The Alexander von Humboldt German International School Montreal (AvH; , ) is an international private co-educational multilingual (German, English and French) school located in

Baie-D'Urfé Baie-D'Urfé (, ; previously spelled Baie d'Urfé or Baie d'Urfee) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburb of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the West Island area of the Island of Montreal. As part of the 2002–2006 municipal reorganiz ...

, Quebec, a

West Island The West Island (, ) is the unofficial name given to the city, towns and boroughs at the western end of the Island of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada. It is generally considered to consist of the Lakeshore municipalities of Lachine (specific ...

suburb of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. It was founded in 1980 to educate the German community of Montreal. Its campus was formerly Oakridge Elementary School.

History

Founded in 1980, the AvH school opens its doors in

Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (, , ), commonly known as NDG, is a residential neighbourhood of Montreal in the city's West End, with a population of 166,520 (2016). An independent municipality until annexed by the City of Montreal in 1910, NDG is today o ...

district in Montreal to further moved in 1984 in a new building located in Baie-D’Urfé. Originally, it started with 22 students and now the school hosts more than 300 students. The school was founded to offer a German education to immigrants from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Today, the school serves a much greater community (e.g. Germans, Canadians, Americans, Italians, etc.). The school is funded through school fees, donations, and support from the Federal Government of the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

Student body

, there were 300 students, of which 66% came from non-German-speaking households. The remainder came from German-speaking households.Language skills, especially German, at the core of AvH program

Archive
. ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

''. September 5, 2014. Retrieved on April 9, 2016. Note:

Postmedia Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in Engl ...

's editorial department was not involved in the creation of this article; it was created by Postmedia's advertising department on behalf of the AvH and it was created for commercial purposes. In 1996 the student body numbered 210.
Available at

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

Operations

The school cooperates with the

Goethe Institute The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

in order to promote German culture in the Montreal area.

Curriculum

Even though the school is not funded by the

government of Quebec The Government of Quebec (, ) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. The term is typically used to refer to the executive of the day (i.e. Minister of the Crown, mini ...

, it follows the standards of the

Quebec Ministry of Education The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (in French: Ministère de l’Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur, abbreviated as MEES) was the combined government ministry of Quebec that governed education, recreation, and sports from 27 Fe ...

. Therefore, the students receive the provincial diploma upon graduation from high school. Students may not choose to graduate at Grade 11 with the Diplôme des études secondaires and go on to

CEGEP A CEGEP ( or ; , ; also written CÉGEP and cegep) is a publicly funded college providing general, professional, academic or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, it ori ...

; but stay until Grade 12 and get the German International Abitur (DIA) and then immediately attend a university or college. Students may also earn the Deutsches Sprachdiplom, a certificate in German proficiency at grade 12.About Us
" Alexander von Humboldt German International School Montreal. Retrieved on April 9, 2016. The school has courses taught in German, French, and English. In PreKindergarten and Kindergarten courses are mostly in German while French and English courses are introduced in the first grade. The only classes taught in French and/or English are the non-German language classes.Habib, Marlene.
Private Schools: Trilingualism Immersion goes beyond French
" ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. Thursday September 26, 2013. Retrieved on April 9, 2016. The German government funds operations at the school, including eight teaching positions, while the government of Quebec does not fund this school.

Academic performance

In 1995 all of the students taking the Quebec provincial examinations passed even though the curriculum was not aligned with Quebec standards. Karen Seidman of the ''

'' wrote that the school "so overwhelmingly aced he teststhat it now has virtually no place to go but down."

Diplomas offered

Academic administration

*Principal: Dr. Martin Braun *Vice-Principal: Tobias Grygier *Principal Elementary School: Gerd Jonetz *Preschool Coordinator: Christiane El Aboudy-Kalz

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander von Humboldt Schule Montreal German-Canadian culture in Quebec German international schools in Canada International schools in Quebec Private schools in Quebec Elementary schools in Quebec High schools in Quebec 1980 establishments in Canada Preparatory schools in Quebec Educational institutions established in 1980 Baie-D'Urfé