Mr. Eli's Website

Liebe Schüler, Liebe Eltern (Dear students and parents),

Rock Island and Davenport schools are partnering on an exchange trip to Germany in 2014!  Our German partner city is still Rottenburg am Neckar.  Rottenburg has been our German partner city for over 10 years, and we are excited to be able to continue the relationship with our partner school St. Meinrad Gymnasium.  The following letter will be distributed in German 1-3 classes this week in order to inform students and parents who are interested in participating in the upcoming exchange program.  We will begin having informational meetings in September.  Until then, have a great summer and we hope to see you at our first meeting!

Danke,

Herr Eli

GAPP 2014 WELCOME LETTER AND INFORMATIONAL SHEET

To:              Rock Island and Davenport students and parents interested in participating in the 2014 GAPP exchange to Rottenburg, Germany

From:            Rock Island / Davenport GAPP Exchange Committee

Dear Students and Parents,

The German programs of Rock Island and Davenport schools have established a partnership on a student exchange with a partner city in Germany. The exchange program is run through GAPP (German-American Partnership Program).  Our partner city is Rottenburg, a small town south of Stuttgart in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.  Rottenburg has been Rock Island’s German partner city for the past ten years and five exchange trips.

This is a two-way home-stay exchange.  Our students will stay with families in Rottenburg for three weeks in June, and the German students will stay with families in Rock Island and Davenport for three weeks in October.  This provides all students with the unique opportunity to be immersed in the language and culture, and experience daily life in the host country firsthand.  All students and families must be prepared to participate in both parts of the exchange.  While in Germany, our students will go to school, take field trips around the Rottenburg area, attend school events, and travel to surrounding cities such as Heidelberg, Tübingen, Stuttgart, and Ulm.  We will also take a two-night trip to either Munich or Berlin.  In accordance with GAPP, our students will also prepare a presentation about American culture, which they will present while in school in Rottenburg.

We are excited to be able to offer this experience to our students, and we are glad that you have expressed an interest in participating in the upcoming 2014 exchange.  We will begin having informational meetings for interested families in the fall, but for the time being, we invite you to read through the important information related to the exchange on the back of this letter.  If you would like any additional information, please contact your German teacher.  Have a great summer, and we hope to see you at our first meeting.

Danke!  (Thank you!)

GAPP Exchange Committee

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE GAPP EXCHANGE PROGRAM

Requirements

- 2 years of German language instruction

- 3 letters of recommendation

- 1 interview with the GAPP exchange committee

- A commitment to participate in both parts of the program

- A strong desire to learn about German language and culture firsthand

Application Timeline

- Informational meetings will begin in September

- Student applications will be due by October

- Interviews will take place in November

Our Trip to Germany

- Second week of June — First week of July (We will be home by the 4^th)

- Cost will be approximately $2000

(Includes roundtrip airfare, transportation to the airport, rail transportation in

Germany, GAPP insurance, accommodations and food covered by the host

families, and hotel stays)

- The only extra costs are spending money and a U.S. passport ($110)

- Activities

- 10 days of school

- Field trips

- Visit to the Ritter Sport chocolate factory, a day at Lake

Constance, Tübingen walking tour, day trips to Heidelberg,

Stuttgart, and Ulm, 2-night stay in Munich or Berlin

- The Neckar river festival

- Other activities with the host family

German Students’ Visit to the U.S.

- Third week of October — First week of November

- German students stay with American host families, attend school, and

go on field trips around the area

- Thanksgiving-style farewell dinner

Möchtest du mehr Deutsch sprechen?

Join us for the weekly German club Stammtisch!

Wann?  Dienstags von 16.00 vis 17.00

Wo?  bei Cool Beanz

Warum?  zum Deutsch sprechen, 10 Bonuspunkte sammeln!

Over the summer, Rocky and Moline students traveled to

Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany as part of the German

American Partnership Program (GAPP). Now, it’s the

German student’s turn to visit Rock Island High School.

German Teacher Nick Eli said the students arrived last week

and have been attending classes at Rocky. Teacher Martina

Konrad, from the St. Meinrad school in Rottenburg, has been

involved with GAPP for almost ten years and appreciates the

close relationship she has built with teachers at Rocky and

Moline. “It is a great partnership and many of our students

build relationships with the American students that last a

lifetime.”

Click on the link below to view a video slideshow of this year’s GAPP exchange trip to Rottenburg am Neckar, Germany.  Rock Island and Moline High Schools have partnered with the St. Meinrad Gymnasium in Rottenburg on this exchange since 2002.  We visit Germany every other summer, and the German students come and visit us that same October.  That means that we will be welcoming native German speakers into our German classrooms at Rocky in just over two months!  The next trip to Germany will be during the summer of 2014.  Maybe you or someone you know will be making the journey with us next time!

Viele Grüße,  /  Greetings,

Herr Eli   /   Mr. Eli

CLICK THE LINK TO SEE THE VIDEO!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHBf5UGP1Ko&feature=plcp

Welcome to the new schoolyear 2012-13 at Rock Island High School!  This is the website for the German department.  Here, students and parents are able to view important information about German class, view alternative warm-up assignments in case of an absence, and become informed of the latest events of Rocky’s German club.

Danke!

Herr Eli

GAPP Trip 2012

Since 2004, the German departments at Rock Island and Moline High Schools have partnered with the city of Rottenburg, Germany in a GAPP (German-American Partnership Program) exchange program.  The primary goal of GAPP is to integrate students into everyday life with host families and into the classroom activities of host schools to foster an understanding of both German and American cultures.  Every two years, the participating American students travel to the partner city in Germany for a three-week stay with a host family.  In October of the same year, participating German students travel to the U.S. for a three-week stay with their American partners.  In order to participate in the exchange, students must have at least two years of German language instruction and a strong desire to learn about the culture of Germany. 

Rock Island and Moline’s partner city, called Rottenburg am Neckar, is located in the southwestern German state of Baden-Wuertemberg.  The St. Meinrad Gymnasium is the name of our partner school.  It is a private college-preparatory school that serves students from Rottenburg and the surrounding area.  In addition to staying with host families and attending school, participants will enjoy field trips to the cities of Munich, Heidelberg, Ulm, and Tuebingen.  The group will also travel south to Switzerland for a day.  Highlights of the trips include visiting the Ritter Sport chocolate factory, punting in canoes on the Neckar river, climbing the steps of the world’s tallest church tower, and exploring the campus of one of Germany’s oldest universities.

This year’s group consists of four students from Rock Island and fourteen students from Moline.  It is the largest group since the program’s inception.  The four students travelling to Rottenburg from Rock Island are sophomores Katherine Dix, Emily Stockdale, and Morgan Stoever, and senior Adam Witmer.

There will be a GAPP exchange meeting tonight, April 12th at Moline HS at 7:00.  Please bring your passports or copies of the first page with you to the meeting.  

AGENDA FOR GAPP MEETING ON APRIL 12, 2012

 1.     GAPP FAMILY FORMS—ACTIVITIES, HOBBIES, INTERESTS, LEISURE TIME ACTIVITIES, ETC.  SPECIAL NEEDS, HEALTH INFORMATION

2.     PASSPORT INFORMATION AND PHOTOS—COPIES

3.   FINANCIAL REPORT      REVENUES & EXPENSES

4.     RAIL PASSES—HOW THEY WORK, DISTRIBUTION EN ROUTE

5.     OVERNIGHT IN FRANKFURT??  COSTS?  ADVANTAGES  VOTE? 

6.     PROGRAM QUESTIONS AND EXTRA COSTS

7.     HOW TO REACH NICK UND NICK (DER ALTE UND DER JUNGE)

8.     TOPICS FOR NEXT MEETING;  SECURITY AND INSURANCE

9.     CHECKS FOR EXTRA $100—MAKE OUT TO MHS GERMAN CLUB

10.  OTHER QUESTIONS, OTHER BUSINESS, PACKING, ELECTRONICS, ETC.

TO:   PARENTS OF GERMAN STUDENTS

RE:   GAPP TRIP TO GERMANY THIS SUMMER

FROM:   NICK PITZ AND NICK ELI

All families interested in participating in the home-stay exchange with our partner school in Germany should come to the first meeting on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 29^th AT 7:00 P.M. at Moline High School.   We will meet in room E-204, which is the 2^nd floor media viewing room. 

We will discuss dates of the trip, flight costs and other expenses, as well as complete basic information forms.  If you or another family member cannot attend, please call Nick Pitz at 309-743-8871 or Nick Eli at 309-793-5950 ext. 1221 and leave a message on the school voicemail.   You can also send an email to: npitz@molineschools.org or nick.eli@risd41.org

A number of you have been wonderful host families during our last exchange in 2010.  We hope that you can attend the meeting and provide information to others who have not hosted a student before.  We need to have a good idea at this early date how many families are seriously considering sending their students and hosting again in the fall of 2012.  Estimated cost of the trip is $2000 per student. 

If possible, please send one adult with the student, but students can come without adults in the family if they cannot attend the meeting.  We hope to see all interested families there.

Thank you! Vielen Dank!

Nick Pitz, German teacher, Moline H.S.

Nick Eli, German teacher, Rock Island H.S.

Students and Parents,

It has been a great start to the 2011-2012 schoolyear at Rocky!  I have especially enjoyed starting the year with a great group of veteran German students in levels 2-4, along with a wonderful group of new German students in my two first-year classes.  During the first few weeks, we have been working a lot in the classroom and have already had a lot of fun in German club.  We are already at midterm for first quarter, so I thought it would be a nice time to give a short update on how things are going. 

German I students spent the first week in the preliminary chapter and have since begun and finished learning all of the skills in the first section of Chapter 1.  We will review these skills in class on Monday, and our first Chapter 1 quiz will be on Tuesday.  Previously, we had a quiz over the alphabet and over students’ newly chosen German names.

German II spent the first two weeks reviewing skills learned during the first year of German class and learning important skills needed from  Chapter 8.  Last week we started Chapter 9, and our first quiz will be coming at the end of next week.  This quiz will be part of students’ upcoming midterm grades. 

German III has already had their first quiz from Chapter 6.  We also have spent time reviewing skills learned last year, and students continue to journal weekly.  Every Monday, students write and translate 5 sentences about their weekend.  This journalling helps students communicate in the conversational past tense in German.

German IV made the transition to the Level 3 book during the past few weeks.  We have also talked about possibile ways to enrich their final year of high school German.  German IV students also journal weekly.

German Club elected officers, voted on a T-Shirt design, and had its first event.  We had about 20 students gather on Thursday, Aug. 25 at Longview Park for our Welcome Back Picnic.  This event was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed getting to know more about some of my first-year students.  Our focus for the next few weeks will be on Homecoming, for which we hope to have our club T-Shirts, participate in hallway decorating, and be a part of the Homecoming parade.  This year’s theme is Candyland, so I know we can come up with some great ideas, probably involving German chocolate!  At the picnic, students also had the idea of celebrating Oktoberfest sometime in the next month.

Midterm Grades are fast approaching! 

Teachers must have their grades entered by next Friday, September 2. 

Grades will go out on Wednesday, September 7. 

The deadline for all assignments to be turned in for Midterms in German class is Thursday, September 1.

As a reminder, students are given an update of their current grade in German class weekly.  I post their grades in class every Monday.  Also, students and parents can always access grades via the student and parent portals.  A major part of students’ grades in German class is their weekly warm-up activities, which are posted by each level on this website.  If a student is absent, they can access any missed warm-ups here.  Please feel free to contact me at nick.eli@risd41.org with any questions or concerns about grades.

We’ve had a great start to the year and I’m looking forward to the rest of first quarter!

Danke,

Herr Eli

Liebe SchülerInnen und Liebe Eltern,  (Dear Students and Parents)

Welcome back to another great school-year for the German program at Rock Island High School!  I’m very excited to begin my fourth year teaching here at the Rock.  The 2011-2012 year will bring a lot of opportunities for us to explore German language and culture, including the GAPP Exchange trip to our partner city of Rottenburg in June 2012.  This site will be updated with information about German class assignments, news about upcoming events, German club activities, and much more!  As our textbook says at the beginning of every chapter:  ”Los geht’s!”…Here we go!

Danke,

Herr Eli