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Liebe Eltern und Erziehungsberechtigte,
aufgrund der aktuellen Wetterwarnung in unserer Region und im Interesse der Sicherheit aller Schülerinnen und Schüler sowie Mitarbeitenden beenden wir den Unterricht und das Kindergartenprogramm heute vorzeitig um 12:55 Uhr. Die Schulbusse werden das Schulgelände um 13:05 Uhr verlassen.
Um eine ungefähre Ankunftszeit an Ihrer Haltestelle zu ermitteln, bitten wir Sie, sich an den Zeiten der regulären Busroute zu orientieren.
Wenn Ihr Kind nicht mit dem Bus fährt, holen Sie es bitte um 12:55 Uhr ab.
Sollte sich die Wettersituation so entwickeln, dass es erforderlich ist, werden wir selbstverständlich alle Schülerinnen und Schüler sicher in den Gebäuden behalten und Schutz im Gebäude gewährleisten, bis eine sichere Situation gegeben ist.
Falls Sie aufgrund von Verkehr oder Wetter nicht genau um 12:55 Uhr zur Abholung eintreffen können, werden wir die Kinder weiterhin in den jeweiligen Gebäuden – Preschool, Elementary School und im Hauptgebäude – betreuen und im Gebäude lassen, bis Sie sicher an der Schule angekommen sind, um Ihr Kind abzuholen.
Bitte fahren Sie vorsichtig, versuchen Sie jedoch so zeitnah wie möglich zur Schule zu kommen, da wir bemüht sind, die Gebäude für die Sicherheit aller Beteiligten so bald wie möglich nach 12:55 Uhr zu leeren.
Sollte es zu Verzögerungen bei der Abfahrt der Schulbusse kommen, werden wir Sie selbstverständlich umgehend mit einem weiteren Update informieren.
Wir danken Ihnen für Ihr Verständnis und wünschen Ihnen und Ihrer Familie, dass Sie gut und sicher durch das heutige Wetter kommen.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Die Schulleitung
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Dear Parents and Guardians,
Due to the severe weather alert in our region, and in the interest of the safety of all students and staff, classes and the preschool program will end early today at 12:55 pm. School buses will depart campus at 1:05 pm.
To estimate the approximate arrival time at your bus stop, please refer to the times listed on the regular bus route schedule.
If your child does not ride the bus please pick them up at 12:55pm.
If the situation warrants it, we will certainly keep all students safely sheltered inside the buildings and ensure everyone remains safe until conditions allow otherwise.
If you happen to be delayed in traffic or by the weather and cannot arrive exactly at 12:55 pm for pickup, students will remain inside their respective buildings - Preschool, Elementary School, and the Main Building - and will be supervised until you arrive safely to pick up your child.
Please drive carefully and do your best to be on time, as we are for everyone’s safety hoping to have the buildings cleared as soon as possible after 12:55 pm.
If bus departures are delayed, we will certainly provide another update promptly.
Thank you for your understanding. We wish everyone a safe afternoon and hope you stay safe during the weather.
Kind regards,
School Leadership
Dear School Community,
As you may know, our GISW in Potomac is one of over 140 German Schools Abroad that are supported by the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad (Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen – ZfA). This support is evidenced by the provision of teachers from Germany, in the form of professional development seminars, and the Agency’s efforts to strengthen the network of German Schools within each of the 16 regions that exist worldwide.
On November 3rd and 4th, 2017, the second regional networking conference of our region (Region 1: USA & Canada) was held here in the vicinity of our school. At this conference with a focus on “Advancing the German Schools of North America to handle challenges of the 21st century” each school was represented by one or two Board members, the respective Head of School and the Business Manager.
Following welcoming words by our Head of School, Petra Palenzatis and presentations by Holger Mahnicke, Head of the Communications and Culture Department at the German Embassy, and Gert Wilhelm, regional official of the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad, the goup started with their contextual work.
After inspiring presentations by Dr. Jochen Schnack (German International School Boston), Beate Mahious (German International School Washington D.C.) and Ed Schlieben (German International School New York) the participants worked on topics that will be of utmost importance to further the development of each school. The topics included the future -oriented instructional lesson design, fundraising, and marketing strategies. Everyone learned a considerable amount from one another during in-depth exchanges among representatives of different schools.
In our region, we currently have the following accredited German Schools Abroad that all participated in the conference here in Washington:
1. Alexander von Humboldt German International School Montreal
2. German International School Boston
3. German International School New York
4. German International School Portland
5. German International School Silicon Valley
6. German International School Toronto
7. German International School Washington D.C.
The conference was organized by our new Quality Management official, Torsten Steininger, with the hands-on support of Jutta Wagner and Jeannette Dubrey. In this successful conference the network of the seven German Schools in our region was strengthened and the participants agreed to continue working in a variety of subgroups to further their assignments over the coming months. A special sign of a strengthened network is that the Board members who were at the conference elected two representatives for the region from their midst: Dagmar Tawil from our school and Dr. Johannes Fruehauf from Boston.
Photos: Ute Hollinde-Steininger
Related Link: http://www.bva.bund.de/SharedDocs/Kurzmeldungen/DE/ZfA/Aktuelles/2017/171113_RNT_Nordamerika.html?nn=4500658