issue 7 I 20 september 2024
Gutenberg Post
Book Week at GISS
GRÜSSE Vom schulleiter
Liebe Eltern, Schüler und Freunde der GISS,
unsere Schule ist ein lebendiger Ort des gemeinsamen Lernens, Lehrens und Wachsens. In den vergangenen Wochen durften wir an der GISS zahlreiche eindrucksvolle Beweise für diesen Zusammenhalt und die Kreativität unserer Schulgemeinschaft erleben. Einige dieser bewegenden Erlebnisse werden Sie in dieser Ausgabe der Gutenberg Post noch einmal dokumentiert finden.
Wir alle verfolgen gemeinsam ein bedeutendes Ziel: Die uns anvertrauten Kinder und Jugendlichen auf ihrem Weg des lebenslangen Lernens zu begleiten und ihnen die bestmöglichen Rahmenbedingungen zur Entfaltung ihrer individuellen Potenziale zu bieten. Diese herausfordernde Aufgabe können wir nur im engen Austausch und in Zusammenarbeit miteinander bewältigen. Sie kennen sicherlich das afrikanische Sprichwort: „Es braucht ein ganzes Dorf, um ein Kind zu erziehen.“ Dies verdeutlicht, wie wichtig unser gemeinsames Engagement ist.
Es erfüllt mich mit Freude und Dankbarkeit, Teil dieses „Dorfes“ zu sein, das sich um das Wohl unserer Schüler kümmert. In den ersten Wochen des kommenden Terms möchten wir zusammen mit den Schülern die Umkleideräume der Turnhalle neu gestalten. Dieser Prozess ist mir besonders wichtig, da die Zusammenarbeit mit den Schülern nicht nur ein Gefühl der Eigenverantwortung für das Erreichte schafft, sondern auch dazu beiträgt, das Gemeinschaftsgefühl zu stärken und die Verbundenheit innerhalb unserer Schulgemeinschaft zu fördern.
Darüber hinaus plane ich, gemeinsam mit Ihnen ein weiteres spannendes Campusentwicklungsprojekt in Angriff zu nehmen: Der Außenbereich hinter dem Musik- und Kunstraum bedarf dringend einer kreativen Neugestaltung. Ich lade Sie herzlich ein, sich an diesem Projekt zu beteiligen, damit wir gemeinsam einen schönen und einladenden Außenbereich gestalten können, der sowohl den Schülern als auch der gesamten Schulgemeinschaft zugutekommt.
Falls Sie Interesse haben, uns bei diesem Vorhaben zu unterstützen, würde ich mich sehr freuen, von Ihnen zu hören. Auch für das Schülerprojekt zur Verschönerung der Umkleideräume sind wir noch auf der Suche nach engagierten freiwilligen Helfern.
Den genauen Ablauf beider Aktivitäten werden wir in einem offenen Austausch mit allen Interessierten abstimmen, um sicherzustellen, dass jeder die Möglichkeit hat, sich einzubringen.
Ich wünsche Ihnen und Ihren Familien eine angenehme letzte Woche im Term 3 sowie erholsame und entspannte Ferien.
Michael Cordes
Principal/Schulleiter
gREETINGS fROM the principal
Dear Parents, Students and Friends of GISS,
Our school is a vibrant place of learning, teaching and growing together. Over the past few weeks, we at GISS have experienced numerous impressive examples of this cohesion and the creativity of our school community. You will find some of these exciting experiences documented once again in this issue of the Gutenberg Post.
We all share a common goal: to accompany the children and young people entrusted to us on their path of lifelong learning and to offer them the best possible conditions to develop their individual potential. We can only accomplish this challenging task in close exchange and cooperation with each other. You are no doubt familiar with the African proverb: “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” This illustrates how important our joint commitment is.
It fills me with joy and gratitude to be part of this “village” that cares for the wellbeing of our students. In the first few weeks of the coming term, together with our students, we would like to redesign the changing rooms in the sports hall. This process is particularly important to me, as working with the students not only creates a sense of ownership of what has been achieved, but also helps strengthen the sense of community and foster connectedness within our school community.
I also plan to work with you on another exciting campus development project: The outdoor area behind the music and art room is in desperate need of a creative makeover. I invite you to get involved in this project so that together we can create a beautiful and inviting outdoor space that will benefit both the students and the entire school community.
If you are interested in helping us with this project, I would be delighted to hear from you. We are also still looking for committed volunteers for the students' project to improve the changing rooms. We will coordinate the exact schedule for both activities in an open exchange with all interested parties to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to get involved.
I wish you and your families an enjoyable last week of Term 3 and a restful and relaxing break.
Michael Cordes
Principal/Head of School
Term motto:
Fostering a Sense of Belonging
Term motto: Fostering a Sense of Belonging
THANK YOU to everyone who made our Christmas Market a record-breaking success! Over 7,000 visitors experienced the magic of the event in August and it was all thanks to the incredible efforts of our parent and student volunteers, GISS staff, external market stallholders, and the generous support from our local community.
From delicious waffles, pea soup, berliners, and mulled wine to hearty German sausages, Kartoffelpuffer, and pork knuckle sandwiches, there was something for everyone. A special shoutout goes to the classes, parents, and staff volunteers who helped prepare over 200 litres of waffle dough and delicious pea soup, and more than 500 litres of aromatic Glühwein and Kinderpunsch. You helped us serve over 3,000 sausages, 2,000 pretzels, 600 Berliners, and over 500 portions of apple strudel, danishes, and gingerbread men. Thanks to our dedicated parents and staff, we also sorted and sold thousands of books.
While the traditional lantern walks, face painting, marshmallow roasting, art & craft stall, rides, and roller skating were a highlight for the little ones, the grown-ups enjoyed wonderful performances by our Junior and Senior Choirs, Concert and Rock Bands, Wind and String Ensembles, as well as by our very own principal, Michael Cordes.
We also want to extend our gratitude to our main sponsor, Audi and the Volkswagen Group Australia, for their invaluable support. We achieved a new record in sales, with all the profits going towards improving and landscaping our oval area—a project that will benefit every student. Thank you very much to everyone!
GISS CHRISTMAS MARKET - BIGGER THAN EVER!
A few sausages and some waffle dough were left over, and much to the students' delight, they were cooked by staff and served for lunch on Monday.
DANKE an alle, die unseren Weihnachtsmarkt zu einem rekordverdächtigen Erfolg gemacht haben! Über 7.000 BesucherInnen erlebten den Zauber der Veranstaltung im August, und das alles dank des unglaublichen Einsatzes unserer freiwilligen Eltern und SchülerInnen, der GISS-MitarbeiterInnen, der externen MarktstandbetreiberInnen und der großzügigen Unterstützung durch unsere Gemeinde.
Von leckeren Waffeln, Erbsensuppe, Berlinern und Glühwein bis hin zu deftigen deutschen Würstchen, Kartoffelpuffern und Schweinshaxen war für jeden etwas dabei. Ein besonderes Lob geht an die Klassen, Eltern und freiwilligen MitarbeiterInnen, die bei der Zubereitung von über 200 Litern Waffelteig und leckerer Erbsensuppe sowie mehr als 500 Litern aromatischem Glühwein und Kinderpunsch geholfen haben. Sie haben dazu beigetragen, dass wir über 3.000 Würstchen, 2.000 Brezeln, 600 Berliner und über 500 Portionen Apfelstrudel, Gebäck und Lebkuchenmänner servieren konnten. Dank unserer engagierten Eltern und Mitarbeiter haben wir außerdem Tausende von Büchern sortiert und verkauft.
Während die traditionellen Laternenwanderungen, das Schminken, das Marshmallow-Rösten, der Kunst- und Bastelstand, die Fahrgeschäfte und das Rollschuhlaufen ein Höhepunkt für die Kleinen waren, erfreuten sich die Erwachsenen an den wunderbaren Darbietungen unserer Junior- und Seniorchöre, der Konzert- und Rockbands, der Bläser- und Streicherensembles sowie unseres Schulleiters Michael Cordes.
Wir möchten uns auch bei unserem Hauptsponsor Audi und der Volkswagen Group Australia für ihre unschätzbare Unterstützung bedanken. Wir haben einen neuen Umsatzrekord erzielt, und der gesamte Erlös fließt in die Verbesserung und Gestaltung unseres Sportgeländes - ein Projekt, das allen SchülerInnen zugute kommen wird. Ein herzliches Dankeschön an alle!
GISS weihnachtsmarkt - GRÖSSER DENN JE!
Ein paar Würstchen und etwas Waffelteig blieben übrig, und zur Freude der SchülerInnen wurden sie von den MitarbeiterInnen zubereitet und am Montag zum Mittagessen serviert.
alumni at the christmas market
As is our GISS tradition, we always look forward to catching up with our Alumni who visit our Christmas Market, and this year was no exception! It was delightful to catch up with Nadia, Erica, Nicholas, Amir, Kermit, Mika, and Lea from our Class of 2019 who popped into the Alumni Lounge, and to hear that most of them have already graduated their undergraduate degree and are now studying post-grad courses and/or, making promising steps into their working careers.
We also had alumni from as far back as 2011, but of course, Yannick is now working as a Biology teacher at GISS so he was kept busy in the Glühwein Kiosk. Mira, from our Class of 2018 came to see us, as she does every year, and it was exciting to hear that she's carrying on from her Masters programme, directly into her PhD study in Linguistics at ANU, focusing on the languages of Papua New Guinea where, as an expert in this field, she is already being called upon by government agencies to assist with translations and inter-cultural advice.
Alex from our Class of 2021, who's now in her third year of medical science as a Dalyell Scholar at USYD popped into the Alumni Lounge while she was working as one of the St John's First Aiders at the Christmas Market, and was almost incognito in her St John's uniform.
It was also delightful to catch up with Olga, Mattis, Lucy, Cille, Martin, and Paul from our Class of 2020, Kevin and Sasha from our Class of 2021, and Aleks, Max, Liam, and Lucas from our Class of 2022, along with quite a few smiling faces from our Class of 2023, including Nina, Max, Ralph, Ashton, Luca, Ryan, and Felix who is also working at GISS while he completes his undergraduate degree in Law & Finance at Macquarie University.
Annie Thomson, IB Coordinator
Dominic Arbogast
Isabelle d'Heureuse
We warmly welcome two new casual teachers, Isabelle and Dominic. We also welcome Felicitas, who is doing an internship with our resident Pastor Christian Hohl.
Wir begrüssen herzlich zwei neue Aushilfslehrer/innen, Isabelle und Dominic. Gleichzeitig begrüssen wir Felicitas, die mit Pastor Christian Hohl bis Ende Jahr ein Praktikum absolviert.
staff - mitarbeiter/innen
Felicitas Valva
On the 6th of September - Friday the school parliament came together for a meeting. The school parliament consists of all the class captains from each grade, the school captains from Year 11 and12, the two liaison teachers, and of course the Principal. From now on, we have decided that we are going to meet once a month during lunch time to discuss matters that affect the school. In our most recent meeting, we covered topics like the fire drill and the lockdown that was conducted.
Another thing that has come to our attention is that bathrooms across the school aren’t at their cleanest, so we are asking the students to take extra care of keeping our bathrooms clean. On a positive note, the volleyball team for girls has come into action and we are hoping for more sport teams to form soon! We are all looking forward to German day which is on the 25th of September where students get to showcase their different thoughts on what they think is ‘Typisch Deutsch’.
We are all looking forward to a good spring break- to be back with extra energy in term 4!
Mishka A, Year 7
giss school parliament
On Thursday 19th September, music students presented the inaugural GISS Recital Evening in the Sports Hall. This was an opportunity for students who learn a musical instrument to share their talents in a warm and positive atmosphere. Pianists, guitarists, vocalists, as well as wind and string players who take private lessons outside school hours came together to share their talents and feel the accomplishment of performing their solos or duos in front of an audience.
Many thanks to the students and music tutors who performed; it was a truly lovely evening of music-making, and we look forward to more Recital Evenings in 2025!
Janine Boubbov
Music Teacher and class teacher Year 1/2
giss recital evening
Senior Secondary
(IB)
Senior Secondary (IB)
Junior Secondary
Junior Secondary
Primary
Primary
Preschool
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
Ulrike Miehle/School Counsellor
learning from challenges
In today’s fast-moving world of social media, where immediate gratification is expected, young people often experience anxiety and frustration when they don’t get instant solutions. This can make it hard for them to manage challenges and obstacles.
Schools play a crucial role in fostering a positive learning environment that views mistakes as opportunities for growth and setbacks as valuable learning experiences. Success in school isn’t just about good grades; it’s about building resilience and fostering a growth mindset that helps students push through difficulties and adversities.
Here are some strategies schools can use to nurture perseverance in their students, helping them overcome challenges:
- Teachers can model a growth mindset by sharing their own learning challenges.
- Reflective activities help students to learn from mistakes. Celebrating effort and endurance, not just grades, emphasises the learning process.
- Encouraging teamwork and giving constructive peer feedback also supports this mindset.
- Mindfulness techniques and coping strategies help with managing stress and encourage students to embrace challenges and grow from their experiences.
Let’s encourage our students to learn from challenges and grow as individuals.
Supporting Youth's Transition into Adulthood
