This year, for the first time, queer victims were also commemorated in the Bundestag's annual hour of remembrance for the victims of National Socialism. This had been achieved by a petition of the successful youth author Lutz van Dijk.

Our school was fortunate that Lutz van Dijk, who lives in Amsterdam and Cape Town, came to Berlin for this commemoration and could be won by the German department for a reading from his novel "Kampala - Hamburg" in front of the 10th grade students.

From a young age, Lutz van Dijk's eventful life was marked by political commitment against poverty in the South African townships, against discrimination against queer people and for the memory of the victims of National Socialism. At the reading held in the auditorium, he therefore impressed not only with his novel, but also with many personal stories and emphasised again and again how important it is to set goals in life and to believe in their realisation.

On January 25, the 7th grade celebrated the annual Ballad Festival in the aula. Representatives of all 7th grade German courses delighted the audience with entertaining and exciting productions of famous ballads such as "Der Erlkönig" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe or "Der Handschuh" by Friedrich Schiller.

To honor the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust on January 27th, the Elective "Duke of Edinburgh Award - Training" went on a search for traces in the Bavarian Quarter this week. There we were able to learn more about the biographies of Jewish residents with the help of an audio walk about the history of the quarter under National Socialism. In addition, we were able to clean some Stolpersteine along the way and thus commemorate the victims inscribed on them. Thanks to the efforts of the Elective participants, many stones in the Bavarian Quarter are shining again and catch the eye of passers-by.

The first Abitur-Skitrip took place this year. A group of 24 students from grades 12 and 13 spent a week in Seeboden, Austria. They were accommodated in a chalet and commuted to the nearby ski area on the goldeck mountain. The students ranged from beginners to those who had been skiing since they could walk. Skiers of all abilities were welcome. Divided into two groups, they learned the basic techniques of alpine skiing - from short swings to carving. Of the slopes, they held presentations about the mountain climate, history, and culture of the ski-sport. The students spent their free time competing in a group tournament - complete with boardgames, puzzles and synchronized skiing. They also had time to enjoy the beatiful scenery on the mountaintop and the regional delicacies available at the Skihut. A warm thank you to Herr Röthenmeier and Herr Schauer for organizing and supervising the trip!

We, a Ukrainian welcome class, were very happy to receive an invitation to visit the German Bundestag from Michael Müller, Member of the Bundestag and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

The excitement among the students was very great, because it was not only the first time where they could visit the premises of a European Parliament, but it was also an exciting guided tour with Mr. Müller.

Overall, we were very impressed by the openness and warm-heartedness of Mr. Müller and his staff as well as the fact that such tours are offered.

Just the feeling that you are concerned about the premises of the institution, where all German politics is made before your eyes (more on that later), makes you very happy and curious at the same time.

"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it"  Robert Swann

One of the latest most dramatic climate action taken was when climate activists glued themselves to an airport tarmac in Berlin and Munich this December.

At the Nelson Mandela School, we tried to do it differently. As a matter of fact, the "Saving the Planet" is a unit that Q3  work on every year. The idea of the unit is to involve our students in understanding the problems facing our planet and involving them in researching and looking for solutions themselves through a video.

“It was during those long and lonely years that my hunger for the freedom of my people became a hunger for the freedom of all people.” – Nelson Mandela

At the Nelson Mandela School parents of 9abcd were invited to an evening with WWI poetry. The topic of WWI is an important one in year 9 and also covered not only by the English Department but also by the Social Sciences Department.
The world has not been without war for a long time. At the moment we hear of multiple conflicts breaking out all over the planet, and there is even one that is raging close to our borders as we speak.
We hope in the English Department that by tackling the theme of war that we can bring comprehension and understanding to our students that war is never the solution, but freedom, peace and respect for the common human values that we share are the way forward in every conflict.

Nihal Adler

On December 7th & 8th, our students had the chance to play wheelchair basketball. Alba Berlin provided us with 15 wheelchairs and two basketball coaches visited the school.

Wheelchair basketball has become more and more popular in the recent years. In Germany, there is a growing number of cooperations between schools and clubs. The main aim is to educate students about fellow citizens with disabilities and to make them experience wheelchair sports in a playful way. Our students really enjoyed the lesson, and we are looking forward to offer similar events in the future.

The students were allowed to take a stand on the topic of "staged" portraits as part of an exam assignment. After an intensive investigation, their photographs can now be seen until 19.12.2022 on the 2nd floor of the new building, Pfalzburgerstraße 30. The diverse approaches revolve around an ideal of beauty as well as a personal perspective on adolescence. On 24.11.2022, the students had the opportunity to present their work to guests from Norway and to engage in an exchange. The photo exhibition and the visual journal with the presentation of the task and the work process provided an impressive basis for discussion.  

On November 14th and 15th, Class 11d participated as a Jury Class for the categories 12+ and 14+ programmes at the KUKI Short Film Festival in Berlin. It was wonderful to view so many great films with an incredible team guiding us through the process. After watching all the 16 films in both categories, we had to choose the Winner and an Honourable Mention which was a very thoughtful process for all of us students. Taking into consideration all of the key aspects that make a film outstanding, we came to the conclusion that the winner prize would go to the film “It’s Nice in Here” directed by Robert Jonathan Koeyers from the Netherlands. This film tackled racism, police brutality and many deep and powerful subjects regarding the death of a young black man. The editing, soundtrack and writing were exceptional! 

For the Honourable Mention, we chose the French film “Au revoir Jérôme” directed by Adam SIllard, Gabrielle Selnet and Chloe Farr. Every frame of the film looked like a painting and the colours brought so much substance to the film. It was about a man who arrived in paradise and set out to find his wife who passed away a year ago. After a long search he finally found her only to realise that she was very happy to be on her own and did not want to return to their past relationship.  It surely was a great experience! Thank you, Kuki festival, for having us!

Here is our award speech for the Best Film:

Award Speech for the Best Film:

From 8.11. to 12.11.2022 the theater and art trip to Morawa, Poland, for students of the 8th grade took place - this time under the motto "together and alone". As in previous years, Bernard Szulc, a social pedagogue at P30, was responsible for the comprehensive organization and coordination of the trip. The trip served as an encounter trip of students from a German and a Polish school as a project financed by the German-Polish Youth Association. During the five days, we worked together with students of the same age from the Emil Krebs School in Swidnica, Silesia, whose school program focuses on teaching foreign languages.  During the project week, which took place in the neoclassicist Morawa Castle, formerly known as Muhrau, the 26 participants and four teachers dealt with the topic of group processes and loneliness using various methods and techniques. Thus, all students took turns, each in mixed German-Polish groups, to attend workshops on sculptural work with plaster, collage with found objects, and performing scenes. In addition to fascinating work results, international friendships could be deepened or newly formed. A highlight of the stay at Morawa Castle each time is the fireside chat with Melitta Sallai, who spent her childhood there.

The NMS Primary band program has successfully started into the new school year.
We are thrilled to now have four band-classes in grades 5 and 6.
We were able to provide all students with a high-quality wind instrument (18 flutes, 16 clarinets, 10 saxophones, 15 trumpets, 8 trombones, 7 baritone horns). Of course, all the necessary percussion instruments are also available.
The first steps are already behind us and the real orchestra work has begun.
We are looking forward to our winter concert.