LPS students collect verbal victories at German State Convention

April 1, 2026

Irving Middle School students enjoyed world-sized language experiences this spring during an informative trip to Omaha.
 
Multiple Aardvarks traveled to the University of Nebraska-Omaha for the annual UNO World Language Celebration. The UNO Department of World Languages and Literature hosted the event, which attracted hundreds of students to campus. They took part in a full day of academic-based activities.
 
Irving eighth grader Juan said he was happy to attend with others from his German class. In addition to meeting fellow world language enthusiasts from across the state, they also gained wisdom from older Lincoln Public Schools role models. They rode a bus to Omaha with German students from Southeast High School and Lincoln High.
 
“I enjoyed that we were able to go somewhere fun and meet new people, hang out and talk about what we were doing,” Juan said.
 
The German State Convention celebrates the work of world language students of all experience levels each year. This spring marked the 50th anniversary of the event. It was also the first time that the Nebraska Association of Teachers of German (NATG) held the German State Convention in conjunction with the UNO fair.
 
The 2026 convention gave students a chance to showcase their knowledge of German culture and customs in many competitive activities. Some of the categories on this year’s schedule included instrumental and vocal music, artwork, poetry, directed dialogue and poster design.
 
LPS teacher Kelleen Rosebaugh said her students have benefited from the individual and group contests. She leads German classes for eighth graders at Irving and high schoolers at Southeast. German is also included in the World Language Exploration curriculum for sixth and seventh grades. Students explore German for five to eight days as part of the unit, which features additional daily sessions of other languages taught in LPS buildings.
 
“German State Convention is currently the only language fair that allows middle schoolers to attend,” Rosebaugh said. “I’d like more people to know and encourage the middle schoolers to compete. Getting them engaged early increases their participation in future years and how long they stay in the language program.”
 
Several Aardvarks took part in this year’s poster contest. Convention leaders asked them to incorporate the theme of “Time Travel: Significant Events in World History” in their designs. Judges evaluated the accuracy and depth of information on their poster and whether they used proper German grammar and spelling. They also gave points to students for making an appealing layout.
 
“The poster theme was history, particularly in the last 50 years, and that was a wide-open topic,” Rosebaugh said. “Several students adore soccer, and being able to combine their interest in soccer and German was enjoyable for them.”
 
Juan and fellow eighth grader Porter teamed up for the contest. They focused on the popular soccer club Bayern Munchen for their entry. The team was founded in 1900 and has been one of the most successful members of the German national league Bundesliga.

 
Juan said he and Porter were interested in exploring the impact Bayern Munchen has made on German culture. The team has won more than two dozen Bundesliga championships and has pocketed several trophies in the Union of European Football Associations Champions League. The club’s home stadium attracts 75,000 fans for each Bundesliga match.
 
“Porter and I made a poster about Bayern Munchen because we really like the soccer team,” Juan said. “We think that they are part of soccer history because of all their records and also because of all their amazing moments and amazing players.”
 
Judges gave medallions to champions of individual events and ribbons to first-place winners of group contests. They also presented ribbons for second and third place in all categories. Professors, university students and teachers whose students were not competing in an event served as judges throughout the day.
 
The German State Convention is one of many activities that the NATG sponsors each year. Students celebrate National German Week each October, participate in field trips and have the chance to take the National German Exam. Multiple LPS students earned either gold or silver medals on the 2025 test.
 
Rosebaugh said the German State Convention fits well into the 2024-29 LPS Strategic Plan’s goal of increasing family and community engagement. LPS students have attended the event for more than a decade because of its academic and prosocial benefits. Their experiences have fostered connections with classmates that have lasted throughout their middle and high school years.
 
“Having an opportunity to compete is helpful in building lifelong learners of German,” Rosebaugh said. “Having fun opportunities and meeting other students who speak German increases students’ likelihood to continue learning German in their school career. The UNO Language Celebration also showcases community outreach and study-abroad college programs that students could get involved in after they finish in LPS.”
 
Discover how world language classes can create global opportunities for LPS students.
 
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