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