Robert Bosch Foundation

In a world where transatlantic relations are growing, it’s important for opportunities that create global citizens. The world is shrinking through the media, Internet, ability of travel and peoples basic curiosity of the world. And that’s a wonderful thing!

Companies who promote understanding and offer chances for global learning are a golden find. That is why the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program is such a unique opportunity. They offer 15 people a chance to learn German then live and work in Germany for 8 or 11 month in their chosen fields. They are “fostering a community of American leaders who have firsthand experience in the political, economic and cultural environment of Germany and the European Union.”

If you are interested in applying for this amazing program, applications are due by November 1. You can apply HERE

And the winner is…. !!!

We ran our first ever drawing for a Schultüte this semester.  A Schultüte is a cone of goodies that is handed to children on their first day of school.  It is filled with all sorts of goodies from chocolate and cookies to school supplies.  We thought it would be fun to hand one out on our first day of school too!  Entry was simple.  Register before August 10th.  We are happy to say we had over 50 people register already!  We created 3 Schultüte, 2 for the adult registrants and 1 for the children’s class.  I am happy to announce the winners of this semester’s contest!

Greg Geyer

Tiffany Verberne

and Luka Fuetterer from our Children’s Class!

We would like to thank everyone for participating and wish you all luck for next semester’s drawing due by December 10th!

Can we use pokemon go in school?

Kids can easily be addicted to their screen time.  Parents have created rules for the rules in limits and bribes to just leave the couch for 15 minutes.  But what if we have a clash, a place where screen time meant education?  Where looking at the phone meant learning cartography, history, reading and civics?  Can a over the top gaming craze, serve as an potential educational tool for teachers?

Many teachers are doing just that!  Incorporating social media into streams of learning is not new.  We are seeing more and more educators get creative to bring learning to kids across the nation.  However, these ideas can be a double edge sword.  Questions have arisen to how much information Nintendo can gather from personal data.  Who is tracking the GPS location of our kids (and adults) playing?  And ultimately is it safe?  These are questions that parents and educators alike work together to find a middle ground.  Bringing in unique ways to learn through social media and other electronic devices certainly gives an edge to education, so long as keeping kids safe in a digital landscape remains priority.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/08/03/educators-weigh-learning-value-of-pokemon-go.html