Just outside the first window on the H.I.S. playground, a mother duck decided that a raised flower bed filled with fragrant herbs would be a wonderful place to lay her eggs. We will need to tread carefully and keep a distance from our temporary visitor for a little while.
AS
Grade 10 spent the Week Without Walls outdoor adventure trip in Furtwangen, the highest city in Baden Württemberg in the Black Forest.
We stayed at the Bregtal Hostel, which is also „Eliteschule des Sports”, a boarding school for students doing nordic sports such as ski-jumping, biathlon and cross-country skiing. Our last activity on Wednesday, the summer biathlon, took place at the training stadium where the competitions of the professional athletes are taking place, too. This was a great experience and a successful finish of an overall joyful and fun trip.
BK
On the first day, we arrived in Furtwangen and did archery. It was extremely fun, we did a lot of progress in archery by learning the correct method and improving our aim as well as power. Later we also played table tennis and kicker in the games’ room as well as basketball and volleyball in the sports room with the others. We interacted with the others in the class and had fun. The challenging part for me (Aadi) was mainly improving my team coordination when our group played the checkers game with Daniel and to remember the pattern where he was stepping.
On the second day, We went to Europa Park. It was a fun experience as we got to do multiple roller coasters, some easy and some thrilling. I (Soham) tried roller coasters for the first time and was able to get rid of my fear. Some challenges that we faced, were that we had to navigate the whole park, which took a lot of time. At Europa park, we got to visit ‚ many countries’ and do country-themed rides such as Euro-Sat and Euro-Mir. We also took exciting photos. After arriving, we had a rest, along with dinner later.
Thirdly, We went to the Summer Biathlon, which consisted of running and rifle shooting. We tried shooting with laser while laying down and standing up. It was a new experience. However, it was a little exhausting as mistakes resulted in a penalty of doing extra rounds running. We were good at shooting while laying down but shooting while standing up was difficult as our arms couldn’t stay still.
Later, we took a short walk in the forest and a retired forester, Mr. Kaltenbach, explained the landscape to us. It was interesting to learn that the word ‘sustainability’ came into existence when the Black Forest was chopped down to only 20% of its original size, making the people realise that it should be protected and the trees regrown. On our way back to Heidelberg, we played verbal games such as Akinator with the others and had an amazing time overall.
Aadi & Soham
The highlight of WWW were, Europa park especially riding blue fire, playing billard and eating snacks in our down time . A challenge was the weather as it was raining both during archery and when we where in Europa Park. Another challenge was managing our time at Europa Park to make sure we got the most out of our visit.
Aliyah, Joanne & May
Our three days in Furtwangen were a great part of this school year. We enjoyed spending time together, getting to know each other even more and learning new skills like biathlon and archery. Both things were definitely challenging at the beginning, but as we did different exercises and practiced we improved in our abilities and confidence. Our biggest highlight was spending a day at Europa Park as we rode on the multiple rollercoasters and felt the rush of adrenaline. We think it was a really great way to end our MYP experience and hope that many classes after us will also be able to participate in this.
Laura, Maria & Filiz
Last weekend saw the first Duke of Edinburgh’s Award practice expedition of the year. The students escaped the rain and had a very sunny and warm weekend.
Starting in Eberbach, the groups walked carrying their backpacks and had a lunch stop at an old ruin. They then continued with their selected routes all the way to the campsite near Neuenkirchen. After their arrival at the campsite, setting up tents and cooking themselves dinner, they spent a glorious sunny afternoon just chilling, playing volleyball and making a campfire.
The following morning, after a good warm breakfast, the students packed up their trangias and tents. They then walked towards their final destination for the weekend. Luckily it was a warm, dry weekend. It was only when the students were on their way home that the heavens opened up to some major thunderstorms!
The students arrived exhausted, not only due to the walking but also the heat. They should all be proud of their achievements over the two days. More importantly, there were no phones in sight all weekend and one student commented on their arrival that they had just spent 28 hours without using phones or any other devices.
All in all, it was a great start for the groups. We are looking forward to a further practice expedition over two nights at the beginning of June and the final assessed two-night three-day expedition at the end of June.
SAB
Our latest parent workshop provided by the Student Support Team focused on the power of the food we eat and the impact of nutrition throughout our lives.
Caroline Ackermann, a regional, nutritional expert and consultant provided a deeper understanding of the important building blocks within our diets that promote greater physical and mental well-being.
She was able to answer many questions that motivated all of us to be mindful of the food we eat and to continue to work within our families to develop healthy food choices.
If you would like see more about the resources Ms. Ackermann presented last Friday, you can find it here .
LF
Just before the Easter break, a secondary celebration assembly was held to celebrate some of the successes of our secondary school students over the past year.
We acknowledged the students in Grades 8, 9 and 10 who took part in the „Schüler machen Zeitung“ project and had their own articles published in the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung – a great success for our young journalists!
There was an acknowledgment of the Grade 9 and 10 students who took part in a local basketball competition as well as the students who had participated in recent Mathematics competitions that were held in Vienna and in Munich
An award and a monetary prize were awarded to three students in Grade 9 for their participation in last year’s Explore Science competition. Again this year we have many of our classes participating with the chance to win prizes.
Certificates of participation were also handed out to several Grade 10 & 11 students who took part in MUN earlier this year and we have just had another delegation recently attend a conference in Stuttgart and return with three students nominated as best delegates and two as best dressed delegates – another great success!
Finally, the prestigious Duke of Edinburgh’s Silver Award was awarded to our first cohort of students, eight Grade 11 students in recognition of their achievements. Over a year, each student had to complete a skill, a physical reaction activity and service as well as an expedition over two days after numerous trainings throughout the year. Each student received a certificate and small silver pin. This year we have 18 Grade 10 students involved who will soon be starting their outdoor expedition training.
Although the assembly celebrated the successes of many of the older students in the MYP, there was a lot of discussion afterwards amongst the younger students. They not only gained an impression of the many opportunities that H.I.S. has to offer but also what they can look forward to participating in in the years to come.
SAB
Students from Grade 10 and Grade 11 went on a trip to the International School of Stuttgart for Model United Nations (MUNISS) in April.
Putting ourselves in the shoes of ambassadors from all over the world, we debated about the balance and distribution of power around the world, focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goal #16: “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions” within different UN bodies.
We formed alliances while standing up for the values and opinions of the countries we represented. At the opening ceremony we were greeted by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock via a personal video wishing us good luck and success.
We also had workshops and speeches from several prominent people such as Mr. Gregory D. Thome, a former US Senior Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Rainer Wieland, the Vice President of the European Parliament, and Mrs. Sandra Boser, the Staatssekretärin Kultursministerium Baden-Württemberg.
We learned a lot about how new resolutions are passed; first comes lobbying, or unmoderated caucus, in which alliances are formed and resolutions are discussed, and after they are submitted, the main submitter presents their resolution. All countries can come up with amendments, and vigorous debating ensues as each country tries to defend their own interests. Then, most importantly, comes the voting. The admins secure the door, votes are counted, and if the resolution passes, “clapping is in order”!
During all that, we got some very funny, controversial speeches from our floating delegates, wrote gossip for our gossip boxes and came up with creative punishments for those delegates who dared to show up late. Our favourites? A live enactment of Romeo and Juliet, multiple proposals, and a very public, dramatic break-up.
We made lots of new friends, with schools from all over Germany and Europe gathering at the International School of Stuttgart for this unique experience, and we didn’t only make speeches and resolution papers. Friday, we met in a club in downtown Stuttgart with everyone from MUNISS and danced the night away.
As a highlight at the end of a four day eventful conference we had the Closing Ceremony, with a very funny video of the past weekend, and most importantly, the announcement of the “Best Delegate” in each committee. We’re very proud to have three of our Delegates, Luisa Roth (G11) as delegate of Saudi Arabia in General Assembly 1, Logan Anderson (G11) as delegate of Costa Rica in UNESCO, and Aadi Vaze (G10) as delegate of France in General Assembly 3 receive the honour of ‘ Best Delegate’.
All in all, it was an unforgettable experience and a unique insight for us into how diplomacy and world politics work!
Ella, Grade 11
Last week H.I.S. entered the Heidelberg Stadtschulmeisterschaft for grade 9&10 Girl’s and grade 9&10 Boy’s volleyball tournament. As some of you maybe aware they have been practicing volleyball in their Physical Education lessons and have become really good at playing it.
All of the students had a great day and thoroughly enjoyed playing in the games against the other schools from Heidelberg. The girl’s team won one of their games and had a positive experience. The boy’s team came so close to winning the tournament but nevertheless played well and finished second.
Congratulations to all of the participants and we hope you continue to enjoy playing volleyball in the future.
JK
We recently celebrated the first cohort of H.I.S. students who took part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. They received their certificates and silver pin in honour of their achievements in a secondary assembly just before the Spring Break. Congratulations to our eight Grade 11 students.
Over this year the current Grade 10 students have participated in a several hikes to improve their fitness and prepare them for their weekend expedition. This weekend will see the last of the day hikes for the students in preparation for their first overnight expedition next weekend. Students have had numerous training sessions over the year including a camp craft workshop and a First Aid course which all support them in completing the expedition part of the DoE Award scheme.
During the expedition, students are expected to walk 12-14 km per day carrying all the equipment they require for camping. This includes the tent, sleeping bags and mats as well as their food and the cooker (Trangia) that they must use to cook a hot meal for breakfast and dinner each day. Students will have planned their routes and their menus in advance in their groups.
We wish the students the best of luck over the next few weekends and hope that the weather remains warm and dry.
SAB
The German Language and Literature students visited an inspiring and hilarious performance of „Kleider machen Leute“ at the Heidelberg Zwinger Theatre in April.
The play was an adapted version of the novel by Gottfried Keller that the students studied in class. Watching the play on stage was a great opportunity to deepen the understanding of the novel and to gain new insights through a modern production. We all had a fun time!
Reading some student comments below, it is obvious that next to the theatre visit some stops along the Hauptstraße on the way to the Zwinger were also very important and a nice-to-have. Many thanks to our Performing Arts teacher for chaperoning the trip.
BK
The play was very well scripted and interactive as well. It was about a poor man named Wenzel Strapinski, who was mistaken for a rich nobleman. The characters portrayed each character flawlessly, in which they switched clothes to match their personalities.
It incorporated the audience by gesturing at them, shaking his hand and even laughing together. They wildly portrayed their emotions, happily dancing, anger, shock and sadness. Even true love! The best part was when Wenzel Strapinski stretched his hand out to our German teacher.
Sanpi
Today we went to the theatre with the tram. We made a quick stop at Ditch to get pizza. Once we arrived at the theatre, we saw that there were many different classes from other schools and they were pretty loud. The play was fun to watch and we especially liked the dancing, the costumes and the details. Some of the characters were weird, for example Wenzel Strapinski. There was too much kissing and was pretty long.
Hannah, Stella & Hanna
Before we left, everyone was very excited. Then we went on the tram and drove to Bismarckplatz and walked down the Hauptstraße and stopped at a bakery where we got a mini pizza.
After that we walked to the Zwinger Theater where the play started with the actors trying to find the best actor playing a person feeling cold and hopeless. The play was very interesting and funny.
After the play we walked back and stopped at an American candy shop which was very expensive, after that we stopped again at the bakery and some of us ate another pizza. Everyone was very sad to go back because we still had a Spanish test. But the play was interesting. We want to thank our German Teacher for making this possible.
Philipp & Aiden
The play was getting long at the end but was very fun. The actors danced and their face expressions were very good.
Joan
BK