Streamers hang from the ceiling, German rap music blares in the background and a group of students stand on chairs pasting crepe paper onto balloons as part of the German Club’s newest activity.

Park’s German Club started this year with German teacher Shari Fox as the advisor and will meet once a month on a day convenient for others. Fox ran the club at the middle school but said she only recently decided to start one at the high school.

“I wanted to start an informal German club where (people can) just get together to do fun German activities,” Fox said.

The club will consist of activities ranging from cooking, to crafts to learning traditional dances. For the first and second meeting, students made lanterns for the German holiday of Saint Martin’s Day, which takes place Nov. 11.

Junior Takara Thomas attended both meetings and said she thought the club was a good way to expand her knowledge of Germany while also having fun.

“(The lantern making) was a process, but I got to hang out with friends while getting to learn about another culture,” Thomas said.

Sophomore Jada Bolton also participated in both projects and said she thinks other people should join because of the experience.

“It’s really fun and interesting to learn about different holidays,” Bolton said. “The (lantern making) was fun because it was messy and you can put it in the way you want.”

While the high school club has just begun doing activities, students like senior Nathalie Kolodji attended the middle school club and said it was a great way to be with friends while also exploring  German heritage.

“We all usually cooked something and had music playing, which was relaxing, or we did an art project,” Kolodji said. “I thought it was a great way to learn about Germany itself.”
Fox said while the high school club will do similar activities, the club will be more laid-back and the number of students will vary according to time of year and student conflicts.

“(At the high school) it’s more casual, kids are transient. They come and go depending on the activity,” Fox said. “We started around this time because there are many German holidays and I think in the dead of winter there is nothing to do so more people will come.”

While freshman Harry Steffenhagen has not attended a German club meeting at the high school, he said he thinks it’s a good way to explore Germany and meet new people.

“I think you would really get to know a lot about the German culture and what they do and how they live and some activities they do,” Steffenhagen said. “(The club) would be a fun activity that people can do together to get to know each other.”