Next Meeting for the
2016 German - American GAPP Exchange and Summer Trip: TBA
Tshirt Verkauf!!! Welcome our exchange students and support our German-American Partnership Program. Buy a Tshirt for $15. Please place orders by Friday, 2/19!!!
Die Caecilienschueler kommen am 2. Maerz und fahren am 24. Maerz ab!
Pennsbury Summer School Abroad - Germany/Iceland Proposed Itinerary - 2016
Thursday, July 28 Meet at PHS West (Time 3PM); Commercial Bus to JFK International
Friday, July 29 Arrive in Iceland via Icelandair – Golden Circle Tour – Tour of Reykjavic
Saturday, July 30 Icelandic Activities – Bike Tour – Zip line – Lunch in Geothermal Pool
Sunday, July 31 Fly from Iceland to Munich - Check into Hostel – Munich
Monday, August 1 Bus Tour/Castle Trip (Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Oberammergau)
Tuesday, August 2 Tour of Dachau – Munich Bike Tour - Hofbräuhaus
Wednesday, August 3 Day trip to Salzburg, Austria – Free time in Munich
Thursday, August 4 Bring Luggage – Free time in Munich – Dinner – Overnight train to Berlin
Friday, August 5 Tour of Reichstag - Fat Tire Bike Tour – Free Time
Saturday, August 6 Free Time/ Museums in Berlin – Unsichtbar - Dunkelrestaurant
Sunday, August 7 Free Time - Berliner Dom –Travel to Oldenburg
Monday, August 8 Depart Berlin and arrive in Oldenburg; Time with Host Family
Tuesday, August 9 Attend classes at Cäcilienschule with host student
Wednesday, August 10 Attend Classes - City Tour of Oldenburg
Thursday, August 11 Attend Classes
Friday, August 12 Attend Classes
Saturday, August 13 Attend Classes
Sunday, August 14 Time with Host Family
Monday, August 15 Time with Host Family
Tuesday, August 16 Attend Classes
Wednesday, August 17 Day Trip to Hamburg
Thursday, August 18 Attend Classes
Friday, August 19 Attend Classes
Saturday, August 20 Trip to Bremen
Sunday, August 21 Time with Host Family
Monday, August 22 Time with Host Family
Tuesday, August 23 Last Day at School
Wednesday, August 24 Depart Oldenburg; Train to Hamburg; Fl Ham-KEF; KEF-JFK
Thursday, July 28 Meet at PHS West (Time 3PM); Commercial Bus to JFK International
Friday, July 29 Arrive in Iceland via Icelandair – Golden Circle Tour – Tour of Reykjavic
Saturday, July 30 Icelandic Activities – Bike Tour – Zip line – Lunch in Geothermal Pool
Sunday, July 31 Fly from Iceland to Munich - Check into Hostel – Munich
Monday, August 1 Bus Tour/Castle Trip (Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Oberammergau)
Tuesday, August 2 Tour of Dachau – Munich Bike Tour - Hofbräuhaus
Wednesday, August 3 Day trip to Salzburg, Austria – Free time in Munich
Thursday, August 4 Bring Luggage – Free time in Munich – Dinner – Overnight train to Berlin
Friday, August 5 Tour of Reichstag - Fat Tire Bike Tour – Free Time
Saturday, August 6 Free Time/ Museums in Berlin – Unsichtbar - Dunkelrestaurant
Sunday, August 7 Free Time - Berliner Dom –Travel to Oldenburg
Monday, August 8 Depart Berlin and arrive in Oldenburg; Time with Host Family
Tuesday, August 9 Attend classes at Cäcilienschule with host student
Wednesday, August 10 Attend Classes - City Tour of Oldenburg
Thursday, August 11 Attend Classes
Friday, August 12 Attend Classes
Saturday, August 13 Attend Classes
Sunday, August 14 Time with Host Family
Monday, August 15 Time with Host Family
Tuesday, August 16 Attend Classes
Wednesday, August 17 Day Trip to Hamburg
Thursday, August 18 Attend Classes
Friday, August 19 Attend Classes
Saturday, August 20 Trip to Bremen
Sunday, August 21 Time with Host Family
Monday, August 22 Time with Host Family
Tuesday, August 23 Last Day at School
Wednesday, August 24 Depart Oldenburg; Train to Hamburg; Fl Ham-KEF; KEF-JFK
GAPP - Spring Austausch Photoshow - 2015
Vielen Dank to all of the host families for their generosity and enthusiasm during this year's Spring Exchange!! Wir freuen uns auf Juni!
PHS GAPP FOTOSHOW - Spring '14 Exchange
Click below for highlights!
Danke, Gastfamilien 2014!!!
Pennsbury High School students find trip to Germany ‘The Best Experience’ of their Lives (Monday, August 11, 2014)
By Petra Chesner Schlatter
[email protected]
PENNSBURY – Over the last quarter century, Pennsbury High School and a counterpart school from Germany have established a student-exchange tradition that has left all involved with memories and lessons to last a lifetime.
This year was no different. OK, this year was a little different, as Pennsbury’s group, who left the United States June 23 and retunred July 20, got to be in Germany during the World Cup – the world’s most famous sports tournament, which Germany won. In Germany, the World Cup is a very big deal, and the Pennsbury contingent was in the middle of all the excitement, seeing the public viewing parties set up for the games and witnessing the celebration of a country.
Senior Larisa Mednis, 16, of Yardley, said the entire trip to Germany was “an amazing experience.”
She especially enjoyed the public viewings of the World Cup soccer games. “I was fascinated by how everyone was so dedicated and excited to watch the games and thousands would come together to see it on a big screen in the center of town,” she said.
Of course, the trip is and was about more than soccer. The 18 students and two chaperones from Pennsbury have plenty of non-soccer stories to tell about the school’s 26th annual trip to Germany. After flying to Hamburg, they took a train to Oldenburg, where they were welcomed by their host families.
Senior Ashley Smith, 17, of Fairless Hills, intends on going to college and receiving a degree in modern foreign language education. She wants to become a German teacher. “That is one reason why I was interested in taking part in this trip,” she said.
“Being surrounded by natural German speakers everywhere I went was quite shocking at first but I slowly became used to hearing it everywhere,” she said. “Eventually, I was able to tune into conversations around me and improve my comprehension skills immensely.”
Smith said the trip was “honestly the best experience I've ever had in my life and I cannot express enough gratitude for the opportunity.”
“It was probably the greatest experience I've ever had,” said Junior Deanna Shuster, 16, of Yardley. “I'm very thankful for it. It will affect my future in positive ways, hopefully. It has introduced me to new cultures and people, so I feel I'm more well-rounded because of it.”
German teachers Doug Campbell and Tom Goode served as the chaperones. Goode has been on the trip six times while this was Campbell's first experience.
Amy DiFazio is coordinator of the Pennsbury German American Partnership Program (PGAPP). She is a German teacher at PHS West campus and chairperson of the Pennsbury World Language Department.
“The German exchange is an opportunity for students to practice their German skills with authentic speakers and to foster understanding between the German and American cultures by travel, living in host families and attending school,” DiFazio said.
In the spring, students from Caecilienschule stay with Pennsbury families for almost three weeks, attend school with their American counterparts and take trips to Philadelphia, New York City and Washington DC with Pennsbury teachers.
In the summer, the same number of Pennsbury students travel to Germany, stay in host families’ homes with their Oldenburg counterparts, attend school at a German Gymnasium (a college preparatory high school) and take day trips to Hamburg, Bremen and Wolfsburg.
In Oldenburg, the students took a city tour as they did in Bremen and Hamburg. They saw famous churches, town halls, museums and more. On this trip, students went to Wolfsburg and toured the Volkswagen factory there because the theme of this year's GAPP project was “Transportation."
In Berlin, students toured the Reichstaggebaeude (Parliament building), Holocaust Memorial, took a bike tour of the city, saw the Brandenburger Tor, saw a piece of the former Berlin Wall and visited Checkpoint Charlie.
In Munich, students took a city tour by bike, saw the Glockenspiel/Marienplatz, Frauenkirche, ate in the famous Hofbraeuhaus and visited the Castle Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Dachau Concentration Camps which are located outside of Munich.
After a three-week stay, the Pennsbury students traveled with their chaperones by bus or train to Berlin (for two days), Munich (three3days), Salzburg, Austria for a day trip and end the 28-day trip in Reykjavik, Iceland where they ziplined, toured by bike and went whale-watching. During the second half of the trip, students stayed in youth hostels.
In '90, DiFazio traveled to Oldenburg as a student with the PGAPP to visit the pen-pal that Pennsbury introduced to her. The pen-pal visited DiFazio as well.
“The exchange opened my eyes, inspired me to study abroad and choose German education as my profession,” she said. “The GAPP trip is a life-changing experience and for many students, it is their best memory of high school at Pennsbury because of the unique opportunities that it offers.”
URL: http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2014/08/13/yardley_news/news/doc53e83053b37ca424467422.prt
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