Every year in the spring, German students from all over Nebraska are invited to participate in a convention to engage in activities and friendly competitions which utilize their German skills. The specific descriptions of these activities and competitions can be found on the following pages. (Click on the pictures to skip to certain info).

der Flohmarkt

Bring some cash to spend at our “flea market” filled with fun German items.

Photo Booth

Take pictures with your friends and fellow German learners.

Games

Use your German while having fun playing various games. Some examples include “Das Spiel des Lebens” und “Mensch ärgere dich nicht.”

Maibaum basteln

Build maypoles with food materials such as pretzel sticks, liquorice, marshmallows, and teddy grahams.

Martinslaterne

Construct Martinslaterne with construction paper, glue sticks, scissors, and candles.

Wachsgießen

Predict your future luck in the new year in this activity involving melting material and interpreting which shape it forms when it solidifies.

Directed Dialogue

Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4

Verbally answer 5 conversational questions.

Possible themes for level 1: personal info, free time, family, foods, time

Possible themes for level 2: German 1 with conversational past

Possible themes for level 3: past, present, future

Knowledge Bowl

Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4

4 members per team - 15 Questions per round

Two teams per round sit facing each other. Each student has a buzzer. When given a question, the first student to buzz in has 10s to answer without talking to others. If wrong, one student from the other team has 10s to answer.

Video Skit

Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4

2 videos per school with any number of students within that level.

Lines must be memorized and the skit must be performed within 3 - 5 minutes. Signs with basic language may be used to enhance the skit.

Poetry Video Interpretation

Make a video by recording your own voice reciting a poem by a German author and

creating visuals on the video to represent the poem. Begin your video by saying your name, school name, level of German study and year the video was made. (It must be current year.)

Music Video

2 entries per school

Must be a German language song and include the entire song on the video. Lyrics and video must be school appropriate. Be sure to include Song title, Artist Name, School Name, and Year in the music video itself. You must submit a copy of the lyrics in German and translated to English.

Music - Vocal & Instrumental

2 entries per school

Selection must be from a composer from the German-speaking world. Instrumental must not be memorized, but vocal music must be memorized and sung in German.

Poetry Writing & Recitation

Limit of 10 per school

Recite from memory a poem you have written. It must be an original work representing any topic but cannot be done with help from a German speaker, translation site, or AI. Example formats include (but are not limited to): Elfchen, Haiku, and Acrostic.

Newspaper Article

2 entries per level per school.

Write a short article about a topic related to the theme of the convention. Maximum of 10 sentences per article. Possible entries could be informational articles, advertisements for product, wedding/birthday/graduation announcements. Topics can be fictional or non-fictional but must be school-appropriate.

Artwork, Poster & Banner

Represents a German theme/topic. Artwork can be any shape/form. The poster should promote German culture. Artwork and Posters should include a 3x5 Notecard with the Student Name and School Name.

The banner should contain German words or a German theme with the school’s name.

T-Shirt Design

1 per school

Should represent a German theme and/or represent the school in some way.

Spelling

Limit of 6 students for each competition level

Beginning: Level 1 and 2

Advanced: Level 3 and 4

Each word will be said twice. You may also ask the judge to use the word in a sentence. You will be given 10 seconds to begin spelling using the German alphabet (saying “a/o/u umlaut” for umlauts)

Gebäck

4 Cake options and one Gebäck (Brezeln). Students must use the recipe provided

Only 1 of each type allowed per school. They will be judged on authenticity, flavor, and appearance.

Must include 3 sentences describing the baking process/flavor. Include 1 picture

Erdbeerkuchen (Deutschland)

Link to Recipe

Marmorgugelhupf (Österreich)

Link to Recipe

Rüeblikueche

(die Schweiz)

Link to Recipe

Apfelkuchen

Link to Recipe

Schoo Middle School

700 Penrose Dr.

Lincoln, NE 68521

Main Contacts:

Kelleen Rosebaugh and

Wendy Brennan

Convention Hours

Saturday, April 27th

8:15am - 1pm

Food (cake and pretzels) will be served during the break time in the middle of the day.

Admission: $5 per student