St. George's School Cologne Newsletter

E-mail: info@stgeorgesschoolcologne.de
EVERY SECOND FRIDAY NEXT ISSUE 12TH DECEMBER
Friday 28th November 2008
Volume 06 Issue 06
St. George’s School Cologne Newsletter
Got your tickets ?
Yes, Christmas time is
approaching once more
and once more we have
a feast of entertainment
planned for you.
There are no fewer than
SIX performances and
fairs approaching and
we hope you will be
able to attend all of
them.
Our children are ready
to say goodbye to Sulz
and Raderthal and hello
to Rondorf in style.
We begin on Saturday
with our Annual Christmas
Fair. This is closely
followed by a special
Lower School Drama
Club performance on
Tuesday 2nd of December.
The Nursery Performance
is on Wednesday
and Reception’s
‘Ralph the Reindeer’ on
the same day. Early Years perform on Friday 5th December, and you
just have time to relax before Lower School Carols on Wednesday 10th
December. All aboard for the Rondorf Express !
Director‘s Letter
Dear St. George’s
With only two weeks to go until the end
of term and our move to Rondorf, our
Staff and Pupils are certainly burning
the candle at both ends to complete all
the tasks at hand. From examination
preparation to end of term productions,
it is taking place over the next fortnight.
We hope that you are able to join us for
the Christmas Fair on Saturday. There
are a large number of stalls available
for you to browse. The special attraction
for our younger visitors is of course
Santa Claus however, the AWCC have
organized activities for children of all
ages. Doors open at 12:00 and the Fair closes at 16:00; we look
forward to seeing you there.
As you are aware there are a number of developments relating
to our move to Rondorf, these include School Uniform, Catering
and Transport. Our recent letter regarding transport possibilities
to Rondorf yielded fourteen replies from the whole school.
With this level of response the assistance we can offer in arranging
transport is very limited however, we would like to thank
those who responded and will contact you personally.
Our senior pupils are again faced with their public examinations
in January and we wish them every success in their endeavours.
The first examinations take place in Rondorf on January 8 th ; our
first full day in Rondorf.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all Staff for their
hard work and dedication over the last term. Our pupils must be
commended on their many achievements and contributions
whilst we would like offer our Parents
our gratitude for their support
over the last term. Please note that
we make every effort to keep you
fully informed and offer you our
open door policy; contact your Form
Teacher or Head of Department at
any time with any concerns.
We wish you all a relaxing weekend
and look forward to seeing you at
our end of term productions.
Yours sincerely,
R. Hollow
School Director
C. Wilford
Assistant School Director
Our New Address and Contact Telephone
number from 5th January 2009:
St. George’s
The English International School Cologne
Husarenstrasse 20
50997 Köln
Telephone: 02233 808870
You should have received the following letters over the past two Thursdays: 20.11.08 LS Cinema Trip; LS Performance Costumes; US F10 Dinant
Trip; US F11-12 Parents Evening27.11.08 EY Spring Clubs; EYLS Chinese Dragons Club; LS Spring Clubs; US Exam Parents; US Weekly Boarding
School For Life

Reception
Once again it has come to the time of year
when we have started preparing for our annual
Christmas play. The Blackbirds along
with the Sparrows and the Owls have been
working extremely hard on perfecting their
performance, Ralph the Reindeer. All of the
children have been practising the songs that
support the play, working hard at learning
the words and actions respectively. The
Blackbirds have really enjoyed this and
have been very keen to get it right. Some of
the Blackbirds have the important role of
narrator in our production. These children
have an English speaking part in the play
which you may think would be daunting for
our little Blackbirds, however, even though
the children have found this a hard task they
are succeeding well and are enjoying the
challenge. Many children also have the exciting
opportunity to have a character role in
the performance; some children are elves
whilst others are reindeers. One of our very
own Blackbirds Benedikt Beckmann will be
one of the main characters in the play:
Ralph. The performance will be held at
12:15pm on Wednesday 3 rd December in the
Raderthal hall. The Blackbirds hope that
you can come and see all their hard work in
action. We would like to thank all the parents
for their support.
Reception Christmas performance 3rd December

Early Years
Turtles come out of
their shell
a walk around the school to observe them.
We talked about the shapes and features that
they have. Did you ever notice that the buildings
have so many windows? We tried to
count them but there were so many we kept
buildings we can see around us and went on
Hello and welcome to the Turtles. We would
like to show you some of our work that we
have done so far this term. We have been
looking at the topic homes.
We have been investigating different types
of homes and buildings. We have talked
about our homes and the homes that you find
in different parts of the world.
We took a closer look at the homes and
Autumn in Early Years
loosing count!
We used the buildings that we had seen as
inspiration to design our own. We started by
collecting lots of different materials including
twigs, leaves, stones, acorns and branches.
We used the old swimming pool near our
playground as the background. We had lots
of fun making them and we think they look
great! What do you think?
Trusty Toucan
Wellie Walking
Miss Forster’s
“Trusty Toucans”
certainly weren’t
for hibernating
last week as they
sported their finest
wellington
boots for an autumnal
“Wellie
Walk”. Each
week the children
focus upon a different
topic including
sports,
the environment,
cooking, arts and crafts and the seasons.
Last week no leaves were left unrustled and
no puddle left unsplashed as the children
enjoyed a leisurely stroll around the school
grounds learning about autumn and hibernation.
Early Years clubs run
each afternoon after
school from Monday
to Thursday. Information
regarding club
choices for after
Christmas was sent to
you yesterday. For
the first time ever,
once we have moved
to Rondorf, Reception
children will also be
able to attend clubs.
All Early Years clubs
are offered to children
from Reception,
and both Years One
and Two. Clubs
change termly and
are offered on a first
come first served basis.
Children may
attend more than one club.
We look forward to seeing many more Trusty
Toucans in the future, especially if they get to
wear their wellies once more for a snowy
stroll around the fields of Rondorf.

Lower School
Work of the Week 11
Work of the Week 12
Felix, Caroline, Thomas, Xia Yong, Michelle, Arthur,
Charlotte, Hanzade, Sara, Leonie, Hanna, Franziska,
Lara, Kimberley
Ricarda, Brooklin, Lucy, Ariane, Savannah, Dilara, Sascha,
Leoni, Tim, Miriam, Maryori, Yves, Severin
Golds Worth eh ?
Year 5 have been looking at the artist
‘Anthony Goldsworthy.’ Goldsworthy
is a British sculptor, photographer and
environmentalist who produces sculptures
and land art in natural and urban
settings. His art uses natural and found
objects which draw out the character
of the environment.
Year 5 began by looking at some examples
of his work and sketching
some of their favourite pieces. With
Goldsworthy’s work fresh in their
minds they were then sent out to draw
their own ideas from the world around
them. In 5K they also worked in pairs
to design their own Goldsworthy style
sculptures before going outside to
make them. The pictures shown are of
5K’s efforts. 5N collected their own
resources from outside including
things like leaves, pine cones and
branches and then put them together
in the classroom to design their own
pieces.
Coats on and into the bright Autumn
sunshine, year 5 had a wonderful ‘field
day’.
Goldsworthy has become a very popular
artist among year 5 who have found
his original ideas inspiring!
www.my-school-christmas-cards.co.uk
Lower School children have designed their very own
Christmas cards and they are available to order from
the website above. The site is very slow loading due to
the high traffic, but if you persevere, you will not regret
it. Log on, click on ‘buy cards’ enter the school
postcode ‘50937’ and choose from your child’s class.
A unique gift for all family & friends

MSUS
After Mr. Doyle’s eloquent introduction
to the IB last week, this week Yannic
Busbach gives us an erudite pupil’s
view on the Diploma Programme
Many people ask me why I chose the IB. In
fact my IB Coordinator and English teacher
Mr. Doyle asked me this question just a few
days ago. The answer to that is pretty simple:
I study IB because it gives me a wide range of
choice for college and allows me to study
almost everywhere, yet most people (or
rather those that do not chose IB) do not understand
why one would take such a workload
just to be accepted by a university in
France, England or another country that one
could also apply to after doing A-Level.
So to give a better perspective on this our
coordinator (as mentioned above) talked to
several pupils in my class and to me about
our feelings on the IB, the workload, the
classes we take and if we regret our decisions.
The answers were similar for every
one of us. No one regrets taking the IB Diploma
and the workload is not as crushing as
most think. And, in any case, as our teachers
and IB Coordinator, keep telling us, it’s good
for us, too!
One of the great things about the IB is that we
gain an overall view of problems and how to
approach them. An historian doesn’t focus on
a question in the same way as a mathematician
or a linguist. Yet, at the same time we
don’t sacrifice depth in our studies—
Standard Level requires in depth knowledge,
as well as Higher Level.
From my own point of view, I have already
studied a year of IB in the United States and
had the choice to change to A-Level when I
moved to Germany. However I decided to
continue (or rather repeat) the IB Programme
since it offers a lot more classes and a more
diverse range of topics, not limiting me in the
choice of my college courses. Nadja, one of
my classmates, agrees with this and even
goes a little further saying that it “allows you
to approach problems in a different way
since it gives you a wider perspective”.
Stella, too, is really happy with the attention
she receives and has found it easy to integrate
into the school.
Everyone agrees on the fact that we learn a
lot better since the classes are smaller and
the teachers try to support each student individually
and have enough time to explain a
problem to someone who did not understand
it at first. Also, St George’s pupils performed
very well at IB, with an average mark 6 points
above the worldwide average and one pupil
winning a valuable scholarship to McGill in
Canada. So we know we are in good hands!
CAS, too, offers a lot of variety and it gives us
the chance to undertake activities which otherwise
we might not be motivated to.
Whether motivated or not, everyone gains!
In general everyone seems to enjoy the IB
Diploma Programme; of course that could
change when our exams are coming up, but
we are all positive about where our classes
are going.
Three St. George’s Pupils from Years 11, 12 & 13 relate what is important to them
Winter has finally arrived and
Christmas is about to come. In a
couple of weeks we'll be sitting in
the new school and having our exams.
But before that, it's holiday
time!
But although it's Christmas time,
and probably every one of us
would like to enjoy the free
days, exams are coming
up in January. So how do
you hold the balance
between relaxing and
revising?
1.) Don't relax, but also
don't revise too much! If
you don't revise properly,
you will struggle to
get a reasonable grade.
But if you overdo it and
learn 24/7, you might
pass, but also forge
most of it quite soon.
2.) Create a timetable, which includes
a column for revision time
and one for leisure time. It's important
to have an overview of your
time.
3.) Don’t just revise on your own.
Meet up with friends and revise
together. By that you can motivate
each and maybe even inspire each
other.
By
Max Bauer F13
4.) Ask your parents for advice.
They may know tricks to
get some knowledge into your
head more easily.
5.) Be physically active. it may
sound unlikely, but physical
activity makes your brain work
better. This works especially
in combination with
fresh air.
6.) Tidy up your
workplace. You won't
be able to find and
order all your books
and notes if your
working area looks a
mess.
7.) Create posters
and put them on your
wall. By that you'll be
able to remember
facts more easily.
8.) Get a nice and comfortable
chair. No-one can work properly
with a backache.
And finally...
9.) Focus on your work and
don't get distracted by anything
else.
If you consider all this, you
are very unlikely to fail your
exams. Good luck to all of you!
When I entered the
black cellar, I didn’t
know what I should
expect. I had come
to see Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s,
“Der Besuch
der Alten
Dame” and was expecting
to see the
rundown streets of
“Güllen”. Instead
there was a huge
spiderweb, reaching
from one side of the
stage to the other.
The room quickly
filled with students
from Year 10, 11 and
13, their families and
a few selected German
Teachers. A few
minutes later the
performance started,
when the main characters
entered the
stage, accompanied
by a peculiar version
of “Staying Alive”, I
realised the version
that we were about
to see was going to
be very different
from the original.
Max Gaida F11
reflects on Der
Besuch der alten
Dame now on at
The Horizont
Theatre, Ebertplatz
The cast was much
smaller than it had
been in the script,
which we had already
read and analysed in
lessons, and in my
opinion, a few of the
most interesting characters
were missing.
This was quickly forgotten,
when Claire, a grotesque
old lady, entered
and shocked the
audience with an eerie
proposal. Reading and
watching this famous
play was very enjoyable.
Anybody who is
interested can still
watch the play in the
Horizont Theater,
where the actors
heightened the suspense
and made the
impending danger
quite amusing. It was a
great experience for all
who came, and I hope
that more trips like this
will be made in the
future.
Max Gaida, Year 11

Library Link
In depth with Malorie Blackman,
bestselling author of
„Noughts and Crosses“
Not only is “Noughts and Crosses” the winner of several
British book awards, it is also part of the Middle School (Year
9) English syllabus here at St. George’s. Though written just
before 9/11 in 2001, it is going through a renaissance as the
subjects which are getting tackled are just as – if not more –
relevant in today’s political and social climate. The Guardian
recently met up with Mrs. Blackman to discuss the subject of
racism, why writing this particular book was so important to
her and which impact it has had:
It took Malorie Blackman 12 years and 49 books before she
felt ready to take on the issue her friends had been urging
her to tackle for years: racism. She'd been reluctant to be
pigeonholed. As a black children's author she was expected
to write about racism, while as a former computer programmer
(a job she loathed) she was being shunted down the
kiddie techno-thriller route. "Through my whole writing career
it seems people have always been criticizing me for not
tackling racism. But things like even having black characters
on covers when I first started was a bit of a political statement,
because I've had more than one bookseller say to me 'that
book would sell better if you didn't put black people on the
cover'." But by the time she'd reached the 50th in a stack of
picture books, novels and early readers (not to mention
some Byker Grove TV scripts), she felt it was time. In doing
so, Blackman decided to turn everything on its head. In an
alternate Britain, the dominant race, the Crosses, hold all the
positions of power, the money, the influence. The Noughts
are sent to different schools, marginalized, referred to as
blankers. The Crosses are black, and the Noughts are white.
“I wanted to play with people's preconceptions," she says,
pointing to a scene where a Nought child cuts herself and is
forced to use a glaringly obvious brown plaster, because
there are no pink ones available (an event which happened
to Blackman, in reverse, as a child). "If you're the majority
you don't necessarily see it because you don't need to see it
and that's what I wanted to explore by turning the tables." It's
an approach which Blackman says has generated more
feedback than any of her other books. The series starts with
the story of Sephy, a Cross, and her childhood friendship,
which blossoms into an adult relationship, with Callum, a
Nought. It deals with some tough issues: terrorism, suicide
bombing, teenage pregnancy, and death. Released soon
after 9/11, no US publisher would touch it. "I can understand
why," says Blackman. "It's about terrorist activity - Callum
becomes a terrorist because it's the only action open to him. I
suppose there will be some adults who think these are unsuitable
subjects, but I've never had that argument from young
people," she says. "If someone thinks it's not suitable, just turn
the news on. I think it's 22 teenagers stabbed this year alone."
“Noughts and Crosses” is also available from the Stuart
House Library (age 14+). It’s the first in a Trilogy, followed
by “Knife Edge” and “Checkmate”.
Related books from the St. George’s School Library
Beverly Naidoo: The Other Side of Truth
(Carnegie Medal 2000)
Tackling multiple themes, most importantly injustice,
the right to freedom of speech, the complexities
of political asylum, bullying and, ultimately, the
strength of the family, The Other Side of Truth is a
gripping story that undoubtedly deserves its widespread
acclaim and success.
(Age 13+)
James McBride: The
Color of Water: A Black
Man’s Tribute to His White
Mother
The Color of Water tells the
remarkable story of Ruth
McBride Jordan, the two good men she married,
and the 12 children she raised. Ruth Jordan battled
not only racism but also poverty to raise her children
and, despite being sorely tested, never wavered.
In telling her story - along with her son's -The
Color of Water addresses racial identity with compassion,
insight and realism. (Age 13+)
Joan Lingard: Across the
Barricades
A different kind of racism is found on the streets of
Belfast: Kevin and Sadie just want to be together, but
it's not that simple. Things are bad in Belfast. Soldiers
walk the streets and the city is divided. No Catholic
boy and Protestant girl can go out together - not without
dangerous consequences...
(Age 12+)
Doris Lessing (Nobel Prize
for Literature 2007): The
Good Terrorist
Lessing offers a bleak analysis
of a decaying world in this
tale about a group of British
radicals who get mixed up in terrorist activities far
beyond their level of competence. She portrays terrorism
as psychopathological rather than political
and thereby creates a chilling, strangely compelling
story that will haunt readers for quite some time.
(Age 16+)
Please note: Our Library is closed in
preparation for the transfer to Rondorf
Finally about to be released – two book adaptations readers have been
waiting for!
The movie “Tintenherz” (“Inkheart”) will be released in Germany on
Thursday, December 11 th . Follow Meggie, Mo and Aunt Elinor – literally into
– the adventure of their lifetime!
Another desperately anticipated movie will make its way over the Atlantic
on Thursday, January
15 th – finally in
“Twilight” (Bis(s)
zum Morgengrauen”)
Bella and
Edward will jump
out of your imagination
and onto the
big silver screen.
Fans will already
have booked their
seats, but you may
still get a ticket…

General Notices
28/11/08
Forthcoming Highlights
Christmas Fair, Main Hall,
Sulz
LS Drama Club “James &
The Giant Peach” 2:15 Main
Hall, Sulz
FS Nursery & EY Reception
Christmas performances
11:00 & 12:30 Raderthal Hall
US F11-13 Parents Evening
16:00-18:00
EY Christmas Y01&02
performance Main Hall, Sulz
LS Christmas Carols Main
Hall Sulz 18:30
Winter Term ends 15:30
Rondorf watch 28th November 2008
Friends of St George’s - The first meeting of
the Friends of St. George’s will take place
on Friday, 19th December 2008 at 4:15 pm
in the Museum Ludwig. The assembly will
begin with a guided tour of the Gerhard
Richter Exhibition followed by an informal
meeting to discuss ideas, possible projects
and new developments. Interested in becoming
a Friend of St. George’s and supporting
the school? Please send an email to
Friends.Cologne@stgeorgesschool.de. New
members are always welcome!
Examination Classes Parents Evening 4th December 16:00-18:00
Please Note: Clubs are cancelled for Middle and Upper School due to
the Parents Evening. However, Prep Hour will run as normal. Thank you
for your understanding
29th Nov.
Tue. 2nd Dec.
Wed. 3rd Dec.
Thu. 4th Dec.
Fri. 5th Dec.
Wed. 10th Dec.
Thu.11th Dec.
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St. George’s
Families
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Year 05 girl travelling
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If you are inter-
ested, contact the
school office!
There have been numerous improvements
in the Geography Department
recently, some aimed at making St
George’s School a more eco-friendly
school and others at improving the
quality of learning for your child.
Aside from our Friday Green Day initiative,
which has recycled up to 200
Ikea bags full of paper and bottles to
date, we are eagerly awaiting the
move to Rondorf to plant our trees as we promised during
world CO2 “Kick the Habit” day in May of this year. We felt
they would be more appreciated at the new building over the
years to come! On a similar vein, Frances of Year 12 is spearheading
a steering group aimed at giving St George’s the
accolade of a “Fair-Trade” school.
Apart from doing our little bit for the environment, Geography
at St George’s is becoming more exciting for your child,
with a number of trips underway and planned for the New
Year. Year 11 donned their windcheaters and scarves and
went out on the streets of Cologne to gather data for their Environmental
Quality survey raising their awareness of the environment
they live in.
This weekend, the I.B.
Geographers are also
adding Wellington boots
to their attire and getting,
literally, into rivers by
surveying the River Sieg, a
tributary of the Rhein
south of Cologne. There’s
nothing quite like “handson”
Geography!
Future excursions are going a bit further afield; Year 8 and 9
to the flood defences down the Rhein Valley in January, A –
Level and I.B. to the “Mock United Nations” in April, where we
get the chance to be a country for a day! Last but not least, is
the Chamonix glacier trip in France next summer for Upper
School; undoubtedly a fabulous opportunity to experience
Geography at a multi facilitated field centre run by experts.
And possibly some ski-ing and other winter sports!
We also start running our Geography Club this week, on a
Tuesday 15:30 – 16:30, open to all pupils, not only for extra
tuition, but also to help the department grow. Our young Geographers
are the future of the world and we want their ideas
too! Key to the success of the Club is the purchase of a state of
the art weather centre, which will be up and running at Rondorf
next year. Every real Geography Department needs one
as well as keen pupils and staff! We have both, so keep your
eyes on “Geogblog” for more developments each week and
articles from our young geographers.
Best Wishes,
Mr M Stimpson,
Geography Department.

Just in time for Christmas: An
exhibition of colourfully painted
beds, wardrobes, chairs and toy
boxes, each individually designed
by the artist Verena
Preysing, are guaranteed to add
excitement to any child’s room.
These unique and practical
pieces will be exhibited for the
first time in Cologne from 5 th to
19 th December in the Walderdorff
Gallery. All of St. George’s
parents are invited to attend the
Vernissage on Thursday, 4 th December
from 6 pm til 10 pm as
well as the exhibition – please
see the invitation below. For further
information please see
www.bemalt.com. Just in time
for Christmas!
Bemalt sieht die Welt einfach noch mal
so schön aus.
Das ist die Vision der Künstlerin
Verena Preysing, die mit ihrer
gleichnamigen Firma kreative
Kindermöbel gestaltet. Bemalte
Betten, Schränke, Stühlchen,
Spielkisten und viele andere schöne
Accessoires verwandeln sich in
liebevoller Handarbeit in
phantasievolle Kinderzimmermöbel.
Vom 05. Dez. bis zum 19. Dezember
findet erstmals in Köln eine
Verkaufsausstellung statt. Die
Eröffnung findet am Donnerstag, den
04. Dezember von 18:00 – 22:00 Uhr
in der Galerie Walderdorff, Jülichstr. 27
statt. Wir laden die Eltern der St.
Georges School herzlich ein, die
Eröffnung und die Ausstellung zu
besuchen. Weitere Infos unter
www.bemalt.com. und in der
beigefügten Einladungskarte.

ArtboothbyBoothby
As part of Year 7s 'Self Image' project, the pupils have been looking at the
work of Picasso and here they have drawn African masks, which were well
known to have influenced the great artist. These examples are drawn by
Jonathan and Marcus from Year 7

St. George’s School
In association with the AWCC
Christmas Fair
Saturday 29th November
12:00-16:00
Main Hall, Sülz
Entry €2 for adults
Children Free
We hope that you are able to join us for an afternoon of
fun and good cheer
Stalls still available, please contact the school office on 0221-2978990
SCHOOL FOR LIFE

St. George’s Nursery
Department
SCHOOL FOR LIFE

St. George’s Early Years
Department
Reception Invite You To Their
Annual Christmas Production...
Ralph The
Reindeer
Wednesday 3rd December 2008
12.15pm
Raderthal Hall
SCHOOL FOR LIFE

St. George’s Early Years
Department
Main Hall,
Sülz
St. George’s
The English International
School Cologne
Early Years Department
Presents...
Friday 5th
December
2008
A Wriggly
Nativity
Performance
Starts
1.30pm
Doors Open
12.15pm
SCHOOL FOR LIFE

St. George’s Lower
School Department
Lower School
Christmas
Carols
Tuesday 9th December
Doors open 12:45
Performance begins 13:30
Wednesday 10th December
Doors open 17:30
Performance begins 18:30
SCHOOL FOR LIFE

St. George’s Lower
School Department
When: Tuesday 2nd December
Where: Sulz Main Hall
Time: 2:15pm
Dear Parents,
The Lower School Drama Club would like to invite
you to their production of
‘James and the Giant Peach.’
From The LS Drama Club
Miss Craddock and Miss Lawrie
SCHOOL FOR LIFE