Bottrop, 10th November 2016. Within the bounds of a sponsoring run organized at the Heinrich-Heine-Gymnasium in Bottrop in favour of various projects the considerable sum of 500 Euros was reached for the Elena Bleß Foundation. In the future the Heinrich-Heine-Gymnasium would like to stand up for participation in work placements abroad. Last Thursday Annette Bleß received the donation for the Foundation and on behalf of all runners she thanked the pupil Jana Weißbon, the headmaster Mr Tobias Mattheis and the teacher Ms Ines Reich, who had organized the sponsoring run.

Marl, 30^th September 2016.“Only who knows each other respects each other”, Mayor Werner Arndt said when he greeted the 16 pupils from Colegio Cristo Rey from Madrid in the town hall. “Thus every meeting is an active contribution to peace in Europe.” From 22^nd to 30^th September the Spanish group visited Form 10 of ASGSG. Together with their teachers José Manuel Fernandez Oltra and Maribel Escudero as well as their German hosts they discovered the Ruhr Area. Amongst other things the Gasometer in Oberhausen, Cologne Cathedral and the CentrO shopping centre were on their schedule. A European party with the exchange group from Krosno has also been celebrated. This was the second exchange with Colegio Cristo Rey which was supported by the Elena Bleß Foundation.

Marl, 27th September 2016. The Polish young people of the Second Lyceum in Krosno (comparable to a Sixth Form School) visited the Albert-Schweitzer-/Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium. Accommodated in host families they got to know Marl, the surroundings and the people living here very closely. The exchange was supported by the Elena Bleß Foundation. In conversation with the pupils Mayor Arndt made clear that what is common today was not at all self-evident some years ago. “Today our Europe is completely different from the one it used to be”, Arndt explained. “When I was young, there were borders. Therefore I welcome it very much that Polish and German young people can now meet so uncomplicatedly.” In the following days a lot of new experiences and impressions waited for the young people. Trips to the Chemistry Park, to the Jewish Museum in Dorsten, to the Transformer Plant Recklinghausen as well as a town rally in Recklinghausen were on their plan. Another highlight was a European evening, on which the German and Polish pupils met another exchange group from Madrid.

Cassel (France), 25th September 2016. In the small town of Cassel near Lille Lisa from Brakel used her work placement at a French Collège to not only regard the job of a teacher from the perspective of a pupil, but to make first personal experiences in imparting knowledge. Therefore she was allowed to accompany the very nice German teacher in her lessons in four different years and to take over the role of the teacher in some parts of the lessons. She answered questions, for example, which the pupils asked her in German regarding her person. In the second week she was already allowed to plan and do six German lessons. Among other things, she prepared a game about German cultures or a worksheet for the comparison of the different school systems. In the last part of her work placement she was allowed to get to know and co-organize everyday life at the French primary school opposite. Her conclusion at the end of her work placement: “I am very happy that I had the chance of making these experiences. The work placement not only gave me an insight into French school life, but it also gave me the chance to get to know new people who I will never forget. Besides, the work placement also helped me to improve my pronunciation. I would recommend a work placement abroad to everybody.”