We learnt about the recent passing of our former colleague and teacher Bärbel Sotschek.

She was one of the first teachers at the German-American-Community-School when instruction began in 1960 at the Mühlenau-Grundschule. 

Bärbel Sotschek was a beloved elementary school teacher who continued working at JFKS until her retirement.

We would like to express our sincere condolences to her family and friends.

We learnt about the recent passing of our former colleague and teacher Rudi Lea who was at JFKS from 1966 until 1970.

In his autobiography „My Crossings“ (2020), he included a chapter about his time at JFKS. It offers interesting insights into the beginnings of our school and the intense work he and Rudolf Bewer (First German principal 1960-1973) had invested into filling the school`s mission with life, such as establishing and deepening German-American friendship ties. Furthermore, the chapter reveals how they encouraged generations of future students to embrace the concept of an open mind and understanding for other cultures and people.

We would like to express our sincere condolences to his family and friends.

The April School Bulletin has been sent out to all parents via email to the addresses we have on file. If you have not received the message and attachment and would like to be added to the mailing list, please contact the secretaries at:

Eleven 12th graders who have been involved with the MUN program at JFKS for many years (some of them for almost 6 years!) just returned from a trip to New York.

This trip was special for many reasons. Some of our students had never been to the US; the majority had not seen or experienced life, school or college in the US and due to Covid, none of them had been on any class trips since the 8th grade ski trip nor on any language exchanges.  

We were able to stay with host families from our partner school Xaverian High School who graciously opened up their homes to our students. Even though some of them stayed in far-away locations, this only resulted in funny stories and great experiences like retrieving a forgotten passport from a home in Breezy Point or being late due to a missed ferry from Staten Island or realizing that a certain subway does not run from Brooklyn to Manhattan on a Saturday morning. The students experienced family life, enjoyed dinners, conversations and attended basketball games, dance competitions, plays and more. One evening, Xaverian hosted our group and all host families for a pizza and sliders dinner at the school which definitely fostered the idea of community even for Xaverian since they also experienced little to no parent involvement in recent years due to Covid.

For fun, we followed the World Baseball Classics before, during and after our trip in the form of a group “Tipp-Spiel” which exposed the students to America’s favorite pastime even though we could not attend a game in person. 

Our group activities in New York included a private tour at the Museum of the Chinese in America, visits to the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, the African Burial Ground, the Jewish Heritage museum and sightseeing throughout Manhattan, Central Park, the 9/11 Memorial site, and more. Students prepared short presentations to tell us about skyscrapers, bridges, Wall Street, the five boroughs, politics in NY, and various other locations we were passing. We participated in a tour of Xaverian High School and St. Francis College, and some of the students even got to see Columbia University when we met up with a former JFKS student who studies there. We also enjoyed a dinner in Chinatown with our surprise guest Mr. Kriegel, a former ES teacher who taught several of the students in grades 5/6. 

A meeting at the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations gave us insight into their role and current as well as future goals. We are thankful for the time with Hr. Brombach who answered our many questions and even provided us with copies of the UN Charter and bags to take home. The tour of the UN Headquarters, which we attended afterwards, allowed us to ask more questions (like who decides on the seating order in the SC?) and we were able to walk into rooms used by the groups which the MUN program simulates, such as the Security Council, ECOSOC, and the General Assembly.  

We finished our trip by attending the Altitude MUN conference in the heart of Manhattan, representing Spain, Norway, and the Ukraine in four different committees. While we do not give out awards for participation at BERMUN for various reasons, our students were more than excited and proud to receive individual awards for their stellar performance throughout the conference. In the end, the John F. Kennedy School received the award for Best Delegation!

Special thanks again to Xaverian HS for hosting us and to the HS Staff and Administration for supporting such a large number of Seniors to attend during their final weeks of school. We can attest that some of them even explored NY public libraries and worked on their 5. PK presentations during the little free time they had! 

Click here to view the video with some pictures from our trip!

-Mr. Robertson, BERMUN Director

Four students have been in Zurich for the past four days participating in the AMIS Honor Band Festival.  Tonight at 19:00 is the culminating concert.  You are invited to watch via the live-stream link and see what they have accomplished with their fellow musicians from schools all around Europe and the Middle East. 

The concert is also being recorded and can be watched at a later time via the same link. 

Enjoy!

-Ms. Epping, High School Band Director/Music Teacher

Diesen Monat hatten alle 5. Klassen, die den Religionsunterricht besuchen, die Gelegenheit, die Reformsynagoge „Sukkat Schalom“ zu besuchen. Kantorin Esther Hirsch nahm sich extra viel Zeit für unsere SchülerInnen, um ihnen alles „rund um die Synagoge“ zu erklären und beantwortete zahlreiche Fragen. Die SchülerInnen durften in eine echte Thorarolle hineinschauen und am Ende hatten wir sogar die besondere Gelegenheit, Frau Hirsch beim Gesang aus der Thora zu lauschen.

Fr. Friedman (jüdische Religionslehrerin)

Dear Parents, 

Well, it’s a wrap for 2023, and it was a good one – a VERY good one.

By Thursday’s conclusion, everyone had been on a lift and so many had graduated to new levels of skiing that the entire group of 8th graders this year was one of the farthest achieving in recent memory. It was a pleasure for us to share in their success, especially those who made giant leaps from their “beginner” status. In many cases, the students truly pushed their comfort levels on the slopes, and we are very hopeful that that will translate into reaching new degrees of comfort and confidence in their future intellectual and social undertakings as well. (But please don’t expect each and every one of your children to clear the table on a nightly basis.)

The last several days were quite eventful, with more class-led activities, a sing-along with Mr. Weiss, and Wednesday night’s traditional crowning of the “Heroes of the Ski Trip”, won by 8c after impressive demonstrations of lip-synching, love letter writing, a ready-for-ski fashion show and other ridiculous activities requiring varying degrees of dexterity. (Your children can invite you to play along – don’t hurt yourselves!)

One of my favorite memories of the past week, however, was observing one of our skiers come to the rescue of a small child who had become separated from his parents on the slopes. She calmly gained the young boy’s confidence and gently guided him down a challenging slope while her teammates watched and applauded the tearful reunion at the bottom. This demonstration of encouragement and helpfulness was evident within the groups both on the slopes and back at the hotel and surely contributed to the overall success of the trip. Was it perfect? Of course not. But judging by the frequent laughter (or in the case of one of my rooms, inexhaustible giggling), the kids enjoyed their time together, engaged in some great discussions (when separated from their cell phones) and even created some wonderfully zany experiences which may be better left unexplained (but thanks, Room 110!).

Seeing students reunited with their respective families on Friday evening is always heartwarming, and then shortly afterward we teachers get to enjoy the same. We were delighted to be greeted with expressions of appreciation from the parents for which we are most grateful. But our biggest thanks must go to Herr Mueller for the countless hours he gives throughout the year (not to mention very long nights during the ski trip) and his steady leadership of ensuring the safety and encouraging the growth of 135 unique individuals while keeping his teaching staff motivated to give your children their best. It cannot be easy, but after 35 years, his experience shines brighter with each year.  We hope your children have grown in many ways as a result of their experience in Zillertal! Servus!                                          

Mr. Felt