D303 German
Exchange Program

2025 Blog

Since 2011, St. Charles East and North High Schools have partnered to offer German language
students a unique and enriching opportunity: to spend three weeks immersed in life and school in
Germany through the German American Partnership Program (GAPP).

Every other summer, students from East and North travel to Hamburg, where they live with a host
family from our partner school, Sankt Ansgar Schule (SAS). In the fall, those SAS students return the
visit and spend time at our schools in St. Charles. This two-way exchange fosters cultural
understanding and builds lifelong international friendships.

During the exchange, our students attend classes alongside their hosts, improving their German skills
and experiencing daily life in a German school firsthand.

Beyond the classroom, students enjoy a variety of field trips, cultural activities, and shared
adventures—creating memories that will last a lifetime.

We invite you to follow along through the posts below as students share their personal stories and
highlights from this unforgettable experience!

Come along on our Adventure!

Time with my host family

Here are a few photos I took from my first day/second day in
Hamburg. I met my exchange partner, Emil, Johanna (his
sister), and his Mother. They are such a nice family. Emil and
his family picked me up from the airport and we discussed
what would be happening during my trip. I met their dog,
Nelu, Emil showed me around his house and we really
enjoyed playing video games together. The next day we met
up with Liam and his exchange partner and walked around
Hamburg for a bit checking out the local area. Perfect
introduction to Hamburg for my first few days! I’m really
looking forward to the rest of the trip!

-Grady Babcock

We started the day with meeting in the Pausenhalle. To get to school, many of the students travel with
public transportation which is very different from where we live as it is not accessible as a way to get to
school. We went on a small tour of the school and then met with our exchange partners to go with to all of
their classes. My partner and I had math, English, and then history. What makes the School unique is not
only the students and teachers, but also the things that are around us. Many types of graffiti styles, wall
paintings and art that is found all around Hamburg is unique! Just like the school ,it has gathered many
memories from different cultures, people, places and we are glad that our first day could be at this
awesome school!

• - Kylie Scheele

First Day of School in Germany

Wall art in Hamburg!

Welcome Party

Our welcome party was held on Tuesday
June 10 with a very warm welcome from
our fellow exchange partners, parents
and teachers. We all had experiences
with different people which makes this
a very special way to start a great week
in Sankt Ansgar Schule! People ate,
talked, and some played games like
soccer. We were all able to share our
own stories and laughs making it a very
memorable welcome!

-Sherly Armenta

The museum was an amazing experience with lots of
specific details that really brought everything together. I
especially loved when the lights would go out, and we would
get a completely different perspective of everything. It was
like seeing it twice when it was either night or day. Aesthetic
lights loomed over the brightly lit attractions and diverse
countries. Once in a while the attractions would contain a
button that one could push to reveal something peculiar or
animated about something specific in that attraction. For
example we would see an animated plant trying to eat
someone in Italy, or even get a piece of chocolate from the
inside of a chocolate factory. This was an amazing
experience and when I come back to Germany I will be sure
to revisit this attraction.

-Evan Luxton

Miniaturwunderland

Hamburg Scavenger Hunt

Today, we toured around Hamburg and did a scavenger hunt so we could explore the city! First, we had to take
the ferry to a famous building and count the stairs on it- 272! Then, we took the ferry back and had to find out
the name of a green boat that had an escape room. We then had to walk to a famous street and visit St.
Nikolas church tower, along with some other cool things in the city. Then, we had to go to the cafe where our
teachers were waiting for us. There was a lot of walking and sightseeing.

-Martyna Sawicka

Hike in Cuxhaven

Today was our second and final combined German-American exchange trip in Germany to
Cuxhaven. We traveled by train from Hamburg-Harburg, taking around 1 1/2 hours. After
we arrived in Cuxhaven, we were given an hour of free time, where everyone went their
separate ways for the time before meeting up to start our mud hike. We reached the
beach at around 1, and we were given another 1 1/2 hours to look around and fill out
another scavenger hunt, but this time for certain animals and other things buried in the
mud. It was gross at times, but it was a very fun experience for everyone overall. Once we
ran out of time for the mid hike, we were given another 50 minutes to do what we wanted
before returning to the station, where we would eventually ride home.

-Brody Phelps

Schwerin Castle

On Friday we all went to Schwerin and had a blast!! We toured the
castle where the Duke and Duchess lived. Some of the castle had been
burned down in a fire within the last few decades, but was restored to
its original look. Most of the walls and ceilings were papier-mâché but
painted over with gold, and the wood working was so amazing and
intricate. We also toured a Cathedral that had the largest organ piano
in all of Europe( I think..). For lunch we were allowed to go around
town, my group found this amazing pastry place that had a display
case full of pastries and sandwiches that covered the length of the
whole bakery! It was such a blast and was such a beautiful town.

-Clara Baker

Last Day in Hamburg

Today was our last day in Hamburg! I expected the day to be sad since we’ll be parting ways with our exchange
partners until October, but it actually turned out to be a wonderful day! Clara, Abby and I (+ our partners) have hung
out almost every single day. We had a sleepover on Friday night, went to the goodbye party on Saturday, and then
went to the Stadtpark and tanned! Since we’ve been getting along so well, the parents organized a trip to HeidePark
(a German amusement park) for our last day together. Others joined as well! The second we walked into the park, I
spotted Peppa Pig Land and immediately posed next to Peppa and George so I could send a picture to my little sister.
We then spent the very hot day (like 90 DEGREES!) riding almost every single ride at the park. My favorite ride was
Colossos, this massive wooden ride! I’m now really excited to take the Germans to Six Flags.

As these two weeks come to a close, I feel a little sad to part ways but also grateful for the experiences I’ve gained. I
feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have experienced this. I’m so grateful for my parents and the hard work they
put in to get me here because this has been the coolest two weeks ever. The adventure isn’t over yet, though! Off to
Cologne after what I assume will be a puffy, teary eyed goodbye tomorrow morning :(

-Adri Flint