MTG Executive Members: Micki Kolbe (President), Anita Kampen, Irene Koenike-Penner, Ryan Waldner, Ed Kleinsasser, Anita Kleinsasser, Werner Epp, Herb Martens, Megan Bradshaw, Annemarie Kramer

This past year has again been a successful one for the German language programs in Manitoba. The enrolment figures for the German Bilingual program continue to remain stable at around 800 students from K- 12, even though the overall student enrolment in the division is declining. There has been renewed interest in the basic German program in Winkler over the past several years, which is largely because of the recent settlement of German immigrants in that area.

MTG Germany Exchange: This year 10 students, all from Westgate Mennonite Collegiate, are going on the exchange. Some promotion was done in rural Manitoba, but students have so far been reluctant to take part. 15 students have already signed up for next year, so hopefully these numbers will continue to increase. The MTG exchange unfortunately has to compete with the private 9 week exchange offered to all of the German bilingual students by River East Collegiate.

Manitoba German Language Contest, Feb. 9, 2008: The contest continues to draw large numbers from Winnipeg and rural areas. This year there were 150 students registered from grades 7- 12, and 50 teachers of German agreed to act as judges. The organizers are hopeful that two Germany trip prizes, funded by PAD and the Goethe Institut, will be awarded. Manitobans for German Language Education (MGLE) donated $1500.00 in prize money, and other private sponsors and donors contributed as well.

MTG Annual Inservice, September 28, 2007: This year’s inservice offered a variety of parallel workshops to the 84 participants, and the feedback was generally very positive. The focus was on “Grammatik/Schreiben”, and participants were able to choose sessions relevant to their grade level. The presenters were Wieland Petermann, Hanelore Müller, Nicole Tiemann, Elma Dyck, Josie Hofer, Wilma Hofer, Walter Kampen, Mary Bradshaw, Ruth Renters, and Ruth Köller.

MTG Website: Our website was previously maintained by Andre Oberle through the U of Winnipeg, but since he has moved we have not been able to access it. We are looking into closing it and creating a new one in the near future.



Submitted by
Herb Martens