Year 11 German Talkfest

Something that did not sound very German at all in the beginning turned out to be a really immersive and fun experience thanks to the combined effort of the German teachers from Columba College, Bayfield High School, Otago Boys High School and John McGlashan College. The teachers were also joined by Alexandra Töniges, the German National Language Adviser from Auckland.
A total of 48 senior German students attended the camp. They enjoyed speaking German to new learners from other schools in "Get to know each other" activities and other learning tasks about this year's camp topic, "The environment: How to save our planet?"In their free time, students especially enjoyed playing cards, and teachers were pleased to see groups from different schools mixing and spending time together. Students agreed that among their favourites was the amazing range of traditional German food served at the camp. German-style sausages, potato salads, black forest cakes, Bretzels and a classic German bread roll breakfast with cheese and ham gave the students a taste of what Germany is like. Other camp highlights included a cake-baking competition, a German pub quiz night, blindfolded football and students making their own Nutella. 

Furthermore, the camp's Bluetooth speakers were blasting the best German tunes at any given time of day. Eventually, the students agreed on their camp song, "Sommerferien," by the German band Madsen. All in all, this year's German Talkfest Camp was regarded as a complete success by both students and teachers, and everyone is looking forward to next year.