Draft:Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau

The Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau (own spelling barnim-gymnasium bernau) is located north-west of Bernau by Berlin in the Waldfrieden district. Alongside the Paulus-Praetorius-Gymnasium, the school is one of two general secondary schools in Bernau. With 1048 pupils taught by 87 teachers (3 of whom are currently off duty) and 3 student assistants, Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau is the largest school in Brandenburg. As a member of the MINT-EC network, the school focuses on education with a focus on mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology (MINT). The German abbreviation MINT is comparable to STEM.

The regular transition from primary school to secondary school takes place at the beginning of Grade 7. The MINT/STEM profile (M class) can be chosen as a specialisation. There is also the option of attending a performance and gifted class (LuBK) with a focus on science (MINT/STEM) at the beginning of Year 5. The school grounds of around 8,500 m² are part of the ‘Bauhaus Memorial Bundesschule Bernau’ World Heritage Site and comprise a park-like campus in the immediate vicinity of the Waldfrieden outdoor pool. Sports lessons are also organised there with the consent of parents and teachers. In the summer, pupils can swim there or take swimming badges.

History
Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau was founded on 7 September 1998 with the first acting principle, Uwe Kosanke, who led the school for two years.

In the 2000/2001 school year, Renate Brandenburg took over as School Principal and with her came teaching-opening and practice-orientated innovations. The most important innovation was the introduction of the performance profile classes, which make Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau unique in the Barnim district. She also introduced the annual project days and other activities, such as the science internship in year 9, the sports festival, the internal Einstein competition and early support in maths and chemistry. Renate Brandenburg retired at the end of the 2021/2022 school year and her deputy, Henning Jürgens, took over on an interim basis at the start of the following 2022/23 school year until he was confirmed as the new School Principal.

An extension with 19 additional classrooms and a new cafeteria is to be completed by the end of 2025. The ground-breaking ceremony for this took place on 12 July 2024.

School profile
In line with the school profile, pupils gain a deeper understanding of the natural sciences and take part in various science Olympiads and excursions.

The MINT/STEM classes include, in particular, the MINT- and performance MINT classes (M and LM classes). In these profile classes, the school focus is consolidated and expanded in additional weekly lessons. These classes also take part in the Maths Olympiad and attend chemistry lessons from the seventh grade onwards.

After completing the twelfth grade, students have the opportunity to receive a MINT-EC certificate. This is issued at different levels, depending on the achievements and the number of competitions completed. MINT/STEM certificates can have a positive impact when looking for a job later on. In addition, graduates who excel in individual subjects receive a one-year membership of the relevant scientific association.

At Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau, students can choose Latin or French as their second or third foreign language in addition to English as their first foreign language. In addition, a subject is chosen for the so-called ‘specialisation course’ ('Schwerpunktunterricht or ‘SPU‘) from year 9 onwards, which provides additional knowledge to a subject. Furthermore, pupils in Year 10 have to choose between art and music as well as computer science and craftwork.

In grade 10, in preparation for their Abitur, students choose one of the predefined combinations, which then determines the courses to be taken in upper secondary school at basic and advanced level. Every student automatically has German, English and maths at an advanced level, while two additional courses must be chosen from biology, physics, chemistry and geography. In addition, pupils at upper secondary level choose so-called seminar courses, which are attended for two hours a week and prepare them for university life. The topics of these courses vary each year, with event management and career and study guidance being the most frequently used courses.

The optional work placement in year 11 and the specialised excursion in year 12 are also relevant for future working life.

Partner schools
As part of the MINT-EC network, not only are all 338 other MINT-EC schools in Germany are partner schools of Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau, but also the German school abroad Istanbul Erkek Lisesi in Turkey, the German International School Washington D.C. in the USA, the Austrian Bundes- und Bundesrealgymnasium Gmunden, as well as the Deutsche Schule Quito in Ecuador and the german school abroad Ellinogermaniki Agogi in Pallini, Greece are international partner schools.

In addition, Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau maintains regular contact in the form of student exchanges with St. Petri Skola in the city of Malmö in Sweden.

Degrees
Six different qualifications can be obtained at Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau. After successfully completing the ninth grade, students receive the Hauptschulabschluss. In addition, the extended vocational training qualification (EBR), the Realschulabschluss / Fachoberschulreife (FOR) or the Fachoberschulreife with authorisation to attend the gymnasiale Oberstufe is possible after completing the 10th grade. The general higher education entrance qualification (Abitur) is achieved after successfully completing upper secondary level.

Support and working groups
In order to promote individual performance, the secondary school offers additional support in various subjects. Pupils in grades 4-6 can already take advantage of early support in maths and chemistry.

Remedial lessons are also offered for lower secondary level, e.g. in English and maths. These additional lessons are mainly taught by teachers, but some are also led by pupils.

Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau offers additional extracurricular afternoon activities, participation in which is confirmed in the school certificate. These include the ‘Bernau Digital’ working group, which is intensively involved with the Bauhaus monument on the campus. In the Lego Mindstorms course, students learn the basics of robotics using Lego robots. There is also a choir and an origami course.

Competitions
Pupils at the secondary school take part in international, regional and internal school competitions. International competitions include the Big Challenge and the Mathematical Kangaroo competition, while national and regional competitions include the Beaver competition and the Bernau 24-hour run.

There are also internal school competitions such as the Einstein competition or the charity run, in which the pupils organise their own donations and the proceeds are used to fund internal school projects. Barnim-Gymnasium Bernau also organises the reading competition and other science competitions.

Equipment
Each room is equipped with interactive whiteboards and various whiteboard and learning software for modern learning. In addition, there are several laptop trolleys that can be borrowed by the teachers for each class or course.

Trips
In addition to excursions and school trips in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12, the school organises an annual exchange to Sweden, a snow camp and a trip to London.

The snow camp is an 8-day trip to the Hochoetz ski region. Here the sports instructors offer ski and snowboard courses.

The student exchange with St. Petri Skola in the city of Malmö is intended to promote the students' independence, sense of responsibility and multicultural awareness.

Friends' association
The Friends' Association was founded in 2001 and serves to realise projects and support the school at events and presentations in public life. It is financed by contributions from members (companies, parents, teachers, pupils, alumni) and donations. This supports school highlights, such as the summer festival, as well as participation in internal, regional, national and international competitions. The association also manages the proceeds from the charity run and school funds for WAT lessons and the homework booklet. It also works with the parents' association and the school to ensure that the funds are used in the best interests of the pupils. In recent years, the number of members has increased to around 300.

Charity run
The charity run at Barnim-Gymnasium was launched in 2011 by secondary school pupils and the basic idea was that the pupils would look for donors from their families, friends or local companies who would either donate a fixed amount for a minimum number of laps or set a sum per lap. The charity run has been very successful ever since, with the amounts raised increasing every year and totalling 22,008 euros in 2019. The Förderverein des barnim-gymnasium bernau e.V. is the legal owner and administrator of the money from the charity run and issues donation receipts at the request of donors. The students are allowed by the sponsoring organisation to have a say in how the money is used. However, 30% of the money raised must be donated to charitable causes. The booster club checks whether the students' proposals are charitable and whether the money is well invested.

Weblinks

 * Internetpräsenz des barnim-gymnasiums bernau
 * Internetpräsenz des Fördervereins des barnim-gymnasium bernau