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Summer Break Announcement

Hours for walk-in traffic during Summer Break:

Monday through Friday: 10 am to 3 pm

First Day of School:

For School Entry Level (5-year-olds) and Grade 2 through 12: Thursday, August 20th, 2026

For Preschool and first Grade: Monday, August 24th, 2026

> School Calendar

 

Öffnungszeiten für Besucher ohne Termin während der Sommerferien:

Montag bis Freitag: 10:00 bis 15:00 Uhr

 

Erster Schultag:

Für die Schuleingangsstufe (5-Jährige) sowie die Klassen 2 bis 12: Donnerstag, 20. August 2026

Für den Kindergarten und die erste Klasse: Montag, 24. August 2026

> Schulkalender

 

FuF—Fö (coach) and Fordern (challenge)

In the academic year 2017/18, the GISW added our so called FuF program to the schedule of students at the Upper School. This program is an extension of the previous extra coaching program  which was limited to a few participants and took place in the afternoons. The newly instated FuF is short for German fö (coach) and fordern (challenge), which means on the one hand, students in all courses are supported in their efforts to overcome challenges while, on the other hand, gifted students are given the opportunity for academic growth. Since the beginning of the school year 2017/18, all students from grades 5 -9 have been part of this new program, which is now part of the curriculum and the schedule for those grades.

For these special classes, teachers of the Upper School have designed courses/modules that allow more individualized instruction and attention for each student. There are four consecutive FuF modules in a school year and each one  runs approximately 8 weeks. During FuF lessons (2 x 45min/week) students can tackle burning questions and discuss issues in depth. The courses offer topics from a variety of subject areas, e.g. German, English, Math, etc.

However, FuF courses are not electives in the traditional sense. As they are part of the curriculum and class schedules, teachers may recommend students for certain courses based on their pedagogical judgement, particularly in the core subjects. The final content and number of courses vary due to the availability of resources and subject-area demands.

Some examples of modules from the previous year are courses like recording newscasts, playing ukulele, building robots as well as courses providing strategies for giving presentations, writing papers, and solving mathematical problems.

If you have any questions regarding FuF, please contact

Dr. Jackson, Teacher for English and French, FuF Coordinator

Email: sjackson@giswashington.org

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