On May 23, 2022, a bunch of beaming faces could be seen as we celebrated our very first their Sek I- graduation ceremony. In total 26 students from this year’s and last year’s programme were awarded their Sek 1-certificates. Alice Lynch, the school principal, the Cultural Attaché of the German Embassy Robert Henneberg and some German teachers attended the ceremony to pay tribute and to congratulate our Sek 1-graduates.
The ceremony marked the end of a six-year journey through the Sek I-curriculum, which began in the fifth class of primary school and ended in the tenth class in May 2022. The Sek I-programme – as we call the German Gymnasium curriculum – is of great importance to St. Kilian’s as it significantly shapes its character as a German school.
The children who go through both the Sek I-programme and the Irish Junior Cycle are exposed to two different cultures and teaching styles during their school career. They proudly master two different ways of reading, analysing, understanding, or writing texts in both languages and based on their cultural contexts.
The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once said, ‘The limits of my language mean the limits of my world’. Based on that, we believe that mastering several languages undoubtedly expands your world and is a great asset for personal development and strength.
It is also remarkable to see many non native German speakers who successfully completed the Sek I-curriculum at St. Kilian’s. Nearly half of 77 pupils who took part in the Sek I-programme in the last academic year were not native German speakers, or which one class graduated. Congratulations to all on this fantastic achievement! All this and last year’s graduates can be very proud of their attitude, interest, diligence and perseverance over the last years.
Thorsten Henke
Sek 1 Programme Coordinator
