St. George's School Cologne Newsletter - St. George's - The English ...

E-mail: info@stgeorgesschoolcologne.de
The Annual General meeting of the Friends of St.
George’s took place last Tuesday and we would
like to very graciously thank all members for their
fantastic support. The Friends of St. George’s have
been quietly helping us realise our vision of the
best education possible for our children. Now that
we are in our wonderful new premises we can finally
help our Foerderverein put their very generous
donations to good use. We’ve already begun
with some playground benches installed, and more
ideas are coming to fruition.
We would also like to thank our wonderful Marketing
and Business Development Executive, Frau von
Spee, who has worked quietly but industriously in
the background to help place St. George’s firmly
on the world educational map.
Frau v. Spee is leaving St. George’s to start an exciting
new chapter in her life. We all wish her and
her husband-to-be a blissful future together-and
remember - St. George’s a friend is by your side.
EVERY SECOND FRIDAY NEXT ISSUE 5TH JUNE
Friday 15th May 2009
Volume 06 Issue 14
St. George’s School Cologne Newsletter
St.George’s - a Friend is by your side
Dear St. George’s
The end of another
half term is
fast approaching
and work to finish
the school
grounds is continuing.
The
building work in
the car park
should be complete
within the
next two weeks
and we anticipate
that you will enjoy the additional car
parking spaces. We appreciate that in
the short term this is causing extra congestion
in the car park, however in the
long term it should provide relief during
the most congested periods. We ask that
you are patient whilst this work is ongoing
and that you continue to observe the
5km/h speed limit on the school
grounds for the safety of everyone.
This is a particularly busy time of year for
our Upper School pupils. The IB pupils
will be coming to the end of their gruelling
examination period next week whilst
the AS/A Level and GCSE pupils will be
beginning theirs. We wish all of our Upper
School pupils every success in the
upcoming examinations and hope that
they can perform to the best of their ability.
It is not only the Upper School that has
been busy recently, for the last two
School For Life
weeks the Early Years department have
performed some fantastically entertaining
assemblies. We look forward to more
enjoyable lunch time assemblies with the
Early Years department next week.
Other activities next week include the
Little Dragons Sing-a-Long on Friday, the
Early Years Literacy Day on Wednesday
and the Lower School Sports Day on Friday.
We would like to remind you that there is
a public holiday on Thursday next week
this means that the school will be closed
for all pupils except some unlucky Upper
School pupils who may have examinations
on that day. The following week is
half term and school will begin again on
Tuesday 2 nd June 2009 - Monday 1 st June
is another public holiday, May is always a
little hectic.
We would like to take this opportunity to
wish you a relaxing half term holiday and
hope to welcome all of our pupils back in
June feeling refreshed
and ready
for the final half
term of 2009.
Yours sincerely,
R. Hollow
School Director
C. Wilford
Assistant
School Director
You should have received the following letters over the past two Thursdays:07.05 WS Stationery Fee; WS Morocco;EY Literacy
Cake Sale; LS Scarlet Fever alert; LS Sports Day 14.07 WS Open Afternoon; WS Scolarest kiosk; ; FSRec Scolarest payment;
; Rec Scolarest; F02 Transition; F03 Odysseum;F02-04 Kinderliga; LS Residential Trip

As you know
Spring is a
very busy time
for the
“Bumblebees”.
Our classroom
is a buzzing
hive of activity.
There is
never a dull
moment or a
quiet one!
We brush up
on our painting
skills.
We really enjoyconstruction
and model
making and
talking about
what we have
made.
And we like to
get creative
with melt
beads.
Dancing and
playing musical
instruments
are really special
occasions
for all of us!
As you can see
we like to roleplay
and dress
up. We find
this helps us to
learn new songs
and rhymes
quickly .
Foundation Stage

One of our most
favourite topics
has been “Our
Pets”. It was a
very exciting
day when some
of our pets
came to school.
Carlo, the cat,
was very popular
and he even allowed
us to
stroke him. It
was very interesting
to listen
to Thomas telling
us all about
his cat’s likes
and dislikes.
Our next visitor
was a little bit
nervous so we
had to be careful
not to
frighten her
away.
Foundation Stage
Alex and his Dad
told us all about
Aaron and we
even got to pat
him. Pepita is
quite an old dog.
She was born in
Spain and is
lovely.
Lorenz is very
knowledgeable about his dog Elsa.
Leon and Sebastian from the “Giraffes” class were
very kind and brought a frog for us to have a look
at.
Bumblebees in Spring
The school year is swiftly coming
to an end and soon it will be
time to say “Goodbye!” to the
“Bumblebees”. We have had a
fantastic time staying together
and making great friendships.

Foundation Stage
Monkeying Around in the Butterflies!
Here in the
Butterflies
we use our
weekly
“Theatre
Club” to
consolidate
what we
have been
learning:
letters, numbers,vocabulary,
rhyming,
social skills
and of
course performing
in
front of an
audience.
Here, we are
showing you
how we perform
our
favourite
play “Ten
little monkeys”
for
which we
have prepared
our
own masks.
We love the
play!
Enjoy our
pictures!

Work of the Week 26
Luca, Lucy, Joy, Laurids, Majid, Paula, Leonie, Hanzade, Louisa, Thomas,
Jamie, Elisa, Thomas, Naoshi, Oscar
Lower School
Lower School Craft Day & Spellathon
Craft Day
Last week Lower School held
their annual Craft Day. As
always it was a great success
and was thoroughly enjoyed
by all. The children spent the
morning making various
crafts which they then sold to
their friends and parents in
the afternoon. The children
raised an amazing €723. This
money is going to be given to
a local children’s hospital. We
would like to say a very big
thank you to the parents who
helped during the day and to
everyone who supported this
event.
Spellathon
Following the Lower School
Spellathon last term we would
like to announce that the children
raised €2360.80. This is
an incredible amount of
money which is going to be
used to buy new guided
reading books. Each child in
Lower School was given a list
of fifty words to learn and got
sponsorship for each word
that they got correct. As you
can tell from the amount
raised we have some excellent
spellers! Thank you to all
of the parents that supported
the Lower School children in
this fundraising activity. Your
continued support in simply
coming along to the Craft Fair
and helping with spellings at
home is very much appreciated.
Thank you all so much.
Work of the Week 27
Vivian, Daniel, Niclas, Jack, Rebecca, Konstantin, Zec, Lucas, Rose,
Meri, Rebecca, Matthew, Xia Yong Wei, Tiziana, Lucy, Nicolas

There’s a new arrival
in the Geography
Department…
He’s 5 foot 7,
drinks water, has a
spinning head,
likes it when it
gets windy and
never stops talking.
The good
news is that he
doesn’t need any
sleep or even a
cup in the staffroom.
Instead,
two new batteries
every six months
and a clean out
every six months
are his sole demands.
The mystery person
in question is
our new Weather
Station, complete
with the digital onscreen
character
“Wullie”. Driving
out of Rondorf with
the school on your
right, one can see
the apparatus proudly installed
outside the new science laboratory.
This was deemed the most
suitable sun trap on the school
grounds.
We have several Year 7 and 8
Weather Station Monitors who
will be solely responsible for
building up the positive sustainable
image of our school by recording
weather data for future
Staying on top
of the weather
generations. This
log will be kept in
the school building
and hopefully
referred to in the
future by other
budding Geographers.
Data is relayed
remotely by the
outside sensors to
an indoor digital
unit, which includes
a rainfall
gauge, anemometer
(wind speed
measuring device)
and a myriad of
other atmospheric
information including
wind direction,
humidity
and sunshine
hours.
This data is important
for our seniors
pupils in their assignments
and the
fun for our
younger pupils
come from the
station’s digital character
“Wullie” appearing in suitable
attire for the weather on the
screen. Feel free to visit our department
to see the system in
action. Let’s hope “Wullie”
keeps coming out in his swimming
trunks with bucket and
spade!
Mr Stimpson
Geography
MSUS
Last weekend all the boarders,
Mr. and Mrs. Aitken and myself
went to see the making of a TV
show. It was called DSDS,
(Deutschland
sucht den Superstar).
It was the
final show. All of
us travelled to
Cologne by bus
and tram. After
the tram we ate some sandwiches
because we were hungry
after the long trip. Then we
came into a big TV studio. It
was enormous, so there were
lots of people who had a DSDS
t-shirt on and a sticker. Only
with this sticker could you enter
into the studio. Before we
received these stickers we had
to wait an
hour long.
And when
we came
to the studio
at last
we where
really impressed
because of
the lights, the
stage and our
heroes. Only
Yannic and
Emika where
not impressed
about what was
happening
on the
stage,
t h e y
where
i m -
pressed
a b o u t
what was happening
backstage.
The stars were
Daniel and Sarah
and they sang
three songs each.
At the end
of the
show they
all sang
together
with the
other stars
from the show who had come
back for the final show. All this
took two or three hours, we
did not expect it to be this
long. When we returned to the
School House it was time to
relax and watch some more
stars in the making - “Britain’s
got talent”. The day was really
good but I was glad to see my
bed.
Diana Year 9
A week in the lives of St. George’s teenagers - The Weather, Camping and DSDS !
Yet another
Duke of Edinburgh
Bronze
Award group
embarked on
their practice
expedition last
weekend. All
of the participants
covered
approximately
28 km over two
days with one
over night stay
at Heider
Bergsee Campground. The expedition began at the Walberberg
tram station and culminated in Fischenich.
Last weekend proved to be particularly difficult due to the
weather. After finishing the first section of the hike it began to
rain as the pupils approached the campground. Unfortunately,
this meant that everyone set up tents in the rain, cooked in the
rain, ate in the rain and fell asleep to the sound of rain!
On the following day, the weather proved to be much better.
Without a dampened spirit, the group happily trekked south to
Liblar and then north to the endpoint.
W e l l
d o n e
participantsyourepresented
t h e
school
well!

“Friends of St. George’s” prove to
be friends to the Library!
Library Link
Library News
On behalf of Friends of St. George’s, their treasurer
Mr. Ossolinski presented St. George’s School’s MFL
Department, represented by Miss Schumacher, with a
generous donation of new library books. Generated
by the Friends of St. George’s Wish List Project, MFL
was able to put together a list of 22 brand new and up-to-date German titles,
from classics such as “Herr der Fliegen” (“Lord of the Flies”) and “Abschied
von den Eltern” (“Farewell to the Parents”) to great leisure reading books,
especially for Middle School pupils, such as Robert Muchamore’s very successful
“Top Secret” (“Cherub”) series, Stephenie Meyer’s “Bis
(s)” (“Twilight”) saga, Eon Colfer’s “Artemis Fowl” or Isobel Abedi’s “Isola”
among others. Pupils were very excited about these new books and couldn’t
wait for them to get catalogued and out on the shelf. But it’s not just the MFL
Dept. which will benefit from this. Due to the generosity of the donors, there
were enough funds for Lower and Middle School readers to benefit as well:
Another 21 English books, ranging from adventure and fantasy books for our
younger readers to love and spy stories for the teens, could also be added
to the stock. Just in time to provide many great page-turners for the upcoming
half-term break! A huge Thank You to the Friends of St. George’s from
the Library and its grateful readers for making wish lists come true!
Buchhandlung Rondorf
Kapellenstraße 3
50997 Köln Rondorf
Tel.:+49(0)2233-939 85 85
Attention: Seeking Book Donations!
Öffnungszeiten:
Mo.-Fr.:
9:00 Uhr bis 13:00 Uhr
und 14:30 Uhr bis 18:30 Uhr
Sa.:9:00 Uhr bis 13:00 Uhr
The St. George’s Library would be grateful for any book donations for its
stock. Do you have well-preserved book collections which are taking up too
much space on your shelves at home? Children’s or Juvenile’s books the
children have now outgrown? – Be they English, German, French or Spanish
– we will find some space on our shelves here which still need filling up. So,
have a good rummage through your collection at home and see if there is
anything you might like to contribute. Books can be brought to the library
directly or left at the office. – Thank you so much on behalf of the Library
and all of St. George’s School’s growing number of avid readers!
New in MS/US Reading:
Anna Perera’s highly
commended and daring
book “Guantanamo Boy”
Khalid is a normal Rochdale
boy. He's fifteen, and likes
football, hanging out with
his mates, drinking the odd
illicit can of lager (but not
getting drunk) and girls -
well, one particular girl;
green-eyed, Irish-brogued
Niamh. Khalid's doing well
at school, but he does get
the occasional letter home
about poor behaviour. He
has two annoying little sisters,
a mother who makes
the most delicious curry,
and a father who is loving, if
a little distant and prim and
proper. He loves computer
games and chatting on the
internet to his cousin Tariq
in Pakistan. Tariq is writing
his own computer game -
Bomber One - and the two
chat to other gamers all
over the world. - Khalid is
nice. Similar boys populate
every town and city in the
UK. But not many go on
holiday to visit family in
Pakistan, are kidnapped by
American agents, and taken
to face torture and solitary
confinement in Guantanamo
Bay. And that's exactly
what happens to
Khalid.
It is a challenge when children's
fiction tackles the
biggest issues of the day, it
doesn't get much bigger
than Guantanamo Bay.
Anna Perera blasts straight
through all the taboos and
here her readers will come
to understand exactly what
is meant by the euphemistic
terms they hear bandied
around: Aggressive interro-
gation techniques, waterboarding,
stress positions,
sensory deprivation, ritual
humiliation - Khalid certainly
has no idea what they are
until he experiences them.
It's also to Perera's credit that
the book - written in the present
tense to maintain immediacy,
which is a challenge
for young readers - maintains
pace and tension
throughout; it never gets lost
in a miasma of horror. She
also maintains hope and a
positive vision for the future.
It's a horrific book and a disturbing
book, but it's a truthful
book. Despite its very
graphic nature, this is a book
late tweens and early teens
could also read. It's not just
for GCSE students.
(Recommended Reading
Age 14+)
New in Lower School Reading:
Terry Deary’s
“Master Crook's Crime
Academy: Burglary For Be-
ginners”
Welcome to the school
where scoundrels save the
day. This is Robin Hood
meets Oliver Twist in a
laugh-out-loud new series
from one of the most-loved
children’s authors, particularly
boys, Terry Deary,
mostly known for his
“Horrible Histories” series.
With a cast of hilarious
characters, witty asides and
farcical action, no reader can
fail to be inspired by the goings-on
at this most unusual
of schools! Volume 1 is available
from the Library now;
volume 2 and 3 will follow
shortly. (Recommended
Reading Age 7+)

ARTBOOTH by BOOTHBY
Last week the Art department
held their annual Edexcel examinations.
During this time pupils
from GCSE, AS and A-level were
required to complete a piece of
work under examination conditions.
The outcome is a result of
many weeks preparation and
development in their
sketchbooks. All pupils finished
their pieces well within the time
constraints and are pleased with
their efforts.
The Edexcel examiner will come
to the school to moderate the
work in June so in preparation for
this the Art department will be
hosting an exhibition of pupils
work. All staff, parents, pupils
and friends of St George's will be
invited to attend and enjoy some
of the wonderful work which will
be on display.

Mrs. Reece’s Sporting Calendar
St George’s young athletes compete.
On the afternoon of 2 nd May in Habbelrath,
it was the turn of some of St
George’s younger athletes to test their
skills against other teams from the
Cologne area. The first competition of
the Kinderliga combined throwing
tennis rings, running over hurdles and
the “pole-long-jump”. Seven pupils
from Years 2 and 3 enjoyed meeting
other aspiring athletes and the fun
atmosphere of the sporting afternoon.
All our competitors were delighted to
go home with a certificate and prize
awarded in recognition of their
achievements. Many thanks to all
those who competed and also to their
parents for their support.
For any pupil born between 2000 and
2002 who has been inspired by the
events in Habbelrath and who would
like to take part, the next Kinderliga
competition takes place on the afternoon
of 6 th June in Elsdorf. Please
check your email or ask Mrs Reece for
further information.
Middle School
“Two households, both alike in dignity,
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene…”
‘Romeo and Juliet’ by William Shakespeare
Year 7R recently finished designing some fabulous posters for Ms. Henham’s
English class.
The posters centred on the Prologue for Shakespeare’s play of “Romeo
and Juliet”. Before the pupils have even begun to read the play, they
were asked to use their imagination in interpreting Shakespeare’s
words, and then to draw images or symbols to reflect this storyline. The
class produced some exceptional and original creations to present to Dr.
Wilford and their peers.
Dr. Wilford then had the difficult but enjoyable task to judge these creative
posters. He judged that the presentations presented below were
worthy of special mention.
See more pictures of the Kinderliga online at
www.stgeorgesschool.de

Gentle
Reminders
5Km/h
Even if you are
only picking up
your child early
or dropping
something off,
please, between
9:00-15:00
REPORT TO THE
MAIN OFFICE
General Notices Forthcoming
“Friends of St. George’s” is pleased to introduce
their new President, Mrs. Constanze
Werner, who was elected at the general
meeting held on 12 th May, 2009. Mrs.
Werner has a daughter at St. George’s and
is CEO of an event management agency
with offices in Cologne, Hamburg and
Dresden. She replaces Alice v. Spee as
President who will be moving to the U.K. in the summer; Julia Gräfin
Matuschka and Herr Claus Ossolinski will remain in their positions as
Vice President and Treasurer respectively. The enormous success of the
Wish List Project and the continued implementation of the designated
monies and donations generated from it will be Mrs. Werner’s first plan of
action. The Wish List appeal was initiated in November 2008 in view of the
forthcoming move to the new school building in Rondorf. The generated
monies are now being applied according to the wishes of the donors and
the needs of the school. “Friends of St. George’s” is a legally recognized
and registered organisation (“eingetragener Verein”) with a charitable
status and it sees itself as being a neutral link between school management
and school supporters. Founded by a group of men and women active
in Cologne’s business and cultural community, “Friends of St.
George’s” strives to support St. George’s financially
and idealistically within the school and
within Cologne and its surrounding areas. Mrs.
Werner looks forward to multi-faceted and interesting
tasks and will be introducing their
latest project in the next term. “I am motivated
by the fact that we are doing this for the most
important aspect we all have in common: our
children”. Interested in becoming a member of
“Friends of St. George’s”? Please contact
Friends.Cologne@stgeorgesschool.de.
Over the next few weeks our Upper School pupils
will be sitting very important examinations. These
can continue on until after 15:30. We kindly request
that children do not continue to use the playground
longer than necessary. If you come to collect your
child after school, please vacate the playground
courtyard as soon as possible.
Drama at St. George’s
St. George’s is proud to announce a
forthcoming partnership with Mr. Todd
Fletcher, a New York born author, composer
and director of musicals for children
and adults. Mr. Fletcher has produced
numerous theatre productions and
has written, composed and produced over
20 musicals for young people. He runs a
Summer Programme at the American
School in Switzerland and has worked
extensively with children and young
adults in musical productions. Mr.
Fletcher will be introducing himself and
his music to St. George’s pupils on Friday, 15 th May and will be holding
a “Trial Day” for all interested pupils aged 6 to 14 on Saturday,
13 th June 2009 from 10 am to 5 pm. This “Teaser” will be free of
charge and will offer pupils a stimulating trial day of art, music and
sport. The ensuing Summer Programme 2009 (dates to be announced)
promises to be a fun-filled 2 week Day Camp for St. George’s pupils
and their friends and will end with an exciting musical production.
Watch out Broadway! Interested in signing up your children for the
Trial Day on 13 th June? Please contact the school office on 02233-
80887-0.
Highlights
Owls Assembly Mon. 18th
Blackbirds
Assembly
Tue. 19th
EY Literacy Day Wed. 20th
Ascension Day
(School Holiday)
Thu. 21st
LS Sports Day Fri. 22nd
LD Sing-a-long Fri. 22nd
Summer Half-
Term
Whit Monday
(School Holiday)
25th-29th
Mon. 1st
June
LS Year 03 Trip Wed. 3rd
EY-LS & F11-12
Transfer
Meetings
EY Magic
Monday
MSUS Transfer
Meeting
Thu. 4th
Mon. 8th
Tue. 9th

St. George’s Family
Round Table
St. George’s School
School - Family
Round Table
Who Are We, What do We Do, and How Can You Help ?
An invitation to join our Round Table.
As you are aware our Round Table is formed from a team of Parents and Staff who work together to promote
the relationship between home and school. We have a number of fund raising activities and also work to promote
information for new and existing families; any member of the St. George’s Family is welcome to join us
for our meetings or contribute to our activities so please contact us.
We are currently working on our ‘Welcome Booklet’ and would like to ask for contributions from our Parents
and Staff. The booklet is offered to any family moving to Cologne and joining St. George’s School. It is host to
a number topics which any family may find useful, these include: Family Outings, Restaurants, Insurance, Driving,
Accommodation, Public Services, Clubs in Cologne, Pets, Local Traditions, Entertainment, Doctors, Dentists,
Shopping, Banking and anything else which may prove useful to new Families. If you have any suggestions
please contact us.
We would like to thank you all for your generous support over the last few years and look forward to welcoming
you to our next event – Our Round Table Coffee Morning. Our coffee mornings are always a relaxing
event where Parents gather and are often entertained by an activity or guest speaker. We would like to promote
our coffee mornings further and invite suggestions for guest speakers or topics, please contact us with your suggestions
and we will attempt to arrange a suitable speaker.
Please contact us with your suggestions and join us for our next coffee morning.
St. George’s Round Table
info@stgeorgesschool.de
SCHOOL FOR LIFE

St. George's The English International School Cologne
Calendar Term 3.2
JUN. JUN./JUL.
Mon. 1 Whit Monday 31 29 LSMS: Transfer Day EY: Activity Week 35
LS: Trip Week
Tue. 2 30 LSMS: Transfer Day
US: Work Placements
Wed. 3 LS: Yr3 Trip
US: Yr11/12 Transfer Meeting
1
Thu. 4 EYLS: Transfer Meeting 2
Fri. 5 3 FS: Picnic
Sat. 6 US: Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Weekend 4
Sun. 7 5
Mon. 8 EY: Magic Monday 32 6 EYLS: Parents' Evening 36
US: IB Examination Results Day
Tue. 9 MSUS: Yr9/10 Parents' Transfer Meeting 7 FSEYLS: Transfer Day
MSUS: Parents' Evening
Wed. 10 LSMS: Parents Transfer Meeting 8 LSMS: Prize Giving
WS: End of term 12:30 / US: Graduation Ball
Thu. 11 Corpus Christi Day 9
Fri. 12 10
Sat. 13 US: Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Weekend 11
Sun. 14 12
Mon. 15 EY: SATs & Assessments
LS: SATs Week
33 13
Tue. 16
MSUS: Exam Week
14
Wed. 17 LS: Drama perf. 17:00 15
Thu. 18 EYRec: Transfer Meeting 16
Fri. 19 17
Sat. 20 BD: Exeat Weekend 18
Sun. 21 19
Mon. 22 FS: Trips
EY: Activity Week
34 20
Tue. 23 LS: Yr 6 Trip
MSUS: Trip Week
US: IB CAS Week
21
Wed. 24 LS: Running Badge
US: Work Placements
Yr12: Career Week
22
Thu. 25 LS: Football Day Yr3/4
Rec: Zoo Visit
23
Fri. 26 LS: Football Day Yr5/6
LD: Sing-a-Long
24
Sat. 27 25
Sun. 28 26
LD: Little Dragons / FS: Foundation Stage / EY: Early Years / LS: Lower School / MS: Middle School / US: Upper School / BD: Boarding /
WS: Whole School / RT: Round Table