In 1990, Frau Ragnhild Spiegel Baade decided it was time to introduce her students to the German American Partnership Program (GAPP), which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the German Foreign Office, and enables high school students from Germany and the United States to experience everyday life and school in each other’s countries.

With the support of her principal and her fellow Boothbay Region High School (BRHS) teachers, Frau Baade made a presentation to the school board, and with their approval, the first GAPP exchange was set for the fall of 1991.

Frau Baade worked with the Goethe Institute in New York, to help her find a suitable sister-city to interact with, as the program is intended to not only bring the students together, but to form a cultural bond between the two host towns.

The Goethe Institute has offices in Boston, New York, in the Midwest and San Francisco, and promotes German culture, language, and the GAPP program. The institute helped Frau Baade get special rates with Lufthansa Airlines, provided training about the program, and gave her a small stipend to help the students with expenses.

She wanted to ensure the cultural immersion experience went well for both her BRHS students and Frau Kirsten Ramlow-Gebhardt’s Realschule Bad Harzburg students. The support of the Goethe Institute made this a reality for everyone involved and Frau Baade has always been very grateful for its help.

The first exchange consisted of roughly 20 students from each school, and since 1991, the GAPP program has happened consistently for every two years until present day. About that time, Herr Peter Kerlin became involved with the GAPP program in Bad Harzburg and really brought a new flair to the exchanges over the years, introducing BRHS students to German music, dances, including visits to local caverns and castles, as well as remembering the past by including a visit to Sachsenhausen concentration camp, located just north of Berlin, and they decided to extend the BRHS students’ time spent in Berlin during the third week of the trip to broaden the experience.

Frau Baade retired from BRHS after 33 years of teaching and organizing the GAPP program. Her successors were Herr Taras Schkrioba at BRHS. In 2014, Herr Schkrioba returned to Germany to take a teaching position there, and Frau Ingrid Merrill became the new German teacher at BRHS. She brings a whole new level of enthusiasm to the GAPP program as she herself was part of an exchange program in high school and knows first hand the benefits of being immersed in a foreign culture.

In September, 18 students from Oberschule Bad Harzburg, their two teachers, Frau Tanya Heldt and Frau Henricke Rottmann, and Principal Ulrike Eilers, will arrive in Boothbay Harbor, and will stay with host families who have children in the GAPP program.

Various outings are planned to teach the German students about the Boothbay region, and also about the state of Maine. Then in April 2016, BRHS students will travel with Frau Merrill to Germany to stay at the homes of the German students they sponsored and will attend their school.

After two weeks, the BRHS group will leave Bad Harzburg and take a train to Hamburg for an additional week’s stay a youth hostel, so they can experience the culture of the city. The estimated cost for the three-week trip is $2,235. The students are determined to pay for the trip themselves and have the following upcoming fundraisers on the schedule.

A German Supper and Auction at the Southport Town Hall on May 16 at 6 p.m. Various German foods and desserts will be offered, as well as a lively ticket auction. Items already committed to the auction include: a Christmas tree and wreath from Clifford’s Tree Farm; an art print by James Taliana; a handmade cedar table by local craftsman, Jerry McGrail; a basket filled with German goodies; a gift certificate for a tour of Hendricks Head Lighthouse Tower and bring your own picnic to enjoy on the lighthouse grounds; an anchor bracelet from A Silver Lining; autographed books from Cozy Harbor Press; a $120 gift certificate to Positively Best Friends Dog Training; a lobster themed gift basket from Maine Made & More; a $25 gift certificate to Pinkham’s Seafood; a family membership to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens; and much, much more! Larger ticket items will be auctioned off by GAPP’s own, Tom Dewey, and Brooke Greenleaf will kick off a 50/50 raffle that will run through Columbus Day weekend. Please join us on May 16 and bid often!

Supper tickets are $10/adults, $7 children, and $25 for a family. Contact event co-chairs Brooke Greenleaf at 207-633-5546, email ire0608hjb@yahoo.com or Sarah Sherman at 207-633-7161, email shermanmcgrail@yahoo.com if you would like to purchase tickets in advance or donate an auction item.

Keep an eye on the Boothbay Register as auction items will be updated weekly leading to the night of the event.

On July 4, the GAPP program will host a yard sale in the lower BRHS parking lot. Table space is available for $20 per table, if other community members would like to join us during the holiday weekend. We are currently accepting donations for the yard sale. Contact Tom Dewey and leave a message for pick up at 207-380-2744.

The GAPP program is an amazing opportunity for BRHS students to travel abroad, experience German culture first hand, and make friendships that last a lifetime. Please help our students earn their way to Germany by attending their fundraising events or by making a donation to them — Danke Schön!