Newsletter 25.10.2024
Another week has passed since the fall break. This week, the new Board of Directors was constituted. We congratulate Mirna Adjemi Lüdin as Chair, Samuel Nettey as Treasurer and Robert Lüdtke as Secretary. Stanley Brocke and Beatrice Thiel act as deputies.
Fun & Run for street children
Tomorrow, Saturday, 26th October 2024 at 7.30 am, is the big day! The school is hosting the Fun & Run for Street Children – a sponsored run in collaboration with Chance for Children. This event aims to raise funds to provide more street-connected children with access to proper education. We warmly invite you to join us in supporting this wonderful cause. There will be refreshments during the run. In addition, we have vendors selling breakfast at the school compound and some fun kids' activities afterwards so your children can have a good time.
Lantern walk
We are excited to invite you and your children to our St. Martin Lantern Walk on Thursday, 7th November 2024. The event will start with a get-together from 4:00 to 5:00 pm, where you can enjoy coffee and connect with other families. Following this, the lantern walk will take place from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, as we celebrate the tradition of St. Martin with a beautiful display of handmade lanterns and a walk around the school neighborhood. We look forward to sharing this special evening with you and your children!
Extra French extracurricular class
We are excited to announce that a new extracurricular French class for the primary school will be available at school every Tuesday. This class will provide students with the opportunity to improve their French language skills in a fun and engaging environment. Please let us know if you are interested to enroll your children.
The holiday season is just around the corner, and our annual Christmas market on Saturday, November 23, 2024, is coming up. Look forward to amazing vendors, delicious food and drinks, live music, and much more. It’s an event for the whole family, with fun for kids – even Santa will make an appearance! We look forward to seeing you there.
Here is also a short newsletter from our medical cooperation partner HomeMed: 
Download PDF Newsletter HomeMed
Kindergarten and Nursery:
Last week, the nursery children diligently painted and cut out stars, which was a lot of fun for them and also developed their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. We also discussed the story of St. Martin together, which not only trained their listening skills, but also taught them important values such as sharing and helpfulness. We sang the song “I'm going with my lantern” to go with it. In addition to these creative and musical activities, the children had plenty of time to play, both indoors and outdoors, where they were able to develop their social skills, such as sharing and resolving conflicts, as well as their gross motor skills.
Well recovered from the holidays, the kindergarten has started a new week. Autumn has arrived and we have started preparing for the St Martin's Day celebrations. We sang lantern songs, discussed and acted out the story of St Martin and thought about which lanterns we would like to make this year. During learning time, we continued to practise our lantern songs. We also introduced some word cards on the subject of ‘autumn’ and did a vocal exercise. We practised the numbers up to 10 by counting, recognising number pictures and then jumping, running or clapping around the group as often as necessary. The first preparations for Reading Aloud Day are also in full swing... In the ‘English Club’ this week, the beginners have once again expanded their vocabulary and practised forming sentences. Using different picture cards of places, the children recited where they were going. They also learnt to express their needs. They learnt the times of day and greeted each other accordingly. Finally, we read the book ‘I want to be big’ together. The advanced students continued working on their phonics worksheets. In one task, they had to match the initial sound of an object to the correct letter. In another task, the children were now able to read up to 3-letter words. On Friday we had a day full of games and lots of garden time. We played board games together, did puzzles and were little St Martins ourselves. We also started preparing our lanterns.
Primary School:
This week was full of wonderful experiences and exciting activities in Class 1/2! Our new projects are off to a great start. The children have been working on and conducting interviews for the topic "Christmas Around the World." The production of Christmas cards is already in full swing, bringing a touch of the holiday spirit to the classroom! Other groups are working on the nativity play, enjoying stories, crafting decorations, or baking Christmas cookies. In Science, we began the topic "Forces": exploring pushing and pulling and how the shape of an object can change through different force methods. The children learned that hard materials require a lot of force, while softer materials need less force. They practiced with various materials to identify the effects of force. In Mathematics, the children completed tests and demonstrated their skills. Some children in the Butterfly Group even tackled extra challenging puzzles designed for Grades 3/4, showing a real spirit of curiosity! We also welcomed a new student to our class. The children gave him a warm welcome, and he already feels at home with us. In Art, we're crafting beautiful lanterns for St. Martin’s Day while learning about this tradition. The anticipation for the lantern parade is growing! A big thank you to all parents who have already signed the consent forms for our upcoming zoo trip. This outing will surely be a highlight! Don’t forget: Parent-teacher conferences will take place in November. The appointments for the first week are already set, and additional requests for the following weeks will be shared, one by one, in the WhatsApp group. Additionally, we’ve gained many sponsors for our school projects – fantastic support for Chance for Children! We look forward to the sponsor run tomorrow!
This week we did lots of great things in class 3/4. We went to the library, had very ‘different’ maths lessons, celebrated our birthday and wrote our first science test. In German, we wrote down our holiday experiences and in class 4 with Laura Lützeler we prepared for our verb test and the German learners practised lots of questions about the family. In maths, we had very special lessons with Lennard Brodner on the subject of algorithms. We started adding and subtracting in the new number range with Russell Adu.
In English, we designed posters based on books by Roald Dahl and worked on spelling. The work was postponed until Monday, as the posters were presented together today. In science, Years 3 and 4 continued their practical exercises on mixing materials, involving solids, liquids and of course gases, which are all around us. The test results were quite encouraging.
Secondary school:
Welcome back and good to see you again. We hope you had a great time together during the vacations. We have a full week behind us and it certainly took us all a little while to get back into the swing of things. In Year 5 and 6, we are looking forward to the class trip at the end of November more and more each week. The pupils are involved in the planning process and together we create the framework for the trip. The Christmas market is also just around the corner. For this reason, we have started the new projects and look forward to welcoming you to the school on 23.11.2024. Year 6 are currently working on written justifications in German. In Science, we have been practicing hard and classes 5 and 6 have written their Cambridge Science Test. The results will be published on Monday. In maths, the students continued practicing in their workbooks. Parents and guardians are encouraged to continue to ask their children to practice for their Cambridge Maths exam which will take place on October 31, 2024. Have a well-deserved weekend and as we said: great to have you back.
This week we successfully completed the English reading test and project presentations. We then learnt how to write effective headlines, emphasising the importance of making them engaging and informative. This skill will help students to think critically about current events and the language used in news reporting. Pupils engaged in a range of science activities in the run up to their exam. They delved into the study of the reproductive system and diseases. They explored the physical and chemical changes in the male and female body and gained an insight into the concept of puberty. In the area of diseases, they investigated the various microorganisms responsible for foodborne illnesses, emphasised the importance of good hygiene and learned strategies for disease prevention. The students also took their first Cambridge Science exam and achieved remarkable results. In Cambridge Maths, students were introduced to the concept of probability through interactive games, which gave them a thorough understanding that outcomes can be either probable or improbable. In a small project as part of their German lessons, which tied in with the topic of ‘process description/game instructions’, the seventh-graders worked in small groups to develop their own card and parlour games. On Wednesday, the pupils in Year 5/6 were then invited to try out the games for themselves. In the board game ‘Fat to fit’, the players had to master fitness exercises such as jumping jacks, press-ups etc. with lots of cheering in order to progress, while the ingenious card game ‘Banuno’ impressed with its detailed, funny drawings of banana men. ‘It was great fun and very funny!’ was the feedback from class 5/6 after the interactive game session. In history, we marvelled at the circumstances surrounding the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the ‘Dark Ages’, while geography focused on volcanism. In art, beautiful Christmas cards were designed for a competition organised by the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (ZfA).
Outlook:
Sat. 26/10/2024 Fun & Run 4 Street Children - sponsored run in collaboration with Chance for ChildrenThu, 07.11.2024 St Martin's lantern run
Fri, 15.111.2024 Reading day/reading competition
Sat, 23/11/2024 Christmas market
Thu, 05/12/2024 St Nicholas Day
Fri, 06.12.2024 Farmer's Day - no lessons
Fri, 13/12/2024 Last day of school before the Christmas holidays
Mon, 16/12/2024 -
Tue, 07.01.2025 Christmas holidays
Mon, 16/12/2024 - Fri, 20/12/2024
Fri, 20/12/2024 Holiday care
Wed., 08.01.2025 first school day after the Christmas holidays
