Integrierte Gesamtschule Landau - Projects

IGS Landau

The basic guidelines of IGS Landau

We, the IGS Landau, follow the beneath listed guidelines:

• We live diversity.
  
• We want to open horizons – and try to guide students along „their“ way, to find their way.
  
• School´s there for kids, not: kids are there for school…
• Still: we expect 100 % from each student (and teacher)
• Whole school approach: integration of different aspects in one concept (see on bottom of the page), all the different parts contributing to this one idea of self-organisation and responsibility, respect and a democratic culture (sounds like many ideas – however, in our view, they establish ONE setting of a whole school approach.
  
• Feedback in all directions plays a big role.
  
• We work in teams.
  

Fit & Stark

Fit & Strong stands for a subject that is special at the IGS Landau

We want students to be fit & strong, i.e. healthy, mentally and physically, self-confident, but also aware of one´s weaknesses. Strengths must be developed, motivation is to be fostered, curiosity is supposed to be an everyday element.

To achieve all this, classes in years 5-7 have two lessons per week in which they practise social learning, solidarity, reflection of group processes and self-reflection; working together in projects, anti-violence-training, cooperation and communication are further competences that we focus on.

Later, from year 8-10, we offer a wide range of workshops some of which are compulsory, some of which are free to be chosen by students.

Here, topics like Mediation, Bullying, Prevention of addictions, Media competences, Life competences, Job applications, Job Interviews, My Sexuality, etc. are offered, usually by teachers or experts that come to school.

These two lessons reflect our aim to not only make students fit in subjects as they are regularly taught in school, but also in fields that are not traditionally in curriculums, but have always been on the agenda of those who believe that school should prepare for life.

IGS Landau – we offer opportunities – as well as challenges!

At the IGS Landau, we think that meeting challenges is a decisive part of a rewarding life. We also think that especially in teenage years, challenges are suitable to find out who you are, what you can achieve, and how you cope with new situations.

In order to make our students meet a challenge, we want them to take part in our challenge-programme. This means they have to tackle something out of the ordinary in year 8 and year 10 (and also in year 12, but that´s a different story…). Of course, everyday challenges await them all the time. But in our challenge, they find each other in groups that will face a challenge together. A group challenge is usually offered by a teacher who takes on a group of 12-20 students.

The planning process starts as early as January, lasts for more than six months and comes to its climax in the first two weeks of the new school year (August or September).

Challenges can be:

• go by bike from Landau to Berlin;
• climb the highest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze;
• create a piece of theatre and perform it as travelling artists;
• travel Germany as buskers;
• investigate the former German “wall”, its history and how people have lived and live with its legacy;
• cross the Alps in a walking trip;
• etc…..
  

The different projects are described and published by the teachers in January, then the students of year 7 und 9 apply for two of these projects, naming their favourite one, but also saying why they think it would be a worthwhile project for them and what their personal challenge would be. After the applications, the different groups come together for the first time (mixed from both years) and start their planning process. They have to go through all the details: how do we earn the money we need (parents only pay 180 € for the two weeks), what about food and (cheap accommodation), and all the other details. They meet regularly once a month to use this planning process in order to form the group, in order to further plan the project and in order to realise that it is not the teachers but they themselves who have to make sure that it´s their successful project. The teacher´s role is to counsel the group, to give tips, but also to create an atmosphere an cooperative basis that allows every member of the group not only to participate, but also to be an active part of the group.

This project has a lot of positive effects on the growing-up process of students, and parents, teacher as well as students themselves notice and quite often admire the development that takes place in their personalities.

Participating and taking responsibillity

Students shape school

The democratic school concept of the IGS Landau

The ingredients:

Class Counsil (Der Klassenrat - Praktische Materialien für den Einstieg)

The class council takes place once a week in all classes 5 to 10. The lead is the student’s responsibility! Here, the class sits together in a circle of chairs and discusses issues at hand, such as organization in the class or new proposals for redesigning the classroom as well as concerns of individual students.

The deputies of the class also have the opportunity to report from the deputies' meetings (AVs), to take votes and to collect new topics from the class council for the AVs.

Before starting the meeting, some students are designated to take certain responsibilities/roles during the meeting, these are: Class Council Chairperson (2 students), Quiet Keeper, Time Keeper as well as Minutes Taker. The time is one school hour. (45min.)

Students’ Board

The Student’s Board consists of the respective representatives of the grades 5-10 and of the Senior Classes as well as the unit representatives of all units of the school and the student representatives who lead the Student’s Board. The school’s “democracy teachers” are also present at the meetings and support the student’s work.

Each month there is a meeting to discuss and vote on pending issues that come from the Representative Assemblies (AVs) or units. The board can also accept motions and, for example, revise them, return them for revision, or forward them for a vote. Another part are board-seminars that take place once every school year. Here the competencies of all members are developed, which are necessary for cooperative, conflict- and problem-solving work in a democracy.

The deputies

The classes elect their deputies. There are always two deputies per class (one boy, one girl). They represent the class in the deputies meeting twice a month. There they discuss topics that they bring from their classes. This also includes collecting arguments and then possibly drafting a motion. This first goes to the Executive Board, which reviews the motion, and then goes back to the respective AV to be passed on to the class councils afterwards. Only then can a vote of all students take place. In addition, important information from the Student’s Board is passed on to the classes.

In addition, in the deputies' meetings, the deputies elect the level representatives.

The deputies are not "determiners" but representatives of the class and thus role models for all.

Stage Representatives

The level representatives are the link between the Students’ Board and the AV. They are elected in the AV and have voting rights in the Students’ Board.

Students Working with Students

Students Working with Students is a unit that focuses on working with younger students. To do this, trained members participate in learning times in grades 5, 6, and 7 and help students complete their homework. In addition, the members of this unit have the opportunity to lead their own workshop, they can offer in the afternoons. To become a member, you have to go through a training at the end of the school year, which is conducted by active members with at least one year of experience.

Paramedics

The paramedics of the IGS Landau are a unit that, after a training, can give first aid. The members treat minor and major injuries and may even conduct their own first aid workshops.

Ambassadors

The ambassadors become active whenever visitors from outside the school come to IGS and are given a tour of our school building, which is planned and worked out in advance at a meeting. On Open Days, they lead groups of parents and students through the school and explain to them the systems, structures and special features of the school.

Feeding Company

The Feeding Company is a students’ company that provides sufficient food and drink during the breaks when the school’s kiosk is closed on Fridays. For this purpose, the unit’s members prepare the sales stand and the snacks and drinks on offer before the big breaks.

Environmental Unit

Members of the Environmental Unit work to raise awareness regarding climate protection and ecological action at IGS by organizing parking lot campaigns, parent evenings, informational events, building insect hotels, and crafting posters for Fridays for Future demos.

Unit PR

The Public Relations Department ensures transparency at the school by designing the Student’s Board Wall and writing reports for the school homepage when special events take place. The Unit PR organizes and conducts the student representative election every year. When guests from other schools visit the IGS, the PR department introduces the school’s democratic system and also conducts workshops. Furthermore, the unit can be invited or booked by other schools and educational institutions to present elements of the school’s democratic system.

Each unit also elects a spokesperson who represents the unit on the Students’ Board and has the right to vote.

Team F

Team F is the short form for "Full conference". Team F consists of all teachers of our school, who meet once a month. In addition, the students from the Students’ Board are often invited as well as the parent representatives. This team many important topics that make up our daily school life are discussed. In this team new things are announced, such as new motions, voting results, and more.

Council of the Wise

The Council of the Wise consists of the current student representatives, a school board member and 2 elected teachers of the school. This Council decides who has to vote on various motions (students only, teachers only, parents, everyone...).

School Assembly (Monday Morning Greeting (MoMo)

A regular school assembly is held every Monday in the gym, where all students from grades 5-10 meet with their teachers. The Seniors send representatives. In the Monday morning greeting important things for the week are discussed, there every student has the opportunity to raise something. It is also the place where the election speeches for the student representative election are held.

Individualized learning

Learning at IGS Landau is individulized, the center of all is the self-regulated learning, this is supported by a good setting, school culture, activity personal development programs and interdisziplinary tools.
The teaching staff is working in teams to be able to support the needs of the kids.

Mind Map of the individualized learning at IGS Landau

The reason why we putted self-regulated learning in the center of our learning system is, because doing this we get two sides of the same medal:

On the one side, there is a democratic setting with different ways of participating; on the other side, students must be enabled to take responsibility for their learning process, which again includes decisions on how they learn, sometimes what they learn and with which result.

The most significant points in the shown mindmap are:

• Personality development and preparation for life after school
• Arrangement of learning settings
• Adapted system of feedback and grading according to individual measures rather than collective ones (the younger the students, the more individual).
  
• Responsibility and self-management: log book and student-parent-teacher-talks twice a year
• Fit&Strong as a two-lesson-subject from class 5-10
• Challenges – a fanatstic project for 8th, 10th and 12th graders – two weeks meeting a challenge
• Life – professions – studies – we try to offer manyfold activities to make students reflect on their life and their future
• democratic structures (class council, pupils make school etc.)

Students make school

At IGS Landau we try to put democracy in schools on a whole new level, beause we believe, pupils should be the one who should influence the school life the most.

All pupils come together in class parliaments and school assembly.
In the parliaments they are electing representatives which come together in the meeting of representatives, which will elect 2 speakers for every different year.

The school assembly  elects the students' representatives, who organize the school assembly.

Every student can found a SMS (students make school)-section or can join a section. In this sections there will be hold elections for section speakers.

The speakers of the different years, the section speakers and the students' representatives fom the students' board (Vorstand) this board informs, discuss and communicate with the headteachers, the teachers and the parents.

How it used to be in a democracy every elected member has to inform its selecting group about their work.

A draft of students make school