For the first time in the history of the Steinmühle, the Friends of the Steinmühle had invited guests to a dinner show at the school’s Forum. Seventy guests attended, enjoyed a wonderful evening, and supported the school through their donations to help finance the interior design of the new building.

Principal Bernd Holly had worked with the students to make all the logistical arrangements and prepare the hall and the program. Jasmine Weidenbach, chair of the Friends of the School Association; the association’s board members; and teacher Fido Wagler, along with the students from the WU “Partyservice” group, had set the tables and decorated them festively, and their attentive service helped create a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

After a welcome glass of sparkling wine, an entertaining film produced by Ines Vielhaben’s “Film” elective class explained the background and current progress of the new building, which is scheduled to be occupied at the end of January 2019. Daniel Sans welcomed the guests and, with equal parts professionalism and charisma, hosted an evening filled with top-notch musical performances.

Performing on stage for the Steinmühle were:

Bodam Lee (violin) and Nelly Endres (piano). Marie-Gabrielle Sans (piano) and Daniel Sans (tenor). The fantastic band: Fynn Konnertz (electric guitar), Dirk Konnertz (keyboard), Rainer Herbel (drums), and Talea Funk (vocals).

Mario Stingl (Home Cooking Agency) and his team treated the guests to a wonderful and varied buffet.

The absolute musical highlight of the evening was the joint encore performed by all the musicians. “You Raise Me Up” (made famous by Josh Groban and Westlife), sung by Daniel Sans and accompanied by all the musicians performing that evening, gave the audience goosebumps and drew thunderous applause from the enthusiastic crowd.

 

The Musical Program, Part I

1. Wolfgang A. Mozart – Piano Sonata in G Major, Movement No. 2: Andante
2. Isang Yun – Li-Na in the Garden, 5th Movement “The Little Bird” for Solo Violin
3. Hans May – “Today Is the Most Beautiful Day of My Life” for tenor and piano
4. Panic! at the Disco – New Perspective

Part II

5. Frédéric Chopin – Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2, for piano
6. Edward Elgar – “Salut d’Amour” for Violin and Piano
7. Eduardo di Capua – “O sole mio” for tenor and piano
8. John Mayer – Slow Dancing in a Burning Room

Part III

9. George Gershwin – “I Got Rhythm” for Piano
10. Vittorio Monti – Czardas for Violin and Piano
11. George David Weiss – “What a Wonderful World” for Tenor and Piano
12. Luke Bryan – Apologize

Our Friends Association would like to thank all participants and guests for their participation and support.

9. 

The Steinmühlen team began training for the competition with 11 players and was highly motivated to defend last year’s “title” and advance to the next round. Marc Bepperling from the coaching staff reports:

Unfortunately, Luca Hartmann and Veit Gemmer were injured during the preparation phase; we would like to take this opportunity to wish them a speedy recovery. Since some of last year’s veterans have exceeded the age limit, we had to rebuild our team.

Only Jonas Neirich, Samuel Ruff, and Sebastian Jung were allowed to compete in Competition II one last time. A big thank you to Linus Ingenbleek as assistant coach, and also to Gordian Bachmann for his always welcome presence.

On Wednesday, our boys had to hold their own against the Elisabethschule and the Gymnasium Philippinum at the 2018 JtfO basketball tournament. Buoyed by last year’s success and a strong will to win, we got off to a good start in the tournament and defeated the Elisabethschule 30–11. It was a good, exciting, and above all, fair game.

In the second game against Gymnasium Philippinum, our team fell behind early on, but we nearly managed to tie the score. Unfortunately, we were unable to capitalize on that momentum, and Gymnasium Philippinum continued to extend its lead. In the end, we lost 13–28. It was very clear that the team was still developing on the court and hadn’t quite gelled yet.

For many, it was their first competition of this kind in basketball. Nevertheless, we are very proud of our performance. Thanks to each player’s individual strengths and Jonas Neirich’s consistently strong play, we can look back on the experience with a positive outlook.

Once again this year, key players are reaching the age limit, but the next generation in competition classes III and IV is already ready to take the field.

Players:
Jonas Neirich
Samuel Ruff
Sebastian Jung
Jonathan Tesseraux
Pablo Mediavilla
Jannik Anfang
Jona Hinzmann
Sören Nau
Konrad Laux
Veit Gemmer
Luca Hartmann

Coaches:
Marc Bepperling
Linus Ingenbleek
Gordian Bachmann

With their signatures, Ferrero, CSL Behring, and Philipps University of Marburg formalized their partnership with the Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School. All three secured a quota of spots at the school, which will open for the 2019–20 school year.

“It’s a sign of the utmost trust,” said Egon Vaupel, chairman of the Schulverein Steinmühle support association, expressing his delight and describing it as an “emotional moment.” About eight years had passed since the first discussions between the school and industry, and now, guided by a clear vision but also through a great deal of hard work and perseverance, they had reached their goal and were able to offer an international track.

Company representatives Karl-Heinz Feußner (Ferrero), Tanja Templer (CSL Behring), and Prof. Dr. Michael Bölker of Philipps University of Marburg unanimously described this development as a “decisive competitive and locational advantage.” Karl-Heinz Feußner explained: “In our company alone, we have employees from 50 different countries. So it’s a crucial factor to be able to offer existing or future employees an international education for their children.”

Both the company and the university benefit because employees’ children are either prepared for life abroad through instruction in both German and English, or—if they come from abroad—find that the school’s academic standards match their own. “This ensures the attractiveness of our location,” says Tanja Templer (CSL Behring) with conviction, adding: “The success of a filled position and its incumbent always depends on the satisfaction of the employee’s family.”

“An international branch of the school has always been missing here”

“We depend on attracting young researchers and professors,” said Prof. Dr. Michael Bölker, adding: “Actually, we’ve always lacked an international branch here in Marburg.” Petra Kienle, head of Department VI (International Affairs and Family Services) at Philipps University, shares this assessment. She was involved in the negotiations leading up to the partnership but was unable to attend the signing ceremony.

“The numerous internationally oriented companies in the region have long had the topic of ‘international schools’ on their agenda. We are pleased that we can now get started in earnest,” says Oskar Edelmann, Deputy Executive Director of the Kassel-Marburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK). “This new educational program is a key component in attracting skilled workers and thus helps secure the region’s position as a business hub. The International School of Central Hesse will certainly play a key role in helping regional companies attract and retain international skilled workers. The excellent and dedicated collaboration between the school, businesses, the university, regional management, and the IHK has paid off.”

 

Information Session on November 29

Meanwhile, Steinmühle continues to work on creating the best possible conditions for the launch of the new school division next summer. The imminent completion of the new middle school building and the ongoing renovation of the main building are part of this effort, reported Managing Director Dirk Konnertz. In the medium term, a new elementary school building and a gym will be constructed in the coming years, explained Principal Bernd Holly, outlining the next steps.

For those interested in enrolling their children at the Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School, an information session will be held on November 29 in the school’s forum. “We would like to introduce you to the concept of the Steinmühle Bilingual Elementary School and also discuss the start of the so-called ‘flexible school start,’” explained Principal Björn Gemmer. The event begins at 7:30 p.m.

“Hackedicht”—You’re Better Off Without It!—This campaign by the Hessian State Medical Association is a regular feature on the Steinmühlen calendar. To educate 8th-grade students about the effects of alcohol, highlight potential risks, and answer questions, Steinmühlen teachers Nicole Hohm and Heike Rabben-Martin work closely with Dr. Birgit Wollenberg, director of the District Health Office.

Once again, the event began with a presentation by the physician, who highlighted the potential dangers of alcohol and described how addiction can manifest itself. She also explained the biological processes that take place when alcohol is consumed and, in the worst-case scenario, consumed in excess.

So-called “drunk goggles” were used to demonstrate to the students what it feels like to act under the influence of alcohol. They simulate being drunk and give students a sense of what it’s like to lose control of their senses due to alcohol. It was evident that even very simple tasks proved quite difficult for the young people while in this “drunk” state!

“Ultimately, our campaign is about learning to drink responsibly and developing an understanding of how to recognize one’s personal limits,” explained Nicole Hohm. — An important topic with valuable insights that the Steinmühlen students will carry with them into the rest of their lives.

The initiative by the State Medical Association is supported by the Hessian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs and the Hessian Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration.

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.