Local school hosts Oktoberfest

Lakeview Elementary School students crowded around IU students to learn about German culture at Lakeview’s first ever Oktoberfest on Thursday.\nAbout 300 people attended the Oktoberfest, which was held to teach children about German culture and encourage more parental participation in Lakeview’s Parent Teacher Organization, said Troy Byler, the German outreach coordinator.\nAfter eating hot dogs, brats and soft pretzels in the cafeteria, children chicken-danced in the gym and visited several educational booths set up by IU students.\nway wrote her name in German as her father, Veodies Callaway, looked over her shoulder.\nThough Callaway initially brought his daughter to Oktoberfest because his nephew was scheduled to sing in the third grade chorus, he said he thought it was a great educational experience for her.\n“(My daughter) learned how to write her name in German and she wrote a letter to her (German) pen pal,” Veodies Callaway said.\nIU students assisted children in learning to say their names in German, writing to German pen pals and learning German dances.\n“Parents are learning German as well as the children,” Byler said.\nIU Western European studies graduate student Sonja Rother said she decided to volunteer at Lakeview’s Oktoberfest because she is German and she wanted to promote German culture.\n“(Teaching the children) is so fun,” Rother said. “They learn so fast – it’s amazing. Their pronunciation is better than my G100 students.”\nIU senior Lauren Schrader had similar motives for volunteering at the event.\n“(The event) was a good opportunity to get involved in the community and spread a little German out there,” Schrader said.\nSchrader taught Lakeview students about the differences between the typical life of German children and their own lives, including everything from literature to sports clothing.\nShe said she enjoyed teaching the Lakeview students because they were “so eager to learn.”\nByler said it was “unique” that different students were drawn to different types of activities at such young ages. He said some wanted to only do the writing booths while others wanted to dance or learn about sports. Byler said the Parent Teacher Organization meeting only lasted 15 minutes, but that Oktoberfest went on for a little more than an hour.\nFourth grader Chalane Miller said the booths were “neat” and that she liked being able to write a letter to a pen pal.\nHer mother, Donna Miller, said she was late and missed the Parent Teacher Organization meeting, but Chalane begged to go to the Oktoberfest.\n“(Chalane) wanted to go and see what (German culture) was like and be with her friends,” Miller said.\nAfter visiting each booth, children lined up to play a game of limbo.\n“It’s a little chaotic, as expected,” Byler said. “(But) the kids are having fun, as expected.”