Our school
at our bilingual elementary school. Learn more about our daily school life and our profiles here.
At Christian School Kandern (CSK), all children from first through fourth grade learn in two languages – English and German. This bilingual instruction is supported by daily, organic interaction with classmates and teachers who are native speakers of either German, English, or both languages. Immersive learning, or immersion in a „language bath“, enables children to speak quickly and naturally in the foreign language they are learning.
At CSK, families from different cultures come together. This prepares children for life in an increasingly global world. They get to know others from different backgrounds in a natural environment. This enables them to actively deal with differences and leads to unprejudiced interaction with others.
A rhythmic weekly schedule with regular breaks creates a balanced routine for students. Due to the bilingual nature of the school, students receive additional language instruction within the framework of the school day. Children benefit from acquiring a foreign language at an early age. On Monday – Thursday, classes begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3 p.m. On Friday, classes end at 1:30 p.m. Optional after school supervision is offered Monday through Thursday until 3:00 p.m.
Conflicts among each other are important to maturity and growth. CSK fosters a culture of forgiveness and grace. We believe that this is especially important in a multicultural environment. As a school community, this foundation is something that we always want to return to. We hope to train and teach our students by modeling and encouraging healthy social behaviors.
We want to specifically promote the creative abilities of the students. On Friday afternoons, for example, we offer various group activities in which the children work together in different multigrade groups. In doing so, they try out various skills such as: singing, dancing, crafts, theater, computers, stage design, baking, etc. These projects often serve as preparation for our school performances and strengthen social skills.
In addition to good teaching, faith in Jesus Christ forms a basis for the way we interact with each other at our school. Christian values also influence the content of the lessons. At CSK, students should be able to learn without fear. Every child is seen as a valuable and unique individual created by God. Our teachers see their job as a mission to pass on God‘s love and a life of faith to the next generation. This is evident in many ways in our daily routine at school. We begin our school day with prayer and a devotional to encourage and strengthen our own faith for the day. In addition, students, teachers, and some parents gather together as a community for chapel about every two weeks.
A dedicated team of German and Englishspeaking educators instruct based on the educational plan of the state of Baden-Württemberg. In addition, we supplement the content we teach with a variety of international aspects. After school supervisors and a secretary complete our team. We enjoy working with children and teaching in a bilingual atmosphere. Each class has a German and an English class teacher who speaks to and teaches the children in their mother tongue.
Strong communication and trust are important to CSK parents and teachers. The teachers demonstrate a high willingness to partner with the parents, both in the education and in the general upbringing of their children. Parents and teachers work together to stay on the same page about their students.