Rock Island High School seeks foster families for German exchange students

Since 2004, Rock Island High School has had a student exchange program with St. Meinrad School in Rottenburg am Neckar, a town with a population similar to Rock Island in southwestern Germany, according to a news release.

Every other year, students from each school travel across the Atlantic to discover what life is like on the other side. Rock Island students are the first to take the plunge by visiting Rottenburg in June, and students from St. Meinrad will travel to Rock Island in October. During their trips, both groups stay with host families, attend school, take field trips to local areas of interest, and tour major cities. Quad City students got to visit both Munich and Berlin.

The exchange is supported by GAPP (German-American Partnership Program), which provides organizational support and individual scholarships to students from each school. In 2020, RIHS was named a “school of distinction” by GAPP for its longstanding dedication to the program.

Five RIHS students made the trip to Germany this past June. The students’ three-week visit to Germany included many exciting highlights and educational experiences. During this time, each of our students was paired with a student from St. Meinrad School, attended their classes, and lived with their family.

While at school, they also prepared and gave presentations on topics related to their daily lives or cultural comparisons between Germany and the USA. Other highlights from their stay included a tour of Rottenburg, visits to the nearby university town of Tübingen, a day trip to Stuttgart, a tour of Bebenhausen monastery, chocolate making at the Ritter Sport factory, pretzel making at a local bakery, and weekend excursions with their host families.

The trip concluded with a three-night stay in Berlin, during which the group visited the Reichstag building, had a guided tour of Berlin Wall sites, went out to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp Memorial Site, and took in a view from the TV Tower at sunset.

It soon will be host families’ turn to host the group from St. Meinrad School this fall. Fifteen German students will be in Rock Island from Oct. 17-31. Rock Island High School is in need of families to volunteer to host a German student during their stay.

If you are interested or know someone who might be interested in hosting a student, email nick.eli@rimsd41.org.

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