2024-2025 Annual Theme at Jules Verne Campus: Time and Space to Dream

Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year. Last school year, we were very proud to celebrate our 10th anniversary, a brand-new website, a beautiful image film, a commemorative yearbook, an exciting lecture series, and several awards and certifications such as "gute gesunde Schule," "Schule ohne Rassismus," "gut.gekocht.gewinnt," "Bayerische Klimaschule Gold," and "Umweltschule Europa." Our fourth-grade diamonds transitioned confidently from JVC Elementary School to secondary school, and our Grammar School mittlere Reife and Abitur graduates took the bold next steps towards their life dreams.

All these things were possible due to immense passion and energy, and we do not regret pursuing any of these activities. But this school year, we all agreed that we’d like to slow down the pace. This is not reducing quality but focusing on quality over quantity. It’s true that anything is possible, but must it be everything? As the Taoist proverb says: “We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.” The claim for the SBW Haus des Lernens is “Dare to do what you dream.” But don’t we need time, and space to enable our dreams to take shape? As the pace of work, digitalization, AI, social media, climate change, political discussions, war and conflict, and communication are ever-increasing, this year’s annual theme feels especially relevant. It’s up to us to create time and space – both real and virtual - in a fast-paced world, and we should model doing so for the next generation.

This year, we will focus on finding out what’s important to us, setting boundaries, cutting out distractions, and settling and calming down. All these things are essential to the well-being, resilience, efficacy, and inspiration of children, teens, and JVC staff alike. Without a steady pulse, we can’t be there for others or have time or energy to dream, let alone dare to make them a reality. So, let’s be mindful of what is truly necessary and valuable to you and your child and make that a priority. Sometimes moments of peace or personal exchange together are more important than another input, another activity, or another course.

During our annual Journey Day, held the week before school begins, the entire Jules Verne Campus Team came together to create a collaborative mural on the giant chalkboard in the Oasis. By doing so, we could brainstorm on the annual theme and explore how to work it into our consciousness and actual projects with the JVC children and learning partners this school year. On this note, I invite you to explore our mural as well as the value behind this school year’s theme. I’d also like to wish our entire school family a fantastic, continued journey into the future this 2024-2025 school year.

Your Dr. Kerrie Elston-Güttler,
Head of Learning House