The Elternabend: Asking Questions at a Swiss Parents' Evening
How to interrupt politely, ask about holiday dates, and raise the one thing most parents are too shy to mention: that your child is struggling in a subject.
The Elternabend is an evening at your child's school where the teacher explains the year and the parents sit and listen. It is expected that you go. Not going, without telling anyone, is noticed.
For a parent whose German is still growing, it can feel like the worst possible format: a room full of native speakers, a teacher talking fast, and forty-five minutes of information you half catch.
But here is the thing — you do not have to follow every word. You need two sentences: one to interrupt politely, and one to ask about your own child. Everything else you can catch up on later.
Key phrases to know
- Entschuldigung, ich habe eine Frage. – Excuse me, I have a question.
- Wann sind die Sportferien dieses Jahr? – When are the sports holidays this year?
- Das ist Mitte Februar. – That's mid-February.
- Mein Kind hat Schwierigkeiten mit Mathematik. – My child has difficulties with maths.