Gary Beaner retired from NMS last month after 13 years of leading from the front of many school concerts. Most of us are more familiar with his back, watching him from behind as he led the kids in multiple musical and choir performances at school concerts and festivals.

Gary joined the school in 2006 as a primary and music teacher. He grew up in the USA where he developed a passionate interest in music. He was known at NMS for both his quiet, sensitive and polite demeanour, high standards and impeccable manners, as well as for his constant efforts to impart to our kids a passion and joy for music and singing. For many years he taught Music and Choir, in addition to offering Choir and Musical AGs. His performances were always well attended and enjoyed. The kids got a lot out of it and were encouraged to stretch themselves in choir rehearsals and performances, but the overall feeling most took away with them was a sense of joy and fun for music.

Gary was extremely well known and liked in the community and he was often seen being greeted by many parents on festival days and on the street.

52 volunteers from the NMS Year 5&6 Choir performed at the Indian Embassy on 12.12 in the presence of embassy dignitaries and other schools. It was an absolute ball and privilege to attend. The children did themselves proud, working at their best and having fun. We wore very smart NMS polo shirts and whilst traveling, reflective vests, courtesy of the Friends.

Many thanks to the adult team who closely supported us: Mr Gary Beaner, Fr. Phoebe Scott, Fr. Griffin, Fr. Ziche, Fr. Christine Ash-Büchner, Fr. Chen Schmidt, Fr. Katka Mayer, Hr. Langlotz. We couldn’t have managed it without your ideas, enthusiasm and encouragement.

Following this the whole Choir of 81 pupils performed an evening concert of a fuller program to family  and friends. The Choir and soloists gave their best. 

We also received some photos from parents present on the eveining who told us that Ms. Kwai and Ms Scott deserve a big shout-out for their roles (teacher and cellist/ parent, respectively). 

The very first Climate Conference in Berlin was held last Nov 20 at the ZeissGross Planetarium. This conference was organised by the Ministry of Education with Education Minister Sandra Scheeres as one of the key speakers. Students aged 10-18  from all over Berlin came to participate in the different workshops and talks offered by numerous Environmental and Educational groups.

Five pupils from Years 5 and 6 represented the Nelson Mandela School.  The Climate Conference focused on the current steps being made to help reduce negative effects that humans make on the environment.  They learned the importance of buying seasonal products and even made slogans to use for the next Friday for Future rally! Senator Scheeres hopes to make this an annual event from now on.

On December 4, the students of the Leistungskurs Kunst of Year 12 opened their photo exhibition on individually selected Sustainable Development Goals. The artwork can be seen, carefully and thoughtfully installed, in the school buildings at P30, on the ground floor of the old building and the three floors of the new building. Along with the curation of the photo series come texts that explain the concepts behind the work. Please take a look at the catalogue as a lasting product and outcome of our project.

See the Exhibition Catalogue here (pdf)

Florentine Baumann
Head of Art Department
Coordination of Elective Courses (Lower Secondary)

The students of class 10D and their English teacher, Mrs. Birmingham, have put together a list of recommended English books for children age 12 to 15. They read the books and found them exciting and interesting enough to spread the word about their discoveries. Categories include: Fiction, Non-Fiction, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Autobiography and Short Stories. Have fun reading!

> Recommended English book list here

Unter diesem Motto veröffentlichen wir hier - als Pendent zur englischen Leseliste - die von Hans Künzel (Deutschlehrer an der P30) vorgeschlagenen Top 12 der Jugendliteratur. Die Empfehlungen folgen den Besprechungen unter www.jugendbuchtipps.de. Viel Spaß beim Lesen!

> Die empfohlene deutsche Leseliste hier

The NMS Music Department invites you to a music evening entitled City Symphony.

It will be taking place on Thursday the 5th of December in the P30 Aula. The performances starts at 17:00 and continue until 19:00. According to the lovely art that we received (see picture) there will be soloists, orchestral pieces and the band. 

Über das Bauhaus-Agenten-Programm, an dem die Nelson-Mandela-Schule bereits im vierten Jahr teilnimmt, durften unsere Oberschüler am 29.11.2019 den Auftakt zu einem international bedeutenden Architektur-Symposium in der Berlinischen Galerie bereiten. Anlässlich des Bauhaus-Jubiläums diskutieren Architekten und Kunsthistoriker über den Umgang mit dem Erbe des Bauhauses im globalen Kontext. Die Schüler_innen des Leistungskurses Kunst, 12. Jahrgang, hatten Kurzfilme zu Lebensvisionen, -wünschen und -ängsten auf der Grundlage des Dokumentationsfilms „Die Sonneninsel“ von Thomas Elsässer angefertigt, die dem Publikum gezeigt und anschließend diskutiert wurden. Neben unseren Schüler_innen waren auch ein Kunst-Leistungskurs der Paula-Fürst-Schule involviert. 

 Unterstützt von einer Bildenden Künstlerin spürte der WPU-Kurs Kunst (11. Klasse) dem Instrumentarium von ab- und entwertender Sprache im Nationalsozialismus nach und fragten danach, wieviel sprachliche Ausgrenzung heute alltäglich ist. 

So wurde in einem ehemaligen Teil der Kinderfachklinik Wiesengrund recherchiert und gezeichnet. 

Ergebnisse vom Staffeltag der Berliner Oberschulen

Am 11. September fand im F.-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark das Berliner Finale der Oberschulen statt.  Staffel-Wettkämpfe gab es über 4 x 100 m und über 3 x 800 m.
Dabei zeigten unsere Teams wieder starke sportliche Leistungen.

Pepijn Akkermans gewinnt Platz 3 in der Wertung der Oberschüler beim diesjährigen Mini-Marathon

Am 28. September fand der 31. Mini-Marathon in Berlin statt. Es nahmen wieder über 10.000 Schülerinnen und Schüler am Lauf über die 4,2 km teil.
Unsere Schule startete mit 2 großen Teams in der Wertung der Grundschulen und der Oberschulen.

Where: St Thomas-Kirchhof (Keller der Kapelle), Hermannstr. 179

A short concert including works by Purcell, Dowland, Hassler and Cavalli.

Zoom poster here