Dear Members of the German International School Community,

With the year coming to a close, I would like to send you some reflections from the cafeteria.

First of all, I thank you for your continuous support; all of you who volunteer, and all of you who trust me with their children’s well being every day by sending your kids to lunch. Without our wonderful volunteers, this wonderful and unique project of relying on your extensive support to run the cafeteria would not be possible. Dear parents, as you all know, I consider your children my children, and I make a special effort to get to know them well and to make them feel at home.

As I was welcoming prospective new families at the Open House recently, it made me think about how our new Mission Statement “Independent. Bilingual. Weltoffen.” applies to the Cafeteria:

Yes, we are Independent: Our menu is original, with lots of German and international influences, we are cooking from scratch and let ourselves get inspired by new trends and ideas.

Yes, we are Bilingual - even multilingual! We speak German, English, Spanish, and French in the kitchen - I even heard some Japanese recently….

Yes, we are Weltoffen: Volunteers and kids come from all over the world: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, USA, England, Spain, South America (Mexico, Columbia, Peru etc.) South Africa, etc. ...and we all are part of this wonderful community!

I wish you all a happy and healthy Holiday Season and don’t forget: New volunteers are always welcome!

Susanne Koehler

Director of Food Services and Operations

German International School Washington D.C.