American Association of Teachers of German

2007 Chapter Reports
Northwest Region

002 Alaska - 2007

2007 marked a bit of a changing of the guard in Alaska as our former chapter president quit his job and moved to Thailand!  Newly elected officers are: Kristi Senden, President; Dr. Natasa Masonovic, Vice-President; Fauna Hancock, Secretary; Jo Sanders, Treasurer

The group’s activities chronologically…

January:             Anchorage School District teachers (8) met to plan a year of in-district activities and philosophy.

February:          10 teachers from Unalaska, Fairbanks and Anchorage participated in our World Language Declamation contest, either as coaches of their students and/or helping conduct the actual event.

March:              48 students qualified in 70th percentile or higher on the National German Exam. Dr. Natasa Masonovic hosted her 4th “German Day at UAA” for local area high school students to spend a day at the University of Alaska—Anchorage to learn about studying German in college and specifically in Anchorage.  250 students attended the event.

April:                 Lucie Woofter hosted her annual “Jugendfest” for middle schoolers and younger, to entice students to start taking German at her school in 7th grade, about 70 kids attended.We held an awards reception with many principals, school board members, parents, and students in attendance for all students who had won some National Level German Award.  National poster contests, National German Exam, Congress-Bundestag, Fulbright etc. winners were all recognized and our Assistant Superintendent, Principal of the New Rilke Schule, and Chapter President all spoke.  It was a huge success and is planned for this year as well.

May:                 All area AATG members got together for pizza and beer to celebrate two weddings, two babies, and a departure among our ranks!

September:       Chapter officers meeting—we submitted minutes and basically learned what our duties were as new officers.
                        The Rilke Schule OPENED!!  Enrollment is 210 students and the start has been great!

October:            9 ASD teachers hosted Lager Nordlicht a long-standing immersion camp.  68 students attended!
                        The state conference was held in Juneau, but no German teachers attended, due to distance.
                        The officers also initiated a membership drive, to connect with teachers outside of the Anchorage area and we are now in contact with the teachers in Unalaska, Fairbanks, Soldotna, and we’re working on finding a teacher in Wrangell, Alaska!

November:         Jo Sanders attended the National Conference in San Antonio to represent our chapter!  6 schools ordered and administered National Exams, including a first time participant—a home school in Soldotna, Alaska!

December:        Elizabeth Dick hosted our annual Adventsfeier, it was a wonderful evening shared by almost every area teacher and spouses!
                        Kristi Senden attended the TrainerNetzwerk conference in San Francisco on Pop Music and shared the Step Into German website and other ideas with colleagues at the January meeting and via email.  6 Alaska teachers have now used the website more than once!

January:            We just had our 2nd annual meeting of ASD teachers and learned that Fauna Hancock just returned from her GAPP conference in NY.  5 Anchorage schools will take students to Germany in 2008, taking about 135 students!  The Rilke Schule parents have organized a book club and it will meet to discuss “Herr der Diebe” in February.

Politically and Globally: The Anchorage School District just approved a budget which includes 2 new World Language Teachers which are slated to be middle school German teachers if we can find quality teachers to hire!  Our district coordinator is making a big push to get German in multiple feeder schools to take the pressure off of our demand for Spanish teachers, which the district can’t find.  It is a WIN for German and nice to have money behind the vision of more languages offered in our schools at a younger age.  Our district is also piloting a program from Philadelphia to provide a means to assess oral proficiency on the computer.  2 German teachers are piloting the program! 

Submitted by: Kristi Senden, Chapter President. Email: Senden_Kristi@asdk12.org

008 Colorado/Wyoming - 2007

The Chapter held their Spring Meeting on February 24, 2007, at the Colorado Congress of Foreign Language Teachers (CCFLT) conference in Denver.  Sessions included a presentation from Anne Weber, Goethe-Institut San Francisco about German culture and how to integrate it in the classroom. Other German-language sessions were also offered and well attended.  Topics discussed at the Spring Meeting included: increased cooperation and collaboration with the German American Chamber of Commerce (GACC), articulation from high school to university level, and ideas for increasing involvement and activities within the chapter.  The president is Kendra Omlid; vice-president was not yet elected; secretary is Kelly Myers; treasurer is Elise Walsh. As outgoing president, Doug Philipp assisted Kendra Omlid in some of her duties as chapter president.

Due to changes in the hosting of the listserv, the chapter has switched to using a yahoo group as a means of communication between members.  All Colorado/Wyoming chapter members should be sure to become members of the group in order to receive important updates on chapter activities and messages from the AATG National Office.  So far, the number of members to join the group has been fairly small and the chapter hopes to increase the number of members on the listserv/group for 2008.

The Chapter’s fall meeting was held on October 20, 2007, in conjunction with CCFLT’s fall conference and German teachers in attendance had the opportunity to meet and share ideas for promoting and teaching cultural literacy in the classroom.

A new testing chair was appointed in December and she is Britta Hershman of Pikes Peak Community College.

The fourth Colorado high school German student immersion weekend was held from February 7-9, 2008, in Estes Park at the YMCA of the Rockies.  Around 50 students from five different schools from across the Front Range participated in the weekend.  Reservations for January 22-24, 2009, have already been made and plans are underway for another great retreat with increased participation.

Submitted by: Kendra Omlid, Chapter President. Email: kendra.omlid@gmail.com

014 Idaho - 2007

2007 marked an active year for our chapter as we instituted the “Third Thursday” collaboration meetings as a monthly gathering of Boise area German teachers for conversation, idea exchange, discussion of issues and all things German.  Sharing a meal over conversation in German about German was the highlight for many teachers who came away refreshed and eager to try new things learned from colleagues.  Networking with others and sharing resources was welcomed by all who attended.  This monthly meeting arrangement helped to provide some support for those who are unable to attend out of area seminars and conferences which require travel and registration fees.

In October 2007 the Idaho Association of Teachers of Language and Culture (IATLC) hosted their annual conference in Moscow, Idaho.  Our IATG chapter was represented with presentations by Rachel Halverson, (WSU) and Robert Schwarz (BYU-Idaho).  Professor Halverson’s presentation included ideas and issues regarding assessment; Professor Schwarz offered ideas in the teaching of grammar. 

In addition to these presentations, we also held our annual chapter business meeting at the conference with 4 members present.  It was decided that Amy Burkholder would continue on for one more year as president since there have been many changes in the IATLC board level.  Sandra Dillon (ISU) will continue on as Chapter Testing Chair and Cyndi Cook agreed to continue as the Secretary/Treasurer.  The immersion retreat planned for November was discussed and final details were determined.

In November the aforementioned Immersion Weekend was held in beautiful McCall, Idaho.  A vacation property was rented for the weekend with 6 people attending.  Activities included card games, hiking, cooking and watching short films.  Everyone who participated thoroughly enjoyed this weekend and came away with refreshed language skills by the end.  It was decided that McCall would be the choice for next year’s immersion weekend as well. 

Overall we feel that our chapter was quite active in 2007, and we look forward to another year of collegial collaboration!

Submitted by: Cyndi Cook Chapter Secretary/Treasurer.  E-mail: dcmcook@msn.com

Submitted by: Wendy Ferris Schoonen, Chapter President. Email: schoonenwm@butte.k12.mt.us and Lisa Werner, Chapter Secretary/Treasurer. Email: lisa.werner@bsd7.org

032 Nevada
(not active in 2007)

005 Northern California - 2007

Wie immer fand unser erstes AATG Chapter Meeting im Februar im GI San Francisco statt. Zum ersten Mal organisierten wir eine Lotterie für Teilnehmer mit wertvollen Preisen (z.B. Landkarten, Klett-Materialien, einem Klassensatz weißer Tafeln). Sicher nicht zuletzt aus diesem Grund war die Teilnehmerzahl enorm. Rund 50 Deutschlehrer vom Kindergartenprogramm bis zur Universität nahmen daran teil. Diesmal waren die Präsenter aus den eigenen Reihen: Robert Schechtmann und Nikolaus Euba, UC Berkeley  boten einen Workshop "Neue Blickwinkel: Film und Video im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache" an.

Im März fand die CLTA Konferenz statt und wie immer präsentierten viele unserer Mitglieder auf dieser Konferenz. Eine Lehrerin aus unseren Kreisen, Ursula Young, wurde auf dieser Konferenz mit dem „Outstanding Teacher Award“ ausgezeichnet. Wir sind sehr stolz, so viele aktive Miglieder und hervorragende Lehrer in unserer Mitte zu haben. 

Unser German Immersion Day fand diesmal am 18.3. statt und verlief auf Grund einer hervorrangenden Organisation von unserem neuen Projekt Chair Annerose Noll wieder sehr erfolgreich mit einer hohen Anzahl von begeisterten Deutschschülern. Die beliebtesten Workshops waren Fussball, Schnitzelbraten, Krapfenbacken, Tanzen und das Einstudieren einer Kurzform des „Nibelungeliedes“. Extra aus diesem Anlass hatte unser Mitglied Zehra Otus eigene Melodien komponiert, Texte geschrieben und dann die Schüler auf dem Klavier begleitet.

Wir sind sehr froh, dass wir über viele Jahre eine wunderbare Partnerschaft mit den Samstagsschulen aufgebaut haben. Ohne Miete zu bezahlen, durften wir wieder die Samstagsschule in Palo Alto für unseren Immersionstag benutzen.

Sabine Eisenhauer, Direktorin der o.g. Samstagsschule organisiert zu Anfang des  Schuljahr schon als eine Art Tradition eine sehr erfolgreiche Weiterbildungsveranstaltung für LehrerInnen von G.A.S.A.N.C.. Dabei war auch unser Chapter vertreten, sowohl um Workshops zu leiten, als auch Werbung  unter den Samstagsschullehrern zu machen, damit auch sie Mitglieder von AATG werden und mit allen anderen zusammen arbeiten können. Im Februar 2008 wird diese Samstagsschule an dem Tag unseres AATG Chapter Meetings sogar schließen, um an unserem Weiterbildungsangebot zum Thema TPRS mit Julie Baird teilzunehmen.

Auf unserer Awards Ceremony, die diesmal an der UC Berkeley statt fand, konnten wir wieder zahlreiche Schüler auszeichnen, die im AATG National German Exam über dem 70sten % lagen. In diesem Jahr haben wieder zwei Schüler unseres Chapters eine Reise nach Deutschland gewonnen. Beide hatten eine wunderbare Erfahrung mit ihren Gastfamilien in Deutschland. Auf dieser Auszeichnungsveranstaltung standen zum zweiten Mal Niko Eubas Deutschstudenten von UC Berkeley mit Teilen ihres Kabarettprogramms für unsere Schüler auf der Bühne. Das ist nach wie vor ein echtes Beispiel für Artikulation zwischen Samstagsschulen, Mittelschulen, high schools und Universität. Vor allem die high school  Schüler waren tief beeindruckt davon, einen Eindruck zu bekommen, wie Deutsch an der Uni aussehen kann.  

Im Mai diesen Jahres fand das Transatlantic Soccer Bridge Turnier in San Jose an der Independence High School statt. Peter Zygowski organisierte das Turnier im Namen des GI und Jamin Lynch und seine Schüler bereiteten ein wunderbares Mittagessen für alle Teilnehmer zum Verkauf zu. Sie grillten und kochten und konnten dadurch ihren eigenen Deutschklub finanziell unterstützen.

Bei der FLANC Konferenz an der San Jose State University im November gab es viele Angebote für Deutschlehrer. Außerdem fand in Verbindung mit der Konferenz auch unser zweites Chapter Business Meeting statt, auf dem es gute Diskussionen gab, die die Aktivitäten diesen Jahres betrafen. Es herrschte ein offene und kollegiale Stimmung, zumal das GI uns zu deutschem Kaffee und Kuchen einlud.

Auch bei der ACTFL Konferenz, die im November 2007 in San Antonio, TX statt fand, war unser Chapter durch Niko Euba und mich beim Annual AATG Chapter President’s Meeting vertreten. Vier  Mitglieder unseres Chapters boten Sessions auf dieser Konferenz an. Jamin Lynch von der Independence High School war ein Finalist für „Teacher of the Year“ Award. Obwohl er nicht gewonnen hat, ist er für uns der Beste.

Zusätzlich zu all unseren Chapterangeboten gab es auch verschiedene andere Angebote. Uschi Weaver organisierte eine sehr erfolgreiche Weiterbildung für Deutschlehrer aus der Sacramentogegend, Michaela Groebbel lud zur aktiven Teilnahme am  “Tag der offenen Tür” in der Sonoma State Uni ein und es gab Angebote, die in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Goethe-Institut zustande kamen, wie z.B. das jährliche Berlin&Beyond Film Festival im Januar.

Wir sind sehr dankbar für die einzigartige Zusammenarbeit mit dem GI in San Francisco und hoffen auf eine weitere gute Zusammenarbeit mit ihnen. 

Nicht zuletzt möchte ich allen Mitgliedern danken, die sich aktiv in unserem Chapter beteiligen und ein besonderes Dankeschön geht an Christiane Frederickson, unserem AATG- Mitgliedsschaft Chair. Sie ist diejenige, die für uns alle Fäden zusammen laufen lässt und mindestens monatlich die zusammengestellten Rundbriefe an die Mitglieder rausschickt.  

Dies wird vorerst mein letzter Chapterbericht sein, da wir im Februar 2008 Neuwahlen haben werden und Niko Euba dann die Leitung unseres Chapter übernehmen wird. Vielen Dank an die Boardmitglieder- über viele Jahre haben wir kollegial und unterstützend zusammen gearbeitet. Es hat mir sehr viel Spaß und Freude bereitet.

Submitted by Kerstin Helbing, Chapter President. Email: helbing@pacbell.net

045 Oregon - 2007

With a full slate of new officers and an abundance of projects in the works, OATG is enjoying a long overdue renaissance. We started the 2007-8 school year with a record number of German teachers/faculty in attendance at the COFLT Fall Conference at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Karsten Tietz, German Consul for Cultural Affairs of San Francisco, was our featured speaker, with a special presentation on "Germany after Reunification," followed by the first OATG Summit, and an SRO German luncheon. Earlier in the year, OATG succeeded in mobilizing virtually all Oregon German teachers/faculty to come to the assistance of Prof. Gudrun Gill of Southern Oregon University, whose program was threatened by elimination upon her imminent retirement. Oregon German teachers and professors stepped up to the plate with an unprecedented state-wide media campaign and contributions of over $4,000 for newspaper ads. The reversal of the decision to cut German at SOU by its administration underlined OATG's important mission and furthered renewed interest in our state chapter. During 2008, the OATG officers will support outreach projects in Oregon's major population areas to strengthen existing German programs on the K-12 level. Additionally, OATG will cultivate close cooperation with the German-American Society of Portland, organize a Spring Immersion Weekend for German Teachers, and sponsor the COFLT Spring Conference, as well as speaking engagements by the Consul General at Oregon's colleges and universities.

Submitted by: Christian P. Stehr and Ursula Horstmann-Nash, Chapter Co-Presidents. Email: cstehr@oregonstate.edu and ursulahn@charter.net

056 Utah - 2007

This has been an interesting year to be a German teacher in Utah.  Salt Lake City is hosting the SW Conference on Language Teaching, and many of our teachers have been involved in this event.  Our former chapter president, Shauna Winegar, was elected to be the new president of the Utah Foreign Language Association, and Germany is still enjoying a lot of attention from the last World Cup soccer tournament.  As has been our tradition, we also held two immersion weekend workshops for local teachers.  The first was held at the Sherwood Hills Resort in Wellsville Canyon.  There we launched our new and improved chapter website and learned about new ways to integrate technology into our classroom teaching.  At this workshop, we also talked about new ways to use videos to enhance student learning and shared our favorite music lesson plans with each other.  The second workshop, held at the Aspen Grove Lodge near Sundance, dealt with teaching GDR culture and the 50th anniversary of the Trabi.  Stephen Van Orden prepared a wonderful presentation about the history of the Trabant; we watched the movie Go Trabi, Go! and even got to test drive his Trabi.  A brief discussion about teaching the latest German spelling reform was also included.  In all, both weekends were very successful and provided a great opportunity for German teachers around the state to freshen up their German, meet with friends and make new acquaintances.  We are also happy to report the success of the first annual Aggie German Day which was held in April at Utah State University.  Hopefully, this event will compliment the very popular BYU Foreign Language Fair, and continue to attract new German students in Northern Utah.  We're looking forward to great things in 2008 / 2009!

Submitted by Mike Mudrow, Chapter President. Email: MMudrow@lhs.logan.k12.ut.us

058 Washington - 2007

We have an updated list of E-mail addresses, so we are able to keep our members informed about upcoming events. In February Ferndale High School hosted the German Student Convention. 277 students from eleven schools participated. There was music, dancing, crafts and competitions that were enjoyed by all. In March we hosted our annual German Immersion Camp at Camp Don Bosco in Carnation. Eleven schools from around the State brought 77 students. Both students and teachers enjoyed the positive atmosphere and enthusiasm throughout the weekend. This year we had T-Shirts and sweatshirts that the students could order. These were a big hit and the students continue to wear them, which is great advertising.

In September we had our annual Teacher’s Retreat in Hyak. We had more people attending, than we have in the past. We were also very pleased to have Renate Grant join us as one of our presenters. Rick Beck, Petra Fiero and Susanne Kanning also made presentations. Susanne Kanning was recognized as a recipient of the Certificate of Merit.

In October several of our members were presenters at the WAFLT Fall conference in Wenatchee, Washington. German teachers were very pleased with the numerous and varied presentations that were given.

Submitted by: Susanne Kanning, Chapter President, Email: skanning@nsd.org