Mansfield Middle School Students Back from Germany

This article was written by 8th grader Rosemary Watson and submitted by Doug Perkins:

Guten Morgen! Twenty 7th and 8th grade boys and girls returned home to Mansfield Saturday after a three week stay in Sarstedt, Germany, with their two teachers, Mr. Doug Perkins and Ms. Sherri Andrews, who were brave enough to travel abroad with almost two dozen middle schoolers.

The ten girls and ten boys have had countless good times and educational experiences, and have all made priceless memories. “This was so much fun,” 8th grader Courtney Schoeplein said, thinking back on the past three weeks abroad. “I’ll remember this forever.”

The American guests spent most school days shadowing host students and Mansfield Middle School’s German sister School, the Gymnasium (G-im-nahz-ee-um) Sarstedt. All students participated in German classes, including math, physics, and music, as well as foreign languages, like English!

When the English speakers could not fallow the lessons due to the language barrier, they chipped away at the various homework assignments that their American teachers had sent, to keep them up to date on school work while they were abroad. But it wasn’t all work all the time!

The Americans and their German hosts also went on both day and overnight trips, like an over night in Hamburg, a few hours in the former concentration camp and holocaust memorial and museum Bergen Belson, and an exciting day in Berlin.

“The Hamburg overnight was my favorite!” Max Saroka laughed, remembering the two-day trip. Students enjoyed visits to the Hamburg Dungeon, a hands on and slightly scary theatrical experience of some of Hamburg’s darker history.

Then came a beautiful and educational walking tour of the city, and and the sleepover of a lifetime at a youth hostel. (glow sticks may have been involved.) The next day included a beach visit, WW1 memorial, and some shopping.

The Bergen Belson trip was a stark contrast to the Hamburg weekend. Students walked where holocaust victims had once stood, watched footage taken from the camp shortly before it’s liberation, and visited the mass graves to pay their respects to the thousands of men, women, and children who lost their lives at the camp.

“This is so important, we need to see and hear this... people need to understand.” 8th grader Rose Pacik Nelson said, shortly after lighting a cancel in her great grandmother’s honor (a holocaust survivor) at the memorial.

The last little trip the students enjoyed was a fun filled day in the Capitol of Germany, Berlin. Students shopped, walked, and had a three hour walking tour of the city center, photographing building, seeing some remants of the Berlin wall, and even stopping for cheese covered pretzels from a biking street vendor. “Those were the best!” Julia Shashok commented.

All the American students returned home with suitcases filled to the brim with souvenirs and and minds over flowing with memories.

“I’m so grateful to the teachers and the program,” said Amealia Maynard.

All the students have built friendships, made memories and broadened their understanding of the world through the German Exchange program.

“I hope all these students have built lifelong friendships, and that this trip will inspire a love of travel in all of them. I think these programs are a wonderful experience, an I wish every kid could could have it too.” Mrs. Andrews commented, and I couldn’t agree more.

If you would like to learn more about the German Exchange Program, visit mansfieldct.org, and check out the Foreign Exchange tab on the Mansfield Middle School Homepage.