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All Things German In California

Education

Sprichst Du Deutsch? Why not? – UNESCO International Mother Language Day

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UNESCO believes in the importance of cultural and linguistic diversity for sustainable societies and declared February 21st to be International Mother Language Day . Since 2000, International Mother Langauge Day has been observed annually worldwide with the intention to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and to promote multilingualism.

German Language Schools in the United States celebrate this day with the campaign “Sprichst Du Deutsch? Why Not?” encouraging students to learn more about their heritage by studying German and inspiring others to get to know more about Germany and its culture by means of its language.

By scanning the QR-codes in the picture below you can learn more about German Language Schools in the USA and about the motivation of students wanting to learn the German language.

To get a head start finding some options to learn German in California connect with GASA, the German-American School Association of Southern California.

Image: @GLSC-German Language School Conference

California College Application Countdown

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The Countdown for Applying to Public Universities in California has begun.

While students in Germany won’t lose sleep over college applications just yet and keep preparing for the Abitur, students in California, and in fact all over the USA, have been working on their college applications since summer. If a college is high on a student’s list they might have even applied already, either Early Action or Early Decision, with both having had deadlines around Nov 1st.

California’s public state universities impose yet another deadline, November 30th! Since the UC as well as the CSU university system are highly regarded, many students in California are in a frenzy to meet the universities’ deadlines.

California State University Systems – UC & Cal State

California has two fabulous State University systems: the UC (University of California) and the CSU (California State University). While many UCs enjoy international recognition, UC Berkeley and UCLA come to mind; the Cal States have a few schools in their own system that are highly regarded in California but also within the USA. Admission there can almost be as competitive and selective than it is at the UCs. I am particularly thinking of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly Pomona, and San Diego State

What’s the difference between UC & Cal State?

Aside from the size, the UCs serve about  280,000 students spread over 10 campuses while the Cal States have about 485,000 students on their 23 campuses, both university systems are highly respected. So, what sets them apart? We’ll address three defining differences.

1- Approach to Education 

While the UCs prepare students for careers in academia and graduate school, and are highly focused on research, Cal States’ focus is on hands-on education and helping students prepare for practical, non-research oriented professions. Having said that though, there are still many options available for students to engage in research and even go on to graduate school at the Cal States. Over 50,000 students are currently pursuing graduate degrees at Cal States’ 23 campuses. 

2- Cost of an Undergraduate Degree

An important difference to consider, however, is the affordability of a degree at the Cal State or UC system. Being the largest public four-year university system in the USA, the Cal States outscore the UCs for making a Bachelor’s degree a much more reasonable option for many students. The in-state tuition for a Cal State Bachelor’s degree lies around $7,000 while out-of-state tuition is about $18,500.

In comparison a Bachelor’s degree at a UC school has a price tag of about $14,000 for in-state tuition and about $43,500 for out-of state tuition. 

Since these tuition prices are for one year only and don’t include room & board, this is certainly a component that international students should consider when applying to a California university.

3- Application Process

As part of the application to a UC school, students need to answer four Personal Insight Questions (PIQ) and describe their extracurricular activities, not just list them. Students can choose from eight prompts, each potentially giving insight into a student’s character, make up, and life experience. While each “PIQ” can only be 350 words long, it takes time to be thoughtful with your words and make the best use of the given space. 

The Cal State application, on the other hand, seems easy and very straight forward with the part of self-reporting your grades being the most time consuming activity. No essays or answering of any personal questions is needed. 

Final Thoughts

In summary, we think, that everyone in California, who is applying to college, should have one or two Cal States in their mix of colleges they apply to. As mentioned before, they offer a quality education at an affordable tuition price and, should admission to one of the competitive UC universities not turn out for you, you can’t go wrong with an education at the Cal Sates. 

Article Contribution by Global College Advisers

For more information on College Applications in the United States or abroad, please check out Global College Advisers’ website at http://www.globalcollegeadvisers.com

Connecting Young and Old by Simply Conversing in German

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LanguageLine, a non-profit, aims to connect German-speaking senior citizens with young, enthusiastic German language learners of high school age. 

Andrew Kelmanson, a language enthusiast and junior in high school had the idea for LanguageLine in 8th grade after he started teaching himself languages like German and Russian in 7th grade.

He realized that there was a two-sided need that could be fulfilled between students and senior citizens. Language learners like himself could benefit from conversing with native speakers, and senior citizens who spoke German could connect with the younger generation. All together this intergenerational exchange helps create an opportunity for both sides to form beautiful friendships along the way.

The project started out with small meetings in Louisville, Kentucky, where Andrew organized for German senior citizens and high school students to come together and meet over coffee and discuss various topics in 2018. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, local meetings weren’t possible anymore, so Andrew created an online meeting solution via his website LanguageLine, which is now connecting senior citizens with language learners in a virtual setting worldwide. Languages, that LanguageLine serves at the moment, are German and Russian.

If you are a student or senior citizen and you are interested in joining LanguageLine to start a conversation, either to improve your language skills or to share your knowledge and life experience in your native language, you can find more information here.

Images ©AndrewKelmanson

Scholarships for One Year of German Language Instruction

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The German American School Association (GASA) is pleased to announce that again this year, the Los Angeles Turners, Inc. Scholarship Fund is awarding two Scholarships, based on merit and financial need, for the 2020 – 2021 school year.

This scholarship program is designed to assist children at least 6 years or older in their endeavor to learn German at one of GASA’s Saturday Schools.

The deadline for submitting completed APPLICATIONS is August 31, 2020. Incomplete or falsified information will invalidate the application.

The chosen recipient(s) will be notified by September 8, 2020.

All details can be found on the form, please read carefully.
Scholarship Application

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Image: Pixabay.com

Engage your Kids with Learning German during Covid-19

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Usually, we love hearing the words “School is out!”,… but at the start of summer. This year is different. School has been out for quite a while now and summer hasn’t even started yet. It’s been some challenging weeks for children and parents alike.

While having (more) free time sounded very appealing at first, many kids now actually yearn for some academic challenges and guided intellectual interaction during this ongoing pandemic with its shelter-at-home restrictions.

To keep your children engaged, GASA (German American School Association) is starting Online German Classes geared towards children 4 years & older. A minimum of 8 students per class is required, so grab a bunch of your children’s friends and form your own virtual German learning group with the help of GASA.

Classes start already next week, with Session 1, May 11th through June 6th. Session 2 is scheduled for June 8th through July 4th.

Check out the flyer below for more information. Bis bald!

Image: Chuck Underwood from Pixabay

GASA’s Summer Camp 2020 – German Adventure for Kids

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Southern California’s German-American School Association, short GASA, has its overnight German Immersion Summer Camp scheduled for June 2020.

I think we all can use a little cheering up these days. So, let’s look at summer and the potential of all the beautiful things you can do here in Southern California. If you have children and don’t plan on traveling overseas, you might be looking for something fun and entertaining for them. GASA’s German Immersion Camp offers all that and more!

Planned for June 14th-June 20th, 2020 the overnight German Immersion Camp will take place at the Irvine Ranch Outdoor Recreation Center in Orange, CA. The camp is geared towards kids, ages 8-16 years.

During the 7 days and 6 nights of adventure, kids will have plenty of fun with special activities like zip-lining, wall climbing, and swimming. They will learn about the Germanic people and their struggle to remain free with “The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest” and they’ll learn useful skills in a planned Hye Katch Do art of self-defense class. On top, fun activities such as nature hikes, dancing, singing, crafting, campfire, baking, sports, games and fishing round up the German camp experience. All activities will be conducted in German.

Ready to enroll? Check out the link: http://germanschool4kids.org/camps/

Image: ©GASA

Summer Adventures Revisited

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Two days ago was the official start of FALL! Yes, can you believe it? Summer is over at least according to the calendar. But don’t we all love to take a look back to these blissful days of summer, recalling our adventures?

That’s exactly what Eric Goldston and Kai Levato did. These two teenagers attended GASA’s German Summer Camp at Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center and had such an inspiring experience that they felt compelled to share their adventure with you!

GASA Camp June 2019: Der Zauberlehrling

By Eric Goldston (17) and Kai Levato (15)

[Read more…] about Summer Adventures Revisited

German Summer Camps in San Diego at GPSSD

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GPSSD German Summer Camps for Kids – A creative way to Learn German in San Diego

A few years ago, a brave woman from East Germany started a project that is now a wonderful meeting place for many German-speaking families and families, who are interested in the German language: The German Pacific School of San Diego.

In the beginning, Wiebke Elbe, a former pharmacist, had just a few resources but managed quickly to connect with a number of similar oriented projects in San Diego and other parts of California.

With growing know-how, she started one German after-school-class in a small facility in Clairemont followed by the first German Summer Camp in San Diego.

Within six years the school has grown and now has 4 locations in La Jolla, Clairemont, Carmel Valley and Poway with more than 200 students attending classes from 4 to 6 pm during the week and Saturday classes.

Our founder Wiebke has started a new project in Norway! But she has put so much effort and energy in our project, that today GPSSD is thriving and continuing attracting more and more germanophile families that attend our school.

Wiebke has always made a point of creating a relaxed and stimulating learning atmosphere. She had a discreet manner to inspire our teachers and helpers. She induced them to the philosophy that German lessons and German summer camps should be a fun experience, where children should be inspired and helped to develop their own initiatives and creativity.

With our new principal Christine Johnson, we are continuing this philosophy, and we are still getting a lot of support and help from Wiebke and her husband Hauke.

What about our German Summer Camp?  

Summer Camp 2019 will be amazing! This year it’s all about magic!

This year’s GPSSD camp will be at a wonderful location at the French American School in La Jolla! It’s a campus that offers a lot of space for many outdoor and indoor activities.

GPSSD 2019 Summer Camp’s Topics and Activities

Depending on their interests, the campers will dive into a magical atmosphere where they can learn magic tricks, create their own theater play or even create their own video ( 3rd week)! We would like to give our campers impulses and inspiration and then encourage and help them to create their own play or show.

In our magic oriented group,  campers will read and listen to magic stories and plays. The magic flute might appear from time to time to enchant us with new ideas. Campers will also be surprised by magic tricks and then learn and practice them for a little end of the week show.

In our theater oriented group, campers will get inspiration by German plays and stories, ways to perform a play, and materials they could use. Our camp teacher Heather has a broad spectrum of ideas and ways to carry away our campers imagination. They can choose to create a performance that matches their interests, from a simple puppet show or a self-performed play on stage.

In our third week, campers will create their own small video with the stop motion film making technique.

“Creating a Movie”

A lot of crafting, painting of props and other hands-on activities are always part of our summer camps. All groups will liven up their activities with fun games and a lot of music and entertainment. We will also do Karaoke and will not only use the airy sports field but also the playground to do our outdoor activities. And, of course, our camps are full immersion German language camps.

That means that we will help our campers to better understand German words and sentences by repeating, describing and explaining German expressions. We will also help our campers to produce German sentences and to speak German by their own initiative.

We are looking forward to a relaxed and fun summer event, that will take place from June 24 to July 12, 2019 from 9am to 4 pm. And there is also aftercare available for working families.

Weekly sessions can be booked online at www.gpssd.org. Call us for more information at 858-461-9118 or send us an email, germanpacificschool(AT)gmail.com

Text: Vicky Ripart – GPSSD Camp Team

Images: ©GermanPacificSchoolSanDiego

German Summer Camps for Kids In California – 2019

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HAPPY SUMMER – It’s Camp Time!

Have you chosen the perfect summer activity for your child yet? Here are some German Summer Camps to choose from. We will add to the list as we hear of other summer camps out there. Let us know, too, if you hear of one!

GPSSD German Summer Camp in San Diego – from June 24 to July 12 – 3 weeks to choose:

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GermanSchoolCampus Summer Camp in Newport Beach – June 17th -21st – Math Camp or Dance Camp:

MATH CAMP :


Summer Math Camp – $295/week covers fees and materials. Camp will proceed with a minimum of 6 Sign-ups, maximum 12.

DANCE CAMP – Rumba / ChaCha / Samba / Waltz

Learn dancing Rumba, Cha Cha, Samba and Waltz with Martine. Find more info on their website

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GASA’s German Immersion Overnight – Camp at the Irvine Ranch Outdoor Education Center Irvine – June 16th to 22nd

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Tivoli German Summer Camp for Toddlers in Santa Monica – from July 29th – August 2nd

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Let us know about a German Camp near you!!

Featured Image: Pixabay.com

“Das Tapfere Schneiderlein” – Fairytale Theater Workshop in German At Phoenix Club Anaheim

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Did you enjoy last year’s Theatre Workshop with Yvonne Zech at the Phoenix Club in Anaheim? 

Here is an ENCORE !

Yvonne Zech will be offering yet another workshop on March 17th, 2019. This year, children will be working on an adaptation of the classic fairytale “Das Tapfere Schneiderlein”.

Yvonne, actress and trainer with the Galli Theater Group in Wiesbaden, is specializing in educational children’s theater projects. In her March workshop, children are encouraged to try out new ideas and become acquainted with different perspectives. Discovering their own body language helps children to adapt to new roles. Through the development of their own creativity and the joy of playacting, a world of possibilities will open up to them. Life is exciting and original!

Theatre Workshop is offered by the German American School Association (GASA) [Read more…] about “Das Tapfere Schneiderlein” – Fairytale Theater Workshop in German At Phoenix Club Anaheim