CLAUDIA BURGGRAF joined our faculty for the 2007/8 school year. She received her teaching degree from the teacher training University of Heidelberg in Germany and has been teaching at elementary schools in Germany as well as at the German-American School in San Francisco. Claudia is teaching 4th Grade at our school this year. A resident of South Hamilton, Claudia enjoys enjoys skiing, hiking in the local parks and traveling with her family.

ANKE ERNST is joining our faculty “full-time” this year teaching 4th Grade after substituting a few times during the last school year. Anke graduated from the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitaet in Frankfurt as an elementary school teacher and completed her trainee program at an elementary school in Frankfurt. Since then she’s worked at the German Language School in Bangkok and lead the preschool program at the international preschool First Steps, also in Bangkok. After moving half way around the world again, she now resides in Marblehead where her two small children keep her busy when she’s not teaching.

KARIN SCHINKMANN, a faculty member since 2005, prepares our 10th grade students for the official final exam of the German Saturday School, the ZDP (Zentrale Deutschpruefung). She likes to offer her students an academically challenging, student-centered curriculum that is also fun, integrating current newsprint, grammar, projects and German literature into her classroom. Karin has a PhD in Biology from Boston University, and she spent several years as a researcher and instructor at Harvard and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

LILIANE MIRANDA has been a kindergarten teacher with the German Saturday School since 2003. Having worked in a German kindergarten, Liliane believes in making learning fun and employs a variety of games and learning tools in her teaching. During her free time she enjoys nature, as well as urban entertainment.

HANNA LÜCKE has been on the German Saturday School faculty since 2005. After earning her degree in German as a Second Language from Bonn University in 1992, she held teaching positions at Bonn University, New York University (NYU), Denver University, the German School of New York, and Berlitz, as well as many more foreign language institutions in Germany and the U.S. Hanna enjoys teaching at the German Saturday School because it helps her stay in touch with the German-speaking community in Boston.

BETTINA JUNG DREW brings her professional know-how and love of learning to the German Saturday School, where she has been teaching since 1999. Currently one of our second grade teachers, Bettina studied Early Childhood Education in Germany. She has earned her B.A. and continued her professional education through coursework in Early Childhood studies and various other subjects. Her outside activities include tutoring adults and children in German, as well as running a family daycare and owning a pizza parlor. A native of Rheinland Pfalz, Bettina lives in Shrewsbury, MA with her two children.

SILVIA JAMES has been on the German Saturday School Boston faculty since 2002. A childhood development professional with 18 years of teaching experience, Silvia has held several teaching positions in both Germany and the U.S. Currently one of our kindergarten teachers, she is comfortable leading a classroom of younger or older children. Silvia believes in integrated learning: she tailors her teaching style to native and non-native speakers, helping them learn from each other and grow together as a group.

PETRA HUNDEMER-FRIEDMAN joined the German Saturday School faculty in 2005 as a third grade teacher. Her background includes language studies in German, English, Spanish and German as a Foreign Language, as well as teaching experience at various language institutions. In addition to teaching at the German Saturday School, she also teaches grades 2-5 at Newton’s "German Club" as part of the IES After School Foreign Language Clubs, and works as a private tutor for ESL and German.

JUTTA HANDTE has been on the faculty at the German Saturday School since 1998 and is currently teaching the sixth grade. Having studied in Kiel, Germany, Jutta taught German as a foreign language before coming to the US. Jutta engages students in small learning groups and encourages them to learn as a community and help one another. An art lover, Jutta likes to bring this interest to her classroom and in her free time enjoys outdoor activities.

Dr. UTE GRÖNING has been a faculty member at the German Saturday School since 1988. Currently preparing the school’s oldest students for the prestigious Sprachdiplom I and II, she is also the school’s official administrator for the Zentrale Deutschpruefung (ZDP) in the 10th grade. A particularly gifted academic, she holds a doctorate in German Literature and hopes one day to be able to offer literature courses as part of the Saturday School curriculum.