Penn Manor welcomed nearly 100 students to the high school on April 16 to celebrate all things German during German Student Day.
German language students from Penn Manor, Garden Spot, Cocalico and Conestoga Valley High Schools came together to play games, learn German folk dances and share a lunch of traditional German foods.
The games were a friendly competition between schools that tested students’ knowledge.
In one, students had to teach members of the Penn Manor Choir how to sing a song in German by modeling proper pronunciation of letters, letter combination, and sounds that are difficult to pronounce for English speakers.
The choir then performed the song and were judged on their performance. A new song was taught in each round, which ended with all students singing the songs together.
The “Cupside Down” game tested the students’ knowledge of German vocabulary, culture and trivia. For “Breakout Box,” students raced to solve a series of vocabulary puzzles.
Members of the Lancaster Liederkranz Schuhplattler Dance Group, dressed in traditional Alpine garb, led the students in dance lessons.
The lunch menu included wiener wurst (Vienna sausage), Kartoffelsalat (potato salad), brezels (pretzels) and gebäck (pastries).
“The goal was to provide a fun learning experience and have German students from different schools meet and interact,” said Angelika Koerner, a Penn Manor German and French teacher who helped organize the event along with German teacher Nadine Smith.
Many thanks to our staff and the community volunteers who made this gathering possible.