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| Northeast Region Reports |
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2007 Chapter Reports On Saturday, March 10, 2007, we held a two-hour meeting at Wesleyan to plan the upcoming Awards Banquet and chapter activities for the balance of the year. The meeting was attended by the executive committee and several graduate students from UConn. On Friday, May 11, 2007 we held a very successful banquet at Fairfield University’s Dolan School of Business, with well over 200 persons in attendance. Welcoming remarks were delivered by Senior Vice President William Weitzer. In the fall, Past President Iris Bork-Goldfield stepped in to substitute for President Anke Finger during the latter’s sabbatical leave in Germany, and Marc Dittmer of the Hotchkiss School assumed his duties as Vice President. Past Treasurer Ingrid Mueller agreed to serve as Treasurer while Tom Reale holds an appointment at the Kennedy School in Berlin. On Monday, October 29, the Chapter participated in the annual convention of the Connecticut Council on Language Teaching (COLT), held at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. The Chapter presented four workshops for German teachers:
The luncheon served as a German immersion session and business meeting. It was attended by 11 German teachers, who discussed chapter representation to COLT, the upcoming Awards Banquet, presenting at the Northeast Conference, a March workshop for the Chapter focusing on German immigration to Connecticut, and an informal chapter meeting early in the new year. 2007 was a good year for our chapter. Although some of our members have retired and their programs have either retired with them or become smaller, K-16 students and teachers continue to engage enthusiastically in German activities. The chapter Steering committee met three times and minutes were distributed to 34 members via e-mail. As always, the Annual Meeting was held in conjunction with the annual conference of the Foreign Language Association of Maine, March 9, 2007, in Portland. Marlies Reppenhagen was succeeded by Gisela Hoecherl-Alden as President, Deborah Orth became Vice President, and Maria Morrison turned over the secretary’s position to Jessica Heath. The other officers continue to serve in their respective capacities. The chapter voted again to sponsor memberships for young, newly arrived German teachers in Maine.The 10th Annual Sprachfest, hosted this year by Colby College on March 15, 2007, was another great success. More than 130 students and their teachers from six regional high schools participated in activities such as board games, dancing, and singing and competed in skits, a video contest, a baking contest, a “Hindernisrennen”, and a “Culture Bowl” testing students’ cultural knowledge of the German speaking countries. In honor of the 10th anniversary, Jim McIntyre, Professor emeritus from Colby College, even came out of retirement to MC the “Culture Bowl” together with his colleague Ulla Reidel-Schrewe, who was officially on sabbatical. Jim also created awards for the three best schools. Three college-level instructors from Colby College, two from Bates College, and one from the University of Maine helped judge the competitions.Six German teachers prepared a total of 170 students for participation in the National German Exam. The top 10 students from the level 2, 3, and 4 tests received awards during a ceremony at the Governor’s mansion in Augusta on May 22, 2007. Governor Baldacci and Adrian Kendall, attorney and Honorary Consul for Northern New England, congratulated students, parents and teachers. Peter Nutting again organized the Deutsche Woche in Bar Harbor, which took place from August 6th to the 10th on the beautiful campus of the College of the Atlantic. This year’s topic was “Umwelt und Technologie”. The inimitable Jo Sanders of Eagle River, Alaska was the seminar leader (for examples of participants’ projects: http://www.umit.maine.edu/class/teachlinks/dw07/). As always, participants were very enthusiastic. This year, Peter was also honored with a German-American Friendship Award for his dedication to the promotion of all things German and years of unflagging support as director of the Deutsche Woche. Dr. Wolfgang Vorwerk, Consul from Boston, and Adrian Kendall, Honorary Consul for Northern New England, were on hand to honor Peter with the certificate from the German embassy in Washington, D.C. Besides Peter, two Maine Chapter members spent the week in Bar Harbor. Our fall meeting was held at Cony High School in Augusta on September 29. Vice President Deborah Orth was the gracious hostess to eleven members from regional high schools, Colby College, the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine. Michael Brackett presented on his AATG summer scholarship to Germany and Carol Ladd, Maria Morrison and Gisela Hoecherl-Alden shared their materials on teaching German with commercials. Everyone went home with new ideas and CD-Roms containing digitized video clips and worksheets. Following the meeting, workshop participants enjoyed a dinner at a Thai restaurant on the banks of the Kennebec River in Hallowell.Wolfram Hermann, a new staff member from the Goethe Institut in Boston, accompanied artist Joanne Moar to Portland on November 3rd for a five-hour workshop on “Becoming German” (see: http://www.becoming-german.de/), which Marlies Reppenhagen had organized at Deering High School. The small group of members who braved the torrential rains returned to their classrooms with a wealth of new ideas. Submitted by: Gisela Hoecherl-Alden, Chapter President. Email: Gisela_Hoecherl_Alden@umit.maine.edu Newsletter distributed electronically and by mail for the few members who have no Internet connection - Included ballots for electing officers. January 2007 First Annual DVD Contest: Spring 2007 Interviewing and selection of trip nominees from Massachusetts February/March 2007 There were two prizewinners this year. Awards Ceremony for students (and parents) who scored in the 90th %ile or better on the National German Exam, May 8, 2007 at the Boylston Schulverein Donation made to memorial fund for VA Tech victims and card sent to Jamie Bishop's widow. Jörg Frey's Abschiedsfeier at the Goethe Institut, September 22, 2007 : many members attended. Several presented tributes, and the chapter gave Jörg a present in recognition of his long-time support of MA AATG and our German programs. MaFLA Annual Meeting October 25-27, 2007 in Sturbridge, MA with a three-hour workshops entitled "Viele 'Vehikel' führen nach Rom: Sprichwörter und Redensarten im Deutschunterricht" presented by Mohamed Esa and sessions led by Mohamed Esa ("A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Graffiti and Photo-Collages in the FL Classroom"); Joanne Moar (“The Art of Becoming German: A Database of Childhood Memories); Doug Guy ("AP German from the Practical Side: You Can Do This”); Ulrike Brisson and Joan Campbell (“’I’m not sure what to do’: Classroom Instructions in the FL Context”); and Laura Ernst and Alex Bennett (“Exposing Languages to Others Beyond the Classroom through Celebrations”). Kathleen Gallogly led a Swapshop for German teachers. Website maintained and constantly updated thanks to Donna van Handle Executive Board Meetings:February 10, 2007 May 5, 2007 September 8, 2007 Other Events in Massachusetts in 2007 led by chapter members: Chapter president Sean Miner and several other German teachers from MA met with Consul Dr. Vorwerk March 31, 2007 to discuss the state of German instruction in New England. Other chapter members worked during the summer and fall to advise the consulate on making its website more complete and inclusive.
30th Annual Deutsches Theaterfest at Mt. Holyoke College April 2007 Submitted by Susan Adams, Chapter Secretary. Email: susan_adams@concordacademy.org 023 Northern New England - 2007 2007 was a fairly active year for our chapter. The two chapter meetings in April and October 2007 were successful: In April, the spring meeting was hosted for the first time by Norwich University, located in central Vermont. David Ward and Dolf Furrer presented a program centered around intermediate German courses; first they outlined several key issues in the intermediate-level German instruction. Second, they showed how they addressed those issues in designing and conducting courses they offer at Norwich. And finally, they solicited input on how colleagues at other schools and colleges handle these same issues.At the April business meeting, David Ward was elected chapter president to succeed Bettina Matthias. We want to thank Bettina for the enthusiasm and effectiveness of her service as chapter president for the past two years. Richard Schieber was then elected Vice President. In October, the chapter meeting was held in conjunction with the annual convention of the New England chapter of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, which was held at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. After lunch together and a business meeting, we joined the ASECS people attending a panel dedicated to the memory of Susanne Zantop and chaired by our chapter member, Dennis Mahoney. We have a capable new testing chair in Dolf Furrer. A membership drive is scheduled for the spring of 2008. Submitted by: David Ward, Chapter President. Email: dward@norwich.edu Our spring meeting was hosted by Shadia Khalifa, Chapter testing president at the Onondaga Jr. – Sr. High School in Nedrow, NY. Ana Djukic-Cocks and Gunhild Lischke--both members of the Goethe-Institut New York network of teachers--conducted a workshop on “Drama in the Language Classroom.” All the teachers participated in the hands-on activities assessing their utility in the classroom use from beginning to advanced level. The feedback was very positive.Our fall meeting, part of a national conference in Ithaca, NY was organized by Gunhild Lischke and Ute Maschke and co-sponsored by the Cornell University Institute for German Cultural Studies, several departments and units at Cornell, and the Goethe-Institut New York. The conference was entitled “The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and its effects on language learning, teaching, and assessment in the U.S.” The conference aimed to foster a discussion about the CEFR, related materials, and recent developments, bringing together those who have been working with CEFR on the secondary and post-secondary level in various languages and those interested in related projects and collaborations. Our keynote Speaker was Sauli Takala, University of Jyväskylä, Finland/chair of the European Association of Language Testing and Assessment. Our invited panelists were: Uwe Rau, Deputy Director, Language Department Director, North America of the Goethe Institute New York, Ali Moeller, University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE, Randall Lund, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, Arthur Mosher, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH. Jacque Bott Van Houten, Kentucky Department of Education and president of the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages jointed us via conference call. The conference led to a productive and lively discussion and was well attended. Submitted by Gunhild Lischke, Chapter President. Email: GL15@cornell.edu In 2007 our Hudson Valley Chapter had a spring student gathering at Bard College with a German film and an awards program. In the fall we had a chapter meeting at Siena college.
March 1: Oral testing for 9 qualifing students who placed in the 90th percentile on the 2007 National German Test was held at the Waldorf School of Garden City, hosted by Roland Rothenbucher. Dr. Dieter Dose & Dr. Lou D’Aquila Testing Chairpersons and Judges. March 17: Cancellation of the 18th Annual Sprachfest scheduled to be held at Garden City High School, Garden City, NY, hosted by Sue Weber & Judy Hecker – co-chairs, with 18 schools scheduled to participate. Cancellation was due to weather. Sprachfest is scheduled to take place next year, 2008, in the same location. May 24: Awards Presentation Dinner held at Windows on the Lake, Lake Ronkonkoma, NY. 39 students were honored for their achievements on the AATG National German Test and received prizes from various organizations. Prof. Neil Donahue from Hofstra University was the guest speaker. Also present were school administrators, teachers, parents and siblings. Out-going officers were thanked for their service and the in-coming officer was introduced. During summer 2007 one Executive Board meeting was held and plans were made for 2007-2008. Submitted by Michele Aweh, Acting Chapter President. Email: michele-aweh@msn.com 038 Metropolitan New York - 2007 In April of this year we had our Annual Awards Ceremony at Hunter College honoring students who had outstanding performances on the AATG National Tests; we even had one student who won a trip to Germany. Our Testing Chair, Dr. Lorena Ellis, did a wonderful job organizing the Awards Ceremony. Immediately following the Awards Ceremony we had a Business Meeting. In September we had a well-attended workshop at Columbia University where Jutta Schmiers-Heller informed about 'Using and integrating authentic video in the language classroom'. In October, several chapter members attended the NYCAFLT-NYSAFLT/UFT Conference in New York City; for the second time, our chapter was represented at this conference with a table with materials, and for the fifth time AATG was represented in the program, this time with a presentation by Lorena Ellis on “Enhanced Podcasting for Beginners.” The year came to an end in December with our annual 'Nikolausfeier' which we held at the Deutsches Haus at Columbia University. The highlights of the 'Nikolausfeier' were a solo performance by a young flute player as well as poem recitals from students at the Deutsche Sprachschule White Plains/DSNY. Our second Business Meeting took place following the Nikolausfeier. Submitted by: Marianne Washburn, Chapter President. Email: Washburn@brooklyn.cuny.edu The Rochester chapter of AATG met several times in 2007: On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 12-14 teachers met at the NYSAFLT Annual Meeting in Rochester, NY. On Saturday, October 20- For “Oktoberschulfest”, at West Irondequoit High School. This event was organized by local German teachers, and attended by over 200 middle school students. They participated in various presentations, including “Gingerbread Houses”, “Karneval”, “Folk Dancing”, “Coat of Arms” and more events highlighting German culture! We are looking forward to the NYSAFLT Rochester Regional, on March 8, 2008, at Nazareth College. Submitted by: Mary Ann Walter, President. Email: walterge1@frontiernet.net In 2007, our chapter continued its tradition of involvement in local, state, and national foreign language organizations, as well as local programs and contests established for the area’s students that have the added benefit of strengthening enrollment in German. Many members attended the annual colloquium of the Western New York Foreign Language Educators’ Council (WNYFLEC). We also attend the fall “swap shop” workshop held at a local restaurant each year with a guest speaker to share his or her expertise. In May, we represented our colleagues at the WNYFLEC student awards ceremony, where we recognized our most outstanding students and the local top scorers of the National German Exam. In the spring, we co-sponsored the Joseph P. Wirth Essay Contest with our local bilingual German-English newspaper, Der Volksfreund. The contest is open to all German students in grades 8 through 12 and offers cash and other prizes to the winners. Students wrote essays on the topic of “Germany: A Land of Ideas.” Winners were acknowledged at school board meetings and other school or local award ceremonies, including an ice cream social. In March we held our annual Sprachfest for students in grades 8 through 12. We received much assistance from Canisius College’s Department of Modern Languages in hosting our students and providing all needed media equipment. A STaDaF grant allowed us to purchase prizes, workshop materials, and equipment needed to set up and run the event. In October, at the NYSAFLT Annual Meeting, our chapter was well represented. Workshops were offered for German teachers during almost every session with our chapter’s members presenting as well. Individual schools have been busy mapping the German curriculum, arranging field trips and German Honor Society activities, hosting exchange students, working with the Buffalo/Dortmund Sister City Exchange Program, and running complete exchange programs on their own. We also would like to congratulate our colleague, Fritz Schattauer, for earning one of the Goethe Institute’s Summer Session Abroad travel stipends. The Rhode Island AATG chapter held two membership meetings, in April and December. Several members presented papers at the RI FLA annual conference in Warwick, RI. Walter von Reinhart represented the chapter at the Chapter Presidents Assembly in San Antonio. Several members presented papers at the ACTFL/AATG conference in San Antonio, TX. Submitted by: Walter von Reinhart, Chapter President. Email: waltaire@uri.edu |
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