A Book of Your Own

The results tell the story at the Milwaukee German Immersion School (MGIS). Year after year when our students take the WKCE exams their results consistently rank among the better school districts in all of Wisconsin. This is particularly true for the reading results. There are many reasons for these strong results, including:

• Learning in a language-rich environment – where everything, including initial reading instruction, is taught in full German immersion – certainly helps MGIS students appreciate the subtle nuances of language and grammar.

• A dedicated teaching staff also drives these remarkable results year after year. I think you would be hard pressed to find a team of teachers at any school in the state that is more committed to their students than our team at MGIS.

• And of course the parents at MGIS are highly committed to the success of their children. One way that parent commitment is realized is by the strong support MGIS students receive from the PTA sponsorship of three Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) book distributions each school year.

This program is based on a simple idea – having the opportunity to choose their own book will motivate MGIS students to become lifelong readers. I’m sure RIF has done studies to prove this theory with statistics, but as a parent volunteer who has had the opportunity to help coordinate this program at MGIS for two years, I don’t need to see the academic studies to know that it works. All I need to do is see the look on a student’s face as they contemplate which book to choose and then proudly walk out of the library with a brand new book of their own.

At MGIS we take this opportunity to have all 28 classes come to the library to select their book. We also have parent volunteers come to help with the selection process and also to read to each class. While I know it’s only a small portion of the strong test results MGIS students achieve each year, I believe the PTA’s sponsorship for three RIF book distributions every year (and the many parents who volunteer their time to make it possible) is just one of the things that make the journey at MGIS so memorable for our students.

If you are an MGIS parent who would like to volunteer to read to your child's class for 30 minutes or one hour please contact:
Pam at pamcarroll@wi.rr.com or
Bridget at QuiltMom@wi.rr.com
The current RIF book distribution is going on now, October 21st through October 28th.

German Immersion Families Run to German Fest

For the past four years the German Immersion Foundation has sponsored the St. Ben’s 5k Run/Walk to German Fest. This year about 40 family members and staff from the Milwaukee German Immersion School (MGIS) and the Milwaukee School of Languages (MSL) took this sponsorship one step further by organizing a team to participate in the event. Herr Arndt, the physical education teacher at MGIS who organizes a fitness club for students every year, helped promote the event by recruiting fitness club members and their families to be on the German Immersion team.

During the awards ceremony Herr Arndt had an opportunity to share some of the statistics from his fitness club. Over the course of the 2008-2009 school year MGIS fitness club members walked the equivalent of a round trip from Milwaukee to Munich. Given the increasing levels of childhood obesity in the United States, combined with school budget cuts that often result in the elimination of physical education programs at public schools, MGIS is fortunate to have a wonderful teacher like Herr Arndt as our gym teacher. School parents particularly appreciate his extra efforts to promote a lifetime of fitness by getting MGIS students involved in his fitness club. Participating students have the opportunity to walk up to 6 laps around the playground (1.5 miles) at every lunch recess. Over the course of a school year many students log more than 50 miles and a few get close to 100 miles.

The German Immersion Foundation is pleased to be a part of the St. Ben’s Run/Walk to German Fest. St. Ben’s provides 2,000 meals per week to Milwaukee’s homeless population.

“Brother Dave Schwab really runs a wonderful program and we are grateful for the opportunity to support St. Ben’s mission,” said Mike Carroll, President of the German Immersion Foundation. “Every year more and more people participate, which says a lot about the generosity of our community. We’re glad so many families and teachers from the German Immersion program participated this year and we hope to have even more join our team in 2010.”