June 2015 - International School of Stuttgart

“We learn more about
ourselves and others by
comparing our
cultures.”
EARLY LEARNING CLASS
Class Teacher: Amanda Haworth
Learning Assistant: Bianca Ginas
“Wir lernen mehr über
uns selbst und andere
wenn wir unsere
Kulturen vergleichen.
Students will...
Schueler werden ...
• Understand that their
classmates come from
diverse cultures.
• Verstehen dass ihre
Klassenkameraden aus
unterschiedlichen
Kulturen kommen.
• Be able to communicate
about the different
cultures in our class.
Ethan and Chloe’s mother and
grandmother presenting both
their Mexican and Norwegian
cultures.
are from different places
around the world
• Sind fähig ueber die
verschiedenen Kulturen in
unserer Klasse zu
• Wissen dass Kulturen
sprechen.
ähnlich sein können
obwohl sie
ünterschiedliche Herkunft
• Know that cultures can be
similar even though we
haben.
In our research unit, each student worked with his/her family on a cultural poster that gave examples
of the culture from which their family came. Students enjoyed talking about the different cultures and
making comparisons between their culture and their
classmates’.
Families presented their culture
through a presentation or an activity:
We also looked at the different cultural greetings and have
been practicing some of them. Some students were able to
• Melody and her father presented
see similarities and differences between greetings and we
Chinese New Year.
looked on a map to find that some of these cultures are
geographically near each other.
• Emma (Grade 5) came to tell us about
Fasching and let us try on the costume
she wears. • Mihika and her mom came to talk to us
about the Indian festival of Holi. We got
to play Holi by mixing colors to throw at
a cloth.
1.2 C
Class Teacher: Amanda Clem
German Team Teacher: Andrea Haake
Learning Assistants:
Aaron Chivington and Kirsten Donie
Public Places
Our research unit, Public Places,
allowed our classroom to focus
on communities of all types. We
talked about animal communities
and community networks in
which we live. We also focused
on teamwork and building
friendships. With this in mind,
our class participated in different
team challenges each week as
well as took time to write a
personal reflection on how each
student felt the task was
performed.
Story Writing
MATHEMATIK
In Mathematik haben wir
gelernt, wie man zweistellige
Zahlen addiert und
subtrahiert. So langsam
kennen wir uns mit Zahlen
aus und wissen worauf wir
achten müssen.
In 1/2C, students entered the
system.’ Families later had
world of authors and
the opportunity to visit us for
illustrators by creating their
a ‘literature morning’ where
very own storybook. While all students presented their final
students created their own
pieces, answered questions
story, some turned their
about their personal process
literature into a mini-film.
and shared a German poem
Our friends in grade 5 came
they completed.
to visit as part of our ‘buddy
Wir haben auch über Brüche
geredet, wie sie Teile von
einem Ganzen darstellen.
Wir haben gelernt sie zu
malen und auch wie man sie
mit Zahlen darstellt.
Zur Übung gab es
Schnitzeljagden im
K l a s s e n z i m m e r, a n d e n
einzelnen Stationen gab es
immer eine Karte mit einer
Au f g a b e , w e l c h e g e l ä s t
werden müsste. Die letzten
waren
immer
am
Schwersten!
“I learned to take my time.” - Tim
“I’m reading my book about friendship to
grade 5. I learned that many people can
be alone but you can make more friends
and have more fun.”
Class Teacher: Matthew Knights
German Team Teacher: Andrea Haake
Learning Assistant: Malayika Keck
1.2 K
BÜCHERWOCHE
Während der Bücherwoche in
der Schule haben wir uns mit
einer Gastleserin ein Buch etwas
näher angeschaut. Darin ging es,
um das Beschreiben von Tieren.
Creative Learning
Dazu haben wir ganz viele
Adjektive gesammelt, die
•••
When would you use a half-full
represent it. The children
balloon, some drinking straws, a
interessant klingen.
thoroughly enjoyed this
bit of tin-foil, some cotton wool, a
celebration of their learning, and
Wir haben dann unser
paper plate, and an unlit candle?
the anatomically-correct uses to
The answer, of course, is when
which they put these household
you’re applying your learning
materials was truly inspired!
about the body’s digestive
Lieblingstier gemalt und haben
dann passende Adjektive auf
Post-it Notes geschrieben und
auf unser Tier geklebt. (Unten)
system and making a collage to
Theatrical Extravaganza!
Acting out situations really brings knowledge
to life, and also promotes excellent literacy
and presentational skills. At our Class 1/2K
Assembly, children performed with great
gusto, putting across their message about
befriending and respecting other life forms.
What applies on Planet Mars applies equally on
the school playground!
Children had this to say about their acting
experience:
Georgios: “I spoke my lines loudly and clearly.”
Alex, “I just enjoyed everything!”
Siri: “I enjoyed the play, and learned my lines well.”
Die Weite des Weltalls und so
viele Planeten…..
Damit wir die Reihenfolge der
Planeten und deren Namen
selbst uns merken können
haben wir einen Merksatz
gelernt:
3.4 K
Class Teacher: Jennifer King
German Team Teacher: Sylvia Karaca
Learning Assistant: Ursula Sites
Class 3/4K go on a
Meadow Picnic as
part of the
“Grünes
Klassenzimmer
Projekt"
In May, our Grünes Klassenzimmer
expert, Frau Berg, took the children
of class 3/4K on a picnic to a local
meadow. However, this picnic had a
difference!! The children had to go
searching for different plants and
herbs that were growing in the
meadow to add to their picnic!! On
the meadow picnic menu was:
Kräuterquark, Kräuterbutter, and
Holzofenbrot, all washed down with a
meadow drink!!
The children worked in small teams
collecting different plants, washing
and cutting them, mixing the herbs
into the butter and Quark, writing
and decorating the menu, as well as
setting and decorating their picnic
table. Then, at last, the picnic could
begin! It was delicious! Afterwards,
the children were able to play at the
neighbouring playground! Great fun!
Häufigste und einfach erkennbare
ESSBARE WIESENKRÄUTER
Löwenzahn
Rot- und Weißklee
Gänseblümchen
Alles zusammen mit Naturquark
oder auch mit Butter mischen und
auf frischem Brot genießen!
Gewaschene Blüten der oben
genannten Wiesenblumen machen
Brennnessel
aus einem ganz gewöhnlichen Salat
oder einer Suppe etwas Besonderes,
Diese Wiesenblumen frisch zupfen
(immer die jungen, kleinen Pflanzen), es sieht schön aus und schmeckt
auch noch gut!
gründlich waschen und klein
schneiden.
Maths Quest
The 18th annual
ECIS Maths Quest
competition was held
this year at the Oslo
International School,
Norway from 7th-10th
M a y. T h i s e v e n t
provides
the
opportunity
for
international schools
from Europe, Nor th
America and Asia to
compete in a variety of
m a t h e m a t i c a l
ALL OF THE STUDENTS CONTRIBUTED
challenges over three
EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES TO AN EVENT
days. There were 21
WHICH IS KNOWN FOR IT'S HIGH STANDARD,
teams competing at this
BUT ALSO FOR IT'S EMPHASIS ON TEAMWORK,
year's event from
CHALLENGE AND CELEBRATION OF THE WAY
Europe, America, the
MATHEMATICS CAN BRING PEOPLE FROM A
Middle East and Russia.
VARIETY OF CULTURES TOGETHER IN MANY
WAYS.
Congratulations goes to Jay Xiao, who came
ISS sent two teams
of
students, one from
each
of our campuses.
Those representing IS
S were:
Sindelfingen - Jay Xi
ao, Sarah
Tims, Mikolaj Dzierna
nowski,
Ren Miller
2nd out of 84 students in the
individual challenge round. This is the
highest an individual from Stuttgart
has placed in the history of the
competition. Well done, Jay!
Next year we will be heading to
Barcelona and are currently looking
for extremely mathematically talented
third graders, fourth graders and fifth
Degerloch - Jasper Jo
hn
graders to be part of the 2016 team.
, Elena
Students need to be team players and
Gustafson, Go Kimura
Desiato and Samant
ha Gribb
able to tackle difficult challenges with a
positive attitude.
Coordinator:
Cynthia Bolton
Grade 5
Class Teacher: Owen Murphy
German Team Teacher: Elke Clarus
We a r e a l s o s t a r t i n g a n o t h e r
important change - our transition
from the primary years to the
m i d d l e ye a r s . We ’ ve u s e d
suggestions from our grade 5 & 6
students from the last few years,
from their class teachers and from
parents to put together a transition
programme.
Growing Up
Grade 5 are growing up, maturing
and getting ready for their next
challenges. In fact, we are now in the
final straight of the school year and
in the last few months for Grade 5 as
a 'Primary School' class.
Die Klasse 5 “wächst”, reift und macht
sich bereit für die nächste
Herausforderung. In der Tat, wir sind nun
in der Zielgeraden des Schuljahres und in
den letzten Monaten für Grade 5 als
'Grundschule'-Klasse.
In our research unit, we have been
learning how our minds and bodies
will change during the coming years.
We have been very mature in our
approach to learning about this and
had some fantastic discussions as a
class. We have also been learning
about dangers to our health.
In unserer Forschungseinheit haben wir
gelernt, wie unser Geist und Körper sich in
den kommenden Jahren ändern werden.
Wir sind sehr angemessen mit diesem
Thema umgegangen und hatte einige
fantastische Diskussionen in der Klasse.
Wir haben auch vieles über Gefahren für
unsere Gesundheit erfahren.
Und wir haben auch damit begonnen:
Unser Übergang von den
Grundschuljahren zu den
Mittelschuljahren. So haben wir Vorschläge
unserer Klassen 5 und 6 der letzten Jahre
verwendet, von den Schülern, von ihrem
Klassenlehrer und von den Eltern, um ein
Übergangsprogramm zusammenzustellen.
Wie Sie in den Bildern sehen können,
besuchten wir unsere Klassenzimmer
im MY- Bereich, verbrachten einen
Morgen mit Klasse 6 in Mathematik,
Sprache und Spanisch und haben
unsere Klassenlehrerin für das
n ä c h s t e J a h r, Fra u G o o d e ,
kennengelernt. Wir hörten auch mehr
über das Programm von Mrs. JonesBürk in einer Präsentation für die
Eltern, die dann einen anstrengenden
Tag beendete.
In the coming weeks, Grade 5
will be making more visits to
Grade 6, as we get ready for
next year and also meeting our
middle years buddies. These are
exciting times all round!
First, Grade 6 came to tell us some
information about what next year
In den kommenden Wochen wird die
holds in store for us. Then on
Klasse 5 weitere Besuche in Klasse 6
Monday 27th April, we had a special
Transition Day! As you can see in
machen, damit wir uns bereit
the pictures, we visited our
machen können für das nächste Jahr
classrooms in the middle years area,
und auch Freunde in den MY finden.
spent a morning joining Grade 6 for
Dies sind aufregende Zeiten!
Maths, Language and Spanish
and then met our homeroom
AUF UNS
teacher for next year, Ms.
Goode. We also heard more
Grade 5 singing ‘Auf
about the programme from
Uns’ at the
sch
ool concert…
Mrs. Jones-Bürk, who then
finished a busy day with a
"Hier geht jeder für jed
en durchs
presentation for parents.
Feuer
Zuerst gab uns Klasse 6 einige
Informationen über das, was im
nächsten Jahr auf uns zukommt.
Danach, am Montag, 27. April,
hatten wir einen besonderen
Transition-Day!
Im Regen stehen wir
niemals
allein
Und solange unsere
Herzen uns
steuern
Wird das auch imme
r so sein"
ROLE MODELS
One of the most important challenges for any Grade 5 class, as
the oldest children in the primary school, is to act as role
models for our
friends in the younger
grades. As part of this, we
have visited both Grade 1 / 2
classes to work together
with the children. Firstly,
we heard stories from our
friends - both stories
which they had written or pleasure reading books which they wanted to share
with us. Then, we shared with them our instructional writing about
playground games. The children in Grade 1 / 2 are excellent at engineering
things with the materials which we have outside, but we hope that we have
shared some great ideas which will help make playtime even more
enjoyable!
Eine der wichtigsten Herausforderungen für jede Klasse 5 Klasse, die ältesten Kinder
in der Grundschule, ist es, als Vorbilder für unsere Freunde in den jüngeren Klassen zu
handeln. In diesem
Rahmen haben wir beide
1. und 2. Klassen besucht,
um mit den Kindern zu arbeiten. Zuerst hörten
wir Geschichten von unseren Freunden - sowohl Geschichten, die sie
geschrieben hatte oder Bücher, die sie zum Vergnügen lesen und die sie
mit uns teilen wollten. Danach haben wir über die Anleitungen und die
Regeln der Spiele gesprochen, die wir auf dem Spielplatz spielen
wollten. Die Kinder der Klassen 1/2 sind hervorragend beim
Konstruieren mit den Materialien, die wir draußen fanden, aber wir
hoffen, dass wir ein paar tolle Ideen geteilt haben, die dazu beitragen,
dass die Spielzeit noch angenehmer wird!
FIELD TRIP TO HEILBRONN
For our research unit, Forces and Energy, we had a fantastic class
trip to Experimenta in Heilbronn, where we looked particularly at
the first floor of the exhibition, which is called E-Werk (Energie und
Umwelt). This experience helps us achieve the learning objectives of
our unit, such as: completing investigations, making scientific
measurements and conclusions and describing situations in which
forces (and changes in motion) act.
Für unsere Forschungseinheit “Kräfte und Energie” hatten wir eine fantastische
Klassenfahrt zur Experimenta in Heilbronn, wo wir uns vor allem in der ersten
Etage der Ausstellung umsahen, dem sogenannten E-Werk (Energie und
Umwelt). Diese Erfahrung half uns, die Lernziele unserer Einheit zu erreichen,
wie beispielsweise: Wissenschaftliche Messungen und Schlussfolgerungen
anzustellen und
Situationen zu beschreiben, in denen Kräfte (und
Veränderungen in der Bewegung) geschehen.
“The media use
persuasive techniques
and structures to
young adults in their
selfhood
development.”
GRADE 6 LANGUAGE
Homeroom Teacher: Gudrun Egle
German Teacher: Elke Clarus
English Teacher: Casey Gauss
MYP GLOBAL CONTEXT:
IDENTITIES AND
RELATIONSHIPS
After analysing advertisements
from different media together as
a class, students were given the
task of creating their own
television advertisement in
their additional language. They
had the additional challenge of
choosing from a limited amount
Students try to decide which item
they would like to sell in their
advertisements.
of products (see pictures). Their
planning and ad itself needed to
demonstrate
their
understanding of the vocabulary
we learned and practiced using
Nach der gemeinsamen Analyse von Wortschatzes demonstrieren: Produkt,
Anzeigen aus verschiedenen Medien M e d i u m ,
Zeuge,
erhielten die Schüler die Aufgabe, ihre Überzeugungstechniken, Jingle, Slogan,
in class: product, medium, eigenen Fernsehwerbung in ihrer Medienbotschaft und Zielgruppe. Sie
t e s t i m o n i a l , p e r s u a s i v e Zusatzsprache zu erstellen. Sie hatten haben diese Herausforderung wirklich
techniques, jingle, slogan, media die zusätzliche Herausforderung, die a n g e n o m m e n u n d k r e a t i v e ,
message and target audience. Auswahl aus einer begrenzten Anzahl überzeugende und professionelle
They truly took this challenge von Produkten (siehe Bilder) zu Werbespots produziert.
head-on and produced creative, treffen. Das Planen und die Anzeige
persuasive and professional sollten das Verständnis des gelernten
advertisements.
und im Unterricht geübten
Which persuasive techniques can I use to sell…?
Pol (mother tongue
French) used a
testimonial to sell
spectacles in German.
Julia (mother tongue German)
used film techniques, loaded
words and a testimonial to sell
BBQ sauce.
Alex (mother tongue German)
used glittering generalities and
connection with the viewer to
sell shampoo.
GRADE 6 SCIENCE
Science Teacher: Carrie Scafe
Are you an atomist?
Introduction to Chemistry
“I am not an atomist, because an object, no matter how
small, can be broken.” – Pol
“I am not an atomist, because I believe that any substance
that exists can be broken down, because there are so many
In an introduction to chemistry, 6th grade
possibilities that are possible to break down a substance.
students were asked an age old question –
And there is so much we don’t know yet. So why can you
at least as old as ancient Greece: Is there a
not break down any substance forever?” – Julia
basic substance of which everything is
made?
Is there a particle that cannot be
broken into something smaller?
Does the
atom exist? “Atomos” means unbreakable in
Greek.
Below are some of the student’s
current views on the subject.
Student Opinions – Are you an atomist?
“I am an atomist, because I believe that there
is a point where you can’t break things
anymore. I think there is a basic substance
“I am an atomist, because I think it can’t be broken down,
because one day it is too small. “– Jonas
“I am not an atomist, because nothing is unbreakable.” –
Ren
“I am not an atomist, because I think that we can break a
substance down forever in different ways.” – Gabriel
“I am an atomist, because I think there is a substance that
can’t be broken down. “ — Marvin
everything is made of. I think if you continue to
In addition students are learning and applying various
break things down, it will become so small that
chemistry techniques for breaking down and identifying
you can’t break it.” Lana
substances as they try to figure out the basic
“I am an atomist, because there is a point
where you cannot break anything smaller.
Why? …because everything is made out of a
basic substance. “ Thomas
components of a mystery substance. So far they haven’t
reached an end!
Homeroom and English Teacher: Casey Gauss
German Teacher: Anja Knabe
Grade 7 Language
FABELN AUS ALLER WELT
FABLES FROM AROUND
THE WORLD
MYP Global Context:
Personal and Cultural
Expression
“Cultures express their values and beliefs
through their word choice within the
stories they tell; we can learn about those
values and beliefs through comparing
stories from different cultural
communities.”
In dual-language groups, students
read fables from a variety of cultural
contexts in their additional
language. Working in dual-language
g roups allowed mother-tongue
speakers to help additional language
learners understand the texts they
were reading. As a group, students
needed to choose one fable and
transfer their understanding of the
story’s plot, character-types and
m o r a l i n t o a r e a l - l i fe h u m a n
scenario. Their understanding of
these three components needed to be
clearly represented through their
skit. See pictures of students
reading, planning, and creating their
scripts.
In zweisprachigen Gruppen haben
die Schüler und Schülerinnen in
ihrer Zusatzsprache Fabeln aus
u n t e r s c h i e d l i c h e n k u l t u re l l e n
Kontexten gelesen. Die Lektüre in
gemischtsprachigen Gruppen
ermöglichte
es
den
Muttersprachlern, den anderen
Gruppenmitgliedern beim
Verständnis der Texte zu helfen. Es
war Aufgabe der Gruppen, sich
jeweils eine der Fabeln auszuwählen
und ihr Verständnis der Handlung
der Fabel, der Figuren und der
Moral dieser Geschichte in ein
realistisches Szenario in einem
menschlichen Lebensumfeld zu
übertragen. Ihr Verständnis dieser
drei Komponenten sollte durch ihre
Darstellung klar deutlich werden.
Anbei Fotos der Schüler beim Lesen
und bei der Planung ihrer Szene.
MIDDLE YEARS BOOK CLUBS
In Grades 6-10, students partake in four book clubs per year in their language
classes.
What? Why?
We know that reading is so extremely important, and yet, we don’t take time
enough to celebrate the variety of great books that exist and share them with
one another. The Pleasure Reading book clubs are our chance to do exactly
that.
How?
One group plans their dual-language
script using a mind-map.
•We have four P.R. book clubs per school year. During these book clubs
students need to:
•Share one book they have chosen for pleasure reading
•Summarize the story without giving away the ending
•Explain why and to whom they would recommend it
•Talk about the main and minor characters
•State what genre the book is
•Answer questions about the book from their classmates and teachers
•Bring their Pleasure Reading book with them
•Bring a book of a different genre for each club
•Listen respectfully to others and be prepared to ask questions
Grade 7 enjoys breakfast and
sharing the great variety of books
they have been reading.
Grade 7 Individuals and
Societies
Teacher: Ray Schneider
No One Expects
the Russian Revolution
by Tomas Stegmann
Unhappily we stand
The unjust times will end,
We have made our demand.
We came in peace,
You brought us war,
We lay dead,
Upon the street,
Where you and I,
We dared to meet
Tension builds,
The river runs,
With red blood spilled,
Upon the stone.
You tread upon,
Our holy land,
With strength and fire,
Your force our hand.
There is no hope,
For those of us,
Who are forced to war,
Tread upon, crushed.
And so we rise,
We will not go on.
There is only death here,
Our home is changed,
It must change once more.
Bloody Nicholas,
Your time has come.
Tainted by shame,
And burned by the vengeance of a nation,
You have no place here.
The house of special meaning awaits you,
Your death is near,
Our freedom can only be won when you have passed,
And so your fall from glory must be tragic,
You must fall so that we may rise.
You dared to repress the inexorable march of time,
But history will always repeat itself,
It is the wheel of revolution,
And it turns quickly,
You cannot stop it, and neither can we.
The Russian Revolu
tion
Recently, Grade 7 lea
rned about the even
ts of and the
m the Russian Revolut
ion and
Civil War. Were these
changes for the bette
r or for the
worse for the Russian
people? Not an easy
question to
answer. Nevertheless
, Grade 7 attempted
to answer it
from different perspe
ctives. Students had
the choice
of a diary entry, rap,
poem or a skit to demo
nstrate
their knowledge and
understanding of dif
fering
viewpoints about the
revolution. Sydney Go
ttlieb
wrote a moving and
very realistic series
of diary
entries from the pers
pective of Anastasia
, one of
the last Czar’s daught
ers. Tomas Stegeman
n wrote
a vivid and detailed
poem that encompas
sed the
Russian people’s str
uggles and disappoint
ment
with the autocratic ru
le of the Czar and th
en the
totalitarian rule of th
e Communist party.
Enjoy
reading them!
changes resulting fro
The Tsar is gone.
His ashes have been swept away by the raging storm of an angry
people,
His successors were foolish,
They failed to keep themselves from the foolish mistakes of their
predecessors,
They too were removed with brutal force.
And so a new leader must present himself.
From the shade of exile,
The father of our revolution returns,
To take back this land for the Bolsheviks,
And to lead our country,
Until one day,
On the 21st of the month of beginnings and endings,
Your life was no more.
Hail, our leader and our prophet.
Burn the church and crush the cross,
For a new religion is upon us.
We once were free, but now it seems,
That the best of days have left us.
Our revolution came and went,
For now our life is dreary,
Our energy is spent.
The guns of war,
Fire once more,
As red and white,
Clash and fight,
To see who will win this long fought war.
Once we sought this future,
Where all were equal,
But maybe all are equal,
And some are more equal than others.
Anastasia’s Diary
by Sydney Gottlieb
May 18, 1914 - Father’s Birthday
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - As daughter of the Tsar, I am allowed to do whatever I want. Or? Because sometimes, I don’t think the people of
Russia are allowed to do whatever they want. I have been in the city center a couple of times and none of the people were wearing
nice clothes and I saw some soldiers bossing a lot of people around, and threatening to shoot if they did otherwise. I wonder why
Father would make such rules. I wonder what it would be like to be one of those peasants.
Today father got whatever he wanted though. It’s his birthday today and our servants made him a big cake with
strawberries and chocolate and whipped cream on top. He got chocolates from Mother, cards and little toys from my sisters, and
Alexei gave him a fishing pole, so that they could go fishing sometime together and have some father-son bonding time. I gave
father a very special gift I thought. it came from my heart and I had worked very long on it. It was a picture of me that I made
of myself in the mirror. I put that picture in a frame of gold and around the edges I inscribed “The Loveliest Father”. Father
didn’t seem to overjoyed, but he said he liked it. We celebrated very early, so that father could try out his new toys from my sisters
and Alexei. While my brother and sisters were playing, I sat down with my Mother. She was teaching me how to sew when Father
suddenly was urged to leave to his office to discuss something with his comrades.
It was late at night before he came home. He had brought some news with him though. I am not sure whether it is
good news or bad news, but he told us that we were going to enter World War I in August. I don’t know what to do now. I thought
about the war. I heard today that the Russian Navy only had 4 battleships, 10 cruisers, 21 destroyers, 11 submarines and 50
torpedo boats. Is that enough to fight in a war? Anyway, I was excited and my parents were as well. It thought about the people
though. I don’t think they’re happy because they have to send off loved ones to go fight for our country. I wouldn’t like it if Alexei
were to go to war. I wonder if Father thinks about the people of Russia. I also wonder if Mother also thinks the same way about
war. I have a lot of questions at the moment, after all, I’m only thirteen. But, it will have to wait for tomorrow. Today has been a
very busy day.
Yours truly,
Anastasia
August 14, 1914 - First Attack in WWI
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - I have observed the people from the same balcony for 13 years. And once again I stand in the same exact place. Staring
down on the people of Saint Petersburg in my Father’s Winter Palace. Today was the day that Russia would invade East
Prussia, our first battle. Many people stood before us cheering. From then on, I thought that there was nothing to war. Everybody
was cheering and yelling, so I couldn’t help myself but smile. Father was giving a long speech, but I wasn’t listening. I looked at
all the people and how they acted. There were a couple people who didn’t look happy. I pinpointed one woman who looked like
something disturbed or bothered her deep inside. But the little baby in her arms was teething on an old rag and was acting like
nothing was happening.
Finally, about 10,000 soldiers marched in a line. That’s when the crowd went absolutely wild. Whistling, yelling and
cheering took over the town square. This went on for about 1 hour.
After all the excitement, my father went to his study with Alexei, to keep track of what was happening in the battle, while
mother and my sisters were knitting and reading while Mother was talking about today. I was reading but not really paying
attention to any of the details because I was too busy thinking of what is yet to come in World War I. That’s all I wonder about
nowadays.
At dinner, I had heard some news about the battle. It wasn’t going to well. Germany apparently had so many tanks and
missiles that we couldn’t keep up with them. Dinner was a bit awkward, because nobody could bring up a good conversation.
That’s why I finished in a hurry so I could take some more photographs. I love photography, because I like to express my feelings
through them and I can do cool things with them, like making myself faded so that I look like a ghost.
Tonight Father and Mother were talking about Alexei. I was a little bit worried because they sounded stressed. I overheard
them saying something about Hemophilia. That is where you have internal or external bleeding that doesn’t stop. I was very
worried because if Alexei just bumped himself on a table, he would get an everlasting and expanding bruise. This is very bad news
because we went on a fishing trip this weekend and when Alexei went on the boat there is no doubt that he might have bumped
into the boat or a fishing rod.
Immediately, Mother telephoned somebody and when she hung up, she seemed pleased yet a bit disappointed. I called for
mother and she told me that there was a man named Rasputin going to call us. She said that he was a healer and a soothsayer,
but he never did his work in person. Only over the telephone or he wrote letters to the person he was helping. I found that very
suspicious. Some said he was tall, had greasy hair and had food bits on the tufts of his beard. He didn’t seem like a very soothing
person to me, but we need to do everything we can to make Alexei better. I hope and pray that Alexei will survive. But if he does
die, I want it to be peacefully. Just like how I should sleep tonight… peacefully.
Yours Truly,
Anastasia
February 15, 1917 - February Revolution
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - These past months have been very uneasy. Father has made decisions which many people do not like. Several strikes
and marches have been organized by the citizens. Flyers have been hung up around cities stating that Father should be taken
out of power. It would be great disappointment to let down three centuries of Romanov rule go to waste because of Father. It
would not only be embarrassing to him, but to us as well. We would probably be known as the last Romanov failure. But there
have been some times where I have thought that Father had been a bit unfair. Such as when he brought Russia into World
War I. At first it was exciting, but then as we started losing battles and people, many people began to suffer from famine.
From the times when I went outside, all I saw was homeless people and several strikes.
I guess today was the day that Father drew the line. The provisional government came to force father to abdicate his
throne. Everybody was in shock. Everybody, including four of our servants were forced to pack up and leave the Winter palace
that day. Olga was trying to comfort everybody because she was the only one which kept her head. Even Father was losing his
mind. This had all come so quickly that we were moved out of the winter palace in less than 2 hours. There were many places we
could of but Father chose the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. We made ourselves comfortable, but everybody was still stressed.
Especially Father. He kept on saying that he was a disgrace to his family. Olga, as calm as as she is, tried comforting
everybody. Mother was also a bit uneasy, in that she didn’t know what to do with her life. Finally I said that we could just live
like a normal family, but only a bit richer than the other people in Russia. Father thought that was an idea, and we finally
chose that way to live. Yes, today was an eventful day, but we all got through it in the end. We weren’t as calm and collective as
can be, but we got through it together and that’s what’s most important.
Yours Truly,
Anastasia
November 1917 - November Revolution
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - Living like this was not easy. I didn’t have the same view, from my bedroom window. I have felt an uneasy tension
in myself. I have heard that their was another political party trying to now overthrow the provisional government. I think
they’re called the Bolsheviks. I have only heard little about the outside world. Father does not like talking about this sort of stuff
with anybody. He might speak with mother a couple times but rarely does he ever speak of it. I felt as though my sisters and I
have become closer, because we all need support now. Sometimes I feel that the abdication brought us more together as a family.
Well, today was a coincidence that I overheard Mother and Father talking again. But it has finally been managed by the
Bolsheviks to overthrow the provisional government. A man named Lenin has apparently returned as founder of the Bolsheviks.
I have heard of him, because father killed his brother and exiled Lenin to Germany for about ten years. Anyway, as I heard
Father stressing, Mother tried calming him. He doesn’t like hearing about it, nor talking about it. It hurts everyone in our
family because to see Father so stressed. At dinner, he decided to explain the details of the event which took place today. I’ll try
to remember what he said because, I want to look back to the days where Russia was a happy and peaceful environment. With
Grandfather ruling and everybody living in peace and fairness. Yes, some of the things Father did was unfair and sometimes
pretty horrible, but I just cannot afford to think like that, after all, he is my father.
In any manner, after he talked about the November revolution, with Lenin and the Bolsheviks, he felt even more
embarrassed. I understand completely. If a peasant were to overrule a king, that is a pretty /poor king, or in this case the poor
king means father. He went up to bed after that. I felt bad for mother because with these revolutions taking place, father is not
paying that much attention to mother, nor anyone else, but Alexei. I have tried to comfort Father with some pictures I took of
myself and proposed I make one of him. But he bypassed my offer and called for Alexei instead. I wonder why Alexei gets to
speak with him and we don’t. Not even Mother at times. There is one wish that I have and I hope this will one day become
true… I wish that Russia will one day be a peaceful country again. I have faith in that this will be achieved one day in
Russian history.
Yours Truly,
Anastasia
July 17, 1918- Picture Day
----------------------------------------------------------------------This morning was a morning in which I will never forget. Summer sun, whistling birds and a soccer match outside
in the yard, while Mother and Father were talking in their reclined beach chairs, I was setting up my camera to take some
family pictures. But that got delayed when I was invited to play soccer as well. I asked Mother and Father to join and they
surprisingly said yes. That was probably the best time of my life. I have never felt so close to my family before. Even though I
am 16, I still don’t hesitate to act like a child. I didn’t have much time to act like one, so I never ponder on the idea that I am
too old for something. Alas, the time flew as if 3 hours was only a half an hour. We had a great lunch of deer with sauce and
potatoes. I liked it very much. Again we went outside because it was so nice. I forgot about my camera because I thought to
myself that I would have enough time to make photos of the summer sun and the family. After lunch, I went outside to enjoy
more sun and talk with my mother and my sisters. Father had gone somewhere in the house but I hadn’t bothered to ask where
and why. I just wanted the sun and the outside world. I might not meet another day like this, where everybody, well, almost
everybody was together in one place. I didn’t want this to go away.
As we ate a big dinner of pork with sauce and vegetables, Mother said that we were going to take a family portrait
right after dinner, so we needed to hurry. Some people were going to take a photograph of us to subdue rumors that we had
escaped. I almost jumped out of my seat. Maybe I could ask the photographer about my photos and ask some questions that I
had about lighting and setting up the camera. I also got my camera ready because I also wanted the photographer to take a
picture with my camera.
I have just finished the final touches to adjusting my camera and I am already dressed in my favorite dress. the one
that was blue with yellow flowers and pearls. Ok, I must go now! I cannot wait to see what the picture looks like…
Yours Truly,
Anastasia
END
Teacher: Pamela Grimes
Grade 7 Drama
Drama Tech Prep
Our students at the Sifi Campus are given
the opportunity to develop their
confidence in areas not specifically
explored in the set curriculum. In Drama,
some Grade 7 students, David, Gitae,
Hunter, Makayla and Natasha, voluntarily
exhibited their motivation towards
exploring the lighting system in
preparation for the Grade 7 Shadow Play.
In cooperation with a Grade 9 student, Chris, they were
We all Have a Story to
Tell
Grade 7 had the extraordinary
opportunity to have a
professional dancer, Adrian
Turner, guide them through and
support their current learning in
Drama. Through the elements of
movement, focus and mood, the
students were able to initially
create a guided dance routine in
unison. In small groups, students
pursued these elements even
f u r t h e r, c r e a t i n g s c e n e s
depicting love, courage, and
tension, telling the stories which
these young adults have to
share.
On the evening of June 12th,
Grade 7 will be performing their
newly devised shadow plays - as
part of the Kult-Tour Goldberg
Community Project - telling, once
again, the stories they have to
tell!
able not only to support their class as they make final
preparations for their shadow stories, but to gain firsthand knowledge and experience in “Drama Tech Prep”.
Grade 8 experienced
the lino print and
created own posters to
promote an event. After
researching and
comparing works of
other artists critically
they came up with their
favorite animal and
sketched with charcoal
before carving and
finally printing.
GRADE 8 ART
Homeroom teacher:
Ray Schneider
Art teacher: Stephanie Langer
Homeroom and Spanish Teacher: Della Lawson
GRADES 9.10
Sindelfingen Spanish
Exchange 2014-2015
The families who received us were very kind and hospitable,
This has been another ver y
us - we learned that there is more to communication than just
successful year for the Spanish
language!
Exchange Programme, which we
share with our partner school,
Instituto Sek Alborán, based in
Almerimar, Andalusia, Spain.
and allowed us to practise our Spanish by speaking slowly for
Each of our day trips had a different theme: we had a history
focus when we visited the Alcazaba in Almería, an impressive
hilltop fortress dating back to the time when the Moors ruled
Spain; a geography focus for our day trip to see the beautiful
Students from grades 8, 9 and 10
underground caves near to Nerja; a business and industry
came together to host our Spanish
focus, whilst seeing the immense expanse of greenhouses and
partners, back in November, and we
a local fruit producer’s factory and finally a Spanish language
enjoyed welcoming them into our
and culture focus during our day in school.
families and our region. The visitors
went on day trips to see the
The trip, of course, is not only about academic learning. Such
Mercedes Benz Factory in
exchange programmes provide an invaluable opportunity to
Sindelfingen, as well as the museum
experience everyday life in another country and culture and
in Bad Cannstatt, Schloß
as such, provide a platform for developing sound life skills -
Ludwigsburg, The Wilhelma Zoo and
being open-minded; moving out of your comfort zone and
Stuttgart City Centre. Feedback
taking a risk; communicating with everyone in the group to
from our visitors and their teachers
overcome challenges; being principled - thinking about how
was very positive and I send my
your contribution portrays ‘you’ and how it affects others. In
thanks to all students and families
other words, the exchange programme experience reinforces
who made their stay with us so
our IB Learner Profile skills.
warm and welcoming.
Our turn to visit Spain came in
March 2015. Mr Kraft, 13 students
and I flew to Málaga, from where we
were collected by coach for the 2
hour bus-ride to Almerimar.
I very much look forward to repeating the programme in the
future, so that our current grade 7s will also be able to enjoy
this excellent learning experience!
Mrs Lawson
La Escuela, by Harrison, Grade 9
La grados inferiores aquí pequeño. Tenemos un gimnasio en la colegio pero es pequeño.
Tenemos un patio pero es pequeño. No hay ninguas cocinas. Esta es la grado 1 & 2. Grado 1 & 2 sala
de clase moderno y exiguo. Esta es la grado 3 & 4 aulas. Grado 3 & 4 aulas es un poco grande
entonces el grado 1 & 2. Grado 3 & 4 es también moderno. Grado 5 es grande entonces grado 1,2,3,
y 4. Grado 5 es tembién moderno.
Week Without
Walls
Biking to Weil der Stadt
Using the “Rule of Thirds” to take a photograph of
nature’s mollusk
THE WEEK OF MAY 4TH, OUR MIDDLE YEARS STUDENTS AND
STAFF PARTICIPATED IN A WEEK WITHOUT WALLS –
EXPLORATION WEEK.
Some of the activities which we undertook were:
• Arts in Nature Day – depending upon their proclivities, students
chose to spend a day in nature either focusing on painting/
drawing, filming, creating music or creatively writing. We
returned to school for a time of sharing our “creations”.
• Hike/Bike Day – students chose to participate in an all day
instructional hiking or biking trip.
Creating illustrations inspired by outdoor scenery
• Mathematical Sports Day – we booked local facilities in order to
play games which rely on a knowledge of angles, spin and
calculation in order for a player to be successful.
• Team Building Scavenger/Geocaching Activity/Science Day –
students participated in various team building activities.
• Reflection / Chili Cook Off Day – we used the morning to reflect on
our learning over the course of the last few days and to put
together various presentations which recorded and documented
this. The late morning and early afternoon focus was on The
Great Chili Cook Off to which parents were be invited as judges.
The winner was Grade 6 with their meat variety of chili!
Composing songs with nature’s influence