SHOULD THE NELSON MANDELA SCHOOL DECLARE A CLIMATE AND ECOLOGICAL EMERGENCY (CEE)?

The European Union has done it, Berlin, London and Paris have done it and the Berlin Senat has just announced that all in-land business trips will be flight-free.

Should our school set an example as to how we should behave in order to help ensure a sustainable future for our pupils, for our staff, for all in the world, wherever they live?

Read all about it here.

We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think. Do write to us at

Diese E-Mail-Adresse ist vor Spambots geschützt! Zur Anzeige muss JavaScript eingeschaltet sein.

That’s how fast the carbon clock is ticking. The MCC Carbon Clock shows how much CO₂ can be released into the atmosphere to limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5°C and 2°C, respectively.

The Bauhaus Temporary published a contest calling for participants to upload a tutorial on how to fold a camera bellows.

 Jakob Führ, one of our  Y10 students and participant in the Bauhaus Class installed in cooperation with the Bauhaus Temporary Berlin, has won the competition. Congratulations! Here is his short video tutorial.

On Wednesday, a right-wing terrorist killed 10 people in Hanau. This attack comes only days after another right-wing terrorist group was arrested for planning to attack mosques all over Germany.

We are a "Schule ohne Rassismus - Schule mit Courage". With a minute of silence and our flags at half-mast, we would like to express our solidarity with the victims and the communities threatened by right-wing terrorism in Germany.

Best regards/ Mit freundlichen Grüßen  Katja Sajid Acting Principal

Wir sind unendlich traurig dass Markus am 4. Januar von uns gegangen ist.

 Markus hat sich als Vater von Aidan und  Damian seit 2003 bis 2019 mit Herz und Seele für die Community der Nelson-Mandela-Schule engagiert. Zahlreiche Feierlichkeiten und Events unserer Schule hat er mitorganisiert und moderiert. Er war schon im „I-Ball” Komitee dabei und hat 2009 die „Boogie Nights“ mit initiiert. Markus war unser „MC“ - Master of Ceremonies, und das auch gern bei FoN für die Silent Auction.  Als er schon krank war, sagte er  “Mein Schwerpunkt liegt auf dem Leben und dem Lebendigen”.

IB13 Biology students visited the Julius Wolff Institute to learn about the interdisciplinary field of Biomechanics. They were given a private seminar by award winning Biophysicist Dr Ehsan Soodmand.

 Dr Soodmand holds two PhDs, one in Mechanical Engineering and the other in the Biological Sciences. He explained to our students the nature of modern scientific research.

Zivilcourage von Lubaya (8b)

Rassismus bleibt  in der deutschen Gesellschaft stets weit verbreitet. So kann man als Afrodeutscher nicht seine Haare offen tragen, ohne alle Blicke auf sich zu ziehen und von Fremden durch Anfassen der Haare (ohne Erlaubnis) belästigt zu werden. Sprüche wie: „Ach ja, ein Wuschelkopf!” und Gewalt sind dabei leider keine Seltenheit. Als mich einmal ein Mann ansprach, ob er meine Haare anfassen dürfe und ich nein sagte, spuckte er mir auf die Füße und schubste mich um. 

Wie handelst du als außenstehende Person in einer solchen Situation? 

Bist du einer der vielen Menschen, die wegschauen und weiter gehen, oder zeigst du Zivilcourage?

 Check this out for yourself by visiting our students’ exhibition THE BAUHAUS WAS A SCHOOL at BAUHAUS TEMPORARY, Knesebeckstr. 1-2, near Ernst-Reuter-Platz, that can still be explored until Feb 29, 2020. In the small space, that functions as a BAUHAUS showroom while the new museum is under construction, the 10 students of the BAUHAUS Elective Course, all year 10, have set up several work stations to actively experience practical art exercises of the preliminary course. In the weeks before the grand opening on Nov 27, the group had tested and optimized the tasks for contemporary museum visitors.

 The Elective Course BAUHAUS are meeting every Friday afternoon to deal with the practical fundamentals of art and design. The main task is to explore the educational approach of the BAUHAUS school (1919 – 1933) that taught university students from all over the world first in Weimar, then Dessau and finally Berlin before it was shut down by the Nazi regime. Nowadays we connect artists like Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger and architects like Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe or designers like Marcel Breuer and Marianne Brandt with the BAUHAUS style.

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