This just came in: Uta Fuchs, 2nd Grade teacher and head teacher for the elementary level grades at our school won a grant to pay for the participation at the ACTFL Conference in Florida this fall. The ACTFL Conference is the largest conference of teachers of foreign languages in the U.S. and a great forum to learn about the latest teaching methods in foreign language instruction. The grant was given by the StADaF (Ständige Arbeitsgruppe Deutsch als Fremdsprache) Group at the German Embassy in Washington, D.C. (with support of their arts & culture department). 11 grants were selected by lottery - and Uta Fuchs was among the lucky winners. Congratulations!

Hanna Luecke's 7A won 2nd prize in the AATG 2nd annual New England-wide German skit competition. The title of their winning skit: "Der Kasperle bekommt einen Freund" - congratulations to the entire class for writing, producing (on DVD) and submitting a skit in this competition and taking home 2nd prize!

The winners of the 2008 ZfA-Essay Contest were recently announced and we proudly congratulate six students from our school: 

• 1st Place: Gabrielle Kussmaul (Frau Lister)                          
• 1st Place: Felice Liang (Frau Handte)                                     
• 1st Place: Amanda von Taube (Frau Schinkmann)                
• 2nd Place: Jody-Ann Serani (Frau James)                                    
• 2nd Place: Caterina Bonmassar (Frau Moceri)                        
• 3rd Place: Stefan Kussmaul (Frau Burggraf)                           
• 1st Place: 4th Grade class (Frau Burggraf) - group winner 

This contest is issued and sponsored by the ZfA ("Zentralstelle für Auslandsschulwesen") for the Eastern half of the United States. This year's topic, one on many minds these days: "Environmental Protection".  There were more than 700 entries in total, 90 alone from the German Saturday School Boston. We'd like to thank our teachers who encouraged and helped students to submit essays and congratulate our seven winners!
 

If you are interested in registering your child/children for the 2008/09 school year at the German Saturday School Boston, please be advised that the classes Preschool through 4th Grade are currently full. Please read here how to proceed if you'd like to be placed on a waiting list or register a child for another grade.

Dankeschön Program:
The forms to donate for the Dankeschön Program went out a few Saturdays ago in your child's backback. If you've misplaced the document, but would like to donate, you can download the form.

On April 5th, the library team honored Kris VanOpdorp for her long-standing work as a founder and supporter of what from now on will be called the "Krisjann VanOpdorp Bücherei an der Deutschen Sonnabendschule Boston". Kris founded the library as a parent initiative ("Elternbücherei") shortly after she enrolled her daughter in 1992.

The German Saturday School Boston, the oldest language school in Massachusetts and one of the largest German Saturday Schools in the United States, invites applications for middle and high school teaching positions for the 2008/09 school year. We’re looking for applicants with the following background:
 

Before you begin with the registration process, please read the following important announcements:
 
1. Incoming preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Grade classes are full
The preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade classes for the 2008/09 school year are already full after placing students who have applied to date. However, it is possible that spaces may become available during the summer. If you would like to place your child(ren) on the waiting list, please email the following information for each child you wish to register to registrar@germansaturdayschoolboston.org: child's name and date of birth, along with your contact information (address, telephone number and email address). Once we receive your information, we will send you an invoice for a one-time, non-refundable $25 waiting list fee per student. We will notify you in case a space becomes available. Should no space for your child/children become available before the 2008/09 school year and you are placed on the waiting list, you will be able to register next year during the preferred registration period for current and waitlisted families. 
 
2. Important steps to remember during registration process:

Come down to the hallway in front of the library for our Spring Flea Market on Saturday, March 29 from 9am until noon. Browse through German books, games and media for some easy shopping and meet fellow parents. All proceeds go towards our own library! See you then...
 

Despite the snow last week, all 14 students taking the challenging B1 (11 candidates) and C1 (3 candidates) German language exams made it to school and completed the written part of the exam. They are now preparing for the oral portion  - to be held next Saturday, March 15. Our school consultant, Dr. Inke Pinkert-Saeltzer, traveling from Washington D.C. will be presiding over the oral exam this year. We'd like to express special thanks to Ute Groening and Annemarie Weicker for preparing our students so diligently.