News


Annual General Meeting





The Annual General Meeting of the Members of the Vancouver Westside German School Society will be held on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 17:00 (registration starts at 16:30)

At: Prince of Wales Secondary School, 2250 Eddington Drive, Vancouver, BC

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR CALENDAR!
Click on date/time of the event to find detailed information and downloads.

Reminder to register



Liebe Eltern, dear parents,

I do hope you are having relaxing and enjoyable summer holidays.

This is just a quick reminder, in case you haven't done so already, to please register your children for the classes by August 24th. Simply go to www.vwgs.org/registration.

This would allow us to prepare for the new school year in a timely manner: order necessary class materials, find extra teachers if we need them, and disseminate information well in advance of the school start.

Thank you and have a good rest of the summer,

Lidija Bakovic
Principal

NEW START TIME for the new school year



Please note: as of September 2018, our classes' start times will be different:



Tuesday classes: 4:15pm to 6:30pm
Wednesday classes: 4:30 pm to 6:45 pm. 
 
The location will still be Prince of Wales Secondary School, 2250 Eddington Drive, Vancouver, BC. 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR - important dates:
School starts: 
Tuesday classes: September 18th, 2018
Wednesday classes: September 19th, 2018
VWGS AGM: September 18th, 2018 
Workshop about raising your child bilingually/multilingually: September 18th, 2018

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR – CONTRACT POSITION


The Vancouver Westside German School (VWGS) invites applications for the position of School Administrator. This is a position with a multi-year commitment, renewable on an annual basis. The appointed School Administrator is expected to start on July 1, 2018.

Click for full job posting (PDF)


Candidate Requirements
The ideal candidate is an enthusiastic person with a caring and engaging attitude, is creative, collaborative, and resourceful, and shows an interest in innovation and/or improvement where necessary. The candidate exhibits effective team work and interacts well with parents.

The candidate has a collegial and consultative approach, with a willingness to learn and to seek advice from others, and the strength to make final decisions.

As the school operates as a non-profit organization, the position requires a certain degree of flexibility with regards to workload and scheduling of hours over the school year, which may not always be consistent from one week to the next. The position entails approximately 50 hours per month with a starting salary of $22/hour. The candidate must be aware that this work load will be spread unevenly in the course of the year. Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada.

Applications are due no later than June 4, 2018 and should be sent in confidence to Meike Wernicke, VWGS President at meike.wernicke@ubc.ca. Applications should include: (1) a letter of application in English outlining the candidate’s qualifications; (2) candidate’s curriculum vitae. Shortlisted candidates will be required to provide names of three referees who can comment on the candidate’s qualifications. 

OPEN HOUSE INVITATION


Meet the principal and learn about our program, talk to other parents and students, visit our German media sale and enjoy "Kaffee und Kuchen".


Check out additional activities:

4.10 pm – 4.40 pm Tour the school                                     open classrooms

4.40 pm – 5.40 pm Lecture “The Benefits of learning (German as) a second language” (Andreas Meckes - Fachberater für Deutsch, Kanada West/German Language Advisor/Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschul-wesen/Central Agency for Schools Abroad (Germany)                room C110

5.40 pm – 6.10 pm “Der Hase und der Igel/The Hare and the Hedgehog”; A mini theatre production by tic theatre                 room C203

4.30 pm – 6.00 pm Meet the Board and our Alumni Students          cafeteria

HAPPY VALENTINE`S DAY



All our students, teachers and staff wishing you a great Valentine´s Day full of love and happiness.

Even though we are focusing on our German skills, we don´t want to forget all other nationalities. Here’s how to say ‘Happy Valentine’s Day’ in 23 different languages:

Alles Gute zum Valentins Tag – German 
Joyeux Saint-Valentin – French 
Feliz Dia De San Valentin – Spanish 
Feliz Dia dos Namorados – Portugese 
Valentines sásta lá – Irish Gelukkige 
Valentijnsdag – Dutch 
Masaya Araw ng mga Puso – Filipino 
Gelukkige Valentynsdag – Afrikaans 
Kekasih hari gembira – Malay 
Valentine hanh phúc ngày – Vietnamese 
Hamingjusamur Valentines dagur – Icelandic 
Toilichte Valentines latha – Scots Gaelic 
lokkiche valentynsdei – Frisian 
Dydd San Ffolant Hapus – Welsh 
Valentines oaoa ra – Maori 
Valentines Day faraxsan – Somali 
Hyvää ystävänpäivää – Finnish 
lycklig Alla hjärtans dag – Swedish 
Valantin kè kontan jou – Haitian 
Creole Valentines jum kuntenti – Maltese 
Aso valentines fiafia – Samoan 
Qingren jie kuaile – Mandarin 
Shiawasena Barentainde – Japanese

WELCOME BACK - SAVE THE DATES



Welcome back to the second half of the 2017/18 school year!

We hope you were able to spend some quality family time over the Christmas and New Years break. 
Back to school students and teachers are looking forward to meeting you all at one (or all) of our next events. For updated dates, times, activities, and further information please visit the school calendar.

Please save the date in particular for our  OPEN HOUSE 2018. 

Stay tuned what´s coming up. Students and teachers are already preparing!

MERRY CHRISTMAS



Dear members and friends of the Vancouver Westside German School,



As 2017 is drawing to a close, it is time to look back and also forward.

In the first three months of school, our students have experienced some of the best-known German fall and early winter traditions. Thanks to our teachers and very engaged parents, we have had two beautiful celebrations: one with lanterns and the other with chocolate Santas. Thanks to your participation, we have had two very well visited Coffee and Cake events, and a great book sale. We now have even more money to invest in refurbishment of our library. New books should be arriving by the end of January. With the start of new year, we will also restart Antolin class competition as well as our pre-school program.

Our students have gotten used to the routines at the Prince of Wales School, and have discovered the cafeteria as the place to be in during break. Our Senior classes did not have much time for celebrations as half of them had to start their exam preparations.

In the coming year, we are planning several workshops in different classes: theatre, Radio Lab, Radio Co-Op and also a Comic workshop. But the teachers want to use the time between winter and March break primarily for delving into the curriculum and unlocking new German speaking abilities in our students.

I would also like to thank German Consulate and other German institutions for their support and also for creating opportunities for our students to experience German in other settings than our school (e.g. children’s German movie showing and St. Nikolaus festivities).

Finally, I would like to thank you for your continued support and wish you a merry Christmas and a great start into 2018!

Lidija Bakovic
Principal

CHRISTMAS MARKET VISIT, Dec 19th



Thanks to the organizers of the Vancouver Christmas Market, once a year our junior students exchange their classrooms for the stage of the Christmas Market. The Christmas atmosphere will certainly be alive when our junior students will perform some traditional (and some less traditional!) carols, led by their teachers. 

The performance will take place on December 19th from 4.45pm  to 6.00pm. Put the date in your diary. We hope to see you all there!

DEUTSCHER KINDERFILM „Rico, Oskar und die Tieferschatten“



Liebe Familien, das Deutsche Generalkonsulat lädt Groß und Klein zu einer außergewöhnlichen Kinderbuchverfilmung ein! Kinder und Eltern sind herzlich eingeladen, sich von den zwei kleinen Helden Rico und Oskar in eine spannende und charmante Geschichte über Freundschaft, Mut und Abenteuer entführen zu lassen!

Eintritt frei! First come, first serve.


Details
Rico and Oskar, two completely different boys, become best buddies. Together they discover what friendship is all about when they are drawn into an unforeseen adventure. When Oskar gets kidnapped by the notorious “Mister 2000”, it’s suddenly up to Rico to rescue his friend. 

The German Consulate General in Vancouver shows the children’s movie “Rico, Oskar und die Tieferschatten”, an exciting and charming story about friendship, courage and adventure. The award-winning movie is based on the children’s bestseller book by Andreas Steinhöfel and has a top-class cast, including Axel Prahl, Karoline Herfurth, Milan Peschel, Ronald Zehrfeld and Anke Engelke. 

Kids and parents are cordially invited to watch the little heroes’ story on Saturday, October 28! 

• German version with English subtitles
• Doors opening at 10.30 am, showtime at 10.45 am
• Free entrance
• First come, first serve!

→ Watch the official trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npFD-8WJIPM

WELCOME



With the new school year here, a round of new teachers and support staff have joined our team. We want to give them all a warm welcome!
Special thanks to Tobias and Elene, our interns from Germany, who want to let you know a bit more about them.



Tobias Landgraf;

My name is Tobias, a student from Germany, and I will be assisting the teachers of the Vancouver Westside German School both on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in order to ensure and support the learning of the German Language in a productive and communicative way. Besides, I am going to oversee the Newsletter and the organization of the Tuesday’s Supervision duties for this academic year. 

Before entering the educational field, I studied a Master’s degree on economics, focusing on International Business Management. Nowadays, and back at home, I’ve recently concluded my Teacher Training degree in English, Geography and German as a Second and Foreign language at the University of Augsburg. Both my academic career and several internships have allowed me to gain great experience and to practice my educational abilities and knowledge by giving lessons on my own or by assisting other teachers. 

Currently, I’m on a Work and Travel Visa in Canada for a whole year to develop my teaching skills as well as to discover this amazing country you call home. As far as my hobbies are concerned, I love travelling, hiking, kayaking, reading, photography and playing basketball. 

Elene Sagasti Maquibar;

I´m Elene, a 28 years old student from Spain. In this school year, I will help Tobi with this Newsletter, in two to three weeks’ time I will be teaching the Kindergarten class on Tuesdays and I will assist another German teacher on Wednesdays in order to try to contribute for a successful academic year.

In the city where I was born, San Sebastian, I studied a Bachelor of Education majoring in Primary School Teaching and Foreign Languages (English) at the University of the Basque Country. Travelling is one of my passions too, and after living in countries such as the Philippines and Australia; in 2012, I moved to Germany to continue with my studies. In the University of Augsburg, I’ve just brought my Teacher Training degree in English, Spanish and German as a Foreign and Second Language to an end. In the course of my academic career, I have been able to develop educational skills and knowledge to become an efficient, productive and responsible teacher. 

I enjoy listening to good music, catching up with my friends, dancing, any team sport and let’s be honest, shopping :) Together with Tobi, I’m on a work and Travel Visa too, and before leaving Vancouver next Summer, we hope to have had a very positive effect in this school. 

Wir freuen uns auf ein erfolgreiches Jahr und auf die Mitarbeit mit euch allen! 

Annual General Meeting




The Annual General Meeting of the Members of the Vancouver Westside German School Society will be held on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at 17:00 (registration starts at 16:45)
At: Prince of Wales Secondary School, 2250 Eddington Drive, Vancouver, BC

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT OUR CALENDAR!
Click on date/time of the event to find detailed information and downloads.

Lehrer gesucht/Teachers wanted



Offene Stellen

Ausgebildete Lehrer in der Primarstufe
Sprachlehrer in der Sekundarstufe I und II
erfahrene Lehrer im DaM / DaZ und DaF-Bereich

sind herzlich eingeladen, Ihren Lebenslauf zu schicken an:

 vwgschool@gmail.com

zu Händen von
Lidija Bakovic, Schulleiterin

 Eine uneingeschränkte Arbeitserlaubnis muss bei Arbeitsantritt vorliegen.

Die Vancouver Westside German School (www.vwgs.org) ist eine Sprachschule für Deutsch als Fremd- und Zweitsprache, anerkannt vom Kanadischen Bildungsministerium und gefördert von der ZfA Deutschland. Der Unterricht findet ein Mal wöchentlich jeweils von 16-18.15 Uhr am Dienstag für Schüler im Alter zwischen 5-10 Jahren (Primarstufe) und am Mittwoch für Schüler im Alter von 10-16 Jahren (Sekundarstufe) statt.

NEW active Google School Calendar




You can now easily connect with our school calendar and copy events and appointments directly into your personal calendar. With this integration we offer all necessary information to each event (time, location, attachments etc.) in one place. 

If you click on a specific appointment you see the full information and two options for "more details" and to "copy in your calendar". We hope you like this new feature and it helps you to easily organize the German School afternoons.

If you want to stay connected with the German Community, watch out for our section - COMMUNITY EVENT. You are looking to make German business connections or simply want to meet other Germans? Feel free to join, we will share interesting events from all our friends in Vancouver. If you have something interesting to share, please let us know at orgavwgs@gmail.com

Keep up the German during Summer Break




Most of us know how important it is that students continue reading and writing over the summer. Research shows that kids who don’t keep up with their literacy skills can fall as much as two years behind their classmates. And it doesn’t take much to keep kids at the top of their game; studies have shown that reading just four books can help prevent the “summer slide.”

Here are a selection of useful links:
www.dw.com
https://deutschlernerblog.de/deutsch-fuer-kinder-deutsch-lernen/
http://www.br.de/kinder/hoeren/index.html
http://programm.ard.de/Radio/Listen/Kalender/Kinderprogramm

Hallway Supervision




Since Prince of Wales, our new school location for junior students, is a high school, renting space there on Tuesday comes with a caveat that we ensure the safety of our students. From now on, parents will be required to volunteer some of their time to do supervision in the corridors during school hours and recess.

This would amount to doing supervision duty twice to three times a year. The form has been included in the Karelo registration.

New Junior School Location on Tuesday




The upcoming school year, there will also be changes: Our Tuesday school will no longer be taking place at the Lord Kitchener Elementary School. Prince of Wales Secondary’s principal and staff have been very supportive and have graciously offered to rent us space on Tuesdays too. Starting September 19th, 2017, both our streams will take place at this location. 

This would give us a chance to go back to the more regular timetable for our Tuesday classes: class time from 4 pm to 5:15pm, recess at 5:15pm, library and crafts/more class between 5:30 and 6pm, and finally, singing at 6pm. 

Schuhplattler Performance at Lord Kitchener




How exciting was it to see the Schuhplattler Dance Group called "Alpen Plattlers" performing in the foyer at Lord Kitchener Elementary at the end of our Fasching / Carnival Celebrations? The kids were excited, and so were the parents. In the end, everyone danced! Thank you to our principal Lidija, for organizing this performance, led by a parent of one our students.

What is Schuhplattler?
Schuhplattle is a traditional style of folk dancing popular in the Alpine regions of Bavaria and Tyrol.  The male dancers stomp and strike the soles of their shoes (Schuhe), thighs and knees with their hands held flat (platt); hence the name Schuhplattler.  The females twirl and show off their petticoats, adding a colourful finesse.  Often each dance tells a story.  Some are of the origin such as the Allgauer (Allgau region) or imitate variou professions such as the “Holzhacker”  (lumberjacks) or the “Muehlradl” (millers dance), Bergknappen (miners), while others are courting dances.

The Alpen Plattlers have extensive experience having dedicated a number of decades to the art of Schuhplattling.
The group's goal is to maintain their culture through camaraderie and “Gemütlichkeit”.  

The group performs regularly for Oktoberfest, birthdays, weddings and corporate functions throughout the year in BC and the USA.

They also have a “Kindergruppe” for those who wish to introduce their children to their German cultural roots.  This group currently consists of seven little Schuhplattlers aged 6 to 12.

Interested? For more information, contact Steven Seewald, Vorstand at alpenplattlers@gmail.com or call 604 723 1766

Laternenfest 2016





On behalf of the Principal and the Board of Directors, we would like to thank all parents who came out to support the Laternenfest last week. Luckily, the rain held off for us this year.

We hope you enjoyed singing the traditional songs with your children, the traditional German Weckmänner, produced by Sweet Salt Bakery, and the Hot Chocolate afterwards. Thank you to all families who donated towards the Weckmänner.

A special thank you to all classroom teachers, who put in a lot of effort to ensure every child had a great lantern to show off, and of course to all parents for practicing the songs with their children prior to the big day! 

VWGS Library




If your child/ren attend/s classes at the VWGS on Tuesdays, please consider to volunteer in the library. Although we have gained terrific volunteers this past year, there is always room for more.
If you are interested, please email Barbara Dalpke, Library Manger at library@gmail.com

Appointment Notice – New School Principal




Hart Mauritz, President of the Vancouver Westside German School, is pleased to announce the appointment of Lidija Bakovic to the role of School Principal, effective June 1, 2016.    

Ms. Bakovic comes to the Vancouver Westside German School with an impressive mix of relevant academic, practical teaching and school administration experience, gained in both Canada and Germany. She holds a master’s degree in German as Foreign Language from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and a master’s degree in German Literature from the University of Dalhousie, Nova Scotia, supplemented by further studies in related fields at the University of Munich, Germany, and the University Montreal, Quebec.  

Ms. Bakovic has been a long-time instructor for German as a foreign language (DaF) at a number of prestigious institutions, including the Goethe-Institut in Ottawa, the University of Montreal, an International Baccalaureat Programme in Québec, and several other programs for children and adults in Canada and Germany. As the Coordinator for the Goethe-Institut in Ottawa she gained substantial experience in managing a not-for-profit language institute, and she was responsible for curriculum development and implementation, teacher evaluation, course preparation, and implementation of exams at elementary, secondary and university levels. She also worked closely with the German Embassy and other community partners to organize diverse cultural events such as photo exhibitions, film screenings and book readings.  

The Board is delighted to have Ms. Bakovic join the Vancouver Westside German School in the important leadership role of School Principal. Ms. Bakovic will ensure the continued successful delivery and growth of German language programs for the community in metro Vancouver, and further build out the School’s position as a pre-eminent German language institution in Canada.  

Ms. Bakovic follows Ms. Christine Spreter who, after four years as Principal, has decided to pursue new career challenges. Christine took the helm of the School at a pivotal time of change; she has since then dedicated an incredible amount of energy to advance program quality and modernize its delivery. The Board is extremely thankful for her outstanding contributions and achievements, and wishes her all the best in her future endeavors.
  
The Vancouver Westside German School is a not-for-profit, charitable organization founded in 1992. It offers a premier after-school German language program and various levels of certification. The School serves over 200 students from K-12, both with and without previous knowledge of the German language; it has over 15 extremely qualified and experienced instructors. The Vancouver Westside German School receives partial financial support from the Federal Republic of Germany through ZfA, the Central Agency for Schools Abroad. For more information please visit www.vwgs.org