Every Monday morning there is a different mood in German class. Everyone is waiting for school to end and for the German Club to start. Herr Schmidt, the German teacher, starts off each class of the day with a reminder of the club and what they will be doing.

The German Club is a democracy on the books, however it is run more like a monarchy. This year,  junior Arturo Pedraza is president, and everyone loves listening to his speeches. Junior Jadyn Bryce, the vice president, makes sure everything is running smoothly after a short speech.

“We are a PG rated club. Where everyone has fun, state mandated fun. We can do some fun activities that help us learn more about German culture and language,” said Pedraza.

“ What I’m looking forward to most is the culture. I find it very interesting. I want to learn more,” said freshman August Baito.

The German Ⅰ class is filled with freshmen and a scattering of sophomores, it is their first year in the club. As the year goes on confidence is gained and more and more freshmen join the club. The second year German students are also trying to go to more club meetings when they could not last year because of time constraints.

“You spend so much time eating and learning about German Culture. It makes everything more fun,” said sophomore Mary Katherine Schmidt.

Certain activities are traditions in the German classrooms, spaghetti ice, cones filled with candy and school supplies are among the favorites.  Board Games are another one of the favorites, especially since the underclasses do not fully understand how to play because of the language change.

“Blackforest cake is my favorite German food. I do not know how to say it in German, Schwarzwälder kirschtorte, I think. But blackforest cake is pretty good,” said sophomore Arthi Bhavaraju.

German students all have one thing in common, a love of food. Snacks are common in the room and every once in a while a cake will be made or authentic german chocolate brought. With an entire unit of food in class, it makes sense that everyone has cultivated a love of eating.

“I just like the people and talking with them. I’ve been with the people in my class for three years, there’s no pressure,” said Bryce.

With classes of only 16 per period, it is no wonder why the community is tightly knit. Not many people are part of German, leading to a secret class. Herr Schmidt also has everyone interact no matter how well their understanding of German is.

“I’ve been unable to come a lot of the time because of theater, but I’m so excited for my final year of German Club,” said senior Conner Ferguson.

German 4, the highest German level, is the smallest German class, the elite German class. Composed of seniors who did four years of German, participating in competitions and preparing to take the AP German exam. They often are the officers of the club and teach underclassmen the ropes of German. At the end of the year, there will be an awards ceremony for them as a parting gift.

“The German classroom is my home, not because my dad’s the teacher, but because of the people filling the seats,” said sophomore Karl Schmidt.