Dress Up Day at Knoch High

Today we spent the whole day in Knoch High School. It was Dress Up Day for the senior students and their German exchange partners were allowed to dress up, too. It was funny to see all the costumes such as Ironmen, Mexican guys, Catwomen, Gingerbread Men and so on. During the last period every student of Knoch had to come to the gym for fall’s first pep rally.

The principal’s speech prepared the pupils for tonight’s football game against their big rival Mars. After several cheerleader performances and marching band songs the fun part of the event started.

At first they played a game called “Egg on the Spoon”, in which also some of the Germans took part. At the end the different grades screamed against each other to win the “Magic Stick”. Our German teachers and the principal decided about the winner. It was a really close decision, but the seniors won.

In the evening everybody went to the football game Knoch vs Mars. The Knoch Knights won 28:3 and are still undefeated!!!

Your German GAPP students

Look how we dressed up!

Visiting Volant

Today we went together with our host students to school for two periods.

Afterwards we all met in front of the principal’s office to go to Volant. The ride took about an hour, which we all used to sleep a little because we were all still exhausted from yesterday’s trip to Pittsburgh.

Volant is halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh and some residents are Amish. The Amish live without electricity and only use horse carts for transportation. They obey strict religious rules so we were not allowed to take any pictures.

In Volant there are 30 unique shops and restaurants and a couple of different events during the year. Most students walked through the town to get an impression of what the Amish offer. We bought some tasty organic cookies and tea.

After that we headed to the Grove City Premium Outlets. This is a huge shopping mall which is divided into seven different buildings with more than 100 shops!

We had about 2 hours to look around and buy something, which was far to less time for most of us. All in all we had a great time and enjoyed ourselves.

Your German GAPP students

Pittsburgh College Football Game

The last event in Pittsburgh before we went back home to Saxonburg was visiting a College football game at Heinz Field.

We arrived there at about 6 pm, which was two hours before the game started. So we had enough time to take photos of the field and the nice view over the city of Pittsburgh at night.

At about 7:45 pm the performance of the Marching Band began and they played the American National Anthem. We’ve never seen something like this!

Then the game finally started. The Pittsburgh Panthers played against the Connecticut Huskies. A few minutes after the beginning, a bad accident happened. One of the best Pitt quarterbacks injured his leg and had to leave the field. Nevertheless the Panthers had some homeruns and scored many points. It took us some time to figure out the rules of football but with the help of some Americans we finally got it! After the second quarter we bought something to eat. It was quite expensive there. A hot dog costs about 6 dollars!

Because we were all tired and it was quite cold we left the game after the third quarter. It was a great new experience!

The following day we found out that our team, the Pittsburgh Panthers, won the game!

Your German GAPP students

The amazing Heinz Football Stadium:

Field Trip to Pittsburgh (part 2): Heinz History Center and Strip District

In the museum we were split in three groups for the tour through the Heinz History Center, which was named after the famous manufacturer of Heinz Ketchup.

We heard all about the history of Pittsburgh and saw how people had lived many years ago. You could have a look at old rooms, guns etc.

After the tour we were allowed to visit the Strip District. We had two hours there to check out the stores that sell chocolates, fan articles of the Pittsburgh Steelers and costumes for Halloween. Unfortunately, most of the shops closed at 5 pm so we went to McDonald’s to eat a burger before heading to the football stadium.

Your German GAPP students

Some pictures:

Field Trip to Pittsburgh: Monongahela Incline and Just Ducky City Tour

Our day started at 7:40 am with different lessons in the High School. We went with our exchange partners to their classes and enjoyed arts, physics, P.E., history, etc …

At 10 am we met in the hall to leave school for an exciting trip to Pittsburgh. It was a one hour drive in one of the famous yellow school buses.

The first sightseeing we did in Pittsburgh was the Monongahela Incline, which is a small kind of train that drives uphill. On top, we had a wonderful view over Pittsburgh, so we took a lot of amazing pictures.

Back down in the city, we went to the Hard Rock Café where we had lunch (delicious burgers!).

Then the “Just Ducky” vehicle arrived. It looks like a little bus but it can also drive in the streets or on the water. The tour guide drove us through the city and explained some interesting facts about Pittsburgh and its past as a steel town. The funniest thing was that we had to “Quack, Quack, Quack” like a duck during the trip.

On the water some students were allowed to drive the vehicle. It was a really funny, unforgettable adventure!

Your German GAPP students

And now have a look at our pictures!

The Vocational-Technical School

After we visited the courthouse and the prison, we drove to the vocational-technical school in Butler County, which offers courses to prepare students to enter jobs in various occupations after High School graduation.

At first we got some food that was prepared by students of the cooking class. It was really delicious! We then visited many different classes and were informed about all the kinds of programs offered at this school such as nursing, photography, commercial arts, cosmetology, carpentry, heavy equipment repair, and welding.

It was nice to see such a variety and each teacher told us what the students were currently doing in their lessons. We had a nice guide there.

Then we went back to Knoch High School where our hosts were waiting for us.

Your German GAPP students

Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what the Vocational-Technical School looks like:

Butler County

The security searched us when we arrived at the Butler County Court House. It’s important because some people want to smuggle something inside.

At first we went into one of the courtrooms. It was built in 1807. This room was very beautiful. On the walls you could see pictures of the 6 judges.

Then we went to the Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff showed us handcuffs, tasers, and a gun. He is also responsible for safely getting prisoners in and out of the courtroom. Christopher was the volunteer for the handcuffs. Everybody was able to touch the sheriff’s gun, which was really heavy.

Afterwards we were officially welcomed by the 3 commissioners of Butler County.

Last but not least we went into the Butler County Prison. We saw the inmates’ cells. They were very small!!! The cells are closed from 10 pm to 7 am every day. During day time inmates are allowed to use the area in front of their cells, too, where they can walk, sit, shower or play chess. 63 inmates share such an area. Everywhere you could see CCTVs.

Your German GAPP students

Here are our pictures: