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Original poster

German Schools

663 replies

finknottle · 15/02/2008 10:09

Get it off your chest

There are, as anywhere, good and bad aspects to the school system.

So if you want advice, help or an embittered rant - feel free.

On a postive note - anyone see the thread on Primary about security? I've just taken dd to kg and on the way back wanted to drop off a school library book ds2 has had since before Christmas and forgot again.
All I did is walk in, went to his classroom and left it on his PE kit so he'll see it at break.

No one worries unduly about security here. The caretaker has an office (all glass) outside the main building but he's rarely in it.

Is it only village schools? Looks so odd to me to have a school "locked down".

OP posts:
admylin · 07/07/2008 09:55

Yes I think it's standard 4th year work. They had a written test to pass first and most of the info was given in Sachkunde, and they go to the police übungsplatz to practise going round roads with signs and traffic lights.

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 09:56

There you go, one thing I do like about GS!

admylin · 07/07/2008 10:00

Oooh we've found a good thing about the system, see if you search long enough you do find good in everything!

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 10:02

so let's get quickly back into moaning mode: why are they just playing games at school though? The holidays are quite a long break from schoolwork so I don't see the point in doing nothing for the last 2-3 weeks as well.

Well I dunno ours is still having spelling tests, not sure what else they are doing. Dd has been off sick anyway

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 10:08

You got your reports early admylin. I thought they always got them on the last day of term. Can't remember now when we got it last year. Maybe it was earlier so you could sign it and return it?

admylin · 07/07/2008 10:11

No the reports are still in school but all the grades have been collected and now the finished reports will be sitting on the desk to be signed by the headmisstress. They have already taken all the text books back in from the dc who used the school books, we bought ours so we've got them all at home now which means at the most they'll get some arbeitsblätter or dot to dots or crosswords or they'll spend half the day out playing. It's a total waste of time but we've only got this week and 2 days to go.

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 10:12

I know I am counting the days.

Wehn do you leave for Texas?

admylin · 07/07/2008 10:15

Very early morning of the 23rd of July. Have plenty of time to pack really don't I.

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 10:19

hmm... well. What do you want to hear?

Do you have to go to the police here and do an Abmeldung or is it enough to just do the new Anmeldung in Hannover?

admylin · 07/07/2008 12:44

I've just been to our library in Mitte and there was an Ausstellung by a catholic Grundschule, have you ever seen this SSSandy? www.b.shuttle.de/b/franz/ The website isn't as übersichtig or as good as the poster they had hanging in the library, but read the grundschule bit at the top where it says montessori - sounds nice and it goes through to the Abitur even. The thing I noticed was that each year is zweizügig, so only 2 classes each year. And they finish at 13:30 every day.

admylin · 07/07/2008 12:45

I think there is a fee too - but can't find that on the website, it was written at the bottom of the poster.

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 16:30

Yes, I know St. Franziskus, it is a long bike ride from here or a comfortable drive. I know a woman who teaches there, she's just lovely but I don't know, I think I generally don't want to get involved with Catholic schools here anymore. In fact I don't even take dd to a Catholic church any more and I have to start thinking about what, if anything, I am going to do about First Communion. I decided not to register her for classes there where the old school (boo hiss) was. I don't know if I do, it will be with the Americans.

You know, I just thought church school etc, will be a bit kinder, have a nice ethos governing the behaviour of staff-dc, dc towards each other and have a nice community feel and it wasn't at all like that, was it?

Thanks for thinking of us though, don't know if I could enthuse dd for another Catholic school though, really don't

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 16:31

wonder why they are advertising (?) in Mitte though, considering the school is in Schöneberg

SSSandy2 · 07/07/2008 16:41

They have a nice exhibition on Babylon on atm admylin, if ds is off school, maybe you could go, wouldn't be too crowded:
in stiller Ruhe lag Babylon

dd totally into this because of the writing on the wall and Heinrich Heine. She loves HH. Could never really acquire a taste for poetry myself tbh

berolina · 07/07/2008 16:55

Sandy - sorry I disappeared on Fri - re JFK, I've a bit of a thing about dses' education not being 'too American' - bit snobbish I know. And ds1 is a bright-but-reticent type and I wonder about him fitting in there.

We are going to see two KiLas on Weds. One in particular we could just about walk to and sounds lovely - with Vorschularbeit too. Neither are bilingual, which is the downside, but ds1's English seems as good as his German tbh and I'm definitely going to teach him to read and possibly write in English before he starts school. I'm thinking we might move him to the Montessori for just 1 year before he starts school, which will give him 2 years in the new KiLa.

admylin · 07/07/2008 17:24

I know I was surprised when I saw which school it was, they'd done some work on books they had read and even made their own little books which I was looking through (comparing handwriting!) and then saw the poster. Seemed very nice and they were advertising the montessori class - might be something for you Berolina?

SSSandy2 · 08/07/2008 08:41

I know what you mean bero. I am a bit unsure about that whole thing too. I know dc there my dd's age and they seem to be progressing very slowly, so it seems unacademic to me; however they do a lot of IQ testing and streaming apparently so perhaps it is good, no idea really. What speaks in favour of the school is the early finish, the variety of afternoon activities, the fact they work with the Musikschule Zehlendorf. They have the pool and since most of the American mums - or moms I should say - are SAHM they are very involved in the school which probably works well.

The German dp I know who have kids there are happy with it because of course for them their dc are getting something extra out of it (bilinguality which they otherwise wouldn't have). I'm afraid at present there is no out and out good option here I know of. Still think the British School is the best for primary but then you have no choice for secondary, do you, you couldn't move to a German Gymnasium for instance. Perhaps though we shouldn't worry you with it too much, you have other things to deal with and this is all still Zukunftsmusik. Hope some great option comes up befroe your ds is ready to start school.

I think there will be a lot about QB you will not like but there will be some things you do like. I think that's about the best you're going to get really

admylin · 09/07/2008 09:27

I can't believe I'm letting ds skive school again today. I never thought I'd do that as I was brought up to think skiving school is near to sin. It's just such a pointless waste of time at the moment.

He went to the police Übungsplatz with school yesterday for his cycling proficiency test and he failed but so did the majority of his class so it goes to show that the teaching that fell through because the teacher was ill - was the cause of it. He said an Ersatz teacher did come some days and just handed out Arbeitsblätter with sketches of roads and junctions and cross roads and they had to draw the correct route according to the questions but that she didn't actually explain any rules and when they got some wrong she didn't correct them either. That's the whole point in marking work - so they can learn from their mistakes surely?? Now he'll have to try the test in Hannover privately. Hope we have time once Gymnasium starts.

SSSandy2 · 09/07/2008 09:30

Is there some law that says they have to pass this test before they are allowed to cycle to school without a parent accompanying them? (I mean who would know? You'd really just need to go the route with him several times first).

admylin · 09/07/2008 09:34

I'm not sure but will try to find out. Maybe ring the police?

SSSandy2 · 09/07/2008 09:38

maybe there's a website and he could do the test here in the Verkehrsschule anyway, doesn't have to be at school. Maybe the Verkehrsschule website?

admylin · 09/07/2008 09:44

Sigh, yet another thing I'll have to look into and the pile on my kitchen floor is still there, I'm meant to be packing.

SSSandy2 · 09/07/2008 09:56

here

Here's their phone number admylin. You could call and ask about the Radfahrprufungen

admylin · 09/07/2008 09:58

Thanks you're a darling! I'm off to do my kitchen!

admylin · 10/07/2008 08:08

Hi, some more good news from the Admylin household, ds got in the Gymnasium we wanted and he's even been taken in to the Bläserklasse meaning he'll be able to choose an instrument and by Christmas they'll be putting on their first concert! We've got loads of Termine already too - still makes me think it'll be another year or two before I can even think of going out to work. Good that h has a good job atleast.

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