February 2006 vol. 42 no. 3

::PRESIDENT’S CORNER

Dear Students, Parents, Teachers, and Friends,

The Spring 2006 sememster is well underway and we're off to healthy enrollments this semester. This is very good news for us and we are pleased that there is an increased interest in learning German as a second language. We are making it a goal for the coming fall 2006 semester to enroll 20 more students to reach the 100 mark. With the anticipated growth in mind, we are calling for an increase in parent participation. As a non-profit organization, we rely on the active roles of our members to help keep our school running smoothly.

Josef Hellebrandt


::Notes from the Head Teacher

AATG National Examination for High School Students On January 14 of this year, our students in the junior high and high school levels took this exam. Over 25,000 students all across the US participate in this test every year. This year some of our students scored in the top percentile ranking compared to other German students across the USA. Our top scorers this year are: Jana Weller - 91st percentile (Level 4 Test) Sophia Weller 90th percentile (Level 3 Test) and Rebecca Inderhees 95th percentile (Level 2 Test). 6 Students qualified for the AATG Award ceremony taking place this year in May. Congratualtions to our hard working students and a big thank you to our teachers Claudia Weller and Claudia Wahl for achieving excellent results.

I would also like to make a special call for helping SBDS find qualified substitute teachers. We have placed an ad on Craig's list and we are making a call out to you to help spread the word. We are especially seeking enthusiastic, experienced substitutes for the Pre-School, Kindergarten and primary school levels. For more information, please contact me via e-mail: linda@sbds.org

Linda Yarritu


::ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our once semesterly Eltern-Morgen, takes place on this coming Saturday, March 4th at 9:15 am in our break room. Please mark your calendar. The SBDS PTA cordially invites all members attending for coffee and cake. Come meet the board and teaching staff and ask questions in a relaxed, cozy atmosphere.

Please note the changes to our spring 2005 school calendar. There will be no school on Saturday April 15. SBDS is recessing for the Easter holiday.

The last day of school for the 2004/05 year is Saturday, May 13.

Board positions open We currently have two open positions on our Board of Directors. We are looking for a Marketing Director who will be primarily responsible for promoting SBDS actvities, writing the Kaleidoskop newsletter and writing brief articles/press release for newspapers. We also have an opening for an Event Director. It is the Event Director's role to organize and execute SBDS cultural activites, such as St Martin's Parade, Christmas Celebration and the last day of school Maifest.

The SBDS Board of Directors would like to thank eveyone for their participation and support of our school. As always, we are in need of volunteers to help run the snack bar and do yard duty during the break. We would especially like to call for extra yard duty volunteers due to the increased number of children at our school. SBDS parents are required to sign up at least once per semester for yard duty - so if you haven't done so already, please sign up at the snack bar or send us an e-mail at volunteer@sbds.org.


E-Scrip Fundraiser

Please remember to sign up for our E-Scrip program! This is also an important avenue to raise money for the school. Signing up is easy, simply follow the link below and register. Every purchase you make at any of the major grocers and retailers sponsoring E-Scrip will generate a percentage of the sales towards our school. Details can be found at: http://www.sbds.org/fundraising.htm or simply sign up at http://www.escrip.com

Albertson's Fundraiser:

To participate and earn money for the school, participants need to sign up their Albertsons' Preferred Savings Card. This can be done either Albertson's online or through a mail-in registration form. We will make these forms available at school. If supporters have been issued a replacement Preferred Card after registration, they will need to re-register in the Community Partners program with the new Preferred Card.

On behalf of the Board and Teaching Staff, THANK YOU to our members for continued support at SBDS.