This year had some key events for German! The annual competitions and scholarships available for Deutsch students began to slowly come back after COVID-19 hit, and the junior classes had numerous fun activities involving food and movies.

‘Herzlichen Glückwunsch’ is in order for Miyu Wadamori, a Year 12 Deutsch student that gained a Year 12 scholarship for German! Generally, the scholarship winners would travel to Germany, but this year Miyu will be travelling to Wellington instead to experience a 3-day virtual trip to Deutschland at the Goethe-Institut.

Miguel Morales is another Deutsch student. Even though he is only in Year 11, he is already participating in a New Zealand-Germany exchange program. This wonderful opportunity is 2 months long, and is usually available to Year 12s or excelling Year 11s. Miguel will be accompanying Frau Currie, our lovely and dedicated German teacher, and other Deutsch students in New Zealand to Germany during December 2022 and January 2023!

The Year 10 class made some Deutsche Spezialitäten for our topic around food and health. We cooked and baked, then brought in delicious German classics like Kartoffelpuffer, Apfelstrudel, Käsekuchen, Flammkuchen, Marmorkuchen, and last but not least Spaghettieis! These treats really fueled our love for Deutsch.

Year 9 German students participated in a fun collaborative project with Glendowie College in Auckland. They designed German-themed fabric shopping bags with a letter written in German. Sayings such as “Das ist mir Wurst!” and “Schwein gehabt” were painted on the bags.

Multiple keen German students chose to participate in the CEFR examinations available to language learners at Burnside. We had students across multiple year levels taking the A1, A2, and B1 Deutsch examinations this year. These examinations are sponsored by the Goethe Institut, so they cost a lot less than normal, and if you pass one, you will receive a certificate that is internationally recognized!

During August, the senior Deutsch classes visited the University of Canterbury for a ‘Deutsch Tag,’ where they learned about German course possibilities at the university, and completed a tour, also learning about future opportunities if they continued with Deutsch.

Year 9 and 10 Deutsch students also had the exciting opportunity to watch a film in German this year; ‘Mission Ulja Funk.’ The film followed a young protagonist with a passion for astronomy named Ulja, and her chaotic race to watch an asteroid hitting the Earth.

Three teams of German students competed at the OSKAR Quiz in September, and received extraordinary results! Both Year 10 teams that competed were placed in the top three, and the Year 11 team also did very well. The OSKAR Quiz was a thrilling event, the fast paced questions kept us on our toes and the cool Deutsch background music enhanced the experience.

We were very lucky to have for the first time a German Languages Assistant: Sarah Beck from the South of Germany. She added German flair to lessons with her own cultural knowledge and background. Dankeschön und alles Gute!

Day to day German lessons are definitely also worth a mention. Whether you are learning how to tell the time by acting like a clock, dancing to some German pop music, or listening to Frau Currie’s interesting stories, you’re always having fun in Deutsch.

Katie Horton and Knox Wills