The River East Transcona School Division offers an English-German bilingual program from Kindergarten to grade 12, one of only two of its kind in Canada. In grade 12 the prize for the students’ hard work is, in many cases, the Deutsches Sprachdiplom (DSD) level II (B2/C1) which provides proof of German language proficiency required for admission to post-secondary education in Germany. In Winnipeg it even came with a huge Sprachdiplom-cake which German teachers Sebastian Kukuk and Irina Graeber had especially provided for the occasion and which the graduates gladly shared later on with the grade 5 students in the audience.

Following initial remarks by principal Diana Posthumus, the German Honorary Consul in Winnipeg, Jutta Essig, and the German Language Advisor for Western Canada, Andreas Meckes, presented this year’s DSDII diplomas to the successful students who attended the ceremony. In their respective addresses, both guests pointed out the strong ties between Canada and Germany as well as the opportunities for Second Language learners in today’s globalized world.

The Deutsches Sprachdiplom der Kultusministerkonferenz is administered by the Central Agency for Schools Abroad (Zentralstelle für das Auslandsschulwesen, Germany) and can be taken at accredited DSD schools in more than 65 countries. Find out more about the Sprachdiplom language proficiency exams: www.auslandsschulwesen.de/dsd