Unser Patenkind, Divyani Rameskanth aus Sri Lanka, hat uns Neuigkeiten über sich geschickt. Sie bereitet sich gerade auf einen zentralen Leistungstest der Regierung für 5.Klässler vor. Unsere Klasse 7a hat ihr daraufhin zurückgeschrieben und ihr weiteres Interessantes über unsere Heimat und unsere Schule geschrieben. Auf Englisch natürlich. Außerdem hat sich die Klasse sehr für das Eltern-Café während des 1. Elternsprechtages engagiert, hat Kuchen gebacken, alles vorbereitet und die erste Schicht ganz übernommen. Die zweite und dritte Schicht übernahm die Ethik-Klasse der 10. Jahrgangsstufe. Dabei konnten 120,- Euro Gewinn erzielt werden, die ganz der Patenschaft zukommen werden.
Dear Divyani,
thank you for your letter and your nice painting, and welcome as our new foster child! Did you know you became the foster child of a whole school? We are Class 7a, and we are writing to you today.
We live in Germany in the middle of Europe. Around here we have hills but no real mountains. The real mountains, with a lot of snow on top all year, are 350 kilometres further to the South. But we went there with our school only last year and learnt how to ski. That was fun. At the moment we also have some snow here and the temperatures are about 0°C, but that is normal in our winter. Do you have a cold season? Or do you have seasons at all?
We have a lot of fields here and some forests, but they are not really big. The picture above is the town in which our school is, shot from a hill nearby. We don’t have any dangerous animals here, either. We read that you have dangerous animals on Sri Lanka, like tigers, elephants, and venomous snakes and spiders. How do you get out of harm’s way with all these dangerous animals about? Here, people often have pets, usually a cat or a dog. Our school also pays for the food and accommodation of two donkeys which live nearby; and we have just raised some money for a hospital for wild animals in Britain with our English-teacher. So, you see that we do care about animals. Is there an animal that you like best?
Our class consists of 13 boys and 12 girls. We all live around here, with the longest way to school being 20 minutes by bus. The big subjects are German, English, French or Latin, and Maths, but we also have History, Geography, Physical Education, Religious Education, Art and so on. Usually, we don’t have any lessons in the afternoon, but the higher classes also have to go to school as late as 5pm. School starts at 8, Monday to Friday; Saturday and Sunday is off. In the first four years, at primary school, pupils usually have only one teacher for most subjects, but here at secondary school, we have a different teacher for every single subject.
We also have a boarding school connected to our school so that you can do your homework here or even stay overnight if you live too far away. Some students come from as far away as China or Brazil, and only go home to their parents one or two times a year.
We can also eat here at school, or we get something to eat from town. Our favourite meals are noodles, pizza (bread dough with cheese and tomatoes on it along with other things you like) and chips. During the breaks and in our free time we often do sports like football or gymnastics. The girls are quite keen on dancing, and the boys like playing computer games. Many pupils also learn a musical instrument. When we are at home, we like meeting friends and do something together.
We have our first Parents’ Day in one week. Parents come to school to talk to the teachers about their children’s progress and behaviour. While they are there, we do a “Parents‘ Cafe”, in which parents can buy coffee, self-made cakes and little snacks. The money we earn there goes to your support. In four weeks, it’s Christmas, a big festival for Christians all around the globe, in which people give presents to their family and friends. We hope that our support comes as a gift for you that helps you to reach the goals you have.
Tell us something about your school and everyday life. Do you also meet friends and play? When is your school, and do you have off-days? What do you do when you don’t go to school? What is your favourite subject and what do you want to be when you have grown up? We are looking forward to your answer!
Bye for now,
the pupils of Class 7a
Text: Harald Pohl und Klasse 7a
Bilder: Kindernothilfe und Harald Pohl