News

GISC is officially accepted as Candidate School for the Middle Years Programme (MYP)

5/16/2023

We are pleased to report that the German International School Chicago has, as of March 28, officially been accepted by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IB) as a Candidate School for the Middle Years Programme (MYP). This designation allows the school to refer to itself as an all-IB school with the Primary Years Programme (PYP) in place from preschool through 4th grade and the MYP in place from 5th through 8th grade. Being an all-IB school emphasizes our core belief in the development of skills for communication, intercultural understanding and global engagement while our students make connections between studies in traditional subjects and the real world which encourages them to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers.

2023 Statistics Poster Award Ceremony

4/25/2023

Prior to Spring Break, GISC hosted our sixth annual Statistics Poster Competition Award Ceremony!

Over the past few weeks, 85 students in grades 2-8 have been very engaged in producing amazing, creative posters. Working by themselves or in teams, they created 65 posters in total, 11 of which were designed digitally - an exciting option for our middle schoolers. As students rated each other’s posters, we could see how much thought most of them put into their ratings in the areas of overall impression, explanatory power, choice of diagrams, and creativity.

Thank you to our students for their hard work, as well as the faculty and Dr. Kirchenbuechler for organizing such a fun contest.

GISC Hosts German Embassy and Consulate Visitors

4/24/2023

Last week, GISC hosted visitors from the German Embassy and Consul General Wolfgang Moessinger from the German Consulate General Chicago. They met with our Head of German, IB PYP Coordinator, Director of Teaching & Learning, and Director, as well as members of the Board of Trustees, to take a tour and learn more about our growing school!

8th Graders Complete DSD 1 Written Exam

3/16/2023

Our 8th grade students completed the written part of the Deutsches Sprachdiplom 1 examination last Thursday, and they will complete the oral examination March 21. Under the tutelage of German Department Chair Ulf Hennig, the students prepared extensively for the exam. The actual written exams are externally assessed in Germany, and passing marks certify our students’ German language proficiency to attend school in Germany. This examination represents our school’s and our students’ culminating experience in their commitment to study German, to speak German, to read German, and to write in German. Congratulations to our 8th grade students, who will receive their results in the next few months!

We thank Mr. Hennig for administering and proctoring the examination, and appreciate GISC Enrollment Director Danica Polanski's help with the oral exams.

Fasching 2023

2/23/2023

On February 17, we kicked off our February Break by celebrating Fasching at GISC! We dressed up in costumes, hosted a special assembly, and even had a few dance parties in Preschool and Elementary School.

Fasching, or Karneval, is the German name for pre-Lenten Carnival celebrations. In cities all over Germany, partygoers don costumes or masks and attend events and parades through town. Learn more about one of Germany's most festive holidays here!

GISC State of the School 2023

2/9/2023

Thank you for attending our 2023 State of the School presentations on February 8! GISC Director Ben Hebebrand walked us through the status of the school, our exciting plans for the future, and more. Throughout the day, members of the GISC faculty including Ulf Hennig, Katharina Koch, and Dr. Inka Kirchenbuechler also spoke, shedding light on the school's IB curriculum, our German language program, and our various STEAM initiatives. Ben closed by quoting a few of our graduating 8th graders, who mentioned global opportunity and bilingualism as defining aspects of their time at GISC.

If you would like to see a recording of the State of the School virtual session, please visit our YouTube page here. You can also view the State of the School presentation here.

We look forward to hosting everyone again next year!

GISC Plans to Commit to ZfA Partnership

1/17/2023

Following a yearlong exploration of GISC joining the network of 135 official German Schools Abroad, the GISC Board of Trustees has authorized Director Ben Hebebrand to pursue an official membership agreement with the Zentralstelle für das Auslandschulwesen (ZfA – Central Office of German Schools Abroad).

Our exploration culminated last school year with a two-day visit by our regional ZfA officer, who designated our school as a worthy ZfA German School Abroad based on our curriculum, mission, results, and track record. Throughout the exploration of membership in this network of German Schools Abroad, our school learned that the missions of GISC and the ZfA share common goals such as:

Developing bilingualism/multilingualism of students, leading to high competency levels in the German language
Emphasizing intercultural learning and democratic values
Offering students the opportunity to pursue German and internationally-recognized diplomas so that students may pursue higher education throughout the world
Valuing independent and critical thinking
Supporting students of all national backgrounds to immerse in German language and culture

GISC believes that the synergy between the missions of the school and the ZfA will lay the foundation of a long-standing, mutually beneficial partnership.

North American German School Directors Meet in Berlin

1/13/2023

The directors of growing German International Schools in Toronto, Brooklyn, Portland, and Chicago had a wonderful meeting at the conference for the network of the 140 German Schools Abroad, taking place now in Berlin! Together, our schools are just a few of the 40 German Schools Abroad committed to the International Baccalaureate curriculum framework.

GISC Director Ben Hebebrand is enjoying his time at the conference and can't wait to return to school next week!