CHS will host 20 German Exchange Students and two teachers from our sister school, Salier Gymnasium from Waiblingen, Germany, from Thursday, October 24,- Friday, November 8. Salier Gymnasium was chosen because it has not only been been a Sister School to to Virginia Beach for nearly three decades, but it is the also the home of Stihl Headquarters, a global production company with a site in Virginia Beach.

In the spring, CHS students that participated in the two week long student exchange will travel overseas for two weeks for a similar experience. The school’s objective currently though is to make them feel as welcome as possible within the school and community. 

Senior Ava Altamura is one of the 20 students who will not only host a German student, but will also go to Germany during the student exchange in the spring. 

“I’m ecstatic. I am very excited about hosting a German and giving them an American experience and taking them trick-or-treating, especially,”  Altamura said. 

The German students who are visiting plan to attend classes with their host student, as well as go on a variety of field trips.  German teacher Charlotte Berron has been instrumental in the development of this experience and, with several other members of the committee, have developed an entire two week itinerary for everyone to attend. When CHS students visit Germany, the schedule will be similar offering both sets of students and teachers the opportunity to enjoy the culture in both countries. 

Altamura brought German exchange student Sophie Zimmerman, who will be living with her family for two weeks, to meet students in Altamura’s Journalism II/III/IV class and interact with the Falcon students, their teacher, and to learn the nuances of an American school.

Zimmerman had the opportunity to join in various activities such as senior Cole Ludford’s Bird’s Eye View podcast, which is published in the Falcon Press school newspaper. The podcast focused the similarities and differences between America and German high schools, as well as life in general.

“It’s different, really different. It’s a completely different school system and there are way more people in my school,” Zimmermann said. “Another big difference I noticed is the schedule for school. At Salier there are longer days, and also four different schools you can go to. They are separated by intelligence levels, so the schools in my home are much more intense.”

Students can meet the German exchange students in “renter’s” homes and also in the classroom. CHS will provide the German students with a look into our everyday classroom lives, and the other activities we participate in at school each day.

German students will  go on a field trip on Wednesday, October 30, to City Hall, and on the Thursday, November 7, will visit the Stihl factory, where CHS students and chaperones will accompany their exchange students. 

According to Berron, the hard work they have put in over the past 15 months to make this program a reality was all worth it. She could tell immediately when the German Students arrived at the airport that the kinship and connections they all had with the CHS students was genuine, and would make the trip to Germany in the spring all that much better.

Thanks to the amazing sponsors and families who offered to put on this event and host these incredible German exchange students, CHS can continue to prove its fantastic hospitality and give a warm welcome to new friends.