Newsletter 27.02.2026

This is the first newsletter after the short break. Due to the upcoming Independence Day, the next issue will be published on 13 March 2026.

Yesterday: Inspiring Ghana Day

Three Nations Celebrate — Building Bridges for the Future

With vibrant rhythms, moving performances and strong international spirit, the German International School Accra celebrated its Ghana Day yesterday as part of the 60th anniversary year. Under the motto “Celebrating Together – Three Nations”, the campus transformed into a lively stage for cultural exchange between Ghana, Germany and Switzerland.

The festive opening was delivered by the traditional drum and dance group Anansesem. A violin performance featuring a Swiss song beautifully highlighted the trilateral character of the celebration.

The Whole School on Stage

The strength of the school community was clearly visible through the participation of all age groups. Our Kindergarten children delighted the audience with their lovingly prepared performance. The DaF intensive class then demonstrated through a musical contribution how dynamic and effective language support is at the German International School Accra.

During the programme item VIP Ghana, the audience embarked on an interactive journey through Ghana’s history, identifying important national personalities. The Agokoli Theatre followed with strong stage presence, before the project dance group delivered another highlight with impressive expression, precision and emotional depth.

Meaningful Words and Strong Partnerships

The official addresses reflected the school’s strong international network.
Magdalena Wüst-Tiendrebeogo, speaking on behalf of the Swiss Embassy, particularly praised the remarkable diversity of the children who shape the school community today. Frederik Landshöft, Ambassador of Germany, highlighted the school’s strategic opening in recent years and its successful development into a true Begegnungsschule, underlining its growing role as an important cultural and language-mediating institution in Ghana.

Lukas Brauchbar delivered greetings on behalf of the Ramseyer Foundation. Prof. Dr. Winnie-Karen Giera spoke for the University of Potsdam, representing the school’s expanding cooperation network. A particularly moving contribution came from Renate Saywerr, long-time educational staff member, who spoke symbolically for the alumni and built an impressive bridge between past, present and future.

More Than a School Celebration

Ghana Day clearly demonstrated how the German International School Accra has evolved in recent years: growing, open, internationally connected and firmly rooted in Ghana. With around 140 students, the school is increasingly positioning itself as an important cultural bridge-builder in the region.

During the subsequent get-together with live music and international cuisine, one thing became clear: community here is not just discussed — it is lived every day.

A Celebration That Resonates

Ghana Day in this anniversary year was a great success — colourful, connecting and driven by the commitment of the entire school community. Once again, it showed what the German International School Accra stands for: education that builds bridges and brings people together. 🇬🇭🇩🇪🇨🇭✨

Insights from the Cambridge International Schools Day

The German International School Accra continues its path as a forward-looking Begegnungsschule: On 21 February 2026, Bernard Mensah and Russell Adu participated in the Cambridge International Schools Day in Ghana.

Under the theme “Future-Ready: Navigating a Changing Educational Landscape”, education leaders from across Africa discussed key questions of modern school development — from future skills and adaptive leadership to the responsible use of artificial intelligence.

Workshops focused on AI readiness, metacognitive learning strategies and effective staff collaboration. Many impulses confirmed development directions already being pursued at the German International School Accra.

One key strategic takeaway: internationally successful schools are increasingly embedding AI structurally through school-wide guidelines and clearly defined coordination roles.

The GISA delegation reported very positively: “Future readiness begins not with technology, but with mindset and clear strategy,” summarised Bernard Mensah.
Russell Adu emphasised the value of international exchange and networking with schools across Africa.

Conclusion: Participation has opened valuable perspectives for further school development and strengthens the German International School Accra’s course toward quality and innovation.

GISA Cup 2026

On Saturday, 28 February, the first match kicks off at 8:30 am.
With 18 teams from 13 nations, an international sporting highlight awaits. Football unites — and stands for exchange, fair play, team spirit and plenty of fun. Come and be part of this special event! ⚽🌍

GISA Cup Kids 2026

On Monday, 3 March, the field belongs to the 10- to 14-year-olds. Starting at 9:30 am, GISA and five partner schools will compete for the trophy.

Here too, the focus is not only on competition but above all on fairness and joy in the game. Come support our girls’ and boys’ teams! 🎉⚽

Encanto Anigyεc – GISA Takes the Stage! 🎭✨

The German International School Accra is launching its new musical project Encanto Anigyεc — a colourful community production for the entire school.

Auditions have already begun, and the performances are scheduled for 4 and 5 June 2026. From Grade 1 to Grade 8 — and even Kindergarten — cross-age project groups are involved on stage, behind the scenes and in technical teams.

The addition Anigyεc comes from Akan/Twi and roughly means “celebration of joy” — a perfect fit for this vibrant project.

The creative concept is once again led by Ramona Klaes and Sara Debackere, combining community, creativity and cultural bridge-building in line with our guiding principle “Building Bridges”.

Coffee with DaF ☕

How do children learn language best? Our DaF teachers — Mr Akrong, Mr Boateng and Ms Schoechert — would like to explore this question with you.

Once a month, the Thursday morning session will be combined with the existing Parent Café. All parents from Kindergarten and School are warmly invited.

First session: 26 March 2026.

New Interns 

We are delighted to welcome three dedicated interns to our school community:

Helena Gleiß has been at the German International School Accra since early February. Her voluntary service with weltwärts in Tanzania significantly shaped her intercultural openness, and she is eager to contribute actively to school life.

Frieda Osei is studying Primary Education at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Having attended an international school in Ghana herself, she brings valuable intercultural perspectives.

Nele Thierfelder studies Sport and Work-Technology-Economics at the University of Potsdam and has been supporting classes across all grade levels since February.

We warmly welcome Helena, Frieda and Nele and wish them an inspiring time at the German International School Accra. 🌍✨

Current Composition of the Parent Representation

Mr Matthias Rheinberger has today taken over the chair of the Parent Representation from Ms Paulien Peeters-Becker. Ms Peeters-Becker will continue to serve the committee as a committed Kindergarten parent representative. Mr Kofi Ako Owiredu continues in his role as Deputy Parent Representative.

We sincerely thank Ms Peeters-Becker for her dedicated service as chair and look forward to continued trusting cooperation with Mr Rheinberger and the entire parent representation team for the benefit of our students.

Waste Separation at GISA ♻️

Join and support our environmental initiative: collect old paper and books and place them in the marked bin opposite the caretaker’s office.

In cooperation with Shinefeel Paper Recycling, the collected paper is processed into toilet paper — a shared contribution to protecting our environment. 🌍♻️

Anniversary Moment with the Staff

Before today’s staff meeting, a special anniversary cake was ceremonially cut. Our sincere thanks go to all staff members for their dedication and commitment — not only during yesterday’s celebration but also in preparation for tomorrow’s GISA Cup. 🎂✨

Nursery and Kindergarten

This week in the nursery was all about preparing for Ghana Day 🇬🇭✨
The children created small flags in the colours of Germany 🇩🇪 and Ghana using recycled materials. Through this activity, they developed creativity, fine motor skills and an awareness of different cultures 🎨✂️

During morning circle, the children learned a traditional music game and accompanied it rhythmically with drums 🥁🎶, strengthening their sense of community, rhythm and intercultural learning.

A colourful, musical and connecting week! 🫶🏾

Alongside our cheerful daily routine with Morning Circle 🌞, Learning Time 📚 and English Time 🇬🇧, we spent the past days intensively preparing for our Ghana Day — “Three Nations Celebrate Together” here in Accra 🇬🇭. The children practised with great enthusiasm, singing 🎶, dancing 💃🕺 and rehearsing together.

It was wonderful to see how motivated and proud the children were and how much joy, courage and team spirit they showed ❤️🌟 The performance was a great success and a very special moment for the group 👏✨

We also had the pleasure of celebrating three birthdays 🎂🥳

We are grateful for this lively week full of shared experiences and wish you and your families a relaxing weekend ☀️🌿

Primary School

Grade 1/2

In Grade 1/2 Mathematics, the children deepened and confidently applied the concepts of commutative problems, inverse operations, doubles, halves and results. Working in pairs in a quiz format, they asked each other questions, explained their solutions and then swapped roles — for example: “What is half of 14?”, “What is the inverse of 7 + 5 = 12?” or “What is double 7?”
Next week, we will focus on solids and shapes in Mathematics.

In Art, the focus was on colours and emotions. The children learned to mix primary colours to create new shades. They applied this knowledge practically in a tie-dye project, designing colourful patterns on cloth. The students also used colours to express feelings and moods.

In English, the children continued working on phonetics, focusing on the sounds /ff/, /ll/, /zz/ and /ss/. They practised identifying these sounds in the middle and at the end of words and then created their own sentences. Word-search activities helped them find and consolidate the target vocabulary.

In German, the cursive writing course continues to bring great joy to many children. They also practise reading comprehension at differentiated levels according to their individual learning progress. Spelling skills are developing visibly, with students increasingly applying spelling strategies correctly.

Grade 3/4

This week, our class once again worked diligently and with great focus.

In German lessons, the children enthusiastically wrote new three-sentence stories and exchanged feedback during writing conferences. We also worked on focus words containing “ä” and examined them more closely. The adjective vocabulary cards were further developed and expanded, allowing the children’s vocabulary to grow continuously.

In Mathematics, students practised addition and subtraction within their respective number ranges. In Grade 3, particular emphasis was placed on calculations involving bridging to the next hundred. The children learned and practised different strategies to calculate more confidently and independently.

Following their geometric exploration of the Fibonacci sequence, students now work independently in the Mathematics support band using learning software tailored to their individual needs. This allows them not only to deepen content from regular lessons but also to discover further fascinating aspects of mathematics.

DaF Intensive Class

This week, the DaF Intensive Class consolidated the topics and vocabulary from Lessons 1 to 3. The motivated learners from both Primary and Secondary levels compiled key questions from the units and prepared for interviews through role plays on the topic of family — including age, origin, family members, pets and preferences. Some students have already conducted interviews with educators and teachers.

In recognition of their efforts to speak German as consistently as possible in everyday situations, the learners elected the first German Queen of the DaF Intensive Class. Congratulations!

As part of team-building activities, students individually reflected on the first weeks and then shared their suggestions for improvement and their highlights within the group.

During the week, the DaF Intensive Group also completed a vocabulary test covering Lessons 1 to 3.

Secondary School

Grade 5

This week in German lessons, we reviewed all key content on the topic of fables and also wrote our own fables. We are now well prepared for next week’s class test.

In Mathematics, the revision for the class test and the newly introduced card system made our work particularly productive. After the test, we look forward to further interactive learning opportunities.

In Geography/History (Grades 5 and 6), informative presentations on key events in space exploration were completed, and the lapbooks on “Ancient Egypt” were further developed. Over the next two weeks, the topic will be explored in a differentiated station-based approach at various levels.

Grade 6

There was once again a lot happening in Grade 6 this week — we researched, wrote, calculated, presented and discussed together.

In German, we continued working intensively on fable animals and their typical characteristics. Through careful research, we identified suitable opposite pairs and gained a better understanding of how animals in fables represent human traits. To conclude, students wrote their own fables and implemented their ideas creatively. In our joint German lessons, we also continued working on our class stories and created matching illustrations.

In Mathematics, the focus was on volume and capacity. We began by working with cube buildings and explored in a hands-on way how to determine the volume of solids. It became clear that counting the individual cubes gives the volume. We then worked intensively on volume units and learned how cubic millimetres, cubic centimetres, cubic decimetres and cubic metres are related.

A special highlight was our practical classroom experiment: together we measured and marked out one cubic metre. How many sixth graders fit into a cubic metre? This question caused great amazement — and lots of laughter. We also calculated that one cubic metre equals 1000 dm³. Building on this, we practised confidently converting volume units. Finally, we focused on calculating the volume of cuboids using the formula length × width × height.

In Biology, we carefully approached the topic of Human Sexuality and Reproduction. As this is a sensitive subject, we first established a safe framework for discussion and agreed on rules for respectful and open communication. The focus then turned to puberty and the physical and emotional changes in boys and girls. Questions were clarified, and these changes were understood as a natural process.

In Geography, students presented their work on space with great enthusiasm. At the same time, they continued working diligently on their Egypt lapbooks.

An eventful and varied week lies behind us, full of new insights, creative ideas and shared learning moments.

DaF Class 5/6

This week, students once again worked intensively on the topic of health, with a special focus on prevention and mindfulness. Using examples, they developed strategies for avoiding stress and for consciously taking breaks to recharge their energy. It became clear that everyone has their own ways of “recharging their batteries.”

Another focus was a differentiated discussion about computer games. The class examined both opportunities and risks. On the one hand, the potential danger of gaming addiction was addressed; on the other hand, students highlighted that computer games can also bring joy, foster community and create a sense of achievement.

Next week, we will begin a new topic: “Places and Cities and the Environment We Live In,” looking at different living environments in Ghana and Germany. We are looking forward to many personal insights and comparisons.

Grade 7/8

In Mathematics, Grade 8 worked intensively on nets of prisms. Students drew and analysed different nets, such as star nets and band nets, and explored how three-dimensional bodies can be represented on a flat surface. The class also completed a class test.

Grade 7 prepared for their test by revising the topics “Lines in Triangles” and “Mappings.” Once again, it became clear how fascinating geometric relationships can be. The topic of mappings will now be explored further through project-based learning.

In Ethics, we watched a film about a person affected by bullying and then discussed the immediate and long-term consequences. We also addressed responsibility, civil courage and respectful interaction.

The first exciting presentations on Groß Friedrichsburg were delivered. In addition, letters to the author of the book “Red Eagles” as well as to Ghanaian and German historians were prepared.

In Biology, discussions became particularly engaging and even controversial. Using the example of fast food, we examined animal welfare, ethical questions and health aspects and critically reflected on our own consumption behaviour.

In Physics, Grades 7 and 8 explored the concept of density and the relationship between mass and volume. Students calculated the volumes of regular solids such as cuboids and cylinders and gained initial insights into irregular solids.

In Chemistry, students entered the world of acids. They learned about their properties, discussed benefits and risks and carried out an experiment on acidic reactions under strict safety procedures.

In Physical Education, students developed their own fitness workouts in small groups, each targeting five muscle groups. The programmes were presented and tried out together — a successful combination of theory, practice and teamwork.

In Geography, the sustainability triangle was examined using the example of mass tourism in Mallorca, highlighting the connections between ecological, economic and social factors.

In German, students continued working intensively on their “personal marsupial” project. They researched characteristics, habitats and lifestyles in Australia and documented their findings creatively in individual portfolios. First presentations have already begun.

In our joint German lessons, we also explored German schools abroad, including the German School Cairo, German School London, German School Istanbul and the German International School Abu Dhabi.

As a next step, students will write personal letters to learners at these schools, further practising the structure and style of personal correspondence.

It is impressive to see how much interest, care and creativity students are investing in their projects. We look forward to the finished presentations and letters.

Dates & Outlook

60th Anniversary – Event Framework

🏆 Saturday, 28 February 2026
GISA Cup

🏆 Monday, 02 March 2026
GISA Cup – Kids Edition

🇬🇭 Friday, 06 March 2026
Independence Day (Ghana)
National Holiday

⚽ Monday, 30 March 2026, 7:45 pm
Germany 🇩🇪 vs. Ghana 🇬🇭
International Friendly Match
Location: Stuttgart

🏖️ Monday, 30 March – Friday, 10 April 2026
Easter Break

🎒 Monday, 30 March – Thursday, 02 April 2026
Holiday Camp

📚 Monday, 13 April 2026
First Day of School after the Easter Break

🎭 Wednesday & Thursday, 04–05 June 2026, 6 pm
Encanto Anigyεc – School Musical
GISA takes the stage!