Students, parents and staff are invited to join us for our annual Community Fest. We look forward to fun-filled afternoon with lots of activities and international refreshments.

As we approach the end of another year and head into the festive period, the students and staff of H.I.S. wish you happy holidays and a positive start to the new year. May 2024 bring you success and good health.

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

A group of Grade 11 students have recently visited the Waldpiraten Camp. As you are aware the Waldpiraten Camp is a residential camp offering therapeutic activities to children across Germany recovering from Cancer.

At the end of September the whole H.I.S. school community ran and walked around an athletics track at Sportszentrum West for one hour to raise money for the Waldpiraten Camp. The school holds this event once a year and started fundraising for the camp in 2010.  This year H.I.S. broke its own record again in collecting over 6,400 euros.

The students had a good time on the field trip and learned so much from Herr Engel about the work of the camp and the difference it makes to young peoples lives recovering from cancer.  It was also nice that some of the students helped to translate German to English for the teachers and other students during the visit!

We also thank Grade 11 students for raising awareness within the school about the Waldpiraten Run and for their support with the event.

JK (MYP PHE Teacher)

RB (MYP PA Teacher, CAS co-ordinator)

21 students from H.I.S., grades 10 through 12, attended the annual Model United Nations conference in Arnhem.

With many going for the first time, there was a lot of excitement in the group as we headed towards the Netherlands. The conference was held in the beautiful school of Lorentz Lyceum, which was the new venue for the event. On the first day the conference commenced with an opening ceremony that included various speeches. One of which was held by a member of the European Parliament. Having the opportunity of listening to one of Europe’s top politicians was an extremely fruitful experience, as it inspired and motivated us all for our conferences.

Throughout the three days that we spent there, many friends were made in the respective assemblies and many lessons were learned. Students who may have felt uncomfortable speaking in front of large groups of people, found themselves having detailed speeches in front of other delegates. Other students who were returning to the conference may have been able to strengthen their public speaking skills and improve their confidence. Some students may, however, have been preoccupied with writing the funniest gossip for the gossip box, or sending love notes to the cutest delegate in their committee. Nevertheless, this year’s LMUNA was a great experience for all of us.

On the Monday, before our train ride back to Heidelberg, we visited the World War II museum in Arnhem. It contained an exhibit of the Battle of Arnhem, which took place in the later stages of the war. The exhibit showed military uniforms that were worn during the battle, as well as other clothing items of victims of the battle. The most memorable part of the exhibit was the “World War II Experience,” which tried to replicate the social conditions of the war. We were able to walk through different rooms that contained mannequins dressed as soldiers in various military stages, while ominous sounds were playing. Collectively, it created a believable environment and it left a large imprint on the students.

With the fantastic teacher supervision from Ms. D and Ms. M, we had a wonderful time dressing in formal clothes and “playing adults” for a few days. Many participants have said to happily return to MUN conferences in the upcoming year.

Elsa, Grade 11