Award "WiR! School" & "WiR! Kindergarten"
Many local schools located near U.S. military installations consider themselves independent actors to promote the German-American (intercultural) communication among young people by maintaining partnerships with Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) Schools. We honor the schools’ commitments to facilitate encounters between German and American students to promote the mutual understanding by awarding the certificate “WiR!-Schule“ (“WiR! School“), with WiR! (we in English) standing for our state program “Willkommen in Rheinland-Pfalz!".
The certificate was initiated in 2019 and is bound to the duration of one school year. It is tied to an active cooperation, a minimum number of joint activities, as well as the mutual fulfilment of certain criteria. Many schools and kindergartens already met the requirements and have received the award in the past.
We proudly present our "WiR! Schools" and "WiR! Kindergarten" with a brief description of their exchange projects!
BurgGymnasium Kaiserslautern - Kaiserslautern High School
In the course of both schools' development, a school delegation from the BurgGymnasium Kaiserslautern visited the Kaiserslautern High School (KHS), which was followed by a return visit of a school executive delegation from the KHS to the BurgGymnasium. During these visits, the delegations were informed about the educational structural and the pedagogical concepts of their respective partner school. The school management also used the opportunity for personal exchange and discussed a variety of cooperation opportunities.
In order to further develop the pedagogical and professional competence of the teachers, evaluation and feedback from the other side proved a useful supplement to individual training. Given this context and considering that colleagues from different school types and school systems can learn from each other, teachers sat in on each other's classes. For instance, teachers from KHS attended biology classes at the BurgGymnasium after a colleague from the BurgGymnasium gained insight into the science class at KHS. Further reciprocal visits in other subjects are being coordinated for each school year.
Realschule plus Birkenfeld - Baumholder Middle/High School
The partnership between the Baumholder Middle & High School and the Realschule Plus Birkenfeld has existed since 2001. Mutual visits and projects are carried out several times (usually 4 times) in each school year. Each school attends the partner school for a day and observes a class. Student partners are assigned in advance with the help of an introductory letter exchange. The partners welcome their guest students on the day of the visit. They exchange presents, attend classes & eat lunch together and engage in conversations. Cooperative teaching projects take place with mixed student groups. Evaluation discussions conclude the visits. Photos are taken and addresses exchanged.
They visit each other several times a year to observe foreign-language lectures and presentations, followed by feedback and joint assessment by "native speakers". Intercultural days were held several times during the summer: barbecues at Birkenfeld Castle and at Birkenfeld/Brücken fish pond including games and sports, Birkenfeld city rally (questions, explorations and location-based assignments in mixed groups with a subsequent award ceremony and social gathering). Events from other cultures were attended (sporting events, acrobatic musicals, school parties).
In the 2024/25 school year, the first letters of introduction were exchanged again and the first day of visits to the secondary school in Birkenfeld took place. It was overwhelming. A total of 20 American and 23 German students took part, cooked, baked German Christmas cookies and created "German gingerbread houses" in mixed groups, which were chosen and placed in a challenge. Contacts and meetings outside of class were made...fantastic! This is more than just a partnership. Students and teachers LIVE this friendship!
Kindergarten "Kleine Weltentdecker" Ruschberg - Baumholder Middle/High School
The project "New Friendship Generation" (NFG) between the Kindergarten "Kleine Weltentdecker" in Ruschberg and the Baumholder Middle & High School provides American high school students an opportunity to visit German children every month. Playing, learning and discovering together is a vital part of the agenda. It is hardly surprising that the kindergarten children are thrilled when it's time for 'our American friends' to visit.
The project started in 2017, initially with 4 students, who taught the children English words on a specific topic and conversely learned German words from them in return. For some high school students, this was the first contact ever with their German neighbors.
On the other side, it's the first time the kindergarten children encounter a different language. They are proud that the BMHS students teach them English words with a lot of joy and patience. In return, the high schoolers get insight into the educational system of their host country and grow into their role as teachers and role models for the kindergarten children. There is always a lot to learn, for all ages.
Since the beginning of 2020, 18 DODEA students visit the kindergarten children twice a month to discover the world with them and get to know each other have registered for the project. Furthermore, two American students are doing an internship in the Kindergarten for several months. The idea for the internship was developed on the foundation of the NFG project.
Reichswald-Gymnasium Ramstein-Miesenbach - Ramstein Middle School
The exchange program between the Reichswald-Gymnasium Ramstein-Miesenbach and the Ramstein Middle School first took place in 2008. Here's a short introduction to the activities: 8th grade students from the Reichswald-Gymnasium and 7th/8th grade students from the Ramstein Middle School create profiles in their respective foreign language which are exchanged with their counterparts. Great care is taken to find pairs that have common interests and may even live nearby. After the students receive their partner's profile, they get in touch by email.
Besides that, there are also icebreaker events like a bowling afternoon at the bowling alley on Ramstein Air Base. The participating students are accompanied by their parents as well as the teachers.
Students from the Reichswald-Gymnasium visit their partners at the Ramstein Middle School and spend a school day with them. The day starts with a short group breakfast and at lunch break, the parents of the American students serve a delicious buffet of typical American dishes before the German students take part in class with their partner. The German teachers sit in on classes and observe the various subjects. This way, they are able to get their own impression of the American way of teaching as well as seeing their students being in class with their partners. Afterward, the American students show their partners around and explain everything about their school day.
There have been return visits of the American students of Ramstein Middle School to the Reichswald-Gymnasium starting with a joint breakfast. American students then attend classes with their German partners and take an active part in them. The DoDEA teachers and the accompanying American parents also observe the lessons in which the American students take part. German students and their parents then organize a lunch of typical German dishes to share. The German students then show their partners the school building during the breaks and explain them everything.
St.-Willibrord-Gymnasium Bitburg & St. Matthias-Schule Bitburg - Spangdahlem High School
For the kick-off in January, the American students visited the German schools. On January 23rd, 2024, they visited the St. Matthias-School and on January 25th, 2024, the St.-Willibrord-High School; in both cases they did a tour of the school, went to class together or did some sports together.
On February 7th and 15th 2024, some students from grades 10 and 11 of the St.-Willibrord-High School and St. Matthias-School visited the High School in Spangdahlem. After their arrival at the high school, the group was greeted by three American students from the “speech class” with a presentation on their lives as a “Military Brat”.
After that a reunion with the exchange partners followed. In the same fashion as the visit at the German schools, it started with a tour of the High School, which was vastly different from their German counterparts. Following this, the students went with their exchange partners to class. During their lunch break they went to the food court.
On Friday, April 26th, 2024, the joint visit of the St.-Willibrord-High School and St. Matthias-School on Spangdahlem Air Base took place.
After a first exchange, getting to know the Air Base was on the itinerary. The first destination was the canine unit of the American military. There, the students were shown how the dogs lived and how they react to orders in dangerous situations. Afterwards, there was a tour of the Air Traffic Tower and the radar control center. Even though the Tower has normally not allowed visitors for the past few years, the students had the chance to go in there and witness the start of several F16 jets. The following lunch and “pep rally” took place at the High School. At a pep-rally, the social component is in the foreground. The entire school assembled at the gym to cheer on the teams for different games such as an egg and spoon race, dodgeball, and musical chairs.
Overall, the exchange was an exciting and impressive experience.
