At both performances of the 7th Grade Theater Workshop 2017 on June 1 and 2, the audience was thrilled by fantastic plays, wonderful visuals, and exceptionally enthusiastic students. The concept of having students work with teachers and actors to develop a play over the course of a school year has once again resulted in remarkable performances.

The 7a took their audience on an exciting journey through time with some very special characters.

The Play I Wrote Myself “The Forgotten Bus” transported the audience back to the year 1492,

in which Christopher (or was it Christina?) Columbus discovered America. The teenagers, who had heard stories about a time-traveling bus from their grandparents time and again, now set out on an adventurous journey of their own. In the process, they changed the future and had to be guided back on the right path by their grandparents. The theater class in 7a was characterized by a great enthusiasm for acting and the joy of developing their unique characters. Directors: Mr. Ullwer and Mr. Pietsch

The 7b transported the audience to a very unusual mental institution, where by the end the viewers no longer knew who was truly crazy and who was sane. The plot, based on Dürrenmatt’s tragicomedy “The Physicists” In a comedy, he initially depicted the bizarre world of a psychiatric ward, which, as the story unfolded, led to an ending that left some viewers with a lump in their throats: Two mysterious deaths of two nurses in a mental institution, committed by two physicists who believe themselves to be Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. Detective Inspector Richard Voss and his alter ego are faced with a mystery. He investigates the cause of the murders at the “Les Cerisiers” asylum, surrounded by the insane, the bizarre, and overwhelmed staff—led by the asylum’s director, Mathilde von Zahnd. When a third murder—that of a nurse—is added to the mix, the inspector and his alter ego are clearly in over their heads. What is really behind the murders, and who is truly crazy in the end?

Game Masters: Ms. Lauginiger and Mr. Köckritz

The Class 7c After first exploring and experimenting with various theatrical techniques in the theater workshop, she wanted to stage a crime comedy, so they wove theft, revenge, a crime of passion, drug trafficking, and a manhunt into a whimsical story titled ” … and you’re out!”

The title is a recurring phrase spoken by a character who appears in many scenes, thereby tying the collage of scenes together thematically. She is a little girl, sensitively portrayed by Carla, who is separated from her hysterical mother (Rieka) by her mother’s drunken lover (Mara) on the train platform. Actor Stefan Martel, unmistakably played by Alex, briefly takes the girl under his wing with his talking dog (Gianna), but passes her off at the first opportunity to the unemployed TV host Jessy (Anna). Although Jessy strikes a more empathetic tone when dealing with the girl, she, too, seizes the opportunity—while handing the drug-addicted psychologist Anthony (Paul Anton) his “stuff”—to get rid of the girl in the psychologist’s basement apartment…

Game Masters: Ms. Vielhaben and Mr. Sempf

 

The top eight teams from schools in Hesse were invited to Grünberg on June 13, and the Steinmühlen team was there and put up a respectable showing. They suffered very close losses to Obertshausen, Darmstadt, and the eventual tournament champion from Kassel. In the match for 7th place, our team played with a sense of freedom, defeating Neu-Anspach 4–0 and thus finishing the tournament with a balanced goal difference.

Season Recap:

As a relatively “small school,” the Steinmühlen soccer team’s repeated participation in the Hesse finals must be considered a major success. With a little luck, the team might make it to the final four, as it did in 2015; however, at the Hesse level, it’s clear that the bench is quite thin and that the absence of key players can hardly be compensated for. The large schools in Kassel or the Rhine-Main region, with their affiliated school sports centers, have clear advantages here. Nevertheless, all the games were competitive, and the team and coaches once again had a great time and were able to head home satisfied.

Top, from left to right: Max Bachmann, Louis Kirschstein, Sam Kempkes, Lars Flühe, Sebastian Jung, Paul Wolf, Jonas Baalbaki, Mio Essers, Leon Döringer, M.N. Bottom, from left to right: Maxi Lotz, Nils Blessing, Marc Potthast, Jannik Anfang, Jakob Reinhard, Sebastian Wöhr, Jonas Neirich, Leandro Ferrucci

For many years now, incorporating the “Bundesjugendspiele” into a school sports festival for the lower and middle grades has proven to be a success, and once again it has become clear that Mr. Neirich and his physical education department have succeeded in developing an engaging event with this concept.

After warming up and stretching together, the students were able to compete in the running and jumping events for the Federal Youth Games and determine the fastest sprinters in each grade. In the middle-distance races, all students showed great determination.

The classes had a lot of fun at the closing sports tournament, which featured dodgeball (5th grade), soccer (6th grade), basketball (8th grade), and, initially, softball (9th grade) as well. The competition had to be cut short due to a sports injury.

For the 7th-grade students, Sports Day took place once again on the Lahn River near the boathouse. Rowing coach Stromenger had put together an exciting program for them there.

Sprint Finals Results

50-meter Final – 5th Grade Girls

Charlotte Liese 7.80

Leonie Müller 8.06

Josephine Scholz 8.22

50-meter Final – 5th Grade Boys

Constantin Mensing 7.59

Adriano Doimo 7.87

Jan Templer 8.28

50-meter Final – 6th Grade Girls

Sarah Neirich 7.78

Anna Tilli 7.79

Anna Steinfeld 7.90

50-meter Final – 6th Grade Boys

Benjamin Schul 7.56

Tim Seidel 7.75

Elias Hass 7.88

75-meter Final – 8th Grade Girls

Kate Karavaev 10.91

Nelly Endres 10.96

Emma Sander 11.03

75-meter Final – 8th Grade Boys

Pablo Mediavilla 10.09

Adrian Bruchmann 10.28

John 11:8

100-meter Final – 8th Grade Girls

Evelyn Damer 15.37

Luisa Habeland 15.68

Rebecca Herrmann 15.72

100-meter Final – 8th Grade Boys

Niklas Diedrich 12,13

Moritz Mägerlein 13.09

Nils Merte 13.19

100-meter Final – 9th Grade Girls

Anastasia Bieker 14.82

Merle Schweitzer 15.09

Nele Rupp 15.10

100-meter Final – 9th Grade Boys

Malte Paulenz 13.06

2. Finn Steinfeld 13.28

3. Matteo Fain 13.29

Results of the Sports Festival 2017 Games Tournaments

5th Grade – Dodgeball Tournament

Winner: Class 5b

6th Grade – Soccer Tournament

Winner: Class 6c

8th Grade – Basketball Tournament

Winner: Class 8c

9th Grade – Softball Tournament

No winner—the softball tournament was called off due to an accident

Opening on June 13, 2017

One of the Steinmühle’s small but delightful events is now the early-summer event “Art and Nature in the Greenhouse.” For this occasion, the greenhouse and the small garden are spruced up, the students’ artwork is arranged among the plants, Ms. Vielhaben explains the artistic concept, Mr. Wemme, along with Tom Herfert and Samuel Ruff, ensures the music sounds great, and Mr. Wagler, with his WU, prepares an edible buffet featuring some truly surprising drinks. For participants, there’s plenty to see and marvel at, great music to listen to, and extraordinary food to enjoy. Usually, all of this takes place in perfect early summer weather—and this year was no exception.

Ms. Vielhaben offered some helpful tips regarding the artistic portion of the event:

Class 5a is making gargoyles

The students in Class 5a drew inspiration from so-called gargoyles—the water-spouting figures found on the facades of Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals—to create the fantastical guardians of the school garden. They sit atop the garden’s stakes.

Climate Art 8c

This intuitive imagination changes around the ages of 13 and 14, giving way to a perspective that is more closely aligned with the external, realistic world.

The provocative posters and the “Thinker” sculpture made from civilization’s waste are part of a project by the 8c class at the Climate Art Schools. The students devised their own projects to use art to raise awareness about climate change and our responsibility for the future of the world.

Model-Building “Towers” Inspired by Nature 8b

The architectural models created by Class 8b under the guidance of Ms. Kraft draw inspiration from natural forms for towers of all kinds. Among others, the exhibition features models such as Rapunzel’s Tower, which incorporates natural forms, and Sauron’s Tower from *The Lord of the Rings*.

Once again, this small opening reception in the countryside was an opportunity to thank everyone at the Steinmühle for their wonderful collaboration. Ms. Ramos, as the “special guest,” was able to see for herself that the greenhouse project had been in good hands during her absence.

 

Eighty high school graduates earned their general university entrance qualification at Steinmühle this year. During the graduation ceremony on June 10, the speakers paid tribute to this high-achieving class, which had made a positive impact on the school community through its strong sense of camaraderie. In addition to Principal Björn Gemmer and English teacher Friedhelm Wagler, speakers from among the graduating class included Wissah Miran and Jannes Kühn. Special attention was given to the speech by Albrecht von Bethmann, who, with five children, served as a Steinmühle parent for 18 years without interruption, making our school an integral part of his life.

The event featured musical performances by, among others, the Steinmühle Jazz Ensemble.

The photos show the graduating class as a whole as well as the individual tutorials and provide a glimpse of the numerous tributes and award ceremonies.

 

With two performances, the 5th-grade students delighted an audience that was thoroughly entertained and rewarded them with generous applause.

The plot: Karl von Radau, lord of Eulenstein Castle, summons the spirits at the witching hour. Ghosts from near and far have come to haunt Eulenstein once again after a long absence. The little witch demonstrates her noise machine for the first time, and Fritz Rabatz gets an earful because of it. But since the genie is celebrating a special occasion, everything ends up in the best ghost party spirit.

The young singers and actors were supported by the musical band under the direction of Mr. Wemme and the students from Sound & Light under the direction of Sam Kempkes.