About German
The Language
German is an Indo-European language (and family) for which records can be traced to roughly the death of Christ. It is the mother language of English, which developed when Germanic explorers crossed the Channel into England, where their language evolved separately.
Due to their common ancestry and more recent commerce and culture trades, English and German share a similar grammatical structure and vocabulary. The Maggie Walker German program emphasizes the shared ties between English and German, as well as the culture and history of the German speaking nations.
Wikipedia article about the language »
The Program
Taught from 1st year German to the AP level, a new post-AP topics class is offered that allows students to pursue their interests in German language and culture in a class that is taught exclusively in German. Students in the German program may have opportunities to build résumés and applications in German, visit the National Holocaust Museum, or even perhaps visit or study abroad in Germany with student-exchange programs or the prestigious Bundestag Scholarships.
The German Club
The Maggie Walker German Club is a thriving club that meets regularly once a week to discuss events and opportunities relating to German and fun related activities. The Club is a member of the Virginia Organization of German Students and regularly enters its Gingerbread House contest, as well as attending its annual convention (with the eventual goal of hosting it). The German Club and German National Honor Society have traditionally been involved in the leadership of Language Bowl (an inter-language knowledge competition) and International Language Festival, as well as potlucks and food tasting. At Fall Festival, the German Club has won the Best Decorated Booth award for its sporty use of the German colors, and attractively dressed attendants in traditional Bavarian garb. The German Club is closely involved with the German Class, but is not required, and offers an enjoyable augment to the traditional curriculum.
The German National Honor Society
The MLWGS German National Honor Society has been a member of Delta Phi Epsilon, the national organization for German honor societies, since 1996. In order to obtain membership, a student must have a 3.6 average in German for three consecutive semesters and a 3.0 average overall. The honor society is dedicated to helping other German students, who need tutoring, and completing a community service project.
Language, Program, and Club information by Mitch Caudill ('10).