Schooling in Germany - everyone welcome

[ZZZen]

Since the old thread was quite full, let's make a new start welcoming anyone who is new to the German school system, has something to say about it or questions to ask.

hi ernest - we had to buy all the jotters etc for dd in the 2nd class - it prob came to about 50 euros for everything - we've not been asked to buy any other books and the school gave her the handwriting book - they seem obsessed with all the kids writing the same way! dd's attempt at it at the mo looks way worse than her writing was before!
will ask my friend about the gymnasium books - her dd is starting there in sept so she'll know!

(i'm definitely the ying to admyliin's yang - only positive stuff from me!!)

They start in UK on the 18th of May, they can't wait.

Funny that the head teacher wouldn't even give you an appointment. Is that the only place you'll be looking at?

Finding a Gymnasium is hard work. What I would do is try to get a list together of all the ones nearest to where you live so you don't get the problem you had with the IS being far away and not having local dc. Then I would look at the bus/train/tram routes that take your ds directly to any of the other further away Gymnasiums as that would also save him time if he doesn't have 2 or 3 different methods of public transport to get on to be at school for 7:30 or 8am.

He'll be in year 4 in September I think so then you write down all the open day dates for next year as soon as you get them (from the website of the schools) and you just have to trail around them all. We had about 6 or 7 offered to us through primary as they should get the info too and that's just for Hanover which is tiny compared to Munich.

I remember in Berlin I was looking and I was shocked at how far ds would have had to travel to get to some of them.

Canella you must be in one of the states that pays for the text books. I know Baden Würrtemberg pays, Berlin and Niedersachsen don't, parents have to pay. No idea which one Bayern is though. Each state gets to decide.

but we are not fixed to where we live - we have 2 years left on the lease, ds1 starts gymnasium in 2 years, so we could potentially chose whichever we want, not restricted ona rea. we would of course chose our next house close to the school, but right now we live east, we could potentially choose a school south west (with a view to moving there) it's making it a lot more difficult.

I wish I knew some parents of kids in school in Landkreis Munich. Oh wait, I do, but I'm always asking her for help

she was passing me info on getting ds tested as gifted within the german system. Is this necessary/recommended. Go, I feel like a total newcomer to thes parenting lark all of a sudden

Ad, I don't think you have any choice about primary schools, we just have to go the the local, and that's what we want anyway, as it's 5 minutes walk away, right opposite ds3 KG and just been totally refurbished, so apparently very noce. Will be nicer if I see it with my own eyes. I think I was just unlucky and caught him at a bad time. (I hope).

Ernest, try an email asking for an appointment to look around and maybe ask for a Schnuppertag for the boys.

If you're lucky (as I was in Hannover) there will be a really competent secretary who will just organise it all. Here I emailed, got an appointment to register them (we came on the train from Berlin) and she even gave us a guided tour of the school buildings and playground then introduced us to the headmisstress at the end as she didn't have time , just enough to say hello and looking forward to you joining us to the dc.

I phoned the school and was astonished the head teacher himself answered! Maybe his secretary was off sick and that's why he was grumpy.

Ernest, Gymnasien (in Bavaria at least) usually have a differences in their focus, some have more emphasis on language or science. There are "musische" Gymnasien which offer additional education in arts and music and usually require your child to play an instrument, or "humanistische", where they teach with Latin and Greek.
I went to a neusprachliches/naturwisssenschaftliches Gymnasium and went onto the science branch from year 9 on.

Here is a list of all the Munich Gymansia according to their focus:
www.musin.de/schulen/gym/

Might have been on holiday! If a school doesn't have a good secretary then communication can be bad, I saw that in Berlin. Teachers didn't want to do photo copying and sending off letters and the secretary was always going off sick and when she was there she was half asleep looking. I heard that it's got alot better since we left and they got a new one.

Dd wants to do an Abschied thing at school tomorrow and I'm trying to decide what to give her to take in. I can't do cake sor muffins as everything is packed and i'm probably just going to send her in with sweets to hand round. Any other ideas?

There are 22 dc in the class. Her best friend is coming round tonight and she is giving her some Harry Potter stuff as they are both fans and I'm doing them some food but for school I can't think of anything better.

Gracelo, thanks for your link and help. Am slowly getting clearer in my mind, like gathering pieces of a puzzle.

Admylin, hard to suggest, as I don't know what you have available as you say you have stuff packed up, so in which case, yes, just send in sweets. You've got enough on your plate without going to any great lengths.

Is today or tomorrow their last day then?

I went to the Hort yesterday to try to get a place for ds 1 & 2. It's full, so we have to go on waiting list, but I was told foreigners get priority. To further our case/plight, I thought I ought not to speak my best German. "Hello, erm Hallo. Ik brauke Platz for my 2 Kinder. Ik kann sie nikt mit Schul arbeit erm Hausaufgaben helfen"

Hard to get the balance right of shit German but still being understood. I suddenly found myself speaking german with queens english accent. So glad dh or dss not there to witness my shamless (or shameful?) performance.

Sorry to butt into your thread. I had to comment though, this brings back memories!
I'm English but did 2 years at a gymnasium (years 9 and 10) in Frankfurt, before coming back to England for IB. I'd forgotten some of the odd things about German schools. I can almost look back wistfully now... oh how time glazes things. I remember having been so frustrated with pupils and even some teachers who thought that only German schools teach properly, and that the rest of the world just wasn't up to their high standards. I just want to add that I also have some fantastic memories from that school too.

Hi all!
Hi there dragonrider, you cannot butt in on the thread because it is BREIT GEÖFFNET. I don't think many people believe in Germany these days that their school system is so superior. Maybe they do, I don't know but not more so than other countries I think because after the PISA test on schools round the world, jaws hit the floor when Germany was rated very low and they are really spending a lot of time looking into what they can improve and how to do it. Mind you I am not saying that the PISA test is 100% reliable or the final word. I think these days there is a lot of uncertainty in Germany about where to go with the school system, they are trying all sorts of different things.

PMSL at ernest faking the bad English accent. I have done that too at times I'll admit because it makes life easier.

Friend of mine was saying they are scrapping the Hauptschule compltely in Berlin and fusing Haupt- with Realschulen. They are also dropping the recommendation I was told from next year so dp will decide which type of secondary to apply to and the schools will select via tests and interviews. I am not sure whether this is true or not but she sounded quite sure of her facts.

Berlin might suit you then NN

That's interesting to hear ZZZen. I think it can only be a good thing really. Are they any more friendly and open to foreigners now too? I used to find it so frustrating trying to get anything done in a system where the odds were stacked up to make sure you could only do well if you were German / Austrian. I could imagine the system needs a serious shake up if it hasn't changed since then.
Ow I make it sound like it was awful I did have a great time there and I still love Frankfurt now.

OK, I guess I need to contact the school, but the head seeming weird, coupled with my aversion to writing German leads me to turn to you guys first.

Next week dss will start at local school. I went in last week and registered them with school secretary, but she couldn't anyswer my Q, didn't see head at all and the teachers were teaching, so not available for Q

I need to ask - can anyone tell me how to write this (Oh God, I am goin gto have to write in German aren't I? who do I send it to - head?

So I need to ask -
do kids normally take in morning snack?
Do they both start each day at 8?
What time do they finish school? Do both boys finish at same time?
Do they need specific things for Turnen? Do they take Turnen stuff in on the day they have Turnen, or just leave it at the school?
Do they need Hausschuhe?
What other equipment do they need for school?

What else do I need to know? Feel mega dumb and a bit frustrated no one seems to think to have told me anything at all. School sectretary could only tell me to be at the school at 7.45. No more, no less.

Hi

do kids normally take in morning snack?

Yes they do - there's a long break halfway through the school 'day' for them to have their snack. There will also be vending machines.

Do they both start each day at 8?
What time do they finish school? Do both boys finish at same time?

You should be given a timetable for your boys - how old are they? For older children, they probably do start at 8 every day.

Do they need specific things for Turnen? Do they take Turnen stuff in on the day they have Turnen, or just leave it at the school?

This may depend on the school - some provide lockers which you can probably rent for a small fee. They'll need sportswear, plus gym shoes.

Do they need Hausschuhe?

Again this may depend on the school but I would expect not.

What other equipment do they need for school?

They'll have to borrow or buy their books, and they'll probably need Schulhefte for each subject, possibly with coloured wrappings (do they still do those nowadays?). Again the school should provide you with a list of things to buy.

Hope this helps - if you need anything translated into German, just ask.

i'm knew to all of this so can only tell you what happened at dd's school!

They all take a snack and a drink - i just make her a salamibrot and maybe a few pretzels - never much more!

the school will tell you on the first day what time they start and finish - they get a timetable and dd has a specific homework book (cant think what its called in deutsch but i'll ask her and post later) with a week over the 2 pages and they're expected to write the lessons they have each day in that for the week ahead. so maybe both boys wont finish at the same time but it'll prob only be 45 mins apart.

DD just takes sport stuff on the days she needs it.

No hausschuhe.

DD came home on the first day with a specific list from the teacher with what Hefte she needed and what other bits and bobs she needed lke art stuff.

Hope that helps - its so fresh for us having only done all this 3 months ago!!

meant "new" not "knew" !!

no hope of me getting better in deutsch if i cant write english!!

Hausaufgabenheft Canella?

Thanks. Surprised no Hausschuhe did in CH & do here in IS. Been told they finish some days 11.15, some 12.15 & some 13.15, but would rather find out before they start, as don't want to wait in for 2 hours wondering where they are, or turn up 2 hours late. Teachers, in 2 minute chat at the door said to just use their old books as no point in buying new stuff for last few weeks - fine by me - I think. Maybe I'll just buy a couple of excercies books?

Do the kids still use the Schulranzen in Gymnasium? Neither of mine have one, they just use a normal (flimsy) Rucksak. All the kids seemd to have the Schulranzen & don't want mine to be the odd ones out. OTOH, just seen how unbelieveably ££££££ they are . Bloody hell, I wouldn't buy myself a bag that cost that must! I could swallow it for ds2, as he'll be able to use his for 2 years, but find it harder to spend so much on one for ds1 if he'll only use it 1 year. OTOH, if they still use them at Gymnasium, I could live with it, but do they abandon them at end of 4th class as seen to be childish?

thats the word schulte - i always want to call homework - hausarbeit so get confused with the right word!!

Ernest - dd just has a big rucksack from Jan sport for school but i think most of the kids have the Schulranzen - my friend just bought her dd one to start school in sept and it was 150 euros!!! but i agree for a few years that would be ok but not just for one year - will have a look at the gymnasium kids to see what they have!

how are your ds's getting to and from school - is it handy enough for them to walk? or is there a bus? you'll def know on the first day what time to pick them up then they'l have a timetable!

It's 5 minutes on their bikes or 10 minute walk and right opposite ds3 KG, so perfect.

I guess I'll just have to send them in and hope for the best.

Yes, exactly - 150 euros and even more in some cases. Utter utter unbelievable madness. But then I don't want ds to be the only one...

I guess I should play it by ear; not ont of my fortés.

Hmmm when I was a teenager, Schulranzen were very uncool and everyone had backpacks.

That's what I thought, so do I not bother with the madly £££ Schulranzen & just get the backpak? But then ds will be only one without Ranzen?

I guess in the great scheme of things not a biggee, but...

I'd wait and see - he might not be the only one with a backpack. Or he might start a trend!

i looked at the kids getting off dd's bus today - yeah there were lots with the stupidly expensive Schulranzen but quite a few with rucksacks! and not one gymnasium age kid with one! they all had other types of bags - no one specific kind!!