My son who was at Beech Hill last year will be starting the 4th grade this year in an all German school called Wittlesbacherschule. (That is pronounced Vittles-bocker-shoe-la.) This type of school is a Grundschule, or elementary school. The blue and tan buildings in the background are his new school. The school is so close that I can take pictures of it from our apartment!
My other son who was at Rollings last year is starting at the Hildegardis Gymnasium, and no that is not a sports arena. :) This is actually one of the three types of high schools here. After the 4th grade, you go to high school in Germany. Depending on what you think you might want to do, what your parents want you to do and what your teachers recommend, you choose among three types of high school: Gymnasium (pronounced G as in gum: Gim-nah-zee-um) which is the college bound high school and is very difficult to get into. The classes are also much more difficult. Realschule (pronounced Ree-all-shoe-la) which is the not as difficult school, but it still leads to a chance to go to college if you do well enough. And finally is Hauptschule (pronounced Houpt-shoe-la). This school is a school for people who want to learn a trade and train at a company to work right out of school. Until this past year, children who wanted to go to college had to graduate after the 13th grade!! But this year, they changed to be like many other schools in the world where children get to graduate after the 12th grade. If you can pass your tests to go to college, college is then free to all German citizens, but the tests are VERY hard. At Gymnasium, my son is having to take German, English and French. The other children have already had one year of French, so he is taking year one and year two of French at the same time while learning German!! Do you know any phrases in French? Check my word for the day. It will have a bonus word in French!
The weather here has turned cold and gray. Yesterday and today had highs only in the upper 40s. I am told it may stay cold until October when it will warm up one last time before the snows come in November. I am told that it is very snowy south of us, and a slushy snow most of the winter here in our town. I can't wait to show you pictures of the snow!!
Here are a couple of additional pictures from our apartment of the old looking buildings in our town. Many look like this here in the city, but they houses look a little different out in the countryside. I'll try to post some pictures of those the next time we see them.
The word for the day is a very important word. Try to know it in as many languages as possible: Thank you - in German it is said Danke (dahn-kuh) and in French it is Merci (Mare-see). Practice saying this in English, French and German and maybe you will get a Beamer for being so polite! Until next time ...
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
