Since 2004, Rock Island High School has had a student exchange program with St. Meinrad School in Rottenburg am Neckar, a town with a population similar to Rock Island located in southwestern Germany.
Our students are the first to take the plunge by visiting Rottenburg in June, and students from St. Meinrad travel to Rock Island in October. During their trips, both groups stay with host families, attend school, take field trips to local areas of interest, and tour major cities. RIHS students got to visit both Munich and Berlin. The exchange is also supported by GAPP (German-American Partnership Program), which provides organizational support and individual scholarships to students from each school.
In 2020, RIHS was named a “school of distinction” by GAPP for its longstanding dedication to the program.
The RIHS students who made the trip to Germany this June were seniors Eva Essman, Dillon Gray, and Norah Wright, and sophomores Trevor Hamburg and Henry Mass. In addition, Eva, Norah, and Henry each received $500 scholarships from GAPP based on essays they submitted prior to their trip. The group was accompanied this time by RIHS German Teacher and GAPP Coordinator Nick Eli, RIHS Library Assistant Amy Curtiss, and RIMEF Executive Director Monta Ponsetto.
Our students’ 3-week visit to Germany included many exciting highlights and educational experiences. The trip began with a 2-night stay in Munich, which included visits to the Marienplatz Square, Olympic Park, BMW Museum, English Garden, Residenz Palace, and the iconic Hofbräuhaus. The next two weeks were spent in and around Rottenburg. During this time, each of our students was paired with a student from St. Meinrad School, attended their classes, and lived with their family. While at school, they also prepared and gave presentations on topics related to their daily lives or cultural comparisons between Germany and the USA. Other highlights from their stay included a tour of Rottenburg, visits to the nearby university town of Tübingen, a day trip to Stuttgart, a tour of Bebenhausen monastery, chocolate making at the Ritter Sport factory, pretzel making at a local bakery, and weekend excursions with their host families. The trip concluded with a 3-night stay in Berlin, during which the group visited the Reichstag building, had a guided tour of Berlin Wall sites, went out to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Site, and took in a view from the TV Tower at sunset.
Now that our students have visited Rottenburg, it will soon be our turn to host the group from St. Meinrad School this fall. There are 15 students who will be in Rock Island from Oct. 17th-31st. We are in need of families to volunteer to host a German student during their stay. If you are interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a student, please contact Mr. Eli at [email protected]!
