Birthdays and Bonfires

Philip turned 11-years-old on Wednesday, June 17, and celebrated on Saturday with an Übernachtung (sleep-over) party. While he along with his brother and three friends destroyed our apartment, Bob, Oscar and I went to the Johannisfeuer in Spardorf, the village next door.


The Johannisfeuer is a bonfire that commemorates both the summer solstice and St. John the Baptist's feast day, June 24. And many things coming into season now are named after the saint, such as Johanniskraut (St. John's wort), Johannisbeeren (currants) and Johanniskäfer (fire flies).

Die Besucher (the Visitors)

Bob's parents came to visit us, and since Bob took a few days off, it felt more like a vacation for all of us than last year's visit.


We went to the Bergkirchweih.


We took a boat trip through the Danube Gorge to the Weltenburg Abbey. Drank some very good beer!


And we spent a few days in St. Wolfgang, Austria, and stayed at the White Horse Inn.



While in Austria, we hiked a strenuous 400 meters, all uphill (the internet site called it an easy walk through an alpen pasture--only if you're Austrian), to the Dachstein Ice Cave.


We also visited Hallstatt, a town often used in travel posters for Austria, and for good reason. It's built on the side of a mountain, on the edge of a lake. What could be more picturesque?


Because there is not much room in Hallstatt's cemetery, after 10 to 20 years, the bones of the dead are removed from the graves, cleaned, painted and placed in an ossuary, or bone house.

It was a good holiday for all of us. Where shall we go next year when they, hopefully, return?

Realschule Addendum

Here is the document I used as a reference to get Philip into Realschule:

http://schulberatung.km.bayern.de/imperia/md/content/schulberatung/pdfmuc/migration/tn_skript_db_250908.pdf

See page 8, Ziff 7, Übertritt.

Realschule

Philip made it into Realschule, but it wasn't as easy as I had hoped. He never managed a 2.6 GPA (see my last post on the subject). Instead, he got a 3.0. Normally, he would have had to sit in on the Probeunterricht, a series of three-day lessons and tests to determine if he was "fit" for Realschule. In order to prepare, I downloaded a bunch of tests from Note1plus, a website with sample tests from previous years. But instead of making Philip more confident, they made him more anxious, and me too.

Thankfully, a South African friend now living in Germany told me about a rule in the Bavarian school system that allows foreign students, who did not start first grade in the Bavarian system, to enter Realschule or Gymnasium with a GPA up to 3.3. Unfortunately, not everyone in the school system knows about this rule. Philip's teacher never told me about it. The assistant director of the first Realschule I contacted wasn't familiar with it. I called the Schulamt (school board), and they transferred me three times before I finally spoke to someone who knew something. He told me to talk to the principal of Philip's school, and she was very helpful. She spoke with Phil's teacher, and together they decided to recommend Philip for Realschule.

But as Philip's principal explained, the Realschules still don't have to accept him. So, I emailed the assistant director of the first Realschule, the school that Philip really wanted to go to, and he told me to set-up an appointment with one of their counselors. In the meantime, I also emailed the director and assistant directors of the other Realschule in Erlangen and set-up an appointment with the director. At the Realschule am Europakanal, Philip's first choice, they told Bob and me that Philip would still have to sit on the Probeunterricht, but based on his report card, the counselor said his chances of passing were very good. He also explained that they were overcrowded and therefore could be more selective. At Werner-von-Siemens Realschule, the director told us that they would take him WITHOUT the Probeunterricht. He also explained that a 3.0 for a non-German speaking student was considered the equivalent of a 2.0 for a native German speaker. This made me feel so much better, because Phil's friends got 2.0s and I know they are not any smarter than him.

The decision was obvious to me--we didn't need the stress of preparing for the tests. Philip agreed, but he was disappointed. The curricula at both schools are exactly the same, but more of Phil's friends will be attending Realschule am Europakanal. I had to remind him that his two closest friends will be going to two different Gymnasiums, and all three of them will be separated. But we'll all be still living in the same neighborhood, so they will have time for each other after school and on weekends.

Besides, the city bus that stops right in front of our building also stops near the Werner-von-Siemens Realschule. No transferring like he would have to if he were to go to am Europakanal. And Philip, being the practical guy that he is, likes this.