Tomorrow, Saturday September 10, is our first day of school! We hope everyone is well rested from the summer and ready to come back to German School. We have communicated with all our enrolled families via email over the last few weeks and we have mailed out our packages with school information. As always, we ask families to make sure they have heard from us – and check their Inbox (and maybe even Spam folder) for information regarding parking, drop-off and events scheduled on the first day. Bis Samstag!

As Massachusetts is enjoying yet another heat wave, we finally have our dates confirmed for the new school year. Our  first day of school is Saturday, September 10, 2016! We are working hard on preparing for the start of the school year. Families who have enrolled and are confirmed will see emails coming from us in the next couple of weeks with announcements and information regarding school. Our calendar is posted here.

Please enjoy the rest of the summer, don’t forget to speak and read German with your children while you are at the beach, lake or traveling the world! Frohe Ferien und bis bald.

Have you counted the Saturdays yet? School day #30 for the 2015-2016 school year is coming up and is sure to be a fun day (rain or shine)! The event team is busy getting ready and the forecast looks great. We are keeping our fingers crossed! All students should arrive by 9:45 a.m. at the Boylston Schul-Verein in Walpole on Saturday. The program will begin under the pavillon at 10 a.m. Food and beverage lines will open at 11a.m. We are looking forward to celebrating our last school day with our fantastic community of families and teachers. See you then.

Families who currently do not have a child enrolled at the German Saturday School or are on the waitlist, can register for the 2016-2017 school year starting on April 30 until May 20th.

Did you have a chance to review our 2016-2017 registration and school policies?

If yes, go ahead and use this link to register.

The German Saturday School Boston invites applications for open teaching positions for the 2016/17 school year. The school is looking for applicants with the following background:

• native fluency in German
• a teaching degree along with teaching experience
• a flexible and enthusiastic personality

Classes take place on 30 Saturdays from September through May from 9:30am to 12:30pm at the Diamond Middle School in Lexington, MA. Some afternoon attendance for faculty meetings is required.

Our faculty consists of 36 teachers who share the love for the German language and enjoy teaching children and teenagers of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Many, but not all of them, are heritage German language learners. Our curriculum is designed to enable students to actively communicate in German by giving them a strong foundation in understanding German, building their vocabulary, speaking, reading and writing. German is the primary language of instruction in all grades.

Our school currently teaches more than 400 students from pre-K through 12th Grade. Our older students may take internationally recognized standardized tests – from the basic IVA A2 through the advanced DSD I and II exams for those students who perform at the highest language proficiency level.

Candidates should contact the principal, Claudia Bonmassar, to learn more about the current positions or to send in an application. She can be reached at: principal@gssb.org.

Families who are currently registered at the German Saturday School are invited to register via our Parent Portal between March 20 and April 9 for the next school year! Yes, we are thinking fall already. We hope to have many of you back at school!

As of Friday late afternoon, we will be spared the giant snowstorm that has started to move up the East Coast and school is on! There will be some snow arriving tomorrow, but lucky for our students, only in the afternoon. If anything changes, we will post an update here.

Forecast for Lexington, MA as of January 22, 16:15pm.

On Sunday, September 27th, our long-time teacher Uta Fuchs received the “2015 Teacher of German Award” presented by the Associated German Societies of New England (AGSNE) during the celebrations of the German Heritage Day at the Boylston Schul-Verein.

Eva Maria Chase from the Associated German Societies of New England with the award recipient Uta Fuchs.

Uta Fuchs has been on the Saturday School’s faculty for more than 16 years and is currently both a 2nd grade classroom teacher as well as head teacher for grades 1 and 2. She is also teaching full time at the German International School Boston.

Fellow teachers and staff came out to Walpole to celebrate with Uta. Birgit Danckert, previous award recipient was present, so was Claudia Bonmassar, our Schulleiterin. Our administrative manager Heike Hrinishin and teacher Bettina Drew (also members of the Sängerchor) joined in the celebrations.

The school administration congratulates Uta on this well deserved award!

From left to right: Bettina Drew, Eva Maria Chase, Birgit Danckert, Claudia Bonmassar, Uta Fuchs, Heike Hrinishin.

School is off to a great start! It was great to see the Diamond Middle School again bustling with German School activity last week as we welcomed all students to their first school day. New and veteran parents are cordially invited to the parent orientation in the auditorium at 10 AM tomorrow to hear the administration (principal and school administration) talk about the school, introduce members of the administration and hear important announcements for the next school year.

You know the countdown to school is on when this package arrives at your house: All enrolled families should receive the mailing this week with information on their child’s assigned classes & teachers & classrooms, parent information, a family contact verification sheet and importantly, to have on hand when questions arise: a copy of the student / parent handbook.

We are looking forward to welcoming everyone back on Saturday, September 12th, 2015. Acceptance packages with information regarding classes, teachers, parent volunteers and our full calendar (pdf) will be mailed out to all accepted students by the end of next week!  Stay tuned for updates coming soon!

The German Saturday School Boston invites applications for open 5th and 7th  grade teaching positions for the 2015/16 school year. The school is looking for applicants with the following background:

• – native fluency in German
• – a teaching degree along with teaching experience
• – a flexible and enthusiastic personality

Classes take place on 30 Saturdays from September through May from 9:30am to 12:30pm at the Diamond Middle School in Lexington, MA. Some afternoon attendance for faculty meetings is required.

Our faculty consists of  36 teachers who share the love for the German language and enjoy teaching children and teenagers of diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Many, but not all of them, are heritage German language learners. Our curriculum is designed to enable students to actively communicate in German by giving them a strong foundation in understanding German, building their vocabulary, speaking, reading and writing. German is the primary language of instruction in all grades.

Our school currently teaches more than 400 students from pre-K through 12th Grade. Our older students may take internationally recognized standardized tests – from the basic IVA A2 through the advanced DSD I and II exams for those students who perform at the highest language proficiency level.

Candidates should contact the principal, Claudia Bonmassar, to learn more about these positions or to send in an application. She can be reached at: principal@gssb.org.

Spiel & Spass auf der Wiese

We did it once again: We held a wonderful “rain or shine” Abschlussfeier on Saturday, May 16th without a drop of rain! Our younger students entertained us with singing “Lieder” that made us look forward to summer vacation;

Generalkonsul Rolf Schütte übergibt eine Urkunde an eine Schülerin.

our older students were recognized with diplomas and Abschlussurkunden for their hard work and incredible commitment to attending our school for many years; and we honored teachers for their 10 year work anniversaries! Kartoffelsalat, Würstchen and Kuchen were plentiful (thank you event team) and the children enjoyed Spiele, Facepainting, and yes, some exploring in the woods… Thank you to the Boylston Schul-Verein for hosting us each year to celebrate the end of our 30-school day calendar in this very special way! We will see many of you back in Lexington on September 12, 2015 for our first day of the 2015-2016 school year.

Was wäre eine Abschlussfeier ohne das (klebrige) Wettessen!

Our Abschlussfeier takes place on Saturday, May 16th at the Boylston Schul-Verein in Walpole – rain or shine (we are hoping for shine!). All students are requested to arrive by 9:45 a.m. The official program will start at 10 a.m. followed by lunch and games on the field. This is a wonderful family event to conclude our 2014-2015 school year. See you in Walpole!

Tauziehen – immer wieder ein grosser Spass!

New and waitlisted families can register for the next school year starting May 1st, 2015. Please see Registration for details. As in years past, demand for our lower grades is high. Returning students and their siblings who have registered and paid during the March/April registration period, have priority over students who register now.

Our weekly e-mail newsletter

We would like to remind parents to check their e-mail Inbox for the weekly newsletter that is sent out on Thursdays with the most important school announcements for the next school day. If it’s not in your Inbox, check the “Spam” Folder to see if it accidentally may have landed there.

• AATG Test: This Saturday is the make-up testing day for the AATG exam: 6A Neumann, 6B Thuswaldner, 8B Schumann, postponed from last week because of the snowstorm. All students must bring their own laptops and headset to take the test, and should take the AATG practice tests on the laptop they are bringing to school to check that all necessary browser settings etc. are working.
• German book donations for the library flea market are accepted this Saturday or next Saturday, February 7th when the Flohmarkt is being held.

And since we are in the middle of winter weather, another reminder, should we have to cancel school, an announcement will be made via e-mail and txt messages, and a notification posted on this Web site by 7AM on Saturday morning. Thank you for your understanding!

For all other announcements, please review the weekly newsletter!

Due to the weather conditions this morning, school has been cancelled for today, Saturday January 24, 2015.

Our make-up day is Saturday, April 25, 2015.

Did you know you can also check our school closing at WHDH?

*** We will post whether to cancel school by 7am on Saturday morning (see our Handbook, page 20, “school cancellations”) ***

With so little snow so far this winter, no wonder the weather people are all over our potential first significant snow storm this season, which – unfortunately for us – is timed to hit on a Saturday! However, the forecast models are still being run and updated, and if anything, it is sure to be wet and messy tomorrow. We advise everyone who is commuting to school, to leave early and to drive carefully! We are in contact with the Town of Lexington who will inform us typically the night before if they will not to open the school building. So stay tuned – we will post updates here, on our Facebook page, and send out an e-mail, should we have to cancel. School cancellations will also be posted on WHDH’s school cancellation service. (In case of school cancellation, our make-up day is on April, 25, 2015)

So far, school is scheduled. Please take note the following events that are planned for tomorrow:

• Last day of AATG German Testing for the following classes: 6A Neumann, 6B Thuswaldner, 8B Schumann. All students are required to bring their own laptops and headsets. Students should have taken the AATG practice tests on the laptop that is being brought to school to ensure that all necessary browser settings etc. are working.
• DSD II Sprachdiplom candidates will have their last official class before taking the individual oral exams on Sunday. Good luck to all of them!
• Parent Speaker Series: “How to bake bread at home”, 11:30 am to 12:30 pm in the cafeteria

This  year’s annual school Weihnachtsfeier takes place on Saturday, December 13, 2014 in the auditorium of the Lexington High School (251 Waltham Street). The official program starts at 10 a.m. The program will consist of student performances as well as the presentation of diplomas and prizes to students.

After the performances, everyone is invited to “Kaffee & Weihnachtsgebäck” in the cafeteria. Some classes may also have organized an Elternfrühstück – specific tables for those classes will be assigned.

Important reminders for families:

• Arrival Time: Students should arrive by 9:45 a.m. at the latest so that our teachers can help get the children seated and organized for the performance
• Absences: If a student will be absent on the 13th, please notify the teachers in advance
• Dress Code: Students who perform are asked to wear festive clothing (no jeans, please)
• No-nos: No food or drink is allowed in the auditorium
• Elternfrühstück: Parents who organize an Elternfrühstück should check in with members of the event team on where to set up

The Weihnachtsfeier counts as a school day and attendance is expected. Regular classes resume on Saturday, December 20 at the Diamond Middle School. After that, we will break for winter vacation and return on January 10, 2015.

We are moving into fall and typically, the next several weeks are busy with preparing and enjoying various celebrations! We have a few calendar updates for you, so please click for our most recent calendar here. We are also looking for a qualified music/drama teacher who could be providing music/theater enrichment for our upper classes (middle school and higher) as part of our Saturday instruction. Native fluency in German a must. If you are interested or know of anyone, please contact our principal Claudia Bonmassar.

Parents are asked to wear their school IDs at all times when in the building

All parents are invited to join the school committee members and the principal on Saturday, September 13 at 10:00 a.m. in the auditorium for this year’s parent orientation. The one-hour talk will touch on administrative news, school calendar and events, as well as this year’s curriculum, and there will be opportunity for Q&A with the administration.

Die lustigen Almdudler are playing at the 2014 Oktoberfest (c) Die lustigen Almdudler

Can’t make it to Munich to the Oktoberfest? Stop by the Oktoberfest this weekend in Walpole at the BSV for a real taste of Munich. It’s the largest event of this kind in New England and you will not be disappointed. Family friendly activities in the afternoon, dancing to the Lustigen Almdudler in the Pavilion, plenty of food (Pancake House, Cake House, real German handmade potato salad…to just name a few) and German beer. Parking is free, admission to the festival area is $10/adult (children under 12 are free).