Greetings from the Zillertal in Austria,

Tuesday evening marks the end of the first segment of the 9^th-grade ski trip.  On Wednesday, the student ski groups will be mixed with new students and a new ski instructor.  Wednesday will also be a shorter ski day. In the afternoon, students will have more time to rest and prepare for the final two full days of skiing and the room check. 

After three days of skiing, the great majority of beginner skiers have begun to use the T-bar (“Ankerlift”).  Some of the new skiers even joined an advanced group on the third day.  After the tiresome first days of walking up the hill, they are learning how fun downhill skiing is—especially when they don’t have to walk, and the ski lift carries them uphill.  At lunch today, there were smiles and merriment in the warm, Austrian sunshine with the Almdudler that a few of the students were drinking.  Meanwhile, the intermediate and advanced skiers have been able to get to know the mountain and work on more technical issues.

To make the trip possible, we are pleased to have a few first-time ski instructors who have made the time to come: Mrs. Hale, Fr. Simons, and Ms. Younghans. They have joined the team of colleagues and our former JFKS students who work as ski instructors in Austria and another who is studying medicine – our ski trip “doctor”.

Tonight, there is an outdoor party, with a student DJ.  Some of the students are dancing, jumping, and singing to the music at their party. It feels a bit surreal after the past two years of such events being canceled and locked down.  As we witness the students have fun in this new phase of the pandemic, we are especially grateful that all testing has been negative regarding Corona.  Moreover, as we read about the horrific war in Ukraine that has torn apart the lives and darkened the youth of so many, it is with an especially grateful spirit that we watch these students enjoy their youth without disruption.

Jason Lang

on behalf of the Ski Instructors

The estimated arrival time for the busses is 17:00.

Please be mindful of all traffic rules when picking up your children. No U-turns, no parking in the bus lane and please do not block the driveways. Thank you.

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Die geschätzte Ankunftszeit der Busse ist ca. 17:00 Uhr.

Bitte beachten Sie alle Verkehrsregeln, wenn Sie Ihre Kinder abholen. Wenden Sie nicht, parken Sie nicht auf der Busspur und blockieren Sie bitte nicht die Einfahrten. Wir danken Ihnen.

As of 13:15, the estimated arrival time for the busses is between 16:00 and 16:30. We will post another update soon. 

Please be mindful of all traffic rules when picking up your children. No U-turns, no parking in the bus lane and please do not block the driveways. Thank you.

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Um 13:15 Uhr war die geschätzte Ankunftszeit der Busse zwischen 16:00 und 16:30 Uhr. Wir werden bald ein weiteres Update veröffentlichen. 

Bitte beachten Sie alle Verkehrsregeln, wenn Sie Ihre Kinder abholen. Wenden Sie nicht auf dem Teltower Damm, parken Sie nicht auf der Busspur und blockieren Sie bitte nicht die Einfahrten. Vielen Dank.

Final thoughts

Our luck couldn’t last forever. Cerulean skies, great snow, lots of learning, lots of laughs – and then… a visit from Covid offered new challenges to the kids and staff. Ironically, the lines at the doctor’s office have been much shorter than usual, as the line of sniffling children stretched down the hallway 20-30 deep in years past with classic flu symptoms.

But, because of our precautions with the pandemic, some rooms were rearranged and a few meals were staggered to reduce numbers in the dining hall. Luckily, the healthy majority were able to ski to the last, something we weren’t able to accomplish in 2020. And surprisingly, the bulk of students maintained their good spirits and, well, partied to the very end. I can not only feel the booming bass but can also see the dancing from beyond the window from where I write here on Thursday night. (“Geh mal Bier holen” a moment ago, followed by the Macarena (see photo!). In fact, last night after an evening hike up into the hills, many students stayed outside in the parking lot for some impromptu Moonlight waltzing. Nice to see the guys offering tutelage!

Our last day culminated with “open ski”, carving up the Sahara dust-covered slopes (weird!) with their friends. One of the most satisfying occurrences of these trips is seeing complete beginners skiing with their highly advanced friends – and holding their own beautifully! My colleagues agree that this bunch of kids has been a special group: talented, cooperative, fun, resilient. And yes, they learned to pass the lasagna before filling their own plate with great dexterity and civility.

Before wrapping up, I’d like to offer a special mention to some of our youngest stars on the staff. While we leaned on the leadership, entertainment and creativity of our veterans, we were blessed with having four alumni to help us with doctoring, organizing, counseling and encouraging. (I should also mention that they are our best skiers and licensed ski instructors!)

To be sure, Hanna and Leo Greeves, Amelie Heidrich and Katharina Schier especially enriched these last two weeks and provided a heroic hand in holding the ship together. For their work, we are truly thankful.

Enjoy having your children back home!      

Schöne Grüße aus dem Zillertal!   

Chad Felt

It’s unbelievable, but we have yet to see a cloud in the sky. Nevertheless, cold temps at night have provided nearly ideal skiing conditions, and we are delighted to say that thanks to the impressive progress of the beginners, EVERYONE has a lift pass and has achieved new heights! (Pardon the pun) So our raison d’être has already been accomplished – may the fun endure to the end.

Sonia’s meals continue to satisfy – a delicious Kasespätzle tickled the taste buds two nights ago, for instance.

And shortly after each meal, the kids have provided activities to entertain or enlighten, whether a game night, a dance party, trivia night or tonight’s Baby Face Challenge. However, the big buzz after skiing have been the court trials introduced by Mr. Lang. Students have plied their trade in their roles as lawyers, witnesses and juries to determine the innocence or guilt of the accused, while Mr. Felt and Mr. Lee have presided as judges. Because the second court case was currently under appeal at press time with the possible submission of new, previously undisclosed evidence, I am not at liberty to share any specific information on the cases, but we urge you to ask your child.

Finally, we come across a variety of new discoveries as house parents, but we were stumped with a recent attempt at innovation: have any of you been teaching your children to toast bread with a hair dryer for a late night snack? Just curious.                     

Chad Felt

Please note the following change to the school calendar:

Due to Abitur testing (5. PK), the high school (grades 7-11) will have a late start on Friday, April 8, 2022 beginning with 4th period (10:37 am).

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Bitte beachten Sie die folgende Änderung des Schulkalenders:

Aufgrund der Abiturprüfungen (5. PK) beginnt der Unterricht für die Oberschule (Klassen 7-11) am Freitag, den 8. April 2022, erst mit der 4. Stunde (10:37 Uhr).

Ahhh! After two long years, we’ve actually arrived back in Bruck am Zillertal, JFKS’ home away from home every year for two weeks of snow, skiing, schnitzel and song, with a little adolescent misadventure added to the mix.

The bus ride was one of the smoothest in recent memory for a variety of reasons: the absence of traffic jams, surprisingly well-behaved students and…an epic poetry slam/rap battle between bus one and bus two. Despite concern that too few students would embrace the concept, many eagerly embraced the challenge and crafted inspired poems/raps for performance during a raucous autobahn break.

The students were courteous upon arriving at Hotel Eberleiten and pure delights in the dining room, unselfishly passing the French Fries to others before serving themselves, economizing on ketchup and – HA HA! Just kidding! This missive is not a fairy tale, despite my best intentions! (i.e. We’re still working on table manners – a work in progress.) But I, for one, have enjoyed most engaging discussions at the table, on the bus to the slopes or on the Gondola: whether about the delicacies of Iranian dining, training for a triathlon, the ideal number of dinner guests or mutual experiences of skiing in northern Japan. I’m sure my colleagues could say the same.

All we can report about being on the slopes for the first two days is: himmlisch. The weather has been spectacular and the conditions phenomenal. Obviously, that lends to quick improvement on the slopes, particularly for the beginning ranks. One more day of skiing bodes well for more advancement. And then, perhaps at dinner… “Felix, would you kindly pass the Kaiserschmarrn?” “Jacob, allow me to serve you, my good man!” (We can dream.)   

Mr. Felt

We just received word from the teachers that the busses have arrived and the students are now settling into their rooms!

Check the JFKS website regularly in the next couple weeks for more updates.

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Wir haben soeben von den Lehrern erfahren, dass die Busse angekommen sind und die Schüler nun ihre Zimmer beziehen!

Schauen Sie in den nächsten Wochen regelmäßig auf der JFKS-Website nach, um weitere Informationen zu erhalten.

Please note that there is an error in the March School Bulletin.

The High School Year Book email address is . 

We apologize for the inconvenience.