Expansion of the AvH academic program

Exciting New Elective Courses for Grades 8 and 9 at AvH

Starting from the 2024-25 school year, AvH is proud to announce the expansion of its academic program with new elective courses for students in grades 8 and 9. These courses are designed to provide students with an enhanced learning experience, allowing them to delve deeper into their interests and develop their skills in a more focused manner.

AvH has always prided itself on offering challenging and varied subject teaching across a wide range of disciplines—from languages and natural sciences to social sciences and the arts. To give our students even more opportunities to deepen their personal inclinations and skills, we are introducing a compulsory elective program for grades 8 and 9.

Students will have two classes per week, with grades 8 and 9 working together in these courses. They can choose between two main areas of focus: natural sciences and engineering or a combination of linguistic, socio-scientific, and artistic disciplines. The teaching approach will be project-, process-, and product-oriented, involving cooperation with external partners such as universities, institutions, and corporations. Instead of traditional grades, students will receive a certificate of participation and a mention on their report card. The chosen course will apply to all four semesters, with an option for exceptional changes after one year.

By linking the elective content with other subjects, we achieve synergy effects, maintaining the total number of lessons per week in grade 8 and increasing it by one lesson to 36 lessons per week in grade 9.


Option 1: The Junior Engineering Academy at AvH

(Junior Ingenieur Akademie, JIA)

The Junior Engineering Academy aims to broaden the STEM-related subjects already taught at AvH and give students a glimpse into the world of engineering. The four semesters of this elective cover various aspects of engineering. In the first semester, students learn about bionics as a tool for engineering by exploring the FESTO Robot Fish and how to use an Arduino microcontroller, including setting up circuits with sensors and actuators and programming them.

In the second semester, students work in teams to build their own robots, learning about 3D design (CAD) and 3D printing. The third semester focuses on small projects exploring energy, its relevance in today’s world, and the pursuit of alternative energy sources. In the fourth semester, students set up their own student company, learning about product development, process optimization, product presentation, and marketing simulation.

Throughout each semester, students will interact with external partners such as McGill University, ENERCON Global, L’Oréal Canada, and Airbus, who will provide insights and firsthand experiences in the field of engineering.

Option 2: Express Yourself

The Express Yourself elective course promotes individual strengths, builds on integrated subjects at AvH, and introduces students to the world of media. The four semesters cover different perspectives. The first semester focuses on developing expertise in debating, linguistic education, opinion-forming, and personality development through dialogue. Activities include a visit to Parliament in Ottawa and participation in the Youth Debate competition.

In the second semester, students work on producing a play or specific scenes, learning about the story, conflict, role development, and staging in terms of content, language, and technique. The third semester is dedicated to visual language, where students learn about images, motifs, perspective, style, and technical parameters like image size, format, and composition. They will create their own images and learn about manipulation, its possibilities, and dangers, exploring photography and art in Montreal museums and exhibitions.

In the fourth semester, students produce their own films in teams, learning about key features such as camera shots, editing, dialogue, sounds, music, setting, light, and color. They write their own screenplay, develop characters, and work with design elements, culminating in participation in a film competition with other German schools abroad. Beyond school, students will visit permanent and current exhibitions, participate in a film competition, visit Parliament in Ottawa, and learn about various theater productions.