The Qantas - Germany Connection Watching an ad can have a tremendous effect on your life ! You don´t believe it ? Qantas made it possible. Ms. Birgit Szymanski, an English teacher from Bremen, North Germany, was on a Qantas flight to Australia in June 2002. Her very first trip to Australia and during the flight "I still call Australia home" was shown on the screens. Ms. Szymanski, deeply moved, decided to perform the song with her pupils back in Germany and what followed was a desperate search for the CD in Australia but to no avail. Fortunately Qantas could help and sent her a copy of the video which equally moved the German kids and rehearsals began. A friend of Ms. Szymanski´s wrote an introductory piece for the flute to go with the song. What started in the classrooms of 50 year 6 pupils, spread into the school´s drama group which Ms. Szymanski also teaches. The Performers from the Schulzentrum (school) Lerchenstraße in Bremen. The idea of an Australian performance was born. Reciting famous Australian poetry was practised, the kids learnt facts about Australia in the lessons and Ms. Caroline Tracey, then the school´s language assistant, rehearsed "I still call Australia home" with the enthusiastic children. Qantas Frankfurt and Headquarters in Mascot accompanied the process and noticed with great interest what was going on in Schulzentrum (school) Lerchenstraße in Bremen. To show support, the airline sent clip koalas, T-shirts, quizzes and a giant koala to represent the airline on stage. If you don´t try, you don´t win. That was the idea when the Australian Embassy was invited to the big night and the kids were over the moon when the Cultural Attaché of Australia announced his visit. By then a year 10 group of twenty 16 year-old pupils had joined the drama group and there was a unique mingling of little ones and older pupils united in the Spirit of Australia. On the big day, the guest from the embassy and the by then 70 kids went for a civic reception in the town hall of Bremen followed by the performance in the evening. The school orchestra had joined in presenting "Waltzing Mathilda" and "Down Under", a former pupil of the school presented his talent on the didgeridoo and the climax of the two and a half hour show was of course "I still call Australia home", the solo presented by two girls beautifully dressed in ballgowns and giving burning candles to the guest from Australia. …… 5 months later looking at all the newspaper articles is by no means the only thing happening at Schulzentrum Lerchenstraße….. The drama group has now its own AUSTRALIAN music teacher who is currently doing "I am Australian" with the kids. Ms.Szymanski spent another summer in Australia, this time giving an interview on channel 7's (Sunrise) asking for help in the search of a sister school. 7 great partner schools, spread all over Australia were found and a trip to Australia in March 2005 is being discussed. And Qantas ? The form 9v of Schulzentrum Lerchenstraße has just finished a challenging project for the airline. Ms. Birgit Szymanski and her students. Ms. Szymanski, the form teacher of the bilingual class 9v had given them an extraordinary homework. The task was to design posters for the airline, coming up with new concepts and slogans. Seven posters have been handed over to the Frankfurt Office and a second set is on its way to Mascot. Youth for Qantas…..hopefully a successful co-operation for a very long time……… Associated Links The Australian Girls Choir     Qantas Screen Saver Download