Herzlich Willkommen!
Welcome to the Vancouver Westside German School!
We offer a widely recognized high quality K-12 German after-school language program. Ideally students join our program at the age of 5 or 6 and progress on to high school.
Students who would like to join our program at a later stage, must be able to speak/read/write in German at the same level as their peers.
We teach German as a foreign language and German as a second language. To that end we stream our students throughout the entire program into a second language stream and a foreign language stream. (For additional information please see Classes).
Our program reflects a variety of language levels including German language introduction in Kindergarten, progression at the elementary level, exam classes for provincial high school credits, and the German language diploma, which is a language proficiency requirement for admission to any German, Austrian and Swiss university.
Students learn German with us once a week after regular school hours. Junior classes (ages 5 to 10) are held on Tuesdays from 4:15 pm to 6:30 pm, and senior students (10 years and up) attend classes on Wednesdays from 4:30 pm to 6:45 pm, at Prince of Wales Secondary School.
We receive financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany - the Zentrale für Auslandsschulwesen (ZfA). In addition our program is funded by tuition fees as well as donations made by parents and the community.
We are a recognized language school and a non-profit organization founded in 1992. We have been serving the Vancouver community for over 20 years and are a member of the Canadian Association of German Language Schools (CAGLS) and the PASCH Partner School Initiative, a network of more than 1,500 German Schools abroad offering German Language Certificates. We encourage our teachers to become members of the BCCTG (British Columbia Council of Teachers of German).
The school is operated by the VWGS Society, represented by an elected board of directors. The School Principal and Administrator manage the day to day running of the school with the support of a team of dedicated, highly qualified teachers and assistants.
VWGS Directors 2021-2022
President
Steven Seewald
Mr. Steven Seewald, AScT, PTech, EP, CRSP, Eng.L. has been consulting in the field of environmental engineering and occupational hygiene for approximately 20 years. Mr. Seewald is the president of ALARA Environmental Health and Safety Ltd. is on the Board of Directors of various other related companies. Mr. Seewald is registered with the Applied Science Technologists and Technician of BC as an Applied Science Technologist (AScT) and a Professional Technologist (PTech), with the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals as a Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP), with the ECO Canada as and Environmental Professional (EP) and additionally with the Engineers and Geoscientists of BC as an Engineering Licensee (Eng.L.). He also holds associate memberships with the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), and the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). Mr. Seewald is recognized as a Qualified Professional (QP) by the City of Vancouver, a Qualified Environmental Professional (QEP) by the BC Ministry of Environment and a Qualified Person (QP) by WorkSafeBC.
Vice President
Alicia Williams
Alicia Williams is a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA) and a lawyer. She currently works for Charitable Impact, a hybrid not-for-profit and for profit organization, as its Controller. She has been the Chief Financial Officer of a publicly traded company and served on the Board of a non-profit youth ballet as its Treasurer.
Secretary
Claudia Baerwolff
Claudia joined the VWGS Board in 2019 as member at large. Born and raised in Düsseldorf, she spent a few years in Munich before moving to Vancouver in 2004. Claudia holds a bachelor degree in business administration from Germany and an MBA from Simon Fraser University. Throughout her professional career in the engineering and construction industry, she had the opportunity to work in North and South America, Australia and of course, Germany. As an advocate for quality childcare, educational learning and play, Claudia also serves on the board of the Vancouver Society of Children's Centres. On the weekends, Claudia and her family enjoy the outdoors and spend a lot of time skiing and cycling in Whistler.
Treasurer
Kerstin Holzmueller
Kerstin Holzmueller is a CA (Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland), MA Political Science University of Glasgow. Kerstin moved to Vancouver in 2011 where she has been working for a publicly-traded company in various roles.
Director at Large
Anja Slusarzick-Seibt
Anja joined the Board in 2018 and now serves as a Director at Large. She studied Architecture in Berlin and holds a Master's degree in this field. Anja is a registered Architect AIBC, CP and a member of the Architectural Institute of British Columbia. In her spare time, Anja cheers for her soccer-playing kids and enjoys being out and about.
Director at Large
Aileen Mischker
Aileen joined the Vancouver Westside German School Board in 2021 and serves as a Director at Large. Born and raised in Germany, she studied Business Administration and moved to Vancouver, BC in 2007, where she enrolled in Payroll and Bookkeeping Administration. Furthermore, she has a keen interest in marketing, especially social media and educates herself constantly, as she is a firm believer of lifelong education. Aileen is a proud mother of 2 and is currently the Director and President of an Esthetics Salon in Vancouver!
Director at Large
Tracey Dye
Tracey Dye joined the Vancouver Westside German School Board in 2015 as Secretary, and is now serving as Director at Large.
School Management
Principal
Ute Steves
Ute Steves has worked with the Vancouver Westside German School for the past seven years as teacher and Exam Coordinator. She has 25 years+ DaF, DaZ and ESL teaching experience gained in both Canada and Germany, including Examiner Certification for the German Language Diploma, International Teacher and Teacher Trainer Certificate ESL and a Canadian TESL and IELTS certification. She currently also works with immigrants and refugees teaching them English and volunteers her time as treasurer on the BCCTG Board.
Administrator
Susanne Freitag
Susanne joined Vancouver Westside German School in the Summer of 2018. She holds a master's degree in Computer Science and Social Studies (MEd) and a Master of Arts in Sociology. Before moving to Vancouver, Susanne worked as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Münster, Germany. Her research spans the social and educational sciences and she remains affiliated with her research group in Germany. At VWGS she supports the principal, board members and staff in various functions.
