dsn news · i know the german school, since we resided in nairobi from 2000 until 2008. being back...

No. 3 Newsletter of the German School Nairobi March 2012

DSN newsEditorial

At the beginning of February, I had the pleasure of receiving an e-mail from a mother, whose children

attended the German School Nairobi for 5 years, and who returned to Germany last summer. She re-

ported that her children have had a seamless transfer to a secondary school in Germany, and highly

praised the pleasant learning environment at our school. At the end, she commented: “More lessons

have been cancelled at the new school in the first semester, than in the entire 5 years at the German

School Nairobi! I will continue to further recommend GSN, and in fact am already doing so!” A com-

pliment that I would like to attribute to my teaching staff.

During the last few weeks and months, school has been more than lessons, Abitur examination pre-

paration, Competence Tests, Central examinations und “Realschule” examinations! We have also prio-

ritised several non-academic activities. Priorities that befit a modern school. Priorities which include

hands-on and project-orientated activities.

How important this is for the students was made evident by the Project Week, where preference took

priority over obligation, i.e. for a whole week, students were not obliged to learn within the rigid fra-

mework of a timetable, but were instead allowed to devote themselves to sports, drama, technology,

art or music projects.

That school does not only mean lessons, homework and tests, was also experienced by students from

Classes 7 -10, who participated in the Model United Nations Programme. Our students debated cur-

rent global issues with their peers from other schools in Kenya and East Africa, thus receiving an

insight into the world of international diplomacy.

Our exchange trip for students of Classes 9 and 10 with a school in Madagascar also forms part of our

non-academic activities. We came very close to not being able to carry out this trip. It is only thanks

to Mrs Joos’ persistence, that we were able to provide our children with language training in a moti-

vating and “real-life” way! The trip was a huge success for the participants.

In addition to our several non-academic activities, it is also of great importance to us to help our Eng-

lish-speaking parents and students integrate better with us: since the middle of February, many pa-

rents of our scholarship students have been attending a German Course every Saturday, which is being

taught by Ms Hansert. For the very same reason, we are currently thinking about improving the sup-

port and encouragement of the English language in the Primary School in the next academic year.

Talking about support: I am truly delighted that Mr Mink was able to employ a competent and com-

mitted speech therapist for the school. She works free of charge to help and support all those children

who may have a speech defect and need professional assistance.

After all the examinations and projects, I am sure we are all looking forward to the Easter Holidays. I

wish you all, dear students and dear parents, happy and restful holidays!

Franz Baur

The Black Light Theatre

guided by Margit Probst

and Jana Kakoschke du-

ring the Project Week

DSN news — 2

Our Kindergarten carnival freaks Little princesses

The acrobats Primary school carnival girls

On the 21st of February 2012, our children were finally able to celebrate the long awaited carnival!

A stage was built (and fully used!) this year to help the children better show off their own fancy dress

costumes, as well as admire those of others.

Although we had to wait for a long time for the acrobats, they did show up finally – all the Kindergarten

and Primary School children were thrilled to watch the very sporty but also amusing show. Some

lucky kids were even able to take part in the show!

The parents of the Primary School children took over the responsibility of organising and supervising

the games this year. And what a range of activities we had: Archery, potato race, “boot throw”, tug of

war, balancing on a rope, a trip to Jerusalem and a wall for goal scoring!

The children enjoyed themselves thoroughly, and we would like to sincerely thank the parents who

helped on this day with their super contributions!

Well, see all you carnival freaks again next year.

Thurit Berge

Carnival in the Kindergarten and thePrimary School

Karibu – Our new face

My name is Frida Christina Brick, I was born in Tanzania. I am very happy

to be working at the German School where I received a warm and encoura-

ging welcome from the headmaster, the colleagues, parents, my predeces-

sor and students. Regarding my formal qualification I am a registered staff

nurse and midwife by profession.

I met my husband in Moshi, Tanzania at the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro.

We have two children, Anthony and Julia. Julia attends class 9 of this school.

Our life style is characterized by many changes, and I must emphasize that

we have always been open to new countries, people, and cultures.

I know the German School, since we resided in Nairobi from 2000 until

2008. Being back in Kenya is almost like coming back home.

DSN news — 3

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DSN news — 4

Extracurricular Activities 2011/2012,

2. Semester

2 p.m. – 3.30 p.m.

Football

Bernhard Nalisi

Cl. 1+2, Sports ground

Inline Skating

The Skate Studio

Cl. 1-4, Basketball

court

Drums/Rhythmics

plays

Salomon Ngomane

Cl. 1-4, Room 10

Wrestling and Tussling

(only for boys)

Jana Kakoschke

Cl. 1-4, Gymnastics

room

3:30 p.m – 5. p.m.

Football

Ali Kiplagat

Cl. 8-12, Sports ground

Inline Skating

The Skate Studio

Cl. 5-12, Basketball

court

Swimming

Bernhard Nalisi

Cl. 5-12, Pool

Hip Hop

Marie-Claire Kaben-

gele/Gonda Kandire

Cl. 5-8, Gymnastics

2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Art and Craft

Nikita Fazal

Cl. 1-4, Arts room

Swimming

Bernhard Nalisi

Cl. 1-4, Pool

Gymnastics

Miriam Rode

Cl. 1-4, Sports hall

Football

Ali Kiplagat


Football (Girls) Doreen

Nabwire Cl. 6-12,

Sports ground

Strings Ensemble

Alexandra Baldus

Cl. 5-12, Music room

3:30 p.m – 5 p.m.

Football

Ali Kiplagat


Hip Hop

Marie Claire Kaben-

gale / Gonda Kandire

Cl. 9+10,

Gymnastics room

Volleyball

Daniel Koch /Till Vogel


2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Swimming

(High performer)

Bernhard Nalisi Cl. 5-

12, Pool

Handball

Jonas Häggmark


Rockband

(2:00 – 3:00 p.m.)

Jan Semjank

Cl. 7-12, Band room

The Garage

(3.00- 4:30 p.m.)

Jan Semjank

3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Tennis

Pius Kwach Otieno

Cl. 3+4, Tennis court

Swimming

Bernhard Nalisi

Cl. 3+4, Pool

Rockband

Jan Semjank

Cl. 7-12,

Music room

Basketball

Wycliff Okoth

Odiambo Cl. 5-8,

Sports hall

5:15 p.m. – 6:45 p.m.

Athletics

Ron Kirsch

Cl. 6-12 Sports ground

3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Football

Ali Kiplagat

Cl. 3+4, Sports ground

Swimming

Bernhard Nalisi

Cl. 3+4, Pool

Athletics

Viberti Nyakang’o

Cl. 6-12 Sports ground

Construction Art

Christina Niehaus

Cl. 7-12,Kindergarten

Basketball

Wycliff Okoth

Odiambo Cl. 9-12

Basketball court

Tuesday Wednesday Thursday FridayMonday

The latest from the Benchwar-mers

Our Landcruiser Lucy is in two parts. She is simply being painted and the

engine block is receiving a complete overhaul. She should be ready by the

end of March. Most importantly, Toyota Kenya has agreed to be our main

sponsor. Although we have made significant progress with the fund-raising

(188,000 Ksh), we still need you to buy raffle-tickets so as to help us raise

the entry fee (750,000Ksh). You may also support us by buying stickers that

are to be displayed on the vehicle (deadline is end of March). Finally, the

Benchwarmers would like to thank everybody supporting us! For further in-

formationen, please visit our website: http://www.rhinocharge.co.ke/event-

info-a-raffle/rhino-charge-raffle/raffle-pledges.html

Jan SemjankLucy in preparation for the Rhino Charge

DSN news —5

the Parents’ Sub-Committee (SER)

We are assuming that you have all been receiving the minutes of our monthly meetings, and thus we

are only summarising the activities in which the SER has been involved:

Introduction of German lessons for non-German speaking parents, interviews for the candidates for

the position of the School Headmaster, suggestions for changes in the teaching of English in the Pri-

mary School, preparation of a position paper on the co-operation and democracy at the GSN from a

parents’ point of view.

For your diaries: The School Party will be held on the 28th of April 2012! This is also the Opening Day

of our Art Exhibition, and we will thus have a chance to view our children’s art work, and then wander

over to the party tent. The Party Committee will soon have all the details for us.

For any queries and /or suggestions, please contact: 0737138551 (S. Stier) / 0726677955 (E. Tenam-

bergen)

With kind regards,

the PSC

Success – we have found a School Headmaster for the next academic year

After a very interesting week of looking for a suitable candidate for the position of Headmaster, after

several interviews with all the relevant school bodies, and after a very intensive decision-making pro-

cess, the School Board has decided that Mr Ulrich Boddenberg is the right candidate for us. He brings

with him many years of teaching experience at all levels, in his subjects German and Education Science.

Mr Boddenberg is currently working as the Headmaster in the “Königin-Luise Schule” in Cologne, and

will be able to join our school in August 2012.

We wish Mr Boddenberg a great start in Kenya, and look forward to working in close co-operation

with him.

We thank everyone involved in helping us make this decision.

Thomas Iten

The School Board

The Parents’ Sub-Committee 2011/2012

DSN news — 6

DSN news — 7

Sport

The German School Nairobi grabs Second Place in the Mini World Cup Football

The International School of Kenya (ISK) organised the third Mini World Cup Football on the weekend

of the 4th / 5th February. Our two teams, the U11 and U9 teams were among the 62 participating

teams in the tournament, under the supervision of their trainers Viberti Nyakang’o and Ernst Tenam-

bergen.

The U9 Team delighted us by bagging the second place out of 22 teams! At the beginning, nothing

seemed to augur well for our youngsters: 4 of the key players had to be replaced by players with less

experience. However, the whole team fought hard, and understood the tactics well. Jascha, Hilario,

Max, Njeri, Robin, Toby and Ian played in the defence positions, while Timon was the midfielder, and

the front was covered by the two attackers, Karl and David. With a total score of 13 goals in the tour-

nament, David was crowned “Goal Scoring King”, whereas Antoni was awarded the title of “Best Goal-

keeper”.

During the group games, our team won against Peace Academy (2: 0), Swedish School (5:0) and Aga

Khan (3:0). In the quarter finals, Kibera played excellent football, after having beaten the winners of

last year’s tournament Sags Academy. However we still scored the first goal, which Kibera managed

to equalise shortly before the end. For the penalty shoot-out, Timon went into the goal, and not only

saved four goals, but also scored one! The team thus won 4:1! In the semi-final, the German School

clearly beat the School of Nations 4:2. In the second semi-final, Braeside lost to Ujuzi Soka Academy.

Our team met Ujuzi in the final.

Ujuzi is a football academy, and this was obvious right from the start. Our U9 team stood no chance

against them. After a “self-sacrificing” defence, and despite a Cheer Group of 12 parents led by Woki

Muhindi, our team lost 0:3.

Our U11 started the tournament with a walk-over 3 points, as the opponents failed to turn up. The

first game they played against St. Augustine’s ended in a 1:1 draw, and after losing to St. Christopher

2:4, we were out of the tournament. Tim and Noah played well, but the back-up players and midfiel-

ders were too slow for the physically bigger opponents. They only woke up in the last ten minutes of

the game, and scored 2 goals, and almost 2 more!

The ISK deserves nothing but praise for conceptualising this tournament, and for its excellent organi-

sation. Eric Wainana gave a concert during the break, lovingly inviting the children to the stage.

Dr. Ernst Tenambergen

The successful U-9 team Dynamic support by the fans

Ace striker David The award ceremony

DSN news — 8

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DSN news — 9

Basketball season 2012

This year's basketball league season for U 19 boys was very short indeed. Only four games. 2 away

losses , one to Rosslyn and one to ISK was enough to make sure that the German School would not

make it into the Semifinals because only the top 2 in each group qualified. However, the boys were

determined to win both their home games and this determination showed in the game against Strath-

more played on 30th January 2012. Unfortunately the boys suffered a very painful loss by only one

point. The last home game was played on the 2nd of February and this time the boys were not to be

denied dominating in all areas against Oshwal and posting a very emphatic win. (Please see school

website for scores of each game)

The senior boys also got to test their strength at a basketball tournament at the International School

of Kenya on 18th February 2012 where they were unfortunate to be knocked out in the quarter finals.

On a more positive note the young and upcoming boys basketball team played in a tournament at

Strathmore School on 25th February 2012 and the German School boys made the school proud by fi-

nishing second, losing to ISK in the finals. The future looks bright for German School basketball.

Viberti Nyakang'o

Exciting match versus Oshwal The U-19 team

On Saturday the 18th of February, the Badminton

Club members of the German School wanted to

prove again, who the best players were, and thus

organised a tournament.

The players were only allowed to play as doubles,

and the teams were drawn by lots. After exciting

and competitive first round games, Olivia Otieno

and Markus Dieling ended up in the final against

Thomas and Béa Iten. To cut the long story short,

Olivia and Markus had a well-deserved victory.

The first prize was sponsored by Private Safaris

E.A Ltd, and we thank them for this.

Badminton Tournament at the German School Nairobi

Partners, families and friends of the players then came together for a BBQ at the pool of the school,

and everyone celebrated till dusk. We would like to sincerely thank Michael and Bea Cordier, as well

as Béa Iten for the excellent organisation of the tournament and the BBQ.

Bea Iten

The winning team: Markus Dieling and Olivia Otieno

Correction - Medals for the International Athletics Championship

In the last newsletter, we erroneously forgot to mention Filipa Shiku’s Bronze Medal for the 800m

race. We apologise for this oversight, and congratulate Filipa for her outstanding performance.

Stefanie Thomas

DSN news — 10

Swimming Gala 2012 – Thursday 23rd February 2012

Finally after a long wait, long hours of practising and the original date being postponed by a week all

the participants were ready to compete in this year's swimming Gala. The big day arrived and the stu-

dents, some accompanied by their parents, gathered early on this Thursday morning. The cloudy skies

did little to dampen the spirit of the enthusiastic participants. There were those who were excited

and those who were equally nervous.

After a few opening words of encouragement and good-luck wishes by the headmaster, Mr. Baur, the

competitions got under way promptly at 8 am. Mr. Semjank with the help of Dylan Diaz from class 10

made sure the P.A sound and music system was working fine. Timon Volz the master of ceremony for

the day made sure the gala ran on time and let each participant know what time they were swimming

and in which lane. He also kept the spectators entertained and encouraged them to cheer for the

competitors.

Students of Class 9 were the first on the starting blocks. Race times were recorded with a lot of en-

thusiasm by students of class 10 and promptly put up on the big notice board next to the judge's

table by Martin Alber to determine the winners of each race.

At 9:00 am, it was time for Classes 4-1 to showcase their swimming skills and they proved that they

can perform just as well as the older students with very fast heat times from the likes of Luca

Dauer(Class 4) and Lucia Ruchti(Class 3).

Finally it was time for the exciting class relays to take place. Each class took part in 2 relays: normal

relay and a fun relay. Apart from the normal relay, Class 1-4 took part in Bretterfischen and Class 5-9

took part in the clothes relay.

The Swimming Gala was coming to an end. The time had gone by so fast. The last event of the day

was the relay between a combined students team, a parent's team, teachers team and the staff team.

Appropriately started off by Timon Volz, the student’s team got off to a good start cheered on by their

fellow students and never looked back. The parents’ team came in second followed closely by the te-

achers’ team and then the staff team.

Mr. Mink was on hand to congratulate all the different winners who were proud to receive their win-

ner's certificate. The Swimming Gala came to a close but not before the popular “water disco” took

place where most of those present had a dive into the water (willingly or unwillingly).

The Swimming Gala was a great success and all the participants had lots of fun.

Viberti Nyakang'o

Swimming contest of Primary School girls Relay of class 4

The big final: the water disco Swimmer of class 8 and 9

DSN news — 11

DSN news — 12

Resource Centre

An old topic, but yet a new topic…. The question of Women’s Rights

Prominent Kenyan women’s rights activists were guests of the German School Nairobi on the 8th of

March 2012, the International Women’s Day. In conjunction with the Federal Agency for Civic Educa-

tion, the school’s Resource Centre organised a panel discussion. The 3 women’s rights activists dis-

cussed the old yet (unfortunately) very current issue of women and equality, for example the utility

and futility of quotas for women, or the problems relating to the compatibility of work and family.

Professor Julia Ojiambo, a former Member of Parliament and current Chairperson of the Labour Party

described her path as a women’s rights activist from the “olden days” in colonised Kenya to her role

today. Parallel to that Alice Karimibi, a leading figure in the women’s group Maendeleoya Wanawake,

described the development of her organisation, developing from a club of white women before in-

dependence, to one of the most important groups of its kind today. Jane Serwanga, from the lawyers’

association FIDA further analysed (and indeed very eloquently and perceptively) why the equality re-

gulations in new Kenyan constitution are a step in the right direction only on paper, and how their

practice is a long way away.

The discussion was moderated by the author RasnaWarah. And while we at the Resource Centre were

delighted by this top-class event, our spirits were slightly dampened by the lack of interest in the

event from the school community.

However, we are much happier that there has been tremendous interest in the German Language

course for adults that the Resource Centre is offering. 30 parents and school employees are thus mee-

ting every Saturday morning, to learn the ‘A’s and ‘B’s of the German language, under the guidance

of Anna Hansert. We wish them a lot of success and fun with this course.

On the 18th of April the centre will host an in-school teacher training session to discuss the finer

points of intercultural communication. As the teachers’ body has already participated in the first,

theory aspect of interculturality, this session will focus on the very practical differences in the school

day in Kenya and in Germany.

Finally, we would like to draw your attention to an important date in the centre’s calendar. On Monday

the 7th of May 2012, Christoph Hansert, the director the Nairobi office of the German Academic Ex-

change Service (DAAD) will address participants on the possibilities for foreign students to study and

work in Germany. You are all invited to this event.

Well, that is the update from the Resource Centre – and please do not forget, that the Resource Centre

is YOUR Resource Centre! Suggestions are always welcome.

Karin Häggmark und Franz Baur

Panel Discussion with the German Ambassador Jane Serwanga of the Female Lawyers Association FIDA

DSN news — 13

News from the nurse

Drinking water and children

Just because they have smaller bodies does not mean they need less of it. Water is in fact one of the

most important nutrients for children. Often times when we read tips for nutrition for our children,

they leave out important information about the intake of healthy fluids. Water not only keeps children

healthy, but also will help them perform better in school.

Dehydration leads to a reduction in both mental and physical performance. Children should especially

drink water after taking part in sports. As stated above, even a small degree of dehydration can lead

to a reduction of mental and physical performance. So, not having access to water, or not being hy-

drated before school, can lead to poor concentration in the classroom, which could mean not as much

participation, and even lower test scores.

Parents and teachers should regularly encourage children to drink water at home and school. Children

are at a much greater risk of dehydration, as the process can begin much more rapidly in them. Once

the body is dehydrated, the internal temperature rises and the body, particularly the brain, overheats.

Long-term chronic dehydration may cause health problems and illnesses.

Another reason why children should drink up is that there thirst mechanisms are less developed than

adults', and their thirst tends to appear after dehydration has already set in. Children should therefore

be encouraged to drink water even if they are not thirsty. Headaches, irritability and sleepiness are

often signs of dehydration. Of course, children are bombarded with ads of cool soft drinks, but parents,

please note that water is a far better choice.

The standard recommendation of water intake for children is at least 6-8 glasses (1.5 - 2 liters) a day,

drunk regularly throughout the day (at least 3-4 glasses while at school) ensuring that plenty of addi-

tional fluid is drunk during warm weather and/or when exercising. The Institute of Medicine of the

National Academies, Washington DC (2004) recommends for teenage boys aged 14 over a higher ave-

rage fluid intake of 2.6 liters (about 11 large glasses). Pupils spend at least half their waking hours in

school. During this time, they should be drinking at least half their daily requirement, spread regularly

throughout the day.

Dear parents, thank you for keeping effort every morning to pack a drink for your beloved children.

Kindly keep the same effort in checking whether your child has consumed the drink you gave him for

school. The amount he returns back home will give you an impression how much he/she consumed.

Frida-Christina Brick

How many beers to relax oneself after a long day, how many cigarettes during a coffee break, must

a child see, before he recognises, how adults solve their problems?

Balance has many perspectives.

Prevention must begin earlier.

(Gertraud Fogt, your contact person for questions about substance addiction and its prevention.)

DSN news — 14

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DSN news — 15

Prevention of substance Abuse

Drug addiction is part of daily life… so is prevention…

As in previous years, this year’s substance abuse prevention week took place in February for students

of Class 8. We dealt with the topic of “daily drugs”, such as alcohol, which pose a danger which in

today’s society is often underestimated or even considered harmless.

Every fifth person in Germany is affected either directly or indirectly by addiction, either as the addict

himself, or as a family member. If we apply these statistics to our Class 8 group, that would be at least

4 affected students. All the students on the trip were made very aware of these statistics, in order to

underline the frequent usage of legal drugs and its fatal consequences.

The students were encouraged to think about these numbers, and more importantly, about how sur-

prisingly fast one can be addicted. It may only start with wanting to be cool, just to be “in” or to be

part of a group. Peer pressure, along with curiosity, stress, family problems and habit were discussed

by the group as harmless reasons for starting to consume drugs. The problem though, begins after

consumption. Discussing substance abuse prevention at school may not solve the problem. However,

it can contribute to strengthening both, the individual student, as well as his responsibilities as a social

being. Self-esteem grows from thinking about oneself, about one’s integration in a particular group,

the different roles one takes in society, or is forced to take. All this took place in the form of various

activities, organised by the very experienced leader Andreas Rieker, who has been running the pro-

gramme for years. Many issues regarding fellow students, issues that are not often seen in the class-

room, thus came to the forefront, and they could be not be listened to without being moved. Yes, so

there were tears, which expressed the deep effect this had on some students.

I, as a teacher, also benefitted a lot: I gained insight and experience, and I also gained the trust of the

students, as they became aware that anything of a personal nature that was discussed during the trip

would remain strictly confidential. Young people have a clear task: they must develop themselves.

However, this is far from being an easy task, and there are several obstacles on this path. The aim of

the substance abuse prevention programme at the school is not to take these obstacles out of the

way, but to equip our youngsters with the right strategies to better cope with them. The Class 8 week-

long trip was a small contribution to this programme.

Gertraud Fogt, in charge of substance abuse prevention

Miscellaneous

The new Scholarship Students„Hallo, wie geht´s?” – „Danke gut und Ihnen? – „Wunderbar!”

We are pleased to say that after 6 weeks of being at the German School Nairobi, our new scholarship

students, Crystal, Grace, Megan, Prudence, Kena and Rahim are still filled with enthusiasm! The chil-

dren are confronted with these strange sounds, new letters of the alphabet, not to forget the very

difficult grammar rules. However, they are dealing with them with joy and motivation! “Learning Ger-

man is easy and difficult. Both. The pronunciation is the most difficult. And there are many difficult

words. But it is also easy!”

“Is it true, that there are 1500 types of sausages in Germany?” Along with the language, the students

are interested in the civilisation and culture of the country. “Oh, Beethoven was born in Germany!”,

or “…and Einstein also wrote a German book, didn’t he?” “Has Germany ever won the Olympic

Games?” There is a lot to learn and to discover. In addition to intensively learning the German

language, the 6 students are also joining Class 4 students in Mathematics, P.E. and Art lessons. “This

school is aaaawesome!”

Miriam Rode

German grammar - all beginnings are difficult Recreation after class

DSN news — 16

A different school once again – our Project Week

This year’s Project Week took place from the 7th to the 11th of February. The aim of this week is to

create something together, and to learn a lot from this creation – and all this outside of the tight ti-

metable schedule and class based teaching, outside of subject boundaries and with self-chosen to-

pics.

All teachers of the school were thus requested to offer a project either alone or with a partner. Parents

and students were also given the chance to make suggestions.

15 projects thus came into being:

Dino-world Special, From Garbage to Jewellery, Circus and Acrobatics, The Magical Black— Light Thea-

tre, “In a healthy body rests a healthy mind”, Lit-up sculptures and objects, Paper has many sides,

Dyes – from Chemistry to Art, Backstage, Drumming and Rhythms, Spanish à la carte, “Our School”, a

film project on the German School Nairobi, a Chemistry Show, Modern Stage Lighting Techniques and

Baseball and Football.

After 4 days of intensive work, all the groups were able to present their results on Saturday the 11th

of February. The weather was great, and the entire school community was present at the school to

see the results. Catering was looked after by parents and the Boarding House. Thanks to all parents,

who baked cakes for sale at this event, to the Club “The Garage” for the juicy steaks, the Hittmeyer

family for the delicious ice cream, and last but by no means least, to our Boarding House, who provi-

ded cold drinks and “finger food”.

A huge thank you to all participants, especially Ms Macheroux and Ms Mielke, for their commitment.

Surely a lot of dedication and enthusiasm was required to ensure that the Project Week was a run-

away success.

Matthias Haße

Performance of the acrobats Our future scientists

Drums and more Project week in the Kindergarten

DSN news — 17

GSN goes MUN…

The German School Nairobi participated in both the Middle School (MSMUN) and the East African

(EAMUN) Model United Nations. More than 35 students from Classes 7 – 10 were thus able to take

part in this first-class programme!

We spent several weeks writing resolutions, which ranged from the eradication of dengue fever, to

regulation of transnational co-operations! This year, we also had a case in the International Court of

Justice, where one of “our” countries, Thailand, had to fight hard over a temple it has on the border

with Cambodia. 3 of our candidates participated in the Special Summit.

Special congratulations to Charlene Ndolo, who was selected to be Junior Chair, and Natalia Böheim

and Jessie Karanja, who were securitaries, students in charge of maintaining discipline in the confe-

rence rooms. Students are selected to these positions after rigorous training and examinations,

which they do after school in their own time.

It is indeed very satisfying to see our youngsters research, discuss, negotiate and debate such issues

with over other 1000 students, not only from Kenya, but also from East Africa.

The conferences end with a disco held at one of the participating schools, which, without a doubt,

is one of the highlights of the programme. It fits in completely with our goals of “intercultural edu-

cation”, whereby our students are exposed to their peers from other Kenyan and international

schools.

That the programme is of indispensable value to the school, is obvious. Here are some of the com-

ments from the students, clarifying this point:

“I was extremely impressed with how technologically advanced the UNON is!” (Joshua Macheroux-

Denault, Class 7)

“Each one has taken something from this programme – even in lessons in school, we now think

more critically, and use MUN phrases – “point of personal privilege – due to audibility!”(Ines Cam-

punzano, Class 9)

“We learnt a lot of stuff, for example about the Tasmanian Devil, which we can now use in class!”

(Elsa Martin-Lorz, Julia Iten, Class 7)

“The MUN is an experience we will remember for a life-time”. (Zolzaya Altan Class 9)

“I came to the podium to speak twice, and it was not easy to speak in front of hundreds of people.”

(Clinton Mzee, Class 8)

“I think we all enjoyed the MSMUN conference very much and learned a lot. It was a great experi-

ence and the program should be further encouraged. We all are looking forward to the next Model

United Nations” (Loretta Alcamo, Class 8)

Shital Shah

Participants of class 7 and 8 The GSN delegation of class 9 and 10

DSN news — 18

Cooperation Agreement signed!

From this semester, the German School Nairobi is offering Speech Therapy lessons for children ranging

from Kindergarten age to those in the Lower Secondary. Beatrice Fleig-Cordier, a qualified speech

therapist, offered to give these lessons to individual children in the school free of charge. After a di-

agnosis session to identify children who needed the therapy (which took place in February), weekly

lessons have already been taking place for these children.The German School Nairobi is truly grateful

to Ms Fleig-Cordier for volunteering her services to us, and we wish her and the children every success

in this programme.

Harald Mink

Franz Baur and Beatrice

Fleig-Cordier

DSN news — 19

Library

We are delighted, that after a six month break, Susan Semjank has stepped back into her position as

the school librarian, and the library is now open 5 days a week:

Monday – Thursday 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m

Friday 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.

Several parents had requested that the library remain open during the lunch hour from 1.00 – 2.00

p.m. The students are allowed to use this time as a quiet time to do their homework. We hope that

students will make maximum use of this offer. Please encourage your children to do so.

At this point we would like to sincerely thank Anja Schatz, who agreed to step in as the librarian in

the interim period. She carried out her role with a lot of dedication, and was responsible for introdu-

cing several new ideas and projects in the library.

A huge thanks goes out to Joy and Martin Koch for a generous donation of books to our school library

as well as to Tiva Joslyn, Miriam Stegen und Maria Laura Peters Velásquez, who actively assisted in

putting the books back in their correct places!

Sandra Illi

As you’d expect from the Swiss, you will be waited on not just attentively, but discreetly. And in SWISS Business, it can make a fl ight to Europe feel like it ends too soon. We fl y nonstop from Nairobi to Zurich, with excellent connections to 7 destinations in Germany and over 70 cities in 38 countries worldwide. For more information contact us on 374 4045 or 266 6967/8, your preferred travel agent or visit swiss.com

You won’t even notice you’re the center of attention. Typical Swiss.

Award winning:SWISS Business with fully fl at bed

School Quality Survey

In our last newsletter we informed you about the project quality management in the administration

department. Since then we have developped a questionnaire for all parents, teachers and service

providers in order to better respond to their wishes and needs. The evaluation will take place in the

coming weeks and we will publish the results.

We would like to remind you to send the questionnaire back to us via e-mail or to anonymously drop

a paper version in an envelope at the reception or in the „Kummerkasten“ before Easter.

Sandra Illi

DSN news —20

Calendar April/May

Mo 16.04. School reopens after the Easter Holidays

Wed 25.04. Parents’ Day

Sa 28.04. Opening of Art Exhibition and School Party

Mo 07.05. Information evening on studying in Germany

Sa 12.05. Spring Concert

Mo 14.05. to

Fr 25.05. Practical Training class 9

DSN newswww.dsnairobi.dewww.germanschool.co.keinfo@germanschool.co.ke

Tel.: + 254 (0)20 - 7121400, + 254 (0)20 - 7120371

Franz Baur, Acting Headmaster

Stefanie Thomas, Editor

Shital Shah, English translations

18 - 20 May 2012 Loiyangalaniwww.laketurkanafestival.com

LakeTurkana

Festival2012

The adventure

of a lifetime!

Regulations for the school car park

It has come to our attention that recently, parents have been using the school car park to park their

cars, but to carry out tasks outside the school. We would like to point out that the car park belongs

to the school, and is available to the employees of the German School, and to parents, who have

things to do at the school. It is not be used as an alternative to the car park at Village Market.

From the main gate, parking spaces on the left hand side are available to parents, and parking spaces

on the right hand side are reserved for the employees of the school. The drop-off zone is strictly limi-

ted to the area in front of the sports hall.

In order to allow us all use the car park well, we request you to stick to the above mentioned regula-

tions.

Sandra Illi

Cooperation with St. Augustine’s Learning Centre

After raising money during the 40th anniversary of the school for the St. Augustine Learning Centre,

and after helping the centre construct its new building, we are very pleased to announce that we

have continued to work with the centre on several aspects since.

The Headmistress of the school, Judy Nyambura, was thus a participant in the Experimento 10+ work-

shop of the Siemens’ Foundation at the GSN in December 2011, and was able to take a suitcase full

of school equipment for natural sciences back to the centre.

The centre is particularly willing to welcome volunteers, who can work and teach as interns for a cer-

tain period of time. In the last few years, there have been many young Germans who were available

to the school for several months as part of their voluntary service. Interns at our own school have

also expressed an interest in visiting the St. Augustine Centre and in working there. In April, Franziska

van Dyk will work at this school in Ruiru for a week.

Stefanie Thomas

DSN news — 21

Is something bothering you, or do have any serious issues?

Come to the “Boat”! In the “Boat” you will have the chance to swim away from school and speak about what is wrong: trouble at home, or with teachers, or even poor grades in class. Or you may have just argued with a friend, and you simply want to talk about it to someone.

All this is possible in the “Boat” - you can talk to me, or someone else, who I would be able to recommend. And whatever is discussed in the “Boat” stays in the boat, i.e. it remains confidential.

Teachers, you too are welcome to the “Boat”. If you are stressed about other colleagues, or your students, or even if you have any non-school related issues, you can “dump” them in the “Boat” – a cup of coffee or herbal tea always helps! And again, everything we discuss stays in the “Boat”.

Dear Parents, you may be concerned about your children, if they do not feel “at home” in the school, are being harassed in some way, or simply don’t seem to be coping… Pass by and talk about it in the “Boat” – the next steps to be taken will easily fall into place.

Welcome one, welcome all!

Psychosocial counselling helpline available from September 2011 in Room 21, on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1.00 – 2.00 p.m.

Dorothea Schulz-Ngomane Pastor / Religion Teacher 0733824514

dsn news · i know the german school, since we resided in nairobi from 2000 until 2008. being back...

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