The 51st Annual Ontario High School German Contest took place at McMaster University on April 14th, 2024. McMaster initiated the first German Contest for high school students over 50 years ago and we were thrilled to hold this special celebration of the Contest in its birthplace.

The Contest welcomed students from all over the province including participants from Appleby College, the Deutsche Sprachschule Concordia German Language Association, Forest Heights Collegiate, Gary Allan Saturday School, the Ottawa-Carelton Board of Education, Harbord Collegiate, University of Toronto Schools, and the Waterloo Region District School Board International and Indigenous Languages program. It examiners were so impressed with the high caliber of language proficiency in German among the participants.

First place winners in the four categories were Jonas Greig from the Deutsche Sprachschule Concordia, Carina Berkmanns from Gary Allan Saturday School, Ashlyn Edwards, from the Ottawa-Carleton Board of Education and the grand prize winner was Nola O’Neil from the Gary Allan Saturday School.  For her accomplishment, Nola will travel to Austria this summer courtesy of the Goethe-Institut Toronto for a Jugendcamp program with youth from across the globe. The Goethe-Institut Toronto and the German Contest team also paid for the flight to Europe, making the winner’s prize at a value of over $5500!

Our thanks go to our wonderful sponsors and the staff of the Department of Linguistics and Languages, McMaster University, for hosting the Contest and making the event such a success.

Our thanks also go to our amazing German teachers, especially those on the organizing and testing committee: Ute Biese, Bettina Brown, Dorothea Coskun, Allison Grant, Susanne Kallweit, Ruth Renters, Ron Rhodes, and Gabriela Szolnoki-Bourgeois. Many thanks to those who also volunteered their time before and during contest day, including Dr. Yasmin Aly, Joan Jay, and Andrea Klose.

We look forward to the OHSGC 2025!

Dr. Anne Popovich, Chair
Jimmy Steele, Vice Chair
Nicola Townend, Secretary-Treasurer

 

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