Willkommen in Vechta!
General information:
The Kolleg St. Thomas is a grammar school privately owned and situated in Vechta, a small town in Lower Saxony in Germany. We have around 753 students and 60 teachers. Our students are between 10 and 19 years old have the opportunity to do their A-levels here.
The daily school life is highly influenced by the fact that the school is privately owned by the Dominican Order. Some of the Dominicans, who live in a monastery next to the school, also teach at our school and our assistant principal is a Dominican, too. Therefore, our values and policies are all based on Christian ideas and traditions, which enrich not only the possibilities for our students, but also the atmosphere at school in general. Traditions like religious services throughout the school year or Christmas celebrations that bring together all of the students of our school lead to a great sense of community among students, teachers, staff and the Dominicans.
School life:
Apart from the normal classes, our students have different opportunities to take part in optional clubs, e.g., our orchestra and choir, but there are also numerous other clubs for students of all ages. They can learn how to take photos professionally or how to cook, learn another language (Latin or French), learn about natural sciences and experiments, work with computers or create their own school newspaper. Furthermore, students also have the possibility to be scouts or altar servers, again closely linked to the Dominican padres.
Another important aspect for our school community are our different programs for students who have personal issues or who need help. We have guidance counsellors, chaplains and a club where older students help younger students. This aspect is very important for us and our values, as our concern is not only the academic education but also the social education and the welfare of our students.
In addition, our school and especially our students also take part in charity work to support others and to acquire social skills. For this reason, we sometimes work together with the old people’s home next to our school, where our students and the elderly people spend time together and help each other. Moreover, our students in year 11 do a social internship during which they work in hospitals, old people’s homes, facilities for people with disabilities, kindergartens etc.
In the course of the last years, one of our focuses has been digitalisation. We are constantly improving the equipment of our classrooms, e.g., by placing smartboards or computers in every classroom. Additionally, more and more students are equipped with tablet computers to enhance their media skills and to reduce the amount of paper and books used due to ecological reasons.
International relations:
At the moment, our school has two international partners in France and Hungary.
The exchange program with our partner school in Roubaix in France has existed for more than 20 years now. Our students in year 9 go to Roubaix for one week to live in host families and to experience life and culture in France. A few month later, their exchange partners come to Vechta to experience our school life and the way of living in Germany in general. It is a very enriching experience for the whole school as it broadens our horizons every time and brings forwards new friendships, not only among the students but also the teachers.
The exchange with our partner schools in Jászbéreny in Hungary originates due to a town twinning between Vechta and Jászbéreny. We started in 2017 and have had several exchanges since then, e.g., by sending our orchestra or students of different grades for festivities in Hungary and also welcoming students from Hungary at our school. This exchange is a wonderful opportunity for all the participants to experience a very different life from the one in Germany/Hungary and even this rather short partnership has brought forward many friendships.
In addition to this, some of our students decide to go to school in other countries for a few months or even a whole year. We support their efforts and also welcome students from other countries at our school, e.g., Mexico.
Apart from actual stays in our countries, one of our goals is to prepare our students for international exchanges through our language classes and the possibility to obtain certificates like the CAE certificate (Cambridge) or the DELF certificate (France).
Environment and ecological efforts:
The Kolleg St. Thomas is very engaged in environmental awareness and protection. One aspect that is important for us is to avoid too much waste. Therefore, we do not have waste bins in our classrooms and only a few of them in the corridors. The idea is to make the students aware of the amount of waste they produce and how to limit it. To prevent as much waste as possible, we have a water dispenser to reduce the number of single-use bottles and we encourage the students to not order their meals but to bring their own food or use our cafeteria. In addition, recycling and refuse separation is important to us.
Apart from this, we are very lucky with the location of our school. Right next to the building, we have a forest where students go during some biology classes to learn about the flora and fauna and how our behaviour endangers forests and different species, like bees, for example. Furthermore, students regularly visit the moor, which is also close to our school to experience nature and to examine samplings.
Article about the project on our website: kolleg-st-thomas.de/wir-sind-erasmus-kooperationspartner/
