Posts filed in ‘Schools’
International School Ruhr opening September 2010
I really don’t have writen much about this project initiated by the ‘Initiativkreis Ruhr” and – as far as I remember – the CEO of the RWE company: The International School Ruhr is going to open in September 2010 in Essen. This is the link to its website.
According to a press release and the school’s website, the principal will be an American, Mrs Sharon A. Sperry. She worked at international schools around the world. The IS will offer service from Pre-Kindergarten (3 years old) up to the International Baccalaureate (IB).
Carolinenschule, Bochum opened
It’s Bochum’s first private elementary school and it opened Tuesday. I already reported about the project. Therefore I won’t repeat how the bilingual Carolinenschule works. It started with four classes and 45 pupils. There is space for 80 pupils but the license for the school came only 14 days before the opening.
WAZ Bochum, 18.08.2009: “Bochums erste pivate Grundschule ist gestartet” (Christian Schmücker)
Two Days – Three Schools
In the last two days, I met people from all three projects in Bochum for founding private (public substitute) schools in Bochum: The International School Bochum, the Carolinen-Schule and the Bochumer Bildungszentrum e.V. The progress of the three projects seems to be different. Looks like the first two will start with two to four classes each in August. The last one is still looking for a building.
I will post reports on the state of all three projects here soon.
English Kindergarten, pre-schools and toddler groups
There is some confusion to the translation of ‘Kindergarten’ into English language. The English use the term ‘Kindergarten’ for the one year before elementary school. This kind of Kindergarten is limited to this last year. The semantics of German ‘Kindergarten’ doesn’t seem to know these limitation. It doesn’t easily allow a different form of nursery school, toddler groups and pre-school offers. Anyway, all terms refer to a pre-school offer.
However, in my opinion there are such offers in Ruhr. Some language schools set up schools for children, and there are toddler groups and Kindgarten with a profile that includes introduction into English language. On the internet I also find classifieds looking for nurses that speak German and English. Some school projects offer or plan to offer an English language nursery. Further (private) offers are an English language toddler group in Dortmund (Krabbelgruppe Dortmund) and an additional offer for pre-school children in Essen by Dreistein. The last one I found via a newspaper article in the NRZ which also mentions prices.
Bilingual Class at Comprehensive School
In Dortmund exists a comprehensive school that offers a bilingual branch for interested pupils which is called ‘Big English’. These pupils at the Heinrich Böll-Gesamtschule get additionally two more English lessons in 5th and 6th grade. From 7th grade on they get subjects like geography, biology and history taught in English language. The aim ist to develop the special vocabulary needed for these subjects.
Bilingual Class at Secondary Modern School
After a meeting with the people from Bochumer Bildungszentrum e.V. (BBZ) about their work and project of an English or international school, I realized that there are demand and offers for bilingual offers at the different German school types. There is not only a comprehensive school. Traditionally, the secondary school in German knows three different types of schools: the Hauptschule (literally: main school), the secondary modern school (Realschule) and the German Grammar School (called Gymnasium). The school project of the BBZ could end up with such a secondary school. Different from the British system, pupils go to different secondary schools in Germany.
Today I want to focus on an existing secondary modern school: the Elsa-Brändström-Realschule in Essen. The school bilingual branch offers a biliginual class where in grade 5 and 6 two additional lessons English are taught per week. From the 7th grade on additionally another subject – later two – are taught with more lessons per week and in English language. The class aims at strengthening the English language skills of pupils either to get more easily into job which need English or to more easily attend a high school afterwards.
Bilingual Branch at Heisenberg-Gymnasium, Dortmund
I just heard of another bilingual ‘Gymnasium’ in Dortmund besides the Leibniz-Gymnasium: the Heisenberg-Gymnasium. The Heisenberg-Gymnasium doesn’t offer an optional International Baccalaureate like the other one. An article about this offer is available here in this blog: “International Baccalaureate (IB) at German bilingual public schools“.
The Heisenberg-Gymnasium offers a bilingual class since the academic year 2002/03. The 5th and 6th grade get two additional English lessons per week. Fort the 5th grade this means 7 English lessons and for the 6th grade 6 lessons. Beginning with the 7th grade upto two subjects are taught in English and German language: Two of 3 lessons per week are in English, one is in German. While preparing the German baccalaureate (Abitur) In 11th and 12th grade, there is an offer of English as an advanced course (Leistungskurs) and an basic course of one subject taught in English language. Pupils achieving the German baccalaureate will get an additional certificate from the school telling about the bilingual education done.
St. George’s – The English International School
Due to Thursday’s list with the stops of the mobile food store, I realized that there is another International School in Duisburg. I had thought this one is in Düsseldorf being a branch of Cologne what would be funny because of the traditional conflict between the two cities. No, they are different schools.
In Duisburg exists the The English Internationl School St. George’s which is an sister to the school in Cologne and Aachen. The school seems to be an additional school. Therefore it doesn’t receive state funding. I’m no longer in the mood to describe the pedagogical concept. Have a look at their page. They seem to use the IBO curriculum.
International School Bochum
Today I had a first look at the information folder of the International School in Bochum. I thought it is a branch of the International School in Heiligenhaus. This is sort of right. The website of the Bochum one is a copy of the Heiligenhaus one. The CEO is the same at both schools: Dr. Ursula Mock. I think there will be some sort of cooperation but I also realize that the Bochum School is an own company. Surely, this has several advantages like reduction the risk if the project in Bochum or in Heiligenhaus gets in trouble it wouldn’t effect the other one.
A look into the folder showed some differences to the Carolinen-Schule which I had expected. The International School Bochum chose the way of an additional school (Ergänzungschule). In the end, the school will offer a way to fullfill the German compulsory school attendance. Note, that Germany knows compulsory school attendance, not compulsory education. Therefore the school has to be officially recognized as a school where this duty can be fullfilled. Another option would be to set up a private substitute school (Ersatzschule). This would go along with the duty to take over more form public schooling but also receiving financial assistant from the state.
The International School doesn’t. As a result the fees have to be higher to pay all bills for teachers, building and staff. The academic year is split into three terms with four months each. Fees have to be paid for each term, starting from € 2.900 in first grade to € 3.700 in tenth grade. Nursery is cheaper. There is an additional administration fee of € 150 per term, an appilcation fee of € 500 and a non refundable one time registration fee of € 3.000.
Remarkable is the following: Chinese starts from first grade, Latin is offered additionally and further languages can be chosen from fifth grade. Thirty percent of the lessons shall be held in German, the rest in English. The curriculum shall contain the curriculum of North Rhine-Westphalia for German, the British National Curriculum and part of the programme of the IBO. The school aims to certify at the IBO to grant the IB-Diploma (International Baccalaureate). There is a school uniform. Breakfast and lunch are offered at school.
Further information and probably an own information folder can be found at:
www.internationalschoolbochum.com
www.schoolbochum.com
Bilingual School is Looking for Teachers
The Carolinen-Schule in Bochum wants to start in summer 2009 with first and second grade and is now looking for teachers. In fact, two different types of teachers are needed. Due to the concept of the school each class will be simultaneously taught in English and German. Therefore two teachers are needed: a real elementary school teacher (Grundschullehrer/Grundschullehrerin) and an assistant teacher. One of them shall be a native speaker of German. One of them needs to be a real elementary school teacher.
The job advertisement can be found on the website of Carolinen-School under “Stellen-Angebote”. The school will add a 3rd grade next year and a 4th grade in 2011. Therefore, year by year more teachers will be needed. So don’t hesitate to get into contact if you’re interested. Even if you will only be free in 2010 or later to work for them, they are already looking for you because after the elementary school has all four grades they want to start a secondary school (a German Gymnasium).
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