German Immersion and Extension (GIEP) is a program of academic excellence.
It offers students in our broad school community a unique opportunity to challenge themselves academically while becoming highly proficient in German. GIEP is designed for students with little or no previous background in German. They learn a number of subjects using German as the medium of communication.
Academic research is unequivocal in validating the benefits of learning in an immersion environment over learning in a monolingual classroom. The program operates in a tight-knit family context and sees students exit with a world class education, intercultural skills, fluency in the language and real options for international study and employment.
Please read the German Immersion and Extension Program Brochure (PDF, 765KB) and below information for more details about this Program of Excellence and how to apply for Year 7.
Structure of the German Immersion and Extension program
German Immersion (Year 7-10) - in Year 7 to10 students and teachers use German to study up to 70% of their subjects including Mathematics, Science, German, Social Science and Physical Education. This makes it a challenging program. An exchange takes place in Term 4 of Year 10.
German Extension (Year 11-12) - students study the regular Year 12 German course in Year 11 and the German Extension course in Year 12. The other subjects are studied in English.
The GIEP teachers are specialists in their respective areas and are either native speakers of German or have an extensive experience in the German language.
Partnerships
Kenmore has had a sister school partnership with the
Engelsburg Gymnasium in Kassel, Germany since 1994. In Year 10 students have the opportunity to spend several weeks in Germany.
Kenmore SHS has been recognized by the German government as a school with an outstanding German program and was the first school in Australia to become a partner school in the international
PASCH network in 2009. As such, we enjoy direct teaching support and are
able to offer our students outstanding opportunities: they can participate in
international competitions, apply for fully funded language courses.
Technology and German Immersion
Young people live in a digital world and learn from and through their digital experiences. A technology-rich environment can create an optimal setting for language, subject content and skill acquisition, a setting that breaks out of the constricted environment of the typical paper-and-chalkboard classroom.
All immersion students are expected to have and use a digital device at school. There is a cost associated with this as students purchase a laptop in Year 7. The school technical team determines the technology devices annually. Additionally students pay an annual technical support fee directly to the school.
Applying for GIP
Presently, the application process starts in Year 5. You can find more information by visiting our Programs of Excellence page.
In Year 6, the successful applicants join us for up to three full-day integration workshops that give them the opportunity to already make new friends within the future German Immersion group and discover how it feels to learn in German.
German Immersion and Music Extension
Students may combine German Immersion and Music Extension (Year 7 to 9). They will need to apply for entry to both programs separately.
Contact information
Should you have any further queries related to the German Immersion Program at Kenmore State High School, please contact our Head of Languages Ms Chrissie Geuthner at GIEP@kenmoreshs.eq.edu.au.