Student Government at the DSW Rebecca Weiss Like any school, the Deutsche Schule Washington is made up of many different elements that make the school what it is today. One of these elements is the 0Schuelermitverwaltung,1 or, as it is known to most students, the SMV. The SMV is the equivalent of a student council, encouraging students to sign up in order to build a connection between their fellow classmates and the school community. Even though the SMV is a big part of everyday student life at the DSW, it is rather unclear when the SMV was actually founded. One of the oldest records that mentions the SMV 3 an old school newspaper 3 dates back to 1967, six years after the the DSW was officially founded. The SMV consists of a) one class representative per class from grades 5 and up, and b) three groups of 0Stufensprecher1: those students who represent the 5th - 7th grades, 8th - 9th grades, and 10th - 12th grades, usually in groups of about three to five. This year a third part c) has been added to this system called the Wildcards, who are students that had not been able to become a) or b) and reapplied on their own terms to the SMV. The members of the SMV are supervised 3- or led -- by a 0Vertrauenslehrer(in)1, which, literally translated, means 0teacher of trust.1 I suppose one might be able to compare the role of this teacher to that of a guidance counselor; their role is to be a teacher that students can come to when they have problems that need attending to. In past years this role was filled by one teacher who was elected by the students; this year, however, two teachers have been chosen to fill the role as Vertrauenslehrer. Members of the SMV should come prepared, because
Apparently the original SMV meetings were tumultuous events as this cartoon from the student newspaper, Die Pauke (October 1967) indicates.
"The Executives" of the "Student Council" as pictured in the 1975-1976 DSW Yearbook
there's plenty to be done when you get to be a part of the action. Once they're part of the SMV, you are the mediator between the class you represent and the school's administrative parties. Their job is to listen to the suggestions or, more likely, the complaints of their classmates and make sure their voices are heard! Most of the time, however, all is right with the world and no-one's complaining about anything, but that's pretty much where the work of the SMV begins. In order to strengthen the school community and to get students to heighten school spirit, the SMV constantly tries to come up with new ideas to enhance the school experience for students and teachers alike. Organizing events for the students of the DSW is what the SMV spend most of their time doing. One such event is the Spirit Week, where all members of the German school are encouraged to dress according to a new theme every day for a week. Lots of fun is had by all, and the classes compete under the incentive of a prize which is to be had by that class that shows the greatest involvement during the Spirit Week! Not only does the SMV actively organize events that serve to benefit the school and its students; along with creating a strong-knit community in school, they organize some events for the sole purpose of aiding those in need outside of our school grounds. Among these events you might find our famous German School Christmas Drive, a program which encourages students to get their creative juices flowing in order to collect enough money to purchase gifts for less fortunate children in Montgomery County Schools.
Fünfzig Jahre Deutsche Schule 115
