German School Guayaquil
Encyclopedia
The German School of Guayaquil is a multilingual school in Guayaquil
, Ecuador
. It was founded in 1957 by Renate Lemke to meet the necessities of the German immigrants in the city.
It is one of 117 German schools abroad and one of the three German schools in Ecuador. It belongs to the International Baccalaureate Organization
and offers the Diploma Program.
. However, the school's history goes back to 1957 when Renate Lemke, a Kindergarten
teacher opened a Day care
for the children of German immigrants
in her own home. By the end of the school year, she continued with an elementary school
in another building, because the number of students had increased. In 1958 the school moved to the newly inaugurated neighbourhood Urdesa
. By then, the German School as it was known, had already a second grade.
In 1960 Federal Republic of Germany
began to cooperate with the school and sent the first teachers abroad, then the school had a full elementary school. The same year, Renate Lemke served for the last time as headmaster.
By 1964 the campus in Urdesa
was already too small for a growing school. The German School already had a full High School and that year the Kindergarten moved to Los Ceibos, again a new neighbourhood in expansion. Nevertheless it was only possible to move completely in 1968 when Germany sent the money for the construction of the elementary school and the high school.
On April 13, 2009 the school inaugurated a second Kindergarten in Samborondón
. The project involves first the Kindergarten "Kinderkosmos" and eventually the final relocation of the elementary school. The high school (5 to 12 grade) will remain in Los Ceibos.
The school's open-minded direction has, contrary to Guayaquil's society, always permitted long or dyed hair and piercings for the boys, nail polish and earrings for the girls and the length of the skirts vary through the years also.
The boys' uniform is gray trousers and a white Polo shirt with the school's logo. Girls wear a gray checkered skirt and the same polo shirt as boys. For both white socks and black shoes are mandatory. The school's sweater is also gray with the school logo and is the only one allowed to be worn with the uniform.
For sport, both girls and boys wear black shorts with white T-shirt
s with the school logo and white trainers. There is also the possibility to wear the school's black sport trousers and sport sweater as part of the sport uniform if it is a cold morning.
Kindergarten boys wear gray shorts and girls a checkered gray jumper dress
.
The school is a member of the Trait d'Union, an international online multimedia magazine. Students participate with articles written in German.
.
The school maintains a Kindergarten for children aged three to five, an elementary school for pupils aged six to 10 and a high school with a total of 2000 students. A second Kindergarten is planned to open in the suburb Samborondon
on April 2009.
The pupil to teacher ratio is has an average of 15:1 from Kindergarten to 12th grade, which is low by general and Ecuadorian school standards. Class sizes start at around twenty in the elementary school and Kindergarten (classes have 2 teachers) and are often around 15 by the final years.
The school runs a psychological department whose job is to counsel high school students about its college choice and majors. Students are encouraged to study abroad. Approximately one third of the high school graduates choose to study in Germany.
Students can learn to play instruments. The small ones begin with a recorder
and a xylophone
and is possible to learn the piano, among others, as an elective. There are school choir
s for the kindergarten, elementary and high school and a rock band who has won the only school bands competition in the country.
, athletics field, soccer, volleyball
and basketball
courts and a gym
. In kindergarten children are taught to swim. Elementary school pupils have mandatory swimming and sport classes twice a week, while in high school only sport is mandatory and swimming an elective.
In the afternoon the students can do sports.
The Bundesjugendspiele (Federal Youth Sport Games) are held internally as in every school in Germany and pupils have the chance to get a diploma from the German President for their accomplishments.
Sports play an important role at the German School and because of that the students participate every two years in the South American German schools Competition called "Humboldt Spiele" and, as a preparation to it, in the annual swimming-volleyball-athletics competition against the German School of Quito
. The school participates in national and regional youth competitions as well and has already won national titles in sport.
that makes it possible to learn French as an elective course in the fifth grade.
Various subjects are taught in German at the high school depending on the teachers ability. Maths, Biology, Art, Physics and History are always taught in German depending on the grade.
An English Language Project Week is organized every year by elementary school pupils of all grades who explain their projects at the end of the week. There is also a Spelling Bee
Contest and a Short-Story Contest.
At the end of the 12 class, students are Bachiller de la República del Ecuador i.e. have an Ecuadorian high school diploma that allows them to continue their education in a university
. Depending on the electives taken, pupils may obtain the International Baccalaureate Diploma or a German Diploma that allows them to enter a German University of Applied Sciences.
. The students prepare their own paper lantern and participate in a school procession on St. Martin's Day where they light the lanterns and sing German songs.
The "Día de campo" (country day) is a mix of children-oktoberfest
and school fest. The "country day" is held in the school on the last Sunday of October and is organized by the parents council. For every child, one adult has to participate, selling either food, watching for the children on the rides, selling ice cream or other activities. On the "Día de campo" German, Ecuadorian and other European countries food are offered, games, rides, sports, plays are held and, above all, the fireworks
.
The school also supports a food program, where students research and teach about the benefits of soy.
The third charitable program is run in cooperation with the University of Bielefeld and its aim is to help in the development of Daular, a town in the province Guayas
. Together, they organize social development programs such as a water plant, electricity, a fish pool and a conservatory
for self-sustainability and the construction of a school. Pupils, students and villagers work together in order to achieve the year's goal. The project won in 2006/2007 an award from the United Nations
for its unique international concept.
) and as the idea after the Second World War was to unite instead of separate, they decided the school would offer none. Until today, the German School is preferred by parents with other religions to the majority's Catholicism. Nevertheless, most of the students are Catholics, but some Protestants, Jewish and atheists pupils attend to the school as well. First Communion
preparation is offered to 4th graders by a group of mothers on the afternoons.
Guayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
, Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
. It was founded in 1957 by Renate Lemke to meet the necessities of the German immigrants in the city.
It is one of 117 German schools abroad and one of the three German schools in Ecuador. It belongs to the International Baccalaureate Organization
International Baccalaureate Organization
The International Baccalaureate , formerly the International Baccalaureate Organization , is an international educational foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and founded in 1968. IB offers three educational programmes for children ages 3–19.The organization's name and logo were changed...
and offers the Diploma Program.
History
The school was officially founded in 1959 by Richard Zeller and Claus Riemann, German immigrants who resided in GuayaquilGuayaquil
Guayaquil , officially Santiago de Guayaquil , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador,with about 2.3 million inhabitants in the city and nearly 3.1 million in the metropolitan area, as well as that nation's main port...
. However, the school's history goes back to 1957 when Renate Lemke, a Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
teacher opened a Day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
for the children of German immigrants
Demographics of Ecuador
The Ethnography of Ecuador consists of a diverse collection of ethnic groups, almost all related to another group in one way or another. The great majority of Ecuadorans trace their origins to one or more of three geographical sources of Human migrations: the pre-Hispanic indigenous Amerindians who...
in her own home. By the end of the school year, she continued with an elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
in another building, because the number of students had increased. In 1958 the school moved to the newly inaugurated neighbourhood Urdesa
Urdesa
-History:thumb|140px|left|French food restaurant in the neighborhoodThe name Urdesa comes from Urbanización del Salado which means neighborhood by the estuary. The quarter was born as an urbanism project north to the city for the middle and upper class around 1956...
. By then, the German School as it was known, had already a second grade.
In 1960 Federal Republic of Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
began to cooperate with the school and sent the first teachers abroad, then the school had a full elementary school. The same year, Renate Lemke served for the last time as headmaster.
By 1964 the campus in Urdesa
Urdesa
-History:thumb|140px|left|French food restaurant in the neighborhoodThe name Urdesa comes from Urbanización del Salado which means neighborhood by the estuary. The quarter was born as an urbanism project north to the city for the middle and upper class around 1956...
was already too small for a growing school. The German School already had a full High School and that year the Kindergarten moved to Los Ceibos, again a new neighbourhood in expansion. Nevertheless it was only possible to move completely in 1968 when Germany sent the money for the construction of the elementary school and the high school.
On April 13, 2009 the school inaugurated a second Kindergarten in Samborondón
Samborondón
Samborondón is a suburb of Guayaquil and one of the cantons of Guayas province in Ecuador. It is one of the most exclusive residential and entertainment districts in Ecuador, boasting many Gated Communities and several retail developments are located in the suburb...
. The project involves first the Kindergarten "Kinderkosmos" and eventually the final relocation of the elementary school. The high school (5 to 12 grade) will remain in Los Ceibos.
School terms
There are two academic halves in the year,- The first half, from early April to late August. New children are only admitted in the first half, except when there are mitigating factors like coming from a city with other school terms.
- The second half, from mid September to late December or mid January. This half's end varies from year to year. Sometimes it ends before Christmas, sometimes there are two weeks Christmas holidays and then two to three weeks school in January. Mostly it depends on the rain season, which takes place in the big vacations (from December to March) and determines if the first term begins in early or mid April.
Uniform
Like all of Ecuadorian schools, the German School has a uniform for its pupils. At the beginning, a uniform was not mandatory because in Germany schools do not have a uniform, but already in the 1960s this ended and the traditional uniform has been worn since then.The school's open-minded direction has, contrary to Guayaquil's society, always permitted long or dyed hair and piercings for the boys, nail polish and earrings for the girls and the length of the skirts vary through the years also.
The boys' uniform is gray trousers and a white Polo shirt with the school's logo. Girls wear a gray checkered skirt and the same polo shirt as boys. For both white socks and black shoes are mandatory. The school's sweater is also gray with the school logo and is the only one allowed to be worn with the uniform.
For sport, both girls and boys wear black shorts with white T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s with the school logo and white trainers. There is also the possibility to wear the school's black sport trousers and sport sweater as part of the sport uniform if it is a cold morning.
Kindergarten boys wear gray shorts and girls a checkered gray jumper dress
Jumper dress
A jumper , pinafore dress or pinafore is a sleeveless, collarless dress intended to be worn over a blouse, shirt or sweater.In British English, the term jumper describes a sweater...
.
School magazine
The Genau! is the official school magazine. It was founded in 1986. The magazine was relaunched in 2005. Although it has an editorial board formed by high school students, collaboration from all grades is usual and encouraged. developed by students. The Blog has a broader article spectrum and covers not only school subjects but many politics, arts and subjects of common concern as well.The school is a member of the Trait d'Union, an international online multimedia magazine. Students participate with articles written in German.
Curriculum
The German School is known for its academic excellence in humanities and natural and exact sciences. The school offers a special program of the International Baccalaureate Organization, called Gemischtsprachiges Internationale Baccalaureate i.e. a multilingual program in German, English and Spanish specially designed to be compatible with the German AbiturAbitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
.
The school maintains a Kindergarten for children aged three to five, an elementary school for pupils aged six to 10 and a high school with a total of 2000 students. A second Kindergarten is planned to open in the suburb Samborondon
Samborondón
Samborondón is a suburb of Guayaquil and one of the cantons of Guayas province in Ecuador. It is one of the most exclusive residential and entertainment districts in Ecuador, boasting many Gated Communities and several retail developments are located in the suburb...
on April 2009.
The pupil to teacher ratio is has an average of 15:1 from Kindergarten to 12th grade, which is low by general and Ecuadorian school standards. Class sizes start at around twenty in the elementary school and Kindergarten (classes have 2 teachers) and are often around 15 by the final years.
The school runs a psychological department whose job is to counsel high school students about its college choice and majors. Students are encouraged to study abroad. Approximately one third of the high school graduates choose to study in Germany.
Arts and music
Arts and music play an important role on the school's curriculum. There are special music and arts classes with all materials needed to learn. The school's walls have served as canvas for the pupils. The elementary school organizes an "Open Air Art Day" every year where children paint outside and parents and family are welcomed to observe. Many artistic projects are held every year and art and music are mandatory until the 8th grade, when students may to choose between one of them. It is also possible to take art as an A-Level (or High Level on the IBO Diploma) subject on high school.Students can learn to play instruments. The small ones begin with a recorder
Recorder
The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes—whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle. The recorder is end-blown and the mouth of the instrument is constricted by a wooden plug, known as a block or fipple...
and a xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
and is possible to learn the piano, among others, as an elective. There are school choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s for the kindergarten, elementary and high school and a rock band who has won the only school bands competition in the country.
Sports
The school has its own swimming poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, athletics field, soccer, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
courts and a gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
. In kindergarten children are taught to swim. Elementary school pupils have mandatory swimming and sport classes twice a week, while in high school only sport is mandatory and swimming an elective.
In the afternoon the students can do sports.
The Bundesjugendspiele (Federal Youth Sport Games) are held internally as in every school in Germany and pupils have the chance to get a diploma from the German President for their accomplishments.
Sports play an important role at the German School and because of that the students participate every two years in the South American German schools Competition called "Humboldt Spiele" and, as a preparation to it, in the annual swimming-volleyball-athletics competition against the German School of Quito
Quito
San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
. The school participates in national and regional youth competitions as well and has already won national titles in sport.
Languages
Children receive German language classes from second grade on, but even in Kindergarten the language is used in games. English remains the second foreign language and its teaching begins in the third grade. The school has a cooperation agreement with the Alliance FrançaiseAlliance française
The Alliance française , or AF, is an international organisation that aims to promote French language and culture around the world. created in Paris on 21 July 1883, its primary concern is teaching French as a second language and is headquartered in Paris -History:The Alliance was created in Paris...
that makes it possible to learn French as an elective course in the fifth grade.
Various subjects are taught in German at the high school depending on the teachers ability. Maths, Biology, Art, Physics and History are always taught in German depending on the grade.
An English Language Project Week is organized every year by elementary school pupils of all grades who explain their projects at the end of the week. There is also a Spelling Bee
Spelling bee
A spelling bee is a competition where contestants, usually children, are asked to spell English words. The concept is thought to have originated in the United States....
Contest and a Short-Story Contest.
At the end of the 12 class, students are Bachiller de la República del Ecuador i.e. have an Ecuadorian high school diploma that allows them to continue their education in a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
. Depending on the electives taken, pupils may obtain the International Baccalaureate Diploma or a German Diploma that allows them to enter a German University of Applied Sciences.
Exchange programs
- At the end of the ninth grade, the whole class goes to Germany for 6 weeks. For four weeks the children live with a host family and attend a German GymnasiumGymnasium (school)A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
. During the last two weeks they travel with their accompanying school teachers and the rest of the class through Germany.
- By the end of the 11th grade, there is the possibility to attend four weeks mandatory internship in Germany. The school can help the students to find a suitable institution or firm.
- The Pedagogical Exchange Service (Pädagogischer Austauschdienst), an institution of the German Government, awards excellent students with a trip to Germany together with other pupils of German schools around the world. The scholarship consist of a four week cultural journey, all expenses paid, to Germany. The German School of Guayaquil had the privilege to choose among its 11 graders one student for this award.
- There is a sport exchange program with the Sportgymnasium of LeipzigLeipzigLeipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and the sport specialized Poelchau-Oberschule in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. - The University of Göttingen, the German Aerospace CenterGerman Aerospace CenterThe German Aerospace Center is the national centre for aerospace, energy and transportation research of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has multiple locations throughout Germany. Its headquarters are located in Cologne. It is engaged in a wide range of research and development projects in...
and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical ChemistryMax Planck Institute for Biophysical ChemistryThe Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen is a research institute of the Max Planck Society. Currently, 812 people work at the Institute, 353 of them are scientists....
organize a three weeks science exchange program called Science Camp for 12 graders around the world. Every year a pupil of the German School of Guayaquil is awarded with a scholarship to the science camp and receives there applied physicsPhysicsPhysics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, neurophysiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
, ImmunologyImmunologyImmunology is a broad branch of biomedical science that covers the study of all aspects of the immune system in all organisms. It deals with the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and diseases; malfunctions of the immune system in immunological disorders ; the...
classes, among other natural sciences.
Traditions
One of the more cherished traditions is the "Laternen Fest" during the three Kindergarten years. "Laternen Fest" is a German tradition in remembrance of Martin of ToursMartin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Bishop of Tours whose shrine became a famous stopping-point for pilgrims on the road to Santiago de Compostela. Around his name much legendary material accrued, and he has become one of the most familiar and recognizable Christian saints...
. The students prepare their own paper lantern and participate in a school procession on St. Martin's Day where they light the lanterns and sing German songs.
The "Día de campo" (country day) is a mix of children-oktoberfest
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest, or Wiesn, is a 16–18 day beer festival held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. It is one of the most famous events in Germany and is the world's largest fair, with more than 5 million people attending every year. The...
and school fest. The "country day" is held in the school on the last Sunday of October and is organized by the parents council. For every child, one adult has to participate, selling either food, watching for the children on the rides, selling ice cream or other activities. On the "Día de campo" German, Ecuadorian and other European countries food are offered, games, rides, sports, plays are held and, above all, the fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
.
Charitable work
The German School of Guayaquil has a charity tradition. The main program, run since the 1960s, is afternoon school for children from low-income families. Morning pupils of the 11th grade must complete a mandatory social work year at the afternoon school. They usually work as Kindergarten teachers, sport, arts and computings teachers or help the children with learning difficulties. Over 200 children attend the afternoon Kindergarten, elementary and high school.The school also supports a food program, where students research and teach about the benefits of soy.
The third charitable program is run in cooperation with the University of Bielefeld and its aim is to help in the development of Daular, a town in the province Guayas
Guayas
Guayas may refer to:*Ecuador:**Guayas River**Guayas Province**Guayas **Guayas *The fruit of the mamoncillo tree...
. Together, they organize social development programs such as a water plant, electricity, a fish pool and a conservatory
Conservatory (greenhouse)
A conservatory is a room having glass roof and walls, typically attached to a house on only one side, used as a greenhouse or a sunroom...
for self-sustainability and the construction of a school. Pupils, students and villagers work together in order to achieve the year's goal. The project won in 2006/2007 an award from the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
for its unique international concept.
Trivia
The German School of Guayaquil, together with Interamerican Academy, are the only private schools in the city that does not offer religion education either as an elective or mandatory subject. The German immigrants who founded the school had different backgrounds (protestant, jewish, catholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
) and as the idea after the Second World War was to unite instead of separate, they decided the school would offer none. Until today, the German School is preferred by parents with other religions to the majority's Catholicism. Nevertheless, most of the students are Catholics, but some Protestants, Jewish and atheists pupils attend to the school as well. First Communion
First Communion
The First Communion, or First Holy Communion, is a Catholic Church ceremony. It is the colloquial name for a person's first reception of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Catholics believe this event to be very important, as the Eucharist is one of the central focuses of the Catholic Church...
preparation is offered to 4th graders by a group of mothers on the afternoons.