Shamrocks go to Germany

Submitted by Westfield Washington Schools

At Westfield, preparing students to be Life Ready often means encouraging them to step beyond the walls of our schools.

For Charlene Heinzman’s German students, that step carried them all the way across the ocean to Oldenburg, Germany.

Thanks to a partnership through the German American Partnership Program (GAPP), 16 Shamrocks traveled to Oldenburg, where a handful of local German students and their families opened up their homes to our students. For nearly three weeks, they lived as German teenagers do: eating at the family table, attending school, hopping on buses, shopping at the corner market, and even cheering at community events.

And because this program works both ways, those same German students will come to Westfield in spring 2026, giving the exchange a sense of family, not just formality.

German teacher Charlene Heinzman has seen how quickly this experience changes her students.

“The amount of growth I see in students’ German proficiency in only 19 days is incredible,” she said. “Students learn to communicate their needs and wants in new situations, and this not only helps their language skills but shows them how resourceful, resilient, and flexible they really are. The other thing that many students experience is a growing confidence in their ability to be independent and problem-solve.”

For some students, it was the excursion of a lifetime. But for Heinzman, it’s something more – it’s preparation for life after high school.

“This program prepares students for the day after high school by offering them a safe way to explore a different part of the world and have experiences they might not otherwise be able to have,” she said. “It also shows them things about themselves they did not know, which can lead to a broader scope of choices for them when they leave WHS.”

The trip may be over, but the story isn’t finished. Now, those same Shamrocks are counting down the days until their new friends from Oldenburg arrive in Westfield.