Welcome to
Alfred Wegener Schule
Introduction
The German Exchange was established at McKinnon SC in 2001 and takes place every two years. Our sister-school is the Alfred-Wegener-Schule in the small town of Kirchhain, which is located about 10 minutes train-ride from the historic university town of Marburg, about 100 km north of Frankfurt in central Germany.
Learning opportunities and benefits
Benefits of participation in the exchange include improved knowledge and use of the German language, expanded cultural knowledge/experience, and personal development. Feedback has indicated that students can return from the completed exchange more confident and ‘world-wise’. Families regularly report that the experience of hosting their German guest was fun for all concerned.
How is the exchange run?
It is a reciprocal family-based and school-based exchange, i.e. participation involves both of: (a) hosting the matched German partner for four weeks here in Melbourne, and (b) travelling with the school group six months later to stay with that partner in Germany. McKinnon SC teachers accompany and supervise our students in Germany.
The exchange is organised and supervised by our teams of teachers here and at the Alfred-Wegener-Schule. Costs are relatively low compared to commercial programs because we organise things ourselves and thus limit costs to airfare (and passport acquisition), excursions and spending money.
In Victoria we run a couple of excursions for the German group and their accompanying teachers, and excursions are run by those teachers for our student group while we are in Germany.
Successful candidates for the exchange are in Years 9 & 10 when they host their partner in October, and in Years 10 & 11 when they make the return visit to their partner in Germany six months later.
Students applying to participate fill out a form about their interests and preferred ways of spending spare time, and the organising teachers match students as well as possible. Over the years since the exchange has been running, many participants have maintained contact with their partner, including further visits (some exchange partners have even attended each other's weddings later on!).
The current round of exchange saw the McKinnon group of students in Kirchhain in April 2024 and their German partners will make the return visit to McKinnon in September 2024.
Email exchange project
For many years McKinnon SC students of Year 8 German have participated in an email exchange project with Year 8 students at the Alfred-Wegener-Schule. Our students write in German and the Alfred-Wegener-Schule students write in English, exchanging information and photos about their interests and their personal world.
Other options
In the event that any students are unable to be matched we encourage and support them in applying to participate in an exchange run by the Association of German Teachers of Victoria with the German state of Bavaria. That exchange has been running since 1988 and is also reciprocal and family-based in nature. McKinnon students have participated in that exchange also. (Expressions of interest for that exchange are due in April and we assist students with their application.)
Enquiries about McKinnon SC’s German Exchange can be directed to Mr Nutting at school.