Regular Day
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 3rd, 2026
To help make up for some of the important instructional time that was lost, we will slightly deviate from the MCPS delayed-start decision and begin the school day tomorrow at the regular time with first period at 8:10 am.
School buses will be running on their regular routes. However, there will still be ice and snow on some walkways and around bus stop areas in the morning. Please make sure students are dressed warmly for the cold weather. Road conditions on main streets are generally good, but we do expect some bus delays. Therefore, if possible, we ask that you wait with your child in the car near the bus stop until the bus arrives, so that your child stays warm.
For families who drive their children to school, as well as for older students who drive themselves, we kindly ask that you drive especially slowly on Chateau Drive and allow school buses ample space to make turns. Snow-narrowed streets can make maneuvering more difficult for large buses, and a bit of extra space helps them turn safely. Thank you for your patience and cooperation.
Additional snow is forecast for Tuesday; however, at this time we expect school to open on time again on Wednesday. Our twelfth-grade students who will be taking Abitur exams on Wednesday will receive a separate communication from our high school coordinators.
Thank you, as always, for your support and flexibility. We are very much looking forward to seeing our preschoolers and students back in their classrooms.
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Um einen Teil der wichtigen Unterrichtszeit nachzuholen, weichen wir leicht von der MCPS-Entscheidung zum verspäteten Unterrichtsbeginn ab und starten den Schultag am Dienstag regulär mit der ersten Stunde um 8:10 Uhr.
Die Schulbusse fahren ihre regulären Routen. Es wird am Morgen noch Eis und Schnee auf manchen Gehwegen sowie im Bereich der Bushaltestellen geben. Bitte achten Sie darauf, dass die Schüler:innen dem kalten Wetter entsprechend warm gekleidet sind. Die Straßenverhältnisse auf den Hauptstraßen sind insgesamt gut, dennoch müssen wir mit einzelnen Busverspätungen rechnen. Daher bitten wir Sie, wenn möglich, mit Ihrem Kind in der Nähe der Bushaltestelle im Auto zu warten, bis der Bus ankommt, damit es warm bleibt.
Für Familien, die ihre Kinder mit dem Auto zur Schule bringen, sowie für ältere Schüler:innen, die selbst fahren, bitten wir Sie, auf der Chateau Drive besonders langsam zu fahren und den Schulbussen ausreichend Platz zum Abbiegen zu lassen. Durch Schnee verengte Straßen können das Rangieren eines Busses erschweren, und etwas zusätzlicher Raum hilft den Bussen, sicher zu manövrieren. Vielen Dank für Ihre Geduld und Kooperation.
Für Dienstag ist weiterer Schneefall vorhergesagt, derzeit gehen wir jedoch davon aus, dass die Schule am Mittwoch wieder pünktlich öffnen wird. Unsere Zwölftklässler:innen, die am Mittwoch ihre Abiturprüfungen schreiben, erhalten hierzu eine separate Information von unseren Oberstufenkoordinatoren.
Vielen Dank, wie immer, für Ihre Unterstützung und Flexibilität. Wir freuen uns sehr darauf, unsere Kindergartenkinder und Schüler:innen wieder in ihren Klassenzimmern zu sehen.
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January 31, 2026 - All classes remain online today.
GLC - German Language Courses
Welcome to the German Language Courses at the German International School Washington D.C.
Mission Statement:
The mission of the German Language Courses (GLC) at the German International School Washington D.C. is to provide all levels of German language study in a diverse, challenging, and nurturing environment. The GLC also promotes self-motivation and self-discipline while fostering lifelong learning of the German language and its culture.
We all thrive on our Motto:
The GLC offers German courses for children ages 3 and up, teens, and adults at all proficiency levels. While increasing your communicative and intercultural competence you will improve your German language proficiency with the assistance of our highly qualified and motivated German instructors.
We have around 500 students visit our beautiful campus in Potomac, Maryland on Wednesday evenings or Saturday mornings. The GLC was awarded the prestigious Center of Excellence Award by the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) and was named a PASCH school by the German Secretary of State. Furthermore, in cooperation and under the supervision of the German Educational Ministry, the GLC administers a variety of German language exams, such as the "Deutsches Sprachdiplom I/II" and the "Internationale schulische Vergleichsarbeit A1/A2".The AATG National German Exams for High School Students are also offered by the GLC.
Here https://giswashington.org/exams.html you can take a look at our exam schedule.
Our classes are divided into three groups to accommodate all language learners on all proficiency levels:
• German for beginners
• German as a second language
• German as a first language (native speakers)
Click here for a list of Coursedescriptions
At our school learning German is fun! Next to German classes of very high standards, parents and students get to spend some quality time in our extensive libraries. You will be invited to take part in our many cultural events, such as the Oktoberfest with 5K- and 1K-run, St. Martin's Parade, German Christmas Market, Christmas Party, and much more.
We would be delighted to welcome you and your family to our school.
Kerstin Hopkins
Principal
> Welcoming Speech for the 40th Anniversary of the German Language Courses
Welcome to the German Language Courses at the German International School Washington D.C.
Translation services by Linda Gaus, MadDocs LLC, Vienna. The original letter from Mr. Lauer can be found in the German Section of this webpage at http://dswashington.org/sprachschule.html.
Welcoming Speech for the 40th Anniversary of the German Language Courses
Students, parents, teachers, employees and administration, friends and supporters, in the name of the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad, I would like to congratulate you on the 40th anniversary of the Deutsche Sprachschule Washington.
For 40 years, the Deutsche Sprachschule Washington has built a cultural bridge that connects Germany and the United States. Its students do not just learn the German language, they also get to know Germany. In turn, they become bridge builders and ambassadors. Their special educational experiences connect them throughout their lives to both countries and simultaneously connect Germany and the United States.
In English, the Deutsche Sprachschule Washington bears the modest name German Language Courses (GLC); it is the largest part-time language school for the Deutsches
Sprachdiplom in the United States. Since 1976, the school has offered demanding, varied German instruction for children and adults on all levels. More than 500 students currently attend the GLC on Saturdays and Wednesdays on the campus of the Deutsche Schule Washington. For many families in the Washington, D.C. area, the GLC presents an outstanding opportunity to maintain their connections to German language and culture.
With the Deutsches Sprachdiplom II (DSD II), the Deutsche Sprachschule Washington offers an examination that prepares students to study at universities in Germany. More students here than at any other German educational institution in the United States take and pass this examination. A broad portfolio of German and American German language examinations, as well as a wide variety of extracurricular activities round out the offerings of the Deutsche Sprachschule Washington. The Central Agency for German Schools Abroad assists the Deutsche Sprachschule Washington in securing and enhancing quality standards.
Your school is an official member of the PASCH partner school initiative of the German Federal Foreign Office. In this context, your students regularly participate very successfully in competitions and international meetings. With the online magazine GLC-Wortspiel, the school makes regular contributions to the website of the PASCH initiative. Exemplary too is the work of the Deutsche Sprachschule Washington with its alumni. Again and again, this work demonstrates the school’s long-term connection to its “Saturday students.”
As part of the PASCH network, your school is one of the mediators of the foreign cultural and educational policies of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Deutsche Sprachschule Washington blazes paths to understanding, encourages exchange and networking, and thus also fulfills a cultural-political function.
In a time of many crises and conflicts, cultural and educational policies are devoted increasingly to social questions. They provide help to humanity. The concern is to understand and bridge differences and also to learn and teach how to assume responsibility. The PASCH schools play an important role here too: The intercultural encounters and dialogue at your school are a valuable basis for a joint transatlantic future! All of you contribute to the success of this exchange.
In this spirit, I wish the entire school community well on the school's 40th anniversary and great success in the future!
