A Year to Remember!

As we approach the end of another incredible school year, it's time to look back and celebrate the journey we've shared. This year has been filled with unforgettable moments, challenges that helped us grow, and milestones that will forever be a part of our story.

In this special edition of our newsletter, we bid farewell to those moving on to new adventures, from our graduating students to staff members embarking on fresh paths. While goodbyes are never easy, they remind us of the impact we've had on one another and the memories that will last a lifetime.

Throughout this issue, you'll hear directly from our students as they share their favorite highlights of the year. From exciting trips and school events to personal achievements, these reflections capture the spirit of our school and the experiences that make it unique.

To all our students, staff, and families, thank you for being a part of this journey. We wish you a restful break and look forward to seeing you again next year—or wherever your next adventure may take you.

Farewell- Auf Wiedersehen von Nele Keller

Dear teachers, dear students, dear school community,

With a wistful heart I would like to say goodbye to you today and thank you all for the past nine months.

You made me feel welcome from day one and gave me the feeling that I was part of a great community. Your openness, helpfulness and friendliness have made my time here unforgettable.

I will especially remember the shared experiences like the early hours at the Running Club, where we started the day fit together, the creative energy of the students at the poetry competition, which left a deep impression on me, and of course our Hofbräuhaus excursion, where we experienced a piece of German culture together. These moments made my time here special and showed me how diverse and inspiring school life is here.

Special thanks to the German teachers Megan and Ulrike for their support and the many inspiring conversations. I would also like to thank all the other teachers, CRT and ES staff who have always been friendly, welcoming and interested. And now to you, students: thank you for being so motivated to discover the German language and culture - you often made me laugh and showed me how much fun learning can be.

I will always carry this time and the many precious memories in my heart. Thank you for everything and see you again!

Tschüss, Nele

Students Highlights!

German Captain Elise:

Dear Rangeview community,

Wow! What an amazing year in German! We have had so many fun occasions in 2024! These include Oktoberfest, making Schultüte for our preps, our year 6 excursion to the Munich Brauhaus, competing in the AGTV poetry competition, and of course our wonderful Oktoberfest themed school fair.

In summary of this year’s German events, I think I speak for all when I say they were extremely successful. This year, our year 6 cohort presented their prep buddies with a paper cone filled with surprises and little presents called Schultüte. It is in German custom to present these cones on a child’s first day of primary school, however our 6s surprised the preps with these at the end of term one. I believe that this custom is lovely, and I hope many generations of preps get to enjoy it. Keeping with the year 6s, in term 4 they took an excursion into the city and to the Munich Brauhaus. Here, they enjoyed delicious German cuisine such as sausage (wurst) and schnitzel, while listing to a German band. They also had fun dancing to German music and competing onstage to win a German hat. We also celebrated Oktoberfest as a whole school. Everyone dressed up in German or Bavarian flag colours or in the traditional German dress, Dirndl and Lederhosen. Students also participated in German activities, such as Phannkucken backen (baking pancakes), German Partyspielen (German party games) and craft activities, such as the Lebkuchenmann Spiel (gingerbread man game) and a Schmetterling (butterfly). After our whole school celebration, our school also hosted an Oktoberfest themed fair, with attractions such as show bags, food, rides and market stalls to raise money for the school. Some of our year 4, 5 and 6 students were lucky enough to progress to regional or even state level in the AGVT German poetry competition, in which a student learns and recites a poem in German to a panel of judges. Two students received places in state, one of which was a first place! We also entered a group poem, and we ended up placing in that too! Overall, it was an extremely successful year!

I believe that learning another language is extremely beneficial to every child’s growth. Learning a second language has been scientifically proven to help a child in more ways than one. It seems to show large amounts of growth in other areas of a child’s education, especially Math and English. Besides from educational benefits, it’s also fun and makes traveling more enjoyable. I hope that our preps of 2025 enjoy immersing themselves in a new language and all of our other students enjoy continuing to learn about the culture and language of Germany. My hopes also go to our departing year 6s, as I wish that they will continue to expand their knowledge in German, as many high schools in this area offer it.

As one of the school’s German captains, I am beyond impressed at the lengths our school, students, staff and parents and friends committee go to to help us celebrate these wonderful occasions. I would like to thank everyone who has played a part in helping out with these tremendous events. To the parents and friends committee, I say thanks for their support in organizing these large-scale events, and donating their time towards our school. I also would like to thank the staff and leadership team at Rangeview for both helping out and supporting at these events. I would also like to acknowledge our students, for their dedication to dressing up and showing up to German celebrations this whole year. Among the students, I would also like to thank the other German captain, Justin, for also helping out immensely on both big occasions our simply when our German team needed support. And that is what my biggest thank you is. To our super German team. This wonderful year in German learning and fun would have never happened without them. I hope and wish that the coming year will be just as awesome as this one!

From, one of your 2025 German captains,

Elise Malley.

German captain Justin:

Dear Rangeview community,

What a year it has been for German in 2024! We had so many events and celebrations this year. Some of them include Oktoberfest, Schültute for the foundation students, and the Munich Brauhaus excursion for the Grade 6 students. Another event was the AGTV German Poetry Competition.

I would like to thank the wonderful German teachers Frau Lindner, Frau Taylor and Frau Keller for being a supportive team to all the students at this school. Without these teachers our German program would not have ran smoothly. I also want to say goodbye to Frau Keller who is leaving at the end of this year.

I think this has been the best year of German we have had in primary school. For me I feel the AGTV German Poetry Competition was the best activity I have ever experienced. It boosted my confidence and my German skills.

Justin Rodgers

3 fun facts about Christmas in Germany!

1 In Germany, Santa Claus is called Weihnachtsmann, which translates directly to “Christmas Man”.

2 Germans have 3 different words for Christmas tree! They are Weihnachtsbaum, Tannenbaum, and Christbaum.

3 The tradition of decorating a tree for Christmas originated in Germany in the 16th century!

Fröhliche Weihnachten und Schönes Ferien

Von Frau Taylor, Frau Keller und Frau Lindner

Frau Ulrike Lindner Frau Megan Taylor

Frau Nele Keller

Art

LAST HOORAH!