In-School Teacher Training (SchiLf) 2015

For the last two days before the Christmas break, the faculty had scheduled its annual professional development event, and the school administration and academic leadership had succeeded in bringing a wealth of expertise to the school.

For the section on support for teachers’ daily work and health:

· Franziska Krummwiede-Steiner (Querenburg Institute, Bochum): Efficient Grading

· Kerstin Kuschik (b*brizzle School for Adult Education, Frankfurt): Voice Training and Preventive Health Care for Teachers [Images 1 + 2]

· Dr. Claudia Röder (Steinmühle): Strengthening Your Back in Everyday Life. A Short Guide to Back Exercises.

Dr. Röder stepped in at the last minute to fill in for the speaker, who was ill, and demonstrated her expertise in this area as well. [Figure 3]

· Peter Berger, M.A. in Psychology (Hardtwaldklinik II, Bad Zwesten): Staying Healthy as a Teacher. Strategies for Preventing Burnout. [Image 4]

· Dr. Sabine Paul (Molecular and evolutionary biologist at the Institute for Evolutionary Health in Frankfurt): Stressed? – Natural First Aid for Teachers. [Image 5]

For the section on working with traumatized students:

· Dr. Georg Pieper (Institute for Trauma Recovery): How can we address the problems faced by traumatized refugee children and adolescents at our school? [Images 6 + 7]

Even before the evaluation results were analyzed, it was clear that, overall, colleagues found the event to be very helpful and the atmosphere to be relaxed.

23. December 2015

Students Sent Off on Christmas Break

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Because their teachers were attending a professional development workshop on December 21 and 22, the students were dismissed for winter break on December 18. Most classes and courses had held Christmas parties—with or without Secret Santa —during the last week of school, but on the final day of classes, everyone got into the Christmas spirit one last time:

While the 5th and 6th-grade classes watched the Hessian State Theater’s “Christmas play, ” *Beauty and the Beast*, the middle and upper school classes gathered in the Forum during the third period for a Christmas celebration.

In their brief remarks, the principals once again highlighted the highlights and special moments of the past few months and looked forward with optimism to the coming year, 2016. There was a big round of applause from the entire school for the students in Class 9i, who, as unaccompanied minor refugees, have been part of the school community since October 2015.

With “I Want You Back” and “All I Want for X-mas,” the StoneMill house band showed off its festive side—much to the delight of all the students, who enthusiastically demanded an encore.

23. December 2015

Dr. Pätzold and Mr. Jöllenbeck are saying goodbye to the faculty at Steinmühle

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The outgoing board of the school association bid farewell to all staff members during the faculty’s Christmas party. In his speech, Dr. Pätzold reflected on the events that had left a particular impression on him, including the story of helping refugees escape, the construction of the Centrum and Forum, and difficult structural and personnel decisions. He expressly praised the contributions of Mr. Jöllenbeck, his deputy, and Mr. Jäger, the long-time executive director.

On behalf of the school administration, Mr. Gemmer expressed words of thanks to the outgoing board, along with the hope that the school community would have another opportunity to bid a fitting farewell to its long-serving board in a different setting.

In brief remarks, Ms. Opper and Ms. Rabben-Martin highlighted a significant event at the start of the new year: Mr. Nauheimer’s retirement and his farewell party in February 2016.

Afterward, the physics and geography student councils entertained the crowd with a varied program and hands-on experiments. Once again, a gratifyingly large number of former colleagues attended the traditional Christmas party.

23. December 2015

Student Profile: “Diya Ai from Nanjing”

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Diya Ai from Nanjing, China, attended a German language course at the Humboldt Institute for about four months before starting at Steinmühle. There, she went by the name Andrea, a name by which many of her classmates here also know her.

Andrea has been living at the Steinmühle boarding school in the “Westfalenhaus” since early September. In a conversation with the new boarding school director, Jochen Eisold, she describes her first impressions of Germany.

She noticed that most Germans weren’t as strict as she had thought, that people here have a relatively large amount of free time, and that not everything is so fast-paced and hectic. “In China, you always have to work a lot.”

At first, she found it strange that they had sparkling water here—which she didn’t like—and that people ate so much bread. In China, she had hot meals three times a day. The fact that “everything is closed on Sundays” here was also a completely new experience.

Diya (Andrea) immediately liked the bus system, which was designed to accommodate older adults and people in wheelchairs.

Andrea describes the way of learning in Germany as a unique experience. While school in China typically goes until 5:00 p.m., here you have to organize part of your time on your own. As an example, she mentions the support provided by the boarding school’s study center. There, students can partially manage their own schedules to take responsibility for their own learning process. As a student, she plays a major role in shaping the content of this support by defining her educational priorities and individual needs, which are then coordinated through the study center with subject teachers as well as the newly established support program during vacations and on weekends. “This was a completely new experience for me,” says Diya.

In particular, Diya had to adjust to the way lessons are taught at Steinmühle. Diya: “At school in China, things are first taught using a textbook. They explain to you what something is and how it works. Then comes practice, practice, practice… Here at Steinmühle, you learn much more through hands-on experience. Under guidance, you search for answers to questions on your own or in groups, and together you gradually work out the solutions. I have to get used to that first.”

“This account shows that the boarding school faces additional challenges as it welcomes international students. The boarding school staff—especially the house directors—are tackling this task with great dedication!” says boarding school director Jochen Eisold with enthusiasm.

Andrea is also familiar with the upcoming Christmas celebrations from her time in China. There, too, people decorate their windows and families get together. However, the main focus is on shopping together. The Chinese New Year at the end of January most closely resembles our Christmas. Along with the “Mid-Autumn Festival,” this is the traditional family celebration, during which people also exchange gifts.

The boarding school community is really looking forward to these celebrations and is excited to celebrate them together at the Steinmühle boarding school.

17. December 2015

Steinmühlen Boarding School Expands Its Care Program

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Since the 2015–2016 school year, the Steinmühle boarding school has allowed international students to stay at the boarding school during the weekends when they would normally travel home. The boarding school is also open to this group during the Easter and fall breaks. A new position was created within the boarding school’s educational team to provide additional support.

Steinmühle has been welcoming international students for many years. They attend classes alongside German students and spend their free time together. As an educational institution, Steinmühle has great ambitions to further open itself up to internationalization. The educational approach aims to optimally prepare Steinmühle students for an independent life in the future. At universities and in the professional world, young people encounter many different nationalities and need the appropriate intercultural skills to communicate with people from other cultures and work closely with them. It is therefore important that students learn and practice intercultural collaboration as part of their daily school and boarding school life.

In the past, Steinmühle Boarding School has had very positive experiences with the integration of international students. For everyone involved, this cultural exchange is both enriching and challenging. When selecting countries, the boarding school is open to students from all nations. Currently, Steinmühle has students from countries including Russia, China, Korea, France, Poland, and Switzerland.

If you are interested in an international boarding school spot, please contact the admissions office at Steinmühlen Boarding School.

15. December 2015

2015 Winter Concert

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There was a mix of old and new, including both classical and popular music. And Christmas carols were sung as well. It really had a little bit of everything, and the many visitors to the event were thrilled.

The Chamber Music Club, led by F. Wemme, set the first festive tone of the evening with two jazzy arrangements of Christmas carols.

The WU Lieder, conducted by Mr. Wever, evoked the “Oriental Wave” of the early 1960s with their performances, and since the lyrics of “Oh Mustapha” and “Cafe Oriental” hardly meet today’s standards of political correctness, they were given an ironic twist and translated into Persian—much to the audience’s delight.

Chamber music enthusiasts were treated to two groups: first, the Saxophone Quartet featuring Ms. Sturm von der Ahe, which performed Renaissance pieces and Christmas carols; and second, the Tango Trio featuring the Verweyen siblings. The trio took on quite a challenge with two pieces by Astor Piazzolla, but they mastered the task with ease.

In the end, the high school choir provided a rousing finale. A major part of the choir’s inspiring performance was due to its tireless motivator (choir director) D. Sans and the accompanying band featuring Frank Wemme (electric bass and electric guitar), Olaf Roth (keyboard), and Arthur Laux (drums). From “Killing Me Softly” to “Radio Gaga” to “Supergirl,” the set list offered something to delight the hearts of both the young and the young at heart.

13. December 2015

The Friends Association Provides Support for Major Purchases

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For the school, the gift-giving had already taken place before Christmas: On December 9, 2015, the Friends of the School Association, led by Ms. Weidenbach, presented the school principals with important equipment and instruments.

Two new high-tech “Epson Finger Touch Interactive Projectors” were purchased for the school’s general equipment. The new ultra-short-throw projector offers the ultimate in interactivity with its finger-touch function and support for two pens. The device offers high white and color brightness of 3,300 lumens and WXGA resolution. With the ultra-wide-angle lens, you no longer have to worry about shadows or glare when projecting large images from a very short distance.

The music department received 24 new mini bagpipes (“Beginner’s Flute Sets”) and two euphoniums for the wind instrument classes.

The school would like to thank the Friends of the School Association, which welcomes new members and donations.

11. December 2015

Steinmühle School Association with a New Board of Directors

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After a long and successful tenure, the board of the school association had announced its retirement. The chairman, Dr. Gerhard Pätzold, had steered the school’s fortunes for 38 years with a steady hand and great dedication. For many years, he did so alongside the vice-chairman, Mr. Dieter Jöllenbeck, who had introduced the all-day school program at Steinmühle as its principal in the 1970s and served for many years as director of the Marburg State School Board.

On December 7, 2015, the general meeting elected the new board of directors. Mr. Egon Vaupel was elected chairman. Mr. Vaupel served as mayor of the city of Marburg for eight years and as mayor for ten years. Mr. Gerhard Müller was elected as his deputy; he is very familiar with the Steinmühle, having held various positions on the school’s administration board there until 1995.

The school community welcomes the new leadership and, together with the two newly elected officials, hopes for continued success and smooth sailing.

From left: Dr. Pätzold, Vaupel, Jöllenbeck, Müller

9. December 2015

Aspects of Good Schools in Hesse — Klaus Heiner Weber to Speak at Steinmühle on November 24

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On November 24, 2015, Mr. Klaus Heiner Weber was a guest at an expanded school administration meeting. The school administration had two expectations of Mr. Weber, who had served as a school inspector in Hesse for many years: first, he was to help place Steinmühle in the context of high-performing schools in Hesse and provide criteria for doing so; second, as an experienced school inspector, he was expected to highlight evaluation options. The school administration was interested in hearing from him, based on his experience, about where schools’ instructional qualities are particularly recognized and where they are still needed to a greater extent—as well as where the possibilities and limitations of internal and external evaluation lie.

To get right to the point: Mr. Weber’s remarks were quite helpful for the school, and it was certainly an advantage that the Steinmühle was not unfamiliar territory to him, since his wife, Prof. Dr. Karin Bräu, had worked there as a biology and art teacher in the 1990s.

In his remarks, Mr. Weber repeatedly referred to three criteria for good schools that he has come to regard as indispensable over the years: the quality of school leadership, the commitment to following through on agreements within the school, and how the school handles diversity.

3. December 2015

The Flexible 10th Grade – Also for New Students Entering 10th Grade in the 2016–17 School Year

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With its elective model, Steinmühle is the only school in the Marburg-Biedenkopf district to offer both the G9 and G8 tracks. A key feature of the model is the flexible 10th grade for G9 students, which will be implemented for the first time in the 2016–17 school year. We plan to organize this flexible 10th grade into four classes instead of three in order to create capacity for students from other schools. Below, we’ll introduce you to this special grade level:

The period from the 2016 summer break to the 2017 Easter break …

… regular subject instruction takes place in nearly all academic subjects. The content specified by the Hessian curriculum is taught in the traditional Steinmühlen style—which is highly collaborative and promotes self-efficacy among our students. Most classes are held with the entire class; the second foreign language, religion and ethics, the arts subject, elective courses, and bilingual instruction are, as before, organized into parallel courses based on student selection.

From the 2017 Easter break through the 2017 summer break …

… the students can choose between:

a stay abroad (language course or exchange program),
a social or professional internship,
or a class at the Steinmühle on the topic “Ready for High School.”

Re: a) Stay Abroad

Steinmühle has established partnerships with well-known and established providers of language travel programs and youth exchange programs. In addition to language acquisition, the goal of these stays abroad is always to strengthen personal skills such as self-confidence, independence, communication skills, and perseverance. If you are interested, please consult with Principal Björn Gemmer.

Re: b) Internship

School-based internships (social internship in 8th grade, workplace internship in 9th grade) are often considered too short to provide a genuine insight into a career field. With a timeframe of three to four months, however, the situation is different. Over this period, interns can refine or rule out their career aspirations, become valuable contributors to a company, and set the stage for long-term employment as summer workers or participants in a dual study program. Since this program requires a long-term leave of absence from classes, it must be closely coordinated with the school administration.

Regarding c) “Ready for High School”

The “Ready for High School” course involves small learning groups and focuses on reviewing key material from middle school—especially in those subjects where the pressure to advance is greatest, that is, in the core subjects, the natural sciences, and in elective subjects that cannot be dropped or are frequently chosen as exam subjects for the Abitur. In this way, we aim to ease the transition into the upper secondary level of the Gymnasium and lay a solid foundation for the most successful Abitur possible.

Students in our current 9a, 9b, and 9c classes will have the opportunity to transfer to the new 10d class. This would allow them to be part of an even smaller class than before and receive even more personalized academic support.

We welcome students from other schools! Students currently in the ninth grade at a G8 high school are welcome to join our flexible 10th-grade class and thus transition to the G9 system. Students in ninth grade at comprehensive schools may also transfer to Steinmühle (provided they meet the academic requirements for a Gymnasium). They should contact us and schedule an introductory meeting to consult with one of Steinmühle’s two principals.

After the tenth grade, all students who are promoted to the 11th grade are granted equivalence to the intermediate school diploma (Realschulabschluss).

Students continue their academic journey in the introductory phase (11th grade) of our specialized upper school program. You can find more information on our website, request brochures from the school office, or learn more about the specialized upper school program and the wide range of advanced courses (including sports and art) during a personal consultation.

2. December 2015