Boarding School FAQs
What Is The Purpose Of The House Parents?
House (or sometimes floor) parents are the first point of contact for you and your child. They supervise the residential area where your child lives. They wake the students in the morning and supervise study times. In the evenings they make sure that everyone is at home at the correct time and that they go to bed as scheduled. They are basically your child’s part-time parents while they are at Marienau.
House parents gather information about your child from their classes and any groups in which they also take part and are your first point of contact for all matters, large or small, concerning your child. Of course, children in the lower school are supervised more closely than their counterparts in the upper school but whatever the age of your child, our house parents are a dependable presence for him or her while at the boarding school. Our house parents are either teachers or youth workers who also live on the school grounds.
What Happens When My Child Is Ill?
If your child is ill, they should inform their house parents after being woken up in the morning. They should then report to Irina Haas, our on-site nurse, by 7.30 a.m. in the medical room in the Erich Kästner House. Frau Haas decides who needs to go to the doctor, who gets a sick note from her and who can manage to go to school with some care and attention. If a child is signed off sick by Frau Haas then a fellow student will bring meals back to their room for them.
Ill students should not take part in any extra-curricular or group activities and need to recover first of all. If it seems that your child will be ill for a longer period of time, then it’s possible for you to bring your child home after consultation with their house parents. Please always act in agreement with the house parents and please let them know about any health matters concerning your child which the house parents need to know about.
What Is A Study Session?
A Study Session is a supervised study period for students in Years 12 and 13. The students can choose when to go to the study centre according to their personal timetable. They can do their homework, prepare or review lessons and revise for exams. Study Sessions are available afternoons and evenings and supervised by a teacher.
All students in Years 12 and 13 have to attend a certain number of study sessions within a certain time span. However, it is possible to absolve yourself from these sessions by meeting certain criteria and asking for a “Green Card.”
Do We Have To Buy Schoolbooks?
At the beginning of each year all school books will be distributed by the class teacher. These books are the property of the school and are lent to your child.
On arrival at the start of the current school year, your child receives a Welcome Box with everything they need from Frau Pape and Frau Hoffmann in the Student Office. The Student Office is in the basement of the Main Building. Exceptions to the loaned material are books such as atlases which are used every year. These types of books are best sourced by yourself.
Questions regarding the purchase of tablets in Y7 can be answered by Maik Lüdemann
What Are The Grand Dinners?
Several times a year, we hold Grand Dinners for our boarders. On these evenings we enjoy a special menu of several courses and sit together in residential areas rather than the usual tables. There is usually a short programme of events which includes music, congratulations to the students who have passed their probationary period and celebration of special occasions. For these occasions, all students require something smart to wear.
Can My Child Play An Instrument?
Besides the musical clubs and societies, Marienau also offers individual music lessons for both beginners and advanced students. The most common instruments to learn are piano, guitar and violin. For any other questions including about other instruments or singing lessons, please contact the school office in the first instance who will put you in touch with the appropriate teacher.
What Does My Child Need To Bring When Moving In?
Your child’s room at the school will be basically furnished and so they will need to bring their own bedding including sheets. There will also be things they will want to bring to make themselves at home, including photos, pictures and other personal belongings. Whether it will be possible to bring small pieces of furniture with them depends on the details of their particular accommodation. It very often only becomes apparent after the first few days what is needed. Contact the house parents for any questions in this regard. More details are available in the Terms of Admission in your information folder.
When packing, please remember sports clothes as well as something smart for the Grand Dinners, such as a shirt with jacket or suit, cocktail dress or sheath dress.
How Can I Get In Touch With My Child?
Your child will be out and about a lot at the school. You can get in touch with them via their house parents or on their mobile phone should they have one. Please bear in mind that when they are in lessons, in study time or at clubs and societies that they should have their phones switched off. The best thing is to simply check their timetable.
Please note, children in the lower school have to hand over their phones and tablets to their house parents before bed time. We also kindly request that phone calls with older students take place before their bed time. If you have any questions about getting in touch with your child or about the use of mobile phones, the house parents are the correct people to speak to.
How Does Travelling Back On A Sunday Work?
On a Sunday evening, the normal journey back to school is by shuttle bus from Lüneburg Train and Bus Station to Marienau. The bus picks students up at 8.40 p.m. from Gate 13 which is parallel to Platform 1. The journey from Marienau is more or less the same at a free weekend i.e. the shuttle leaves Marienau at 13.15 and takes the children to the station in Lüneburg, from where you can take your connecting train home. The tickets for the shuttle need to be purchased in advance from the students’ office.
If you would rather pick up or drop off your child yourself, please just let their house parents know so that we maintain good communication. Departure and arrival days at the beginning and end of the summer holidays are always at the weekend which should perhaps make it easier for you to travel with your child.
What Does My Child Do In The Afternoon?
At Marienau we follow a clear timetable on each day. After Period 6 the students have lunch followed by afternoon classes for the upper school, according to their personal timetable.
Other boarders have lunch followed by supervised study time, where they do homework, revise for tests and do extra reading. From 3.45 till evening, they go to their chosen clubs and societies. You can find the clubs we offer in the section entitled Extra-Curricular Activities.