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Mount Si students describe German exchange, club activities and year-round outreach
Summary
Students from Mount Si High School's German Club described a year-round exchange with a partner school in Osnabrück, Germany, highlighted a 17-day trip and hosting visit, and explained club activities that promote cultural learning and student leadership.
Students from Mount Si High School presented a German Club report at the March 13 Snoqualmie Valley School Board meeting describing a sustained exchange with a partner school in Germany and year-round club activities.
Student presenters said the club's purpose is "to nurture relationships between Mount Si High School and our partner school in Osnabrück, Germany" and to "provide an opportunity for members of the club to learn more about the culture of German-speaking countries." The exchange is part of the German American Partnership Program (GAPP), and students described a recent 17-day trip to Germany that visited seven cities, included academic field trips to museums and historic sites, and involved 50 total students and five adults. When the German students visited the Snoqualmie Valley in October, students hosted them for about 17 days and organized visits to Seattle, Leavenworth and Mount Rainier as well as attendance at a homecoming rally, dances and school shadow days.
Students said the Mount Si contingent includes 25 U.S. students partnered with 25 German students. The club supports outreach activities such as elementary cultural fairs, middle-school visits to promote language study, a Last Blast station with German candy, and exploratory lessons. Presenters described year-round leadership benefits: "student leadership in our club includes independence, time management, responsibility in a foreign country, and some cross cultural familiarity and teamwork." They identified club officers (President Leo, Vice President Vivian, Treasurer Gavin, Secretary Morgan, Communications John) and said the club is supported by a German teacher, named in the presentation as Frau Ketch.
Why this matters: the exchange provides students international experience, language practice and cross-cultural connections; student presenters described personal and peer benefits and offered continued outreach to younger students to sustain participation.
Next steps: students said they plan to continue the exchange, run year-round activities to recruit future participants and keep alumni pairs connected through voluntary visits.
