Strong Response to Information Sessions for New 5th Graders - Steinmühle

With an information evening for parents and an open house for the whole family, Steinmühle once again provided information this year to numerous prospective students interested in a spot in 5th grade for the upcoming 2019–20 school year.

At the well-attended evening event, principals Björn Gemmer and Bernd Holly, along with Frank Wemme, the academic director, outlined the school’s structure, daily routine, educational philosophy, curriculum, and admission criteria, and explained the school’s mission. It was made clear that Steinmühle allows each student to focus on their own individual interests—regardless of the area in which the student has personal strengths and wishes to develop them further. The possibility of earning the Hessian International Abitur through continuous participation in bilingual instruction starting in 7th grade was also discussed. Furthermore, the discussion covered the successful project-based learning at Steinmühle as well as the school’s quality management system, through which the school regularly evaluates itself to ensure continuous improvement.

Impressions from School

The information day, the second part of the overall event, gave the students—who are currently in fourth grade—a chance to experience many aspects of Steinmühlen. Divided into groups, they were invited to explore various aspects of the curriculum, marveled at the experiments in the NaUnt (science) program, listened to pieces performed by the wind ensemble, and tried their hand at pottery—with great success. A tour of the campus gave everyone involved a sense of the classrooms and sports facilities, and it was explained that the ongoing renovation of the main building will result in even better conditions. Using an interactive board, attendees were able to get a sense of what teaching at Steinmühle will look like in the future—a future in which not only will tablet-based instruction be gradually introduced, but the traditional chalkboard will also be phased out step by step. Finally, parents had the opportunity to speak directly with parent representatives in the Steinmühle upper school room. There, they received first-hand answers to any questions that might have arisen following the information provided earlier.

The school administration and Managing Director Dirk Konnertz were pleased to report that both information sessions for the future 5th-grade class at Steinmühle once again drew an extremely high level of interest, at least as high as last year. We would like to thank the students and faculty members who helped organize the information day.

Under the banner of “Junior Elections,” schools across Germany or within a state can hold internal “elections” and invite students to cast their political votes. The process is modeled after official elections. After the Junior Elections at Steinmühle were a success in 2017, our school once again participated in the Junior Elections this year as part of the Hessian state parliamentary elections. Voting took place on October 19. All students in grades 9 through Q1 were eligible to participate. The project was organized by teachers Erno Menzel and Eva Stelz, with support from the hardworking election volunteers from the German and history tracks.

302 of the eligible students voted in the election. Voter turnout was 87.3%.

Many of the students expressed their conviction that the project helps them form political opinions and gain a useful overview of the electoral process.

The “Juniorwahl” project is sponsored by Kumulus e.V., a nonprofit, nonpartisan association based in Berlin that is involved in several projects in the field of political education. The initiative can be found online at www.juniorwahl.de.

The illustrations accompanying our article show the results of the statewide junior election held in conjunction with the state legislative elections, as well as the students of Steinmühle School casting their ballots.