The Importance of German Club to German Students

By Aiden Hoffman, Senior

Laughing and music can be heard coming from the Palisades High School cafeteria. German Club students are seen wearing their German club t-shirts as they serve guests during Oktoberfest.

German Club is a popular club that many German students participate in. Using profits they raised from previous years’ Oktoberfest, the students choose a color and pick a design for this year’s t-shirts. In the past, the students would pick a clever phrase like, “Schlag es nach”, or, “look it up”, to cause confusion when a person would ask about the meaning of the phrase.

German Club has many options for students when it comes to the overall Oktoberfest event. The event requires students to work with audio devices to play music and adjust the microphone’s audio levels. Other students help teach simple German phrases and the German alphabet to younger children that attend. The rest of the students help with tasks like running the drink stand and helping with serving dessert to guests.

During Oktoberfest, students and family members can try German dishes like spaetzle. After everyone has had their fill, the tables are pushed out of the way and everyone begins dancing. The dancing starts with the chicken dance, which everyone can participate in. Afterward, the Polka dancing contest begins where two dance partners pair up and begin dancing around in a circle. Three judges vote and find the best pair and will announce them as the Polka king and queen.

Students can also enjoy the pretzel eating contest that sees high school students and younger students compete against each other to see who can eat a pretzel the fastest. Prizes are awarded to the three fastest students.

German Club students also take a yearly trip to a German restaurant to try dishes from the country they have learned so much about. Two years ago, this event was paired with a scavenger hunt that was written completely in German.

Sadly, due to Covid this year, German Club looks completely different than it has in the past. Oktoberfest had to be canceled due to the pandemic, making the club look completely different. The students are working hard to find new ways they can work together to form a new event that is compatible with Covid safety regulations.