It was a wonderful evening last week Thursday, 1st of February 2024, when St. Kilian’s was officially awarded the Quality Seal ‘Exzellente Deutsche Ausslandsschule’. It was an honour to welcome Minister of State for Special Education Josepha Madigan TD, An Leas-Chathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council Eva Elizabeth Dowling, the German Ambassador H.E Cord Meier-Klodt alongside many distinguished guests; the Belgian Ambassador H.E Karen van Vlierberge, the Deputy Heads of the French, Austrian and Swiss Embassies, the Cultural Attaches of the German and French Embassies, the President of the German-Irish Chamber of Industry & Commerce as well as teachers past and present, parents, members of the board and the PA, and students to the celebrations of this significant milestone. All of those who attended remarked on the pride they felt in St. Kilian’s and our achievements.
Minister Josepha Madigan welcomed the prestigious excellency award: ‘[..], it appears that no stone was left unturned during the work on carrying out what I understand is a systematic inspection of pedagogical and non-pedagogical focal points, and this is undoubtedly contributed to St. Kilian’s German School earning this really esteemed award. [..], I want again congratulate St. Kilian’s school and the school community on receiving this award tonight.’
In the words of the German Ambassador H.E. Cord Meier-Klodt, who officially handed over the cherished Certificate of Excellence for German Schools Abroad to St. Kilian’s principal Mrs Anja Meier: “St Kilian’s in Dublin is a highly deserving ‘Excellent German School Abroad’, delivering not only a high standard of teaching across all subjects, but a unique Eurocampus atmosphere together with the French Lycée. This multinational and multilingual approach is an outstanding model of modern education and benefits students, staff and the whole community.”
It was a lovely evening with music, songs, dance performed by talented students and congratulative speeches. It was also the evening during which the school management took the opportunity to present the school’s core values, as Mrs Meier pointed out: “Since the inspection in September we have used the time to move on, not just resting on our laurels, but taking excellence further. Doing this, we thought about what we as a school stand for and how we can visualize this vision, incorporating the core values that we all – students, parents, teachers and board – share at this school and which tie us together as a school community: Honesty, Commitment, Courage, Curiosity, Compassion.” In addition to the handover of the quality certificate, the students unveiled a visual to represent and underpin the values in a new shape. Thank you to the students who contributed their talents to the visual in the lead up to the celebrations.
Also, a big thank you to our Primary School choir and Junior Orff students who made a lovely musical opening to the festivities guided by Mrs Thielemans. We also enjoyed a wonderful piano performance by 11th class student Sarah Longo and songs by Hazel Doorly from 9th class, rounded off with some Irish music and dance by very talented Dora Madden from 10th class.
St. Kilian’s German School Dublin, with its long history since 1952 and commitment to fostering international understanding, marked a momentous milestone in its educational journey. The seal (Gütesiegel: Exzellente Deutsche Auslandsschule in German) represents the quality of an officially recognised German School Abroad after a systematic inspection of pedagogical and non-pedagogical focal points based on different criteria, standards and features as well as management of the entire school. The recent recognition bestowed upon St. Kilian’s is the result of years of tireless efforts by the school’s teachers and management. A special Thank you goes to former principal Ms Alice Lynch, Frau Gabriele Adelberger, former Head of the German Department, Herr Thorsten Henke, interim principal and Frau Tanja Bader who had put extra hours of work and commitment and thus helped paving the way for this award of excellency. Also, the commitment of the teachers during the inspection was impressive, regardless of whether they are German or Irish or had found their way to Clonskeagh from other parts of the world. They were keen to give the inspectors an insight into their lessons. After having analysed previously submitted school data and documents, observed 61 lessons, and conducted interviews with all stakeholders in the school community, including pupils, parents, teachers, board and school management, the inspection team confirmed what the students and their families already knew – St. Kilian’s German School Dublin is indeed excellent. The Certificate of Excellence signed by the German President and handed over by the German Ambassador to the school management is not only an honour, but also a symbol of the tireless commitment to education.
Thank you to everyone who attended the celebrations and made the evening special. Congratulations to the entire St. Kilian’s community on such a fantastic achievement!
Photocredit: Barry Dillon Photography
