Ich bin wieder da! (I'm back!)
At a Gesamtschule, which is the type of secondary school I am now attending, the grades from 7-10 are always represented. My school here has an 'Oberstufe' which means it goes up to grade 13. At 10th grade, a student who decides not to study in the University can graduate and do an apprenticeship instead. The 11-13th grades in the Oberstufe are for those who decide to go to University, but the extra year is added in to make things a little bit easier. In comparison, a Gymnasium, which is a different type of secondary school, goes from 7-12th grade but still covers the same material, making things more difficult.
The primary schools here go from 1st-6th grade (Kindergarten in Germany can be compared to our Pre-school). In 6th grade, students look at prospective secondary schools. In my case, that was today. I partnered up with a friend of mine to lead current 6th graders through the school, meeting the teachers, and doing some fun experiments. It was not only new for the kids, but also for me! I had no idea that there was a kitchen, library, and band room in the school!
We participated in mini French, Russian, and Spanish lessons, melted glass in Chemistry, and generated static electricity in Physics. The kids sang in English in the band room, and baked waffles in the kitchen. It was all very fun, but by the end of the day I was pretty tired, and am not looking forward to doing the same thing tomorrow.
