thorsten van Honk for his dedicated service over the past years!

Introducing Our New Student Counselors

Congratulations to Angy Mamodaly and Russell Adu, who have been elected by our students as the new Student Counselors.

Student Counselors play a vital role in the GISA community. They are trusted contacts for students, offering support with concerns, problems, or conflicts—both in school life and beyond. Their work helps ensure a safe, respectful, and caring school environment.

We are grateful to Angy and Russell for taking on this important responsibility and wish them great success and joy in their new roles.

Inspiring Feedback from Future German Teachers

Seven students from the University of Education, Winneba, visited GISA as part of our cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).

For two days, they observed lessons across all grade levels, from preschool to secondary school, gaining valuable insights into the work of a German international school in Ghana. These students are part of the very first cohort in Ghana to major in German language education, making this their very first real-world teaching experience.

Their feedback was overwhelmingly positive:

• They were deeply impressed by the professionalism, warmth, and friendliness they experienced at GISA.
• The bilingual teaching culture, with seamless use of German and English, stood out as exceptional.
• They praised the colorful and well-equipped learning environment, which included iPads, laptops, clear structures, and sustainable practices such as waste separation.
• The teaching quality was described as outstanding, with interactive methods, project-based learning, and strong student engagement.

In their evaluation, which was also shared with the DAAD, they highlighted that GISA is not only a place for academic learning but also a model of openness and collaboration. This program demonstrates the important role GISA plays in teacher education in Ghana, helping to set new standards for modern, student-centered teaching.

The students will return in October to support preparations for our major event, “130 Millionen – Deutsch verbindet”, continuing their journey of learning and exchange.

New Partnership: GISA and AMBYLON Join Forces!

The German International School Accra is excited to announce a groundbreaking new collaboration. Headmaster Rainer Kropp-Kurta and board member Samuel Nettey met with Jörn Halsinger, CEO of AMBYLON, to officially launch a future-oriented partnership.

This cooperation is a win-win situation—not just for GISA, but for the entire educational landscape in Ghana. Together, we are building bridges between Ghana and Germany and sending a strong signal for innovative, digital education.

AMBYLON offers next-generation e-learning, making education possible anytime, anywhere—in 2D, 3D, or even virtual reality (VR). The unique feature: the platform speaks the language of its learners! Courses are available in 20 different languages, a crucial key to sustainable learning success.

With a pilot project at GISA, we aim to demonstrate how individualized and differentiated teaching can be enriched through digital tools. This cooperation brings not only cutting-edge technology but also great excitement for the future of learning.

Together with AMBYLON, we are taking a decisive step toward better education—from Ghana to the world.

Teen Club – Fun & Community for Grades 5-8!

Our Teen Club gives students in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 the perfect opportunity to spend time together, have fun, and build new friendships.

The adventure starts tomorrow with a movie night!
Every month, a special highlight awaits you – from trampoline jumping and laser shooting at Blizz to our big Christmas party in December.

Get ready for unforgettable moments with your friends!

Upcoming Annual General Meeting

The GISA Board warmly invites all parents and guardians to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, at 6:00 PM.

Important topics will include updates to our school constitution, board elections for three open positions, and strategic planning for the future.
A detailed agenda will be sent on September 23, 2025.

Your participation is vital to shaping the future of our school community!

Kindergarten and Nursery

The highlight this week in the nursery was the very first sensory box 🎉, filled with rice. By pouring 🥄, transferring 🪣, touching ✋, and listening 👂, the children gathered a wide variety of sensory experiences. This playful activity supports sensory development 👀 and fine motor skills ✨ and clearly brought a lot of joy to the children 😍.

This week, everything in our kindergarten revolved around the theme “Farm” 🐄🌾. During morning circle and learning time, we explored the topic in many different ways. In learning time, the children carried out an exciting color experiment 🎨🔍, discovering which color combinations create new colors. Together, we worked on a worksheet called “Where the animals live” 🏡🐔🐑 and talked about which animals live in the barn, in the meadow, or in the pond.

During crafts, cheerful pom-pom farm animals 🐑🐔 and colorful rattles 🎶✨ were created. A short film about the farm 🎬🐖 gave us insights into life there. Afterwards, the children acted out in a role play 🌱🧑‍🌾 how a tiny seed grows into a plant. With body percussion to “We Will Rock You” 🥁👏, we had plenty of rhythm and fun. During the “article-color game” 🎲🎨, we practiced der, die, das in a playful way. Beautiful butterflies 🦋 were crafted during arts and crafts.

To finish off the week, it was all about movement at our Sports Day 🤸‍♀️⚽. Of course, there was time every day for free play 🧩🏰, where the children could bring in their own ideas and live out their imagination. We look back on a colorful, joyful week 🌈😊 and are already looking forward to the coming adventures with your children!

Primary School

In math class for Grades 1/2, the focus was again on breaking numbers down into tens and ones. This helps the children understand, for example, that 37 consists of three tens and seven ones. This understanding of place value is the foundation for confident calculations and makes addition, subtraction, and later multiplication and division much easier.

In German class, we have various rituals. During the word of the day, a word is examined closely — its meaning, spelling, word type, syllables, syllable kings, and tricky spots. In addition, we write weekly letters to one another, creating natural writing opportunities. The more the children’s writing skills develop, the more elaborate their letters become.

We are also happy to welcome our new intern, Ms. Malluschke, who joined our class on Monday.

This week, German class was all about methodological skills and discoveries. The children worked hard on their posters and have now completed them — ready for big presentations in the coming days. An especially exciting activity was our spelling workshop, where we focused on the extension strategy. The children learned how to recognize double consonants by extending words — for example: Ball – Bälle or Hund – Hunde. There were plenty of “aha” moments guaranteed!

The Grade 3 students created their own thousand charts in math, searched for different numbers, and examined the number of the day in detail. With an exciting “secret code” — squares for hundreds, lines for tens, and dots for ones — they learned about place values in a playful way.

Over the past few weeks, our Primary School’s Fashion Project has been all about fashion, colors, and creativity! The students created their first sketches, gathered ideas on digital mood boards, and found inspiration in international fashion shows.

With excitement and great team spirit, they have already designed unique creations – the foundation for the next steps: selecting materials and bringing their own pieces to life. For this, we need your support!

We gladly accept donations of old clothes, fabrics, cardboard, or other recyclable materials at GISA. Until the big Fashion Show on the Day of the German Language, the students will transform these materials into their very own runway creations.

Secondary School

This week, Grade 5 students worked on a variety of topics. In History, they focused on archaeology and how we learn about the past. In French, they learned vocabulary related to body parts. In German, they practiced describing pictures and using suitable adjectives. In Mathematics, the class trained their mental math skills through the game “City, Country, Plus” and practiced written addition and subtraction. In Biology, they completed their unit on the subfields of biology. The students presented their group results, gave each other feedback, and discussed why biology is so important for understanding humans and the environment.

In Grade 6 Biology, we finished our unit on the circulatory system. The students learned about the three main types of blood vessels — arteries, veins, and capillaries — and their roles in transporting blood throughout the body. We also discussed the difference between heartbeat and pulse, as well as the distinction between oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood. As homework, the students received an exercise for consolidation. Next week, we will start our new topic, the respiratory system, and learn how breathing works.

Grade 6 also went on an excursion to the Alliance Française, where they improved their French through playful activities. They practiced simple conversational phrases, greetings, and played language games with native speakers. Back in the classroom, we deepened these experiences by practicing French numbers and different ways of polite communication.

In English, Grades 5 and 6 explored the use of modal verbs and discussed their importance in sentence structure. In addition, the students digitalized their self-written fables — either as a classic presentation or using PowerPoint. Soon, they will present their stories to the children in Grades 1/2 — exciting performances are coming up! 📖💻

 The DaF students of classes 5 and 6 have chosen their "Book of the Month"! After conducting research and presenting their findings in the library, the winner was announced: Football Star and Dribbling King. Presented by Philip, the book captivated everyone not only with exciting football moments but also with a heartfelt story about friendship and big dreams.

In Grade 7 Mathematics, the current focus is on the order of operations — understanding the correct sequence when working with parentheses, multiplication/division, and addition/subtraction. We also deepened our knowledge of rational numbers in the coordinate system in a playful way. Using a variation of the game “Battleship”, students practiced plotting coordinate points and “attacking” them, making math both interactive and fun.

In Grade 8, the current focus is on binomial formulas, building the foundation for more advanced algebraic concepts.

In Art class, Grades 7 and 8 are currently working on different stations designed to promote one main goal: the joy of drawing. Through exercises such as drawing with an outstretched arm, students learn to free themselves from the idea of having to draw perfectly. The aim is to take away the fear of drawing and encourage creative expression. Afterwards, we reflect together on the finished artworks — what turned out well and what was surprising.

In Biology, the students are currently conducting independent research on near- and farsightedness.

In P.E., everything currently revolves around basketball. Students practice different passing techniques, train moving freely on the court, and work on proper defensive behavior. Through small team games, they not only improve their technical skills but also strengthen teamwork and mutual support within the group.

In Chemistry, we explored the building blocks of matter. The periodic table is like a map of all known elements, where each element shows its atomic number and the number of protons. The symbol is just the short form of the element’s name. Learning about electron configuration helps students understand how electrons are arranged in different shells around the nucleus. This arrangement is key to understanding how atoms bond with each other.

In Physics, we investigated the rules that explain how objects move. Newton’s laws of motion are fundamental principles that describe the relationship between an object, the forces acting on it, and its movement. We discussed how these laws are visible everywhere — from a rolling ball to a car coming to a stop. We also explored the important concepts of force, mass, and weight: force is a push or pull, mass is the amount of matter in an object, and weight is the force of gravity acting on that mass. A common mistake is to confuse mass and weight. The students now understand that this distinction is an essential part of studying physics.

As part of our ongoing efforts to promote the active use of the French language, Grades 6, 7, and 8 visited the Alliance Française. The students took part in a variety of fun and interactive activities, giving them the opportunity to practice and deepen their French skills in a new, exciting, and motivating way.

The trip was a rewarding experience for everyone involved and further strengthened their enthusiasm for the French language. We look forward to offering more opportunities like this in the future to make learning French even more engaging and memorable.

📅 Dates & Outlook

🗓 Tuesday, 09.09.25, 6:00 PM
Information session for those interested in joining the Board of Directors

🗓 Thursday, 11.09.25, 8:00 AM
Information session for those interested in joining the Board of Directors

⚽ Tuesday, 16.09.25
“Football Meets Finance” – Workshop for girls with Faces of Football & the Sparkassenstiftung

🩺 Wednesday, 17.09.25
First Aid Course thanks to Miriam Böhme in Secondary School

🗓 Tuesday, 30.09.25, 6:00 PM
Annual General Assembly (MV)

📘 Thursday, 02.10.25
Teacher Training Day – no classes

🇩🇪 Friday, 03.10.25
German Unity Day – no classes

🍂 Monday, 06.10 – Friday, 10.10.25
Autumn Break

📢 Wednesday, 15.10.25 – Save the Date!
Children’s Rights Walk in Jamestown to support the NGO Universal Wonderful Street Academy
➡ Participation only when accompanied by at least one parent
➡ The school will organize a bus for the joint trip
Further details to follow.

🗣 Saturday, 18.10.25
“130 Million – German Connects” – Day of the German Language on the GISA campus, in cooperation with numerous German-speaking institutions

🕯 Thursday, 13.11.25
St. Martin Lantern Walk

📖 Friday, 21.11.25
Reading Day & Maths Night

🎄 Saturday, 29.11.25
Christmas Market