DEUTSCHE SCHULE LONDON May / June 2010 www.dslondon ...

DEUTSCHE SCHULE LONDON May / June 2010 www.dslondon.org.uk
Dear DSLive Readers,
May means it is graduation time! All 26 pupils
in Year 12 have successfully passed their
Abitur and I would like to congratulate them
wholeheartedly! They achieved a 2.16 mark
on average, which is an extremely good
result for a graduating class, especially in
relation to German national results.
Furthermore, May saw the new Austrian
Ambassador, Dr. Brix, and his wife at the
German School London. Our 50 Austrian
pupils, the Primary School choir and our
Austrian teacher, Mrs. Lasthofer, prepared a
warm welcome for Ambassador Brix and his
wife. We wish them both all the best for their
time here in London!
“Week of Reading” was one of our projects at
the end of April. The German author Oliver
Fritz read from his English novel “Iron Curtain
Kid” to Year 10, another bilingual contribution
to our school! In addition, older students
recommended and reported on books for
their younger classmates in Year 8 and 6.
Thanks to all who were ready to embark on
our reading projects, particularly to Mrs.
Russwurm who organized these events. Our
Primary School is planning a similar project
with Gruffalo Illustrator Axel Scheffler in
September. Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible”
performed by Mr. Frank’s Drama Group
received well deserved enthusiastic applause
on May 5th and 6th. Congratulations to all
involved in this excellent performance! All
staff members embarked on a training course
on 23rd April to prepare for the inspection by
German authorities in December 2010. Our
main theme was: “What is good teaching
from the point of view of inspectors?” In
addition, teachers have been working on
the curricula for the integrated IB-Abitur
course from 2011 onwards. Pupils in Year 10
participated in standardized written tests in
Maths, English and German in March. They
can be proud of the outcome indeed. Whilst
results in German remained in the usual
ranges, our pupils achieved excellent results
in Maths and English. Well-done! Our annual
poetry reading this year with German author
Matthias Politycki on June 11th was a great
success and enjoyed by many. June will also
see the Football World Championship at DSL.
Together we enjoy the matches during the
Public Viewings in the DSL Forum. Join us for
the next match on June 23rd at 19:30. In
literature, language and even sports, we are
constantly striving towards bi-linguality and
bi-culturalism. Enjoy!
Marie-Luise Balkenhol
Dear Readers,
Towards the end of the school year time
seems to run faster and school activities
are on the rise. The children from class 4b
enjoyed the visit of our friends from the
Lycée Français on May 24th. Other classes
are looking forward to trips to the Tate
Annual General Meeting: June 30th, 7.30 pm at the DSL Cafeteria. Please
come and attend the meeting! You will hear about our work in 2009/10 and
our plans. We need your ideas and your help, and also you as a member!
Summer Bazaar: Saturday, July 10th from 1pm till 4pm at DSL. Everyone
is invited to come and celebrate the end of yet another successful school year! As with all
Friends events, the proceeds from this bazaar will benefit the school community. We look
forward to seeing you there!
Photo: Christian Gröschel
June
Upcoming events
15 Primary school music
concert, 7 pm, Forum
16 Assembly, Cl 5+6
12:10 pm, Forum
17 Sports Day Cl. 1+2,
DSL “Bundesjugendspiele”
Cl. 3-10 Kingston stadium
18 Recorder playing with
M. Petri, and students of
primary school and Cl. 6-8
10:30am, Forum
18 Visit of the Natural History
Museum Cl. 3b
18 Football tournament,
DSL vs Reading School
2.15 pm
21 IB-Teacher training
No lessons for Cl. 5 - 11
No AGs for secondary
school, Primary school as
usual, Normal bus service
22 Music video event,
selected music pupils of
Cl. 7-10, all day,
Emirate stadium
22 Secondary School music
concert, 7.30 pm, Forum
25 herbieQ concert Herbert
Quelle charity concert for
“Friends of Douglas House”
7.30 pm, Forum
28 Engl.Theatre Club
performance, “Odyssee”
Cl.5/6, 7.30 pm, Forum
30 Annual General Meeting
“Friends of Douglas House”
7.30pm, Cafeteria
July
1 German Theatre Club
performance Cl. 1+2
“Schneewittchen”,
Cl. 3 + 4 “Ratten in der
Stadt”, 7.00 pm, Forum
2 German Theatre Club
performance, Cl. 1+2,
3+4 (see above)
9:30 am, Forum
(only for pupils of the
primary school)
2 SV: Football tournament
Cl. 5-7, 2pm,
Sports Fields
10 Summer Bazaar
1pm – 4pm
12 Used Textbook Sale
13 Used Textbook Sale
15 Used Textbook Sale
Please regularly check the DSL webpage:
www. dslondon.org.uk for updates

Modern Gallery (3a), the National History
Museum (3b), the London Aquarium
(year 2) or the London Zoo (year 1).
Children from years 1 and 2 are getting
ready for the annual sports festival and
respectively years 3 and 4 are preparing
for the „Bundesjugendspiele“ a national
school sports competition day. Various
musical and theater performances are
also scheduled in the forthcoming weeks
(see events calendar).
Despite the busy schedule our focus is
on class work. The children are working
hard and we are really proud of the fact
that neither the wide spread flu virus
nor volcanic ash could bring school life
to a standstill. Replacement teachers
have taken over well prepared to keep
classes going. The terrific and efficient
communication within the faculty staff
ensured that all classes took place as
usual and curriculum targets will be
achieved by the end of the term. This is
something we can be very proud of.
I wish you and your families a wonderful
early summer and hope you find the
time to enjoy our beautiful surroundings.
Best wishes,
Karin Roth-Junkermann
Changes in the Management
Committee
After 2 years as Chairman of the
Management Committee, Bettina
Mallet is stepping down as Chairman,
to meet the increasing demands of
her professional commitment as
an executive coach. Mrs. Mallett will
remain on the Management Committee
as Deputy Chair and continue as Chair
of the Personennel Committee. The
members of the Board express their
deepest thanks to Mrs. Mallet for her
ceaseless and energetic commitment to
the DSL. The Management Committee
warmly welcomes Mrs. Lynda Baker
Funke, who takes over as the new
Chairman. Mrs. Funke, a member of the
Management Committee since February
2009, runs the Sponsoring Committee
and is on the IB Committee. The Board
is highly pleased that Mrs. Funke has
offered her talents, time and energy to
lead the Management Committee.
Good News in the Building Department
at the DSL
Paul O’Brien, DSL Facilities Manager,
reports on the next step in the renovation
of the German School’s historic
jewel, the 1680-built Douglas House.
“The Douglas House refurbishment
programme is gathering pace, as we
have received full Planning Permission
and Listed Building Consent. The School
is in a tender process to select a Main
Contractor to be appointed by mid-
June. The temporary closure of Douglas
Photo: Orrie Dempsey
House is in its final planning stages, with
the move anticipated to take place July
19th and 20th. The three rooms at the
eastern end of the House, facing the
courtyard, will be used as office space
for the Headmistress, Mrs. Balkenhol
and the DSL administration, and will be
supplemented by four ‘portakabins’ in the
courtyard outside the Kindergarten.” The
portokabins will house 1) Orrie Dempsey,
2) Paul O’Brien and Jeremy Marsden, 3)
Tutoring, 4) Friends of Douglas House
(FoD) Arts and Crafts Room shared
with the Elterncafe. The Elterncafe and
FoD Arts and Crafts Room have already
been packed up (many thanks to the
volunteers) so that the rooms can be
prepared for the administration, and
thus, unfortunately, will be closed until
the beginning of the next term. The
preparation work on these side rooms
has begun. The building works and move
will cause some disruption, please excuse
us for any inconvenience. We are very
grateful for everybody’s patience in this
process. The end product will certainly
be something of which we can be proud.
The New Build Committee also heralds
good news from the Richmond Planning
Department, who support the design
changes and the materials proposed, and
accept the green wall concept as well as
the execution of it. Keep your eye out
for the upcoming DSLbau, which will be
published within the next couple weeks
and will provide an in-depth update on
the New Build.
Quick IB update:
We are still in the preparatory stages
of implementing the International
Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
The work on Application B, outlining
the academic planning of individual
departments at the DSL, which is due in
August, continues. Various teachers will
attend IB workshops during the upcoming
months. Finally, we are getting ready for
the Diploma Programme authorization
visit this autumn.
Kind regards,
Elisabeth Cannon IB Coordinator
A project entitled ‘Respect’
Kindergarten and Vorschul children
spent two weeks this term on a project
called ‘Respect’. With the help of stories,
songs, art, hand puppets and roleplaying
the children learned how to
behave appropriately and deal with
others in a positive manner. The new
‘friendship stop’ helps the children find
a playmate on the playground. When
you are looking for someone to play
with, simply stand next to the sign and
children and staff will come and offer
their help. As Mia says, “It is much nicer
Photo: Jutta Hepworth
than having to ask others. It is nice
when other children come and say ‘do
you want to play with me?’
Jutta Hepworth
New Computers for the ICT Suite and
Fiber Optic link to main buildings
Douglas Ritchie, DSL Information
Technology Manager, is proud to show
off the modernized ICT Suite. Having
installed 30 brand new desktop computers
for the pupils, a new server, the most
modern teaching software: Class Link,
and newly installed fiber optic cables
running both to the main building and set
up to run to the new build, Mr. Ritchie has
reason to beam. The pupils are already
enjoying the benefits of the new personal
computers, which are more streamlined
and contain both monitor and computer
hardware on top of the desk, leaving the
pupils improved legroom. And the room
itself is now noticeably quieter, as the
server previously situated there has been
moved to join the other servers in the
main building. Now that the ICT suite is
connected via fiberglass, all computers
can be maintained and supervised both
from within the classroom and the main
building, and communications between
the ICT suite and the “Lern-Zentrum” is
now a given.
Reading is fun – Exploring the World
of Books!
The primary school library draws
children to books well before they can
actually read. From year 1 onwards,
many pupils begin looking forward to
their weekly visit, starting with picture
books and progressing to children’s
literature. In year 3, book presentations
become an essential part of German
lessons. Each pupil presents a short
summary of their favourite book to
the whole class, which leads to a lively
exchange of books among the children.
Teachers also make use of additional
internet platforms (antolin.de) and
the support of ‘reading mums’ who
work with children in small groups.
For secondary pupils there are reading
contests, which motivate them to
improve their skills and gain confidence
in reading in front of an audience. This
was the aim of the recent ‘reading
week’. Year 6 held reading contests
within the classes, and the winners
read their chosen pieces to all year 5
students. In the secondary school, there
is also a reading mentoring program
whereby older students recommend
their favourite books to younger ones.
Finally, the school also invites authors
to read to pupils in years 9 – 12, such
as visits by Oliver Fritz on April 27th
Photo: DSL

and Azouz Begag on June 10th. Enjoyed
by both pupils and public are the DSL
evening poetry and literature readings.
They have been held since 1979 and the
list of attendees is a roll call of German
literature. Most recently, Matthias
Politycki read excerpts of his latest work
on 11th June in the school forum.
Sports Day on 17th June: Bundesjugendspiele
and Mini-Olympics
We’re looking forward to this summer’s
Bundesjugendspiele, the national school
sports competition day, on 17th June.
All students from year 3 to 10 will meet
at Kingsmeadow Stadium in Kingston to
compete in three disciplines: sprint, long
jump and throwing. Most students elect
to run the medium distance and the older
ones can choose shot-putting instead of
ball throwing. A highlight at the end of
the day are the relay races (4 x 100m).
Students and parents are there to cheer
on the runners who have qualified in
the preceding weeks. The preparation,
organization and evaluation of the event
is mainly in the hands of Ms. Gebser and
Mr. Ballauf. According to the number of
points reached, the competitors receive
different types of certificates: ‘honors’,
‘winner’ and ‘participant’. By helping with
timing, measuring, and team leading, year
11 students make a valuable contribution
to the event. At the beginning of the day
all children are divided up into teams
and year 11 students will lead them
throughout the day. Thanks to the year
11 classes! Taking part is compulsory
and the results are counted as part of
the marks for the year-end report. All
parents should receive a letter detailing
the organization and logistics. In recent
years, children were either taken to and
from the stadium by bus, or parents/
carers could take or collect them directly.
We hope all students will have lots of
fun and good results! Traditionally, year
1 and 2 hold their Mini-Olympics on the
same day at the DSL, which is a round
of sports-related games. Our best wishes
for fun and good results for them as well!
Richmond Borough Swimming-Gala
from left to right: Alexander Kunde, Gerrit Seipel,
Elin Jonsson, Kilian Nebe
On March 17th our year 5 and
6-swimmers won prizes and became
Borough Champions in the Richmond
Borough Swimming Gala. Here are the
results of the hard won competitions:
Alexander Kunde, cl. 5b, Gerrit Seipel,
cl. 5a, and Kilian Nebe, cl. 6a won the
1st place prize in the “Boys Medley”!
Alexander Kunde, and Elin Jonsson both
cl. 5b, became Borough Champions
with their first places, for Alexander in
Photo: Anette Seipel
freestyle and backstroke and for Elin
in freestyle! Gerrit Seipel won the 2nd
place prize in breaststroke and the 3rd
place prize in butterfly! And the boys
were awarded 3rd place overall of the
Independent Schools! Well done DSL
Swim team, we are proud of you all!
Looking forward:
Two Music Recital Evenings are being
organised by the Primary School on 15th
June and by the Secondary School on
22nd June. Again this year we can look
forward to an interesting repertoire of
musical pieces, played by the pupils on
a range of instruments. Come and be
enchanted by their skill! For information
please contact the music teachers Mr.
Wellner or Mr. Kraft. On 18th June, a
unique musical morning with Michala
Petri, the world famous recorder player
visits DSL. She will perform music
together with DSL pupils DSL (recorder
players) and other schools. On 22nd June,
twenty pupils from Cl. 7 to 10, chosen for
their achievements in music and sport,
will participate in a Music Video Event
at the Emirates Stadium. 200 pupils,
including the DSL pupils, will sing a song
especially composed for this event. The
music video to be shot and produced
there and then is destined for the 2010
Football World Cup in South Africa.
herbieQ concert, June 25th, 7.30pm at
the DSL Forum. ”Time is up – Ich habe
noch Töne”. Self compositions, songs
from the sixties and Jazz-Standards will
be performed by Herbert Quelle together
with other musicians in this farewell
charity concert. There will be a voluntary
entrance fee of £5, which will be donated
in full to charities, including the Friends
of Douglas House. All donations are
welcome. Last year £2000 was raised for
good causes. Info: wi-s1@lond.diplo.de“.
On 28th June, the English Drama Club (Cl.
5 & 6) will perform the play “Odyssey”,
directed by Lisa Allan. It will be an evening
full of adventure, wonder, magic, gods,
monsters, please come! On 1st July, the
German Primary School Drama Club will
perform two short plays: the first group
(Cl. 1 & 2) will play “Snow White and the
Seven Dwarves”; the second group (Cl.
3 & 4) will play “Rats in the Town”, an
adaptation of the story “The Pied Piper of
Hamelin” with a good ending. Both plays
are written and directed by Mrs. Durizzo.
The young actors are looking forward
to your coming! There will be a second
performance on July 2nd for the primary
school pupils during school hours.
Last but not least, come one, come all to
the DSL Summer Concert on July, 14th
at 7.30pm in the Forum. Don’t miss the
DSL musical Grand Finale of the 2009/10
school year!
I remember
This was the topic chosen for the 20th
annual exhibition of the Young Art
competition displayed at the Royal College
of Art, London, from May 11 – May 13th.
Twenty two DSL pupils had their artwork
chosen and exhibited together with 620
other paintings and drawings by UK
school children. With 7,400 entries, this
competition is stiff. Congratulations to
all DSL young artists who participated
and those chosen! Especially noteworthy
are DSL prize winners Jennifer Thiessen,
year 10a, who won the 2nd place prize
of her age group and Gerrit Seipel, year
5a, who was awarded 3rd place prize of
his age group. Well Done! A special thank
goes to our art teachers Iris Lasthofer
and Nicole Stengritt who supported their
pupils in this art competition. All the
money raised by Young Art supports the
Cancer Research UK.
Some of the young artists together with Nicole Stengritt
DSL pupils successes in and outside
of school
Congratulations to Richard Meikle-Briggs,
who succeeded in reaching the ‘Gigafinal’,
the penultimate round, and is hoping
to get into the final round. On 5th June,
Richard competed for the English Under
11 team against Wales, and by winning
his two matches, he contributed to the
English victory. Well done, Rirchard!
Judoka Sérafin Fiala won a Bronze medal
on 18th April at the Surrey Junior Judo
tournament for the group under 55 kg.
He was the youngest in the group and
also had to compete against the English
champion (who gained gold again). For
Sérafin it was not only a great success
but also an unforgettable experience!
If you have DSL related news, please
e-mail us: dslive@dslondon.org.uk
Junior Citizenship
On April 27th and 29th, our year 5 pupils
participated in the Junior Citizenship
workshop organised annually by the
London Borough of Richmond Safety
Education Team. The aim is to teach the
children how to cope with emergency
and other stressful social situations.
Amongst the role playing activities
were: how to react in a fire alarm, a
simulated 999 emergency phone call
and how to behave as a witness of a
car accident. The children were also
instructed on other important subjects,
such as bullying, correct behaviour on
the roads, and rules and regulations of
public transport.
Photo: Barbara Duve Photo: DSL

„What are you most
excited about the
“Bundesjugendspiele”?“
Mika Stroh, Kl. 2c
“Unfortunately, we aren’t
old enough, yet. I like the
long jump.”
Frederik Ihnen, 8b
“I am most excited about
the 1,000 meter race.”
Jennifer Thiessen,10a
“My favourite is the
Sprinting.”
German School London
Douglas House
Petersham Road
Richmond Surrey
TW10 7AH
T: +44(0)20 8940 2510
www.dslondon.org.uk
Headmistress
Marie-Luise Balkenhol
Management
Committee Chair
Lynda Baker-Funke
Photos courtesy of the DSL
© 2010
Editorial
DSLive Editors
Loraine von Moltke,
Silke Müller,
Cornelia Morrison,
Annette Cruiziat,
Bianka Frieser,
Christine Verheyen
Betina Awtani
Graphics
Simona von Woikowsky
Photos
Orrie Dempsey, Barbara Duve,
Loraine von Moltke,
Betina Awtani, Jutta Hepworth,
Christian Gröschel,
Anette Seipel
Article, ideas or submissions:
dslive@dslondon.org.uk
Model United Nations in Kiel,
25.3. – 29.3.2010
“On March 25th a group of us from Year
11, accompanied by Mr. Frank, flew to Kiel
to participate in the MUN (Model United
Nations), which brings together young people
to simulate a meeting of the UN.” Read the
full story by Michelle in the Yearbook 2010.
Happy Abi graduates
After weeks and months of exhausting
examinations, finally the Abi exams were
passed and celebrations took place. It
started with the traditional reception at the
German Embassy on May 20th, with canapés,
champagne, speeches and photos. On Saturday,
May 22nd, the students received their diplomas
and accolades during a ceremony in the DSL
Forum. Along with the Headmistress, Marie-
Luise Balkenhol, new Management Committee
Chair Linda Funke, Christian Ballauf 6th Form
coordinator, and class teachers, Susan Avenell
and Andreas Merzhäuser also amongst the
well-wishers were Mr. Meyer-Klodt, Cultural
Attaché of the German Embassy and Zac
Goldsmith, Conservative MP for Richmond
Park and North Kingston. The meaningful
celebration was interspersed with musical
interludes provided by DSL pupils from year
9 to 12. After the diplomas were presented,
a number of prizes were awarded, including
Best Pupil of the Year for Viola Detemple. The
celebration party started the same evening on
board a chartered boat on the river Thames
and graduates left the next day for the “Abi trip”
to Barcelona for rest and relaxation. A heartfelt
congratulations to all of the graduates, we
wish you all the best for your exciting futures.
We would like to invite our graduates to keep
in touch with the DSL by using the alumni-link
on our home page.
The Parents Association reports:
Many of the themes discussed at the Parents
Association meeting on 25th March, such as
the new build, inspections, school regulations,
are being reported separately in this issue.
Momentarily, we are preparing meetings with
the parent reps of specific year groups to
discuss topics relevant to different age groups.
Parents’ representatives are asked to tell us
about any issues they would like to raise.
Thanks to all parents and the school councils
for their excellent constructive cooperation!
S. Kilian, S. Müller,
elternbeirat@dslondon.org.uk
DSL School Year Book Out Soon!
Soon the new School Year Book will be
published! Interesting news, school
information, articles written by pupils and
teachers enriched by colourful photos and
illustrations have been put together by
Mr. Haeussler and Mrs. Fawcett-Wolf. The
yearbook will be a nice souvenir for all of us.
It will be available for purchase for £10 at
the DSL annual summer fair on July 10th or
alternatively can be ordered. Order forms will
be distributed via e-mail.
Photo: MUN
DSL Swiss Parents Association
Fundraising Dinner
With great pleasure we announce that the
amount of £5.555 was raised during a lovely
fundraising dinner. The proceeds will be equally
split in favor of the German School and
Sentebale. A big thank you to all parents who
attended and supported us! We also would like
to thank the two main sponsors of the evening
JULIUS BÄR and SWISS SMILE. Best wishes,
Isabella Pivetta & Daniel Gerber, Swiss Parents
Association of the German School
DSL pupils and staff active in sponsoring
worthy charities
On April 16th, Marcel Sand, Class 6c and his
two teams: Tiger Sharks 1 and 2, including:
Laura Sand (Marymount), Kilian Nebe, Class
6a, Linus Brug, Richard Waterman and Julian
von Moltke – all in Class 6c, swam a total of 10
K at Pools in the Park in “the world‘s biggest
fundraising Swimathon” 2010. Marcel and his
team members raised £1,267.00 for Marie
Curie Cancer Care “in memory of the late
mother of a classmate”. Bravo, Tiger Sharks!
Also hard at work is DSL Facilities Manager,
Paul O’Brien, who will cycle 52 miles to
raise money towards Leukaemia & Lymphoma
Research in the London Bikeathon 2010, on
June 27th. To support Mr. O’Brien, just pop into
his office Douglas House or support online:
www.virginmoneygiving.co.uk/Paul.O’Brien.
DSLive Photo Contest
Congratulations to Ms Hannah Boyneams, who
won the last photo contest! This time we would
like to know, where the Abi-duck is hiding! We
will randomly pick a winner of £5 from all correct
answers. E-mail us:
dslive@dslondon.org.uk by June 30th.
Tweety the school duckling
Not only the “Abiture-enten” but also a tiny
fluffy duckling contributed to enjoyable
moments in our daily school life. Found in a
bush on the school grounds, ‘saved’ by pupils
and adopted by Mrs. Kretschmer, Tweety soon
conquered the hearts of children and adults
alike and enabled students to enjoy their
classes in a slightly different way.
Registration for bus service
From mid-June onwards you can start to
register for the bus service for the coming
2010-2011 school year. If you would like to
secure a place, please contact Angela Richter:
angela.richter@dslondon.org.uk.
Photo: Tina Awtani
Photo: Loraine von Moltke