The German departments of all four RSD high schools will be coming together for the second annual, Rocktoberfest, an event that presents the community with German music, heritage and other cultural immersion opportunities, Sept. 30.

“The goal of Rocktoberfest is to celebrate our German heritage in the St. Louis area in a family-friendly manner,” .” Mrs. Christie Staszcuk, German teacher, said. “Another big part of the goal is to get all of the German students in Rockwood working together.”

Rocktoberfest provides the students in German with an opportunity to indulge in German culture.

“The most exciting part last year was the band Über Cool came and they played,” Brittney Blunt (11) said. “They play a lot of songs that we can dance to, and there were special dances that went along with them.”

The event also provides students with an opportunity to meet students from other RSD schools.

“The experience was very fun last year,” Jade Sterling (11) said. “We hadn’t had one before, and the whole vibe was very nice. All of us, from all different schools throughout Rockwood came together, that was my favorite part.”

Whereas, last year Rocktoberfest was more of a concert, this year there will also be colleges there to provide information about their German programs.

“The whole idea of having the mini college fair was so that some colleges could get in touch with our students,” Mrs. Staszcuk said.

Julianne Bauer, Class of 2010, will share her experience about her semester abroad, according to Mrs. Staszuck.

Rocktoberfest is the brainchild of the world language teachers.

“I think it shows how dedicated and how important we view our World Language Department,” Mrs. Deborah Asher, head principal, said. “They go far above what is required for the students in this school, and they really try to give an experience for kids to immerse into the different languages.” 

Rocktoberfest will be in the Commons, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 30. Admission is free and everyone in the community is welcome.