Willkommen!

Our first day of school on September 7th at SBDS was a resounding success! We saw a lot of smiling faces as friends reconnected after the summer break. We also welcomed quite a few new families. It is especially wonderful to see families make a long trip to be at our school, as far as Santa Cruz and Carmel. As always, recess with our library and the cake table was one of the highlights of the day, with many students enjoying their favorite cake, snack, or book.

We were also able to welcome two new teachers and several new assistants. The work that they and the rest of the SBDS staff do is truly a labor of love. We are always looking for new teachers, substitutes, and assistants. Let us know if you are interested or help spread the word.

As we look towards the new year, we will build on our solid success from last year. SBDS students again received excellent German language skills and test scores. We even learned that those skills helped several students significantly to get into CA colleges! That’s amazing considering that we teach only 30 Saturdays per year. Our great student / teacher average ratio of 5:1 helps, but fun, student motivation, and parent involvement make a big difference, too.

This school is as much about learning German as it is about bringing our community together and fostering connections among everyone interested in the German language and German-speaking culture. Not only do we rely on volunteers to keep the school functioning well, but our volunteers are also critical in creating the community we want to have. We loved seeing many families sign up to volunteer — increasingly also members who don’t have students at the school! There are many opportunities to volunteer over the course of the year, including for the cake table and the various events we will organize to bring our community together.

We are already excited for next Saturday. Bis dann!