Field Trips and Boarding School Weekends

Weekends at the boarding school are organized in various ways. The “go-home” weekends allow boarding students to maintain regular, close personal contact with their friends, family, and home community. The mandatory boarding school weekends held on-site at Steinmühle provide opportunities for group activities and strengthen the sense of community.

On the first boarding school weekend of the school year, all residential groups traditionally go on what is known as the “get-to-know-you trip.”

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Orientation Trip: Arriving and Experiencing Community

The residential groups for each dorm are reorganized every year. To help the groups bond, the school year begins with a get-to-know-you trip. Each residential group plans its first boarding school weekend independently. The destinations vary widely. Whether it’s a rafting trip in the Netherlands, hiking in the Rhön Mountains, or a visit to an amusement park in the Black Forest—from youth hostels to self-catering lodgings to campgrounds—anything is possible.

The weekend ends with a group dinner in the dining hall. Over a lavish buffet, the students and the teaching staff have the opportunity to catch up and share their experiences from the weekend.

Recreational Activities at the House Evenings

The following boarding school weekends all begin with a house evening on Friday, which each residential group organizes and plans on its own. On Saturday and Sunday, the students can choose from a variety of recreational activities, or they can get together with friends, watch movies together, or go horseback riding, rowing, swimming, or play tennis…

Depending on the students’ preferences, special activities are offered, such as trips to the bowling alley, the movie theater, or the swimming pool. On some evenings, the focus is on eating together. Sometimes everyone gathers in the residential group’s own kitchen to prepare the meal together and then enjoy it in a cozy setting; other times, they explore the culinary offerings in nearby downtown Marburg.

Shared celebrations, parties, and city trips

Other great opportunities for group activities include the Fall Festival, the Christmas party, and the experiential education weekend in May, which offers a wide variety of activities ranging from city trips and canoe trips to small camping trips.

For international students as well as boarding students who do not go home, a separate house is available during the weekends when students typically go home. There, they can take care of their own needs and prepare meals together in their living groups—meals that are often colorful and unique thanks to the cultural diversity in this house. On Saturdays, the students go on excursions and learn about cultural and regional traditions.