News

Former GISSV student Kimi Joehren (Class of 2021) recently visited the 11th-grade BeSo class.

Yesterday, we hosted this year's Job Shadowing Fair on our Mountain View Campus.

Our Middle Schoolers from both campuses turned back the clock to the Y2K era and had an absolute blast at our Friday night party at the San Francisco Campus!

Our "Lernwerkstatt" for Kibili children at our Mountain View Campus officially opened its doors today.

Check out the latest "Didacta" issue (3/2023, page 32) to read the insightful interview with Thomas Spahn, former Head of School (interim) at GISSV.

The Volleyball season has started for our middle school girls team with their first match.

Our teachers prepared special activities for their students to welcome them in the new classroom or in general to school

Per GISSV tradition, we welcomed our new first grade students with a special ceremony.

Welcome back! The new school year is off to a fabulous start.

In late June, GISSV Mountain View classes held the "Bundesjugendspiele" (Federal Youth Games), a remarkable event organized by and for grades 3 and 4.

Students in Mountain View and San Francisco ended the school year fully engaged in learning about the environment and its challenges.

As the school year came to a close, our classes went all out to celebrate!

Before the school year concluded, the last Parent Association (PA) meetings took place informally at Whisman Park in MV and the church garden in SF.

Our school leadership team took the opportunity to show their gratitude to our wonderful parent community. 

Our GISSV Entrepreneur Club headed by Martin Lentzen invited the school community to a Shark Tank event on Tuesday - with impressive student pitches, and fantastic speakers and panel.

On Tuesday our Student Council (SMV) together with teachers organized once again an amazing International Food Day event, held simultaneously on both campuses.

Our first Art and Music Department mini-exhibition, KuMu Café, was a remarkable event held on Friday, June 16 in our Mountain View MPR.

Congratulations to our graduates for navigating the challenges of the past school years and for their accomplishments!

Our first SF Outdoor Movie Night was a resounding success!

Our Students on Stage events on both our campuses were an absolute delight as our students took the stage and captivated us with their incredible performances! 

Our San Francisco Kibili and Elementary School students came together on Thursday, May 25 to walk or run for a meaningful cause on the field next to our campus!

Our Class 9b, also known as the LabClass, has actively participated in a wide range of interdisciplinary projects throughout the school year.

GISSV students and teachers visited HPI, discussing AI, education reinvention, and potential collaborations, with the students' startup pitches receiving enthusiasm for possible participation in the incubator program.

We are thrilled to share that GISSV has won the prestigious first prize

Students, parents and staff of GISSV (from both our campuses) spent a fun and active Sunday outdoors while participating in the Presidio Trail Run.

April is Earth Month, and to celebrate, GISSV San Francisco organized a special Walk to School Day and participated in San Francisco's city-wide bike and roll to school week.

Our GISSV Mountain View Walk-a-Thon on Friday, March 30 was a huge success (and it was a fantastic prelude to our Spring Break)!

This week, the GISSV student body is hosting its self-awareness and wellness days in the high school.

Our high school students had the pleasure of welcoming bestselling author Thomas Brussig for a special reading of "The Short End of the Sonnenallee" at our Mountain View Campus.

Last week in our BeSO (Career and Study Orientation) class, we had the pleasure of welcoming GISSV alumnus Kai Bajka (class of 2016).

The students attended the world’s largest and most prestigious Model UN conference for secondary school students in New York City.

After attending the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, GISSV students got the chance to meet lead actor of "The Ordinaries" Noah Tinwa. 

We are pleased to announce that GISSV was awarded as a Smart School for the first time this year.

The German bestselling author read from her home in Bavaria for our middle school students in Mountain View and San Francisco. Reading encouragement at its best!

GISSV spearheaded the Sharks German Night at the SAP Center in San Jose on March 16, bringing together the Bay Area German community for a fun night of hockey!

Our elementary school students came together for a project day focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Renowned German journalist and author Alice Hasters, recently visited GISSV in Mountain View and San Francisco to speak with students of different age groups about racism.

Everyone had a great time seeing students from both campuses come together and enjoy themselves while strengthening our community.

GISSV's Anti-Drug Day 2023 was a huge success, bringing together 7th graders from both San Francisco and Mountain View for an important day of learning and reflection.

Thank you to the dedicated group of parents who taught Junior Achievement lessons to students in Kindergarten through 8th grade!

Our 9th graders got professional support for their blog project

The first weekend of February was all about our exchange programs.

The students attend the German Startup Night 2023, a pitch and networking event celebrating German startups.

Last week, our 10th graders explored the world of AI through an interdisciplinary project that combines ethics, economics, and IT.

We are happy to finally be able to continue our exchange programs with Chile and France - after a 'COVID break'.

We welcomed (back) Performing Arts Educator Veronica Talton (taltonconsulting.com) for a workshop on Hip Hop and Rap.

After canceling our 2022 Holiday Market, due to severe weather conditions, the organizers made alternative plans within hours!

Our latest Food Drive organized by our student body presidents took place in November - once again as a combined effort on both campuses.

Thank you to all GISSV families and staff for supporting the drive and spread some holiday love!

Musicians from GISSV High School helped ring in the Holiday Season.

Today, on December 6, we celebrated St. Nicholas Day at GISSV.

GISSV has once again been recognized as a Digitale Schule (digital school) by the MINT Zukunft schaffen Association.

Thank you to HSV CEO Jonas Boldt and COO Dr. Dr. Eric Huwer for stopping by GISSV in Mountain View - together with German Consul General Oliver Schramm - during the break.

The fall sports season came to an end with the last practices concluding the week before our Thanksgiving break.

All our middle and high school students met on our campus in Mountain View for this year's Math Marathon.

Per tradition we celebrated St. Martin's Day with Lantern Fests on both our campuses.

Thank you to the parents organizing this and all the families who donated Halloween Candy!

For Dia de los Muertos, colorfully decorated altars, were set up on our GISSV San Francisco Campus.

On both our campuses we celebrated Halloween as school-wide events for the first time again since 2019.

It was a pleasure to welcome author Becky Grant and illustrator Eva Demel to GISSV on both our campuses.

Organized by SV and parents, our school community - especially families from Kibili & elementary school - celebrated Diwali.

Congratulations to Fiona H. (class of 2025) who achieved 2nd place at the North America Finals of the German debate competition Jugend debattiert.

Thank you to all students and teachers for participating in the fundraiser organized by student representatives (SV)!

Before Fall Break students from our Mountain View 7th and 8th grades attended a high quality music workshop.

It was a pleasure to take part in the German Day in Golden Gate Park on Sunday, October 16.

Students of our junior class present their job shadowing experiences from April 2022 to students, teachers, and parents during a Job Shadowing Fair.

It was a pleasure to welcome an interdisciplinary group of educators - covering different divisions and functions - to our San Francisco Campus on Monday, October 11.

GISSV's Head of School (interim) Thomas Spahn was invited for a special Flag Raising ceremony at the San Francisco City Hall commemorating the German Unity Day

Our 9th graders as well as the students from music class in 10th and 11th grade had the pleasure to take part in a very special workshop.

Congratulations to our Student Body Presidents 2021/22!

With a total of 136 students from grades 5-12 (from both our campuses), GISSV took part in the Jugendwettbewerb Informatik in March/April 2022.

The Volleyball season has started for our middle school girls team with their first match against Bowman School yesterday.

Our teachers prepared special activities for their students to welcome them in the new classroom or in general to school

Per GISSV tradition, we welcomed our new first grade students with a special ceremony.

For the first time students of our newly established lab class came together.

It was a pleasure to see our students and so many of you at the Meet & Greet.

Herzlichen Glückwunsch to all students graduating from GISSV Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary School, Middle School, or High School! We are very proud of you!

Our concert series Students on Stage that showcases our students' talents has been a highlight of GISSV traditions. And the series could finally continue in person in 2022.

"Together, we [created] an important and hopefully long-lasting impact on our students...

Our GISSV Entrepreneur Club headed by Martin Lentzen invited the school community to a Shark Tank event last week - with impressive student pitches, and fantastic speakers and panel.

What a FUNtastic 'Sommerfest & Auction' event it was! A wonderful opportunity to celebrate together with all GISSV families and teachers/staff.

Michael Pfeifer, co-founder of the Berlin-based sustainable fashion startup MOOT talked about sustainable fashion.

Congratulations to our graduates for navigating the challenges of the past school years and for their accomplishments!

Over the weekend a group of parents and teachers painted adorable jungle themed games on the Kibili playground in Mountain View.

Congratulations to GISSV 9th grader Fiona H. who will attend the North American final in Washington D.C. in October 2022.

End of May, we had another Food Drive to help families in need - initiated by SF student body president Amélie as a combined effort on both campuses for the first time.

Thank you to GISSV's Green team who organized a special clean up project on our Mountain View Campus and the neighboring park

Last week we had the pleasure of welcoming writer and poet Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond at our San Francisco Campus.

We took part in the city-wide Walk and Bike/Roll to School Day for the very first time at our SF Castro Campus on Wednesday, May 4! 

We had the pleasure to welcome the Education Committee of the Bavarian Parliament on our Mountain View Campus.

Students and teachers from both campuses had a blast dancing, taking pictures at the photo booth, and eating shaved ice at our summer beach party.

Our first in person community night at the 'Sharks Tank' was a great success!

GISSV's students, teachers/staff and parents came together to send a message of peace and hope.

GISSV students from Preschool to High School laced up their sneakers to raise money for a good cause.

GISSV is featured in the first-quarter issue 2022 of the magazine 'ON - Lernen In der digitalen Welt' (Learning in a Digital World) by Friedrich Verlag GmbH.

Thank you to the dedicated group of parents who taught Junior Achievement lessons to students in Kindergarten through 8th grade!

Inspired by Leiden's poetry walk we celebrated World Poetry Day on our Mountain View Campus.

Congratulations to Sascha P. (8a) who is the school winner of the Diercke Wissen 2022, Germany's largest geography competition.

After attending the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival, GISSV students got the chance to talk to lead actor of 'Wet Dog' Doguhan Kabadayi. 

On International Women’s Day, journalist Marie-Astrid Langer talked to our 11th and 12th graders about Kamala Harris.

Both San Francisco and Mountain View 7th graders met for an Anti-Drug Day to learn about the physical, mental, and social effects of drug abuse.

We celebrated International Women's Day on both our campuses yesterday with a variety of activities.

For the Women's Day event we welcomed special guest Beate Antonich and inspiring speaker Caterina Mandel.

GISSV's MUN Club attended the Seventieth Session of Berkeley Model United Nations, which was held from March 4- 6, 2022.

Organized by GISSV's Green Team, students from grades 5-10 help clean up MV Whisman Park and the middle school alley.

GISSV students from Elementary to High School participated in the German computer science competition. Congratulations on the great results!

GISSV's 11th graders and Ethics teacher Vera Kress took part in a conference on Media Literacy hosted by the Aspen Institute Germany.
They contributed to a Handbook and Podcast - Now available!

GISSV middle schoolers kicked off the 2nd semester with motivation workshops to start successfully and with the right mindset.

Last spring GISSV's class of 2023 spent inspiring five days in companies around the Bay Area for their shadowing week.

Thanks to our Holiday Market volunteers, we could come together in person as a community to celebrate.

"Shaping the Future of Entrepreneurship in Germany and the US"  - a Wunderbar Together initiative

With your help, the GISSV community was able to collect more than 130 gifts to families in need right here in the Bay Area. This is a record!

GISSV San Francisco students and parents collected over 400 lbs of food, which was delivered to the SF Marin Food Bank.

Students of classes 9 - 12 took part in the Lange Nacht der Mathematik for the very first time at GISSV last Friday.

GISSV, together with five other German Schools Abroad, was honored as “MINT-friendly school” (MINT is the German equivalent for STEM) in 2021.

Per tradition our preschool, kindergarten, and elementary children celebrate the St. Martin's Day every year in November.

Congratulations to the GISSV Cross Country boys for winning the last race 2nd place!

On our Mountain View Campus we had our very own GISSV Pumpkin Patch today for the first time!

The first issue of the new digital newspaper from students for students is out! Middle and High School students from both our campuses wrote, drew, edited, and interviewed peers.

GISSV was honored to be part of the German flag raising ceremony commemorating German Unity Day.

Together with all Germans and friends in our community, in the Bay Area, and beyond we are celebrating this special day.

GISSV is one of 4,513 German schools around the world participating in the junior election this year.

Organized by our History & Music departments, our 8-12th graders commemorated the 20th anniversary of 9/11 today with an online event.

Per GISSV tradition, we welcomed our new first grade students with a special ceremony.

It was a pleasure to see our students and so many of you at the Meet & Greet!

This week we had our annual GISSV Green project days on both our campuses

Congratulations and kudos to our graduates for navigating the challenges of the past two school years and their exceptional accomplishments!

We are excited to announce that GISSV is project partner in the network Schule der Vielfalt!

Congratulations to Anna P. (8b) who received the platinum medal and taking 1st place in the US in her category! 

This week our San Francisco 8th graders graduate from GISSV. Congratulations and all the best! 

GISSV senior Francis B. was named 2021 National Merit scholarship winner! Congratulations!

After recording last year the first interactive books feature the voices of students from GISSV are out now!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Online Auction and the Live Event celebrating our teachers!

How will AI shape our future, and to what extent should we let AI control and shape our lives?

At our Entrepreneurs club, students learn to iterate rapidly to develop their ideas. Rapid iteration and inventiveness were certainly needed in the last school year and in our club, too.

Congratulations on their distinguished list of acceptance letters!

The program is open for enrollment to German language learners entering GISSV in grades 5 and 6!

As a community and as neighbors, we stand together with Yew Chung (YCIS) and wholeheartedly show our support during these challenging times.

Blake Peter, Head of GSPDX and Kathrin Röschel, Head of GISSV together with Elementary School students kicked off our interactive, cross-level and cross-school campaign.

Our GISSV San Francisco 7th graders have been interviewed for the 'KiKA LIVE Trendchat '!

GISSV spearheaded the very first Sharks German Heritage Night celebrating German heritage in the Bay Area and the connection to the San Jose Sharks!

Prof. Dr. Meinel, Director & CEO of HPI; KMK President Ministerin Ernst, Head of the ZfA Fr. Toledo, and Consul General Südbeck

Thank you to the dedicated group of parents who taught Junior Achievement lessons online to students in 1st - 8th grade during Junior Achievement Day on February 24.

Three of our students took part in the Los Altos Sunset Rotary Club Speech Contest through GISSV’s Interact Club (presided by Mila Q. K. and Kimi J., grade 12).

The "first child of the civil rights movement”, daughter of Reverend Abernathy and godchild of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., visited us in our "virtual classroom(s)".

Recognized for Closing the Gender Gap in AP Computer Science Principles

GISSV Head of School Kathrin Röschel gave WirtschaftsWoche - the German business news magazine - an interview on digital education.

Alumnus Titan Yuan (class of 2016) talks to GISSV high school students about his time at GISSV and UC Berkeley.

We couldn’t celebrate the holiday season together and share some Glühwein in person, but our dedicated HM team kept the holiday spirit alive by creating a virtual Holiday Market event.

Thank you to US Triathlete and Olympic hopeful Tony Smoragiewicz who gave an inspiring talk to our athletics groups!

Congratulations to Anna K. and Felicia A. on their wins at this year's "Concours de poésie" organized by the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF).

Toshiyuki J. (9th grade) and Max K. (12th grade) represented GISSV under the guidance of David Giesen at the virtual Berlin Model United Nations (BERMUN): www.bermun.de. 

GISSV officially has a preschool in San Francisco!

Middle and High School students have been invited to a special screening at Berlin & Beyond - In Focus.

To help families at risk of going hungry this holiday season the students at the GISSV San Francisco Campus participated in a collection drive for their local SF-Marin Food Bank.

US Speedskating athletes and Olympic hopefuls Erin Jackson and Kimi Goetz joined our Soaring Eagle Fitness Class.

GISSV had the distinct honor to celebrate the impressive milestone of Colonel Halvorsen's life (in coordination with the Halvorsen family) and his timely message of hope.

On Friday, October 2, we had an exceptional online event to celebrate this momentous occasion. Thank you to guest speaker: eyewitness Mario Röllig!

GISSV families continue to support the Amy Foundation that runs afternoon activity programs in the poorest townships in Cape Town, South Africa.

Being in Distance Learning for a few months Vice HoS Jenny Jungeblut reflected on the learnings of this experience and the opportunities it brings for improvement and development back in the classroom - as well as life after the pandemic in general.

Over the summer, our caring, dedicated community consisting of families and staff continued to step up to support GISSV in new ways.

This week we were thrilled to be able to hold one of our most beloved ceremonies for our new first graders - The Schultüte tradition.

Happy first week of school and welcome to new and returning families! Even though we are in Distance Learning, our teachers and staff are looking forward to the new school year!

We have the pleasure to pass on the invitation from Chargée d'Affaires a.i. of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin Robin Quinville.

Professor of physics, jazz musician, and book author Stephon Alexander gave an inspiring talk for our high school students.

With the end of this school year we bid farewell to the Presidio and look forward to move to our new Castro location. 

Congratulations to our graduates who received their dual degrees during a special drive-in graduation!

For the first time we hosted an event to introduce GISSV to Kibili and Elementary grandparents.

A special shout out to our very first graduating 8th grade on the San Francisco Campus!

In a special video message the GISSV community says thank you to Federal President Steinmeier for his letter.

German Pro-Cycling Sprinter Pascal Ackermann from team Bora-hansgrohe Professional Cycling answered our student's questions on professional cycling.

Last Saturday, the community came together in another great show of support for our Anniversary Online Auction.

Our young San Francisco journalists met Kathrin Roeschel for an interview in March.

Our class 6b received a very special email from the famous German youth book author on May 4.

Thank you to the German Consul General and the German Consulate General San Francisco for this very special opportunity! 

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, sent our community his greetings, as well as his congratulations on our anniversary.

GISSV is "MINT-freundliche & Digitale Schule" =  STEM Friendly and Digital School.

GISSV's learning platform NERDL is a helpful tool for distance learning in Silicon Valley as well as other German schools.

"Schule in der Coronakrise - wie kann Fernunterricht gelingen?" (German article)

The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated the push for digital and remote learning environments and applications. 

The German International School of Silicon Valley has transitioned to a distance/online learning plan.

The GISSV community celebrated its 20th anniversary with a very special concert in the Cañada College Theater last Friday night!

Please join us in welcoming Mrs. Kathrin Röschel to GISSV as our new Head of School! 

Led by ZfA German language consultant Ingo Matthias, GISSV hosted a training session on "Jugend debattiert"...

Thank you to the dedicated group of parents who taught Junior Achievement lessons to students in Kindergarten through 8th grade during Junior Achievement Day at GISSV Mountain View.

Congratulations to GISSV High School student Paul Z. who has advanced to Finalist standing...

High School students kicked off an interdisciplinary, transatlantic project researching the impact of developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

Congratulations to GISSV 8th grader, Luana C., for being a winner of The New York Times Review Contest for middle schoolers! 

February 7 marks a special milestone for GISSV. Twenty years ago our school opened with only 34 students in a basement in Silicon Valley...

The cookbooks arrived and are for sale in our front office in Mountain View.

Teachers and students from both our campuses take part in a special translation project.

GISSV fourth graders took (successfully!) part in the 16th story competition "AbraPalabra" presented by the KinderAtelier of the Frauenmuseum, Bonn/Germany. 

We welcomed the wonderful storyteller Muriel Johnson to our GISSV Mountain View Campus to start off Black History Month.

It was a pleasure to welcome German science comedian Vince Ebert – touring with his first English show – to GISSV Mountain View last Saturday.

"How the Culture Gap Made Me a Smarter, More Successful Person"

The Boys Middle School Soccer Team won 6-0 in their first game of the season...

Happy Chinese New Year! 🐀

GISSV High School students interested in chemistry and computer science went on a special field trip to Stanford University to join postgraduate Stefan Seritan for his presentation on Theoretical Chemistry.*

Congratulations to the GISSV Gold Team and their fabulous coaches for their 2-0 victory in the league championship! A first for the GISSV girls, but definitely not the last!

Last Friday was match day for our Middle School Girls Soccer teams: the GISSV Gold vs. GISSV Black (5:1). 

The GISSV elves did it once again - they transformed Downtown Mountain View into an European village for our annual German Holiday Market.

Students and Parents of our San Francisco Campus once again decorated a Christmas tree for the annual Deck the Hall event at the San Francisco Symphony.

Among teachers, staff, parents, and classes, both from Mountain View and San Francisco, GISSV donated 70 gifts to families in need.

Last Monday our San Francisco school community came together to celebrate the holiday season with a student concert and sing-along in the Presidio Chapel.

On both our campuses we celebrated the tradition of St. Martins Day.

BAUHAUS – the German design school founded by Walter Grophius – celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019.

The "Gold" team of the GISSV Middle School Lady Eagles Soccer Team(s) had their first - and successful - game of the season last Wednesday with a 6:2 win.

In collaboration with the German Consulate General we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall with a special event on our Mountain View Campus last Friday.

We were pleased to open the doors for a 'sneak preview' on our new Castro campus in San Francisco. 

The official German Schools Abroad (DAS) in the US and Canada together created a new joint website.

Always keep the dialogue open - this was the message of Frido Mann, grandson of Thomas Mann, on his visit at GISSV.

We are excited and proud to share that GISSV received the official Seal of Excellence with outstanding results!

Student artwork donated by an anonymous GISSV family to be on permanent display at the consulate was handed over to the Consul General.

On the occasion of the German Unity Day the German flag was raised at the San Francisco City Hall.

Our Mountain View students commemorated the German Unity Day with a special celebration.

Congratulations to Coach Marina Glaus and the Cross Country team for their performance in the October 2 league races at Crystal Springs (1.75 miles).

We had the pleasure of welcoming Melanie Levensohn and AnneMarie Yellin to our MV Campus yesterday for an event organized in collaboration with the German Consulate.

Congratulations to Laura F. (grade 11) on receiving the President's Volunteer Service Award 2019 in Gold.

GISSV 12th grade student was announced as a semifinalist towards becoming a National Merit Scholar.

Per GISSV tradition, we welcomed our new Kindergarten and first grade students with a special ceremony.

... and thanks for attending our Meet & Greet events!

Seismic Retrofitting: Now underway! 

2019 is the 10th anniversary of the Deutsche Internationale Abitur (DIA) - and it all started at GISSV!