Ashley Ridge High School students stepped into a mini-Munich on Thursday, Oct. 16, as the campus hosted “Foxtoberfest,” a German culture celebration with geography games, history trivia, traditional foods, music and meet-and-greets with representatives from German companies
German teacher Robin Kaip said the event was designed to make classroom concepts tangible.

German teacher Robin Kaip poses with a goat at Ashley Ridge High School’s “Foxtoberfest,” a celebration of German culture.
“I wanted to do something that brings a lot of the stuff that we talk about in class to life, share German culture with the students, have them interact with geography, history, music and food in a more interactive way than just lecturing about it,” Kaip said. “The German Club students are actually actively helping organize this, so it helps their leadership skills and their collaborative spirit.”
One student volunteer, junior Caitlyn Hallowell, said Kaip inspired her to join the German Club.

Student volunteers serve German food at Ashley Ridge High School’s “Foxtoberfest.”

Bosch representative Ryan Tankersley at Ashley Ridge High School’s “Foxtoberfest.”
“Mr. Kaip is a wonderful teacher,” Hallowell said. “More people should join the German Club.”
Hallowell helped set up food tables and run activity stations, calling the celebration “an opportunity for students to connect with another culture.”
Industry partners also took part. Ryan Tankersley attended on behalf of the German engineering company Bosch to talk with potential engineers about the manufacturing sector.
“It’s important coming here from a German company,” Tankersley said. “We have those connections to the European market and how that interacts and intertwines with the American market.”
Kaip would like to see the festival grow beyond one campus.
“There are other high schools with a German program,” he said. “We have a middle school that feeds high school students to us. I would love it to be a bigger event in the future so that other German programs can come together. The Citadel has a German program; they couldn’t attend, so I’d love for it to spread and become community-wide. It’s a small start, but I think it’s a good one.”