A warm welcome to PMHG!

Dear pupils and parents,
We are delighted that you alongside your children are taking an interest in our school. With this brochure we hope to give you an initial insight into life at PMHG and further your interest in becoming a part of our school.
You will also find further information on our website (www.pmhg.de)
We are more than happy to give you a tour of our school and answer any questions that you may have.
Please give us a ring to arrange a meeting.
Yours sincerely

Wolfgang Krause, OStD
- Principal -

Phillip-Matthäus-Hahn Secondary School

Our school was founded in 1967 as the first shared secondary school between Echterdingen and Leinfelden, which at the time were still two separate towns. Our school is named after a vicar in Echterdingenwho’slife’s work was heavily influenced byhis passion for human and natural sciences.

The Leitmotiv of our School - Introduction by the Headmaster

Our school’s Leitmotiv is made up of five elements and aims to guide the path of our school towards a brighter future.

We feel that the duty of education in secondary schools is not only to enable young people to complete their studies but also to prepare them for the various challenges of adult life, to help them to discover themselves and develop a good relationship with both classmates and staff. In this respect it is our task to both encourage and lead our pupils.
All this is reflected in our school model which has been accepted and approved by the vast majority of our school board.
This model requires the utmost support from parents and always prioritises the interests of the pupils. In this way it is beneficial to parents and pupils alike.

1. “Fachkompetenz” - Getting to grips with subjects

Above all we promote a willingness to learn and to achieve. Maintaining such education standards requires a high standard of training among our teachers, spacious school facilities as well as a keen interest and joy of learning among our students.

2. “Methodenkompetenz” - Getting to grips with learning methods

School is an environment in which learning techniques are practised. In order to thrive in our school community, we above all need good communication skills. For this purpose we promote and develop debating, analytical and presentation skills.

3. Personal skills

We view our pupils as independent and individual beings who all are gifted with a different set of skills. Therefore it is our duty to recognise the personal talents of each and every one of ourstudents, and to support them in following their initiative.

4. Social skills

We highly value every pupil’s dignity. Mutual respect is vital in ensuring that our day-to-day school life runs smoothly. Our commitment to a harmonious and community- based school life and to the acceptance of responsibility are the founding elements of our school.

5. Evalution

High education standards must be ensured and developed further. We learn from our experience and improve whenever and whatever is necessary. We welcome new challenges with open arms.

Our school community

Our day-to-day school life is bursting full of numerousactivities.
Among these is the annual school exchange to Manosque, France and York, USA as well as our recently established exchange programmes with Cardedeu, Spain and Sonepat, India.
Our Year 7 pupils have the opportunity to go to our school camp and activity centre, whilst our Year 9s gain valuable experience from their work experience within the community. Our Year 11 and 12s venture on a fieldtrip to our capital city Berlin.

At our school we also have our own medical service, where trained and qualified paramedics can administer first aid to both minor and more serious injuries.

We have a team of trouble-shooters set in place, who help to resolve any disputes that may arise amongst students.
The school newspaper ‘Durchbruch’ keeps our pupils up to date with school life and political issues, particularly those concerning today’s youth.
By getting involved with the School Council the pupils can actively have a say in how day-to-day school life is run.
The ‘Friends of PMHG’ association provides a link between parents and our school and supports diverse projects in many different ways.
The career guidance service (BOGY) gives the year 10 pupils the opportunity, resources and experience to try out different career paths of their own accord.

Lunchtime

The lunchtime menu at PMHG is part of a longstanding tradition. Dinner ladies voluntarily get involved with our ‘Cooking team’.
In our modern school kitchens, homemade meals are offered three times week (Mon, Tues, Wed). Up to 300 meals are prepared on a daily basis.
At lunchtime there is also the opportunity to attend homework club. In association with the city’s youth organisations, both teachers and tutors are readily available to assist our pupils.

Bilingual Stream at PMHG

As of the school year 2011/2012 PMHG has offered a bilingual German-English stream. Bilingual teaching should pave the way for our pupils to a near on complete command of both languages.
In the 21st century, the role of English as an international language is becoming increasingly important. English enables direct communication and therefore unlocks doorways to other culture groups and ways of life. Those who speak a second language can more easily experience and identify with different cultural perspectives.
In addition to traditional foreign language lessons, bilingual teaching focuses on applied learning in Geography, History and Biology. Although the pupils prepare topics in English, English is not the learning goal, but simply the means of communication.
In over 50 Grammar Schools across Baden Württemberg this approach has been tested and successfully implemented. It has proven that by practically integrating the English language into content-specific lessons pupils are more motivated and make extraordinary progress.
The bilingual stream at PMHG is particularly suited to those pupils who are both interested in languages and hard working.There will be one bilingual class per year group.
Questions and answers regarding our bilingual stream can be found in the following leaflet on our website ( www.pmhg.de/schulprofil/bilingual).

Music at PMHG

Music is one of our main focuses due to the fact that numerous studies have proven that a musical upbringing stimulates development in both children and teenagers.
A unique opportunity offered at PMHG is the voluntary participation in string instrument lessons. In two out of the three weekly music lessons the children learn to play a string instrument of their choice.
These lessons take place in the morning during the normal lesson: Violin-, Viola-, Cello- and Double bass players learn the same pieces. This is possible due to the technical similarities between these instruments. Beginners are welcome – no previous knowledge is needed.
The school choir and orchestra entertain their fellow pupils and teachers at different concerts held throughout the school year.

Sport at PMHG

The "SportparkGoldäcker", a new sports complex equipped with a swimming pool is directly next to the school and adds to our ownsport hall and outdoor sports facilities.
The swimming pool comes with over 4 25-metre swimming lanes and is from 0.9 to 2 metres deep. Due to the fact that all younger classes have 3 sport lessons a week, these new sport facilities are a tremendous asset to our school. Our sport opportunities also encompass numerous sports clubs who also participate in competitions.