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He's also wrestled for the first time, and earlier in the year hit the golf course. And there’s more to come. Snowmobiling, jet skiing, fishing and rugby are all on his bucket list for the remainder of his stay. 

“I like to try new sports,” said Geik, who lives with the Lambrecht family in De Pere. “Football was amazing. I didn’t know what football was about and I really liked it because it’s a community thing,” Geik said. “The whole school is watching.”

"Wrestling also helps me with my fighting skills. You need a lot of physical strength and conditioning.”

In Germany, as in many European countries, sports are separate from academic life. 

“After school, you just go home,” Geik said. “You can join clubs outside of school. Here you have school sports and clubs, which is amazing because you get to do them with your friends.”

Family: Geik lives near Cologne, Germany, with his parents and younger sister. The Lambrechts have three children, two in college and one at the middle school. 

School days: German students learn three languages - their native tongue, English and either French or Latin. They are required to attend secondary school through 10th grade, then can choose to continue for up to three more years. Geik said his school, or Gymnasium as it’s called, has about 800 students. That compares to about 1,460 kids at DPHS. 

“I see people here in the hallways for the first time after (being here for) months, and then I never see them again,” he said. 

His favorite classes are Foods for Life and Intro to Business. He’s also participated in the International Club where the exchange students share foods from their countries. Geik’s favorite food back home is doner, a meat and sauce kabob with Turkish or Middle Eastern flavorings. 

Frequent flyer: Because it’s fairly inexpensive to travel around Europe, Geik has been to many countries. His family spends six weeks in Spain each summer. 

In the U.S., he’s visited New York City and other places on the East Coast. And he enjoyed a one-week trip to Hawaii in January with his exchange organization, Reflections International.
 

Registration for students who live in the Unified School District of De Pere, but do not currently attend a USDD school opens Feb. 3. Would you like to learn more about the rich educational and social opportunities our elementary schools offer? Join us at an elementary open house!

Meet the building Principals and office staff

View a short presentation, followed by questions/answers

Tour the building

We encourage you to attend the open house in your home’s attendance area. Not sure about your attendance area? Visit https://www.deperek12.org/district/boundaries-maps-busing

Supt. Chris Thompson presented the results during the Monday, Jan. 6, Board of Education meeting.

"Feedback from previous surveys was very positive, and the newest data shows continued improvement in almost every area," said Thompson. "That doesn't mean we won't dig deeper into some topics to determine root causes and possible solutions." 

New this year was a set of questions regarding student cell phone use. Thompson and the Board will discuss the District's cell phone policy at future Board meetings when the public will have the opportunity to comment.

What are the School and District Report Cards?

As part of the state accountability system, the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) produces report cards for every publicly funded school and district in Wisconsin. These report cards include data on multiple indicators for multiple years across four priority areas (Achievement, Growth, Target Group Outcomes, and On-track to Graduation). In addition, the report cards provide course and program participation information for grades 9-12 for public schools and districts. 

How Did De Pere Perform?

Report cards released in November 2024 showed USDD achieved the rating of Significantly Exceeds Expectations in the 2023-24 school year with a composite score of 83.2. No other school district in northeast Wisconsin ranked as highly as USDD, and the composite score puts the District as the 9th highest scoring among Wisconsin's other 4K-12 districts.

De Pere’s overall score increased by about a point and a half this year, which was enough to rise from the four-star “exceeds expectations” ranking to the five-star “significantly exceeds expectations.” USDD is one of only 29 Wisconsin districts whose rating increased. Since 2020-21, the district’s score has grown by five points. 

View Districtwide and school-by-school information.
 

 

3 De Pere groups (Jam Session, Chi Street Singers and the Rockin' Redbirds) compete on their home stage with groups from Bay Port, Green Bay East, Preble, New London, Onalaska and Milton high schools along with Green Bay's Red Smith and Howard-Suamico's Bay View middle schools.

Performance Times

• Rockin’ Redbirds (Middle School) 4:15 pm
• Chicago Street Singers (High School) 4:45 pm
• Jam Session (High School) 8:55 pm

Admission

• Adults: $20
• Students/ Seniors: $10
• District Staff: Free
• 5 and Under: Free

Details and tickets here