Newsletter 13.02.2026

We are heading into the so-called Sports Break for one week. According to our understanding, this tradition has its roots in the history of the RMS (Swiss School), when Swiss families used this week to travel home for skiing holidays. At the same time, many regions in Germany also have holidays during this period due to Carnival (Fasching) celebrations.

Fittingly, our joyful school Carnival celebration took place today. A heartfelt thank you to all parents who supported this wonderful community event with a wide variety of delicious food contributions!

We wish all families a restful and enjoyable break and look forward to a healthy reunion on Monday, 23 February 2026.

After the holidays, we will move ahead in great strides toward our extended anniversary weekend with Ghana Day and the GISA Cups.

Nursery and Kindergarten

This week in the nursery was all about Carnival, creativity, and community 🎨🎭
The children created colorful balloons for the window decorations and made lovely Valentine’s Day gifts 💕. In the process, their creative skills, fine motor skills, and social learning were playfully supported 🖐️🤍
The week concluded with a joyful Carnival celebration and a shared buffet, where the sense of community and togetherness took center stage. 🎉🥨

This week in the kindergarten was also fully dedicated to our Carnival preparations 🎭🥳
With great joy and creativity, the children soaked paper in food coloring during learning time and created vibrant works of art 🎨🌈 Through experimenting with colors and materials, they were able to express their own ideas and try out new things.

Music accompanied us throughout the week 🎶 There was singing, dancing, and lots of laughter 💃🕺 While crafting their masks, the children created imaginative pieces they were very proud of 🎭✨

During German learning time, we playfully worked with der, die, das 📚 This strengthened the children’s language awareness and expanded their vocabulary — all in a fun and natural way 😊

Free play, as always, had an important place in our daily routine 🧩 Small Carnival-themed role plays emerged, and the children planned, built, and created together.

English lessons also took place 🇬🇧 Alongside songs, conversations, and playful activities, the children explored sensory experiences 👋🌈 They felt different materials, described them, and discovered them with all their senses — a wonderful connection between language and perception ✨

The highlight of the week was our Carnival celebration on Friday 🎉 The children arrived in fantastic and creative costumes and thoroughly enjoyed celebrating together 🦸‍♀️👑🦁

A heartfelt thank you to all parents for the varied and delicious buffet contributions 🍓🧁🥨 — your support made our celebration extra special!

Primary School

Class 1/2

In Class 1/2, Mathematics focused on probability. The terms “certain,” “possible,” and “impossible” were introduced. Using the spinning wheel, the children were able to experience in a playful way how to apply these key terms correctly.

In Ethics, we used the “mood ladder” to talk about feelings: How do I feel right now and why? What makes me happy and what does not?

We saw many happy faces during Carnival. Alongside the Carnival party, the children also learned about the origins of Carnival as the time before Lent. They became familiar with typical elements of the Cologne Carnival, such as the “Stadtsoldaten,” “Funkenmariechen,” and the “Rosenmontagszug.”

In English lessons, we retold the story The Three Billy Goats Gruff to expand vocabulary, practise oral storytelling, and represent the plot in pictures. Class 2 additionally wrote down the story. Afterwards, we practised the phonics sounds “Ss,” “ff,” “zz,” and “ll” using example words and a short poem. Please encourage your child to retell the story at home and continue practising the sounds.

Class 3/4

There was also plenty happening in Class 3/4 last week.

Mathematics: We successfully completed our unit on length. To conclude, the children worked at a learning station on kilometres and metres, where they practised, revised, and consolidated their knowledge. All content has now been reviewed and the class test has been written — time to take a deep breath during the holidays 😊

German: In German lessons, we are currently working on adjectives. The children are following their own learning path using a small “treasure map.” This allows them to work independently as well as in groups. It is highly motivating and at the same time promotes independent learning and teamwork.

English: In English, the focus was on grammar and learning how to build new words using suffixes (word endings) such as “-ed,” “-ing,” “-ful,” “-less,” and “-ly.” Learners practised how suffixes can change a word’s meaning or tense and created their own example sentences.
Learners from both the beginners and advanced groups also came together to say farewell to Frau Hofmann. We wish her all the best.

Farewell and New Beginnings: We also had to say goodbye to our trainee teacher, Frau Hofmann. She accompanied, supported, and enriched the class over the past four months. The children thanked her with small farewell gifts. It was a wonderful time with her, and we sincerely thank her for the great collaboration. At the same time, we are happy to welcome Frau Osei as the new trainee in our class. We are looking forward to the time ahead and wish her a great start with us.

DaF – Intensive Group

This week, the intensive DaF class worked on the topics of family, pets, and verbs. The motivated learners from both primary and secondary levels were introduced to the accusative case in grammar. They also deepened their knowledge of personal pronouns in singular and plural as well as the corresponding verb endings.

To consolidate their vocabulary, the learners created family trees and wrote creative nonsense stories using the sentence patterns they had learned. In various rotating groups, they strengthened their conjugation and vocabulary skills through language games.

During team-building activities, the learners practised and role-played conflict resolution techniques with their group members. The whole group then discussed different solution strategies for the presented conflicts.

Over the course of the week, the DaF group also completed a vocabulary test as well as a learning assessment on the weekly topics and grammar.

Weaving Project

With mixed feelings, we said goodbye on Tuesday to Anna Hofmann, who has enriched our weaving project in recent weeks with creative ideas, great patience, and strong commitment. Many thanks for the inspiring support.

Even after her departure, the looms continued to click busily. While some students continued working on their existing weaving pieces, others moved on to the larger looms that we had chosen together. And indeed, new moments of success quickly appeared. On the larger frames, weaving became noticeably easier, patterns developed more quickly, and motivation grew with every centimetre of fabric.

Especially nice to see: some students discovered leftover wool as creative material for new projects. In this way, weaving also developed naturally in the direction of recycling — sustainable, colourful, and full of new ideas.

Secondary School

Class 5

In English, students finalised their haiku poems and received feedback from their peers in Class 7/8. It was interesting to hear the constructive comments that were shared. Students also completed a unit assessment to gauge their understanding of the topic. After the break, Class 5 will in turn provide feedback on the poetry of Class 7/8.

Class 6

The week before the Sports Break was once again full of exciting moments, engaging learning, and shared activities. We ended the week with a small Carnival celebration and a cheerful atmosphere.

In Ethics, we continued working on rules and rights, with a special focus on children’s rights. Together, we discussed what these rights mean in everyday life and how they protect us.

Retelling and writing fables remained the focus in German lessons. Students practised and further developed their understanding of structure, language, and the creative writing of their own texts.

In Mathematics, Class 6 worked on calculating the surface area of cuboids. Students reviewed how to systematically identify the individual rectangular faces and combine them to find the total surface area.

In preparation for the upcoming class test, all topics related to geometric solids and their properties were revised. Whether cuboids, cubes, or other solids, key terms such as edges, vertices, and faces — as well as similarities and differences — were consolidated. The revision using the digital quiz format Plickers was particularly motivating. All students could participate actively, check their knowledge, and receive immediate feedback. In this way, learning was playful, uncertainties were clarified, and understanding was strengthened.

In English lessons, we expanded our vocabulary work through top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top word games. These strengthen spelling, vocabulary, and quick thinking when forming words. We also celebrated our self-written poems and ended the week with a relaxed library session.

Geometric concepts accompanied us across several subjects. In Mathematics, we explored the cuboid in depth, trained our spatial awareness, and applied what we had learned in a geometry test. Geometry also played an important role in Art. Working in groups of four, students began planning, designing, and describing their own robots.

The library was a special focus this week. In addition to our regular time for browsing, reading, and completing reading tasks in German, we also used the library during English lessons to explore the English-language books more closely.

With great commitment, students prepared and successfully presented their Biology presentations on the topic of flowers. They demonstrated strong teamwork and presentation skills.

Thus, an intensive and varied week comes to an end, filled with many learning moments, creative ideas, and positive shared experiences before the well-deserved Sports Break.

Class 7/8

In Ethics, we explored the topic of bullying. Students learned about four types of bullying: physical, verbal, social, and cyberbullying. Alongside concrete examples, the focus was especially on the different roles involved in bullying — from perpetrators and bystanders to those affected and the important supporters. The aim was to raise awareness and sensitivity.

In Social Studies, we examined consumer behaviour in the fashion industry and compared fast fashion with slow fashion. The class discussed production conditions, environmental impacts, and consumer habits. Students also learned about specific examples of slow-fashion companies that focus on fair working conditions, sustainable materials, and durable products.

In Mathematics (Class 8), the focus was on the circle and the cylinder. First, students practised calculating the area of a circle. Then the lesson became practical: from an A4 sheet of paper, students created tall, narrow cylinders as well as short, wide ones. The key question was: Which cylinder holds more popcorn? Students first estimated and then tested their ideas — with surprising results. Based on these observations, we jointly derived the volume formula for the cylinder and applied it to various examples.

In Biology, digestion was the central topic. The class investigated which organs are involved in digestion and traced the path of food through the body — from the mouth via the oesophagus, stomach, and intestines to excretion. The processes of food processing were explored in a clear and accessible way.

German as a foreign language

In the secondary DaF lessons, students worked intensively again this week. Over the past weeks, creative learning posters on the topic of tenses had been developed with great teamwork and ingenuity. Now the time had come: students confidently presented their results to the entire DaF class and demonstrated their strong understanding of the different tenses.

There was not only applause but also valuable memory tips such as: “The present tense often ends the same — but watch out for exceptions!” and “The perfect tense always needs a helper.” The most important realisation: tenses are not that complicated — if you know what to look for.

In a follow-up lesson, everything once again revolved around the topic “Sick and Healthy.” Through varied written and oral tasks, new vocabulary was consolidated.

A special highlight at the end of the week was the first election of the German Queen or German King. Excitement filled the room as the votes were counted — and by a large majority, Arcani was crowned the first German Queen. She fulfilled all agreed criteria exemplary this week and may now choose an activity for the DaF lessons after the break.

Congratulations — we are excited to see which idea will enrich the lessons.

In the DaF Class 7/8, vocabulary revision quickly turned into a stage performance. What began as a “normal” oral exercise became a surprisingly entertaining stand-up comedy show — naturally in German.

Suddenly, the focus was no longer only on symptoms and home remedies, but on dramatic doctor visits and very creative diagnoses. With great courage and humour, students told spontaneous stories and delivered jokes on the topic “Sick and Healthy,” causing plenty of laughter.

The audience had an important role: pronunciation and intonation, the skilful use of new vocabulary, and of course the humour factor were all evaluated.

The loudest applause and most laughter went to Jaiden, whose performance also received the highest overall rating. Congratulations on this comedy success — German can indeed be great fun!

Dates & Outlook

🏖️ Monday, 16 February – Friday, 20 February 2026
Sports Break

📚 Monday, 23 February 2026
First day of school after the Sports Break

60th Anniversary – Event Framework

🇬🇭🇩🇪🇨🇭 Thursday, 26 February 2026
Ghana Day – Celebrating Three Nations Together

🏆 Saturday, 28 February 2026
GISA Cup

🏆 Monday, 2 March 2026
GISA Cup – Kids Edition

🇬🇭 Friday, 6 March 2026
Independence Day (Ghana)
Ghana’s National Holiday

⚽ Monday, 30 March 2026, 7:45 pm
Germany 🇩🇪 vs Ghana 🇬🇭
International Friendly Match
Location: Stuttgart

🏖️ Monday, 30 March – Friday, 10 April 2026
Easter Break

🎒 Monday, 30 March – Thursday, 2 April 2026
Holiday Camp

📚 Monday, 13 April 2026
First day of school after the Easter Break