Faculty Summer Party at Steinmühle: An Evening of Gratitude and Farewells

This year’s Steinmühle School summer festival took on special significance: For the first time since the school and boarding school merged, the festival was celebrated jointly by all staff members. In addition, the 2023–24 school year marked a special milestone in Steinmühle’s history: In May, our educational institution celebrated its 75th anniversary with a week of festivities. These remarkable events presented both emotional and physical challenges for the staff.

Principal Björn Gemmer and Managing Director Dirk Konnertz took the opportunity to extend their heartfelt thanks to all their colleagues. Special thanks were given to the planning team at the Hotel Management School, which was responsible for organizing parts of the celebration that evening.

 

Those who have passed away leave their own unique mark

As is tradition, the celebration also included a farewell: Several colleagues left Steinmühle at the end of the school year. Among them were Leonie Zapf, an English and German teacher; Florian Portsteffen (physical education and geography); and Moritz Zöckler (English and physical education). Jessica Schuhmann (German and Political Science) and Susann Siegfried (Chemistry and History) also said their goodbyes after completing their teaching internships, heading to Battenberg and Lauterbach, respectively. Marc Kevin Zopf moved to Herborn.

Particularly painful was the departure of Claudia Natterer, who had been teaching German and Ethics at Steinmühle since 2008 and had distinguished herself through her great dedication and her special ability to communicate on an equal footing. She will be working as a university professor in Heidelberg in the future. In their speeches, Ines Vielhaben and Nicole Hohm paid tribute to Claudia Natterer’s dedication, while Kristina Sokoli, on behalf of the German Department Student Council, wished their valued colleague all the best for the future. The staff council, represented by Dr. Rainer Nietzke, also bid her farewell with warm words and best wishes: “We hope you had a good time.”

 

A warm welcome to our new members!

Steinmühle also welcomed some new additions: Christina Becker has joined the team at the Bilingual Elementary School; psychologist Hanne Wolf moved into an office on campus after the start of the new school year.

At the conclusion of the official portion of the event, Dirk Konnertz addressed the boarding school staff personally, thanking them for their trust since he took over as CEO at the turn of the year and emphasizing the value of their collaboration.

An atmospheric musical performance set the stage for the more relaxed part of the evening, which was also attended by several former teachers: Over a lavish buffet and refreshing drinks, everyone celebrated and looked back on an eventful year—a wonderful tradition that strengthens the sense of community among the faculty.