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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.