Godwin High unveiled a 16-foot sculpture of wooden sails to mark 30 years of Henrico's student exchange with Homburg, Germany. Its twin stands at the partner school there.

Mills E. Godwin High School has a new 16-foot sculpture outside, built to mark 30 years of Henrico County’s student exchange with Homburg, Germany.

The school dedicated it at a ceremony on Oct. 13, Henrico County Public Schools said in a news story on its website. Godwin, on Pump Road just south of Short Pump, is the zoned high school for the south side of the community.

Sails on one side of the Atlantic, waves on the other

The sculpture is made of thin wooden slats and represents the five sails of a ship, the district said. It is one half of a pair. Its partner stands at Christian von Mannlich Gymnasium, a public high school in Homburg, and represents the waves of the Atlantic Ocean.

German sculptor Martin Steinert traveled from Germany to build it with Godwin students. The district said the work drew on:

  • Godwin’s Advanced Placement art students
  • its German-language students
  • 14 German exchange students who spent the past two weeks at the school
  • English classes, which helped students draft the messages

Once it was assembled, students wrote messages of hope and unity on the slats.

“It’s a project of great friendship,” Steinert said, according to the district.

Godwin art teacher Catie Bare worked with Steinert for months on the design. “Over the last year it’s been a lot of Zoom calls back and forth,” she said. Her students built small models to test the concept.

$20,000 a year from the county

Henrico County puts roughly $20,000 a year into the exchange, County Manager John Vithoulkas said at the ceremony. He studied German himself as a student at J.R. Tucker High School, the district said, and he would like to see the program grow.

“I wish everyone of our residents could see the words that the students have put into this project,” Vithoulkas said.

Joe Ungerleider, Godwin’s German teacher, organizes the exchange. He said he gets goosebumps reading the students’ messages. “It really gives me, as an educator, hope for our future,” he said.

Stephan Leonhartt, who leads the program in Germany, said he hopes it can expand beyond language classes to teachers of other subjects.

Two weeks in Henrico

The 14 German students and their teachers stayed with host families, the district said. They went to classes, the homecoming game and dance, and took a trip to Washington, D.C.

Principal Leigh Dunavant called it a once-in-a-lifetime experience for Godwin students. Tuckahoe District Supervisor Jody Rogish and School Board member Marcie Shea also attended.

What it means for you

The sculpture stands outside Godwin at 2101 Pump Road. Families interested in the exchange can ask the school’s main office at 804-750-2600. Our Godwin High School page has the school’s enrollment, accreditation and attendance zone.