Newsletter 22.08.2025

The second week of the new school year has already come to an end – filled with many impressions and experiences. New and returning students were able to get to know each other better, and our lovingly prepared classrooms were explored. Several parent evenings have already taken place, with more to follow in the coming week.

Project Time: “German Connects”

Supporting individual talents, interests, and passions is a special concern for us at GISA. A central element of this is our Project Time, where students can choose from a wide variety of regularly changing projects. These projects are led by our teachers as well as by committed parents.

• In the Primary School, project time takes place across year groups on two afternoons per week.
• In the Secondary School, one afternoon per week is dedicated to project work.

This week marked the launch of the first projects of the new school year – and with them our main theme: “German Connects.” The goal is to present the project outcomes at our major event “130 Million – German Connects” on Saturday, October 18, during the German Days.

The wide range of creative offerings made it difficult for the children to choose:

• In Primary, they could pick from fairy tales, a fashion show, rap, or the “Word Show.”
• In Secondary, projects included comic design, game development, exploring castles, and even building a time machine.

We look forward to an inspiring start and are already excited about the presentations in October.

Cooperation with the Teaching University of Winneba

On Thursday and Friday, thanks to the cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), seven students from the Teaching University of Winneba visited GISA.

During their two-day visit, they observed lessons across all grade levels and gained valuable insights into everyday life at a German international school. They represent the very first cohort of Ghanaian students majoring in German Language Education.

Pedagogical Day

With support from our partner school, the German Embassy School in Addis Ababa, we will soon introduce new curricula. For this purpose, a Pedagogical Day is required.

After consultation with the Parent Council, this day will take place on Thursday, October 2, 2025. On this date, both Kindergarten and School will remain closed, effectively extending the autumn break since the Pedagogical Day directly precedes it.

Save the Date – Children’s Rights Walk on October 15

On October 15, we will once again take part (on a voluntary basis) in the “Children’s Rights Walk” in Jamestown, supporting the NGO Universal Wonderful Street Academy.

➡ Important: Children may only participate if accompanied by at least one parent.
➡ The school will organize a bus for the joint trip.

More details will follow soon.

Kindergarten and Nursery

In our nursery, we warmly welcomed two new children this week. The children enjoyed spending lots of time in the garden: swinging, climbing, and sliding – all of which helped to strengthen their motor skills in a playful way.

Indoors, the focus was on finger painting. The children discovered their senses, tried out their first artistic expressions, and explored the world of colors.

We look back on a joyful week. Together we celebrated the birthdays of two children 🎂🎶 – with cake, songs, and many happy faces. We are also very happy to welcome our new volunteer helper, Cindy, 🤝 who will be supporting our group on some days.

When cutting with scissors ✂ the children created little works of art while practicing their fine motor skills. Our DaF/DaZ program 📚 (German as a Foreign/Second Language) has also started. In small groups, the children explored the German language through stories, songs, and simple exercises – with lots of curiosity and excitement.

In morning circle, the focus was on colors 🌈, days of the week 📅, and months. With songs, games, and playful exercises, the children learned and practiced these concepts. A special highlight, as always, was Toy Day on Friday 🧸, which the children truly enjoyed.

Of course, there was also plenty of time for playing, crafting, singing, and laughing 🎨🎵😊 – making it a week full of happy moments that we all enjoyed together.

Primary School

Class 1 began Science with the topic plants. The children were curious and enthusiastic as they explored the different parts of a plant, discovering that not all plants have flowers. A hands-on activity helped them identify the parts clearly, and they enjoyed sharing their observations. Next week, we will continue by looking at the functions of each part and the conditions plants need to grow.

Class 2 started their Science lessons with habitats. They discussed what a habitat is and identified the plants and animals that live in different environments. A short activity sparked lots of questions and interest about how living things find their homes. Next week, we will explore why plants and animals live comfortably in certain habitats.

German literacy: Class 1 students have now fully started their literacy work. Class 2 students are focusing on spelling strategies, identifying nouns, and writing them with capital letters.

Maths: Both classes explored different ways of representing numbers – written digits, tally marks, ten frames, and illustrated objects. They worked in teams to create number card sets and then enjoyed playing quartet games with them.

German grammar: This week, the focus was on nouns. During an exciting word hunt in the classroom, we discovered many examples. With our “Sentence of the Day,” we practiced spelling strategies and worked on writing more confidently. A real highlight was using the class iPads for the first time – which the students explored eagerly.

English: We practiced colors, numbers, and introductions, and learned about the famous children’s author Roald Dahl. We collected fun facts about him and explored some of his books. Our first choice was Matilda, which the children loved reading and discussing in our Book Club.

Class 3 explored what it means to be alive. The children learned the difference between living and non-living things and discovered that living beings – humans, animals, and plants – share seven essential characteristics that help them survive. They compared different objects and decided whether they were living or not. In addition, we began a new unit on plants, looking at the different stages of their life cycle. A fun activity helped the children understand how plants grow.

Class 4 began their journey into the human body, starting with the skeleton. The children discovered that the skeleton is a framework of bones connected by joints, which allow us to move. An activity helped them understand how our bones work together. Next week, we will continue exploring how the skeleton enables different movements and the various types of skeletons.

Secondary School

Class 5: In German, we explored how to best plan texts and structure notebook entries. In Mathematics, we began with rounding numbers, and the first assessment of the year was completed.

In Biology, students started their exciting journey into life sciences. We introduced the subject, explored its branches, and discussed its importance. Learners formed teams and selected a specific branch of biology for their first research project. Next week, they will use their findings to design informative posters.

In History, students gained their first sense of the subject. With our time machine, they playfully traveled through the ages, while a timeline activity made the dimensions of history tangible: their own life span covered just 10–12 cm, while the Middle Ages stretched across 10 meters – and the Stone Age would take several kilometers.

In Ethics, we discussed friendship, while in IT, we brainstormed what belongs to information technology.

Class 6: The week began with much joy and enthusiasm. Reflecting on the first week of school and sharing weekend stories on Monday morning provided a great basis for lively conversation. On Tuesday, students entered their first project sessions, joining mixed-age groups in Comic Design, Games, Castles, and Time Machine. They began developing creative ideas around the theme “German Connects.”

In Biology, Class 6 started with the circulatory system. We learned about the vital roles of the heart and lungs and how they work together to circulate blood throughout the body. A worksheet helped solidify this understanding. Next week, we will continue by exploring the different types of blood vessels and their unique functions.

In Mathematics, our Class 6 mathematicians dove into the world of place value. They learned how to correctly position digits from the millions down to the ones, how to write numbers in both digits and words, and practiced converting them back and forth. Next week, we will build on this by rounding numbers to the nearest ten, hundred, and thousand.

The highlight of the week for Class 6 was the announcement of their upcoming class trip in November. Together, we will now begin the detailed planning – and everyone is already very excited.

In History, students also discovered the dimensions of the past through a timeline exercise: their own life spanned just a few centimeters, the Middle Ages 10 meters, and the Stone Age many kilometers.

Classes 7/8: In Biology, experiments on pupil reaction and depth perception were carried out. In Mathematics (Grade 7), students practiced adding and subtracting integers using the step model.

In Social Studies, students presented the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to one another using the “carousel method.”

In Art, the central question was “What is a drawing?”. In German, we focused on “My skills and strengths” and practiced grammar, particularly adjectives, nouns, and articles.

In History, students are currently investigating the fascinating transitional phase between the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Early Modern Era: great explorers, groundbreaking inventions, and profound social change.

In Geography, we also studied the Age of Discovery and the first great explorers.

In Chemistry, we started our unit on atoms and elements. Students learned about the fundamental building blocks of matter, the names and atomic numbers of common elements, and the roles of protons, electrons, and neutrons. We also explored electron shells.

In Physics, we kicked off with partner presentations on mirrors, the laws of reflection, and Newton’s laws of motion. Students actively took the lead in their learning, teaching these concepts to their classmates.

🔮 Outlook

📅 Parent Evenings (4:00 p.m., childcare provided)

• 👶 Kindergarten & Crèche: Thu, 28.08.25
• 📚 Class 1/2: Mon, 25.08.25

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

📘 Thursday, 02.10.25
Pedagogical Day – no school

🇩🇪 Friday, 03.10.25
Day of German Unity – no school

🍂 Mon, 06.10 – Fri, 10.10.25
Autumn Break

📢 Wednesday, 15.10.25 – Save the Date!
Children’s Rights Walk in Jamestown supporting the NGO Universal Wonderful Street Academy.
➡ Children may only participate if accompanied by at least one parent.
➡ The school will organize a bus for the trip.
More details will follow.

🗣 Saturday, 18.10.25
“130 Million – German Connects” – German Language Day at GISA with many German-speaking institutions

🕯 Thursday, 13.11.25
St. Martin Lantern Walk

📖 Friday, 21.11.25
Reading Day & Maths Night