A Joyful First Day of School at the Bilingual Elementary School

Bilingual Elementary School, Events & Celebrations, News

Plenty of music, lovingly prepared performances, and lots of joy marked the first-day-of-school celebration for the youngest students at the Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School. Maria Gloerfeld, homeroom teacher for third grade, opened the ceremony in the Forum with the piano piece “L’Apés Midi.” The program then continued in English. Janine Küster, head of the elementary school division, welcomed the students and their parents before Marcel Kalb took the floor in German. He serves as the coordinator between the high school and the Bilingual Elementary School.

“The Sparrow and the Schoolyard Children” was the title of a poetry recital performed by children from third grade and the Flexible Entry Level (Flex) program. These age groups also put on a musical performance using sandwich wrappers, since singing indoors was still not permitted due to the pandemic.

This was followed by welcoming remarks to the audience, who listened to the words in high spirits yet with a touch of excitement—understandable on this day, as it marked the beginning of a new chapter in the lives of the youngest children. Together with two children from each class, Janine Küster then provided a glimpse into school life at the Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School to make their upcoming daily routine a little more tangible.

The program continued in a really cool way—with a rap in English performed by Class 3 and students from Flex, under the direction of Katrin Weißenborn.

Video art, accompanied by music, once again depicted scenes from everyday life in elementary school before the first-graders were divided into their classes. Maria Bick will serve as homeroom teacher for Flex A, and Dr. Sebastian Verbeek will serve as homeroom teacher for Flex B.

And with that, the official “program” for the exciting first day of school for Steinmühlen’s youngest students was already over. Their first short class was waiting!

Janine Küster, the head of the school division, bid farewell to the parents and extended special thanks to those who helped organize this first day of school: These were Maria Gloerfeld and Katrin Weißenborn, who are primarily teaching third grade this year but who nonetheless organized the orientation with great care and dedication, as well as Friends of the School Association Chair Jasmine Weidenbach, who had prepared small welcome gifts for the first-graders and provided decorations.

Everything indicated that the small back-to-school celebration had been a hit not only with the girls and boys, but also with their parents. Janine Küster: “We had a wonderful, positive atmosphere, and photographer Till Buurman was kind enough to capture many of the moments on camera.”

30. September 2021

A warm welcome to the new 5th graders!

Events & Celebrations, News

Even though the welcome chorus in the June video was just a recording from the StoneApp, Alexandra, Antonia, Johanna, and Lotta from Class 6b made sure to give their new classmates and their parents an all the more lively welcome at Steinmühle. The principals were only too happy to join in! The first day of school for the young fifth graders was a warm welcome and a chance to get to know one another in the three classes—5a, 5b, and 5c—with Frauke Fiedler, Frank Wemme, and Dr. Bernd Schweitzer as their new homeroom teachers, and a curious exploration of their new school building. Parents got to know one another over a cup of coffee, and the Friends of Steinmühle Association finally sent the new Steinmühle students off with a small gift.

30. September 2021

Digital Sustainability Day at Steinmühle

Collaborations & Partnerships, Digitalization & AI, Ecology and Sustainability, News

Just click here on Saturday, September 18: Everyone can join in live

Issues such as the environment, nature conservation, ecology, and sustainability have always been important to Steinmühle. So it’s no surprise that Steinmühle supports the Marburg-Biedenkopf district in its efforts to become a Fairtrade district and is a member of the district’s “Fairtrade Steering Group.” It was within this group that the idea arose to host the district’s planned “Sustainability Day” at Steinmühle. The events will take place this Saturday, September 18, from 10:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The event will be streamed online.

It was actually supposed to be a really big day: featuring a wide range of presentations, activities, booths in the schoolyard, and conversations between visitors and the student body. To ensure planning certainty, we decided against holding the event in this format. Pandemic-related restrictions are still in place, uncertainties remain, and disruptions cannot be ruled out. It is therefore with a heavy heart that the organizers are switching to an online format for activities aimed at the wider public. At the Steinmühle Forum, there will be a stage program presenting key elements related to the event’s theme—in a small yet significant and compact setting. The event will be streamed live at the scheduled time via a link on www.marburg-biedenkopf.de.

When are we taking action to protect the climate, and when aren’t we?

Principal Bernd Holly will deliver the opening remarks. Following that, District Administrator Kirsten Fründt and Egon Vaupel, chairman of the Steinmühle Marburg e.V. school association, will join her on stage. The program will then focus on the 2021 Citizens’ Sustainability Budget, which supports public-interest, sustainable projects and ideas from civil society. Afterward, choir director, tenor, and conductor Daniel Sans—who is also a teacher at Steinmühle—will provide musical entertainment together with his wife, Marie Sans.

At around 12:30 p.m., the event will take on both a scientific and practical dimension: Dr. Gerhard Reese, professor of environmental psychology, will give a talk on the topic “Climate Crisis = Behavioral Crisis? What Holds Us Back and Motivates Us to Take Action to Protect the Climate.”

The event will conclude with a poetry slam on environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

In-person edition following the pandemic

“When we take stock of all the ways we’re already addressing the topic of sustainability in our daily school life and on the Steinmühle campus, we end up with a long and impressive list,” report the school association board, the administration, and the school leadership. There are several points worth mentioning in each of the following areas: mobility, buildings, energy, projects on campus, curriculum content, and nutrition. — A broad range of topics that will soon be covered in greater detail on the Steinmühle platforms. “We’re also looking forward to holding Sustainability Day after the pandemic just as it was originally planned,” adds Managing Director Dirk Konnertz.

The Digital Sustainability Day on September 18 is the best way to get started with this topic.

Visit www.marburg-biedenkopf.de to go directly to the event from 10:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

17. September 2021

2021 Field Trips – Steinmühle Boarding School Explores Northwest Germany

Class Trips, Field Trips, and School Outings, Life at Boarding School, News

The new school year has begun, and as always, the individual residential groups are kicking off the year together with their group trips. This time, they had the choice between fun, games, and action at amusement parks or pure nature and relaxation on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts, as well as in the Harz Mountains.

What exactly are these house tours?

At the start of each school year, the residential groups are reorganized. New group compositions, new teams of educators, new faces. That’s why Steinmühle Boarding School deliberately uses the first weekend after the break to give the residents of the new residential groups a chance to get into the spirit of community and get to know one another during an exciting trip. The house directors are responsible for organizing and planning the trips.

Which residential group had the most attractions?

That’s hard to say this year. Four residential groups headed out to German amusement parks: The Biohaus spent an exciting weekend at Holiday-Park in Haßloch with the boarding school’s youngest residents, while the boys from the Stammhäusler group let loose at Movie-Park. The Mühle group also had a great time at Holiday Park on the Baltic Sea, while the Hessenhaus group navigated their way through wild and exotic animals on a car safari in Lower Saxony.

Nature Up Close in Northwest Germany

It wasn’t just the Hessenhaus that got to experience nature up close at Safari Land Stukenbrock in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Westfalenhaus spent its weekend in Bad Sachsa in the Harz Mountains, and the Bremerhaus traveled to the North Sea coast, visiting Westerhever and St. Peter Ording. While the other residential groups let off steam at their amusement parks, the Westfalenhaus residents made their way through a climbing gym, and those who dared could zip across a lake on a zipline. The highlight of the Westfalenhaus trip was the famous Skywalk on the Sonnenstein: the brave boys and girls ventured onto the transparent bridge and enjoyed the sunset together, taking in the sweeping view of the Harz Mountains.

Meanwhile, the residents of Bremerhäu watched a seal feeding at the Robbarium in St. Peter Ording and visited the expansive beach on the North Sea coast. Of course, no trip to the North Sea would be complete without a genuine mudflat hike and a boat tour.

Great organization leads to wonderful shared moments

Once again this year, the house leaders managed to create unforgettable shared moments for their students. For example, after visiting Holiday Park, the Biohaus group was able to wind down their evening at the campground right by the lake, just as the Mühle group used their beachfront accommodations on the Baltic Sea to relax together. The boys from the Stammhaus were also able to relax, as they were luxuriously accommodated in a hotel. The Westfalenhaus had rented an entire house to themselves and, like the Bremerhaus, spent their evenings cooking together.

A Community That Supports

On Sunday evening, all the students and teachers gathered again on the grounds of the Steinmühle boarding school in Marburg. No matter where you looked, there were beaming faces. “We had the best house trip this year!” one student reported, overjoyed. “No, that can’t be true—we’ve already had the best house trip!” another student countered. Comments like these make it clear that the weekend was a complete success for all the residential groups.

So what now? Back to business

The residential groups are now settled in and motivated for the coming school year. Now it’s time for everyone to get back into their routine. School is waiting, but so is the next boarding school weekend. And that’s sure to bring plenty of great activities and moments together again.

8. September 2021

New school year—new beginnings! Our boarding school is finally welcoming everyone back to campus

Events & Celebrations, Life at Boarding School, News

The 2021–2022 school year is now also getting underway in Hesse, and so last Sunday saw a large influx of students returning to the Steinmühle boarding school campus. On Sunday, the educational team led by boarding school director Anke Muszynski welcomed all new and returning students to the campus.

Steinmühle Boarding School Community 2021/2022

The Steinmühle Boarding School will be housing a total of 84 students for the coming school year, meaning it has almost no beds left. The boarding school community is looking forward to welcoming a total of 18 new students, ages 10–18, from all grade levels.

“It really puts my mind at ease to see what professional and caring hands my son is in,” says Theo’s mother, looking relaxed. “We were really nervous at first, but everyone here has welcomed us so warmly and openly—I’m so glad that things worked out for Theo here at Steinmühle Boarding School.”

And so, not only were the encounters with the new students on the boarding school grounds exciting, but everyone was also truly looking forward to seeing familiar faces again.

High enrollment and strong loyalty within the boarding school community

The primary goal of Steinmühle Boarding School is to create and maintain a community that supports and cares for one another. To ensure that everyone feels as comfortable as possible on campus again this school year, the educational team has once again focused on distributing students as fairly and harmoniously as possible among the residential groups. As a result, the residential groups have been reorganized this year, with the students’ preferences, of course, taken into account. Mixed-age groups—typically ranging from 13 to 19 years old—and a mix of students who are already familiar with boarding school life and newcomers have resulted in entirely new residential group configurations.

“I always look forward to the start of the school year!” says boarding school teacher Francine Olschewski. “Even though you already know most of the students, it’s always something new: new groupings, new students, and new colleagues—that always brings a fresh energy to the campus. I love it.”

Back to the roots – back to the routine

The mix of experienced teachers, long-time boarding students, and motivated newcomers helps students get off to a quick start in their daily school life. A wide range of sports and creative extracurricular activities awaits the students, as does the study center.

“Is it weird that I’m looking forward to the study hall?” asks student Nefeli on the way there. “I’ve really missed studying with the others.”

2021 House Tours Across Germany

And to make sure things don’t get boring when school starts again, the respective residential teams have already organized get-to-know-you outings for each living group for the first weekend after the break. While some will travel to the North Sea coast or visit the Harz Mountains, others will go for walks in idyllic palm gardens. Stay tuned—we’ll of course keep you updated on the house trips!

2. September 2021