Die International Bilingual Classes werden 20The International Bilingual Classes turn 20

29 Mai Die International Bilingual Classes werden 20The International Bilingual Classes turn 20

The 20^th anniversary of bilingual education at St. Martin was celebrated in style on the evening of the 29^th of May with this year’s presentation of “20”.  Together with the Europagymnasium in Klagenfurt, which also began their bilingual program in the school year 1995-1996, various events will take place throughout the next year, looking back and forward at the growth and success of both schools’ bilingual programs.

This special evening contained over thirteen different contributions all having to do with the number 20.  The variety and imagination of the ideas was amazing. Kicking off the show was the song “St. Martin’s Bilingual Program” sung by the 5a, 2a and 3b with live musical accompaniment.  As usual the youngest classes were first in line with “Twenty Years Ago” (1a) and “The Ultimate Bucket List: Twenty Places to Visit in the English-Speaking World.” One was a trip in the past to the year 1995 and the other was a fun trip around the world to see many great sights.  The 2a created a world in which “The Answer is Always Twenty.” A large birthday cake was also presented and eventually eaten. Yum!  The 2b metamorphosed into a bunch of very busy bees in “Bee Diaries: Twenty Days in the life of a St. Martin Bili-bee.”  The room was abuzz with enthusiasm.

In “20 Shades of Bili” the 3b showed the dangers of leaving your schoolbag unattended and 10 really annoying ways to drive your teacher crazy. For grandiose musical entertainment, there was “Musical History in 20 Short Stories” from the 4a, where they presented hundreds of years of musical history with stage appearances by everyone from monks and minstrels to ABBA, Mick Jagger and Conchita Wurst. The 4b’s “Twenty Reasons Why our School is Cool” celebrated St. Martin from its good and bad sides.

The goal of bilingual education is, of course, to obtain excellent English-speaking skills.  The 5ag class gave a demonstration of really bad English in: “The 20 Worst Translations.” This funny sketch reinforced once again how valuable bilingual education is in order to avoid making too many mistakes.  A free artistic performance, also by the 5a in “20 pullovers,” exhibited the importance of freedom of expression. “The Bilingual Student: a Wildlife Documentary,” a film created by the 6a, was a hilarious look at the daily life a bilingual student in our school from an anthropological point of view. The 7a filled us in on important news stories in the crazy world of “ZIB 20” (some of the interviewees may have looked somewhat familiar).

Finally, the 3a spent time in the weeks before the presentation taping interviews with alumni and one former bilingual teacher in “Looking Back.”  These interesting testimonies helped to demonstrate how helpful their bilingual education has been in their further career development. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to creative this very successful and entertaining evening. Happy 20th Birthday IBC!

Jane Nitsche

The 20^th anniversary of bilingual education at St. Martin was celebrated in style on the evening of the 29^th of May with this year’s presentation of “20”.  Together with the Europagymnasium in Klagenfurt, which also began their bilingual program in the school year 1995-1996, various events will take place throughout the next year, looking back and forward at the growth and success of both schools’ bilingual programs.

This special evening contained over thirteen different contributions all having to do with the number 20.  The variety and imagination of the ideas was amazing. Kicking off the show was the song “St. Martin’s Bilingual Program” sung by the 5a, 2a and 3b with live musical accompaniment.  As usual the youngest classes were first in line with “Twenty Years Ago” (1a) and “The Ultimate Bucket List: Twenty Places to Visit in the English-Speaking World.” One was a trip in the past to the year 1995 and the other was a fun trip around the world to see many great sights.  The 2a created a world in which “The Answer is Always Twenty.” A large birthday cake was also presented and eventually eaten. Yum!  The 2b metamorphosed into a bunch of very busy bees in “Bee Diaries: Twenty Days in the life of a St. Martin Bili-bee.”  The room was abuzz with enthusiasm.

In “20 Shades of Bili” the 3b showed the dangers of leaving your schoolbag unattended and 10 really annoying ways to drive your teacher crazy. For grandiose musical entertainment, there was “Musical History in 20 Short Stories” from the 4a, where they presented hundreds of years of musical history with stage appearances by everyone from monks and minstrels to ABBA, Mick Jagger and Conchita Wurst. The 4b’s “Twenty Reasons Why our School is Cool” celebrated St. Martin from its good and bad sides.

The goal of bilingual education is, of course, to obtain excellent English-speaking skills.  The 5ag class gave a demonstration of really bad English in: “The 20 Worst Translations.” This funny sketch reinforced once again how valuable bilingual education is in order to avoid making too many mistakes.  A free artistic performance, also by the 5a in “20 pullovers,” exhibited the importance of freedom of expression. “The Bilingual Student: a Wildlife Documentary,” a film created by the 6a, was a hilarious look at the daily life a bilingual student in our school from an anthropological point of view. The 7a filled us in on important news stories in the crazy world of “ZIB 20” (some of the interviewees may have looked somewhat familiar).

Finally, the 3a spent time in the weeks before the presentation taping interviews with alumni and one former bilingual teacher in “Looking Back.”  These interesting testimonies helped to demonstrate how helpful their bilingual education has been in their further career development. Congratulations to everyone who worked so hard to creative this very successful and entertaining evening. Happy 20th Birthday IBC!

Jane Nitsche