German Unity Day at the DISD with guest of honor Consul General Sybille Pfaff

On the occasion of the German Unity Day, the student- and teachers experienced a special project day at DISD.

In kindergarten, the children learned about the fall of the Berlin Wall with a short play performed by ninth graders. They enthusiastically waved their self-made German flags during the subsequent reunification song. At Primary School , small projects took place to mark the special day. For example, the third grade prepared potato salad and the first graders learned about the letter E in the colors black, red and gold.

A large community project took place at the Secondary School to mark German Unity Day. To kick things off, everyone gathered in the school canteen. In a short speech, Headmaster Mr. Lummel talked about how he experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989 and how the thought of this moment still gives him goosebumps. Afterwards, the Head of History, Ms. Alexandra Stenzel, presented the project, which was then worked on in the classes. Each class from year 5 to 10 was assigned one of the 16 federal states. The student were allowed to work on assignments relating to the federal state. This not only involved the subject of history, but also mathematics, German, art and geography. For example, the student compiled statistics about the federal state, selected the five largest districts with their area and population and created bar charts. Which famous artists come from this federal state and what works have they created? What cultural events regularly take place in this federal state? Are there any special museums or galleries that you can visit to learn more about local art and culture? Which sights should definitely be visited and why? The student researched famous authors and poets, found out about their life dates and most famous works and then recorded a fictitious interview in which they asked the author about their life. Each class created a poster to scale of the respective federal state. The student from Years 11 and 12 visited all classes in two lessons and gave a presentation on the most important facts about reunification, followed by a workshop.

Finally, the results of the classes were unveiled in the form of a huge map of Germany in the canteen to great applause. The guest of honor at the closing ceremony was Consul General Sybille Pfaff, who addressed the school community in a short speech. "As student of a German school abroad, you are ambassadors of our culture here in Dubai and I would like to say a big thank you for that," said Consul General Sybille Pfaff, earning a huge round of applause from the students.

The primary school choir enchanted the canteen with a rendition of the national anthem. "We celebrated this day together as a school community and at the same time strengthened the bond between our student and Germany in the form of a project," concluded Alexandra Stenzel, head of the history department. She looks back with satisfaction on a successful project day.

The results of the pupils' work can be viewed at the following link: