issue 4 I 17 may 2024

Gutenberg Post

Kookaburras by Year 2 students

GRÜSSE Vom schulleiter

Liebe Mitglieder der Schulgemeinde,

In der letzten Woche habe ich am runden Tisch der Deutschen Institutionen beim Deutschen Generalkonsulat teilgenommen, und diese Woche haben unser Vorstandsvorsitzender Hansjörg Knieling und ich den neuen Leiter der Deutsch-Australischen Industrie- und Handelskammer, Marko Walde, an unserer Schule begrüßt. Bei solchen Gelegenheiten denke ich immer wieder über die Identität unserer Schule nach, die so einzigartig ist.

Schulen sind Orte der Bildung, aber auch der Werteerziehung und der Gemeinschaft. Das wird an der Deutschen Internationalen Schule Sydney, wo Schülerinnen und Schüler aus vielen verschiedenen Teilen der Welt mit unterschiedlichen sprachlichen und kulturellen Hintergründen zusammenkommen, in besonderem Maße deutlich, und dazu trägt auch unser integriertes Konzept als Begegnungsschule bei. Schon von der Preschool an werden die Kinder nicht nach Sprachen getrennt, sondern gemeinsam bilingual auf Deutsch und auf Englisch unterrichtet, und anders als viele andere deutsche Auslandsschulen führen wir das so durch die gesamte Schulzeit weiter. Wir bilden keine Zweige mit unterschiedlichen Klassen, Leistungsniveaus, Sprachen oder Abschlüssen, sondern führen alle gemeinsam zum Internationalen Baccalaureat, das die „international mindedness“ als eine der pädagogischen Kernkompetenzen beschreibt, und eine hervorragende Vorbereitung für das Studium in aller Welt darstellt.

Diese erfolgreiche Schulkultur wollen wir kontinuierlich weiterentwickeln. Deshalb möchte auch ich alle Eltern ganz herzlich zu unserer diesjährigen Jahreshauptversammlung des Schulvereins am 30. Mai einladen. Viel ist an unserer Schule in Bewegung, was der Vorstand mit Ihnen teilen und diskutieren möchte.
Wir freuen uns sehr auf Ihre Teilnahme!

Herzliche Grüße,
Lorenz Metzger
Schulleiter

gREETINGS fROM the principal

Dear Members of the GISS Community,

Last week I took part in the round table conference of German institutions at the German Consulate General, and this week our Chairman of the Board Hansjörg Knieling and I welcomed the new head of the German-Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Marko Walde, to our school. On such occasions I always think about the identity of our school, which is so very unique.

Schools are places of education, but also of values and community. This is particularly evident at the German International School Sydney, where students from many different parts of the world with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds come together and to which our school's intercultural concept contributes. From Preschool onwards, the children are not separated by language, but are taught together bilingually in German and English, and unlike many other German schools abroad, we continue to do so throughout the entire school period. We do not form branches with different classes, performance levels, languages or degrees, but instead lead together to the International Baccalaureate, which describes "international mindedness" as one of the pedagogical core competencies and is an excellent preparation for studying anywhere in the world.

We want to continuously develop this successful school culture. I would therefore also like to cordially invite all parents to this year's Annual General Meeting of the school association on May 30. There is a lot going on at our school that the board would like to share and discuss with you. We are very much looking forward to your participation!

Best wishes

Lorenz Metzger
Principal

Best wishes

Lorenz Metzger
Principal

Term motto: Learn - Lead - Thrive

Facility update

A sandstone amphitheatre was created at the front of the school which can double as an outdoor teaching area.
New turf and grass have been laid above, in the middle and below the amphitheatre to enhance the overall appearance, plus new stairs both from the oval and the playground to improve accessibility and safety.
A brand new Secondary School playground with a climbing structure has been installed an officially opened by the Year 5 and 6 students.
An upgrade to the Primary playground will be finished soon to enable the slide to be used again by creating an extended landing zone as well as refreshed natural stairs from the Kindergarten area.
There is an additiontonal new outdoor seating area for relaxation and gatherings, adjacent to the new Secondary playground.
New lockers for Years 5 to 7 have been installed.
The sports hall floor was completely renovated to improve use and safety.
Various plumbing issues were fixed in the student bathrooms while the playground and stairs were steam-cleaned.
New bubblers in Junior Secondary, next to the sports hall, and a water bottle refill station behind the library have been installed.

term 2 update

It was a busy two weeks during the recent holidays and the we are pleased to inform you of the campus improvements and other changes that have taken place.

Sport hall roof/canteen area
This work has been disappointingly slow and is partially completed, but the quality of what has been done is very good. We are waiting for an update from the contractor but the finish date is still a few weeks away, as it is highly dependent on the weather.

Parking in the drop off zone
Parents are reminded that parking is not permitted in the Preschool drop off zone at the front of the school, both before and after school to enable Preschool families to drop off and collect their children. All parents are asked to observe this please as it protects the safety and care of our youngest students. Preschool parents are also reminded that this area is a 5 minute zone, so if they need to speak with the Preschool staff at any length, please park elsewhere. New signage will also soon be installed as a visual reminder.

Senior leadership changes
As previously communicated by the Board Chair, Mr Kristian Wolf finished as General Manager at GISS on Friday 3 May and Ms Manuela Baumann will commence on 1 August as the new Business Manager. In the interim, Dr Crouch will continue to support the school in his current role.

We are pleased to announce that Ms Rachel Hennig commenced as Head of Primary Monday 6 May.

giss staff - mitarbeiter:innen

We warmly welcome the following new staff members -
Wir begrüssen herzlich unsere neuen Mitarbeiter:innen

Andrew Kovics
Facilities Coordinator

Jessica Da Silva
Primary Teacher

Our students from Year 6 have recently undertaken an education tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage, and democracy.

The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. The Australian Government is contributing funding to our school in the amount of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.

On Saturday, 4 May, GISS and the amazing Junior and Senior Choirs, as well as many GISS families attended the German Cultural Day hosted by the Goethe Institut in Woollahra.

Our choirs did us proud and we thank the students and parents who participated in this lovely event. Thank you too to Mr Pedardig who stepped in for Frau Boubbov who was unfortunately unable to attend on the day.

It was a day of celebrating German culture in all its diversity with a vibrant mix of food, drink, music, dance, language, information, and lots of activities for kids.

german cultural day

Am Samstag, den 4. Mai, nahmen die GISS und die großartigen Junior- und Senior-Chöre sowie viele GISS-Familien am German Cultural Day teil, der vom Goethe-Institut in Woollahra veranstaltet wurde.

Wir sind stolz auf unsere Chöre und danken den SchülerInnen und Eltern, die am diesem tollen Anlass teilgenommen haben. Vielen Dank auch an Herrn Pedardig, der für Frau Boubbov einsprang, die an diesem Tag leider verhindert war.

Es war ein Tag, an dem die deutsche Kultur in ihrer ganzen Vielfalt gefeiert wurde, mit einer lebendigen Mischung aus Essen, Trinken, Musik, Tanz, Sprache, Informationen und vielen Aktivitäten für Kinder.

Senior Secondary
(IB)

Senior Secondary (IB)

Junior Secondary

Primary

Preschool

WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT GISS? | was WAR los an der giss?

WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT GISS?
was WAR los an der giss?

wellbeing

Loneliness and isolation are increasingly common mental health challenges for children and adolescents in Australia. Fostering social connections is crucial for their mental wellbeing, and as a parent/caregiver, you have a significant role in supporting them as they navigate friendships and social networks.

The video below, provided by Smiling Mind, offers practical advice and strategies to empower you in nurturing the skills necessary for children to recognise and to support healthy friendships.

Practise | Supporting foundational friendly skills at home — Smiling Mind

The Resilient Families Program is designed to promote the mental health and wellbeing of children and their families and to assist children in developing fundamental social and emotional skills. Developed by psychologists at Smiling Mind, the program was created through extensive consultations with children and their parents. It is evidence-based and tailored to be easily integrated into everyday family routines. With a diverse range of diverse modules and bite-sized activities, the Resilient Families Program aims to foster unity within families by establishing a common language.

Resilient Families Program — Smiling Mind

How to talk about friendships with your child/teenager?

- tips for parents

Enjoy exploring the resources of Smiling Mind!

Ulrike Miehle/School Counsellor

update on the wellbeing program at giss

In Term 1 we had the Butterfly Education Workshops and Parent Talk about having a healthy relationship with eating and body image. Students gave positive feedback and parents were delighted to have the information evening presented by the Butterfly Education team.

In Term 2 we have had various workshops run by UPP (Unleashing Personal Potential) for the students in Years 5 to 7. These workshops were a great success and the feedback from teachers, students and the event organiser was very positive. The students had lots of fun and learned many valuable lessons.

The students in Years 8 to 10 will also have a very exciting opportunity to enhance their wellbeing. For the next six weeks, individual classes will be going on half-day wellbeing excursions on Fridays, led by the Youth Up Front team (Home - Youth Up Front). The students will be picked up from school by the Youth Up Front team in the morning and they will return to school during the lunch break.

Police at School
On two days in the past week we had visits from two police officers to educate the students from Years 3 –10 in an age-appropriate way about important issues ranging from online safety and behaviour to substance abuse and weapons.

Year 7-9 students are taking part in an anti-cyber bullying program during their Ethics and Religion classes during the next seven weeks this term run by CyBit – Anti-Cyber Bullying Intervention Program by Macquarie University . They will learn about effects of online bullying, the bystander effect and receive some training modules on how to behave if they observe or are part of incidents.

In Term 3 further workshops run by UPP will be held for Years 5 to 7 as well as wellbeing excursions organised by Youth Upfront for Years 8 – 10

We will keep you posted on what is planned further in the year.