Brass music at lunchtime, organized by the Music Department with its brass ensembles—the 6th and 7th grade brass classes and the concert band. It was a successful effort to showcase the impressive skill level of our young brass players. Under the direction of Mr. Jamin and Ms. Wilmsmeyer, the 6th- and 7th-grade wind ensembles performed their signature pieces, and Stefan Reissig demonstrated with his concert band that there is a future beyond the wind ensemble for these enthusiastic musicians. The musicians bravely faced an impartial audience: the students in grades 5–7. And the students were completely honest in their judgment, thanking the performers for all their contributions with appreciative and thunderous applause.

· Wind Instrument Class 6 (Ms. Wilmsmeyer)

 

· 7th-Grade Wind Instrument Class (Mr. Jamin)

 

· Concert Band (Mr. Reissig)

 

It has been two years since Lucas Schäfer took his high school graduation exams at Steinmühle. Since then, our successful rower—who has remained loyal to his club, RUS Steinmühle—has been facing a different set of challenges: training camps, tryout races, and qualifying competitions. And to everyone who has been following the career of this likable competitive rower with interest, we can say: Things are obviously going very well!

During his recent training camps, Lukas has clearly made great strides in building his strength, endurance, and coordination, which allowed him to perform very well at the German Rowing Association’s tryout races in Portugal.

With this, Lucas has secured his spot on the DRV’s four-man crew for the Rotsee Regatta (May 19–22), which means nothing less than that he has reached the very top. After all, the Rotsee is to rowing what Wimbledon is to tennis or the Tour de France is to cycling. Furthermore, this year’s results from the Rotsee Regatta will serve as the basis for the federation’s selection of athletes for the Olympic rowing classes.

If Lucas keeps this up, he has good reason to be hopeful about being nominated for the Olympic rowing team in early summer.

We hope that Lucas Schäfer stays healthy and injury-free, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for him and his coaches!

On March 8, 2016, Bitkom e.V. of Berlin held an event to inform parents about the media world of young people; this event series was made possible by Dr. Heck (Member of the German Bundestag).

During an evening event, interested parents, teachers, and educators were able to gain insight into the world of WhatsApp, Facebook, and other platforms, and learn about the opportunities and risks of the internet. Demonstrations were given of the services most commonly used by young people, and recommendations were provided for their safe use.

On the same day, 18 students in grades 9 and 10 completed a 6-hour workshop to become Steinmühle Media Scouts.

Over the next few weeks, our Media Scouts will share the knowledge they’ve gained with students in grades 5 and 6 and will be available to offer advice and support on all matters related to responsible media use.

About an Unusual Collaboration Between Rowers and the Disabled Sports Community in Warsaw

On February 22, the Steinmühle welcomed visitors from Poland. Our coach Martin Strohmenger, who has a strong network in the rowing community, had realized while sorting through his fleet of boats that, for competitive reasons, some of his boats had been out of the water for some time; at the same time, he was aware of the great need for boats for Paralympic rowing in Warsaw. Long story short: in consultation with our partner Blista, it was agreed to transfer ownership of four boats to the Polish rowers with disabilities. German triathlete Ulrike Fuhrmann has been involved there for some time and, along with a colleague, was able to pick up the boats in February.

There will be an official handover/christening ceremony for the boats in Warsaw. The German Embassy in Warsaw will be in attendance; Verena Bentele, the Federal Government’s Commissioner for Matters Related to People with Disabilities and a twelve-time Paralympic champion in biathlon and cross-country skiing, has confirmed her attendance; and the Paralympic Committee in Berlin also plans to support Paralympic sports in Warsaw.