Newsletter 21.08.2026

On Monday, 17 August, our students began the new school year. We were especially pleased to welcome our new first graders as well as all new students and families to the German International School Accra.

Our enrolment ceremony focused on getting to know one another, welcoming our new school community members, and looking forward to the year ahead. We wish all our children and young people a successful start, many new friendships, exciting experiences and lots of joy in learning.

[Read more about the first day of school and our enrolment ceremony →]

Welcome to the GISA Team!

A new school year also brings new faces to our team. We are very pleased to welcome several new colleagues to the German International School Accra this year.

Franziska “Iska” Veit, Timo Adolphs and Haitham Albeiruthy have joined our teaching staff, bringing valuable experience and new perspectives to our school. We are also delighted to welcome Gifty and Elizabeth as new members of our Child Care Center team.

In addition, interns and university students are once again enriching everyday school life this year. Working with young people from different training and academic backgrounds is an important part of our international exchange. They gain valuable insights into the work of a German school abroad while also bringing fresh perspectives, ideas and inspiration into our classrooms and school community.

We wish all our new colleagues and interns a great start and a rewarding time at GISA!

[Meet our new team →]

Looking Back on Our Summer Programme

Even before the official start of the school year, many children and young people were already active on campus as part of our Summer Programme. A varied range of activities offered many opportunities to learn, explore, create and connect.

It was particularly encouraging to see how naturally learning, creativity and community came together. The Summer Programme therefore provided a wonderful transition into the new school year.

[Read more about our Summer Programme →]

Project Time: Learning Beyond the Classroom

Our Project Time has also started again. It is an integral part of our educational profile and gives students space for independent learning, creative thinking and collaboration.

The focus is not only on results, but also on the learning process itself: developing questions, taking responsibility, working as a team and finding individual solutions. Over the coming weeks, many first ideas will gradually grow into concrete projects.

[Learn more about our Project Time →]

This week, students made their choices for our project time. They were able to select their three preferred projects from a range of different options. The selection process is now complete and the project groups have been formed. Over the coming weeks, students will work in their groups according to their interests, exploring, creating, experimenting and developing their own ideas together. We are looking forward to an exciting and creative project time!

DaF Café: Speaking German and Connecting ☕

Our DaF Café is another initiative that has started this week and supports German language learning beyond the traditional classroom.

In a relaxed atmosphere, students can practise speaking German, try out new vocabulary and engage in conversation with one another. The initiative combines language support with social interaction and helps make German an even more natural part of everyday school life.

[Learn more about our DaF Café →]

Together on Campus: Cooperation with the Dutch School

We are pleased to further develop our cooperation with the Dutch school community in Accra on our campus.

Their regular use of our facilities creates additional opportunities for interaction and exchange and strengthens the international character of our school. Our campus is intended not only as a place of learning for our own students, but increasingly as a place of international educational cooperation in Accra.

🏓 Our Second Table Tennis Table Is Here!

As promised before the holidays, our second table tennis table is now ready for action. Table tennis has become one of the most popular break-time activities alongside football, and our first table was always in high demand. With two tables and new, sturdy nets, there is now even more space for exciting rallies and friendly break-time matches. A big thank you to everyone who helped build, paint and organise everything!

Cambridge: A Successful Second Round

There is also good news from our Cambridge programme: all students from the most recent examination round successfully completed their Cambridge Checkpoint Assessments.

In only our second round of participation, the German International School Accra achieved an overall result above the average of Cambridge schools. At the same time, individual results show different strengths and areas for further development. These will be discussed individually with students and their families and used to support their future learning.

The certificates will be formally presented during our Assembly on Monday.

Invitation to Monday’s Assembly

We warmly invite our school community to our Assembly on Monday, 24 August 2026, at 7:45 a.m.

The Assembly will include two special award ceremonies:

• the formal presentation of the Cambridge certificates
• the award ceremony for the winners of our GISA Kids Prediction Game

We look forward to celebrating the achievements of our students together and starting the new week as a school community.

Together for Cleaner Beaches – Beach Clean-up on 19 September

On Saturday, 19 September 2026, we would like to take part as a school community in a Beach Clean-up with Mayekoo at Ananse Beach in Nungua.

Already this coming Monday, Mayekoo will visit our Assembly and explain to our students why protecting our oceans and beaches is so important and what role sustainability and joint commitment can play.

We look forward to working together, taking responsibility for our environment and sending a visible message for sustainability and environmental protection. Further information about participation will follow in due course.

Professional Development Day on 25 September

On Friday, 25 September 2026, the German International School Accra will hold a Professional Development Day. Our teaching staff will use the day for joint pedagogical work and the further development of teaching and school life.

There will be no regular classes on this day. Emergency childcare will be available for families who require supervision for their children. Further organisational information will follow in due course.

Looking Ahead: Faces of Football

On 29 September 2026, the German International School Accra will host the third edition of Faces of Football.

Together with girls from the Universal Wonderful Street Academy, Chance for Children and our own school, we will organise a varied day centred on interaction, education and sport. The German Sparkassenstiftung Western Africa will also contribute interactive financial literacy activities.

Faces of Football once again brings together different partners and perspectives on our campus and demonstrates how sport, education and social engagement can complement one another.

Save the Date: German Language Day

Another highlight of the first semester will be German Language Day on Saturday, 31 October 2026.

Together with our partners, we would like to make the German language visible and tangible in all its diversity. The programme will include opportunities for interaction, cultural contributions, creative activities and, above all, many chances to speak German together.

Save the Date: Saturday, 31 October 2026 – German International School Accra

Insights from Our Learning Groups

Child Care Center

Nursery – Settling in calmly, discovering and growing together

During the second week after the summer holidays, the focus in the crèche remained on settling back into everyday routines in a calm and familiar way. With plenty of free play and time in the garden, the children were able to reconnect with familiar routines, move around, develop their own play ideas and discover new games. In doing so, they strengthened their independence, social skills, creativity and enjoyment of exploring together. The group also warmly welcomed a new child. We are very happy about this new addition and look forward to a wonderful time together.

Kindergarten – An eventful week full of discoveries

Our groups are once again full of life, laughter and energy. This week, new friendships were formed, old friends reunited and, of course, there was plenty of time to play together. We also celebrated several birthdays with singing, laughter and lots of joy. Our new concept is gaining momentum as well: alongside a range of physical activities such as football, basketball and Taekwondo, there were plenty of creative and musical experiences. Our Sprachenzauber programme and the new English Club have started successfully, while the Science Club explored the fascinating world of our five senses. Things became especially tasty during cooking time, when the children prepared refreshing mango ice cream together. There was also plenty of reading, playing and shared discovery – a colourful, busy and joyful week in Kindergarten.

Primary School

Class 1/2 – Building a strong “We” at the start of the year

The first school week for Class 1/2 is behind us, and we have started the new school year with many wonderful impressions. One special highlight was our enrolment ceremony: with shining eyes, colourful school cones and many good wishes, an exciting new chapter began for our new first graders. During a school rally, all new children got to know important places around the school, including the library, playground, football pitch, Security and our school nurse Nancy.

Getting to know one another was just as important: we practised names, shared things about ourselves and read the book about the “Little We” together. Afterwards, the children created their own “We” figures and learned: the bigger our “We”, the stronger our sense of togetherness. Academic learning also got off to a good start. In Class 1, the first letter “L” was introduced and, in Mathematics, the children used shake boxes to explore different ways of splitting quantities. Class 2 worked with syllables and vowel sounds and practised careful presentation in their Mathematics notebooks. With plenty of joy and confidence, we now look forward to the second week.

Class 3 – Mistakes are helpers – and Bea the Bee is joining us

There was plenty to discover for the children in Class 3 during the first week of school. We used our time together to get to know one another even better, introduce new routines and agree on our class rules. From now on, the class will also be accompanied by its new class mascot, Bea the Bee, who is already buzzing happily around the classroom. To match, the children made colourful bee decorations as name tags, which now brighten up the classroom door.

Alongside settling in, the main focus was on reviewing important foundations from Class 2. In Mathematics, the children practised step-by-step addition as well as predecessors, successors, neighbouring tens and the symbols greater than, less than and equal to. In German, the programme included short reading assessments, handwriting and motor skills exercises, and a review of nouns. One special highlight was a journey to the “Land of Word Classes”, where the children met Princess Noun and her loyal companion, Knight Article. Stories also played an important role, including one about a supposedly water-shy crocodile who turned out to be a small, brave dragon that could fly. One key message from the first week was: “Mistakes are helpers!” – they show us where we can still grow.

There was also a sporting highlight on Tuesday with the first swimming lesson together with Mr Nana, while in Art with Ms Weber the children travelled all the way to Pluto in a rocket – at least in their imagination.

Class 4 – Learning offices become individual works of art

In German, we began the week by reviewing content learned during the previous school year. The main aim was to reactivate and refresh existing knowledge. Together, we also discussed the criteria for creating a neat and well-structured notebook entry. In Mathematics, content from Class 3 was reviewed as well, with a focus on calculations within the number range up to 1,000. It was particularly encouraging to see that the children were already able to apply written calculation methods very confidently. One new development in Class 4 is that the previously English-language subject Science has now been replaced by German-language Heimat- und Sachunterricht (HSU). In this subject, the children developed their future class rules, discussed whether they would work well in practice and finally voted on them. In Art, the class returned to a project from the previous school year. Together with their class teacher, the children had already built their own wooden learning offices, but there had not been enough time to decorate them creatively before the end of term. Now they are finally receiving their colourful finishing touches. With plenty of paint, imagination, patterns, shapes and very different ideas, individual works of art are gradually emerging. The learning offices are not only intended to look good; in future, they will support the children in working independently, with concentration and as free from distractions as possible across all subjects. In this way, creativity and practical purpose come together particularly well.

Secondary School

Class 5 – Arriving together, discovering and getting creative

Class 5 has made a good start to the new school year and is gradually growing into a strong class community. Together, the students decorated their classroom, discussed class rules and introduced classroom responsibilities. In this way, they take responsibility and actively help shape everyday life in their class. In German, we introduced the weekly learning plan, which is designed to help the students organise and complete their tasks increasingly independently. They also began practising expressive reading under the motto “Good reading aloud creates pictures in your mind”. In Mathematics, the class is working with tally charts, frequency tables, bar charts and column graphs, learning how to represent data and create their own diagrams. In Geography, the students designed postcards based on their holidays. Using the pictures and written descriptions, the other children tried to guess where each journey might have taken place.

The current Sports unit is called “Running – Throwing – Jumping”. After a shared warm-up, the class began with a varied puzzle run combining movement, concentration and teamwork. In History, the class started with a short thought experiment: What would we want to know if we could travel into the past with a time machine – and how can we find things out if that time machine does not work? The students explored different kinds of historical sources such as letters, photographs, coins, diaries and objects and learned to distinguish between written, visual and material sources. They discovered that historians piece together traces of the past much like pieces of a puzzle in order to reconstruct history. Art also offered plenty of room for creativity: together with Class 6, the new learning group took over the art room and began its first project. In large letters, the students are designing their own names using colours, patterns and individual ideas – fitting for their new classrooms and as varied as the new art group itself.

Class 6 – Learning more independently and looking more closely

In Mathematics, Class 6 began the week by introducing a new learning plan designed to help the students organise their work more independently and gradually take greater responsibility for their own learning. During explanation phases, the class is also increasingly working in language-differentiated groups so that the different levels of German language comprehension can be addressed more effectively. The first experiences have been very positive: students are able to follow explanations more easily without feeling either overwhelmed or under-challenged linguistically. At present, the class is working on cuboids and cubes as well as spatial awareness. To begin the topic, the students built a wire-frame model of a cube using straws and modelling clay and were able to explore its properties in a practical and visual way. In German, the weekly learning plan was also introduced to further strengthen independent organisation and task completion. In addition, the class began practising expressive reading under the motto “Good reading aloud creates pictures in your mind”. In History, the students explored the question of how certain we can actually be about our knowledge of the past. Using a variety of sources, they investigated what can genuinely be proven, which questions remain open and what further sources might be needed. They also learned to distinguish more clearly between a historical source and a later representation, such as a history textbook – an important first step towards working historically.

Class 7 – Starting the new school year as “Shooting Stars”

Class 7 has started the new school year with plenty of curiosity and energy. Alongside reuniting after the summer holidays, the first days focused on settling into the new classroom, discussing organisational matters and reflecting on the wishes, strengths and personal goals the students bring with them under this year’s school motto, “Shooting Stars”. During a school rally, the class explored familiar as well as newly designed areas of GISA. In the joint German lessons with Class 8, holiday memories were turned into personal postcards. The students examined the structure and language of postcards, created their own holiday greetings and presented them during a gallery walk with a short quiz. Social Studies was introduced as a new subject. Starting from the idea of community, the class explored how people live together, take responsibility and make a difference. They linked this to GISA’s partnerships, researched the work of Chance for Children and developed first ideas for possible joint projects. In Geography, the students first considered what Geography actually involves before refreshing their atlas skills. A particular highlight was a geographical “manhunt”, in which they used coordinates to track down hidden villains in different cities. Mathematics also focused on orientation, this time between positive and negative numbers. Whole and rational numbers were compared, ordered and placed on number lines, with the schoolyard even becoming a large walkable number line.

In Physics and Chemistry, the most important safety rules for experiments were reviewed before practical work begins. In History, the class started its journey into the Middle Ages. Beginning with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the students examined the emergence of new political structures, met Clovis and the Franks, and created a shared timeline from the Romans through the Merovingians to the rise of the Carolingians. One central question will continue to guide the unit: How does political power emerge, and how can it change over time? The first week already offered a wide range of experiences – and the “Shooting Stars” of Class 7 are off to a strong start.

Class 8 – Settling in, strengthening foundations and exploring new topics

Class 8 has made a good start to the new school year. On the first day, a new student was welcomed, the new class teacher introduced himself, and the timetable, classroom rules and organisation of the new classroom were discussed together. In Mathematics, the students first reviewed key content from the previous school year and looked ahead at the topics for the new year before working on algebraic expressions, particularly factoring, expanding and dividing. Biology also began with a review of important topics from Class 7. In Physics and Chemistry, the focus was on the key safety rules for working in the specialist rooms, while in IT, basic terminology was revisited and the class clarified what IT and Computer Science mean and what the subject deals with. In Social Studies, the students connected with topics from the previous year, such as sustainability, before beginning the new unit on politics. They explored what politics is expected to achieve, how it works and which different forms of government and rule exist, with a particular focus on the meaning and key characteristics of democracy. In History, the class examined the transition from the Roman Empire to the Frankish Empire. Using the Merovingians and Carolingians as examples, the students explored how political power and official titles are not always the same. The mayors of the palace gradually took over more and more real political power before Pepin the Short officially became king in 751. The students therefore discussed when the Carolingians actually “came to power” and, using Einhard’s account, also reflected on the limitations of historical sources. The week was rounded off with the Class Council, where shared concerns and topics were discussed.

Class 9 – An intensive start across subjects and the first history block

Class 9 has made a good start to the new school year. Alongside getting to know one another and settling in, the students discussed what to expect during the year and how they would like to work together as a class. In Mathematics, they began by reviewing rational numbers, already making use of interactive and digital learning methods. In Physics, the most important safety rules for the specialist classroom were discussed before moving on to the first topic, “Motion”. The Class Council also gave students the opportunity to contribute their own wishes, ideas and current concerns, helping to establish a strong foundation for the year ahead. In German, the class first looked back at the summer holidays: personal memories were turned into individual postcards, which then served as the starting point for a first review of grammar, spelling and punctuation. In Social Studies, the focus was on getting to know one another, while Ethics began with the topic of Buddhism. In Biology, content from the previous school year was reviewed before the class moved on to plant organs, with particular attention given to the structure, function and transport processes within a tree trunk. Key subject-specific vocabulary was recorded, translated and explained. History got off to a particularly intensive start, with four lessons forming the first block of the year. The class first examined the foundation of the German Empire in 1871 and asked why it is often described as a “revolution from above”. The students then analysed the constitution of the German Empire and assessed how democratic the new state actually was. Using Bismarck’s policies towards the labour movement – the Anti-Socialist Laws on the one hand and social insurance on the other – they discussed the idea of “carrot and stick” and considered whether Bismarck should be seen primarily as a social reformer or an authoritarian power politician. At the end of the week, attention shifted outwards: the class explored the economic, political and ideological motives behind imperialism and identified the connections between industrialisation, raw materials, markets, nationalism and colonial expansion. This has already built the bridge towards the upcoming study of the partition of Africa and the history of West Africa.

🔜 Upcoming Dates & Events

🏅 Monday, 24 August 2026, 7:45 a.m.
Monday Assembly with Cambridge Certificate Presentation
During our Assembly, we will formally present the Cambridge certificates and also honour the winners of our GISA Kids Prediction Game.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Monday, 24 August 2026
Class Parent Meeting / Parent Evening – Class 7

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Tuesday, 25 August 2026
Class Parent Meetings / Parent Evenings – Classes 5 and 6

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Wednesday, 26 August 2026
Class Parent Meeting / Parent Evening – Class 1/2

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Thursday, 27 August 2026
Class Parent Meeting / Parent Evening – Class 3

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Monday, 31 August 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Class Parent Meeting / Parent Evening – Class 4

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Tuesday, 1 September 2026
Class Parent Meeting / Parent Evening – Class 9

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Wednesday, 2 September 2026, 4:00 p.m.
Child Care Center Parent Evening & Class Parent Meeting – Class 8

🌊 Saturday, 19 September 2026
Beach Clean-up with Mayekoo at Ananse Beach in Nungua
Together as a school community, we want to take action, assume responsibility for our environment and send a visible message for sustainability and the protection of our oceans and beaches.

🌍 Sunday, 20 September 2026
World Cleanup Day
Around World Cleanup Day, we will focus on sustainability, environmental protection and how we can take responsibility for our environment together.

🇬🇭 Monday, 21 September 2026
Founders’ Day – No Classes

📚 Friday, 25 September 2026
Professional Development Day – No Classes / Emergency Childcare
There will be no regular classes on this day. Emergency childcare will be available for families who require supervision for their children.

⚽🤝 Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Faces of Football – 3rd Edition at GISA
Together with girls from the Universal Wonderful Street Academy, Chance for Children and GISA, we will organise a special day centred around sport, education and interaction. The German Sparkassenstiftung Western Africa will also contribute interactive financial literacy activities.

🍂 Monday, 19 October – Friday, 23 October 2026
Autumn Break

🇩🇪 Saturday, 31 October 2026
German Language Day at GISA
Together with our partners, we will bring the German language to life on our campus in all its diversity – through encounters, cultural contributions, creative activities and plenty of opportunities to speak German together.